Lakes & Reservoirs: Research and Management

2003

8

: 61–62

Book Review

Biodiversity in Wetlands: Assessments, Function,and Conservation.

Vol. 1: 354 pages. Price US$85.50.ISBN 90–57820595. Vol. 2: 312 pages. Price US$76.00. ISBN90–57820870. Volumes 1 and 2. B. Gopal, W. J. Junk andJ. A. Davis (eds). (2001) Backhuys Publishers, Leiden.

The editors correctly note the need for an overview ofbiodiversity in different wetland systems. Their goal is tolook at ecosystem, organism and genetic diversity fromvarious countries and wetland types. Two of the editorsconvened a symposium on biodiversity of wetlands at the1996 INTECOL V International Wetlands Conference heldin Perth, Australia. Discussions continued into the 1998International Limnological Congress in Dublin, Ireland,where additional contributions were invited and plans forpublication were finalised. In compiling these two volumesthe editors have added information not previously availablein Mitsch’s (1994) compilation of ‘Global wetlands: OldWorld and New,’ and thus provide in this new, two volumeset, a valuable addition to the global wetland literature.

One of the most informative, yet unique, chapters inVolume 1 is the chapter by Boon on ‘Bacterial Biodiversityin Wetlands’. In his overview, Boon examines the role thatbacteria play in the biodiversity of freshwater wetlands atthe genetic, the species and the ecosystem level. He pointsout that the greatest problem with assessing the biodiver-sity of bacteria at the genetic and species levels is theconceptual difficulty in defining what constitutes a bacterialspecies. Since bacteria participate in, and often dominate,the biogeochemical cycling of nutrients and metals inwetlands, Boon laments the ‘great chasm existing betweenmainstream ecology and microbial ecology’. Throughoutthe chapter, Boon attempts to show the potential synergiesbetween these two disciplines, and notes that overall under-standing and management of wetlands would be improvedmarkedly if collaborations between the two were encour-aged.

Undoubtedly the most encouraging chapter in Volume 2is the chapter by Chapman, Balirwa, Bugenyi, Chapmanand Crisman on ‘Wetlands of East Africa: Biodiversity,

Exploitation and Policy Perspective’. This chapter is gratify-ing to anyone wondering about connections between wet-land science and policy. The authors note that in EastAfrica, humans have lived with and within wetlandsthroughout history. However, since the 1950s, large-scaleswamp conversion and population pressure on smallwetlands has threatened the integrity of many Africanwetlands, precipitated local declines in indigenous wetlandorganisms, and altered ecosystem functions. The EastAfrican governments want to promote wise use and conser-vation of the East African wetlands so that their ecologicaland socioeconomic functions are sustained for the presentand future well-being of the people. For example, theUgandan Government recently launched a policy whichencompasses wetlands in protected and non-protectedareas and offers a good example in Africa of a strongpolitical will to conserve wetlands and their biodiversity. Inpromulgating this wetlands policy, the Ugandan Govern-ment asks that any decision to use wetlands must considerthe requirements of all other users. Thus, a holisticapproach to wetland management is fostered.

B. Gopal and W. J. Junk conclude the two volume com-pendium with a chapter entitled Assessment, Determin-ations, Function and Conservation of Biodiversity inWetlands: Present Status and Future Needs. The twenty-four

contributions

in

these

two

volumes

cover

manyaspects

of

biodiversity

and

its

conservation

for

the

firsttime

in

a

variety

of

wetlands

ranging

from

bogs

and

fensto

mangroves,

and

from ponds

in

arid

regions

to

largeriver floodplains. B. Gopal and W. J. Junk stress thatconservation of wetlands and their biodiversity requiresscientifically

sound

management

of

the

entire

watershedof which they are an integral part, and urge wetlandmanagers

to

take

a

holistic

approach

to

resource

useand

conservation.

The

editors

also

note

their

supportfor

a

comment

in

Joy

Zedler’s

Volume

One

chapter

that‘to

sustain

biodiversity,

it

is

better

to

prevent

loss

ofnatural habitat than to allow–and attempt to reverse–damages’.

The editors are quick to point out that the informationthey have compiled represents a status report from somecountries or regions, and highlights the need for morethrough surveys and further work in these areas. But the

Accepted for publication 24 September 2002

62 Book Review

editors are to be commended for taking the step to gatherinformation from those regions and sub-disciplines thathave not traditionally been included in previous wetlandsbooks. Perhaps the editors have set out a course for them-selves, whereby they review the status of wetland informa-tion every few years and provide an update? Such a reviewcould benefit not only the readers of these two volumes inproviding a periodic update of key information, but mostcertainly would benefit the wetlands described throughoutthe numerous chapters. This two-volume compilation is a

must read for any serious student of wetland science, aswell as for managers of those areas described.

Marjorie M. Holland

Center for Water and Wetland Resources,University of Mississippi Field Station

REFERENCES

Mitsch W. J. (1994)

Global Wetlands: Old World and New

.Elsevier, Amsterdam.