Stockholm International Water Institute » water & ecosystems http://www.siwi.org Water Wise World Tue, 12 Feb 2013 15:26:27 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 The Effects of Industrial Pollution on Ecosystems and Human Well-Being http://www.siwi.org/publication/the-effects-of-industrial-pollution-on-ecosystems-and-human-well-being/ http://www.siwi.org/publication/the-effects-of-industrial-pollution-on-ecosystems-and-human-well-being/#comments Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:48:47 +0000 admin http://www.siwi.org/publication/the-effects-of-industrial-pollution-on-ecosystems-and-human-well-being/ Exploring the links between ecosystems and human well-being, this article looks at the effects of industrial pollution on water quality and their impacts. Informed by a recent UNEP report “Clearing the Waters: A focus on water quality solutions”, released on World Water Day, 22 March, 2010, and also by other UN reports, the article highlights pathways to arrive at the sustainable management of human activities and processes within ecosystems, for improved water quality globally.

]]> http://www.siwi.org/publication/the-effects-of-industrial-pollution-on-ecosystems-and-human-well-being/feed/ 0 Water Quality: The Basis for Healthy Living http://www.siwi.org/publication/water-quality-the-basis-for-healthy-living/ http://www.siwi.org/publication/water-quality-the-basis-for-healthy-living/#comments Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:45:54 +0000 admin http://www.siwi.org/publication/water-quality-the-basis-for-healthy-living/ Water quality — often more correctly — water safety – is rising on the agendas of policy makers, practitioners and water consumers and carrying with it a series of challenges for practice, policy and science. Its basic parameters seem straightforward – water needs to be safe for the various uses that humankind puts it to and we need to account for changes in quality of water resources and how they impact on associated ecosystems. In practice it is not so simple at all.

Published in Water Front Magazine No. 1 2010.

]]> http://www.siwi.org/publication/water-quality-the-basis-for-healthy-living/feed/ 0 Stockholm Water Front No. 3-4 2008 http://www.siwi.org/publication/stockholm-water-front-no-3-4-2008/ http://www.siwi.org/publication/stockholm-water-front-no-3-4-2008/#comments Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:39:48 +0000 admin http://www.siwi.org/publication/stockholm-water-front-no-3-4-2008/ Expanding water pollution, depleted river streamflow, overdrawn groundwater, water usability threatened by salinisation, and water for ecosystems is sinking below the acceptable minimum point indicates that the era of easy access to blue water is coming to an end in many regions of the world. The concept is called Peak water and is explained further in this issue of Water Front.

]]> http://www.siwi.org/publication/stockholm-water-front-no-3-4-2008/feed/ 0 Stockholm Water Front No. 4 2005 http://www.siwi.org/publication/stockholm-water-front-no-4-2005/ http://www.siwi.org/publication/stockholm-water-front-no-4-2005/#comments Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:35:13 +0000 admin http://www.siwi.org/publication/stockholm-water-front-no-4-2005/ Since the 2nd World Water Forum in The Hague in 2000, water professionals have been working to develop a land/water integration in a catchment-based ““ecosystem approach””. However, the ““ecosystem approach”” means different things to different people. To some, it is based on the needs of the ecosystem. To others, it is based on the needs of the people who use the ecosystem. More of these contrasting interpretations and other interesting topics you can read about in this issue of Water Front.

]]> http://www.siwi.org/publication/stockholm-water-front-no-4-2005/feed/ 0 Balancing Human Security and Ecological Interests in a Catchment http://www.siwi.org/publication/balancing-human-security-and-ecological-interests-in-a-catchment/ http://www.siwi.org/publication/balancing-human-security-and-ecological-interests-in-a-catchment/#comments Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:30:25 +0000 admin http://www.siwi.org/publication/balancing-human-security-and-ecological-interests-in-a-catchment/ This report summarises the outcome of the SIWI seminar on how to balance human livelihood security and ecological security, paying attention to water-ecosystem interactions and to upstream/downstream dependencies and how these interactions are modified or altered by human interventions and manipulations. The overriding goal is to seek clarity on what should exactly be meant by ‘land/water integration taking a catchment-based ecological approach’.

]]> http://www.siwi.org/publication/balancing-human-security-and-ecological-interests-in-a-catchment/feed/ 0 Water – A Reflection of Land Use http://www.siwi.org/publication/water-a-reflection-of-land-use/ http://www.siwi.org/publication/water-a-reflection-of-land-use/#comments Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:25:45 +0000 admin http://www.siwi.org/publication/water-a-reflection-of-land-use/ The purpose of this book is to help politicians understand water — the bloodstream of the biosphere and a necessity for life — and to explain and demystify the water cycle, its integrity and key processes. It contributes towards understanding the complex issue of the interaction between humans and their environment which is the origin of the natural resources that support human society and prosperity. This understanding will enable better decision-making and more successful action to cope with the situation.

]]> http://www.siwi.org/publication/water-a-reflection-of-land-use/feed/ 0 1997 Proceedings: With Rivers to the Sea: Interaction of Land Activities, Fresh Water and Enclosed Coastal Seas http://www.siwi.org/publication/1997-proceedings-with-rivers-to-the-sea-interaction-of-land-activities-fresh-water-and-enclosed-coastal-seas/ http://www.siwi.org/publication/1997-proceedings-with-rivers-to-the-sea-interaction-of-land-activities-fresh-water-and-enclosed-coastal-seas/#comments Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:24:06 +0000 admin http://www.siwi.org/publication/1997-proceedings-with-rivers-to-the-sea-interaction-of-land-activities-fresh-water-and-enclosed-coastal-seas/ The 1997 Stockholm Water Symposium focused at the strong interaction between land-use and coastal ecosystem health as mediated by the quality and movement of freshwater. It included topics central to more effective coastal management, such as the need for an ecosystem approach, the role of freshwater as a carrier of nutrients and pollutants, and the relationship between land use and water quality.

]]> http://www.siwi.org/publication/1997-proceedings-with-rivers-to-the-sea-interaction-of-land-activities-fresh-water-and-enclosed-coastal-seas/feed/ 0 Slash and Learn http://www.siwi.org/publication/slash-and-learn/ http://www.siwi.org/publication/slash-and-learn/#comments Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:45:08 +0000 admin http://www.siwi.org/publication/slash-and-learn/ Dr. Aracely Castro of the International Centre of Tropical Agriculture presents a new model of agricultural management that makes life better for farmers, the soil they till and ecosystems that surround them. Lesson one: mulch, don’t burn.

Published in Water Front Magazine No. 3-4 2009.

]]> http://www.siwi.org/publication/slash-and-learn/feed/ 0 Securing Water for Ecosystems and Human Well-being: The Importance of Environmental Flows http://www.siwi.org/publication/securing-water-for-ecosystems-and-human-well-being-the-importance-of-environmental-flows/ http://www.siwi.org/publication/securing-water-for-ecosystems-and-human-well-being-the-importance-of-environmental-flows/#comments Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:44:13 +0000 admin http://www.siwi.org/publication/securing-water-for-ecosystems-and-human-well-being-the-importance-of-environmental-flows/ The quantity, quality and timing of water flows required to sustain ecosystems and the valuable services they provide are referred to as Environmental Flows. To preserve and benefit from these services, water managers must ensure that an Environmental Flow regime is maintained in rivers and wetlands.

This report highlights the connection between flows, ecosystem services and human well-being and concludes that environmental flows and the ecosystem services they support are critical to improve human well-being and achieving all eight of the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals.

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