Description

The Clean Water Act (CWA) requires that wetlands be protected from degradation because of their important ecological functions including maintenance of high water quality and provision of fish and wildlife habitat. However, this protection generally does not encompass riparian areas the lands bordering rivers and lakes even though they often provide the same functions as wetlands. Growing recognition of the similarities in wetland and riparian area functioning and the differences in their legal protection led the NRC in 1999 to undertake a study of riparian areas, which has culminated in Riparian Areas: Functioning and Strategies for Management. The report is intended to heighten awareness of riparian areas commensurate with their ecological and societal values. The primary conclusion is that, because riparian areas perform a disproportionate number of biological and physical functions on a unit area basis, restoration of riparian functions along America s waterbodies should be a national goal.

Reviews

"This is a report of a major, but totally American project; however, the outcomes are capable of being applied to any location. ... This is a very well produced, but specialist book. Whilst it reflects US practice there is much commonality in the principles involved and hence should find a place on the bookshelves of all those concerned with riparian water management."
-- The International Journal of Environmental Studies

Authoring Organizations

• Water Science and Technology Board (WSTB)
• Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology (BEST)
• Earth and Life Studies (DELS)
• More Titles from WSTB
• More Titles from BEST
• More Titles from DELS

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