This is Volume 6 in a biennially-produced series, commencing in 1998, which aims to provide an up-to-date source of information on the freshwater resources of the planet, together with analyses of current issues associated with the conservation and utilization of the world's freshwater systems. As in previous volumes, the book has three sections. The first comprises a series of six papers on major current issues related to freshwater resources. Amongst these are a discussion of the ‘peak water’ concept, an examination of progress towards meeting the UN Millennium Development Goals for water, and a study of water-related issues in China. The second section comprises a set of four ‘Water Briefs’ on individual issues (for example, the problems of the Salton Sea in California; and the Three Gorges Dam project on the Yangtze River in China). Finally there is a comprehensive data section, providing statistics and information (usually on a country/ regional basis) on 20 topics ranging from ‘total renewable freshwater supply, by country’, through ‘OECD water tariffs’, to ‘African dams: number and total reservoir capacity’.
The series is primarily aimed at providing a reference and current analysis of relevant issues, for professionals working on water resources in government agencies, non-governmental organizations and research institutes. In this it succeeds. The data section alone is of enormous value in collating international information which would otherwise be difficult to get hold of, while the articles in the other two sections are interesting, well-written and well-referenced (including sources derived from a range of media) discussions of important issues and trends in water resource management. These issues are of rapidly growing importance: as the Foreword correctly points out ‘humanity is living at the mercy of the water cycle. . .’ and the problem of the growing scarcity of freshwater resources is not one which will simply go away.
The book is well-produced, in a clear and easily-read typeface. It uses Figures, Tables and Boxes very appropriately. I noticed no typographical errors. The index is comprehensive. A useful feature is the listing of contents of previous volumes in the series.
The price of the paperback version is very reasonable, and it is worth pointing out that the publisher, Island Press, is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to publish books on environmental issues and natural resource management.
As a freshwater ecologist working in both temperate and tropical river systems, I personally found the wealth of data provided in this book extremely useful. I had not previously come across the series, but I shall certainly be making use of the resources which it provides from now on. I strongly recommend it as an indispensable reference work both for people working on freshwater resource management, and also for researchers like myself, interested in the ecology of freshwater systems.
