Comparative hydrology - An ecological approach to land and water resources

Comparative hydrology - An ecological approach to land and water resources

Edited by Malin Falkenmark and Tom Chapman

Publisher: Swedish Natural Science Research Council / UNESCO

Free textbook available at the SIWI website.

Description (from the book's preface):

Although the total amount of water on earth is generally assumed to have remained virtually constant, the rapid growth of population, together with the extension of irrigated agriculture and industrial development, are stressing the quantity and quality aspects of the natural system. Because of the increasing problems, man has begun to realize that he can no longer follow a “use and discard” philosophy - either with water resources or with any other natural resources. As a result, the need for a consistent policy of rational management of water resources has become evident.

Rational water management, however, should be founded upon a thorough understanding of water availability and movement. Thus, as a contribution to the solution of the world’s water problems, Unesco, in 1965, began the fi rst world-wide programme of studies of the hydrological cycle - the International Hydrological Decade (IHD).(...)

As part of Unesco’s contribution to the objectives of the International Hydrological Programme (IHP), two regular publication series are issued: “Studies and Reports in Hydrology” and “Technical Papers in Hydrology”. Occasionally, documents such as the present one are produced by special arrangements with IHP National Committees or other national entities associated with the production of the basic report and are made available for distribution from the IHP headquarters at Unesco, Paris.

This textbook Comparative Hydrology owes much to the enthusiasm, devotion and hard work of the two editors Malin Falkenmark and Tom Chapman, and their collaboration is acknowledged with gratitude. Special thanks go to Professor Chapman who devoted very many hours to development of the text and diagrams in computer-compatible form and to preparation of the book as camera-ready copy.