Forests, Water And People In The Humid Tropics: Past, Present And Future Hydrological Research For Integrated Land And Water Management (international Hydrology Series)

This page intentionally left blank Forest, Water and People in the Humid Tropics Past, Present and Future Hydrological Research for Integrated Land and Water Management Forests, Water and People in the Humid Tropics is the most comprehensive review available of the hydrological and physiological functioning of tropical rainforests, the environmental impacts of their disturbance and conversion to other land uses, and optimum strategies for managing them. The authors review existing guidelines for timber harvesting, land clearing and post-forest agriculture, and seek ways to enhance their application. The book also examines the possibilities of restoring the hydrological functioning of degraded areas. New techniques that may help researchers and managers to understand better the hydrological consequences of land management decisions are discussed. The editors have supplemented the individual contributions with invaluable overviews of the main sections and provide key pointers for future research. This book brings together leading specialists in such diverse fields as tropical anthropology and human geography, environmental economics, climatology and meteorology, hydrology, geomorphology, plant and aquatic ecology, forestry and conservation agronomy. Specialists will find authenticated detail in chapters written by experts on a whole range of people–water–land use issues, and managers and practitioners will learn more about the implications of ongoing and planned forest conversion, while scientists and students will appreciate a unique review of the literature. mike bonell is Chief of the Hydrological Processes and Climate Section at the UNESCO Division of Water Sciences. He is the managing series editor of the International Hydrology Series, and is leading editor of Hydrology and Water Management in the Humid Tropics (1993; Cambridge University Press). l. a. (sampurno) bruijnzeel is Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor of Eco-Hydrology at the Department of Hydrology and Geo-Environmental Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam. He is on the editorial board of the Journal of Tropical Ecology, Hydrological Processes, the Encyclopedia of Forest Sciences (Forest Hydrology Section), and the Journal of Land Use and Water Resources Research. INTERNATIONAL HYDROLOGY SERIES The International Hydrological Programme (IHP) was established by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1975 as the successor to the International Hydrological Decade. The long-term goal of the IHP is to advance our understanding of processes occurring in the water cycle and to integrate this knowledge into water resources management. The IHP is the only UN science and educational programme in the field of water resources, and one of its outputs has been a steady stream of technical and information documents aimed at water specialists and decision-makers. The International Hydrology Series has been developed by the IHP in collaboration with Cambridge University Press as a major collection of research monographs, synthesis volumes and graduate texts on the subject of water. Authoritative and international in scope, the various books within the series all contribute to the aims of the IHP in improving scientific and technical knowledge of fresh-water processes, in providing research know-how and in stimulating the responsible management of water resources. editorial advisory board Secretary to the Advisory Board Dr Michael Bonell Division of