Multiuse Wetlands Governance: Challenges and Institutional Choices

"Earth’s wetlands are among the most precious of ecosystems, for they are both beautiful and an essential part of the architecture that is Nature. Marothia’s moving love letter to wetlands masquerades as a scientific document, but it is all the better for it, because it hides the painstaking empirical work the author has undertaken to show what the wetlands offer the human economy. The book is a landmark." Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta, Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus of Economics, Fellow of St John's College, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK "Professor Marothia has written an exhaustive and impressive account of the manifold threats to the coherent management of fragile wetland habitats. Here we find careful attention to the institutional arrangements suited to the protection of these essential natural resources. No longer are such wet areas regarded as "swamps" or economically useless. Now, their role in integrated environmental management is well understood. Marothia’s exceptional treatise promises to be of enduring value in rescuing these habitats from mis-management or continued destruction." Daniel W. Bromley, Anderson-Bascom Professor of Applied Economics (Emeritus), University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA "Governing wetlands sustainably and well requires the appropriate institutions that recognize their characteristics as common assets and their huge value in producing ecosystem services. Dinesh K. Marothia’s summary of these challenges and choices is required reading for anyone interested in governing our valuable wetlands." Professor Robert Costanza, Institute for Global Prosperity, University College London, London, UK "For millennia, wetlands and wetland habitats were universally regarded as the foundation of human civilization. Yet, throughout the imperial age and the industrial revolution, vast tracts of wetlands were ignored, devalued, drained, filled, and otherwise repurposed because of their perceived inability to generate short-term economic gain. Over the last five decades, the consequences of these oversights have grown increasingly apparent. Professor Marothia convincingly presents the fact that wetlands and wetland habitats are socially, ecologically, environmentally and economically important and require thoughtful and informed management. Maratha’s comprehensive and detailed treatment of these complex issues provides us with an indispensable roadmap for wetland researchers, managers and policy makers." William E. Phillips, Professor (Emeritus), Department of Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada "This is one of the most comprehensive, fascinating excavations of the complexities and interdependencies related to multitude wetlands and their users and non-users. Read this study. You will LOVE it" Nighisty Ghezae, Director, International Foundation for Science (IFS), Stockholm, Sweden.