Ecohydrology for Engineering Harmony in the Changing World

Maciej Zalewski is a professor of Lodz University, Department of Applied Ecology, director of the European Regional Centre for Ecohydrology (EH) under the auspices of the United Nations Educational, Scienti¤c, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and founder of the EH concept under the framework of UNESCO-International Hydrological Programme (IHP). His research interests evolved from ¤sh bioenergetics toward river ecosystem ecology, when he proposed the concept of abiotic-biotic hierarchy of factors determining water communities. Based on the scienti¤c experience gained during his scholarship of the Canadian Government and the work for UNESCO Man and Biosphere (MAB) program, he proposed a new paradigm in water-related sciences-EH-based on the requirement for regulation of ecological and hydrological processes to reach sustainability. He is a respected international expert in EH, working closely with the UNESCO-IHP, as well as other United Nations’ and European Commission’s programs and institutions. He is author and coauthor of numerous scienti¤c articles in prestigious scienti¤c journals, as well as book chapters concerning the EH concept. He is a devoted lecturer in national and international teaching programs, as well as chairman and keynote speaker of more than 70 international scienti¤c conferences and symposia. He is a also the founder and editor in chief of the international journal of Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology and member of the editorial board of Ecological Engineering, Brazilian Journal of Biology, Wetlands Ecology and Management, Fisheries Management, and other ecology journals. He is a leader of numerous scienti¤c national and international projects. Professor Zalewski is a member of environmental scienti¤c committees of the Polish Academy of Sciences and a member of the advisory board of the Ministry of Environment for Water Resources Management. He served, among others, as a national representative 5.1 Introduction ........................................................................................82 5.2 Ecohydrology as a Problem-Solving Science ..................................83 5.3Ecohydrology: De¤nition ..................................................................84 5.4Key Elements of Ecohydrology as a Background for System Solutions...........................................................................84 5.5Ecohydrology: ¥e Terrestrial and Aquatic Dimension ...............86 5.6Principles of Ecohydrology as a Framework for Scienti¤c Investigation and Problem Solving..................................................89 5.7Ecohydrology: Implementation ........................................................90 5.8Summary and Conclusions ...............................................................90 References........................................................................................................94 for the Polish Government in the Organisation for economic co-operation and development (OECD) Export Credits and Environment treaty negotiations, member of the scienti¤c council of the Regional O©ce for Science and Technology for Europe (ROSTE), chairman of the working group “Fish and Land/Inland Water Ecotones” of UNESCO MAB, as chairman of the working group “Physical Habitat Modi¤cation and Freshwater Fisheries” of FAO European Inland Fisheries Advisory Commission (EIFAC), member of the Council of the National Centre for Research and Development Poland, representative of Poland at the ¥ematic Working Group in Environment of the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI ENV TWG), chairman of the steering committee of the program “Ecohydrology” of the UNESCO-IHP, and member of the dra´ing task force for the European Union (EU) Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) for water and current UNESCO-IHP programs.