Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
geological pyrite deposits and the immobilization of
ferrous iron. Many water managers still ignore that
sulphate-induced eutrophication and sulphide toxicity
can strongly affect the biodiversity of wetlands that
are directly - or indirectly, via surface water - fed
by sulphate-rich groundwater (Lamers
et al
. 2002 ;
Smolders
et al
. 2006). The reduction of nitrogen loads
to the groundwater should be a major objective in pro-
grammes designed to tackle this problem.
Happily, the prospects for
rehabilitation
of
damaged ecosystems are relatively good in most devel-
oped countries, since (1) much experience is now avail-
able to repair or even rebuild damaged ecosystems, (2)
due to new legislation some environmental stress
factors, such as high nutrient loads in surface waters
and atmospheric nitrogen deposition, are decreasing
and (3) public and political support for restoration is
increasing. In developing countries, by contrast, the
situation is less clear. Since environmental laws are less
strict or less strictly controlled, environmental prob-
lems may be imported from the West. Public and politi-
cal support for restoration activities is largely lacking.
However, the quality and the number of relatively
undisturbed wetlands are still very high in many parts
of the world, and the costs to repair the damage in such
systems are still low. It could be very benefi cial to
develop projects that combine economic development
and maintenance of (semi)natural mires and wetlands
(Wichtman & Succow 2001). With modern technol-
ogy, mires can be destroyed relatively easily. But in most
cases the economic benefi ts of such actions are tempo-
rary, because once destroyed, mires can no longer
supply services to society. Societal costs for restoration
of damaged mires are very high, and very often the
damage is so severe that full restoration is no longer
possible. To summarize the prospects of mires, we
could say: the future of mires is in conservation.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to thank Paul Glaser, Jelte van Andel
and James Aronson for their helpful comments on an
earlier version of the manuscript.
