Amur-Heilong River Basin Reader

Amur-Heilong River Basin Reader

Amur-Heilong River Basin Reader / edited by Eugene A. Simonov and Thomas D. Dahmer. WWF, Ecosystems Ltd. - 426 pages. In English

Amur-Heilong River Basin Reader provides the first basin-wide description of the status of natural resource use and conservation problems in the Amur-Heilong basin. A multitude of studies, published and unpublished reports, governmental programs and various other sources were used to supplement the material compiled from the three country studies commissioned by WWF Russia, China and Mongolia in the wake of Amur-Heilong Ecoregional Program.

The Amur-Heilong River is the eleventh largest river basin in the world and the longest free-flowing river in the Eastern Hemisphere. This work describes the basin in four parts. Part One describes the natural setting, home to wild ginseng, Siberian tiger, far eastern leopard, Mongolian gazelle, snow sheep, Siberian spruce grouse, red-crowned crane, kaluga and Amur sturgeon, and taimen.

Part Two compares and contrasts socio-economic conditions and natural resource management in the three main basin countries, Russia, China, Mongolia.

Part Three describes the reason for the recent increase in awareness of the Amur-Heilong, the environmental threats brought by rapidly growing economies and human populations.

One thread unites many basin-wide issues in the Reader, the concept of transboundary responsibility. Previous attempts at transboundary management of the Amur-Heilong’s natural resources have failed to yield lasting results. In Part Four we discuss new approaches to address transboundary threats and to overcome past failures.

We hope administrators, managers, researchers, politicians, planners, conservationists, and business interests will use the Reader to define their role in this process. We hope the Reader will accelerate the spread of global awareness of this magnificent region and contribute to its restoration and long-term protection.

The book also contains 70 thematic maps on conservation issues in the region, which are available for download from HTML version of the book at http://www.amur-heilong.net. Photogallery and additional information on Amur Heilong Ecoregion also available there.