Shanghai Urban Wetland Ecology: The Harmony of Nature and Humanity, a new book by the Shanghai Academy of Environmental Sciences, is making its debut this month. This comprehensive guide to Shanghai’s wetland ecosystems provides detailed descriptions of the various types of wetlands in the city. It offers an in-depth analysis of their ecological features and functions. The book also dives into the fascinating ways these wetlands interact with local creatures, allowing readers to understand their importance to urban life.
The book talks about the relationship between wetlands and the city through scientific writing and artistic painting, compares the various wetland types in Shanghai, and explores the secrets of creatures nurtured by wetlands. It also provides an overview of the ecosystem services that wetlands provide to humans, such as provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural services, which enable regions south of the Yangtze River to be “a land of fish and rice.”
The book is an English version of the domestic one published last year, which won the “2022 Shanghai Science Popularization Book Award.” It is to echo the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity being held in Montreal, Canada, to introduce the wetland ecological protection efforts made in Shanghai and to tell the stories of harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature.
As the famous Chinese ancient poem said, “Who by the riverside first saw the moon arise? When did the moon first see a man by the riverside?” Rivers and other wetlands always accompany human civilization. This book will take you to feel Shanghai’s humanistic warmth and natural wetness.