View of the Mississippi River from Perot State Park

International Conference on Rivers and Civilization:
Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Major River Basins


La Crosse, Wisconsin USA
June 25-28, 2006

HOST AND PRESENTER INSTITUTIONS
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Home Page National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium Home Page

CONFERENCE SPEAKER

Photo of Dr. John WiensDr. John Wiens (The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, Virginia, USA): Great Rivers as Great Integrators: Linking Land with Water, People with Conservation

John Wiens is an ecologist whose work has focused on birds and insects in semiarid environments on several continents, emphasizing community ecology and spatial relationships. His academic career spanned several decades at Oregon State University, the University of New Mexico, and Colorado State University. In 2002 he joined The Nature Conservancy, where he is Chief Scientist, with responsibilities for developing and promoting science-based conservation. He has published over 200 papers and books, most recently Issues and Perspectives in Landscape Ecology (Cambridge, 2005). He served as President of the International Association for Landscape Ecology (IALE) and is on the Editorial Boards of Ecosystems and Landscape Ecology.

Abstract: Large rivers of the world are perhaps the ultimate integrators. Through their watersheds, they link land with water and land uses with water quality and biodiversity. The emerging concepts of landscape ecology can broaden our understanding of these linkages and provide insights into how land and water management may be joined together. Rivers also link people with conservation. While large rivers harbor significant (but largely unseen) biodiversity, they also provide an array of ecosystem services to human populations. Awareness of the diversity, importance, and value of these ecosystem services is just emerging, providing a way to make conservation of rivers compatible with human activities and relevant to those who find "biodiversity" uninspiring. Using the newly initiated Great Rivers Partnership of The Nature Conservancy as an example, I will discuss how these integrating roles of rivers are forming the foundation of conservation efforts in China, Brazil, and the United States.