The book is based on the international conference River Conservation and Management:20 Years On held at York. Thirty-one chapters, with contributions from North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australasia provide a wide-ranging perspective on this complex but profoundly important subject.

Following an introduction that chronicles the most important contextual changes, the book is organized into four broad topics:

• Catchment management, ecosystem integrity and the threats to river ecosystems – this covers progress on  understanding and addressing the pressures affecting rivers, many of which will be amplified by climate change and increasing human demands for water;
• Methods and approaches – illustrating some recent techniques that have been developed to assess condition and conservation status across  different types of river;
• Recovery and rehabilitation – providing an insight into the principles, practice, public involvement and institutional networks that support and make improvements to modified river reaches;
• Integrating nature conservation into wider river management –demonstrating the importance of integrated planning, involvement of local communities and the use of adaptive management in achieving multiple environmental and economic benefits along rivers used for different purposes.

The final chapter discusses the challenges faced in dealing with an uncertain future.

More than 1200 different references and numerous web-site citations provide the reader with an invaluable source of knowledge on the subject area.