Description: Herons are large, popular, and in many cases spectacular birds found in tropical, temperate, natural, and man-made wetlands worldwide. Some populations are very small and localized, some have decreased, and some have expanded their ranges. Very few are pests to human activities. In the fifteen years since the publication of The Herons Handbook there has been a tremendous increase in our knowledge of heron status and conservation requirements set against a backdrop of increasing concern about the future of wetland habitats. The local status of heron populations may reflect the success or failure of conservation action in wetlands. This book provides a comprehensive update following two distinct threads. The status and conservation needs of herons are first presented on a regional basis in a series of chapters set at a continental or subcontinental scale. Over 200 biologists and heron conservationists -- many associated with the Heron Specialist Group sponsored by Wetlands International and IUCN -- have contributed to the data summarized here. These very latest census and survey results provide the most up to date and detailed picture of heron population currently available. Chapters discussing several critical issues in heron conservation follow, often focusing on the international nature of the problem. Many heron populations are migratory and depend upon conservation of both summer and wintering wetland habitats often located on different continents. Effective conservation of these wetlands depends in large part on local and regional socio-economic factors. Herons, to the extent that they require maintenance of wetland functioning, should be an integral part of sustainable wetlandconservation. If there is a bigger message here, it is that species and their habitats share a common future. Herons are not only a fascinating group in their own right, but also an object lesson in this universal truth.

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