Wetland Systems for Water Pollution Control VIII

Selected Proceedings of the 8th IWA International Conference for Wetland Systems for Water Pollution Control, held at Arusha, Tanzania, 16-19 September 2002. Wetlands are widely regarded as offering arguably the best low-cost option for the treatment of municipal, industrial and agricultural effluents. The aim of the 8th IWA conference was to assess the current status of treatment wetlands and to share the latest insights into the processes taking place in these systems, so as to be able to optimise their treatment function. Although thousands of constructed wetland systems are now in operation around the world, they may be particularly appropriate for introduction in developing countries where resources for the construction and operation of sophisticated fossil fuel driven treatment systems are not available; special attention was paid to assessing the introduction of treatment wetlands technology to tropical countries such as Tanzania, considered to have 'ideal' climates for the effective microbial activity vital for the performance of wetland systems. From the extensive programme of the conference (over 150 papers) a thorough peer review has selected 38 papers for these proceedings, covering research into the detailed processes involved and analysis of the performance of a wide range (in function, scale and geography) of treatment wetlands. They constitute a genuine "state of art" survey on the use of wetlands for water pollution control, and will be an essential reference for scientists, engineers, managers and decision makers interested in the understanding and application of these systems.