Abstract
Excerpt: Ecological engineering is an emerging field dedicated to the design and construction of sustainable ecosystems that provide a balance of natural and human values (Mitsch, 1993, Mitsch, 1998). Over the past several years, ecological engineering has begun to coalesce as a distinct science. Successes of ecological engineering make it an increasingly attractive alternative to traditional engineering approaches, which are often much more expensive to construct and sustain. This new field has gained more and more importance since a workshop at the US National Academy of Sciences in 1993 led to a proposal and subsequent development of a SCOPE (Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment) project on ‘Ecological Engineering and Ecosystem Restoration’, approved by SCOPE in 1995. The project was first developed in the US Committee to SCOPE in the NRC. Four workshops have been held as part of this SCOPE project (Tallin, Estonia; Beijing, China; Paris, France; and Cottbus, Germany). Three special issues of Ecological Engineering have already been published from those meetings: