Week 2: Water & Life
This week describes the vast network of living things that depend on freshwater, and how water shapes wetland,
freshwater, and marine communities. We look at different kinds of freshwater systems and the services they
provide, from mangrove forests that protect coastlines to watersheds that purify water and mitigate flooding —
not to mention hydropower, transportation, and recreation. How do enterprises like agriculture, industry, and
urbanization affect the way these systems function? The week wraps up with an explanation of the concept of
ecosystem services and the challenge of assessing their value. The Case Study looks at the Mekong River
basin, where millions of people depend on the river’s rich sediment and fish-filled waters.