Your search for: subjects:"Biological Diversity Conservation"

The rate at which the planet is losing its biodiversity, the implications of this loss, and possible remedies are the subject of much public and academic debate. This book shows how biodiversity can be protected through the involvement of local communities. The authors suggest that strict protection ...

The rate at which the planet is losing its biodiversity, the implications of this loss, and possible remedies are the subject of much public and academic debate. This book shows how biodiversity can be protected through the involvement of local communities. The authors suggest that strict protection of threatened areas must be combined with involvement by local economies and societies. The book examines the experience of regions around the world where this approach has been tried, drawing upon the insights of political scientists, economists and social psychologists.

"The lessons and recommendations throughout the book, and especially those in the last chapter, are forceful and risk-taking. It will be read and discussed at the highest levels."--Gail Hewson-Hull, Project Manager of Science Now, California Academy of Sciences

"This book is an excellent synthesis of ...

"The lessons and recommendations throughout the book, and especially those in the last chapter, are forceful and risk-taking. It will be read and discussed at the highest levels."--Gail Hewson-Hull, Project Manager of Science Now, California Academy of Sciences

"This book is an excellent synthesis of the ecological basis of biodiversity conservation in the seasonally dry forest ecosystems of northwest Costa Rica, as well as a valuable analysis of the effectiveness of conservation efforts in a country renowned for its global leadership in protecting and inventorying biological diversity."--Gary S. Hartshorn, President and CEO, Organization for Tropical Studies "

"Biodiversity Conservation in Costa Rica "captures the mystique and realities of land and wildlife conservation in one of the world's most fascinating and threatened systems. The authors blend the scientific, social, political, and legal into a commanding, optimistic treatment of the ongoing evolution of the human-nature experience."--Justin O. Schmidt, Southwestern Biological Institute

As humanity presses down inexorably on the natural world, people debate the extent to which we can save the Earth's millions of different species without sacrificing human economic welfare. But is this argument wise? Must the human and natural worlds be adversaries? In this book, ecologist Michael ...

As humanity presses down inexorably on the natural world, people debate the extent to which we can save the Earth's millions of different species without sacrificing human economic welfare. But is this argument wise? Must the human and natural worlds be adversaries? In this book, ecologist Michael Rosenzweig finds that ecological science actually rejects such polarization. Instead it suggests that, to be successful, conservation must discover how we can blend a rich natural world into the world of economic activity. This revolutionary, common ground between development and conservation is called reconciliation ecology: creating and maintaining species-friendly habitats in the very places where people live, work, or play. The book offers many inspiring examples of the good results already achieved. The Nature Conservancy, for instance, has a cooperative agreement with the Department of Defense, with more than 200 conservation projects taking place on more than 170 bases in 41 states. In places such as Elgin Air Force Base, the human uses-testing munitions, profitable timbering and recreation--continue, but populations of several threatened species on the base, such as the long-leaf pine and the red-cockaded woodpecker, have been greatly improved. The Safe Harbor strategy of the Fish & Wildlife Service encourages private landowners to improve their property for endangered species, thus overcoming the unintended negative aspects of the Endangered Species Act. And Golden Gate Park, which began as a system of sand dunes, has become, through human effort, a world of ponds and shrubs, waterfowl and trees. Rosenzweig shows that reconciliation ecology is the missing tool of conservation, the practical, scientifically based approach that, when added to the rest, will solve the problem of preserving Earth's species.