Conserving Biodiversity

Conserving Biodiversity PDF

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1992-02-01

Total Pages: 138

ISBN-13: 0309046831

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The loss of the earth's biological diversity is widely recognized as a critical environmental problem. That loss is most severe in developing countries, where the conditions of human existence are most difficult. Conserving Biodiversity presents an agenda for research that can provide information to formulate policy and design conservation programs in the Third World. The book includes discussions of research needs in the biological sciences as well as economics and anthropology, areas of critical importance to conservation and sustainable development. Although specifically directed toward development agencies, non-governmental organizations, and decisionmakers in developing nations, this volume should be of interest to all who are involved in the conservation of biological diversity.

Urban Biodiversity

Urban Biodiversity PDF

Author: Alessandro Ossola

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-11-28

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 1315402564

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Urban biodiversity is an increasingly popular topic among researchers. Worldwide, thousands of research projects are unravelling how urbanisation impacts the biodiversity of cities and towns, as well as its benefits for people and the environment through ecosystem services. Exciting scientific discoveries are made on a daily basis. However, researchers often lack time and opportunity to communicate these findings to the community and those in charge of managing, planning and designing for urban biodiversity. On the other hand, urban practitioners frequently ask researchers for more comprehensible information and actionable tools to guide their actions. This book is designed to fill this cultural and communicative gap by discussing a selection of topics related to urban biodiversity, as well as its benefits for people and the urban environment. It provides an interdisciplinary overview of scientifically grounded knowledge vital for current and future practitioners in charge of urban biodiversity management, its conservation and integration into urban planning. Topics covered include pests and invasive species, rewilding habitats, the contribution of a diverse urban agriculture to food production, implications for human well-being, and how to engage the public with urban conservation strategies. For the first time, world-leading researchers from five continents convene to offer a global interdisciplinary perspective on urban biodiversity narrated with a simple but rigorous language. This book synthesizes research at a level suitable for both students and professionals working in nature conservation and urban planning and management.

Biodiversity Conservation

Biodiversity Conservation PDF

Author: C. A. Perrings

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 398

ISBN-13: 9401110069

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This volume is one of a number of publications to carry the results of the first research programme of the Royal Swedish Academy of Science's Beijer Institute. The Institute was formed in 1991 in order to promote interdisciplinary research between natural and social scientists on the interdependency between economic and ecological systems. In its first research programme, the Biodiversity Programme, the Institute brought together a number of leading economists and ecologists to address the theoretical and policy issues associated with the current high rates of biodiversity loss in such systems - whether the result of direct depletion, the destruction of habitat, or specialisation in agriculture, forestry and fisheries. l This volume reports some of the more policy-oriented work carried out under the programme. The broad aim of the programme is to further our understanding of the causes and consequences of biodiversity loss, and to identify the options for addressing the problem. The results have turned out to be surprising to those who see biodiversity loss primarily in terms of the erosion of the genetic library. In various ways the work carried out under the programme has already begun to alter our perception of where the problem in biodiversity loss lies and what policy options are available to deal with it. Indeed, the programme has provided a powerful set of arguments for reappraising not just the economic and ecological implications of biodiversity loss, but the whole case for development based on specialisation of resource use.

Research to Protect, Restore, and Manage the Environment

Research to Protect, Restore, and Manage the Environment PDF

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1993-02-01

Total Pages: 255

ISBN-13: 0309049296

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This book assesses the strengths and weaknesses of current environmental research programs, describes the desirable characteristics of an effective program, and recommends cultural and organizational changes to improve the performance of environmental research. Research areas in need of greater emphasis are identified, and overall directions for environmental research are recommended. The book also comments on the proposal to establish a National Institute for the Environment and on the elevation of the Environmental Protection Agency to cabinet status.

Understanding Marine Biodiversity

Understanding Marine Biodiversity PDF

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1995-02-24

Total Pages: 129

ISBN-13: 0309052254

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The diversity of marine life is being affected dramatically by fishery operations, chemical pollution and eutrophication, alteration of physical habitat, exotic species invasion, and effects of other human activities. Effective solutions will require an expanded understanding of the patterns and processes that control the diversity of life in the sea. Understanding Marine Biodiversity outlines the current state of our knowledge, and propose research agenda on marine biological diversity. This agenda represents a fundamental change in studying the oceanâ€"emphasizing regional research across a range of space and time scales, enhancing the interface between taxonomy and ecology, and linking oceanographic and ecological approaches. Highlighted with examples and brief case studies, this volume illustrates the depth and breadth of undescribed marine biodiversity, explores critical environmental issues, advocates the use of regionally defined model systems, and identifies a series of key biodiversity research questions. The authors examine the utility of various research approachesâ€"theory and modeling, retrospective analysis, integration of biotic and oceanographic surveysâ€"and review recent advances in molecular genetics, instrumentation, and sampling techniques applicable to the research agenda. Throughout the book the critical role of taxonomy is emphasized. Informative to the scientist and accessible to the policymaker, Understanding Marine Biodiversity will be of specific interest to marine biologists, ecologists, oceanographers, and research administrators, and to government agencies responsible for utilizing, managing, and protecting the oceans.

In the Light of Evolution

In the Light of Evolution PDF

Author: National Academy of Sciences

Publisher:

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 388

ISBN-13:

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The Arthur M. Sackler Colloquia of the National Academy of Sciences address scientific topics of broad and current interest, cutting across the boundaries of traditional disciplines. Each year, four or five such colloquia are scheduled, typically two days in length and international in scope. Colloquia are organized by a member of the Academy, often with the assistance of an organizing committee, and feature presentations by leading scientists in the field and discussions with a hundred or more researchers with an interest in the topic. Colloquia presentations are recorded and posted on the National Academy of Sciences Sackler colloquia website and published on CD-ROM. These Colloquia are made possible by a generous gift from Mrs. Jill Sackler, in memory of her husband, Arthur M. Sackler.

Biodiversity Conservation, Law and Livelihoods: Bridging the North-South Divide

Biodiversity Conservation, Law and Livelihoods: Bridging the North-South Divide PDF

Author: Michael I. Jeffery

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2008-01-07

Total Pages: 622

ISBN-13: 9781139469128

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The IUCN Academy of Environmental Law Research Studies' third colloquium of 2005 brought together more than 130 experts from 27 nations on nearly every continent. This book brings together a number of the papers presented there and offers a global perspective on biodiversity conservation and the maintenance of sustainable cultures. It addresses issues from international, regional, and country-specific perspectives. The book is organized thematically to present a broad spectrum of issues, including the history and major governance structures in this area; the needs, problems, and prerequisites for biodiversity; area-based, species-based, and ecosystem-based conservation measures; the use of components of biodiversity and the processes affecting it; biosecurity; and access to and sharing of benefits from components of biodiversity and their economic value.

Adaptation to Climate Change: A Spatial Challenge

Adaptation to Climate Change: A Spatial Challenge PDF

Author: Rob Roggema

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2010-03-12

Total Pages: 375

ISBN-13: 1402093594

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As it becomes clear that climate change is not easily within the boundaries of the 1990’s, society needs to be prepared and needs to anticipate future changes due to the uncertain changes in climate. So far, extensive research has been carried out on several issues including the coastal defence or shifting ecozones. However, the role spatial design and planning can play in adapting to climate change has not yet been focused on. This book illuminates the way adaptation to climate change is tackled in water management, ecology, coastal defence, the urban environment and energy. The question posed is how each sector can anticipate climate change by creating spatial designs and plans. The main message of this book is that spatial design and planning are a very useful tool in adapting to climate change. It offers an integral view on the issue, it is capable in dealing with uncertainties and it opens the way to creative and anticipative solutions. Dealing with adaptation to climate change requires a shift in mindset; from a technical rational way of thinking towards an integral proactive one. A new era in spatial design and planning looms on the horizon.