Natural Connections


Book Description

Both realism and justice demand that efforts to conserve biological diversity address human needs as well. The most promising hope of accomplishing such a goal lies in locally based conservation efforts -- an approach that seeks ways to make local communities the beneficiaries and custodians of conservation efforts. Natural Connections focuses on rural societies and the conservation of biodiversity in rural areas. It represents the first systematic analysis of locally based efforts, and includes a comprehensive examination of cases from around the world where the community-based approach is used. The book provides: an overview of community-based conservation in the context of the debate over sustainable development, poverty, and environmental decline case studies from the developed and developing worlds -- Indonesia, Peru, Australia, Zimbabwe, Costa Rica, the United Kingdom -- that present detailed examples of the locally based approach to conservation a review of the principal issues arising from community-based programs an agenda for future action




Civilizing Nature


Book Description

National parks are one of the most important and successful institutions in global environmentalism. Since their first designation in the United States in the 1860s and 1870s they have become a global phenomenon. The development of these ecological and political systems cannot be understood as a simple reaction to mounting environmental problems, nor can it be explained by the spread of environmental sensibilities. Shifting the focus from the usual emphasis on national parks in the United States, this volume adopts an historical and transnational perspective on the global geography of protected areas and its changes over time. It focuses especially on the actors, networks, mechanisms, arenas, and institutions responsible for the global spread of the national park and the associated utilization and mobilization of asymmetrical relationships of power and knowledge, contributing to scholarly discussions of globalization and the emergence of global environmental institutions and governance.




Perspectives on Nature Conservation


Book Description

Perspectives on Nature Conservation demonstrates the diversity of information and viewpoints that are critical for appreciating the gaps and weaknesses in local, regional and hemispheric ecologies, and also for understanding the limitations and barriers to accomplishing critical nature conservation projects. The book is organized to emphasize the linkages between the geographic foci of conservation projects and the biological substances that we conceptualize as "nature", through original research. The reader moves through perspectives of diminishing spatial scales, from smaller to larger landscapes or larger portions of the Earth, to learn that the range of factors that promote or prevent conservation through the application of scholarship and academic concepts change with the space in question. The book reflects disciplinary diversity and a co-mingling of science and social science to promote understanding of the patterns of, pressures on and prospects for conservation.




Complex Ecology


Book Description

From climate change to species extinction, humanity is confronted with an increasing array of societal and environmental challenges that defy simple quantifiable solutions. Complexity-based ecology provides a new paradigm for ecologists and conservationists keen to embrace the uncertainty that is pressed upon us. This book presents key research papers chosen by some sixty scholars from various continents, across a diverse span of sub-disciplines. The papers are set alongside first person commentary from many of the seminal voices involved, offering unprecedented access to experts' viewpoints. The works assembled also shed light on the process of science in general, showing how the shifting of wider perspectives allows for new ideas to take hold. Ideal for undergraduate and advanced students of ecology and conservation, their educators and those working across allied fields, this is the first book of its kind to focus on complexity-based approaches and provides a benchmark for future collected volumes.




Indigenous Perspectives on Sacred Natural Sites


Book Description

Much previous literature on sacred natural sites has been written from a non-indigenous perspective. In contrast, this book facilitates a greater self-expression of indigenous perspectives regarding treatment of the sacred and its protection and governance in the face of threats from various forms of natural resource exploitation and development. It provides indigenous custodians the opportunity to explain how they view and treat the sacred through a written account that is available to a global audience. It thus illuminates similarities and differences of both definitions, interpretations and governance approaches regarding sacred natural phenomena and their conservation. The volume presents an international range of case studies, from the recent controversy of pipeline construction at Standing Rock, a sacred site for the Sioux people spanning North and South Dakota, to others located in Australia, Canada, East Timor, Hawaii, India, Mexico, Myanmar, Nigeria and the Philippines. Each chapter includes an analytical introduction and conclusion written by the editors to identify common themes, unique insights and key messages. The book is therefore a valuable teaching resource for students of indigenous studies, anthropology, religion, heritage, human rights and law, nature conservation and environmental protection. It will also be of great interest to professionals and NGOs concerned with nature and heritage conservation.




Wildlife, Conservation, and Human Welfare


Book Description

This work provides historical information on wildlife and its conservation relative to human welfare, the dependence human society had on wildlife historically, and the dependence society still has on wildlife and wildlife habitats as the natural resource base for a healthy ecosystem. In writing this book, the authors have attempted to provide society with the perspective it needs to evaluate historical experiences, both successes and failures.




People, Sheep and Nature Conservation


Book Description

With almost half a million people and more than six times as many sheep, Tasmania has a rich history of wool production. In the drier parts of the island, graziers raise sheep partly using the native vegetation on their extensive runs. People, Sheep and Nature Conservation explores this use of the run country and the interaction of graziers, sheep and nature. Other topics covered include how graziers manage the runs for profit, how they feel about nature and manage their properties for conservation, how sheep interact with native animals and plants on the runs, and the implications of the ongoing loss of run country to clearance and inundation. In an unusual combination of history, geography, social science, ecological science and policy analysis, this entertaining and well-illustrated book uses the vivid words of the graziers, historical sources and the results of contemporary research to provide some insight into these issues. Although a Tasmanian story, it will resonate more widely, as the integration of production and nature conservation within complex societies, cultures and economies is an outcome desired on a global scale.




Conservation and Development


Book Description

Conservation and development share an intertwined history dating back to at least the 1700s. But what are the prospects for reconciling the two, and how far have we come with this project? This book explores these questions through a detailed consideration of the past, present and future of the relationship between conservation and development. Bringing to bear conceptual resources from political ecology, social-ecological systems thinking and science and technology studies, Conservation and Development sets this relationship against the background of the political and economic processes implicated in environmental degradation and poverty alike. Whilst recognising that the need for reconciling conservation and development processes remains as compelling as ever, it demonstrates why trade-offs are more frequently encountered in practice than synergies. It also flags alternative visions for conservation and development obscured or ignored by current framings and priorities. Bringing together policy and theory, Conservation and Development is an essential resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students and a useful reference for researchers in related fields. Each chapter contains a reading guide with discussion questions. The text is enlivened by a number of new case studies from around the world. A must-read for anyone interested in understanding the history, current state, and projections for future shifts in the relationship between conservation and development.




The Nature of Spectacle


Book Description

"A thoughtful treatise on how popular representations of nature, through entertainment and tourism, shape how we imagine environmental problems and their solutions"--Provided by publisher.







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