Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM) is one of the most holistic approaches to protecting marine and coastal ecosystems as it recognizes the need to protect entire marine ecosystems instead of individual species. After decades of pollution, habitat degradation and overfishing, now climate change and ocean acidification threaten the health of the ocean in unprecedented way. Environmental Management of Marine Ecosystems illustrates the current status, trends, and effects of climate, natural disturbances and anthropogenic impacts on marine ecosystems. It demonstrates how to integrate different management tools and models in an up-to-date, multidisciplinary approach to environmental management. This indispensable guide provides several case studies from around the world and creates a framework for identifying management tools and their applications in coral reefs, fisheries, migratory species, marine islands and associated ecosystems such as mangroves and sea grass beds. It discusses the physical and chemical compositions of marine ecosystems along with the threats and actions needed to protect them. The application of model framework to several contemporary management issues include the modelling of harmful algal bloom dynamics, understanding the dispersal of sea lice, and the possible impacts on intertidal communities of the provision of novel offshore habitat. The results of extensive research by an international team of contributors, the Environmental Management of Marine Ecosystems is designed to inform scientists, practitioners, academics, government and non-government policymakers on the particularities of marine ecosystems and assist them in understanding the EBM approaches in means of mitigation and adaptation of human activities that result in sustainability. These practices will help change the current methodologies used for resource assessment and the future regulations of marine resources.

In recent years, citizen science has emerged as a powerful new concept to enable the general public, students, and volunteers to become involved in scientific research. A prime example is in biodiversity conservation, where data collection and monitoring can be greatly enhanced through citizen participation. This is the first book to provide much needed guidance and case studies from marine and coastal conservation. The novelty and rapid expansion of the field has created a demand for the discussion of key issues and the development of best practices. The book demonstrates the utility and feasibility, as well as limitations, of using marine and coastal citizen science for conservation, and by providing critical considerations (i.e.which questions and systems are best suited for citizen science), presents recommendations for best practices for successful marine and coastal citizen science projects. A range of case studies, for example, on monitoring of seabird populations, invasive species, plastics pollution, and the impacts of climate change, from different parts of the world, is included. Also included are discussions on engaging youth, indigenous communities, and divers and snorkelers as citizen scientists, as well as best practices on communication within citizen science, building trust with stakeholders, and informing marine policy as part of this exciting and empowering way of improving marine and coastal conservation. .

Vertebrate invasive species are important ecologically, socially, and scientifically throughout much of the globe. However, the interdiction and options for management of invasive species are driven by localized regulation at the country or even state level and thus the management of species must be framed within that context. This book is focused around the management of invasive vertebrate species in the United States, although readers will find much of the material broadly applicable to invasive species in other regions. Vertebrate invasive species cause damage to agriculture, property, natural resources, and threaten human health and safety. However, most of these species occur in the United States resulting from human-mediated activities, often being released intentionally. For the first time, the wealth of scientific information about vertebrate invasive species in the United States is summarized and synthesized in a single volume to be easily accessible to ecologists and natural resource managers. With a focus on prominent terrestrial invasive species that have a history of policy and management and highlighting contemporary issues and management, this book consists of 18 chapters written by experts from across the United States. The first section of the book focuses on overarching policy and management topics associated with vertebrate invasive species; including biosecurity threats and risk assessment, policy and regulation, and the economics of their management. The second section provides in-depth reviews of noteworthy invasive mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles. After finishing this book, the reader should understand the complexity of managing invasive species, the unique challenges that each new species may present, and the steps forward that may decrease the impact of these species on the environment, human health, and the economy.

Dave Foreman is one of North America's most creative and effective conservation leaders, an outspoken proponent of protecting and restoring the earth's wildness, and a visionary thinker. Over the past 30 years, he has helped set direction for some of our most influential conservation organizations, served as editor and publisher of key conservation journals, and shared with readers his unique style and outlook in widely acclaimed books including The Big Outside and Confessions of an Eco-Warrior.
In Rewilding North America, Dave Foreman takes on arguably the biggest ecological threat of our time: the global extinction crisis. He not only explains the problem in clear and powerful terms, but also offers a bold, hopeful, scientifically credible, and practically achievable solution.
Foreman begins by setting out the specific evidence that a mass extinction is happening and analyzes how humans are causing it. Adapting Aldo Leopold's idea of ecological wounds, he details human impacts on species survival in seven categories, including direct killing, habitat loss and fragmentation, exotic species, and climate change. Foreman describes recent discoveries in conservation biology that call for wildlands networks instead of isolated protected areas, and, reviewing the history of protected areas, shows how wildlands networks are a logical next step for the conservation movement. The final section describes specific approaches for designing such networks (based on the work of the Wildlands Project, an organization Foreman helped to found) and offers concrete and workable reforms for establishing them. The author closes with an inspiring and empowering call to action for scientists andactivists alike.
Rewilding North America offers both a vision and a strategy for reconnecting, restoring, and rewilding the North American continent, and is an essential guidebook for anyone concerned with the future of life on earth.

This book examines the connections between natural resources, tourism and community livelihood practices in Southern Africa, highlighting the successes and constraints experienced over the last 50 years. Questioning how natural resources, tourism and community livelihoods relations can positively contribute towards development efforts, this book adopts an interdisciplinary approach to understand socio-ecological systems that characterize the dynamics for sustainable development. It explores the history of conservation and natural resource management in Southern Africa and traces the development and growth of nature-based tourism. Boasting a wide range of tourism landscapes, including national parks, wetlands, forests and oceans, the book draws on case studies from a variety of Southern African countries, including Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, and considers the political challenges for implementing policies and practices. Furthermore, it analyses broader issues such as the impact of climate change, human-wildlife co-existence and resulting conflicts, poor access to funding and poverty in local communities. The book argues that the links between conservation and livelihoods can be best understood by considering the different approaches to reconciling the demands of conservation and livelihoods that have evolved over the past decades. Containing contributions from natural and social sciences the book provides guidance for practitioners and policymakers to continue to shape policies and practices that are in line with the key tenets of sustainable development. It will also be of great interest to students and scholars researching Southern Africa, sustainable tourism and conservation.

This book assesses the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), examining both implementation and compliance. Humans are causing a biodiversity crisis, where 1 million species are facing extinction. Species are dying, in no small part, because they are overexploited, poached and trafficked and CITES is the main international instrument designed to protect traded wildlife. Does the state of the world's species mean CITES is failing? This book explores the implementation of and compliance with CITES by all 183 member countries. It is imperative we know the nature and extent of the implementation of and compliance with CITES legislation in all parties to fully understand the impact of legal and illegal trade on species survival. Through extensive legislative content analysis, a Delphi iterative survey, and semi-structured interviews, this is the first book to share empirical research about CITES implementation and compliance. This book contains a comprehensive analysis of the state of CITES, what is done well, what could be done better, and what the future might bring to try to curtail the slide of the world's wildlife into extinction. By identifying lessons learned in relation to CITES legislation, implementation and compliance this book provides hard evidence to member countries as to how their own practice can be improved. This timely book will be essential reading for students and academics interested in wildlife law, trade and trafficking, green criminology and biodiversity conservation more broadly. It will also be of interest to professionals working in wildlife law enforcement.

A personal account of—and guide to—unlocking the wildlife potential of gardens and other plots of land in lowland Britain Over the past decade, wildlife author and photographer Paul Sterry has nurtured, both through action and by doing nothing, what has become a small island of flourishing biodiversity in the half-acre garden that surrounds his north Hampshire cottage. By giving nature a free hand, and fostering habitats appropriate to this part of southeast England, he has enabled an abundance of native plant and animal species to call the garden home. This contrasts with the continued decline in biodiversity in the surrounding countryside. In this inspiring and informative book, Sterry tells the story of his own experiences in biodiversity gardening and offers detailed practical advice to anyone who wants to give nature the upper hand on their own bit of land, no matter how small. Hampshire still retains traces of its rich wildlife heritage, but changes in land use over the past half-century have had a devastating impact on local biodiversity. Against this backdrop, The Biodiversity Gardener presents a habitat-driven and evidence-based approach, describing how any gardener can unlock the wildlife potential of their plot and enjoy the satisfaction of watching it become home to a rich array of native species, including butterflies, wildflowers, grasshoppers, amphibians, and fungi. In The Biodiversity Gardener, Sterry explains the ecological imperative of adopting this approach. Collectively, biodiversity gardens could leave a lasting legacy—wildlife oases from which future generations stand a fighting chance of restoring Britain’s natural heritage. The book encourages and empowers readers to create their own biological inheritance for posterity—and shows them how they can do it.

Harvest of Fish and Wildlife: New Paradigms for Sustainable Management unites experts in wildlife and fishery sciences for an interdisciplinary overview of harvest management. This book presents unique insights for embracing the complete social-ecological system to ensure a sustainable future. It educates users on evolutionary and population dynamics; social and political influences; hunter and angler behavior; decision processes; impacts of regulations; and stakeholder involvement. Features: Written by twenty-four teams of leading scientists and managers. Promotes transparent justification for fishing and hunting regulations. Provides examples for integrating decision making into management. Emphasizes creativity in management by integrating art and science. This book appeals to population biologists, evolutionary biologists and social scientists. It is a key resource for on-the-ground managers and research scientists developing harvesting applications. As the book's contributors explain: "Making decisions that are robust to uncertainty...is a paradigm shift with a lot of potential to improve outcomes for fish and wildlife populations." -Andrew Tyre and Brigitte Tenhumberg "Temporal shifts in system states...must somehow be anticipated and dealt with to derive harvest policies that remain optimal in the long term." -Michael Conroy "Proactive, effective management of sportspersons...will be essential in the new paradigm of harvest management." -Matthew Gruntorad and Christopher Chizinski

Environmental Pollution, Biodiversity, and Sustainable Development: Issues and Remediation provides an extensive summary of biodiversity. It is the result of the assistance of environmentalists, researchers, policy experts, and academicians from across the globe sharing their research and knowledge on biodiversity and ways to mitigate the threat from climate change, over-utilization of natural resources, pollution, and more. The volume considers that biodiversity encompasses a wide range of biological processes, ranging from genetic diversity, species, populations, communities and ecosystems to landscapes and regions. This book, written by a panel of international experts in biodiversity, conservation biology, and evolution from different countries, including Iran, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Tajikistan, Russia, and others, highlights the human impact on biodiversity hotspots on a global scale. The volume provides an abundance of valuable research for faculty, students, and researchers in environmental sciences, government agencies, and many others.

1. First book to adapt and explain health promotion, harm reduction and health equity issues in a One Health context and in terms of animal health. 2. Action oriented, focusing on principles and lessons learned in case studies to demonstrate how to inspire actions to protect the shared health of people, animals and environments. 3. Emphasizes what we can do to keep things healthy, thus addressing the growing calls to shift from a reactive to proactive approach in One Health. 4. Examines One Health in terms of the wider threats to the world, like climate change, thus expanding its scope of practice and helping find common ground between many emerging fields that are trying to co-manage human-animal and environmental health.

This book showcases the diversity of ways in which urban residents from varying cultural contexts view, interact, engage with and give meaning to urban nature, aiming to counterbalance the dominance of Western depictions and values of urban nature and design. Urban nature has up to now largely been defined, planned and managed in a way that is heavily dominated by Western understandings, values and appreciations, which has spread through colonialism and globalisation. As cities increasingly represent a diversity of cultures, and urban nature is being increasingly recognised as contributing to residents' wellbeing, belonging and overall quality of life, it is important to consider the numerous ways in which urban nature is understood and appreciated. This collection of case studies includes examples from Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America, and reflects on the multi-dimensional aspects of engagements with urban nature through a biocultural diversity lens. The chapters cover several themes such as how engagements with nature contribute to a sense of wellbeing and belonging; the implications that diversity has on the provision, design and management of urban environments; and the threats inhibiting residents' abilities to engage meaningfully with nature. The book challenges the dominant discourse, Western ideological understandings and meta-narratives of modernisation and unilineal urban transitions. A timely addition to the literature, Urban Nature: Enriching Belonging, Wellbeing and Bioculture offers an alternative to Western ideological understandings of nature and values and will be of great interest to those working in human and environmental urban ecology. It will also be key reading for students in the relevant fields of anthropology, development studies, geography, social ecology and urban studies.

-- Uniquely brings together a broad background of fisheries scientists in one place at one time to address a subject of critical environmental importance. -- The subject of Fisheries Engineering is topical and paramount as larger-scale changes in the earth's ecosystem affect the sustainability of our natural resources. -- Essential reading for fisheries professionals, environmental managers, and academically oriented individuals with interests in fisheries, the environment, and/or sustainable ecosystems, as well as inspiring students with interests in the interaction between fisheries and the environment. -- Should be recommended reading on courses on Fisheries Resource Management, Fisheries Engineering, and Fisheries Science.

Bringing together a wealth of knowledge, Environmental Management Handbook, Second Edition, gives a comprehensive overview of environmental problems, their sources, their assessment, and their solutions. Through in-depth entries and a topical table of contents, readers will quickly find answers to questions about environmental problems and their corresponding management issues. This six-volume set is a reimagining of the award-winning Encyclopedia of Environmental Management, published in 2013, and features insights from more than 400 contributors, all experts in their field. The experience, evidence, methods, and models used in studying environmental management are presented here in six stand-alone volumes, arranged along the major environmental systems. Features The first handbook that demonstrates the key processes and provisions for enhancing environmental management Addresses new and cutting-edge topics on ecosystem services, resilience, sustainability, food-energy-water nexus, socio-ecological systems, and more Provides an excellent basic knowledge on environmental systems, explains how these systems function, and offers strategies on how to best manage them Includes the most important problems and solutions facing environmental management today In this sixth volume, Managing Human and Social Systems, the reader is introduced to the general concepts and processes of all the environmental tools and their application to human and social systems. It explains how these systems function and provides strategies on how to best manage them. It serves as an excellent resource for finding basic knowledge on the human and social systems and includes important problems and solutions that environmental managers face today. This book practically demonstrates the key processes, methods, and models used in studying environmental management.

This book explores the emergence and development of the legal concept of fair and equitable benefit-sharing, and its application in agriculture. Developed in the 1990s, the concept of fair and equitable benefit-sharing has been deployed in an ever-wider variety of international instruments, including those on biodiversity, climate change and human rights. A lack of clarity persists, however, on what fair and equitable benefit-sharing requires and entails, and whether its implementation supports or eventually undermines equity and justice. This book examines these questions in the area of land, food and agriculture, addressing for the first time several instances of the agricultural production chain, including research and development, land governance and land use and access to markets. It identifies challenges regarding implementation of the concept as enshrined in environmental treaties and soft-law instruments, with a focus on the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, the Voluntary Guidelines on Tenure and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants. It investigates its role, enabling conditions and limitations, in a contradictory policy context involving environmental, food security and human rights objectives but also a growing web of multilateral and bilateral trade and investment agreements. Linking international law research with a socio-legal analysis, the book addresses four grassroots examples, which offer ideas for institutional and legal innovation from the local to the global level. This interdisciplinary title will be of great interest to students and scholars of international environmental law, agriculture, land law, development studies and global governance, as well as policymakers and practitioners working in these fields. "The Open Access version of this book, available at https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429198304, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license."

'Jake Fiennes is changing the face of farming in Britain... a revolutionising force' Isabella Tree Our relationship with our land is broken: we must heal it. Jake Fiennes is on a mission to change the face of the English countryside. As Conservation Manager at Holkham in Norfolk, one of the country's largest historic country estates, his radical habitat restoration and agricultural work has nurtured its species and risen its crop yields - bringing back wetlands, hedgerows, birds and butterflies over 25,000 acres of land. But this isn't rewilding - there is no 'wild' in Britain anymore. Mass farming, crop science and industrial chemicals have destroyed the majority of our natural landscape and wildlife over the last century. Land Healer is the story of Fiennes's ambition to bring back our flora and fauna - by reclaiming our traditions and trialling new experiments which could restore our symbiosis with our land, and save our shared future. Following the farming year and the natural cycle of the seasons, Land Healer chronicles a life of conservation lived at the edges, and is a manifesto for rethinking our relationship with the natural world before it's too late.

As seen on PBS's American Spring LIVE, the award-winning author of The Triumph of Seeds and Feathers presents a natural and cultural history of bees: the buzzing wee beasties that make the world go round. Bees are like oxygen: ubiquitous, essential, and, for the most part, unseen. While we might overlook them, they lie at the heart of relationships that bind the human and natural worlds. In Buzz, the beloved Thor Hanson takes us on a journey that begins 125 million years ago, when a wasp first dared to feed pollen to its young. From honeybees and bumbles to lesser-known diggers, miners, leafcutters, and masons, bees have long been central to our harvests, our mythologies, and our very existence. They've given us sweetness and light, the beauty of flowers, and as much as a third of the foodstuffs we eat. And, alarmingly, they are at risk of disappearing. As informative and enchanting as the waggle dance of a honeybee, Buzz shows us why all bees are wonders to celebrate and protect. Read this book and you'll never overlook them again.

This is an open access book. It is a compilation of case studies that provide useful knowledge and lessons that derive from on-the-ground activities and contribute to policy recommendations, focusing on the interlinkages between biodiversity and multiple dimensions of health (e.g., physical, mental, and spiritual) in managing socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes (SEPLS). This book provides insights on how SEPLS approaches can contribute to more sustainable management of natural resources, achieving global biodiversity and sustainable development goals, and good health for all. It is also expected to offer useful knowledge and information for an upcoming three-year thematic assessment of "the interlinkages among biodiversity, water, food, and health" (the so-called "nexus assessment") by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). The book begins with an introductory chapter followed by eleven case study chapters demonstrating the nexus between biodiversity, health, and sustainable development, and then a synthesis chapter clarifying the relevance of the case study findings to policy and academic discussions. It will be of interest to scholars, policymakers, and professionals in the field related to sustainable development.

This book critically assesses the role of agrobiodiversity in school gardens and its contribution to diversifying diets, promoting healthy eating habits and improving nutrition among schoolchildren as well as other benefits relating to climate change adaptation, ecoliteracy and greening school spaces. Many schoolchildren suffer from various forms of malnutrition and it is important to address their nutritional status given the effects it has on their health, cognition, and subsequently their educational achievement. Schools are recognized as excellent platforms for promoting lifelong healthy eating and improving long-term, sustainable nutrition security required for optimum educational outcomes. This book reveals the multiple benefits of school gardens for improving nutrition and education for children and their families. It examines issues such as school feeding, community food production, school gardening, nutritional education and the promotion of agrobiodiversity, and draws on international case studies, from both developed and developing nations, to provide a comprehensive global assessment. This book will be essential reading for those interested in promoting agrobiodiversity, sustainable nutrition and healthy eating habits in schools and public institutions more generally. It identifies recurring and emerging issues, establishes best practices, identifies key criteria for success and advises on strategies for scaling up and scaling out elements to improve the uptake of school gardens.

This volume provides a reference textbook and comprehensive compilation of multifaceted perspectives on the legal issues arising from the conservation and exploitation of non-human biological resources. Contributors include leading academics, policy-makers and practitioners reviewing a range of socio-legal issues concerning the relationships between humankind and the natural world. The Routledge Handbook of Biodiversity and the Law includes chapters on fundamental and cutting-edge issues, including discussion of major legal instruments such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol. The book is divided into six distinct parts based around the major objectives which have emerged from legal frameworks concerned with protecting biodiversity. Following introductory chapters, Part II examines issues relating to conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, with Part III focusing on access and benefit-sharing. Part IV discusses legal issues associated with the protection of traditional knowledge, cultural heritage and indigenous human rights. Parts V and VI focus on a selection of intellectual property issues connected to the commercial exploitation of biological resources, and analyse ethical issues, including viewpoints from economic, ethnobotanical, pharmaceutical and other scientific industry perspectives.

Pythium is one of the most important phytopathogens causing significant damage to agriculture, forest, and nurseries, etc. It is an unseen enemy of the root zone of various plants and hence considered as "hidden terror" for a number of plants. An accurate diagnosis and identification of Pythium causing various infections in plants is very important because it is often confused with several other fungi. Pythium infections are difficult to control once they have set in. Therefore, its effective and ecofriendly management is of paramount importance. In addition, there are many reports on Pythium causing infections in human beings and animals. The present book on Pythium focuses on various aspects which mainly include pathogenesis, technological developments in detection and diagnosis, and its management. Key Features Includes identification of Pythium spp. by traditional and molecular methods Deals with different diseases caused by Pythium spp Describes the role of Pythium in mammalian diseases Incorporates various management strategies Discusses emerging role of nanotechnological tools for the management of Pythium diseases

Recommended in CHOICE, February 2021 Insects are all around us, outweighing humanity by 17 times. Many are nuisances; they compete with us for food and carry some of our most devastating diseases. Many common pests have been transported worldwide by humans. Yet, some recent reports suggest dramatic declines in some important groups, such as pollinators and detritivores. Should we care? Yes, we should. Without insect pollinators we'd lose 35% of our global food production; without detritivores, we would be buried in un-decayed refuse. Insects are also critical sources for nutritional, medical and industrial products. A world without insects would seem a very different and unpleasant place. So why do insects inspire such fear and loathing? This concise, full-color text challenges many entrenched perceptions about insect effects on our lives. Beginning with a summary of insect biology and ecology that affect their interactions with other organisms, it goes on to describe the various positive and negative ways in which insects and humans interact. The final chapters describe factors that affect insect abundance and approaches to managing insects that balance their impacts. The first textbook to cater directly to those studying Insect and Society or Insect Ecology modules, this book will also be fascinating reading for anyone interested in learning how insects affect human affairs and in applying more sustainable approaches to "managing" insects. This includes K-12 teachers, undergraduate students, amateur entomologists, conservation practitioners, environmentalists, as well as natural resource managers, land use planners and environmental policy makers.

Insects are the most interesting and diverse group of organisms on earth, many of which are useful as pollinators of crops and wild plants while others are useful as natural enemies keeping pestiferous insects in check. It is important to conserve these insects for our survival and for this the diversity of insect species inhabiting the different ecosystems of our country must be known. The cornerstone to studies of any kind of organismal diversity is their taxonomic identity. Even after over two and half centuries of studies, so little is known of the insect wealth of our country. It has contributions from taxonomists who have been studying Indian insects for long, this book offers up to date information on many important groups of Indian insects seeking to fill the lacuna of a long felt need for a comprehensive work on the taxonomy of Indian insects. Salient features: Provides an up-to-date taxonomy of major insect groups of India Presents identification keys with illustrations of several important groups of Indian insects Gives a new insight into why insects are so abundant Addresses fundamental questions in mechanoreception and cross kingdom interactions using insects as model systems Indian Insects: Diversity and Science is a festschrift to Professor C. A. Viraktamath, an insect taxonomist par excellence. It has been designed to cater to the needs of academicians, researchers and students who wish to identify insects collected from local environments and will be an invaluable aid for those working in the areas of systematics, ecology, behaviour, diversity and the conservation of insects.

In the context of sustainable development, recent land debates tend to construct two porous camps. On the one side, norms of land justice and their advocates dictate that people's rights to tenure security are tantamount and even sometimes key to successful conservation practice. On the other hand, biodiversity protection and conservation advocates, supported by global environmental organizations and states, remain committed to conservation strategies, steeped in genetics and biological sciences, working on behalf of a "global" mandate for biodiversity and climate change mitigation. Land Rights, Biodiversity Conservation and Justice seeks to illuminate struggles for land and territory in the context of biodiversity conservation. This edited volume explores the particular ideologies, narratives and practices that are mobilized when the agendas of biodiversity conservation practice meet, clash, and blend with the demands for land and access and control of resources from people living in, and in close proximity to, parks. The book maintains that, while biodiversity conservation is an important goal in a time where climate change is a real threat to human existence, the successful and just future of biodiversity conservation is contingent upon land tenure security for local people. The original research gathered together in this volume will be of considerable interest to researchers of development studies, political ecology, land rights, and conservation.

Competition between species arises when two or more species share at least some of the same limited resources. It is likely to affect all species, as well as many higher-level aspects of community and ecosystem dynamics. Interspecific competition shares many of the same features as density dependence (intraspecific competition) and evolution (competition between genotypes). In spite of this, a robust theoretical framework is not yet in place to develop a more coherent understanding of this important interaction. Despite its prominence in the ecological literature, the theory seems to have lost direction in recent decades, with many synthetic papers promoting outdated ideas, failing to use resource-based models, and having little utility in applied fields such as conservation and environmental management. Competition theory has done little to incorporate new findings regarding consumer-resource interactions in the context of larger food webs containing behaviourally or evolutionarily adapting components. Overly simple models and methods of analysis continue to be influential. Competition Theory in Ecology represents a timely opportunity to address these shortcomings and suggests a more useful approach to modelling that can provide a basis for future models that have greater predictive ability in both ecology and evolution. The book concludes with some broader observations on the lack of agreement on general principles to use in constructing mathematical models to help understand ecological systems. It argues that a more open discussion and debate of the underlying structure of ecological theory is now urgently required to move the field forward.

This book was published in 2007. Protected areas have emerged as major arenas of dispute concerning both indigenous and environmental protection. In the Malay Archipelago, which contains two of the twenty-five biodiversity hotspots identified globally, rampant commercial exploitation is jeopardizing species and rural livelihoods. While protected areas remain the only hope for the imperiled biota of the Malay Archipelago, this protection requires consideration of the sustenance needs and economic aspirations of the local people. Putting forward the views of all the stakeholders of protected areas - conservation practitioners and planners, local community members, NGO activists, government administrators, biologists, lawyers, policy and management analysts and anthropologists - this book fills a niche in the area of biodiversity, and is a highly valuable and original reference book for graduate students, scientists and managers, as well as government officials and transnational NGOs.