Deciding what user impacts are natural or unnatural has inspired much debate. Biophysically, moose cause similar kinds of soil and vegetation impacts as hikers. Yet moose are the sign of nature while hikers are the sign of damage. The field of outdoor recreation is beset with paradoxes, and this book presents a unique, alternative framework to address these dilemmas. Examining outdoor recreation through the lens of ecological theory, Ryan draws from theorists such as Foucault, Derrida and Latour. The book explores minimum impact strategies designed to protect and enhance ecological integrity, but that also require a disturbing amount of policing of users, which runs counter to the freedom users seek. Recent ecological theory suggests that outdoor recreation's view of nature as balanced when impacts are removed is outdated and incorrect. What is needed, and indeed Ryan presents, is a paradoxical and ecological view of humans as neither natural nor unnatural, a view that embraces some traces in nature.

Salinity is one of the acute problems causing enormous yield loss in many regions of the world. This phenomenon is particularly pronounced in arid and semiarid regions. Halophytes can remove salt from various types of problematic soils due to their unique morphological, physiological and anatomical adaptations to these environments. Halophytes are also used for the treatment of certain diseases but scientific documentation in terms of current phytotherapic applications is deficient in this unique group of plants. Different ethnic groups around the world use medicinal halophytes according to their own beliefs and ancestor’s experiences. However, their knowledge about the use of salt tolerant medicinal plants is usually confined to their own community. There is thus a knowledge gap on halophytes which should be bridged and preserved. This book provides a comprehensive account on the distribution of halophytes, their ethnobotanical and medicinal aspects, economic importance, and chemical constituents along with scientific description. The book therefore serves as a valuable resource for professionals and researchers working in the fields of plant stress biology and ethnobotanical aspects.

Simple swaps and innovative ideas for cleaning and maintaining your home that won't cost the Earth. Learn how easy it is to make simple swaps in your cleaning and tidying methods for a more eco-friendly home, with helpful tips from bestselling author and Great British Bake Off winner Nancy Birtwhistle. This beautifully illustrated black and white guide with 101 hints and sustainable, natural cleaning tips and hacks will help you take small steps that have a massive positive environmental impact. In Clean & Green, Nancy shares the simple recipes and methods she has developed since making a conscious effort to live more sustainably, many of which are faster and easier than the go-to products and methods most of us use now. From everyday cleaning and laundry tips to zero-effort oven cleaner and guidance on removing tricky stains from clothing and furniture, these economical, practical methods are perfect for anyone looking to reduce their use of plastic and throwaway products. Nancy shares her tried-and-tested recipes for all-purpose cleaners, replacements for harmful chemicals that will keep both your home and the planet clean and green for future generations. 'The book I've waited all my life for' - Kirstie Allsopp

In Available to be Poisoned: Toxicity as a Form of Life, Dipali Mathur contends that the saturation of the planet with toxic chemicals is not the "inevitable" price of progress but marks a deliberate, violent relationship with the Earth and its "others," born of colonialism and capitalism's entwined histories. Mathur offers the innovative concept of "toxicity as a form of life" to signpost the normalization of toxic exposure. Mathur analyzes how states use toxicity to control populations on the fringes of our global political economy. Drawing on three case studies from India, Mathur shows how exposure to toxicity is weaponized to make certain populations "available for poisoning."

This book discusses soil and recycling management in the Anthropocene era. Nitrogen shortage is one of nature's most important productivity regulators, but since the advent of technical nitrogen fixation (TNF), biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) input has nearly doubled, particularly in grass and arable lands covering over 13 million km2 of the Earth's surface. This book explores how monoculture grass, arable lands and forests are often over fertilized with TNF, animal slurries, sewage sludge, or municipally produced composts, and as a result, flora and fauna that have adapted to a nitrogen shortage in the soil will have to adjust to a surplus; those that are unable to adapt will disappear.

This book presents a comprehensive overview and analysis of mangrove ecological processes, structure, and function at the local, biogeographic, and global scales and how these properties interact to provide key ecosystem services to society. The analysis is based on an international collaborative effort that focuses on regions and countries holding the largest mangrove resources and encompasses the major biogeographic and socio-economic settings of mangrove distribution. Given the economic and ecological importance of mangrove wetlands at the global scale, the chapters aim to integrate ecological and socio-economic perspectives on mangrove function and management using a system-level hierarchical analysis framework. The book explores the nexus between mangrove ecology and the capacity for ecosystem services, with an emphasis on thresholds, multiple stressors, and local conditions that determine this capacity. The interdisciplinary approach and illustrative study cases included in the book will provide valuable resources in data, information, and knowledge about the current status of one of the most productive coastal ecosystem in the world.

This book provides, for the first time, a comprehensive overview of the fundamental roles that ecological interactions play in extinction processes, bringing to light an underground of hidden pathways leading to the same dark place: biodiversity loss.We are in the midst of the sixth mass extinction. We see species declining and vanishing one after another. Poached rhinos, dolphins and whales slaughtered, pandas surviving only in captivity are strong emotional testimonials of what is happening. Yet, the main threat to natural communities may be overshadowed by the disappearance of large species, with most extinctions happening unnoticed and involving less eye-catching organisms, such as parasites and pollinators. Ecosystems hide countless, invisible wires connecting organisms in dense networks of ecological interactions. Through these networks, perturbations can propagate from one species to another, producing unpredictable effects. In worst case scenarios, the loss of one species might doom many others to extinction. Ecologists now consider such mechanisms as a fundamental - and still poorly understood - driver of the ongoing biodiversity crisis. Hidden Pathways to Extinction makes the invisible links connecting the fates of species and organisms evident, exploring why complexity can enhance ecosystem stability and yet accelerate species loss. Page after page, Strona provides convincing evidence that we are primarily responsible for the fall in biodiversity, that we are falling too, and that we need to redouble our conservation efforts now, or it won't be long before we hit the ground.

THE SUNDAY TIMES' BESTSELLER AND SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT BOOK OF THE YEAR WINNER OF THE SUNDAY TIMES YOUNG WRITER OF THE YEAR AWARD SHORTLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT CONSERVATION AWARD SHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH ACADEMY BOOK PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR THE HIGHLAND BOOK PRIZE This is a book about abandoned places: ghost towns and exclusion zones, no man's lands and fortress islands - and what happens when nature is allowed to reclaim its place. In Chernobyl, following the nuclear disaster, only a handful of people returned to their dangerously irradiated homes. On an uninhabited Scottish island, feral cattle live entirely wild. In Detroit, once America's fourth-largest city, entire streets of houses are falling in on themselves, looters slipping through otherwise silent neighbourhoods. This book explores the extraordinary places where humans no longer live - or survive in tiny, precarious numbers - to give us a possible glimpse of what happens when mankind's impact on nature is forced to stop. From Tanzanian mountains to the volcanic Caribbean, the forbidden areas of France to the mining regions of Scotland, Flyn brings together some of the most desolate, eerie, ravaged and polluted areas in the world - and shows how, against all odds, they offer our best opportunities for environmental recovery. By turns haunted and hopeful, this luminously written world study is pinned together with profound insight and new ecological discoveries that together map an answer to the big questions: what happens after we're gone, and how far can our damage to nature be undone? More praise for Islands of Abandonment 'Extraordinary ... Just when you thought there was nowhere left to explore, along comes an author with a new category of terrain ... Dazzling' SPECTATOR 'A haunting look at how nature fights back ... Beautiful, evocative' SUNDAY TIMES 'Flyn's brave, thorough book sets out to explore places where angels fear to tread ... The result is fascinating, eerie and strange ... There is some thrilling writing here' KATHLEEN JAMIE, NEW STATESMAN 'Wonderful' ADAM NICOLSON 'Exhilarating' DAILY TELEGRAPH

This book explains why international negotiations have not produced a sustainable solution to tropical rainforest degradation. Using an innovative, critical approach to international regimes, the author analyzes the structure and operation of the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO). He shows how the timber industry and producing- and consuming-country governments created a blocking alliance that favored developmentalist interests and ideas. The ITTO bolstered this alliance by permitting environmentalists merely to voice, but not negotiate, their concerns.

This book gives a start-to-finish overview of the whole Fish4Knowledge project, in 18 short chapters, each describing one aspect of the project. The Fish4Knowledge project explored the possibilities of big video data, in this case from undersea video. Recording and analyzing 90 thousand hours of video from ten camera locations, the project gives a 3 year view of fish abundance in several tropical coral reefs off the coast of Taiwan. The research system built a remote recording network, over 100 Tb of storage, supercomputer processing, video target detection and tracking, fish species recognition and analysis, a large SQL database to record the results and an efficient retrieval mechanism. Novel user interface mechanisms were developed to provide easy access for marine ecologists, who wanted to explore the dataset. The book is a useful resource for system builders, as it gives an overview of the many new methods that were created to build the Fish4Knowledge system in a manner that also allows readers to see how all the components fit together.

The countries of the Black Sea region are beset by a great number of problems: there are many large cities along the coast; intensive agriculture is practised in the region; great rivers such as the Danube and the Dnieper carry pollution from a large part of Europe; and the lowlands are threatened by flooding from the rivers, wind-induced surges, and future sea-level rise due to global warming. Any integrated, sustainable development of the region will require an interdisciplinary approach, which the present book reflects. Contributions range from the monitoring of biological diversity through the influence of tourism on marine and coastal ecosystems to environmental economics. The problem also has an international dimension: only by interdisciplinary, international co-operation can the environment of the Black Sea region be conserved for future generations.

The last fifteen years have been a period of dramatic change, both in the world at large and within the fields of ecology and conservation. The end of the Cold War, the dot-com boom and bust, the globalizing economy, and the attacks of September 11, among other events and trends, have reshaped our worldview and the political environment in which we find ourselves. At the same time, emerging knowledge, needs, and opportunities have led to a rapid evolution in our understanding of the scientific foundations and social context of conservation.
Correction Lines is a new collection of essays from one of our most thoughtful and eloquent writers on conservation, putting these recent changes into perspective and exploring the questions they raise about the past, present, and future of the conservation movement. The essays explore interrelated themes: the relationship between biological and social dimensions; the historic tension between utilitarian and preservationist approaches; the integration of varied cultural perspectives; the enduring legacy of Aldo Leopold; the contrasts and continuities between conservation and environmentalism; the importance of political reform; and the need to "retool" conservation to address twentyfirst-century realities.
Collectively the essays assert that we have reached a critical juncture in conservation-a "correction line" of sorts. Correction Lines argues that we need a more coherent and comprehensive account of the past if we are to understand our present circumstances and move forward under unprecedented conditions.
Meine brings together a deep sense of history with powerful language and compelling imagery, yielding new insights into the origins anddevelopment of contemporary conservation. Correction Lines will help us think more clearly about the forces that have changed, and are changing, conservation, and inspire us to address current realities and future needs.

A "well-written, engaging detective story" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) about a rogue who trades in rare birds and their eggs-and the wildlife detective determined to stop him. On May 3, 2010, an Irish national named Jeffrey Lendrum was apprehended at Britain's Birmingham International Airport with a suspicious parcel strapped to his stomach. Inside were fourteen rare peregrine falcon eggs snatched from a remote cliffside in Wales. So begins a "vivid tale of obsession and international derring-do" (Publishers Weekly), following the parallel lives of a globe-trotting smuggler who spent two decades capturing endangered raptors worth millions of dollars as race champions-and Detective Andy McWilliam of the United Kingdom's National Wildlife Crime Unit, who's hell bent on protecting the world's birds of prey. "Masterfully constructed" (The New York Times) and "entertaining and illuminating" (The Washington Post), The Falcon Thief will whisk you away from the volcanoes of Patagonia to Zimbabwe's Matobo National Park, and from the frigid tundra near the Arctic Circle to luxurious aviaries in the deserts of Dubai, all in pursuit of a man who is reckless, arrogant, and gripped by a destructive compulsion to make the most beautiful creatures in nature his own. It's a story that's part true-crime narrative, part epic adventure-and wholly unputdownable until the very last page.

The Everglades was once reviled as a liquid wasteland, and Americans dreamed of draining it. Now it is revered as a national treasure, and Americans have launched the largest environmental project in history to try to save it. "The Swamp" is the stunning story of the destruction and possible resurrection of the Everglades, the saga of man's abuse of nature in southern Florida and his unprecedented efforts to make amends. Michael Grunwald, a prize-winning national reporter for "The Washington Post," takes readers on a riveting journey from the Ice Ages to the present, illuminating the natural, social and political history of one of America's most beguiling but least understood patches of land.

The Everglades was America's last frontier, a wild country long after the West was won. Grunwald chronicles how a series of visionaries tried to drain and "reclaim" it, and how Mother Nature refused to bend to their will; in the most harrowing tale, a 1928 hurricane drowned 2,500 people in the Everglades. But the Army Corps of Engineers finally tamed the beast with levees and canals, converting half the Everglades into sprawling suburbs and sugar plantations. And though the southern Everglades was preserved as a national park, it soon deteriorated into an ecological mess. The River of Grass stopped flowing, and 90 percent of its wading birds vanished.

Now America wants its swamp back. Grunwald shows how a new breed of visionaries transformed Everglades politics, producing the $8 billion rescue plan. That plan is already the blueprint for a new worldwide era of ecosystem restoration. And this book is a cautionary tale for that era. Through gripping narrative and dogged reporting, Grunwald shows how the Everglades is still threatened by the same hubris, greed and well-intentioned folly that led to its decline.

Michael Grunwald is a reporter at "The Washington Post." He has won the George Polk Award for national reporting, the Worth Bingham Prize for investigative reporting, and many other awards. He lives in Miami with his wife, Cristina Dominguez.

Visit his website at www.michaelgrunwald.com.

Why does it benefit some male and female animals to live separately? Sexual segregation, wherein the sexes of a species live apart for long periods of time, has far-reaching consequences for the ecology, behavior, and conservation of hooved mammals, which are called ungulates. Award-winning researcher R. Terry Bowyer has spent the past four decades unravelling the causes and consequences of this perplexing phenomenon by studying ungulates and the large carnivores that prey upon them. In Sexual Segregation in Ungulates, Bowyer's critical, thought-provoking approach helps resolve long-standing disagreements concerning sexual segregation and offers future pathways for species and habitat conservation. He highlights important elements of the natural history of wild ungulate species, including bighorn sheep and elk. He then uses this perspective to frame and test hypotheses illuminating the motivations behind sexual segregation. He investigates the role of sexual segregation in mechanisms underpinning ungulate mating systems, sexual dimorphism, paternal behavior, and population dynamics. Bowyer's research spans ecosystems from deserts to the Arctic and involves most species of ungulates inhabiting the North American continent. He also provides a timely review of sexual segregation for species of plants and other animals, including humans. Covering definitions, theory, findings, and practical applications of related study, Bowyer describes the behavioral patterns related to sexual segregation, explains how to detect these patterns, and considers the implications of sexual segregation for new approaches to conservation and management of ungulates and other species of wildlife. This book is essential reading for scientists and all those interested in the conservation and management of species, including wildlife professionals, hunters, outdoor enthusiasts, and naturalists.

The annual cost of medical care in the U niled States is rapidly approaching a trillion dollars. Without doubt, much of the rise in costs is due to our health industry's concentration on high technology remediation and risk avoidance measures. From recent public discussions it is becoming in creasingly evident that to contain the costs and at the same time extend the benefits of health care without national bankruptcy will necessitate much greater attention to preventative medicine. The total cost of waste disposal by our health industry is well over a billion dollars. It is rising rapidly as we increasingly rely on high technol ogy remediation measures. Here, too, in the opinion of the authors of this work, it would be prudent to give much greater attention to preventative approaches. Incineration technology has largely been developed for disposing mu nicipal solid waste (MSW) and hazardous waste (HW). As a result of the multibillion dollar funding for the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), most experts believe that pollution control is the key to minimizing toxic emissions from incinerators. This view is now beginning to take hold in medical waste (MW) incineration as well. However, the authors contributing to this book have concluded that precombustion measures can be most effective in reducing the toxic products of medical waste incineration."

This book aims to cover the multitude of corporate approaches towards mainstreaming biodiversity conservation and ecological management in policies and action plans, and explores the roles of these efforts in achieving national and global targets for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The book addresses various aspects of corporate actions such as corporate environmental responsibility, green businesses, market-based approaches to biodiversity conservation, and biodiversity trade-offs, and includes concept papers, reviews, and case studies presenting qualitative and quantitative research. Additionally, the text compares and assesses examples of positive and negative impacts of corporate involvement in biodiversity conservation in developed and developing countries to identify innovative approaches, and the best practices and models that can be replicated in diverse environmental conditions. The studies included in the book will help those working in the field of corporate involvement in biodiversity conservation, and outline the strengths and weaknesses of the approaches which will be useful for designing new environmental management action plans in the face of climate change. The book will also be of great value to researchers, academicians, policy makers, civil society groups, policy think tanks, and conservation managers.

Bring the wonder and curiosity of mushrooms to your home or office with this keepsake set of illustrated wooden magnets, fold-out poster, sticker sheets, and mini guidebook. - Deluxe wooden magnets: This set includes 8 full-color, illustrated wooden magnets, each featuring a unique variety of mushroom. - Fold-out poster: Show off your love for fabulous fungi with this 6 3/8 X 7 1/4 inch illustrated fold-out poster. - Book included: Learn the ins and outs of the 8 featured mushroom varieties, plus foraging basics, in the enclosed 48-page, fully-illustrated paperback book. - Bonus sticker sheets: Two sheets of full-color stickers add myco-tastic flair to anything you place them on. - A unique gift for mushroom or nature lovers: Mushroom and nature lovers of all ages and abilities will love this unique gift set.

This book explores the nature of marine conservation based on the case study of Hinase, a fishing village in Okayama, Japan. It focuses on the fishers' self-motivated eelgrass restoration activity which has been continued for more than 30 years. This activity in Hinase recently attracted international attention as a case under the name "Satoumi" and "Marine Protected Areas" in several governmental reports, but detailed information, such as the historical background and social structure of Hinase, has not yet been analyzed. This book, therefore, fulfills this gap by providing its ethnographic information. In addition, this book offers some points for critical thinking by concluding that marine conservation activities cannot always be evaluated or arranged under the standardized approach with limited time and space. This viewpoint reaffirms the importance of local initiative and highlights the value of qualitative research to seek the way forward for promising marine conservation. This book is suitable for an academic audience in the field of social sciences, such as applied anthropology, as well as ecologists, government officials, environmentalists, and citizens who are interested or engaged in environmental issues or natural resource management.

Richly detailed and timely study on conservation, development and sustainability in Tanzania. Provides valuable insights into the successes and failures of the management and governance of wildlife, forestry and coastal resources. Responding to the urgent need to examine the outcome of interventions in governing natural resources, this book analyses different types of sustainability partnerships - with donors, governments, business, NGOs and other actors, and, crucially, assesses which result in better livelihood and environmental outcomes. The contributors, from a range of disciplines, compare 'more complex' partnerships to relatively 'simpler', more traditional top-down and centralized management systems and to location where sustainability partnerships are not in place. Within-sector comparisons allow a fine-tuned analysis that is formed of historical, location and resource-specific issues, which can be used as input for resource-specific policy and partnership design. Experiences and lessons can be drawn from comparisons across the three different sectors, which can be applied to natural resource governance more broadly.

This is the first book to provide assessments of multidecadal changes in resources and environments of the Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) of the North Atlantic. Using the case study method, researchers examine the forces driving the changes and actions underway aimed at turning the corner from declining trends in biomass yields, toward recovery of depleted species populations and improvements in ecosystem integrity.

Recently a distinguished group of 24 scientists argued eloquently that a new "Sustainability Science" was emerging that was focused on "meeting fundamental human needs while preserving the life support systems of planet Earth." The contributions contained in this volume are at the cutting edge of "Sustainability Science" and the results presented by the contributors are pertinent to one of the core questions: "How are long-term trends in environment and development, including consumption and population, reshaping nature-society interactions in ways relevant to sustainability?" ("Science" Vol. 292, 27 April 2001). The case studies demonstrate the utility of an ecosystem-based approach to the assessment and management of biomass yields and species sustainability.

Movements toward ecosystem-based management have emerged from the case studies on the initiation of recoveries of several depleted groundfish stocks of the US Northeast Shelf LME; the collapse of the Newfoundland-Labrador Shelf cod; the assessment of physical and biological changes on the Scotian Shelf, West Greenland Shelf, Iceland Shelf LME, and the Faroe Plateau, the North Sea, and the Barents Sea LMEs. Uncertainties, with regard to environmental and human-generated forcing, are addressed in assessment of the states of the Iberian Coastal and Biscay-Celtic LMEs, and in broad-scale studies of the influences at the base of the food chain of climatic variability on the productivity and biodiversity of plankton communities of the North Atlantic. The volume concludes with an insightful perspective on the approaches used and the results reported by the eminent marine scientist and former President of ICES, Professor Gotthilf Hempel.