This book helps to establish a simple framework to identify and use bird species as a bioindicator for high nature value (HNV) farmlands. This book focuses on suitable methods for monitoring the HNV areas, and presents the results of several case studies. The chapters put forward ways to integrate ecosystems assessment, geographical information systems (GIS) and strategies for conservation of local biodiversity. An innovative framework focuses on the use of species distribution models (SDMs) in order to explore the importance of each characteristic of HNV farmlands. Furthermore, the book examines the relationships among bird species richness, land use diversity and landscape metrics at a local scale in the farmlands.

Vents and seeps are the epitome of life in extreme environments, but there is much more to these systems than just black smokers or hydrocarbon seeps. Many other ecosystems are characterized by moving fluids and this book provides an overview of the different habitats, their specific conditions as well as the technical challenges that have to be met when studying them. The book provides the current state of the art and will be a valuable resource for everybody that has an interest in such environments.

The book focuses on environment and conservation issues pertaining to the Himalayas, spanning Pakistan, Nepal, India, Bhutan and Myanmar. Environmental degradation, changes in snow cover and glaciers in India-Bhutan, threats to protected areas, and biodiversity in this ecologically fragile region are assessed in twelve distinct, regional case studies.

This book gathers a representative sample of the relevant knowledge related to the ecology, behavior, and conservation of birds in urban Latin America. Latin America is one of the most biodiverse regions of the world, yet it is still understudied. Although it concentrates most of its population in rapidly growing cities under considerable economic, social, and environmental disparity, the study of the effects that urbanization has on biodiversity in Latin America is still insufficient. Among the best-studied wildlife groups, birds have been widely used as bioindicators in urban areas. Going from general to specific information regarding avian communities, populations, behavior, threats, and conservation issues, this book describes the state-of-the-art of avian urban ecology in the region. Such knowledge will hopefully promote the regional consolidation of the field and encourage future mechanistic studies that untangle the recorded patterns in order to have the required information to bridge the gap between evidence-based knowledge and practice in urban systems. Thus, the information included in this document will allow scientists, students, and even decision takers to relate with the current knowledge and gaps related to the topic, providing perspective for future studies and actions.

The book introduces tourism earth-science as a new scientific discipline by applying the principles of earth-science in the study of natural and human tourism resources. It involves studying the geo-scientific characteristics of these tourism resources through surveys, evaluation and aesthetic value assessment. It also discusses about the principles behind geopark establishment and management. It is an important publication providing direction for geopark and tourism developments in China. The book is a tool for geological heritage survey, assessment and research. It can also be used to assist planning of geopark, national parks, heritage protection and scientific interpretation. It is a valuable teaching material for teachers and students of geoscience and tourism as well as providing useful guidance for geopark managers and tour guides in their operation. In addition, the book also offers scientific knowledge of the surrounding natural and cultural landscapes to the public and the general visitors.

This book explores how a handful of liberal foundations contributed to establish and orientate the international climate regime. Looking back at the origins of international climate philanthropy and its evolution over the past three decades, the author examines the role of philanthropic foundations in the international climate debate. The research presented in this book shows that foundations, through their grant-making and convening activities, are at the heart of the climate debate. In fact, many credit them with having, through their activities prior to and at the COP, significantly contributed to laying the basis for the Paris Agreement in December 2015.

Over half of the world's population now lives in urban areas. Few who live in cities understand that cities, too, are ecosystems, as beholden to the laws and principles of ecology as are natural ecosystems. Understanding Urban Ecology: An Interdisciplinary Systems Approach introduces students at the college undergraduate level, or those in advanced-standing college credit high school courses, to cities as ecosystems. For graduate students it provides an overview and rich literature base. Urban planners, educators, and decision makers can use this book to help in designing a more sustainable or "green" future. The authors use a systems approach to explore the complexity and interactions of different components of a city's ecology with an emphasis on the energy and materials required to maintain such concentrated centers of human activity and consumption. The book is written by seventeen specialized contributors and includes ten accompanying detailed field exercises to promote hands-on experience, observation, and quantification of urban ecosystem structure and function.The chapters describe one by one the different subsystems of the urban environment, their individual components and functions, and the interactions among them that create the social-ecological environments in which we live. The book's emphasis on social-ecological metabolism provides students with the knowledge and methods needed to evaluate proposed policies for urban sustainability in terms of ecosystem capacity, potential positive and negative feedbacks, the laws of thermo-dynamics, and socio-cultural perception and adaptability.

This book tells the story of Terania Creek - the world's first direct action blockade in defence of a forest, occurring in Australia in 1979. Contrary to claims that the Australian counterculture was a mere imitation of overseas models, the Australian movement, coalescing with a home-grown environment movement, came of age at Terania Creek. After five years of 'polite' campaigning failed to stop the logging of ancient Gondwanan rainforest, an organic and spontaneous blockade erupted that would see the forging of a number of ingenious blockading techniques and strategies. The activist repertoire developed at Terania Creek has since echoed across the country, and across the Earth. This book draws on extensive oral history interviews as well as photographs taken of the protest in 1979; such rich source material brings the story to life. Terania Creek and the Forging of Modern Environmental Activism will therefore appeal to both a scholarly audience as well as activists, practitioners, and counterculturalists.

The contributors present empirical and theoretical insights on current debates on environmental change, adaptation and migration. While focusing on countries subject to environmental degradation, it calls for a regional perspective that recognises local actors and a systematic link between development studies and migration research.

This book summarizes all currently available information on the ecology, environmental impacts and control methods of the golden mussel in industrial plants. The golden mussel was introduced in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and South America between 1965 and 1990, swiftly spreading in freshwater waterbodies. In most areas invaded it has become the dominant macroinverebrate and a major fouling pest of industrial plants. Limnoperna fortunei attaches to any hard surface, as well as to some less firm substrates. The growth of Limnoperna populations in raw cooling water conduits became a common nuisance in many industrial and power plants that use raw river or lake water for their processes, both in South America and in Asia. This work is written by experts on the golden mussel from Asia, Europe, North America and South America, each chapter critically reviews previously available information, which is in sources of limited distribution, such as internal reports and theses, in various languages.

The #1 New York Times bestseller by Time's 2019 Person of the Year "Greta Thunberg is already one of our planet's greatest advocates." -Barack Obama The groundbreaking speeches of Greta Thunberg, the young climate activist who has become the voice of a generation, including her historic address to the United Nations In August 2018 a fifteen-year-old Swedish girl, Greta Thunberg, decided not to go to school one day in order to protest the climate crisis. Her actions sparked a global movement, inspiring millions of students to go on strike for our planet, forcing governments to listen, and earning her a Nobel Peace Prize nomination. No One Is Too Small to Make A Difference brings you Greta in her own words, for the first time. Collecting her speeches that have made history across the globe, from the United Nations to Capitol Hill and mass street protests, her book is a rallying cry for why we must all wake up and fight to protect the living planet, no matter how powerless we feel. Our future depends upon it.

This book examines the reintroduction and recovery of the wolf in the Northern Rocky Mountains. The wolf was driven to brink of extinction through conscious government policy. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 provided the means for wolf's return, which began in the Carter administration and continues in the Obama administration. The battle over the wolf is part of a larger struggle over the management of public lands, generating public law litigation. Interest groups brought suit in federal courts, challenging the Department of Interior's implementation of policy. The federal courts were required to interpret the statutory mandates and review Interior's decisions to insure statutory compliance. The analysis of this public law litigation demonstrates that the federal courts correctly interpreted the statutory mandates and properly supported and checked Interior's decisions. This book focuses on the controversial role of the courts in the resolution of public policy conflicts. Judicial skeptics argue that the courts should not get involved in complex public policy disputes as Judges lack the expertise and information to make informed decisions. Judicial proponents, by contrast, argue that judicial involvement is necessary so Federal courts can oversee federal agencies, which are under conflicting pressure from interest groups, the President, Congress, and their own internal dynamics. This book supports the conclusions of judicial proponents and points out that the federal courts have been instrumental in the return and recovery of the wolf to the Northern Rocky Mountains.

This monograph is the result of eight years of bibliographical and field research concerning several behavioural ecology aspects of the Palaearctic falcons. For a while, this book grew along with "The Lanner falcon" published in 2015 and revised in 2017. In both books the main aim was to provide a clear overview of the biology and ecology of these species. In fact in the last 20 years, the number of publications on falcons has grown tremendously and, in parallel, also those belonging to the so-called "grey literature". The number of people involved is also increased by including both academics and nature lovers. Many previously published books emphasized identification, and offered little insights on the behavioural and ecological aspects of the species. Very often, the research on behavioural ecology remains closed within the confines of academic community. By contrast, a multitude of basic data is scattered in countless articles published in local magazines. Many falcon species are easy to observe and study (such as kestrels) but others are more rare and localized. In order to understand the survival strategies adopted by this group of avian predators, it is necessary not to lose sight of the overall picture. This book tries to explain the different survival strategies by examining, through a few essential chapters, some crucial aspects for all species. The first chapter provides information on the genus Falco, its genetics, evolution and morphological peculiarities. The other chapters deal with reproductive strategies, competition, exploitation of resources, dispersal patterns, communication and sociality. One of the main objectives of this book is to produce an accessible but scholarly curated source of reference. By understanding the most common species, it is possible to provide a working framework for rarer, and especially threatened, falcon species.

This book addresses the climate change crisis through scientific, historical, and spiritual lenses. Using Bernard Lonergan's functional specialization method, developed to facilitate collaboration among specialists, Raymaker and Durrani not only analyze data and rebut the claims of climate change deniers, but also look for inspiration to motivate and coordinate needed action by persons, groups, and nations. The book is wide-ranging in its historical examination of leaders who have shown us ways to work together constructively in finding solutions to problems. Lonergan's method helps us study the past with a view to change the future. To do so, we must first reform ourselves.

Amphibian species around the world are unusually vulnerable to a variety of threats, by no means all of which are properly understood. Volume 11 in this major series is published in parts devoted to the causes of amphibian decline and to conservation measures in regions of the world. This volume, Part 4 in the series, is concerned with Southern Europe (Italy, Malta, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Albania, Greece, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Cyprus). Each chapter has been written by experts from each country, describing the ecological background and the conservation status of affected species, with an emphasis on native species. As well as infectious diseases and parasites, threats take the form of introduced and invasive species, pollution, destruction and alteration of habitat, and climatic change. These are discussed as they affect each species. All these countries have monitoring schemes and conservation programs, whose origins and activities are described. Recommendations for action are also made. Edited by leading scholars in the field, Volume 11, when complete, will provide a definitive survey of the amphibian predicament and a stimulus to further research with the objective of arresting the global decline of an entire class of animal.

A global synthesis of the impacts of wildfires and controlled burning on insects, bringing together much hitherto scattered information to provide a guide to improved conservation management practice. The great variety of responses by insect species and assemblages demonstrates the often subtle balance between fire being a severe threat and a vital management component. Examples from many parts of the world and from diverse biotopes and production systems display the increasingly detailed appreciation of fire impacts on insects in terrestrial and freshwater environments and the ways in which prescribed burning may be tailored to reduce harmful ecological impacts and incorporated into protocols for threatened species and wider insect conservation benefits.