Transboundary haze has been a recurring problem in the Southeast Asian region since at least 1982. Why does this toxic form of air pollution still persist? Helena Varkkey, a Malaysian political scientist, has been studying this multifaceted problem for more than fifteen years. This book provides an ideal collection for those who want a clear but concise introduction to this complex issue. Its commentaries explore how often sensitive matters of ASEAN diplomacy, national interest or political patronage continue to stand in the way of clear skies in the region.

Global society is once again focusing its attention on the Amazon, but the outlook is bleak. Top-down approaches that depend on macroeconomic policies are not changing the behaviour of the inhabitants of the forest frontier. Efforts to improve law enforcement have failed because frontier societies are profoundly unequal; inequality encourages informality, breeding corruption and illegality. Indigenous people have stepped into the breach and are doing what they can to stave off disaster, but they are vastly outnumbered. Most inhabitants - who are also citizens that vote - pursue conventional production models that are fundamentally non-sustainable. They might choose different pathways, given the opportunity, but these are limited by the frontier economy and the social reality of their communities. We are losing the Amazon. Volume One of Tim Killeen's serial monograph delivers an unvarnished description of the obstacles to conserving the world's largest and most important tropical forest. Chapter One starts with a lucid narrative of the complex and interrelated social and economic forces driving deforestation, with a critical review of policy initiatives designed to change that trajectory towards a more sustainable future. Chapters Two (Infrastructure), Three (Agriculture) and Four (Land) lay bare the history, economics and business models that underpin the conventional economy. Two further volumes will address other key aspects of a sustainable future, including: the extractive sector (Ch. 5); the culture wars that divide the populace (Ch. 6); evolving governance systems (Ch. 7); the potential of the forest economy (Ch. 8); advances in biodiversity science (Ch. 9); the looming impact of climate change (Ch.10); the indigenous awakening (Ch.11); conservation policy (Ch.12); and, finally, the future (Ch.13). Killeen's enormously ambitious effort seeks to understand and explain all the complex and interrelated phenomena driving (and impeding) change across the region. If you are concerned about the fate of the Amazon, you must read this book.

Despite a century of study by ecologists, recovery following disturbances (succession) is not fully understood. This book provides the first global synthesis that compares plant succession in all major terrestrial biomes and after all major terrestrial disturbances. It asks critical questions such as: Does succession follow general patterns across biomes and disturbance types? Do factors that control succession differ from biome to biome? If common drivers exist, what are they? Are they abiotic or biotic, or both? The authors provide insights on broad, generalizable patterns that go beyond site-specific studies, and present discussions on factors such as varying temporal dynamics, latitudinal differences, human-caused vs. natural disturbances, and the role of invasive alien species. This book is a must-read for researchers and students in ecology, plant ecology, restoration ecology and conservation biology. It also provides a valuable framework to aid land managers attempting to manipulate successional recovery following increasingly intense and widespread human-made disturbances.

Twelve lessons that trees can teach us to achieve inner calm, with mindfulness and journaling exercises. Forest bathing, tree hugging, 'earthing' and nature retreats--more and more, we are craving a return to nature, to peace, and simplicity. This book shows the way. When international opera tenor and forester Vincent Karche lost his voice, he was instructed by a shamanic healer that, to regain it, he would have to find himself again first. Thus began a journey into the heart of the forest. In this book, Vincent mirrors the cyclical nature of the seasons to help us reconnect to our natural rhythm, find inner peace, and activate physical and emotional healing. Just as a tree anchors its roots into the earth to weather storms, so too can we learn to cultivate resilience; to find instant relief from stress, we need only breathe slowly in and out as a tree would; and we can forge stronger relationships by encouraging symbiotic links with all beings, giving and taking only what we need as trees and plants do. In this poetic exploration of the unbreakable bond between nature and human, Vincent reminds us that we are both the forest and the tree: each unique in our being and yet part of a Divine natural creation.

Forests--and the trees within them--have always been a central resource for the development of technology, culture, and the expansion of humans as a species. Examining and challenging our historical and modern attitudes toward wooded environments, this engaging book explores how our understanding of forests has transformed in recent years and how it fits in our continuing anxiety about our impact on the natural world. Drawing on the most recent work of historians, ecologist geographers, botanists, and forestry professionals, Charles Watkins reveals how established ideas about trees--such as the spread of continuous dense forests across the whole of Europe after the Ice Age--have been questioned and even overturned by archaeological and historical research. He shows how concern over woodland loss in Europe is not well founded--especially while tropical forests elsewhere continue to be cleared--and he unpicks the variety of values and meanings different societies have ascribed to the arboreal. Altogether, he provides a comprehensive, interdisciplinary overview of humankind's interaction with this abused but valuable resource.