A wonderland of sky, water, grass, and birdsong, the Ibera marshlands of Corrientes Province are the preeminent wildlife habitat in Argentina and a globally important natural treasure. Esteros del Ibera, a landmark volume celebrating a peerless place, invites the reader to experience this spectacle of nature. One of the largest freshwater wetlands in South America, comprising more than 2.5 million acres, the Ibera was forged from ancient geological forces and the long-ago wanderings of the mighty Parana River. Today the landscape is a locus of conservation activity including a campaign to create a new national park to protect the biodiversity of this striking region. Increasingly a destination for nature lovers, the marshlands attract birdwatchers from across the Earth, who come to see some 360 avian species that are found here. A native son of Corrientes, world-class nature photographer Juan Ramon Diaz Colodrero has spent years documenting the region's birdlife and other wild creatures. In Esteros del Ibera, his dazzling images put the reader into the heart of the Ibera's life-affirming beauty. Supporting essays by leading regional conservationists and other experts illuminate the Ibera's diverse natural communities and distinctive human culture. While the area is remarkably unspoiled, innovative conservation projects are augmenting wildlife populations and returning missing native species such as the giant anteater and the jaguar to their rightful homes in the landscape of shining waters. The Ibera presents a stark contrast to the modern world, a place where the trajectory of land health is moving toward integrity and wildness.

Decision Consequence Analysis (DCA) is a framework for improving the quality of decision results. The framework is a systematic, multi-criteria quantification of uncertainties and the opportunities for managing and reducing the potential negative consequences of such uncertainties. DCA is demonstrated throughout Sustainable Land Development and Restoration for each stage of system based management of environmental issues. DCA links disciplines and incorporates components of risk modelling, probability modelling and the psychology of decision making. Its goal is to provide a comprehensive unbiased decision making framework. Its foundation is accurately defining your problem statement and clearly vetting your objectives to build a structure for meaningful analysis of data. Employment of DCA consistently throughout the environmental industry can reduce decibel-driven, agenda-laden decision making, streamline expenditure of resources (financial, human, natural), and provide a clear path to the sustainable maintenance of balanced environmental systems as the penultimate objective. Sustainable Land Development and Restoration provides a toolbox to both the novice and experienced environmental practitioner of valuable techniques for addressing site specific environmental issues, as well as managing a portfolio of liabilities on an international scale. Ultimately, the authors are addressing the critical issue of balancing environmental asset balance sheets, whether on the scale of an individual project, across a company's portfolio, or for a community. The environmental manager who adopts the principles in this book will have greater confidence that environmental protection or restoration activities are providing measurable utility. The goal is that, through multidimensional resource management analysis and practices companies and societies can achieve sustainable maintenance of a balanced environmental system. Descriptions of technical, contracting and implementation processes are supported by detailed case studies to provide real world context rather than an academic exchange of theories.

Time and Methods in Environmental Interfaces Modelling: Personal Insights considers the use of time in environmental interfaces modeling and introduce new methods, from the global scale (e.g. climate modeling) to the micro scale (e.g. cell and nanotubes modeling), which primarily arise from the personal research insights of the authors. As the field of environmental science requires the application of new fundamental approaches that can lead to a better understanding of environmental phenomena, this book helps necessitate new approaches in modeling, including category theory, that follow new achievements in physics, mathematics, biology, and chemistry.

Shivalik ranges cover an area of about 2.14 million ha in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Haryana States of north-west India. Over exploitation of the resources in the region had lead to soil erosion resulting in the rise of riverbeds, siltation of tanks, reservoirs and other natural water bodies. Soil erosion greater than 80 t ha-1 yr-1 have been recorded from denuded hills at places. More than 70 per cent people of the region are dependent on agriculture, however, only 18 per cent of the cultivated area is irrigated. Agroforestry where tree and crops are integrated with each other had been recommended worldwide to check soil erosion and simultaneously achieve production goals. Adoption of scientifically proven agroforestry systems in Shivaliks can reverse the degradation and improve the economic status of the farmers of the region. Extensive research had been done till date on role of agroforestry in resource conservation and livelihood security in the region. The book is an attempt to compile the available knowledge on the subject. There are 20 s in the book covering various topics relating agroforestry systems with soil and water conservation, livelihood security, slope protection through mechanical and vegetative measures, fertility build up, mine spoil rehabilitation, bamboos, climate change and carbon sequestration.

Russia and the Politics of International Environmental Regimes is an important and timely analysis of Russia's interaction with the international environmental policy process. The three authors draw on a wealth of research experience working within the region in order to explore Russia s activities with respect to climate policy, water protection and fisheries management. Their detailed analysis provides an illuminating and much-needed insight into the interaction between Russian foreign and domestic policy goals and international environmental regimes operating at a range of scales.' - Jonathan Oldfield, University of Birmingham, UK'This is a timely contribution to our understanding of the motives behind, and results to be expected from, Russia's international environmental engagement. By focusing on climate change policy, Barents Sea fisheries, and regional seas protection in the Baltic, the authors judiciously conclude that trans-boundary environmental commitments are primarily the result of 'great power' concerns including domestic economic growth, regional trade, and a globally favorable image - not ecological conscience. The book represents a major step forward in post-Soviet foreign policy studies.' - David Feldman, University of California, Irvine, US 'This valuable book brings together the insights and research of three established scholars. Students new to the environmental aspects of Russia's international engagement will appreciate the clear and readable case studies. The findings and discussion that result from the authors' unique and rigorous cross-case comparison will be of great interest to scholars of Russia s foreign policy and environmental policy more broadly.' - Elana Wilson Rowe, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs Russia and the Politics of International Environmental Regimes examines the political relationship between Russia and other states in environmental matters. Based on detailed empirical analysis and data, including interviews and media sources, this groundbreaking book scrutinizes the dynamics of Russia's participation in international environmental politics. The authors explore three detailed case studies focusing on climate policy, water protection and fisheries management. They then recommend how best to negotiate with Russia on key environmental issues. This book will be of particular interest to scholars of environmental politics, international relations and Russian studies. Environmental policymakers will also find this to be a useful tool when looking to understand environmental politics within Russia. Contents: Preface 1. Introduction 2. Environmental Regimes and Russia's Approaches to Environmental and Foreign Policy 3. The Global Case: The Climate Regime 4. The Regional Case: Protecting the Environment of the Baltic Sea 5. The Bilateral Case: Fisheries Management in the Barents Sea 6. Discussion: Two levels of Discourses in Russian Environmental Policy 7. Conclusion: Environmental Encounters? References Index

The surprising history of the Gowanus Canal and its role in the building of Brooklyn For more than 150 years, Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal has been called a cesspool, an industrial dumping ground, and a blemish on the face of the populous borough-as well as one of the most important waterways in the history of New York harbor. Yet its true origins, man-made character, and importance to the city have been largely forgotten. Now, New York writer and guide Joseph Alexiou explores how the Gowanus creek-a naturally-occurring tidal estuary that served as a conduit for transport and industry during the colonial era-came to play an outsized role in the story of America's greatest city. From the earliest Dutch settlers of New Amsterdam, to nearby Revolutionary War skirmishes, or the opulence of the Gilded Age mansions that sprung up in its wake, historical changes to the Canal and the neighborhood that surround it have functioned as a microcosm of the story of Brooklyn's rapid nineteenth-century growth. Highlighting the biographies of nineteenth-century real estate moguls like Daniel Richards and Edwin C. Litchfield, Alexiou recalls the forgotten movers and shakers that laid the foundation of modern-day Brooklyn. As he details, the pollution, crime, and industry associated with the Gowanus stretch back far earlier than the twentieth century, and helped define the culture and unique character of this celebrated borough. The story of the Gowanus, like Brooklyn itself, is a tale of ambition and neglect, bursts of creative energy, and an inimitable character that has captured the imaginations of city-lovers around the world.