The mighty and majestic European bison is the relictual embodiment of the wildness of prehistoric Europe. Tragically, the millennia since that time have seen so many species driven to extinction by human impacts, and the European bison has only narrowly avoided the same fate. Today, the species represents the symbolic sentinel of successful conservation actions in a world in which such achievements remain few and far between.

From an early stage in the restitution of the European bison, husband-and-wife team Ma gorzata Krasi ska and Zbigniew A. Krasi ski have been participating in relevant management initiatives and researching all facets of the bison, from its morphology and diet, to its movements, social life and reproduction, and the conservation management actions that have been taken to save it. Now they have summarised this wealth of knowledge on the species, giving rise to a publication ideal for students, professional biologists and conservationists, but also for all nature enthusiasts.

This new edition of the monograph offers extensively updated content taking into account research carried out on the European bison in the last few years. Also featured, a new chapter devoted to knowledge of the genetics of the species drawn up by Ma gorzata Tokarska of the Bia owie a-based Mammal Research Institute PAS.

This important book examines the economic policies required to reduce carbon dioxide emissions - a major source of pollution throughout the world. It explores the likely impact of environmental taxes on income distribution and economic welfare. The authors consider a tax on domestic fuel and power and a carbon tax, and the likely adverse distribution effects of these on a population. The analysis allows for the direct and indirect effects (through inter-industry transactions) of taxes on prices and consumers' responses to these price changes. The welfare effects are also estimated for a variety of income groups. The authors then evaluate the inequality and social welfare measures and consider whether the distributional effects can be overcome by adjusting transfer payments to compensate lower-income groups. This study examines environmental taxes in Australia with methods which can be applied to other countries, some of which were specifically designed to overcome data limitation problems. Environmental Taxes and Economic Welfare will be of special interest to researchers, academics, policymakers and advisers on taxation and environmental policy.

Watersheds, supplying crucial ecosystem services to humans, seem to be a logical territorial unit to integrate societal benefits and environmental needs in order to evaluate the sustainability of natural resource use patterns. Based on this belief the book is an attempt to initiate a comprehensive environmental security assessment in the basin of the Azov Sea, shared by Russia and Ukraine. Though the region provides a variety of essential services and plays a strategic role in national and international development plans, it has been excluded from most regional environmental discussions. At the same time there is an alarming degradation rate of basin freshwater ecosystems that has occurred due to overutilization of certain prioritized services (e.g. transportation). The collapse of neglected services (e.g. fishery and freshwater supply) poses serious threats to the national economies as well as the local population, and to mitigate these threats priority in water management should be given to securing sustainability of the regional freshwater ecosystems. In addition to the review of the current status of Azov ecosystem services, the authors analyze likely future availability and challenges. The relevant experience derived from basin management of the Black Sea and other similar basins is also discussed.

Shows how rewarding our green inheritance is - before it is too late and we destroy our life-support system Highlights a deepening concern about the destruction that threatens our plant heritage Demonstrates the wonder and worth of plants and their great importance and potential - plants provide us with power - food, energy, medication and oxygen levels Explains why our plants cannot take any more punishment and how those that remain can be saved Actively campaigns the need to halt the devastation on our plant system and subsequently the animal kingdom

Much of the country's recent population growth is situated in exurban areas. By many accounts exurbanization has become the dominant pattern of land development in the country and there is no indication it will slow in the foreseeable future (Theobald 2005; Brown et al. 2005; Glennon and Kretser 2005). By definition, exurban development takes place beyond the metropolitan fringe, often in rural and remote areas. The development of new exurban communities is a growing trend, especially in the West. In this case, developers and homebuilders seek large tracts of land, up to thousands of acres, in rural areas (typically within 50 miles of a large city) where they plan entire communities consisting of commercial, retail and residential land uses. Recreational amenities such as golf courses and hiking/biking trails are often included in these master-planned developments.

Our philosophy is reflected in the book's two objectives. First, we seek to document the extent and impacts of exurban development across the country. At issue is demonstrating why planners and the public-at-large should be concerned about exurbanization. We will demonstrate that even though exurbanization favors amenity rich regions, it affects all areas of the country through the loss of agricultural and grazing lands, impacts to watersheds and land modification. A summary of environmental impacts is presented, including the loss of wildlands and agricultural productivity, land modification, soil erosion, impacts to terrestrial hydrologic systems, the loss of biodiversity, nonnative and endangered species and other topics.

Our second aim is to provide readers from diverse (nonscientific) backgrounds with a working knowledge of how and why exurbanization impacts environmental systems. This is accomplished by working closely to ensure contributors follow a specific outline for each chapter. First, contributors will spell out fundamental concepts, principles and processes that apply to their area of expertise (e.g., riparian areas). Contributors will move beyond a cursory understanding of ecological processes without overwhelming readers with the dense material found typically in specialized texts. For this reason, visuals and other support materials will be integral to each chapter. We have chosen contributors carefully based on their record as research scientists and acumen as educators. Second, once the mechanics have been laid out, authors will explain how and why land development in nearby areas influences ecosystems. Issues of interdependency, modification and adaptation, spatial scale and varying time horizons will be featured. Third, contributors will weigh in on the pros and cons of various land-development schemes. Fourth, authors will share their thinking on the merits of conservation devices such as wildlife corridors, open-space requirements and watershed management districts. Finally, each chapter will conclude by identifying pitfalls to avoid and highlighting "best practices" that will mitigate environmental problems or avoid them altogether. In sum, after completing each chapter, readers should have a firm grasp of relevant concepts and processes, an understanding of current research and know how to apply science to land-use decisions.

The book, a study of policymaking for conservation in Latin America, employs comparative analysis to explain the policy process in three countries—Argentina, Chile, and Costa Rica. Case studies and examples of important policy decisions made in the three countries are employed to help illuminate variations in the policy process from country to country. The analysis is set against the constant conflict between demands for economic development and conservation. Hopkins has selected important examples of policy problems in the areas of conservation, national parks, and environmental protection in the three countries and set these against the political system in each country for comparison. The cases range from the controversial issue of Lago Chungara in Chile to Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica to the Yacyreta hydroelectric project in Argentina. The study aims at beginning to fill an important gap in the literature on national parks, conservation, and environmental protection in Latin America. As such, the volume will be of interest to students of contemporary Latin America, policymaking, and environmental studies.

This book is the first comprehensive global review of all aspects of alien plant invasions in protected areas. It provides insights into advances in invasion ecology emanating from work in protected areas, and the link to locally relevant management support for protected areas. The book provides in-depth case studies, illuminating interesting and insightful knowledge that can be shared across the global protected area network. The book includes the collective understanding of 80 ecologists and managers to extract as much information as possible that will support the long-term management of protected areas, and the biodiversity and associated ecosystem services they maintain.

" This outstanding volume draws together pretty much all that can be said on this topic, ranging from the science, through policy, to practical action ." Dr. Simon N. Stuart, IUCN Species Survival Commission, UK.

""This important and timely volume addresses two of the most serious problems affecting biodiversity conservation today: assessing the extent to which protected areas are impacted by biological invasions and the complex problems of managing these impacts. Written by leading specialists, it provides a comprehensive overview of the issues and gives detailed examples drawn from protected areas across the world."" Professor Vernon H. Heywood, School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, UK

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On the eve of the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD), held in autumn 2002 in Johannesburg, South Africa, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan recommended five specific areas as focal points of discussion for the global forum: Water, energy, health, agriculture and biodiversity. In his address, "Towards a Sustainable Future," delivered just four months before the WSSD, Secretary General Annan contended that concrete progress in each of these areas, often referred to by their acronym WEHAB, would be key to improving the quality of life not only in the developing world but across the globe. For most people, I think it is fair to say that the inclusion of biodiversity in a list that focuses on basic human needs may not be self-evident. Water, energy, health and agriculture, yes. But why biodiversity? The truth is that biodiversity is just as critical to global well-being as water, energy, agriculture and health. This is because biodiversity both drives and shapes nature's intricate and dynamic structure in an enduring form and force that enables both current and future generations to enjoy its bounty.

Many attack pop culture as a crude 'sexual' and 'celebrity-based' culture that is purportedly bringing about the end of moral values. Renowned semiotician Marcel Danesi adds his signature insight to the debate by delving deep into pop culture through a consideration of symbols. Danesi's treatment of letters, such as the X in 'X-Rated,' the 'i' in 'iPod,' and other such symbols, reveals an ancient mythic structure that blends the sacred and profane dimensions of human psychic life. Danesi takes the reader on a remarkable exploration of the radical turns in American society, a society in which the search for pleasure and sexual expression often reign supreme. X-Rated! is a fascinating trip through what gives pop culture its secret appeal.

This book introduces some emerging functional foods that are natural resources with tremendous promise as nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals. The author considers biodiversity and bioprospecting as a response to food security issues, drug-resistance, nutrition-poor diets and other problems, exploring the prospects of several under-utilized nutrients and bioactive repositories. Readers will discover biochemical makeups, validated health benefits, explanations of underlying mechanisms, hurdles in the path of popularity and promotion strategies. Chapters explore particular plants, seeds and fruits including the strawberry guava, opuntia fruits, the Carissa genus, grape seeds, quinoa and the milk thistle (Silybum), amongst others. They are considered as food sources where possible and from the perspective of the roles they can play in complementary and alternative medicine, such as in wound healing, antimicrobial activity, gastroprotective activity in treatment of cancers and as natural antioxidant sources. This rich compilation holds plausible solutions to a range of current issues and it endorses the much-needed goal of sustainability in terms of diet and drugs. It paves the path for further research and development on hitherto obscure natural resources. Scientists working in the area of food development, phytochemical and antioxidant analysis, bioprospecting of low-profile foods and in complementary and alternative medicine will find this work particularly valuable. It will also be of interest to the general reader with an interest in food science, food security, phytochemicals and functional food studies.

Consumers are not usually incorporated into the sociological concept of 'division of labour', but using the case of household recycling, this book shows why this foundational concept needs to be revised.

Environmental governance encompasses our relations to nature, spanning institutions and policies in fields such as biodiversity loss, climate change, land use and pollution. This book offers tools for the study of environmental conflicts, analyzes the current status of environmental policies and discusses why we are so far from resolving many of the issues we face. It also offers alternative directions for future environmental governance. Key features include: - an interdisciplinary and integrated approach - an overview of the field of environmental governance - a focus both on local and global challenges and policies - the positioning of environmental governance within the wider field of economic policy and development. This book will be ideal for interdisciplinary masters programs in environmental studies and environmental policy and management. It will also be of great value to practitioners in the field exploring alternative solutions for governance of environmental resources.

By their adoption of Agenda 21, most of the world's governments have acknowledged the need for sustainable development. This implies that new policies are needed, focusing on economic, social, cultural and ecological goals. At the same time, we also need to solve existing environmental and social problems, and prevent the occurrence of new ones. This volume presents, tests and illustrates a theoretically well-founded procedure for discovering regional opportunities for sustainable development, based on a systems approach to decision making. The procedure takes as its starting point the needs of the people involved, relating these to the measurement of available resources in order to find opportunities for multiple resource use and sustainable development. The needs of future generations and broader communities are taken into account throughout. The book studies regional planning and the implementation of plans, offering guidance and support to parties involved in debates on sustainable development, and improving the quality of their decision making.

With an annual growth rate of over 35%, wind is the fastest growing energy source in the world today. As a result of intensive research and developmental efforts, the technology of generating energy from wind has significantly changed during the past five years. The book brings together all the latest aspects of wind energy conversion technology - right from the wind resource analysis to grid integration of the wind generated electricity. The chapters are contributed by academic and industrial experts having vast experience in these areas. Each chapter begins with an introduction explaining the current status of the technology and proceeds further to the advanced lever to cater for the needs of readers from different subject backgrounds. Extensive bibliography/references appended to each chapter give further guidance to the interested readers.

This book dealt with a number of issues under the broad subject matter of protected area focusing on the policy of collaborative management as a means to augment the forest conservation activities and enhance community development in Bangladesh. Studies covered in the book emerged with the success stories of protected area co-management, both in terms of community development and biodiversity conservation. Significant level of development was noticed in the socio-economic conditions of the surrounding communities. Empowerment and improved social dignity of women participants signifies the initiation of co-management approach. The principles of participatory governance were found reasonably well reflected in legal and policy frameworks. Based on the lessons from the studies, a general metaphysical model, namely Spider-web model of protected area co-management has been developed that can be potentially applicable in countries where local communities rely heavily on protected areas."

More than two third of the surface area of our planet is covered by oceans and assessment of the marine biodiversity is a challenging task. With the increasing global population, there is a tendency to exploit marine recourses for food, energy and other requirements. This puts pressure on the fragile marine environment and needs sustainable conservation efforts. Marine species identification using traditional taxonomical methods are often burdened with taxonomic controversies. Here in this book we will discuss the comparatively new concept of DNA barcoding and its significance in marine perspective. This molecular technique can be helpful in the assessment of cryptic species which are widespread in marine environment, and can also be used to link the different life cycle stages to the adult which is difficult to accomplish in marine ecosystems. Other advantages of DNA barcoding include authentication and safety assessment of seafood, wildlife forensics, conservation genetics and detection of invasive alien species (IAS). Global DNA barcoding efforts in the marine habitat include MarBOL, CeDAMar, CMarZ, SHARK-BOL, etc. DNA barcoding of different marine groups ranging from the microbes to mammals is to be revealed. In conjugation with newer and faster techniques like high throughput sequencing, DNA barcoding is serving as an effective modern tool in marine biodiversity assessment and conservation.

Volume I contains a brief review of adsorption history and its development for practical purposes up until now. It also presents some important information on adsorbents and catalysts as well as on the methods of their characterization. The part of this volume dealing with practical industrial applications includes chapters presenting advanced technical tools for high capacity adsorption separation of liquid and gas mixtures, development of new adsorbents for removal of hazardous contaminants from combustion flue gases and wastewaters, degasification of coal seams and fabrication of inorganic membranes and their applications. A comprehensive review is also included on contemporary utility of self-assembled monolayers, adsorption proteins and their role in modern industry, adsorption methods in technology of optical fibre glasses, sol-gel technology, solid desiccant dehumidification systems, etc. The articles give both the scientific backgrounds of the phenomena discussed and emphasize their practical aspects.

The chapters give not only brief current knowledge about the studied problems, but are also a source of topical literature on the subject. A comprehensive bibliography on adsorption principles, design data and adsorbent materials for industrial applications for the period 1967-1997 concludes the book.

Indonesia possesses the second largest primate population in the world, with over 33 different primate species. Although Brazil possesses more primate species, Indonesia outranks it in terms of its diversity of primates, ranging from prosimians (slow lorises and tarsiers), to a multitude of Old World Monkey species (macaques, langurs, proboscis moneys) to lesser apes (siamangs, gibbons) and great apes (orangutans). The primates of Indonesia are distributed throughout the archipelago. Partly in response to the number of primates distributed throughout the Indonesian archipelago, Indonesia is classified as the home of two biodiversity hotspots (Wallacea and Sundaland). In order to be classified as a hotspot, an area must have a large proportion of endemic species coupled with a high degree of threat including having lost more than 70% of its original habitat. Two areas within Indonesia meet these criteria. The tremendous diversity of primates in Indonesia, in conjunction with the conservation issues facing the primates of this region, created a need for this volume.

The book adopts an application-oriented approach for ecorestoration of coalmine degraded. The theoretical aspects of ecorestoration, and steps involved in ecorestoration process and experimental aspects of thorough analytical procedures have been discussed in detail. It emphasizes on the types of mining, land degradation, and biodiversity conservation while giving details of technical and biological steps, topsoil management, selection of plant species, seeding, nursery practices; adoption of innovative approaches like mulching, biofertlizer application, hydroseeding, superabsorbent; use of grass-legume mix; monitoring and aftercare of reclaimed sites; the indicators of sustainable ecorestoration; and Rules and Acts implemented and followed across the world. Best ecorestoration practices, mine closure issues, collection, laboratory analysis and interpretation of minesoil and topsoil samples, monitoring biological parameters, litterfall and tree growth analysis, erosion management, design of drainage and sedimentation retention basin, and brief description of tree species with identifying character for field people are all part of the book. [Message by Prominent Academician] It is now urgent that methods of coal mining be integrated with engineering for ecorestoration because the larger society will not accept devastated waste land. A book, coming out from the hands of one of the persistent researchers of the field, cannot be more timely. Jayanta Bhattacharya, PhD FNAE Professor, Department of Mining Engineering Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur-721302, India.

Scholarship related to environmental questions in Latin America has only recently begun to coalesce around citizenship as both an empirical site of inquiry and an analytical frame of reference. This has led to a series of new insights and perspectives, but few efforts have been made to bring these various approaches into a sustained conversation across different social, temporal and geographic contexts. This volume is the result of a collaborative endeavour to advance debates on environmental citizenship, while simultaneously and systematically addressing broader theoretical and methodological questions related to the particularities of studying environment and citizenship in Latin America. Providing a window onto leading scholarship in the field, the book also sets an ambitious agenda to spark further research.