Providing useful insights on the use of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) in natural resource management, this book examines a number of empirical applications for several countries and a variety of natural resources. It is shown that using MCDA in the management of water, forestry, wetland and other natural resources can substantially improve the design and implementation of natural resource and environmental policies. Stakeholder involvement is also an important determinant of successful resource management and MCDA provides a useful and effective framework for getting stakeholders involved in resource management decisions. Using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis in Natural Resource Management gives in-depth analysis of the potential problems in applying these techniques, including difficulties eliciting required information, lack of suitable measures for environmental variables and the need to develop innovative methods to simplify the use of MCDA.

Today, one-quarter of all the land in Latin America is set apart for nature protection. In Nationalizing Nature, Frederico Freitas uncovers the crucial role played by conservation in the region's territorial development by exploring how Brazil and Argentina used national parks to nationalize borderlands. In the 1930s, Brazil and Argentina created some of their first national parks around the massive Iguazu Falls, shared by the two countries. The parks were designed as tools to attract migrants from their densely populated Atlantic seaboards to a sparsely inhabited borderland. In the 1970s, a change in paradigm led the military regimes in Brazil and Argentina to violently evict settlers from their national parks, highlighting the complicated relationship between authoritarianism and conservation in the Southern Cone. By tracking almost one hundred years of national park history in Latin America's largest countries, Nationalizing Nature shows how conservation policy promoted national programs of frontier development and border control.

The monograph focuses on the European freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera, which is an endangered bivalve species. Most of its populations in the Russian section of the Baltic Sea basin had never been studied, although they were known in the past to the pearl fishers. "Rediscovery" included search for the previously unknown populations, revealing the facts of population extinctions, analysis of negative impacts, elaboration of conservation measures, and revealing of regularities in distribution. Patterns of land use and river management were analyzed. The procedure of "rediscovery" was applied for other animal species of Northwest Russia, which are threatened on a global scale - thick-shelled mussel, Unio crassus; curlew Numenius arquata; black-tailed godwit, Limosa limosa; Northern Lapwing, Vanellus vanellus; European mink, Mustela lutreola; pond bat, Myotis dasycneme; Atlantic sturgeon, Acipenser sturio; and broad-clawed crayfish, Astacus astacus. The methods and principles of conservation studies were discussed. The obtained data were analyzed with respect to current global change of biosphere. The book will appeal to specialists dealing with conservation studies and activities such as red lists, river protection, and conservation of endangered species. Moreover, a part of the book represents an interest for biogerontology as it presents discredit of the popular concept on "negligible senescence." The data on distribution of some animals in Russia will be interesting in terms of zoology and biogeography, as they are not yet sufficiently represented in the international editions. The book can be used as supplemental reading for courses in biological invasions, ecology and conservation, and biodiversity. The work also contains chapters on global processes (deforestation, desertification, river degradation) and can therefore also be used for general courses in environmental sciences.

Caring for Natural Rangelands provides practical guidelines for the management of natural rangelands with worldwide application. It will be essential to those who deal with practical management problems like the control of soil erosion, sensitive road maintenance and invasive alien plant control on a regular basis. Farmers, landscape managers, nature and game reserve managers and students of natural resource management will find instruction and remedy within these pages. The approach is one of understanding the natural ecology system and working ethically within it. The well-tested methods recommended are simple but effective, and if suitably adapted to local conditions, can contribute to the significant rehabilitation of degraded rangelands.

Natural radiation arises from many sources, from the unstable atoms within our own bodies and in the materials around us, from the Sun, and even from beyond the Solar System. Additional sources include the legacy of testing nuclear weapons, nuclear waste, and nuclear accidents. All these sources have provided means of dating environmental materials and tracing the movements of substances through land, sea, and air. But ionising radiation also interacts with DNA, which has led to a remarkable range of studies to examine how and how quickly these unstable atoms are accumulated by both humans and biota, and their various effects on both. Providing an overview of the sources, uses and impacts of ionising radiation in the environment, and the frameworks developed to manage exposures to them, this is a valuable reference for graduate students and researchers interested in radioecology, environmental science and radiological protection.

Pinnipeds are marine mammals that include eared seals, true seals, and walruses. This book presents detailed reviews on the ecology and conservation of 10 pinniped species along the coasts and islands in Latin America, from Mexico to Chile and Argentina. Topics covered include their population dynamics, trophic ecology, reproduction, and behavior. In addition, the book addresses major conservation issues regarding climate change, interaction with fisheries, ecotourism, and other human activities.

This book provides an introduction to peatlands for the non-specialist student reader and for all those concerned about environmental protection, and is an essential guide to peatland history and heritage for scientists and enthusiasts. Peat is formed when vegetation partially decays in a waterlogged environment and occurs extensively throughout both temperate and tropical regions. Interest in peatlands is currently high due to the degradation of global peatlands which is disrupting hydrology and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. This book opens by explaining how peat is formed, its properties and worldwide distribution, and defines related terms such as mires, wetlands, bogs and marshes. There is discussion of the ecology and wildlife of peatlands as well as their ability to preserve pollen and organic remains as environmental archives. It also addresses the history, heritage and cultural exploitation of peat, extending back to pre-Roman times, and the degradation of peatlands over the centuries, particularly as a source of fuel but more recently for commercial horticulture. Other chapters discuss the ecosystem services delivered by peatlands, and how their destruction is contributing to biodiversity loss, flooding or drought, and climate change. Finally, the many current peatland restoration projects around the world are highlighted. Overall the book provides a wide-ranging but concise overview of peatlands from both a natural and social science perspective, and will be invaluable for students of ecology, geography, environmental studies and history.

Examine why illegal logging is so pervasiveand how this problem can be addressed In March 2002, the Yale chapter of the International Society of Tropical Foresters brought together social and natural scientists, resource managers, policymakers, community leaders, and other interested parties to share experiences, strategies, successes, and failures in addressing illegal logging and corruption. The results were the conference Illegal Logging in Tropical Forests: Ecology, Economics, and Politics of Resource Misuse and this book, which brings together analyses from the perspectives, of anthropology, economics, forestry, law, political science, and sociology. Illegal Logging in the Tropics: Strategies for Cutting Crime suggests specific policy interventions aimed at curbing illegal logging and identifying solutions to forest crime. It presents both thematic analyses of illegal logging at the global level and case studies on both the local and national levels in African, Latin American, and Asian countries. The contributors draw on their experiences in Benin, Brazil, Cameroon, India, Indonesia, Mexico, and Vietnam. Illegal Logging in the Tropics: Strategies for Cutting Crime examines: global governancewith a cross-country regression analysis of deforestation and various aspects of governance global forest tradewith extensive reviews of data on global trade in forest products community perspectives on illegal loggingincluding a system dynamics model of villagers' willingness to log, a description of community involvement in broader networks of illegal trade, and a chapter that challenges the credibility of illegality as defined by a corrupt government or agency the efforts of NGOs to combat illegal logging how illegal logging is typically symptomatic of broader failures of governance Specific chapters in Illegal Logging in the Tropics: Strategies for Cutting Crime investigate: the role of monitoring in cutting forest crime whether illegal logging is better combated via law enforcement or by local communitieswith pros and cons for each approach the proximate causes of illegal logging, including access to forests and equipment, and economic factors the efforts of Transparency Internationala widely lauded organization combating corruptionto address illegal logging at the international policy level In addition, this valuable resource provides you with an essential overview of the literature on illegal logging, an in-depth analysis of the incentive structures that bring local residents to commit forest crimes, and a great deal more. Let Illegal Logging in the Tropics: Strategies for Cutting Crime be your guide to the intricacies of this increasingly urgent issue.

The Global Biodiversity Assessment is an independent, peer-reviewed, scientific analysis and assessment of the biological and socio-economic aspects of biodiversity. It was commissioned by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The main conclusions drawn by the Assessment are presented in this 1995 Summary for Policy-Makers, which, together with the Executive Summary, has been prepared by the Editorial Group of the Global Biodiversity Assessment.

* "Whether you are a seasoned conservationist or forestry professional, an aspiring student or simply a concerned citizen, this book is for you." --David Kaimowitz, Director General, CIFOR* Most comprehensive reader in forestry yet published: covers all sectors within this broad subject area and edited by Jeffrey Sayer, the world's leading authority on forestry and development* Maps out the complex forestry field; introduces and explains key hard-to-find literatureArrangements for the governance and management of forests have been changing rapidly in recent decades. The post-Rio period has been one of unprecedented reexamination of what the world's forest resources consist of, who they should belong to, who should benefit from their conservation and management, and how all of this should be organized. This collection of outstanding papers on forests, development and livelihoods (until now widely dispersed throughout the literature) brings together the most recent thinking on these issues, and will give students and practitioners of forestry and natural resource management a rapid overview of what is changing, how, and why. The papers provide a balanced view of subjects that have been controversial or which the media and influential decisionmakers have misunderstood or misrepresented.

Marine Animal Forests (MAFs) are spread all over the world. Composed by suspension feeding organisms (e.g. corals, gorgonians, sponges, bryozoans, bivalves, etc.), MAFs constitute a vast number of marine ecosystems such as coral reefs, cold water corals, sponge grounds, bivalve beds, etc. The surface covered by these systems is prominent (at the scale of the oceans of the planet), though poorly known. In a previous book (Marine Animal Forests, the ecology of benthic biodiversity hotspots), several aspects of the MAFs were described and discussed, building the basis for a holistic approach with the aim of putting these shallow and deep sea ecosystems under a common umbrella. The main target of the present book is to identify and address important topics which were not covered in the previous three volumes. Bryozoans or Polychaeta, for example, are treated in this volume, as well as hydrothermal vents ecosystems and submarine caves, the chemical ecology in MAFs or the nursery effect on these ecosystems. The vastity of the MAF concept opens new insights in the biology, physiology, biodiversity of the organisms structuring these highly biodiverse ecosystems and on the dangers threatening them (such as microplastics or the role of invasive species as an impact of their trophic ecology or distribution). In a fast changing world, in which the complexity of MAFs is at risk, we propose an in-depth analysis of many aspects that may be inspirational for future research lines in marine biology and ecology.

The novelty of the book is a strong focus on perception, perspectives and prediction by scientists with profound insight into the ecology of ecosystems or into human demands and activity. The challenge is to bridge from empirical data and the knowledge of the past to the possibilities of the performance in the future. We assume that there is scope for more cooperation between the fields of ecology and practical philosophy or other social sciences in organising ecosystems and shaping the cultural future of humankind, and that such collaboration should be accorded considerably more priority. This book deals with environmental processes seen within a framework of the nature of ecosystems and human cultures. The future of the environment, the development of ecosystems and effective nature conservation management are the essentials of this book. Human nature and culture, and in particular their interactions, are interpreted as a set of rules and as given. The aim is not only to assess the significance of human influence on species composition and biodiversity but also to weigh up the subsequent potentials for action. In this book we will analyze the problems independently of one another, even if they are interconnected. This book focuses on perspectives and prognoses for the impacts of anthropogenic activity on ecosystems and thus on species conservation. Its goal is to improve assessments of the impacts of human activity on the environment. We are aware that prognoses have very often proven to be false. It is difficult to impossible to be able to predict with precision how evolution and ecosystems will change in future under anthropogenic influence. This strengthens our resolve to attempt to retain the highest possible degree of scientific integrity and professionalism and not to shy away from expressing the uncertainty of our own ideas and prognoses. We venture prognoses in this book and we will fail. However, we hope that we will be wrong on the right side.

This edited volume documents the current nature conservation status of arable habitats in Europe. Arable farming systems have evolved in the European landscape over more than ten thousand years and now occupy nearly 30% of the European land area. They support species that have life cycles closely synchronised with traditional cereal growing, many of which have experienced massive declines throughout Europe. For example, in Britain, of the 100 plant species exhibiting the greatest declines in the latter half of the 20th century, 47 were typical of arable land. Despite this the habitat and many of the species associated with it remains unprotected across much of Europe. The 22 chapters cover a range of topics, including: * Regional accounts describing the impact of changing agricultural practices on the arable flora; * The results of research and surveillance projects on the soil organisms, bryophyte flora, invertebrate fauna and pollinators of arable habitats; * The potential for designing multifunctional and resilient agricultural landscapes; The use of ex situ conservation to aid the reintroduction of rare arable plants; * Case studies illustrating how changing agricultural practices have impacted on bird populations in Europe; * The roles of remote sensing in monitoring agricultural systems; * How agri-environment schemes can help restore the biodiversity in arable habitats; and * A look forward at ways to help ensure the future security of the species associated with arable habitats. It is clear that the biodiversity of arable land throughout Europe has undergone major changes, particularly during the second half of the 20th century, and that these changes are continuing into the 21st century. We need to develop a deeper appreciation of farmland wildlife and its integration into farming systems to ensure its future security in a world where value is increasingly expressed in terms of material profit. This book is particularly relevant to practitioners, policy-makers and managers working in the fields of nature conservation, agri-environment schemes and land management, and to researchers working in the fields of conservation biology, terrestrial ecology, nature conservation, applied ecology, biodiversity, agriculture, agricultural ethics and environmental studies.

The Atlantic Forest is one of the 36 hotspots for biodiversity conservation worldwide. It is a unique, large biome (more than 3000 km in latitude; 2500 in longitude), marked by high biodiversity, high degree of endemic species and, at the same time, extremely threatened. Approximately 70% of the Brazilian population lives in the area of this biome, which makes the conflict between biodiversity conservation and the sustainability of the human population a relevant issue. This book aims to cover: 1) the historical characterization and geographic variation of the biome; 2) the distribution of the diversity of some relevant taxa; 3) the main threats to biodiversity, and 4) possible opportunities to ensure the biodiversity conservation, and the economic and social sustainability. Also, it is hoped that this book can be useful for those involved in the development of public policies aimed at the conservation of this important global biome.

Located in the heart of the Eastern Himalayas, Bhutan practices the philosophy of Gross National Happiness ("GNH") that embraces environmental conservation as one of the main building blocks for its sustainable development goals. Bhutan's conservation strategies and success are largely driven by the strong political will and visionary leadership of His Majesty the King of Bhutan The nation's Buddhist perspectives regarding a deep and abiding respect for nature; and the strategic enforcement of a wide-ranging stringent set of internal regulations and controls have helped ensure ecological gold standards in Bhutan. Moreover, the country is an active member of the international conservation community by fulfilling its implementation of various Multilateral Environment Agreements. While it emerged into the 21st century as one of the 36 global terrestrial "hotspots" in biological diversity conservation ranks, Bhutan's sheer commitment with more than 51% of its territory being managed under the explicit status of a protected area network, and more than 70% of the land under forest cover, represents Bhutan's exemplary dedication to protect the planet despite its smallness in size and economy, and the biological fragility exemplified by its hotspot situation. In the face of imminent severe threats of global warming, Bhutan nonetheless exemplifies the truth that "a small country with a big conservation commitment" can make an enormous contribution to the global community. At the regional level, Bhutan is intent upon protecting the Water Towers of Asia (that glacial expanse of the Himalayas) which is a critical resource bulwark for about one-fifth of the global population downstream in South Asia. Such protections invariably help mitigate climate change by acting as a nation-wide carbon sink through its carbon neutral policies. In short, Bhutan has long represented one of the world's foremost national guardians of biodiversity conservation, ecological good governance, and societal sustainability at a period when the world has entered the Anthropocene - an epoch of mass extinctions. We envision this publication to be ecologically and ethically provocative and revealing for the concerned scientific communities, and governments. Through an extensive review of the scientific and anthropological literature, as well as the research team's own data, the Author's have set forth timely recommendations for conservation policies, strategies and actions. This book provides technical and deeply considered assessments of the state of Bhutan's environment, its multiple, human-induced stressors and pressures; as well as extremely sound, practical techniques that would address conservation strategies in the Himalayas and, by implication, worldwide.

Ever since Nobel Prize-winning atmospheric chemist Paul Crutzen coined the term "Anthropocene" to describe our current era-one in which human impact on the environment has pushed Earth into an entirely new geological epoch-arguments for and against the new designation have been raging. Finally, an official working group of scientists was created to determine once and for all whether we humans have tossed one too many plastic bottles out the car window and wrought a change so profound as to be on par with the end of the last ice age. In summer 2016, the answer came back: Yes. In Making the Most of the Anthropocene, scientist Mark Denny tackles this hard truth head-on and considers burning questions: How did we reach our present technological and ecological state? How are we going to cope with our uncertain future? Will we come out of this, or are we doomed as a species? Is there anything we can do about what happens next? This book * explains what the Anthropocene is and why it is important* offers suggestions for minimizing harm instead of fretting about an impending environmental apocalypse * combines easy-to-grasp scientific, technological, economic, and anthropological analyses In Making the Most of the Anthopocene, there are no equations, no graphs, and no impenetrable jargon. Instead, you'll find a fascinating cast of characters, including journalists from outer space, peppered moths, and unjustly maligned Polynesians. In his bright, lively voice, Denny envisions a future that balances reaction and reason, one in which humanity emerges bloody but unbowed-and in which those of us who are prepared can make the most of the Anthropocene.

'Vanessa Nakate continues to teach a most critical lesson. She reminds us that while we may all be in the same storm, we are not all in the same boat.' Greta Thunberg 'An indispensable voice for our future.' Malala Yousafzai 'A powerful global voice.' Angelina Jolie No matter your age, location or skin colour, you can be an effective activist. Devastating flooding, deforestation, extinction and starvation. These are the issues that not only threaten in the future, they are a reality. After witnessing some of these issues first-hand, Vanessa Nakate saw how the world's biggest polluters are asleep at the wheel, ignoring the Global South where the effects of climate injustice are most fiercely felt. Inspired by a shared vision of hope, Vanessa's commanding political voice demands attention for the biggest issue of our time and, in this rousing manifesto for change, shows how you can join her to protect our planet now and for the future. Vanessa realised the importance of her place in the climate movement after she, the only Black activist in an image with four white Europeans, was cropped out of a press photograph at Davos in 2020. This example illustrates how those who will see the biggest impacts of the climate crisis are repeatedly omitted from the conversation. As she explains, 'We are on the front line, but we are not on the front page.' Without A Bigger Picture, you're missing the full story on climate change.

The Netherlands is one of the most prominent and innovative countries in the field of environmental planning. Since the 1990s, its government has introduced such groundbreaking schemes as Integrated Environmental Zoning, the City Environment Project and the Bubble Concept, and new approaches to coping with noise, odours, soil pollution, air pollution and safety issues. These initiatives and policy tools reflect a rapidly changing and decentralizing environmental policy, which contrasts with more conventional environmental ideologies. However, at present, little is know of these policies in the international arena. environmental planning. He shows how and why the country's planning system has moved away from its traditional top-down structure. The resulting changes have had far-reaching consequences for the traditional principles of Dutch Environmental policy. For example, contaminated soil no longer has to be cleaned up completely and national noise legislation is being dismantled in favour of local initiatives. In addition, measures for compensating excessive environmental loads are now open to discussion and environmental quality is a subject of negotiation among stakeholders. Environmental issues are no longer seen as issues that should be dealt with separately from other issues. It is recognized that environmental issues are often influenced by their local context and that policy must therefore be formulated in coherence with other area-related issues. Shared governance and participative decision-making are seen to be equally important. closely integrated with local initiatives that focus on general location-specific qualities. In this book, this development is referred to as tailor-made comprehensive planning, which relates closely to the local context, is area-specific, situation-dependent and embraces shared governance. Despite the fact that these developments in environmental planning in the Netherlands have raised a number of difficult questions, they have also created many interesting possibilities for dealing with environmental issues in complex situations.

Food - how it's grown, how it's shared - makes us who we are. This issue traces the connections between farm and food, between humus and human. According to the first book of the Bible, tending the earth was humankind's first task: "The Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed" (Gen. 2:8). The desire to get one's hands dirty raising one's own food, then, doesn't just come from modern romanticism, but is built into human nature. The title, "The Welcome Table," comes from a spiritual first sung by enslaved African-Americans. The song refers to the Bible's closing scene, the wedding feast of the Lamb described in the Book of Revelation, to which every race, tribe, and tongue are invited - a divine pledge of a day of freedom and freely shared plenty, of earth renewed and humanity restored. In the case of food, the symbol is the substance. Every meal, if shared generously and with radical hospitality, is already now a taste of the feast to come. Also in this issue: poetry by Luci Shaw; reviews of books by Julia Child, Robert Farrar Capon, Peter Mayle, Albert Woodfox, and Maria von Trapp; and art by Michael Naples, Sieger Koeder, Carl Juste, Andre Chung, Angel Bracho, Winslow Homer, Raymond Logan, Sybil Andrews, Cameron Davidson, and Jason Landsel. Plough Quarterly features stories, ideas, and culture for people eager to put their faith into action. Each issue brings you in-depth articles, interviews, poetry, book reviews, and art to help you put Jesus' message into practice and find common cause with others.

This open access book highlights concepts discussed at two international conferences that brought together world-renowned scientists to advance the science of potassium (K) recommendations for crops. There was general agreement that the potassium recommendations currently in general use are oversimplified, outdated, and jeopardize soil, plant, and human health. Accordingly, this book puts forward a significantly expanded K cycle that more accurately depicts K inputs, losses and transformations in soils. This new cycle serves as both the conceptual basis for the scientific discussions in this book and a framework upon which to build future improvements. Previously used approaches are critically reviewed and assessed, not only for their relevance to future enhancements, but also for their use as metrics of sustainability. An initial effort is made to link K nutrition in crops and K nutrition in humans. The book offers an invaluable asset for graduate students, educators, industry scientists, data scientists, and advanced agronomists.

Are money and technology the core illusions of our time? In this book, Alf Hornborg offers a fresh assessment of the inequalities and environmental degradation of the world. He shows how both mainstream and radical economists are limited by a particular worldview and, as a result, do not grasp that conventional money is at the root of many of the problems that are threatening societies, not to mention planet Earth itself. Hornborg demonstrates how market prices obscure asymmetric exchanges of resources - human labor, land, energy, materials - under a veil of fictive reciprocity. Such unequal exchange, he claims, underpins the phenomenon of technological development, which is, fundamentally, a redistribution of time and space - human labor and land - in world society. Hornborg deftly illustrates how money and technology have shaped our thinking and our social and ecological relations, with disturbing consequences. He also offers solutions for their redesign in ways that will promote justice and sustainability.