This book reviews recent research advances in sustainable agriculture, with focus on crop production, biodiversity and biofuels in Africa and Asia.

The rural areas of Britain, Europe and the developed world are undergoing massive changes, with increasing concern about productivity, agricultural methods and environmental policy. Rural Politics examines the issues affecting rural areas, such as water pollution, forestry, and the greening of agricultural policy. It looks in particular at the political parameters to these issues and how concern for the countryside is essentially a part of a wider set of political processes. Rural Politics provides a much needed examination of the evolution and content of policies affecting today's countryside, both in terms of major land uses and economic and social development.

'Jake Fiennes is changing the face of farming in Britain... a revolutionising force' Isabella Tree Our relationship with our land is broken: we must heal it. Jake Fiennes is on a mission to change the face of the English countryside. As Conservation Manager at Holkham in Norfolk, one of the country's largest historic country estates, his radical habitat restoration and agricultural work has nurtured its species and risen its crop yields - bringing back wetlands, hedgerows, birds and butterflies over 25,000 acres of land. But this isn't rewilding - there is no 'wild' in Britain anymore. Mass farming, crop science and industrial chemicals have destroyed the majority of our natural landscape and wildlife over the last century. Land Healer is the story of Fiennes's ambition to bring back our flora and fauna - by reclaiming our traditions and trialling new experiments which could restore our symbiosis with our land, and save our shared future. Following the farming year and the natural cycle of the seasons, Land Healer chronicles a life of conservation lived at the edges, and is a manifesto for rethinking our relationship with the natural world before it's too late.

Of the world's seven continents, Asia is the largest. Its physical landscapes, political units, and ethnic groups are both wide-ranging and many. Southwest, South and Middle Asia are highly populated regions which, as a whole, cover an extremely large area of varied geography. In total, this domain is unique in its plant diversity and large vegetation zones with different communities and biomes. It is rich in endemics, with specific and intraspecific diversity of fruit trees and medicinal plants, including a number of rare, high value, species. At the same time, much of the land in the region is too dry or too rugged, with many geographical extremes. Overgrazing, oil and mineral extraction, and poaching are the major threats in the area. This two-volume project focuses on the dynamic biodiversity of the region with in-depth analysis on phytosociology, plants, animals and agroecology. There are also chapters that explore new applications as well as approaches to overcome problems associated with climate change. Much of the research and analysis are presented here for the first time. We believe this work is a valuable resource for professionals and researchers working in the fields of plant diversity and vegetation, animal diversity and animal populations, and geo-diversity and sustainable land use, among others. The first volume guides our readers to West Asia and the Caucasus region, while volume two focuses on issues unique to South and Middle Asia.

Greenways -- linear open spaces that preserve and restore nature in cities, suburbs, and rural areas -- are proving to be the most innovative land protection concept of the decade. Their diverse manifestations and wide variety of ecological, social, and economic values have made them the focus of planning for the future open space needs of Americans.This book provides professionals and citizen activists with the tools they need for developing a greenway plan. Topics covered include: the physical development of a greenway organizing community resources forging partnerships among public agencies, private groups, citizens, and businesses principles of ecological design, including wetland restoration, water quality, and wildlife issues The book offers general guidance for the overall process along with specific detail for each step along the way. It is an invaluable source of information for professional and volunteer planners, with the recommendations, guidelines, warnings, and support needed for successful greenway development.

This book aims to be a comprehensive review of the literature on the conservation genetics of the New World crocodilians, from the biological and demographical aspects of the living species to the application of molecular techniques for conservation purposes. It covers the current status of the molecular genetics applied to phylogenetics, phylogeography, diversity, kinship and mating system, and hybridization, as well its implications for decision making with regards to the conservation of these species at academic and governmental levels. This book can be used as a guide for graduate and undergraduate students to understand how conservation genetics techniques are carried out and how they can help preserve not only crocodilians but also other living species.

Understanding the current state and dynamics of any forest is extremely difficult - if not impossible - without recognizing its history. Bialowieza Primeval Forest (BPF), located on the border between Poland and Belarus, is one of the best preserved European lowland forests and a subject of myriads of works focusing on countless aspects of its biology, ecology, management. BPF was protected for centuries (15th-18th century) as a game reserve of Polish kings and Lithuanian grand dukes. Being, at that time, a part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, BPF was subject to long-lasting traditional, multi-functional utilisation characteristic for this part of Europe, including haymaking on forest meadows, traditional bee-keeping and fishing in rivers flowing through forest. This traditional model of management came to an abrupt end due to political change in 1795, when Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania ceased to exist in effect of partitioning by neighbouring countries, and the territory of BPF was taken over by the Russian Empire. The new Russian administration, influenced by the German trends in forestry, attempted at introducing the new, science-based forestry model in the BPF throughout the 19th century. The entire 19th century in the history of BPF is a story of struggle between new trends and concepts brought and implemented by new rulers of the land, and the traditional perception of the forest and forest uses, culturally rooted in this area and originating from mediaeval (or older) practices. The book will show the historical background and the outcome of this struggle: the forest's history in the long 19th century focusing on tracking all cultural imprints, both material (artificial landscapes, introduced alien species, human-induced processes) and immaterial (traditional knowledge of forest and use of forest resources, the political and cultural significance of the forest) that shaped the forest's current state and picture. Our book will deliver a picture of a crucial moment in forest history, relevant not only to the Central Europe, but to the continent in general. Moment of transition between a royal hunting ground, traditional type of use widespread throughout Europe, to a modern, managed forest. Looking at main obstacles in the management shift, the essential difference in perceptions of the forest and goods it provides in both modes of management, and the implications of the management change for the state of BPF in the long 19th century could help in better understanding the changes that European forests underwent in general.

Although all living beings modify their environment, human beings have acquired the ability to do so on a superlative space-time scale. As a result of industrialization and the use of new technologies, the anthropogenic impact has been increasing in the last centuries, causing reductions in the sizes or the extinction of numerous wild populations. In this sense, from the field of conservation genetics, various efforts have been made in recent decades to provide new knowledge that contributes to the conservation of populations, species, and habitats. In this book, we summarize the concrete contributions of researchers to the conservation of the Neotropical mammals using Molecular Ecology techniques. The book is divided into three major sections. The first section provides an up-to-date review of the conservation status of Neotropical mammals, the applications of the molecular markers in its conservation, and the use of non-invasive and forensic genetic techniques. The second and third sections present, respectively, a series of case studies in various species or taxonomic groups of Neotropical mammals.

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.

Peru is classified as one of the deadliest countries in the world for environmental defenders, where activists face many forms of violence. Through an ethnographic and systematic comparison of four gold mining conflicts in Peru, Resisting Extractivism presents a vivid account of subtle and routine forms of violence, analyzing how meaning making practices render certain types of damage and suffering noticeable while occluding others. The book thus builds a ground-up theory of violence—how it is framed, how it impacts people's lived experiences, and how it can be confronted. By excavating how the everyday interactions that underlie conflicts are discursively concealed and highlighted, this study assists in the prevention and transformation of violence over resource extraction in Latin America. The book draws on a controlled, qualitative comparison of four case studies, extensive ethnographic research conducted over fourteen months of fieldwork, analysis of over 900 archives and documents, and unprecedented access to more than 250 semi structured interviews with key actors across industry, the state, civil society, and the media. Michael Wilson Becerril identifies, traces, and compares these dynamics to explain how similar cases can lead to contrasting outcomes-insights that may be usefully applied in other contexts to save lives and build better futures.

Choice Outstanding Book African American intellectual thought has long provided a touchstone for national politics and civil rights, but, as Kimberly Smith reveals, it also has much to say about our relationship to nature. In this first singleauthored book to link African American and environmental studies, Smith uncovers a rich tradition stretching from the abolition movement through the Harlem Renaissance, demonstrating that black Americans have been far from indifferent to environmental concerns. Beginning with environmental critiques of slave agriculture in the early nineteenth century and evolving through critical engagements with scientific racism, artistic primitivism, pragmatism, and twentiethcentury urban reform, Smith highlights the continuity of twentiethcentury black politics with earlier efforts by slaves and freedmen to possess the land. She examines the works of such canonical figures as Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Alain Locke, all of whom wrote forcefully about how slavery and racial oppression affected black Americans' relationship to the environment Smith's analysis focuses on the importance of freedom in humans' relationship with nature. According to black theorists, the denial of freedom can distort one's relationship to the natural world, impairing stewardship and alienating one from the land. Her pathbreaking study offers the first linkage of the early conservation movement to black history, the first detailed description of black agrarianism, and the first analysis of scientific racism as an environmental theory. It also offers a new way to conceptualize black politics by bringing into view its environmental dimension, as well as a normative environmental theory grounded in pragmatism and aimed at identifying the social conditions for environmental virtue. Smith's work offers a new approach to established writers and thinkers and shows that they justly deserve a place in the canon of American environmental thought. African American Environmental Thought enriches our understanding of black politics and environmental history, and of environmental theory in general. Because slavery and racism have shaped the meaning of the American landscape, this body of thought offers us fresh conceptual resources by which we can make better sense of our world.

This book offers a comprehensive review devoted exclusively to slate as dimension stone. Beginning with a description of the slate as dimension stone, the book describes the origin of slate and related geological phenomena. It thoroughly explains key data acquisition methods and techniques, which are accompanied by extensive data. In turn, slate standards are introduced and compared with regard to their importance for product quality. The book covers in detail the specific petrographical, fabric, strength, physical properties and weathering behaviour of slates. The chapter on mining and production provides an overview of the different forms of exploitation and related geotechnical aspects, together with production and workflow design, from the beginning to the final product. The second part comprises a thorough description of worldwide slate deposits and their geology, properties and appearance as well as a brief introduction of the history. Given its scope and accessible format, the book represents an essential guide for scientists, engineers, and professionals in geology, conservation science, architecture, and mining, as well as readers who are active in the slate industry.

Protected areas have often been defined as the backbones of biodiversity conservation. Protected areas have often been defined as the backbones of biodiversity conservation. However, legitimate demands formulated by countries for their economic development, growing human populations, forest fragmentations, and needs of local communities for sustainable livelihoods are also pressing demands on protected areas, stringently pressuring conservation community to identify means to reconcile long term biodiversity conservation and communities' livelihoods. Hence, integrating conservation activities within the global framework of economic development of countries with high biodiversity had become part of conservation paradigms. Integrated development as a route to conservation, strict protected areas, community managed areas, etc. have been tried but resulted in debatable outcomes in many ways. The lukewarm nature of these results brought 'landscape approach' at the front of biodiversity conservation in Central Africa. Since the late 1990s the landscape approach uses large areas with different functional attributes and shifts foundational biodiversity conservation paradigms. Changes are brought to the role traditionally attributed to local communities, aligning sustainable development with conservation and stretching conservation beyond the confines of traditional protected areas. These three shifts need a holistic approach to respond to different conservation questions. There are only a few instances where the landscape experience has been scientifically documented and lessons learnt drawn into a corpus of knowledge to guide future conservation initiatives across Central Africa. To subjugate one biodiversity conservation landscape as one case study emerged as a matter of urgency to present the potential knowledge acquired throughout the landscape experiment, including leadership and management, processes tried, results (at least partially) achieved, and why such and such other process or management arrangement were been chosen among many other alternatives, etc. The challenges of the implementation of the conservation landscape approach needed also to be documented. This book responds to the majority of these questions; drawing its content from the firsthand field knowledge, it discusses these shifts and documents what has been tried, how successful (unsuccessful) it was, and what lessons learnt from these trials. Theoretical questions such as threat index, and ecological services, etc. are also discussed and gaps in knowledge are identified.

Take an enchanting journey through the shifting seasons in a wildlife sanctuary home to wetland, forest, and grassland and supporting an incredible diversity of plants and animals. Flocks of waterfowl exploding into steely skies above frozen marshland, salamanders creeping across the forest floor to vernal pools, chorusing frogs peeping their ecstasy while warblers crowd budding trees, turtles sunning on floating logs, the ecological engineering of beavers-these are but a few of the sights and sounds marking a year at Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary and its neighboring landscapes in Southern Maryland. In an absorbing account of a year in the life of this sanctuary, naturalist Colin Rees invites us to join him as he explores the secrets and wonders of the changing natural world. Alongside the author, we witness spring's avian migrations, quickening of aquatic vegetation, burgeoning of myriad invertebrates, and the assaults of extreme weather conditions. We revel in summertime's proliferation of fish, fowl, and mammals. We become attuned to the shifting climate's impacts on autumnal transitions, and we marvel at amazing feats of biological inventiveness in preparation for winter conditions. Through these visions of the fleeting-and yet enduring-cycles of nature, Rees shares deep insights into the ecological and behavioral dynamics of the natural environment. Enhanced by more than two dozen color plates, the book touches on a wide range of issues, from microbial diversity, bird banding, and butterfly phenology to genetic diversity and habitat fragmentation. It also examines the challenges of conserving these and other natural features in the face of climate change and development pressures. Thoughtful and lyrical, Nature's Calendar speaks to all readers, scientific and lay alike. Fascinating profiles of flora and fauna celebrate the richness and complexity of a unique ecosystem, exploring the entire ecology of this dynamic and delicate area.

Find an interdiscliplinary view of sustainable agriculture that emphasizes the potential contributions of ecology to agricultural sustainability in this groundbreaking book. Integrating Sustainable Agriculture, Ecology, and Environmental Policy explores how ecological knowledge, applied as part of a multidisciplinary effort, can be used to design a sustainable and environmentally sound agriculture. A more ecologically based agriculture can increase production efficiency and decrease environmental impacts, but hard choices regarding population control, energy conservation, and land use must still be made. This interdisciplinary approach ensures that the results are beneficial to all components, for example, an ecologically based management scheme which bankrupts the farmer is not considered a viable option for sustainable agriculture. These thought-provoking chapters are an excellent introduction to the contributions of ecological principles to an environmentally sound sustainable agriculture. This multidisciplinary examination provides readers interested in agriculture with a valuable introduction to related work in other fields including ecology and economics. Agronomists, ecologists, educators, and policymakers will find essential information on diverse topics including: the definition and measurement of ecological sustainability in agriculture landscape ecology and the design of sustainable agricultural landscapes soil ecology as a foundation for sustainable agriculture Federal agricultural policies as incentives or deterrent to sustainable agriculture applying farming systems research and extension to sustainable agriculture population growth and other threats to sustainableagriculture environmental policies and their effects on sustainable agriculture the role of precollege education in developing sustainable agriculture

To contemplate an alpine lake or a ribbon of white water twisting down the face of the Rocky Mountains is to appreciate the majesty of this block of bedrock thrust up from Earth's interior, weathering eons of nature's assaults. To learn what humans, in our brief lifespan, have done here is to acquire a sobering sense of our place in the natural world. Ellen Wohl's account of a year in the life of Rocky Mountain National Park reflects a lifelong interest in these rhythms and disruptions. Informed by a deep and intimate understanding of the landscape, her Rocky Mountain journal is a lyrical distillation of experience and knowledge that shows us the century-old national park as a microcosm of the natural world in the thrall of time and humanity. Conducting readers through the park's seasons, Wohl describes the processes that unfold over the ages as continents drift and mountain ranges rise, as glaciers carve the land and profound changes in the atmosphere alter the environment. Working on the landscape in a humbler way are beavers and elk, beetles and, not so humbly, humans, who tinker with natural rhythms in ways big and small, as obvious as logging, road building, and feedlot run-off, and as subtle in the short run as climate change. Along the way, we observe the effects of nature's more violent moments: flash floods that wash out roads and inflict damage downstream, high winds that flatten whole hillsides in minutes, wildfires that strip the woods in an instant or smolder all winter long. A work of quiet power, Rhythms of Change in Rocky Mountain National Park traces Wohl's year-long journey, deftly guiding us through the changing seasons of one of America's most awe-inspiring natural places in all its curiosity and wonder-and in its exposure to the larger forces inexorably altering the natural world.

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.

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.

What's the connection between a platter of jumbo shrimp at your local restaurant and murdered fishermen in Honduras, impoverished women in Ecuador, and disastrous hurricanes along America's Gulf coast? Mangroves. Many people have never heard of these salt-water forests, but for those who depend on their riches, mangroves are indispensable. They are natural storm barriers, home to innumerable exotic creatures--from crabeating vipers to man-eating tigers--and provide food and livelihoods to millions of coastal dwellers. Now they are being destroyed to make way for shrimp farming and other coastal development. For those who stand in the way of these industries, the consequences can be deadly.
In "Let Them Eat Shrimp," Kennedy Warne takes readers into the muddy battle zone that is the mangrove forest. A tangle of snaking roots and twisted trunks, mangroves are often dismissed as foul wastelands. In fact, they are supermarkets of the sea, providing shellfish, crabs, honey, timber, and charcoal to coastal communities from Florida to South America to New Zealand. Generations have built their lives around mangroves and consider these swamps sacred.
To shrimp farmers and land developers, mangroves simply represent a good investment. The tidal land on which they stand often has no title, so with a nod and wink from a compliant official, it can be turned from a public resource to a private possession. The forests are bulldozed, their traditional users dispossessed.
The true price of shrimp farming and other coastal development has gone largely unheralded in the U.S. media. A longtime journalist, Warne now captures the insatiability of these industries and the magic of the mangroves. His vivid account will make every reader pause before ordering the shrimp.

First published in 1999, the groundbreaking Exile and Pride is essential to the history and future of disability politics. Eli Clare's revelatory writing about his experiences as a white disabled genderqueer activist/writer established him as one of the leading writers on the intersections of queerness and disability and permanently changed the landscape of disability politics and queer liberation. With a poet's devotion to truth and an activist's demand for justice, Clare deftly unspools the multiple histories from which our ever-evolving sense of self unfolds. His essays weave together memoir, history, and political thinking to explore meanings and experiences of home: home as place, community, bodies, identity, and activism. Here readers will find an intersectional framework for understanding how we actually live with the daily hydraulics of oppression, power, and resistance. At the root of Clare's exploration of environmental destruction and capitalism, sexuality and institutional violence, gender and the body politic, is a call for social justice movements that are truly accessible to everyone. With heart and hammer, Exile and Pride pries open a window onto a world where our whole selves, in all their complexity, can be realized, loved, and embraced.

Soil organic carbon (SOC), a key component of the global carbon (C) pool, plays an important role in C cycling, regulating climate, water supplies and biodiversity, and therefore in providing the ecosystem services that are essential to human well-being. Most agricultural soils in temperate regions have now lost as much as 60% of their SOC, and as much as 75% in tropical regions, due to conversion from natural ecosystems to agricultural uses and mainly due to continuous soil degradation. Sequestering C can help to offset C emissions from fossil fuel combustion and other C-emitting activities, while also enhancing soil quality and long-term agronomic productivity. However, developing effective policies for creating terrestrial C sinks is a serious challenge in tropical and subtropical soils, due to the high average annual temperatures in these regions. It can be accomplished by implementing improved land management practices that add substantial amounts of biomass to soil, cause minimal soil disturbance, conserve soil and water, improve soil structure, and enhance soil fauna activity. Continuous no-till crop production is arguably the best example. These soils need technically sound and economically feasible strategies to sustainably enhance their SOC pools. Hence, this book provides comprehensive information on SOC and its management in different land-use systems, with a focus on preserving soils and their ecosystem services. The only book of its kind, it offers a valuable asset for students, researchers, policymakers and other stakeholders involved in the sustainable development and management of natural resources at the global level.

The cryosphere stands for environments where water appears in a frozen form. It includes permafrost, glaciers, ice sheets, and sea ice and is currently more affected by Global Change than most other regions of the Earth. In the cryosphere, limited water availability and subzero temperatures cause extreme conditions for all kind of life which microorganisms can cope with extremely well. The cryosphere's microbiota displays an unexpectedly large genetic potential, and taxonomic as well as functional diversity which, however, we still only begin to map. Also, microbial communities influence reaction patterns of the cryosphere towards Global Change. Altered patterns of seasonal temperature fluctuations and precipitation are expected in the Arctic and will affect the microbial turnover of soil organic matter (SOM). Activation of nutrients by thawing and increased active layer thickness as well as erosion renders nutrient stocks accessible to microbial activities. Also, glacier melt and retreat stimulate microbial life in turn influencing albedo and surface temperatures. In this context, the functional resilience of microbial communities in the cryosphere is of major interest. Particularly important is the ability of microorganisms and microbial communities to respond to changes in their surroundings by intracellular regulation and population shifts within functional niches, respectively. Research on microbial life exposed to permanent freeze or seasonal freeze-thaw cycles has led to astonishing findings about microbial versatility, adaptation, and diversity. Microorganisms thrive in cold habitats and new sequencing techniques have produced large amounts of genomic, metagenomic, and metatranscriptomic data that allow insights into the fascinating microbial ecology and physiology at low and subzero temperatures. Moreover, some of the frozen ecosystems such as permafrost constitute major global carbon and nitrogen storages, but can also act as sources of the greenhouse gases methane and nitrous oxide. In this book we summarize state of the art knowledge on whether environmental changes are met by a flexible microbial community retaining its function, or if the altered conditions also render the community in a state of altered properties that affect the Earth's element cycles and climate. This book brings together research on the cryosphere's microbiota including permafrost, glaciers, and sea ice in Arctic and Antarctic regions. Different spatial scales and levels of complexity are considered, spanning from ecosystem level to pure culture studies of model microbes in the laboratory. It aims to attract a wide range of parties with interest in the effect of climate change and/or low temperatures on microbial nutrient cycling and physiology.

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.