From the author of the Costa Award-winning Asha & the Spirit Bird comes a breathtaking, magical adventure ...

Tamarind never knew her Indian mum, Chinty, who died soon after she was born. So when she arrives at her ancestral home, a huge mansion in the Himalayas surrounded by luxuriant gardens, she's full of questions for her extended family. But instead of answers, she finds an ominous silence - and a trickle of intriguing clues: an abandoned hut, a friendly monkey, a glowing star ring, and a strange girl in the garden who calls herself Ishta.

Slowly, Tamarind unravels a mystery at the heart of who she is...

On rocky coastlines, receding tides leave standing pools that have long held a fascination for the amateur seashore naturalist, revealing glimpses of colourful and curious marine plants and animals. Animal diversity is far greater in the sea than in terrestrial or freshwater habitats, and the hugely varied fauna of rock pools reflects that fact. Rock pools also undergo dramatic shifts in temperature, salinity and pH, making such habitats crucibles of adaptation and change. This Naturalists' Handbook offers a comprehensive introduction to this captivating world, with chapters covering rock-pool ecology, seaweeds, animals, identification and guidelines for possible fieldwork and further study. Also presented are detailed keys to all the main groups likely to be encountered when rockpooling around Britain and Ireland - from sea squirts to chitons, from anemones to sea spiders, from amphipods to fishes. Rock pools is an indispensable tool in discovering these kaleidoscopic habitats and their multitudinous inhabitants.

Interrelationships Between Corals and Fisheries is derived from a workshop held by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council in Tampa, Florida in May 2013, where world authorities came together to discuss the current problems in managing tropical fisheries and offered suggestions for future directions for both researchers and environmental resource managers. This book addresses current and emerging threats as well as challenges and opportunities for managing corals and associated fisheries. It provides an information baseline toward a better understanding of how corals and the consequences of coral condition influence fish populations, especially as they relate to management of those populations. The book contains content from presentations modified as a result of interactions and discussions with colleagues and peer reviews by global experts in corals and fisheries. Many chapters include additional materials not presented in the workshop. There are also papers that were not presented at the workshop but contribute to the central theme of the book. Topics covered include: Global decline in coral reefs and impacts on fishery yields Distribution and diversity in the Gulf of Mexico Implementation of Coral Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (CHAPCs) Deepwater coral/sponge habitats Coral populations on offshore platforms Mangrove connectivity for sustaining coral reef fisheries Restoring deepwater coral ecosystems and fisheries after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill Predictive mapping of coral reef fish Covering a range of subject matter, most of the chapters offer suggestions for future research on the interrelationships between corals and fisheries. In addition, the final chapter presents a summary on these interrelationships and discusses managing them for the future.

This is a translation of Vera Aleksandrova's classic book, first published in Russian, which characterizes the vegetation of this rather special botanical region. Much important botanical research concerned with Arctic ecology is carried out in the Soviet Union, but is seldom available in English. Dr Aleksandrova's book is based on her own extensive research in the northern areas of the Soviet Arctic. Dividing the high Arctic into areas based on the characteristics of their vegetation, the book presents a probing analysis of the ecology of such regions worldwide. After describing the general characteristics, geographic and climatic, of this latitude, the book discusses in more detail the region's peculiarities of soil and microclimate, followed by an analysis of the plant community.

This book offers a fresh perspective on the Chinese diaspora. It is about the mobilisation of knowledge across time and space, exploring the history of Chinese market gardening in Australia and New Zealand. It enlarges our understanding of processes of technological change and human mobility, highlighting the mobility of migrants as an essential element in the mobility and adaptation of technologies. Truly multidisciplinary, Chinese Market Gardening in Australia and New Zealand incorporates elements of economic, agricultural, social, cultural and environmental history, along with archaeology, to document how Chinese market gardeners from subtropical southern China adapted their horticultural techniques and technologies to novel environments and the demands of European consumers. It shows that they made a significant contribution to the economies of Australia and New Zealand, developing flexible strategies to cope with the vagaries of climate and changing business and social environments which were often hostile towards Asian immigrants. Chinese Market Gardening in Australia and New Zealand will appeal to students and scholars in the fields of the Chinese diaspora, in particular the history of the Chinese in Australasia; the history of technology; horticultural and garden history; and environmental history, as well as Asian studies more generally.

Freshwater is our planet's most precious resource, and also the least conserved. Freshwater makes up only 3 percent of the total water on the planet, and yet the majority (1.9 percent) is held in a frozen state in glaciers, icebergs, and polar ice fields. This leaves approximately one-half of 1 percent of the total volume of water on the planet as freshwater available in liquid form. This book traces the complex history of the steady growth of humankind's water consumption, which today reaches some 9.7 quadrillion gallons per year. Along with a larger population has come the need for more drinking water, larger farms requiring extensive irrigation, and more freshwater to support business and industry. At the same time, such developments have led to increased water pollution. Three detailed case studies are included. The first looks at massive water systems in locations such as New York City and the efforts required to protect and transport such resources. The second shows how growth has affected freshwater quality in the ecologically unique and geographically isolated Lake Baikal region of eastern Russia. The third examines the success story of the privatized freshwater system in Chile and consider how that country's water sources are threatened by climate change.

The first field guide to all of the world's major land habitats-richly illustrated and packed with essential information to help you get the most out of your outdoor adventures Accurately identifying and understanding habitats in detail is essential to any birder, naturalist, outdoor enthusiast, or ecologist who wants to get the most out of their experiences in the field. Habitats of the World is the first field guide to the world's major land habitats-189 in all. Using the format of a natural history field guide, this compact, accessible, and comprehensive book features concise identification descriptions and is richly illustrated-including more than 650 color photographs of habitats and their wildlife, 150 distribution maps, 200 diagrams, and 150 silhouettes depicting each habitat alongside a human figure, providing an immediate grasp of its look and scale. Each major habitat has an illustrated "climate box" that allows easy comparisons between habitats. Thirty other illustrated boxes present clear explanations of complex phenomena affecting habitats-from plate tectonics and mountain formation to fire regimes and climate change. Requiring no scientific background, Habitats of the World offers quick and reliable information for anyone who wants a deeper understanding and appreciation of the habitats around them, whether in their own backyard or while travelling anywhere in the world. Covers 189 of the world's major land habitats Provides all the information you need to quickly and accurately identify and understand habitats anywhere in the world Features concise text, more than 650 color photographs of habitats and their wildlife, an up-to-date distribution map for each habitat, and hundreds of helpful diagrams and illustrations

'A few tools and a wide range of skills can achieve many things ...' If you've ever wanted to make your own bow and arrows, learn to create fire using friction, or mix up glue and dyes from the natural resources that surround us, then this is the book for you. John Rhyder has taught traditional woodcraft skills for several decades and can now teach you in this no-nonsense, amusing and easy-to-follow guide. Woodcraft will take you on a practical learning journey - from the safe use of tools and sustainable harvesting of wood to the subsequent uses for roots, bark and timber. This step-by-step account is suitable for the student of woodcraft, the naturalist and the practitioner of bushcraft skills.

For introductory courses in physical geology. Encouraging students to observe, discover, and visualize, How Does Earth Work? Second Edition engages students with an inquiry-based learning method that develops a solid interpretation of introductory geology. Like geology detectives, students learn to think through the scientific process and uncover evidence that explains earth's mysteries.

Like one of the ancient trees he wrote about so elegantly and perceptively, Oliver Rackham’s roots run deep while his influence branches far. He was undoubtedly the leading scholar in landscape history and historical ecology, and his work continues to resonate not just with his peers but with a much wider public audience too. His combination of extensive archival research, meticulous fieldwork and place-name analysis were truly ground-breaking. He not only changed the way we think about the landscape; he in fact altered that landscape in turn – enriching, clarifying, bringing it to life. This book, which honours Rackham’s memory, is a unique collection of contributions from leading global authorities on countryside and landscape history. A number of chapters come from individuals who were his friends and collaborators, and they each share a debt to his scholarship and methods. Ranging all over Europe from Białowieża Forest in Poland to the Mediterranean, and across the world from New England to northern Japan, the wealth of perspectives gathered here makes for a diverse and weighty discussion. Collectively, the contributions represent an acknowledgment of Rackham’s huge impact and influence at the same time as offering a benchmark for current thinking in countryside history worldwide. This volume will appeal to researchers, postgraduate students, final-year undergraduates, lecturers and scholars on the one hand, but also to anyone who loves the countryside and is fascinated by its complex history. As we lose irreplaceable heritage landscapes to climate change and development, an understanding of what they are and what they mean only becomes more vital.

In this book the authors argue for a paradigm shift in the way African wetlands are considered. Current policies and wetland management are too frequently underpinned by a perspective that views agriculture simply as a threat and disregards its important contribution to livelihoods. In rural areas where people are entrenched in poverty, wetlands (in particular wetland agriculture) have a critical role to play in supporting and developing peoples' livelihoods. Furthermore, as populations rise and climate change takes grip they will be increasingly important. The authors argue that an approach to wetland management that is much more people focused is required. That is an approach that instead of being concerned primarily with environmental outcomes is centred on livelihood outcomes supported by the sustainable use of natural wetland resources. The authors stress the need for Integrated Water Resource Management and landscape approaches to ensure sustainable use of wetlands throughout a river catchment and the need for wetland management interventions to engage with a wide range of stakeholders. They also assess the feasibility of creating incentives and value in wetlands to support sustainable use. Drawing on nine empirical case studies, this book highlights the different ways in which sustainable use of wetlands has been sought, each case focusing on specific issues about wetlands, agriculture and livelihoods.

Tracing the life of the plants and animals of Forrestdale Lake through the six seasons of the local indigenous people, the first part of Black Swan Lake presents a wetlands calendar over a yearly cycle of the rising, falling and drying waters of this internationally important wetland in south-western Australia. The second part of this book considers issues and explores themes from the first part, including a cultural history of the seasons and the black swan. Black Swan Lake is a book of nature writing and environmental history and philosophy arising from living in a particular place with other beings. The book is a guide to living simply and sustainably with the earth in troubled times and places by making and maintaining a strong attachment and vital connection to a local place and its flora and fauna. Local places and their living processes sustain human and other life on this living earth.

This accessible and engaging text explores the relationship between philosophy, science and physical geography. It addresses an imbalance that exists in opinion, teaching and to a lesser extent research, between a philosophically enriched human geography and a perceived philosophically empty physical geography.

The text challenges the myth that there is a single self-evident scientific method that can, and is, applied in a straightforward manner by physical geographers. It demonstrates the variety of alternative philosophical perspectives and emphasizes the difference that the real world geographical context and the geographer make to the study of environmental phenomenon. This includes a consideration of the dynamic relationship between human and physical geography. Finally, the text demonstrates the relevance of philosophy for both an understanding of published material and for the design and implementation of studies in physical geography.

This edition has been fully updated with two new chapters on field studies and modelling, as well as greater discussion of ethical issues and forms of explanation. The book explores key themes such as reconstructing environmental change, species interactions and fluvial geomorphology, and is complimented throughout with case studies to illustrate concepts.

This book provides a succinct overview of the evolution of policies addressing energy and climate justice in South Africa. Drawing on a range of analytical perspectives, including socio-technical studies, just transitions, and critical political economy, it explains why South Africa's energy transition from a coal-dependent, centralised power generation and distribution system has been so slow, and reveals the types of socio-political inequalities that persist across regimes and energy sources. Topics explored include critical approaches to the South African state and its state-owned energy provider, Eskom; the political ecologies of coal and water; the politics of non-renewable energy alternatives; as well as the trajectory and fate of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), the country's major renewable energy policy. The book concludes with reflections on alternative, neglected energy and development paths, suggesting how the political economy of South Africa's energy system could be further transformed for the better.

In this comprehensive study, first published in 1950, Professor Fisher examines all the principal elements - physical and human - that influence environment, development and ways of life in the Middle East. An analysis of the physical basis of the region is followed by detailed treatment of the complex human and social aspects; a concluding section brings together, on a regional basis, the elements discussed in the first two parts. With first-hand experience within the Middle East, Fisher presents a detailed and fascinating study, based on surveys and investigations he personally carried out. Including wide-ranging geographical, historical, sociological and political perspectives, this title provides essential background to anyone with an interest in Middle Eastern affairs.

Urban flood risks and their impacts are expected to increase as urban development in flood prone areas continues and rain intensity increases as a result of climate change while aging drainage infrastructures limit the drainage capacity in existing urban areas. Flood mitigation strategies are required as part of sound urban flood management plans to assess flood risk and identify technically feasible and cost-effective options to reduce the risk. Central to the development of flood mitigation strategies is the efficient prediction of flood propagation characteristics in urban areas. Detailed predictions of flood flows in urban areas require the use of high resolution topographic data. However, due to computational demand topographic data is often generalised to a more manageable resolution and floodplain models are built at much coarser resolutions. The research presented in this thesis addresses the problem of capturing small-scale features in coarse resolution urban flood models with the aim of improving flood forecasts in geometrically complex urban environments. The approach adopted in the research used a two-dimensional surface flow modelling system that can extract and incorporate useful information available in high resolution topographic data into coarse grid models. The thesis also presents modelling of the complex interaction between surcharged sewer and flows associated with urban flooding and incorporation of infiltration process in surface flow modelling tools. Case study results showed that the incorporating volume-depth and flow-area-depth relationships extracted from high resolution topographic data significantly improved the results of coarse grid urban flood models while taking the advantage of reduced computational time to ensure efficient prediction of urban flood characteristics.

Europe has a long history of managing coastal erosion through a variety of protection strategies, from the defences of the Venice lagoons to coastal land reclamation in the Netherlands. This book provides a comprehensive review of the entire coastline of Europe and a comparative analysis of erosion problems and solutions in each country. Each chapter discusses the natural and anthropogenic factors in the erosion process and in defence projects design and maintenance, including coastal morphology and wave climate, land use changes and use of coastal areas, the evolution of coastal protection, climate change and political and administrative assessments. Particular attention is paid to demographic and economic factors influencing coastal erosion in each country and to technical and administrative criteria influencing defence projects design. Lavishly illustrated in full colour throughout, the book represents a definitive reference work on its subject.

This book introduces environmental participation as a distinct field comprising diverse practices. It presents examples of public participation specifically in environmental science, decision making and expertise. The first chapter introduces the science studies perspective and the key concepts that underpin the argument for approaching such a range of practices as a coherent field. The following three chapters explore a wide range of practical examples of how the public can participate in all three domains. Drawing on her experience with a variety of transdisciplinary projects Landstroem discusses topics including the coproduction of knowledge about flooding, community involvement with radioactive waste disposal and collaborative water quality modelling. She then goes on to cover citizen science and social movement expertise as environmental participation practices. The concluding chapter reflects on the challenges as well as future opportunities of environmental participation. This book is aimed at readers from a variety of academic and non-academic backgrounds and will be a great interest to social and natural scientists, students and practitioners.

What lies beneath the surface of the ocean has mystified humankind for millennia. We have explored more of the surface of the Moon than we have of the deep sea. From vampire squid to giant spider crabs, and from hydrothermal vents to bioluminescence, its watery depths are both fascinating and terrifying. Deep Water explores, through spectacular images and expert text, how this unique habitat came into being, what lives there and why, how it has evolved and what the future will bring for this dark and mysterious environment.

This book presents the first empirically tested, comprehensive study on shifting cultivation in Mizoram. Shifting cultivation is a unique and centuries-old practice carried out by the people of Mizoram in Northeast India. Today, it is a non-economic activity as it does not produce sufficient crops, and as a result, the area under shifting cultivation is decreasing. Such cultivation leads to the burning and degradation of vast areas of forestland and therefore has adverse impacts on the floral and faunal resources. This book is a valuable resource for government workers, policymakers, academics, farmers and those who are directly or indirectly associated with practical farming, or with framing and implementing policies. It is equally important to master's and Ph.D. students of geography, resource management, development, and environmental studies who are involved in research and development.

Forests are considered the lungs of the planet, as they consume and store carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. These biomes, defined as ecological communities dominated by long-lived woody vegetation, historically have provided an economic foundation for growing nations, supplying wood for buildings, firewood for fuel, and land for expanding cities and farms. For centuries, industrial nations in Europe and the United States have relied on large tracts of forestland for economic prosperity. The research presented in this book reveals that population pressures are causing considerable environmental distress in even the most remote forest areas. Three detailed case studies are presented. The first provides an assessment of illegal logging deep in South America's Amazon rain forest, a region closely tied to food and product demands thousands of miles away. The second examines the effect of increased hunting in Central Africa's Congo forest, which threatens wildlife, especially mammal species with slower reproductive cycles. Finally the third describes encroachment on old-growth tropical forests on the Southern Pacific island of Borneo, which today is better managed thanks to the collective planning and conservation efforts of the governments of Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

Forests are considered the lungs of the planet, as they consume and store carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. These biomes, defined as ecological communities dominated by long-lived woody vegetation, historically have provided an economic foundation for growing nations, supplying wood for buildings, firewood for fuel, and land for expanding cities and farms. For centuries, industrial nations in Europe and the United States have relied on large tracts of forestland for economic prosperity. The research presented in this book reveals that population pressures are causing considerable environmental distress in even the most remote forest areas. Three detailed case studies are presented. The first provides an assessment of illegal logging deep in South America's Amazon rain forest, a region closely tied to food and product demands thousands of miles away. The second examines the effect of increased hunting in Central Africa's Congo forest, which threatens wildlife, especially mammal species with slower reproductive cycles. Finally the third describes encroachment on old-growth tropical forests on the Southern Pacific island of Borneo, which today is better managed thanks to the collective planning and conservation efforts of the governments of Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

Freshwater is our planet's most precious resource, and also the least conserved. Freshwater makes up only 3 percent of the total water on the planet, and yet the majority (1.9 percent) is held in a frozen state in glaciers, icebergs, and polar ice fields. This leaves approximately one-half of 1 percent of the total volume of water on the planet as freshwater available in liquid form. This book traces the complex history of the steady growth of humankind's water consumption, which today reaches some 9.7 quadrillion gallons per year. Along with a larger population has come the need for more drinking water, larger farms requiring extensive irrigation, and more freshwater to support business and industry. At the same time, such developments have led to increased water pollution. Three detailed case studies are included. The first looks at massive water systems in locations such as New York City and the efforts required to protect and transport such resources. The second shows how growth has affected freshwater quality in the ecologically unique and geographically isolated Lake Baikal region of eastern Russia. The third examines the success story of the privatized freshwater system in Chile and consider how that country's water sources are threatened by climate change.

Forest degradation as a result of logging, shifting cultivation, agriculture and urban development is a major issue throughout the tropics. It leads to loss in soil fertility, water resources and biodiversity, as well as contributes to climate change. Efforts are therefore required to try to minimize further degradation and restore tropical forests in a sustainable way. This is the first research-based book to examine this problem in East Africa. The specific focus is on the forests of Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda, but the lessons learned are shown to be applicable to neighbouring countries and others in the tropics. A wide range of forest types are covered, from dry Miombo forest and afromontane forests, to forest-savannah mosaics and wet forest types. Current management practices are assessed and examples of good practice presented. The role of local people is also emphasized. The authors describe improved management and restoration through silviculture, plantation forestry and agroforestry, leading to improvements in timber production, biodiversity conservation and the livelihoods of local people.