All over the world, there has been much outcry about the character of the global climate, which has been changing rapidly and has recently posed a threat to the global climate. The growing demand for global energy, the impending exhaustion of fossil fuel resources, and many more factors will result in our increased dependence on renewable energy. These are essential contributors to the energy supply portfolio as they contribute to world energy supply security and gradually reduce our dependency on fossil fuel resources. The present book tries to capture the profound importance of renewable energy in a global perspective, as it is becoming an increasingly important driver for national governments, industries and energy companies. The major threats of global warming are visible through to increasing pollution, uncontrolled use of fossil fuels and the growing number of atomic weapons. Renewable energy sources are fundamentally different from fossil fuels, and do not produce as many greenhouse gases and other pollutants as fossil fuel combustion. The focus of this book is also on illustrating the current status and the future prospects of renewable energy, its impact on fuel price rise and so on. Besides, the cases and examples from around the world are designed according to the impact of renewable energy.

Though forest have proven resilient to pas change in climate, today's fragmented and degraded forests are more vulnerable to various hazards. Large areas of natural forest ecosystems are being converted in to industrial plantations in tropical, subtropical and temperate regions. Though society will continue to various forest products, it is imperative that the immense importance of forest biodiversity in maintaining current levels of production in perpetuity , and in moderating the global climate should also be addressed simultaneously. Against this backdrop, and endeavour has been made to capture some of the aspects of forest management through this book, such as reducing trends of forest coverage, participatory forest management practices etc., Which having contemporary relevance. This book has captured some of the issues of contemporary concern in the perspective of forest management. It has also provided a glimpse of forest and wildlife. The different innovative practices that exist around the globe have been extensively discussed in this book. New innovations like collaborative forest management, particularly in the context of Asian countries are expected to provide the readers a fresh outlook and a linear flow towards the understanding of contemporary forest management. Community-based forest management has been discussed in every possible detail, by presenting examples that spell out opportunities of success as well as challenges of shortcoming.

CONTENTS: Rural Health: Current Dimensions; Rural Health Insurance: A Hope for the Poor; Chronic Disease Management Systems (Registries) In Rural Health Care; A Web-Based Graphical User Interface for Evidence-Based Decision-Making for Health Care Allocations in Rural Areas; Bridging Rural Health Research & Policy: Dissemination Strategies; National Centre of Rural Medicine in Norway: A Bridge from Rural Practice to the Academy; Quality through Collaboration: The Future of Rural & Frontier Emergency Medical Services in the US Health System; Rural Health Insurance -- Rising to the Challenge; Telemedicine in Rural India; Pre-Triage Procedures in Mobile Rural Health Clinics in Ethiopia; Rural Community Well-Being : The Perspectives of Health Care Managers in Southwestern Manitoba, Canada; Health Security for Rural Poor: Study of Community-Based Healthcare Arrangement for the Rural Poor in West Bengal; The Farmer Field School: A Method for Enhancing the Role of Rural Communities in Malaria Control?

Biodiversity essentially refers to all aspects of variability evident in the living world, including diversity within and between individuals, populations, species, communities and ecosystems. Biodiversity trends are mainly assessed in terms of declining populations and species, either individually or collectively, when manifest of loss of habitants or reduction in the area of ecosystems. The challenges to biodiversity have been explicit from different facts and figures suggesting that many species are no longer found throughout their former ranges, and may only occur in reduced numbers. Many high value fish have shown considerable decline mainly owing to over exploitation. Conservation and management of biodiversity is a priority concern in environmental as well as development policies world-wide. This is a due to the increasing growing need for maintaining ecological balance reserve. Besides, human exploitation beyond a concerning limit may pose challenges to the global wealth of biodiversity every now and then. Against this backdrop, the book attempts to capture some of the issues pertaining to biodiversity conservation and management. The book also highlights the existing and potential role of society, including different institutional arrangements in the context of conservation and management of biodiversity. The book emphasises on these aspects through various country experiences.