There is a considerable gap between the science of conservation biology and the design and execution of biodiversity conservation projects in the field. Science is often failing to inform the practice of conservation, which remains largely experience-based. The main reason is the poor accessibility of evidence on the effectiveness of different interventions. This is the basis for this book adopting an 'evidence-based approach', modelled on the systematic reviews used in health sciences and now being applied to many policy arenas. Evidence-based Conservation brings together a series of case studies, written by field practitioners, that provides the evidence-base for evaluating how effective conservation and poverty alleviation strategies can be better implemented. A series of systematic reviews uses experiences and data from fifteen integrated conservation and development projects conducted in the Lower Mekong region, specifically in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. They provide wide-ranging overviews of the effectiveness of protected areas and how innovative tools and methods for monitoring and evaluation can be utilised for more effective outcomes. Results are in the form of management and policy recommendations, based on the quality of evidence and the cost-utility of the intervention. By bridging the gap between field practice and conservation, the analysis should lead to more effective integrated conservation and development interventions. The book represents one of the first attempts to apply the evidence-based approach to conservation and development.

1 Plantation forests and biodiversity: Oxymoron or opportunity? Forests form the natural vegetation over much of the Earth's land, and they are critical for the survival of innumerable organisms. The ongoing loss of natural forests, which in some regions may have taken many millennia to develop, is one of the main reasons for the decline of biodiversity. Preventing the further destruction of forests and protecting species and ecosystems within forests have become central issues for environmental agencies, forest managers, and gove- ments. In this di?cult task science has an important role in informing policy and management as to how to go about this. So how do industrial and other pl- tation forests 't into this? Plantation forests, comprised of rows of planted trees that may be destined for pulp or sawmills after only a few years of growth, appear to have little to c- tribute to the conservation of biodiversity. Yet there is more to this than meets the eye (of the casual observer), and there are indeed numerous opportunities, and often untapped potential, for biodiversity conservation in plantation forestry. With plantation forests expanding at a rate of approximately three million hectares per year, it is crucial to understand how plantations can make a positive contribution to biodiversity conservation and how the potentially negative impacts of this land use can be minimised. That is the topic of this book.

There is a considerable gap between the science of conservation biology and the design and execution of biodiversity conservation projects in the field. Science is often failing to inform the practice of conservation, which remains largely experience-based. The main reason is the poor accessibility of evidence on the effectiveness of different interventions. This is the basis for this book adopting an 'evidence-based approach', modelled on the systematic reviews used in health sciences and now being applied to many policy arenas. Evidence-based Conservation brings together a series of case studies, written by field practitioners, that provides the evidence-base for evaluating how effective conservation and poverty alleviation strategies can be better implemented. A series of systematic reviews uses experiences and data from fifteen integrated conservation and development projects conducted in the Lower Mekong region, specifically in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. They provide wide-ranging overviews of the effectiveness of protected areas and how innovative tools and methods for monitoring and evaluation can be utilised for more effective outcomes. Results are in the form of management and policy recommendations, based on the quality of evidence and the cost-utility of the intervention. By bridging the gap between field practice and conservation, the analysis should lead to more effective integrated conservation and development interventions. The book represents one of the first attempts to apply the evidence-based approach to conservation and development.

This four-volume set is edited by leading experts on the evolving role of forests in providing raw materials and environmental services to meet society s changing needs. It brings together in one collection the major works that have helped to shape thinking on forests as a key sustainable resource. The collection includes classic papers but also assembles more recent publications at the cutting edge of thinking on forests and their sustainable use. The set includes a general introduction and each volume is introduced by a new overview essay, placing the selected materials in context. The breadth of subject matter is considerable, ranging from the management and conservation of forest landscapes, soils, hydrology and tree-atmosphere relations, socio-economic aspects, including the livelihoods of indigenous people, policy and economics, to contemporary issues such as ecosystem services and climate change.

Volume I covers forest conservation, now recognized as crucial to the mitigation of climate change, and its overall implications for forest landscapes, as well as forest ecology and biodiversity conservation within forests. Volume II addresses the more technical biological, physical, and chemical aspects of trees and forests and their environment, including physiological aspects and plant-atmosphere, soil and water relationships. Volume III considers the livelihoods of people working or living in forests, including non-timber forest products, rights and tenure and community forestry, as well as on-farm forestry and urban forestry. The final volume provides an overview of policy, governance, legal, and economic aspects of forests and forest management, including the important topics of decentralization and the ownership of forests.

The set provides students and teachers, confronted with thousands of journal articles, book chapters and grey literature, with a ready-made selection of and commentary on the most important key writings on sustainable forests. It is an essential reference for libraries concerned with geography, environmental studies, ecology, natural resource management, and forestry.

* "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.

1 Plantation forests and biodiversity: Oxymoron or opportunity? Forests form the natural vegetation over much of the Earth's land, and they are critical for the survival of innumerable organisms. The ongoing loss of natural forests, which in some regions may have taken many millennia to develop, is one of the main reasons for the decline of biodiversity. Preventing the further destruction of forests and protecting species and ecosystems within forests have become central issues for environmental agencies, forest managers, and gove- ments. In this di?cult task science has an important role in informing policy and management as to how to go about this. So how do industrial and other pl- tation forests 't into this? Plantation forests, comprised of rows of planted trees that may be destined for pulp or sawmills after only a few years of growth, appear to have little to c- tribute to the conservation of biodiversity. Yet there is more to this than meets the eye (of the casual observer), and there are indeed numerous opportunities, and often untapped potential, for biodiversity conservation in plantation forestry. With plantation forests expanding at a rate of approximately three million hectares per year, it is crucial to understand how plantations can make a positive contribution to biodiversity conservation and how the potentially negative impacts of this land use can be minimised. That is the topic of this book.

Science faces major challenges in tackling the interlinked problems of poverty and environmental sustainability. This book calls for a restructuring of our present arrangements to achieve integrated natural resource management--integration across scales, system components, disciplines and knowledge types. It advocates the necessity of modelling, multi-scale analysis and action research, institutional and organizational development, and communication enhancement. The book draws on case studies throughout the world.

Science faces major challenges in tackling the interlinked problems of poverty and environmental sustainability. This book calls for a restructuring of our present arrangements to achieve integrated natural resource management--integration across scales, system components, disciplines and knowledge types. It advocates the necessity of modelling, multi-scale analysis and action research, institutional and organizational development, and communication enhancement. The book draws on case studies throughout the world.

This book discusses both the principles and applications of an integrated approach to natural resources management. It deals directly with the wider integration of natural resources, including the complexity of systems and redirecting research towards including participatory approaches, multi-scale analysis and an array of tools for system analysis, information management and impact asessment.This book has been developed from papers first presented at a workshop in Penang, Malaysia in 2000. Each paper has been peer-reviewed, revised and updated up to the end of 2002. Case studies from around the world, particularly Asia, Africa and Latin America, are presented by international experts.

What do one hundred sunbathing snails have in common with ten crabs? Find out in this joyful, award-winning counting book with a funny focus on feet. If one is a snail, and two is a person ... we must be counting by feet! Children will love this hilariously illustrated introduction to simple counting and multiplication with big feet and small - on people and spiders, dogs and insects, snails and crabs - from one to one hundred!

In SELF-EVIDENT ASTROLOGY (TM) the planets mean what they are and are what they mean. It is this simple. All we need to understand astrology is to look into the nature of the solar system and sky around us. This book shows that the physical arrangement of the solar system, the orbital positions, the inclinations of orbital planes and things such as the mere size of a planet lead to a natural meaning for each planet. Jeffrey Sayer Close has been an amateur astrologer for 40 years and the Director of the Astrological Bureau of Ideas (www.aboi.com) for the past 12 years. He has a B.A. in physics and a M.A. in telecommunications. He has designed telecommunications network for over 25 corporations and built his own successful telecom software company. He has often been quoted and written about in trade press. He has also made guest appearances on Andrea Klim's "Turn To The Stars" TV show in Manchester, NH. Mr. Close has taken his background in science, his experience in complex networks and long experience in astrology and found new, more basic fundamentals of astrology. These fundamentals have incorporated in his innovative astrological software, INTREPID.