Fragmentation in Semi-Arid and Arid Landscapes

Fragmentation in Semi-Arid and Arid Landscapes PDF Author: Kathleen A. Galvin
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1402049064
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 422

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Book Description
With detailed data from nine sites around the world, the authors examine how the so-called ‘fragmentation’ of these fragile landscapes occurs and the consequences of this break-up for ecosystems and the people who depend on them. ‘Rangelands’ make up a quarter of the world’s landscape, and here, the case is developed that while fragmentation arises from different natural, social and economic conditions worldwide, it creates similar outcomes for human and natural systems.

Fragmentation in Semi-Arid and Arid Landscapes

Fragmentation in Semi-Arid and Arid Landscapes PDF Author: Kathleen A. Galvin
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1402049064
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 422

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Book Description
With detailed data from nine sites around the world, the authors examine how the so-called ‘fragmentation’ of these fragile landscapes occurs and the consequences of this break-up for ecosystems and the people who depend on them. ‘Rangelands’ make up a quarter of the world’s landscape, and here, the case is developed that while fragmentation arises from different natural, social and economic conditions worldwide, it creates similar outcomes for human and natural systems.

Rangeland Stewardship in Central Asia

Rangeland Stewardship in Central Asia PDF Author: Victor R. Squires
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9400753675
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 479

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Book Description
This volume of 18 chapters is the work of more than 30 authors, many of whom are natives of the Central Asian region or are researchers who have dedicated a large part of their working lives to studying the development dynamics in this vast and fascinating region. The work focuses on the 20 years since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990. But it also traces the attitudes of land users to the land dating from before the late 19th century, when Russian conquest and colonization occurred, and through the upheavals caused by Soviet-style collectivization and sedentarization. The book is rich with new data presented in 68 easy to understand charts/graphs (many in color) and 50 Tables. Information was generated for this book by experts working in-country. It presents for the first time in English a digest of plethora of previously inaccessible Russian reports and scientific literature that will be invaluable for development agencies, including UN, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Islamic Bank as well as to students of this vast and fascinating region who seek up to date and authoritive information.

Ecosystem Function in Savannas

Ecosystem Function in Savannas PDF Author: Michael J. Hill
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1439804710
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 612

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Book Description
Fascinating and diverse, savanna ecosystems support a combination of pastoral and agropastoral communities alongside wild and domestic herbivores that can be found nowhere else. This diversity has made the study of these areas problematic. Ecosystem Function in Savannas: Measurement and Modeling at Landscape to Global Scales addresses some of the d

The Routledge Handbook of Indigenous Environmental Knowledge

The Routledge Handbook of Indigenous Environmental Knowledge PDF Author: Thomas F. Thornton
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351983288
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 503

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Book Description
This volume provides an overview of key themes in Indigenous Environmental Knowledge (IEK) and anchors them with brief but well-grounded empirical case studies of relevance for each of these themes, drawn from bioculturally diverse areas around the world. It provides an incisive, cutting-edge overview of the conceptual and philosophical issues, while providing constructive examples of how IEK studies have been implemented to beneficial effect in ecological restoration, stewardship, and governance schemes. Collectively, the chapters in the Routledge Handbook of Indigenous Environmental Knowledge cover Indigenous Knowledge not only in a wide range of cultures and livelihood contexts, but also in a wide range of environments, including drylands, savannah grassland, tropical forests, mountain landscapes, temperate and boreal forests, Pacific and Indian Ocean islands, and coastal environments. The chapters discuss the complexities and nuances of Indigenous cosmologies and ethno-metaphysics and the treatment and incorporation of IEK in local, national, and international environmental policies. Taken together, the chapters in this volume make a strong case for the potential of Indigenous Knowledge in addressing today’s local and global environmental challenges, especially when approached from a perspective of appreciative inquiry, using cross-cultural methods and ethical, collaborative approaches which limit bias and inappropriate extraction of IEK. The book is a guide for graduate and advanced undergraduate teaching, and a key reference for academics in development studies, environmental studies, geography, anthropology, and beyond, as well as anyone with an interest in Indigenous Environmental Knowledge.

Adaptive Cross-scalar Governance of Natural Resources

Adaptive Cross-scalar Governance of Natural Resources PDF Author: Grenville Barnes
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317916468
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Book Description
Natural resource governance is critical for linking poverty reduction and sustainable natural resource use. This book brings together authors from various disciplines with extensive field experience to promote an integrative understanding of cross-scale and adaptive governance in Africa and Latin America. The authors make the case for reaching beyond decentralization to promote adaptive governance that serves local priorities, but through interactions with local, district, national and global governance structures. The book focuses on the governance of common pool resources such as forests, wildlife, water, carbon and pasture resources in both Africa and Latin America. This book will appeal to development practitioners and scholars concerned about the conservation of natural resources and the sustainable development of communities. It synthesizes experience with the governance of different natural resources from a broad geographic perspective. It also provides theoretical and practical suggestions for taking adaptive natural resource governance forward, including participatory methods for measuring and monitoring governance.

The End of Desertification?

The End of Desertification? PDF Author: Roy H. Behnke
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 364216014X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 556

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Book Description
The question in the title of this book draws attention to the shortcomings of a concept that has become a political tool of global importance even as the scientific basis for its use grows weaker. The concept of desertification, it can be argued, has ceased to be analytically useful and distorts our understanding of social-environmental systems and their resiliency, particularly in poor countries with variable rainfall and persistent poverty. For better policy and governance, we need to reconsider the scientific justification for international attempts to combat desertification. Our exploration of these issues begins in the Sahel of West Africa, where a series of severe droughts at the end of the 20th century led to the global institutionalization of the idea of desertification. It now seems incontrovertible that these droughts were not caused primarily by local land use mismanagement, effectively terminating a long-standing policy and scientific debate. There is now an opportunity to treat this episode as an object lesson in the relationship between science, the formation of public opinion and international policy-making. Looking beyond the Sahel, the chapters in this book provide case studies from around the world that examine the use and relevance of the desertification concept. Despite an increasingly sophisticated understanding of dryland environments and societies, the uses now being made of the desertification concept in parts of Asia exhibit many of the shortcomings of earlier work done in Africa. It took scientists more than three decades to transform a perceived desertification crisis in the Sahel into a non-event. This book is an effort to critically examine that experience and accelerate the learning process in other parts of the world.

The Science and Practice of Landscape Stewardship

The Science and Practice of Landscape Stewardship PDF Author: Claudia Bieling
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108239129
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 403

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Book Description
Improving the dynamic relationship between nature and human well-being is a pressing issue of our time. Landscapes embody this tight interconnectedness and serve as unique sustainability learning hubs, showcased by the global rise of place-based and holistic landscape stewardship initiatives. Incorporating these exciting developments, this book explores the principles of landscape stewardship and their function in fields such as agriculture, ecological restoration and urban green infrastructure. It provides insights into the challenges and the potential of landscape stewardship and identifies future paths for the science and practice of landscape-related sustainability efforts. Aligning analytical perspectives with practical applications, it brings together contributions from leading scholars and innovative models of landscape stewardship from all around the world, making it an essential resource for anyone interested in developing sustainable human-nature relationships.

Climate Vulnerability, Volume 4

Climate Vulnerability, Volume 4 PDF Author:
Publisher: Newnes
ISBN: 0123919010
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 982

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Book Description
Climate Vulnerability, Volume 4

Climate Vulnerability

Climate Vulnerability PDF Author:
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0123847044
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 1086

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Book Description
Climate change has been the subject of thousands of books and magazines, scientific journals, and newspaper articles daily. It’s a subject that can be very political and emotional, often blurring the lines between fact and fiction. The vast majority of research, studies, projections and recommendations tend to focus on the human influence on climate change and global warming as the result of CO2 emissions, often to the exclusion of other threats that include population growth and the stress placed on energy sources due to emerging global affluence. Climate Vulnerability, Five Volume Set seeks to strip away the politics and emotion that surround climate change and will assess the broad range of threats using the bottom up approach—including CO2 emissions, population growth, emerging affluence, and many others—to our five most critical resources: water, food, ecosystems, energy, and human health. Inclusively determining what these threats are while seeking preventive measures and adaptations is at the heart of this unique reference work. Takes a Bottom-Up approach, addressing climate change and the threat to our key resources at the local level first and globally second, providing a more accurate and inclusive approach. Includes extensive cross-referencing, which is key to readers as new connections between factors can be discovered. Cuts across a number of disciplines and will appeal to Biological Science, Earth & Environmental Science, Ecology, and Social Science, comprehensively addressing climate change and other threats to our key resources from multiple perspectives

Afro-Eurasia: Assessing Sustainability

Afro-Eurasia: Assessing Sustainability PDF Author: Ray C. Anderson
Publisher: Berkshire Publishing Group
ISBN: 1933782749
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 415

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Book Description
Afro-Eurasia: Assessing Sustainability focuses on the geographic area where humans originated and first began to make use of the natural world - Earth's largest landmass, stretching from Portugal in the west across the steppes of Russia and south across Africa to the Cape of Good Hope. By examining the history of human expansion, as well as 21st century pressures to address ecosystem damage across the region, international scholars and regional experts weave sustainability into core curricular subjects. The interdisciplinary coverage includes national and regional environmental histories, as well as business and commerce, migration, educational institutions, law and government, and the lifestyles of diverse populations.