Conserving Biological Diversity
Conserving Biological Diversity

Author: Susan M. Braatz

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 1992-01-01

Total Pages: 92

ISBN-13: 9780821323076

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Loss of biological diversity through the extinction of species, the conversion and degradation of natural habitats, and the disruption of ecological processes, is occurring throughout the world at an unprecendented rate. As species and their habitats disappear, so do products of present and future value, genes with which to improve crop varieties and livestock, and the natural resiliencies of the world's living resources to respond to climatic and enviornmental change. Nowhere else is the loss of biodiversity expected to be higher during the coming decades than in the Asia-Pacific region. The loss of biodiversity is irreversible. Recognizing this, the Asia Environment Division prepared this paper which is intended to identify priority areas of investment in the Asia-Pacific region. The paper accepts the importance of biodiversity conservation and suggests that policy change coupled with the establishment of protected area systems will be critical to success. A wide range of interventions will be needed to support these efforts toward conserving biodiversity - interventions involving national and local governments, national and international nongovernmental organizations and, most importantly, local people. The strategy defined in this paper is intended to complement existing national and international initiatives and to build partnerships in conservation for the 1990s.

Wetland Science
Wetland Science

Author: B. Anjan Kumar Prusty

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2017-04-21

Total Pages: 593

ISBN-13: 8132237153

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This book is an attempt to acknowledge the discipline ‘wetland science’ and to consolidate research findings, reviews and synthesis articles on different aspects of the wetlands in South Asia. The book presents 30 chapters by an international mix of experts in the field, who highlight and discuss diverse issues concerning wetlands in South Asia as case studies. The chapters are divided into different themes that represent broad issues of concern in a systematic manner keeping in mind students, researchers and general readers at large. The book introduces readers to the basics and theory of wetland science, supplemented by case studies and examples from the region. It also offers a valuable resource for graduate students and researchers in allied fields such as environmental studies, limnology, wildlife biology, aquatic biology, marine biology, and landscape ecology. To date the interdisciplinary field ‘wetland science’ is still rarely treated as a distinct discipline in its own right. Further, courses on wetland science aren’t taught at any of the world’s most prestigious universities; instead, the topics falling under this discipline are generally handled under the disciplines ‘ecology’ or under the extremely broad heading of ‘environmental studies’. It is high time that ‘Wetland Science’ be acknowledged as an interdisciplinary sub-discipline, which calls for an attempt to consolidate its various subtopics and present them comprehensively. Thus, this book also serves as a reference base on wetlands and facilitates further discussions on specific issues involved in safeguarding a sustainable future for the wetland habitats of this region.