Desert Development
Desert Development

Author: Yehuda Gradus

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 332

ISBN-13: 9400953968

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The fact that approximately one-third of the world's land mass is arid desert may be congenial for the camel and the cactus, but not for people. Nevertheless, well over half a billion people, or 15% of the world's population live in arid desert areas. If the world's population were distributed evenly over the land surface, we would expect to find about 30% of the population inhabiting arid desert areas. Does the fact that 'only' 15% of the world's population live in an arid desert environment reflect the harshness of the environment? Or is it a testimony to the adaptability and ingenuity of mankind? Do we view the glass as half-full? Or half-empty? The contributors to Desert Development: Man and Technology in Sparselands adopt the position that the cup is half-full and, in fact, could be filled much more. Indeed, many arid desert zones do thrive with life, and given appropriate technological develop ment, such areas could support even greater popUlations. While the dire Malthusian prediction that rapid world population growth exceeds the carrying capacity of existent resource systems has gained popularity (typified by the 1972 Club of Rome book, Limits to Growth), there is a growing body of serious work which rejects such pessimistic 'depletion' models, in favor of models which are mildly optimistic.

Changing Faunal Ecology in the Thar Desert
Changing Faunal Ecology in the Thar Desert

Author: B.K. Tyagi

Publisher: Scientific Publishers

Published: 2005-05-01

Total Pages: 409

ISBN-13: 9387307506

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Changing Faunal Ecology in the Thar Desert - dedicated to the fond memory of Professor Dr. Ishwar Prakash, the legendary rodentologist - is a unique mlange of scientific investigations on diversified ecological subjects pertaining to different organism groups, from as tiny as protozoa to as giant as mammals. Altogether sixteen contributions, including an original, up-to-date and authentic bio-bibliography of Dr. I. Prakash, make this volume an exceptional treatise penned by 24 expert scientist authors many of whom have spent a life in arid ecosystems including the Thar Desert. The book provides a crystal clear proof of the constantly changing behavioural ecology of animals in the Thar Desert which has been under an ever increasing impact of, among several imminent factors, the Indira Gandhi Nahar Pariyojana (IGNP), one of the worlds largest irrigation systems of its type in a xeric environment. The change is discernible not only in structure and distribution of animals but in their resting, feeding, breeding and, as evident in case of parasites, the extent of parasitism as well as pathogenecity. Finally, this book offers the first well documented evidence of immense behavioral transformation in various different animal groups in the Tharp Desert a phenomenon of enormous significance for both conservation management and diversity inventorization activities of its faunal wealth.