Biodiversity Conservation Forests Wetlands And Deserts

In the context of India.

In the context of India.

Biodiversity Conservation and Habitat Management is a component of Encyclopedia of Natural Resources Policy and Management in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. Biodiversity is declining worldwide at a very unprecedented rate as a complex response to several human-induced changes in the global environment. The magnitude of these changes is so large and their effects are so strongly linked to the altered ecosystem processes and to human (ab-)use of natural resources that biodiversity loss is today perceived as one of the most important issues that humankind should face with extreme urgency. Disseminating information, raising awareness, and propelling concern within a diversified target audience (general public, schools, local authorities, and government agencies) are also essential to develop shared responsibility and to encourage collaborative efforts and compliance. This has been the main objective of “Biodiversity Conservation and Habitat Management”. The Theme on Biodiversity Conservation and Habitat Management provides the essential aspects and a myriad of issues of great relevance to our world in eight major topics of discussion, and is focused on 1) History and Overview of Biodiversity Conservation and Protected Areas, 2) Management of Forests and other Wooded Habitats, 3) Management of Savannahs and Other Open Habitats, 4) Management of Wetlands, 5) Management of Tourism and Human Recreation Pressure, 6) Conservation Strategies, Species Action Plans and Translocation, 7) Captive Breeding and Gene Banks, and 8) Eradication and Control of Invasive Species. These two volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, managers, and decision makers and NGOs.

Biodiversity--the variety of genes, species, and ecosystems--is the basis for long-term ecosystem health and stability. Fifty percent of the world's biodiversity is inhabited in tropical forests. The world's biodiversity is diminishing and dwindling before our eyes at an alarming rate day by day. Half of the world's wetlands have been lost in the past century; 80 percent of grasslands are suffering from soil degradation; and 20 percent of drylands are in danger of becoming deserts. Every minute of the day, 28 hectares of forest are lost the world over. Wetlands and forests are being cleared for urban and industrial development and encroached upon by local people. Because of the irreversibility of species extinction and habitat loss, this rampant depletion of our biodiversity exerts a terrible toll on both the natural and economic world, affecting both current and future generations. It is the need of the hour to preserve and conserve biological diversity of all wetlands, forests and other ecosystems of the world. Seeing the importance of this, the United Nations designated the years 2011-2020 as the -United Nations Decade on Biodiversity.- This volume, Biodiversity of Tropical Wetlands and Forests, is the compiled research of Dr. Nirmal Kumar and his team over the last couple of decades on a diverse array of impacts on the biodiversity of tropical wetlands and forests. Divided into two parts, the volume provides valuable information on spatial and temporal fluctuations of phytoplankton, zooplankton, macrophytes, birds, and seaweed biodiversity of important tropical wetlands, including pond, lakes, rivers, mangroves, and estuarine and coastal environments. It looks at their relationships and interactions with various hydro-geochemical nutrients along with limiting factors and quantification of anthropogenic pressures. The second part of this book presents an evaluation of plant and tree biodiversity in relation to soil nutrient content, concentration, nutrient dynamics, ethnobotanical, aesthetic values, resources use patterns, phenology of floral elements, biomass, net primary productivity, carbon storage and greenhouse gas emissions from tropical forests, wildlife sanctuaries, and plantations. Providing a plethora of valuable information, the book will be a rich resource for researchers and students in the forestry, life sciences, environmental science, and related areas.

Describes the wetlands biome, including climate, geology, geography and biodiversity.

Those of us who live in California know that it is an amazing place, and one of the reasons our state is so unique is the incredible diversity of life throughout its length and breadth. This atlas shows what the diversity of life in California is and where such resources are located.

On the eve of the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD), held in autumn 2002 in Johannesburg, South Africa, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan recommended five specific areas as focal points of discussion for the global forum: Water, energy, health, agriculture and biodiversity. In his address, "Towards a Sustainable Future," delivered just four months before the WSSD, Secretary General Annan contended that concrete progress in each of these areas, often referred to by their acronym WEHAB, would be key to improving the quality of life not only in the developing world but across the globe. For most people, I think it is fair to say that the inclusion of biodiversity in a list that focuses on basic human needs may not be self-evident. Water, energy, health and agriculture, yes. But why biodiversity? The truth is that biodiversity is just as critical to global well-being as water, energy, agriculture and health. This is because biodiversity both drives and shapes nature's intricate and dynamic structure in an enduring form and force that enables both current and future generations to enjoy its bounty.

"Biodiversity—the variety of genes, species, and ecosystems—is the basis for long-term ecosystem health and stability. Fifty percent of the world’s biodiversity is inhabited in tropical forests. The world’s biodiversity is diminishing and dwindling before our eyes at an alarming rate day by day. Half of the world’s wetlands have been lost in the past century; 80 percent of grasslands are suffering from soil degradation; and 20 percent of drylands are in danger of becoming deserts. Every minute of the day, 28 hectares of forest are lost the world over. Wetlands and forests are being cleared for urban and industrial development and encroached upon by local people. Because of the irreversibility of species extinction and habitat loss, this rampant depletion of our biodiversity exerts a terrible toll on both the natural and economic world, affecting both current and future generations. It is the need of the hour to preserve and conserve biological diversity of all wetlands, forests and other ecosystems of the world. Seeing the importance of this, the United Nations designated the years 2011–2020 as the "United Nations Decade on Biodiversity." This volume, Biodiversity of Tropical Wetlands and Forests, is the compiled research of Dr. Nirmal Kumar and his team over the last couple of decades on a diverse array of impacts on the biodiversity of tropical wetlands and forests. Divided into two parts, the volume provides valuable information on spatial and temporal fluctuations of phytoplankton, zooplankton, macrophytes, birds, and seaweed biodiversity of important tropical wetlands, including pond, lakes, rivers, mangroves, and estuarine and coastal environments. It looks at their relationships and interactions with various hydro-geochemical nutrients along with limiting factors and quantification of anthropogenic pressures. The second part of this book presents an evaluation of plant and tree biodiversity in relation to soil nutrient content, concentration, nutrient dynamics, ethnobotanical, aesthetic values, resources use patterns, phenology of floral elements, biomass, net primary productivity, carbon storage and greenhouse gas emissions from tropical forests, wildlife sanctuaries, and plantations.Providing a plethora of valuable information, the book will be a rich resource for researchers and students in the forestry, life sciences, environmental science, and related areas."--Provided by publisher.