Birds Of Conservation Concern In The Yorkshire Dales National Park

Dr. Michael Charles Tobias and Jane Gray Morrison are world-renowned ecological philosophers and activists, interdisciplinary social and environmental scientists and broad-ranging, deeply committed humanists. This collection of fifty essays and interviews comprises an invigorating, outspoken, provocative and eloquent overview of the ecological humanities in one highly accessible volume. The components of this collection were published in the authors’ "Green Conversations" blog series, and pieces in the Eco News Network from 2011 to 2013 and feature luminaries from Jane Goodall to Ted Turner to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution to the former head of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. Stunning color photographs captured by the authors and contributors make Why Life Matters: Fifty Ecosystems of the Heart and Mind a feast for the eyes as well as the mind and soul. Ethics, science, technology, ecological literacy, grass-roots renaissance thinkers, conservation innovation from the U.S. to the U.K.; from India to Ecuador; from Bhutan to Haiti; from across Africa, the Neo-Tropics, Central Asia and Japan, to Rio, Shanghai and Manhattan – this humanistic ode to the future of life on earth is a relevant and resonating read. Michael Tobias and Jane Gray Morrison, partners who between them have authored some 50 books and written, directed and produced some 170 films, a prolific body of work that has been read, translated and/or broadcast around the world, have been married for more than a quarter-of-a-century. Their field research across the disciplines of comparative literature, anthropology, the history of science and philosophy, ecology and ethics, in over 80 countries, has served as a telling example of what two people – deeply in love with one another – can accomplish in spreading that same unconditional love to others – of all species.

The Yorkshire Dales is a beautiful area in the heart of northern England. With helpful guide maps, interesting bird and habitat information, travel hints and a bird reference section, this title is suitable for walkers of various abilities. It also gives the walker the opportunity to see the many resident and visiting species of birds in the area.

Few, if any, environments are free of human intervention. Often this generates ecosystems which are rich in biodiversity, historical interest, recreational opportunity and scenic beauty just as worthy of conservation as the more natural ecosystems on which protection programmes have been almost exclusively focussed. These 'cultural landscapes', ranging from the farm and forest lands of Europe and Eastern North America, through to the pasture lands and savannas of the Middle East and Africa to the paddylands of the Pacific Rim, are usually the product of relatively low-level, sustainable exploitation of the environment over long periods of time. Many have survived for centuries, if not millennia, but now urban expansion, depopulation of rural areas and, most damagingly, the intensification of agricultural and sylvicultural practices, are everywhere leading to a loss of their cherished biodiversity and amenity. Whilst past changes have mostly added to the valued characteristics of these landscapes, modern farming and forestry are creating sterile monocultures on the better land whilst marginal lands are being abandoned. This book documents these changes, illustrates them through detailed case studies of a representative selection of threatened landscapes, analyses their underlying causes and explores ways by which they can continue to be maintained, or new landscapes created which maintain their desired characteristics.

The purpose of this book is to examine the role that Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) have in the protection of the landscape. The authors draw upon experience in the UK and abroad.