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Antelopes constitute a fundamental part of ecosystems throughout Africa and Asia where they act as habitat architects, dispersers of seeds, and prey for large carnivores. The fascication they hold in the human mind is evident from prehistoric rock paintings and ancient Egyptian art to today's wildlife documentaries and popularity in zoos. In recent years, however, the spectacular herds of the past have been decimated or extripated over wide areas in the wilds, and urgent conservation action is needed to preserve this world heritage for generations to come. As the first book dedicated to antelope conservation, this volume sets out to diagnose the causes of the drastic declines in antelope bio...
Can tourism really support conservation, by providing finance or political support for public, private or community protected areas? This volume tests such claims through a continent-by-continent review of commercial tourism enterprises worldwide. The role of conservation tourism is increasingly important as human populations expand and climate change intensifies.
The conflict between increasing human population and biodiversity conservation is one of the IUCN’s key threatening processes. Conservation planning has received a great deal of coverage and research as a way of conserving biodiversity yet, while theoretically successful, it has never been tested. Simple lines on maps to illustrate conservation areas are unlikely to be successful in the light of human encroachment. It may be that some form of overt display is necessary to ensure the protection of reserves. This may be signage, presence of guards/rangers or physical fencing structures. The need for some form of barrier goes beyond restricting human access. The megafauna of Africa pose a gen...
The crucible of innovation in wildlife and habitat conservation is in southern Africa where it has co-evolved with decolonization, political transformation and the rise of development, ownership, management and livelihood debates. Charting this innovation, early chapters deal with the traditional 'fines and fences' conservation that occurred in the colonial and early post-independence period, with subsequent sections focussing on the experimentation and innovation that occurred on private and communal land as a result of the break from these traditional methods. The final section deals with mo.
Examining the interaction of bottom-up and top-down forces, it presents a unique synthesis of trophic interactions within and across ecosystems.
This book synthesises key insights from a century of ecological research and monitoring efforts in one of Africa's oldest protected areas.
The crucible of innovation in wildlife and habitat conservation is in southern Africa where it has co-evolved with decolonization, political transformation and the rise of development, ownership, management and livelihood debates. Charting this innovation, early chapters deal with the traditional 'fines and fences' conservation that occurred in the colonial and early post-independence period, with subsequent sections focussing on the experimentation and innovation that occurred on private and communal land as a result of the break from these traditional methods. The final section deals with more recent innovations in the sector, focussing on building and strengthening the relationships between parks and society. Importantly, the book provides a data-rich summary of experimentation with more inclusive models of conservation in terms of ecological, social, political and economic indicators. Published with the Southern African Sustainable Use Specialist Group (SASUSG) of IUCN
The first expert synthesis of the diverse studies conducted on wild equids worldwide. Wild horses, zebras, asses, and feral equines exhibit intriguing and complex social structures that captivate the human imagination and elicit a wide range of emotions that influence conservation and management efforts. This book, spearheaded by Jason I. Ransom and Petra Kaczensky, brings together the world's leading experts on equid ecology, management, and conservation to provide a synthesis of what is known about these iconic species and what needs to be done to prevent losing some of them altogether. The most comprehensive conservation book on wild equids in decades, this title will enlighten not only e...
The story of East of the Cape: Conserving Eden is a story about nature and people. The drama takes place in a region located on the south-eastern coast of Africa where nature’s diversity is manifest: rainforest, karoo, fynbos, grassland and savanna are juxtaposed in complex and intriguing ways. Aptly called Eden, this region is also home to thicket, a Lilliputian forest of great antiquity that harbours the ancient stock of many plant lineages found in southern Africa’s contemporary ecosystems. Eden is also home to a diversity of human cultures, each of which has left its mark on nature. From the birth of humankind to the present day, the footprint of Eden’s inhabitants has become progr...
Biodiversity is strongly affected by the rapid and accelerating changes in the global climate, which largely stem from human activity. Anthropogenic activities are causing highly influential impacts on species persistence. The sustained environmental change wildlife is experiencing may surpass the capacity of developmental, genetic, and demographic mechanisms that populations have developed to deal with these alterations. How biodiversity is perceived and maintained affects ecosystem functioning as well as how the goods and services that ecosystems provide to humans can be used. Recognizing biodiversity is essential to preserve wildlife. Furthermore, the measure, management and protection of ecosystem biodiversity requires different and innovative approaches. For all these reasons, the aim of the present book is to give an up-to-date overview of the studies on biodiversity at all levels, in order to better understand the dynamics and the mechanisms at the basis of the richness of life forms both in terrestrial (including agro-ecosystems) and marine environments.