Human well-being and the prerequisite sustainable environmental management are currently at stake, reaching a bottleneck when trying to cope with (i) the ever-growing world population, (ii) the constantly increasing need for natural resources (and the subsequent overexploitation of species, habitats, ecosystems, and landscapes) and (iii) the documented and on-going impacts of climate change. By this, the role of conservation and management practices for the environment is characterized as a crucial and top issue and should deal with (a) promoting best practices from the local to the global level, (b) identifying spatial and temporal knowledge gaps, (c) multidisciplinary aspects for sustainable management practices, (d) identifying and interpreting the role of stakeholders and socio-economic parameters in the decision-making process, and (e) methods and practices to integrate the concept of ecosystem services into natural capital assessment and accounting, conservation and management strategies. Modern literature highlights that land use change and prioritization, the restoration of natural areas and cultural landscape identification and maintenance, should be considered at the top of the scientific and policy agenda, as well as at the epicenter of novel awareness-raising strategies for the environment in the near future.

Encyclopedia of Ecology, Second Edition, Four Volume Set continues the acclaimed work of the previous edition published in 2008. It covers all scales of biological organization, from organisms, to populations, to communities and ecosystems. Laboratory, field, simulation modelling, and theoretical approaches are presented to show how living systems sustain structure and function in space and time. New areas of focus include micro- and macro scales, molecular and genetic ecology, and global ecology (e.g., climate change, earth transformations, ecosystem services, and the food-water-energy nexus) are included. In addition, new, international experts in ecology contribute on a variety of topics. Offers the most broad-ranging and comprehensive resource available in the field of ecology Provides foundational content and suggests further reading Incorporates the expertise of over 500 outstanding investigators in the field of ecology, including top young scientists with both research and teaching experience Includes multimedia resources, such as an Interactive Map Viewer and links to a CSDMS (Community Surface Dynamics Modeling System), an open-source platform for modelers to share and link models dealing with earth system processes

Over the last two decades, the topic of forest ecosystem services has attracted the attention of researchers, land managers, and policy makers around the globe. The services rendered by forest ecosystems range from intrinsic to anthropocentric benefits that are typically grouped as provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural. The research efforts, assessments, and attempts to manage forest ecosystems for their sustained services are now widely published in scientific literature. This volume focuses on broad-scale aspects of forest ecosystem services, beyond individual stands to large landscapes. In doing so, it illustrates the conceptual and practical opportunities as well as challenges involved with planning for forest ecosystem services across landscapes, regions, and nations. The goal here is to broaden the scope of land use planning through the adoption of a landscape-scale approach. Even though this approach is complex and involves multiple ecological, social, cultural, economic, and political dimensions, the landscape perspective appears to offer the best opportunity for a sustained provision of forest ecosystem services.

Protected Area Governance and Management presents a compendium of original text, case studies and examples from across the world, by drawing on the literature, and on the knowledge and experience of those involved in protected areas. The book synthesises current knowledge and cutting-edge thinking from the diverse branches of practice and learning relevant to protected area governance and management. It is intended as an investment in the skills and competencies of people and consequently, the effective governance and management of protected areas for which they are responsible, now and into the future. The global success of the protected area concept lies in its shared vision to protect natural and cultural heritage for the long term, and organisations such as International Union for the Conservation of Nature are a unifying force in this regard. Nonetheless, protected areas are a socio-political phenomenon and the ways that nations understand, govern and manage them is always open to contest and debate. The book aims to enlighten, educate and above all to challenge readers to think deeply about protected areas—their future and their past, as well as their present. The book has been compiled by 169 authors and deals with all aspects of protected area governance and management. It provides information to support capacity development training of protected area field officers, managers in charge and executive level managers.

From its late nineteenth century origins, the concept of protected areas has increased in scope and complexity. It now has to come to terms with the twenty first century world of neo-liberal politics, performance metrics and the growing and complex demands of tourism. This international collection of papers explores how this might be done, detailing the issues involved, and the value and values that protected areas have for economies, peoples and environments. Special attention is given to World Heritage Sites, tourism planning and their communities, to the growth of private protected areas, and to the health values of protected areas. Other subjects include private sector business involvement in protected areas, concessions policy experiments, and how the work of the world’s largest protected area agency, the US National Park Service, is adapting to changing political and market demands, and to the challenges of sustainable development. It concludes with a searching interview with a member of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee. The chapters were originally published in a special issue in the Journal of Sustainable Tourism.

The distinctive relationships between landscape change, habitat fragmentation, and biodiversity conservation are highlighted in this original and useful guide to the theory and practice of ecological landscape design. Using original, ecologically based landscape design principles, the text underscores current thinking in landscape management and conservation. It offers a blend of theoretical and practical information that is illustrated with case studies drawn from across the globe. Key insights by some of the world’s leading experts in landscape ecology and conservation biology make Managing and Designing Landscapes for Conservation an essential volume for anyone involved in landscape management, natural resource planning, or biodiversity conservation.

This valuable resource for developers and designers will help to develop design solutions sympathetic to the environment and improve the sustainability of residential landscapes. The landscapes around housing have a crucial role in creating a more sustainable future with carbon-neutral homes. This book shows how to improve the sustainable profile of new residential developments through landscape planning, design and management – by conserving resources and minimising pollution, and by enhancing ecological diversity. This may be achieved without significant additional capital outlay. The residential landscape sustainability checklist gives housing developers, landscape architects, architects and planners a tool with which to assess the environmental implication of their schemes throughout the design process – from site planning to detailed design. The checklist focuses on residential housing developments but many features of the tool - including improving energy efficiency, materials selection, planting design and management - can also be applied to a wide range of different types of development, from school grounds to retail parks.

This report provides a year-by-year overview of the main trends in development finance with biodiversity-related objectives for the period 2015-22, considering a wide range of sources: bilateral providers from Development Assistance Committee (DAC) members and beyond, including South-South and triangular co-operation providers; multilateral development banks and other multilateral institutions; private finance mobilised by development finance; and private philanthropy. The estimates are based on statistical data from the OECD and the International Forum on Total Official Support for Sustainable Development (TOSSD), capturing both official development assistance and non-concessional development finance. They include breakdowns by provider, sector, financial instrument and recipient country grouping, as well as details on financial allocations to the mainstreaming of biodiversity, climate change, Indigenous peoples and local communities, and gender equality. The evidence aims to help DAC members and other stakeholders implement the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework under the Convention on Biological Diversity and track the contribution of development finance against its Target 19 on resource mobilisation.