Today construction industry is being asked more and more to protect the quality of the countryside and to help enhance our natural environment. The industry is subject to a complex and wide-ranging regulatory framework; it now needs to understand its responsibilities and take them seriously. Paul Rees provides here an authoritative guide, outlining wildlife and nature conservation law in the UK - including our European and international commitments, and giving clear explanations to a potentially costly area of law in a style accessible to the non-legal market. This comprehensive manual offers information and guidance for building surveyors, environmental managers, engineers and planners on: the legal and planning issues around biodiversity, nature conservation and construction how ecosystems work and why certain species and habitats need protection where to go for the relevant legislation and appropriate organisations for help and advice. UK and European case law demonstrates how the law has functioned in particular instances, and case studies illustrate how companies have adapted to fulfil their legal obligations. These are key features of the book and provide information on important legal precedents as well as demonstrating current industry best practice.

This Handbook is the first comprehensive account of comparative environmental law. It examines in detail the methodological foundations of the discipline as well as the substance of environmental law across countries from four vantage points: country studies from all continents, responses to common problems (including air pollution, water management, nature conservation, genetically modified organisms, climate change and energy, chemicals, waste), foundational components of environmental law systems (including principles, property rights, administrative and judicial organisation, command-and-control regulation, market mechanisms, informational techniques and liability mechanisms), and common interactions of environmental protection with the broader public, private, and criminal law contexts. The volume brings together the foremost authorities in this field from around the world to provide a concise, self-contained, and technically rigorous account of environmental law as a single overall system.

When the first edition of Urban Wildlife Management was published two years ago, it provided conservationists, ecologists, and wildlife professionals with a welcome shift in the way that interactions between humans and wildlife were viewed and managed. Instead of focusing on ways to evict or eradicate wildlife encroached on by urban development, this unique work took a holistic, ecosystems approach. Gathering information from more than five hundred academic sources and the popular media, this book educated us on the complete nature of the problem. See what's new in the Second Edition: New information garnered from secondary data sets Added contributions from an extended list of leading wildlife specialists Original research conducted by the authors and their students New chapters on urban soils, urban waters, and zoonotic diseases More perspective essays and case studies Single species profiles in each chapter that focus on management issues Numerous tables examining trends by species and by region Through discussions of past and present approaches in the United States, the book explores the changing landscape of wildlife management and future approaches. Urban habitats and hazards are defined in terms of green and gray spaces. Sociopolitical issues are discussed in terms of wildlife management, stakeholder responsibilities, and legal considerations. And wildlife are viewed as adaptive inhabitants of an evolving ecosystem rather than as interlopers in a humans only world. The author maintains a blog exploring wildlife in our own backyard.

"This is the urban century in which, for the first time, the majority of people live in towns and cities. Understanding how people influence, and are influenced by, the 'green' component of these environments is therefore of enormous significance. Providing an overview of the essentials of urban ecology, the book begins by covering the vital background concepts of the urbanisation process and the effect that it can have on ecosystem functions and services. Later sections are devoted to examining how species respond to urbanisation, the many facets of human-ecology interactions, and the issues surrounding urban planning and the provision of urban green spaces. Drawing on examples from urban settlements around the world, it highlights the progress to date in this burgeoning field, as well as the challenges that lie ahead"--Provided by publisher.

Urbanization is a global phenomenon that is increasingly challenging human society. It is therefore crucially important to ensure that the relentless expansion of cities and towns proceeds sustainably. Urban ecology, the interdisciplinary study of ecological patterns and processes in towns and cities, is a rapidly developing field that can provide a scientific basis for the informed decision-making and planning needed to create both viable and sustainable cities. Urban Ecology brings together an international team of leading scientists to discuss our current understanding of all aspects of urban environments, from the biology of the organisms that inhabit them to the diversity of ecosystem services and human social issues encountered within urban landscapes. The book is divided into five sections with the first describing the physical urban environment. Subsequent sections examine ecological patterns and processes within the urban setting, followed by the integration of ecology with social issues. The book concludes with a discussion of the applications of urban ecology to land-use planning. The emphasis throughout is on what we actually know (as well as what we should know) about the complexities of social-ecological systems in urban areas, in order to develop urban ecology as a rigorous scientific discipline.

The ethics of human/animal relationships is a growing field of academic research and a topic for public discussion and regulatory interventions from law-makers, governments and private institutions. Human/animal relationships are in transformation and understanding the nature of this process is crucial for all those who believe that the enlargement of moral and legal recognition to nonhuman animals is part of contemporary moral and political progress. Understanding the nature of this process means analysing and critically discussing the philosophical, scientific and legal concepts and arguments embedded in it. This book contributes to the discussion by bringing together the ideas and reflections of leading experts from different disciplinary backgrounds and with a range of scientific perspectives. This book both provides an up-to-date examination of the transformation of human/animal relationships and presents ideas to foster this process.