Publications Catalog 1993 - BiodiversityPublications Catalog 1993 - BiodiversityWhile the Merck-INBIO agreement provides a fascinating model of a private partnership that contributes to rural economic development, biodiversity conservation, and technology transfer, virtually no precedent exists for national policies and legislation to govern and regulate what amounts to a brand new industry. This report is the first to provide systematic guidelines for establishing effective and equitable schemes for biodiversity prospecting.
Arguing that biodiversity prospecting ventures won't succeed if they don't promote sustainable development, the authors of this remarkable study focus on three institutional elements that will ultimately determine the course of this new industry: organizations, contracts, and national legislation. With detailed chapters on designing institutions to facilitate biodiversity prospecting; biodiversity prospecting contracts; intellectual property rights; research management policies; and science and technology guidelines, this report provides the most comprehensive and strategic analysis to date of what may well be a significant growth industry in the 21st century.
World Resources Institute, National Biodiversity Institute of Costa Rica, Rainforest Alliance, and the African Centre for Technology Studies.
1993
200 pages, large-format paperback
ISBN 0-915825-89-9
Order Code WRBPP, $29.95
Success in future efforts to conserve biological diversity depend upon two fundamental shifts. First, we need to invest not only in protection, in-situ and ex-situ, but also in the generation of knowledge and information, the appreciation of diversity, and the sustainable and equitable use of forestry, fisheries, agriculture and wildlife. Second, ecosystems can no longer be micromanaged: we need to expand the scale of management to encompass whole landscapes or "bioregions."
Based upon this premise, the case studies in this report from Yellowstone, the Adirondacks, the Serengeti, the Nile, and elsewhere illustrate attempts to manage conservation and development programs at the regional level. Each one sheds light on how organizations can cooperate to address multi-jurisdictional conflicts, forge negotiated settlements among resource users and other interests, and protect larger ecosystems. The author offers cogent guidelines for resource planners and community leaders interested in shifting to bioregional management.
Kenton Miller is a Senior Associate and Director of WRI's Forests and Biological Diversity Program.
Forthcoming
December 1993
150 pages, large-format paperback
ISBN 0-915825-85-6
Order Code MIBSP, $14.95
The result of more than two years of research and consultation on the part of government agencies and nongovernmental organizations around the world, the Strategy sets forth guidelines and actions that take into account broad social and economic concerns. It outlines a systematic agenda of policy reforms and conservation action at local, national, and international levels to protect biodiversity over the long term while mobilizing its benefits for food, medicines, chemicals, and other necessities.
Featuring 85 policy-oriented action steps for public and private sector decisionmakers, the Strategy also includes a comprehensive glossary, list of acronyms, and extensive bibliography. With introductory chapters on the nature and value of biodiversity and the causes and extent of its loss, this book is an outstanding resource for both experts and newcomers in the biodiversity field.
World Resources Institute, The World Conservation Union, and the United Nations Environment Programme in consultation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
l992
260 pages, paperback
ISBN 0-915825-74-0
Order Code WOGBP, $19.95
Based on the premise that the problems of conserving biological diversity cannot be separated from the larger issues of social and economic development, this comprehensive book explains what biodiversity is, why it is important, how it is threatened, and what can be done to preserve it. The authors present and discuss a broad range of practical approaches to biodiversity preservation--including policy changes, integrated land-use management, species and habitat protection, and pollution control--citing important examples from around the world. Appendixes include the World Charter for Nature, a history of international legislation supporting biodiversity conservation, the Bali Action Plan, and an extensive glossary.
Jeffrey McNeely is Chief Conservation Officer at The World Conservation Union. Kenton Miller is a Senior Associate and Director of WRI's Forests and Biological Diversity Program.
Published by World Resources Institute, The World Conservation Union, Conservation International, World Wildlife Fund, and the World Bank.
1990
200 pages, paperback
ISBN 0-915825-42-2
Order Code MCCWP, $14.95
As forests disappear at accelerating rates throughout the humid tropics, the search for effective conservation strategies has moved beyond establishing and maintaining protected areas. "Use it or lose it" is a dominant theme in virtually all strategies designed to slow deforestation in these regions. Selective harvesting of timber from natural forests -- or natural forest management -- is one way that forests could be used to provide economic benefits and prevent outright conversion to other land uses such as agriculture. Yet, a vexing question facing tropical forestry today remains: is sustainable forestry possible in natural forests? The record of most such efforts provides little encouragement. To promote more sustainable forestry practices, the authors of this report argue that natural forest management must be substantially redefined to emphasize ecological health and local social and economic benefits. Supported by analyses of forestry techniques, case studies, and the effects of trade bans, boycotts, and timber-certification programs, this report concludes with a chapter on steps toward the more sustainable management of humid tropical forests and the vast array of products and services they provide.
Nels Johnson and Bruce Cabarle are Associates in WRI's Forests and Biological Diversity Program.
1992
100 pages, large-format paperback
ISBN 0-915825-90-2
Order Code JOLAP, $14.95
Wetlands, coral reefs, mangroves, estuaries, and other coastal ecosystems are severely stressed as a result of pollution, sedimentation, land-filling, residential and commercial construction, and other by-products of growing human populations. Add to these yet another set of threats associated with global warming, and the prospects for some of the world's richest and most productive ecosystems grow dim.
This report examines the status of coastal biodiversity and the potential impacts of climate change: increased erosion, flooding, and salt-water intrusion into groundwater, rivers, bays, and estuaries as well as receding coastlines and altered coastal current and upwelling patterns. The authors evaluate various policy responses and recommend specific changes to protect the biological wealth of these vital ecosystems.
Walter V. Reid is Vice President at WRI. Mark Trexler was formerly an Associate in WRI's Climate, Energy, and Pollution Program.
1991
48 pages, large-format paperback
ISBN 0-915825-62-7
Order Code REDNP, $14.95
In the time it takes to read this page, several acres of tropical forests will be destroyed. In the next 15 minutes, a plant or animal species will become extinct. Written for general audiences, Trees of Life gives full coverage of the tragic story of global deforestation and examines the costs and consequences--human, economic, and ecological.
Trees of Life tells the history of human assaults on the world's deforestation "hotspots," showing how poverty, population growth, and short-sighted government policies are accelerating tropical destruction. It explains what deforestation is doing to the global environment and why rainforest preservation is vital to human welfare around the world. With special sections on "what you can do" and on U.S. old-growth forests, plus a complete glossary and listing of additional information resources, this handbook is invaluable for students, teachers, and concerned citizens.
Kenton Miller is a Senior Associate and Director of WRI's Forests and Biological Diversity Program. Laura Tangley is a science journalist.
1991
218 pages, paperback
ISBN 0-8070-8505-7
Order Code MITLP, $9.95
Published by Beacon Press. Bookstores and wholesalers should order directly from the publisher.