Books published by Island Press

Provides clear definitions and common understanding of the evidence and theory behind surrogate species. This title offers systematic definitions of surrogate species concepts, explores the theories behind them, considers how they are chosen, examines evidence for and against their utility, and makes recommendations for their continued use.

In this volume, leading forest scientists David B. Lindenmayer and Jerry F. Franklin argue that the conservation of forest biodiversity requires a comprehensive and multiscaled approach that includes both reserve and non-reserve areas.

The Value of Life is an exploration of the actual and perceived importance of biological diversity for human beings and society. Stephen R. Kellert identifies ten basic values, which he describes as biologically based, inherhuman tendencies that are greatly influenced and moderated by culture, learning, and experience. Drawing on 20 years of original research, he considers: the universal basis for how humans value nature differences in those values by gender, age, ethnicity, occupation, and geographic location how environment-related activities affect values variation in values relating to differspecies how vlaues vary across cultures policy and managemimplications Throughout the book, Kellert argues that the preservation of biodiversity is fundamentally linked to human well-being in the largest sense as he illustrates the importance of biological diversity to the human sociocultural and psychological condition.

Is the conservation of large carnivores in ecosystems that evolved with their presence equivalent to the conservation of biological diversity within those systems? Building their discussions from empirical, long-term data sets, contributors explore a variety of issues surrounding the link between predation and biodiversity.

Including a section on 'Wildlife Conservation in a Time of War', this title brings together international conservation experts and writers to discuss issues in the conservation of wildlife and wild places. It features twenty essays that are intermixed with poetry and photos that capture our connection to the wild.

Suitable for general readers, students, and lawyers alike, this title tells the stories of a lone fisherman intent on protecting the Hudson River, a Philippine lawyer boarding illegal logging ships from the air, the Cree Indian Nation battling for its hunting grounds, and a civil rights attorney who set out to save the Taj Mahal.

Health and Community Design is a comprehensive examination of how the built environmencourages or discourages physical activity, drawing together insights from a range of research on the relationships between urban form and public health. It provides important information about the factors that influence decisions about physical activity and modes of travel, and about how land use patterns can be changed to help overcome barriers to physical activity. Chapters examine:• the historical relationship between health and urban form in the United States• why urban and suburban developmshould be designed to promote moderate types of physical activity• the divergneeds and requirements of differgroups of people and the role of those needs in setting policy• how differsettings make it easier or more difficult to incorporate walking and bicycling into everyday activitiesA concluding chapter reviews the arguments presented and sketches a research agenda for the future.

In 2009, Rolling Stone named Joe Romm to its list of "e;100 People Who Are Changing America."e; Romm is a climate expert, physicist, energy consultant, and former official in the Departmof Energy. But it's his influential blog, one of the "e;Top Fifteen Green Websites"e; according to Time magazine, that's caught national attention. Climate change is far more urgthan people understand, Romm says, and traditional media, scientists, and politicians are missing the story.Straight Up draws on Romm's mimportant posts to explain the dangers of and solutions to climate change that you won't find in newspapers, in journals, or on T.V

An Introduction to Coastal Zone Management, Second Edition offers a comprehensive overview of coastal planning and managemissues for students and professionals in the field. Since publication of the first edition in 1994, population growth and increasing developmpressures on our coasts have made the need for forward-looking, creative, and sustainable visions for the future even greater. This completely updated and revised edition includes: •significantly updated data and statistics including discussions of population and growth trends, federal and state coastal expenditures, disaster assistance expenditures, and damage levels from hurricanes and coastal storms •updated legislative and programmatic material, including the Stafford Act and mitigation assistance programs, and changes in the Coastal Zone ManagemAct •expanded coverage of physical and biological attributes and conditions of the coastal zone •expanded and updated discussions of innovative local coastal managem•new chapters on creative coastal design and developmand lessons from coastal programs in other countries An Introduction to Coastal Zone Management, Second Edition is the only available book that addresses the serious coastal trends and pressures in the U.S., assesses the currpolicy and planning framework, and puts forth a compelling vision for future managemand sustainable coastal planning. It is an important resource for undergraduate and graduate students of coastal planning as well as for local and state officials, residents of coastal communities, environmental advocates, developers, and others concerned with coastal issues.

A significant number of the world's ocean fisheries are depleted, and some have collapsed, from overfishing. Although many of the same fishermen who are causing these declines stand to suffer the mfrom them, they continue to overfish. Why is this happening? What can be done to solve the problem.The authors of Fish, Markets, and Fishermen argue that the reasons are primarily economic, and that overfishing is an inevitable consequence of the currsets of incentives facing ocean fishermen. This volume illuminates these incentives as they operate both in the aggregate and at the level of day-to-day decision-making by vessel skippers. The authors provide a primer on fish population biology and the economics of fisheries under various access regimes, and use that information in analyzing policies for managing fisheries. The book: provides a concise statistical overview of the world's fisheries documents the decline of fisheries worldwide gives the reader a clear understanding of the economics and population biology of fish examines the managemissues associated with regulating fisheries offers case studies of fisheries under differmanagemregimes examines and compares the consequences of various regimes and considers the implications for policy makingThe decline of the world's ocean fisheries is of enormous worldwide significance, from both economic and environmental perspectives. This book clearly explains for the nonspecialist the complicated problem of overfishing. It represents a basic resource for fishery managers and others-fishers, policymakers, conservationists, the fish consuming public, students, and researchers-concerned with the dynamics of fisheries and their sustenance.

Presents sustainable approaches to the challenges created by fundamental shifts in livestock management and production. This book is suitable for policymakers, industry managers, and academics involved with this issue.

Over the years, a select group of small but highly effective grassroots organizations have achieved remarkable success in protecting endangered species and forests in the United States. This title tells the story of these grassroots biodiversity groups.

Ecotourism and Sustainable Development is the mcomprehensive overview of worldwide ecotourism available today, showing how both the concept and the reality have evolved over more than twenty-five years. Here Martha Honey revisits six nations she profiled in the first edition-the Galapagos Islands, Costa Rica, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Kenya, and South Africa-and adds a fascinating new chapter on the United States. She examines the growth of ecotourism within each country's tourism strategy, its political system, and its changing economic policies. Her useful case studies highlight the economic and cultural impacts of expanding tourism on indigenous populations as well as on ecosystems.

This is a close-up look at the socio-political context of large carnivores and their management in western Wyoming south of Yellowstone National Park, including the southern part of what is commonly recognized as the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

How do cities transform over time? And why do some cities change for the better while others deteriorate? In articulating new ways of viewing urban areas and how they develop over time, Peter Bosselmann offers a stimulating guidebook for students and professionals engaged in urban design, planning, and architecture. By looking through Bosselmann's eyes (aided by his analysis of numerous color photos and illustrations) readers will learn to "e;see"e; cities anew.Bosselmann organizes the book around seven "e;activities"e;: comparing, observing, transforming, measuring, defining, modeling, and interpreting. He introduces readers to his way of seeing by comparing satellite-produced "e;maps"e; of the world's twenty largest cities. With Bosselmann's guidance, we begin to understand the key elements of urban design. Using Copenhagen, Denmark, as an example, he teaches us to observe without prejudice or bias.He demonstrates how cities transform by introducing the idea of "e;urban morphology"e; through an examination of more than a century of transformations in downtown Oakland, California. We learn how to measure quality-of-life parameters that are often considered immeasurable, including "e;vitality,"e; "e;livability,"e; and "e;belonging."e; Utilizing the street grids of San Francisco as examples, Bosselmann explains how to define urban spaces. Modeling, he reveals, is not so much about creating models as it is about bringing others into public, democratic discussions. Finally, we find out how to interpret essential aspects of "e;life and place"e; by evaluating aerial images of the San Francisco Bay Area taken in 1962 and those taken forty-three years later.Bosselmann has a unique understanding of cities and how they "e;work."e; His hope is that, with the fresh vision he offers, readers will be empowered to offer inventive new solutions to familiar urban problems.