Biological Diversity Of The Central Balkan National Park

The focus of the ECE review programme is to help countries in transition to move from a centrally planned to a market economy in order to improve their individual and collective performance in environmental management. The ultimate goal of this review programme is the promotion of sustainable development and the convergence of environmental conditions and policies throughout Europe. This report on Bulgaria focuses on two broad areas: the evolution of environmental policy and management from 1996 to 1999; and the current priorities of environmental policy and management.

One of the cornerstones of life's wonders is the vast array of species filling the planet. From plants to animals to humans, there is no shortage of beings to provide 'spice of life' variety is said to be. Periodically, scientists announce the discovery of a 'new' form of life, so it seems as if Earth is capable of producing new species just to keep us on our toes. At times, the immense breadth of living things can even feel overwhelming, as one pauses to ponder how numerically insignificant humans are when compared to the insect population. Given the biological diversity of the planet, it is incumbent upon humans to safeguard the natural beauty of the environment. To that end, conservation takes on special importance, necessitating the balancing of industrial expansion with preserving the flora and fauna surrounding us. This book is an important tool in understanding and researching the many different life forms spanning the globe. Collected here is a substantial and carefully selected listing of relevant literature on biological diversity and its conservation. Following this bibliography are author, title, and subject indexes to allow for further access to this information. The sheer bulk of the works about biological diversity can be so intimidating that a book such as this one becomes useful in sorting through the resources about the importance of life's variety.

This issue is dedicated to Dr. Christo Deltshev, the doyen of Bulgarian araneology. It contains seventeen arachnological publications, including a concise biography of Dr. Deltshev, a list of his scientific publications and his described taxa. The volume comprises taxonomic contributions in the spider families Hypochilidae, Sicariidae, Dysderidae, Hersiliidae, Theridiidae, Linyphiidae, Lycosidae, Dictynidae, Gnaphosidae, Sparassidae, Philodromidae and Salticidae and fossil taxa in the harvestmen suborders Dyspnoi and Eupnoi, written by a total of 36 authors. Four new genera and 37 new spider and harvestmen species have been described in this volume, and dozens of new taxonomic alterations (new combinations, new synonyms, new statuses, etc.) are proposed too. Geographically, the papers deal with material originating from Europe, Africa, Asia, North and South America. There is also an overview of the use of barcoding to identify spiders in species-rich genera.

From single-celled organisms in Black Sea sand to endemic cave crustaceans, from mountain glacial relict insects to the most diverse bird fauna in Europe, the fauna of Bulgaria has been a subject of study for more than a century. This is the first English language survey of all vertebrate and many key invertebrate groups of Bulgaria, their faunistics, origin, geographical and ecological distribution, and conservation issues.

This book provides a coherent analysis of the environmental challenges and achievements in institutional strengthening and policy reform, environmental policy instruments, environmental financing, and environmental management in enterprises in transition countries.