People Plants And Protected Areas

* An invaluable, practical guide to the management and conservation of plant resources in their natural habitats

Conservation of plant resources is often focused on seed banks and botanical gardens. However, the two authors of this volume present a comprehensive conservation strategy that complements this ex-situ approach with practical guidance on in-situ management and conservation of plant resources. The book aims to facilitate better management of protected areas and to illustrate new approaches to conservation of plants within their landscapes. It draws on concepts from forestry, the agricultural sciences, anthropology, ethnology and ethnobotany and should be useful to practitioners, academics and policy-makers.

With the dual aim of facilitating better management of protected areas and illustrating innovative approaches to the conservation of plant resources within their original landscapes, the emphasis of this text is on the practical conservation of plant biodiversity based on collaboration between conservation professionals and local communities. Drawing on concepts and methods from ecology, forestry, conservation biology, agricultural sciences, anthropology and ethnobiology, the book is intended as aid to natural-resource managers, environmental-policy-makers and conservation biologists.

Most protected areas (e.g.national parks and nature reserves) have been created to protect wildlife and land- and seascape values. They currently cover over 13% of the world's land surface, around 12% of marine coastal areas and 4% of the marine shelf. Retaining and expanding these areas in the future will depend on showing their wider benefits for society. This book provides a concise and persuasive overview of the values of protected areas. Contributing authors from over fifty countries examine a wide range of values that are maintained in protected areas, including food, water and materials; health; tourism; cultural and spiritual values; and buffering capacity against climate change and natural disasters. The book also considers the role of protected areas in poverty reduction strategies, their relationship with traditional and indigenous people and in fostering conflict resolution through peace parks initiatives. The chapters draw on a series of authoritative reports published by WWF over recent years under the 'Arguments for Protection' banner, in association with various partners, and on additional research carried out especially for the volume. It analyses the opportunities and limitations of protected areas for supplying the various values along with practical advice for planners and managers about maximising benefits. It provides an important contribution to the debate about the role of protected areas in conservation and other aspects of natural resource management and human livelihoods. Published with WWF

Limits to expansion of protected area systems underline the importance of seeking new ways to conserve biodiversity. The twelve case studies ranging from the High Andes to Viet Nam support the view that certain traditional agricultural and pastoral systems can succeed in attaining a sustainable level of production while at the same time maintaining both a high level of biodiversity and most functional aspects of the ecosystems.

In this, the latest in the People and Plants series, plant conservation is described in the context of livelihoods and development, and ways of balancing the conservation of plant diversity with the use of plants and the environment for human benefit are discussed. A central contention in this book is that local people must be involved if conservation is to be successful. Also examined are ways of prioritizing plants and places for conservation initiatives, approaches to in situ and ex situ conservation, and how to approach problems of unsustainable harvesting of wild plants. Roles for botanists, foresters, sociologists, development workers and others are discussed. This book acts as a unifying text for the series, integrating case studies and methodologies considered in previous volumes and pointing out in a comprehensive, accessible volume the valuable lessons to be learned.

BG (copy 1): From the John Holmes Library collection.