Download or read book Marine Biodiversity of Costa Rica Central America written by Ingo S. Wehrtmann and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2008-12-28 with total page 545 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Life began in the sea, and even today most of the deep diversity of the planet is marine. This is often forgotten, especially in tropical countries like Costa Rica, renowned for their rain forests and the multitude of life forms found therein. Thus this book focusing on marine diversity of Costa Rica is particularly welcome. How many marine species are there in Costa Rica? The authors report a total of 6,777 species, or 3. 5% of the world’s total. Yet the vast majority of marine species have yet to be formally described. Recent estimates of the numbers of species on coral reefs range from 1–9 million, so that the true number of marine species in Costa Rica is certainly far higher. In some groups the numbers are likely to be vastly higher because to date they have been so little studied. Only one species of nematode is reported, despite the fact that it has been said that nematodes are the most diverse of all marine groups. In better studied groups such as mollusks and crustaceans, reported numbers are in the thousands, but even in these groups many species remain to be described. Indeed the task of describing marine species is daunting – if there really are about 9 million marine species and Costa Rica has 3. 5% of them, then the total number would be over 300,000. Clearly, so much remains to be done that new approaches are needed. Genetic methods have en- mous promise in this regard.
Download or read book Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Biodiversity in Central America Mexico and the Dominican Republic written by and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 110 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Natural History and Ecology of Mexico and Central America written by Levente Hufnagel and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2021-08-18 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Natural History and Ecology of Mexico and Central America presents an interesting overview of the frontiers of biodiversity and ecological research in the geographical area of Mexico and Central America. Chapters cover such topics as biodiversity and ecology of plant communities, tropical subterranean ecosystems, floating Sargassum species, the endangered species Dioon edule, Kemp’s ridley sea turtles, fish and fisheries, urbanization and bats, and food and sustainable diet.
Download or read book Biodiversity Conservation in Latin America and the Caribbean written by Allen Blackman and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-05-23 with total page 189 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region is exceptionally biodiverse. It contains about half of the world’s remaining tropical forests, nearly one-fifth of its coastal habitats, and some of its most productive agricultural and marine areas. But agriculture, fishing and other human activities linked to rapid population and economic growth increasingly threaten that biodiversity. Moreover, poverty, weak regulatory capacity, and limited political will hamper conservation. Given this dilemma, it is critically important to design conservation strategies on the basis of the best available information about both biodiversity and the track records of the various policies that have been used to protect it. This rigorously researched book has three key aims. It describes the status of biodiversity in LAC, the main threats to this biodiversity, and the drivers of these threats. It identifies the main policies being used to conserve biodiversity and assesses their effectiveness and potential for further implementation. It proposes five specific lines of practical action for conserving LAC biodiversity, based on: green agriculture; strengthening terrestrial protected areas and co-management; improving environmental governance; strengthening coastal and marine resource management; and improving biodiversity data and policy evaluation.
Download or read book People in Nature written by Kirsten M. Silvius and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 486 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'People in Nature' highlights South and Central American approaches to wildlife conservation and management strategy and discusses threats caused by ranching, habitat fragmentation, fishing and hunting.
Download or read book BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE USE IN LATIN AMERICA written by Oecd and published by . This book was released on 2018-12-19 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report synthesises key findings on biodiversity and ecosystem services from the Environmental Performance Reviews completed for Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru between 2013 and 2017. The report aims to provide a sense of the common challenges facing these Latin American countries, the strategies being used to tackle them, the gaps that remain and how these can be addressed. Focusing on Latin America is particularly pertinent given the great wealth of biodiversity in the region and the growing pressures on its conservation and sustainable use.
Download or read book Central American Biodiversity written by Falk Huettmann and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-08-04 with total page 805 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book highlights key results and lessons learnt from two field sites, La Suerte in Costa Rica and Ometepe Nicaragua. It provides long term data on species abundance and distribution. Primates receive specific attention in this book, as they are flagship species and good indicators for the “health” of an ecosystem, but as well a money maker. Many primate species are sensitive to habitat alteration, and are often hunted out first. But they play an important role as seed dispersal agents for the regeneration of the forest. The book then compares results from the two field sites with regional trends, and explores potential solutions such as REDD+. This book strongly calls for new approaches in conservation, it makes the case for looking beyond the pure species biology and classic conservation angle and to take into account the economic and political realities.
Download or read book Central America written by Anthony G. Coates and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 1999-01-01 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Describes the cultural and natural history of Central America, covering such topics as the area's geological origins, natural corridors, native peoples, and conservation efforts.
Download or read book A Field Guide to the Mammals of Central America and Southeast Mexico written by and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2009-11-05 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the only comprehensive guide to mammals in Central America and Southeast Mexico. Unlike most field guides, it covers smaller mammals in depth and also provides an extensive bibliography. In addition to detailed species accounts and range maps for all species, the book has 52 full-color plates. The 49 animal plates cover almost all the species in the region. 4 color maps are new to the second edition, detailing parks, elevations and biomes in the region.
Download or read book Biodiversity Conservation and Poverty Reduction in Central America written by Margaret Buck Holland and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Biodiversity Conservation in Costa Rica written by Gordon W. Frankie and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2004-02-06 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The beautiful tropical dry forest of northwest Costa Rica, with its highly seasonal rainfall and diversely vegetated landscape, is disappearing even more rapidly than Costa Rica's better-known rain forest, primarily because it has been easier to convert to agriculture. This book, based on more than thirty years of study, offers the first comprehensive look at the ecology, biodiversity, and conservation status of this endangered and fragile region. The contributors, from Costa Rica, Britain, Mexico, and the United States, and representing the fields of ecology, environmental education, policy, and the law, examine the major plant and animal groups living in the dry forest and present the first technical evaluation of Costa Rica's conservation efforts. As they assess the status of their area of specialty in the dry forest, the contributors also look beyond this particular region to show how its plants and animals are ecologically and evolutionarily connected to other geographic areas in Costa Rica and Central America. Their chapters cover topics such as watershed and coastal management, plant phenology, pollination, insects, birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles. They also consider the socioeconomic, policy, legal, and political aspects of biodiversity conservation, giving the volume a wide-ranging perspective and making a unique contribution to our knowledge of the tropical dry forest. The book concludes with an important synthesis of the contributors' recommendations on future directions, policies, and actions that will better conserve biodiversity in Costa Rica and other neotropical forests as well.
Download or read book The Forest hydrology poverty Nexus in Central America written by Andrew Nelson and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2004 with total page 39 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract: "A "forest-hydrology-poverty nexus" hypothesis asserts that deforestation in poor upland areas simultaneously threatens biodiversity and increases the incidence of flooding, sedimentation, and other damaging hydrological processes. Nelson and Chomitz use rough heuristics to assess the applicability of this hypothesis to Central America. They do so by using a simple rule of thumb to identify watersheds at greater risk of hydrologically significant land use change: these are watersheds where there is a relatively large interface between agriculture and forest, and where this interface is on a steep slope. The authors compare the location of these watersheds with spatial maps of poverty and forests (for Guatemala and Honduras) and with maps of population and forests (for Central America at large). The analysis is performed for watersheds defined at different scales. The authors find plausible evidence for a forest-biodiversity-poverty connection in Guatemala, and to a lesser extent in Honduras. In the rest of Central America, there are relatively few areas where forest meets agriculture on steep slopes--either the forest or the slopes are lacking. And the ratio of these forest/agriculture/hillside interfaces to watershed area declines markedly as larger-scale watersheds are considered. This directs attention to relatively small watersheds for further investigation of the "nexus." This paper--a product of the Infrastructure and Environment Team, Development Research Group--is part of a larger effort in the group to understand the economics of conservation"--World Bank web site.
Download or read book Biologia centrali americana or Contributions to the knowledge of the fauna and flora of Mexico and Central America written by Frederick Du Cane Godman and published by . This book was released on 1888 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Climate Change Impacts on Tropical Forests in Central America written by Aline Chiabai and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-09-25 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The loss of biodiversity is a major environmental problem in nearly every terrestrial ecosystem on Earth. This loss is accelerating driven by climate change, as well as by other causes including agricultural exploitation, fragmentation and degradation triggered by land use changes. The crucial issue under debate is the impact on the welfare of current and future population, and the role of humans in the exploitation of natural resources. This is of particular importance in Central America, which it is amongst the richest and most threatened biodiversity regions on the Earth, and where the loss of ecosystems strongly affects its socio-economic vulnerability. This book addresses the impacts of climate and land-use change on tropical forest ecosystems in this important region, and assesses the expected economic costs if no policy action is taken, under different future scenarios and for different geographical scales. This innovative collection utilises both theoretical approaches and empirical results to provide a conceptual framework for an integrated analysis of climate and land-use change impacts on forest ecosystems and related economic effects, offering insight into the complex relationship between ecosystems and benefits to humans. This important contribution to forest ecosystems and climate change provides invaluable reading for students and scholars in the fields of environmental and ecological economics, environmental science and forestry, natural resource management, agriculture and climate change.
Download or read book Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Synthesis for The State of the World s Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture written by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2019-12-04 with total page 77 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Synthesis for The State of the World’s Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture summarizes the state of biodiversity for food and agriculture in the region, based largely on information provided in fourteen country reports submitted to FAO as part of the reporting process for the report on The State of the World’s Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture. Biodiversity for food and agriculture is the diversity of plants, animals and micro-organisms at genetic, species and ecosystem levels, present in and around crop, livestock, forest and aquatic production systems. It is essential to the structure, functions and processes of these systems, to livelihoods and food security, and to the supply of a wide range of ecosystem services. It has been managed or influenced by farmers, livestock keepers, forest dwellers, fish farmers and fisherfolk for hundreds of generations. The report was originally prepared as supporting documentation for an informal regional consultation on the state of Latin America and the Caribbean’s biodiversity for food and agriculture held in Panama City, Panama, 8 to 10 March 2016. It was later revised based on feedback received from the participants of the informal consultation and on an additional country report. It also discusses the state of efforts to promote the sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity for food and agriculture in the region, including through the development of supporting policies, legal frameworks, institutions and capacities.
Download or read book Central American Alliance for Sustainable Development written by and published by Bib. Orton IICA / CATIE. This book was released on 1994 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Saving Forests Protecting People written by John Schelhas and published by Rowman Altamira. This book was released on 2009-03-16 with total page 331 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tropical forest conservation is attracting widespread public interest and helping to shape the ways in which environmental scientists and other groups approach global environmental issues. Schelhas and Pfeffer show that globally-driven forest conservation efforts have had different results in different places, ranging from violent protest to the discovery of common ground among conservation programs and the various interests of local peoples. The authors examine the connections between local values, material needs, and environmental management regimes. Saving Forests, Protecting People? explores that difficult terrain where culture, the environment, and social policies meet.
