Fur Bearing Animals In Nature And In Commerce

Author : Eric L Jones
Publisher : World Scientific
ISBN 13 : 9814522589
Total Pages : 292 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (145 download)

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Download or read book Revealed Biodiversity written by Eric L Jones and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2013-11-29 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Revealed Biodiversity: An Economic History of the Human Impact aims to show that for several centuries environmental conditions have been substantially the product of economic fluctuations. It contests the notion of perpetual decline in species composition. The arguments are supported by far more precise historical detail than is usual in books about ecology. The need to take the gains to human society into account when assessing environmental change is strongly emphasized. The book features case studies including England, the Netherlands, USA, East Asia, Brazil, and the areas of modern agricultural ‘land grab’. This book is important for its close attention to the documented historical record of environmental change in several countries over several centuries; for its demonstration of how much wildlife populations have been influenced by fluctuations in market activity; for revealing the need to be sensitive to historical baselines; and for emphasizing the imperative of taking the gains to human society into account when assessing environmental change. It, therefore, has considerable significance for environmental and conservation policies as well as for future studies in ecological history. Contents:The Long Term:CrisisDeclineProper Baselines: The Example of English ButterfliesEngland and the Netherlands:Commodity Landscapes: Southern EnglandAgricultural Change: Southern EnglandLandscapes of Destruction: The Curse of the PheasantLandscapes of Destruction: The Sacrifice to TroutThe Netherlands: Reclamation and ExploitationEngland: Reclamation and ExploitationEuropean Expansion:Europe's Expansion OverseasEurope's Distant ReachPristine AmericaThe Modern World:East AsiaThe Modern Expansion of AgricultureConclusion:What Should We Conserve? Readership: Students, academics (including economic/environmental historians, ecologists, historical geographers) or general readers interested in environmental history or economic history. Keywords:Biodiversity;Economic History;Birds;Landscape;Environmental History;Nature ConservationKey Features:Differs from most academic works in being written in a particularly readable style without compromising the level of detailPresents an unusual depth of historical work and geographical coverage while analyzing the effects of the market economy on wildlifeEmphasizes the unfamiliar point that gains to human society must in fairness be considered when discussing environmental changeReviews: "This remarkable book by Eric Jones is the first comprehensive treatment of human impact on global biodiversity from the perspective of economic history. Jones traces both the benefits and costs of this exploitation, taking into account the global spread of Europeans and the impact of growth and income of East Asia today. This book is important reading for anyone interested in how the world has reached — and should deal with — our current ecological and biodiversity crises." Edward B Barbier John S Bugas Professor of Economics, University of Wyoming, USA and author of Scarcity and Frontiers: How Economies Have Developed through Natural Resource Exploitation "Revealed Biodiversity offers an outstanding synthesis, one that takes the debate forward in leaps and bounds and challenges false assumptions on all sides. Eric Jones is ideally equipped for the task, for he combines a supreme grasp of economic and social history with a thoroughly-grounded knowledge of the many problems raised by the history of biodiversity and moves between the illuminating local case study and the large-scale perspective with consummate ease." Robert A Dodgshon Emeritus Professor of Human Geography Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences Aberystwyth University, UK "Revealed Biodiversity refers both to the possibilities of enjoying nature in the modern world and the importance of understanding it through a well-argued and accessibly written economic history. Environmentalists will not find this book a comfortable read, but it is an essential one if they are to engage meaningfully with the issue of biodiversity." Patrick Dillon Professor of Applied Education Sciences University of Eastern Finland, Finland “It is best to view Revealed Biodiversity as a starting point for future studies of biodiversity that takes seriously the mutual interaction between the economy and the surrounding environment. In this respect, the book is in the best tradition of environmental histories which examine the complex interplay between the economy, society, and the environment.” EH.Net