Continental Conservation: Scientific Foundations Of Regional Reserve Networks [Paperback]

Michael E. Soule (Editor), John Terborgh (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 155963698X | ISBN-13: 978-1559636988 | Publication Date: May 1, 1999 | Edition: 1

The Wildlands Project is a far-reaching effort by scientists and activists to develop better ways of protecting nature, wilderness, and biodiversity. Its ultimate goal is to establish an effective network of nature reserves throughout North America -- core conservation areas linked by corridors, and buffered, where appropriate, by lands that may also serve economic objectives.Continental Conservation represents the work of thirty leading experts-including Michael Soule, John Terborgh, Reed Noss, Paul Paquet, Dan Simberloff, Rodolfo Dirzo, J. Michael Scott, Andrew Dobson, and others -- brought together by The Wildlands Project to examine the science underlying the design and management of these regional-scale networks. It provides conservationists and biologists with the latest scientific principles for protecting living nature at spatial scales that encompass entire regions and continents.Following an opening chapter that sets the stage by introducing major themes and the scientific and policy background, the contributors: consider scale in the identification, selection, and design of biological reserves examine the role of top carnivores in regulating terrestrial ecosystems suggest the need for a paradigm shift in the field of ecological restoration consider the scientific details of implementing regional conservation in core areas, corridors, and in buffer zones discuss the need for megareserves and how to design themThe book ends by challenging the reader, whether scientist or advocate, to commit more time to the effort of saving nature. The authors argue that the very survival of nature is at stake, and scientists can no longer afford to stand behind a wall of austereobjectivity."Continental Conservation" is an important guidebook that can serve a vital role in helping fashion a radically honest, scientifically rigorous land-use agenda. It will be required reading for scientists and professionals at all levels involved with ecosystem and land management.

Product Details

• Paperback: 238 pages
• Publisher: Island Press; 1 edition (May 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155963698X
• ISBN-13: 978-1559636988
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,084,013 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Visionary, but not visionary enough, December 17, 2007

By 

Arthur Digbee (Indianapolis, IN, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Continental Conservation: Scientific Foundations Of Regional Reserve Networks (Paperback)

This book, supported by The Wildlands Project, examines the scientific questions associated with preserving lands at the very large scale. They wish to shift the focus of conservation efforts from regional problems - - the Sonora Desert, say - - to truly continental problems such as the Yellowstone-to-Yukon system. The ambition is admirable.

The authors are knowledgeable and present the information well, so there is quite a bit to learn here. The chapters also make clear that there is much to be learned.

This edited book reviews the issues, such as the issue of scale, the role of top carnivores, and strategies such as core areas and buffer zones. Most chapters have too many authors (up to 15), and as a result several of the interior chapters read more like literature reviews than conceptual reworkings or real visions for conservation. Perhaps these scientists are too closely tied to existing research to be able to grasp a wider vision.

Another weakness is that the contributors don't necessarily stay on their assigned topics. The reasons are understandable. Most research on nature preserves, wildlife corridors, buffer zones between preserves and developed areas, and other topics have focused on a scale no larger than, say, the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. It's clear not only that the research is lacking for those who want to think at a continental scale, but the conceptual categories themselves do not yet exist.

Of course, the editors of this book are trying to spark just that kind of shift in vision. They clearly weren't able to force all their contributors into line, though. Even so, the editors' introduction and conclusion make clear that they understand the task before them, at least from the standpoint of biology. But that won't be enough.

Large-scale conservation projects inevitably come into conflict with humans and their uses of the landscape for agriculture, resource development, and the like. As a result, it would have been appropriate for the authors to include social scientists as well as natural scientists, who (presumably) have some scientifically-grounded knowledge that would be relevant to the problem. An economist, for example, might have helped this book consider the economic costs and consequences of different types of conservation such as large preserved areas or smaller areas connected with corridors. It's unfortunate that such an ambitious conservation vision has not yet become a multidisciplinary one. It will take a broader, and more visionary approach to achieve the lofty goals that Soule and Terborgh have set before us.