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About the BookAbout the AuthorReviews

This introductory book on conservation biology is based on Richard Primack’s widely used <i>A Primer of Conservation Biology</i>. It explores the key concepts of conservation using examples from South Asia, home to some of the world’s most exotic species that are now facing the threat of extinction. The book draws attention to the rapid decline in the biodiversity of this region and emphasises the need for urgent action. It also discusses the initiatives that are being undertaken in the region such as involving local communities, framing laws and policies, and identifying research areas that will help stem further loss in biodiversity and make the long term goal of protecting our species successful.

Special Features

Numerous case studies from South Asia
Discusses the involvement of indigenous tribes in preserving biodiversity
Outlines specific research areas that are to be focussed on for implementation of successful conservation programmes

Kamaljit S Bawa is Distinguished Professor of Biology at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and President of the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Bangalore. He is Editor-in-Chief of the journal Conservation and Society and coauthor of Sahyadris: India’s Western Ghats. His research interests include population biology, land use and land cover change, community-based conservation, and institutions for conservation and sustainable development. Richard B Primack, Professor, Department of Biology at Boston University, is Editor-in-Chief of the journal Biological Conservation and was President of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation. He wrote two leading textbooks: Essentials of Conservation Biology and A Primer of Conservation Biology. Dr. Primack''s research interests include the biological impacts of climate change, the loss of species in protected areas, tropical forest ecology and conservation, and conservation education. Meera Anna Oommen is an ecologist and a founding trustee of Dakshin Foundation, Bangalore. She has held senior editorial positions with several conservation journals including Conservation and Society and Current Conservation. Her research interests include macroecology and biogeography of the Himalaya as well as conservation interventions relating to reconciliation ecology in human dominated landscapes in the Western Ghats.

Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society, 107(3), Sep-Dec 2010