Giant Pandas:
Biology and Conservation
Donald Lindburg, Karen Baragona
The much-loved giant panda, a secretive denizen of the dense bamboo
forests of western China, has become an icon worldwide of progress in
conservation and research. This volume, written by an international team
of scientists and conservationists including Chinese researchers whose
work has not been available in English, tells the promising story of how
the giant panda returned from the brink of extinction. The most
important sourcebook on giant pandas to date, it is the first book since
1985 to present current panda research and the first to place the
species in its biological, ecological, and political contexts. More than
a progress report on a highly endangered species, Giant Pandas: Biology and Conservation details
the combination of scientific understanding, local commitment, and
government involvement that has been brought into play and asks what
more needs to be done to ensure the panda's survival.
The book is
divided into four parts--Evolutionary History of the Giant Panda,
Studies of Giant Panda Biology, Pandas and Their Habitats, and Giant
Panda Conservation. It combines the latest findings from the field and
the laboratory together with panel and workshop summaries from a recent
international conference. Taken together, the chapters highlight how
international cooperation has led to better management in the wild and
in captivity. The volume also shows how concepts such as buffer zones,
links between forest fragments, multiple-use areas, and cooperation with
local people who have a stake in the resources--highly relevant
concepts for conservation problems around the world--have been key to
the panda's survival.
No comments:
Post a Comment