World Conservation Union

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Centres of Plant Diversity: Vol. 1 - Europe Africa South West Asia and the Middle East

A Guide And Strategy For Their Conservation

The rationale for this work covering nearly 250 major sites for conservation of plant diversity is concern about rapid global loss and degradation of natural ecosystems. By highlighting areas of prime botanical importance, it is hoped that their conservation will be ensured by an adequate commitment of resources. Selection of the sites is based both on floristic statistics and on detailed first-hand knowledge of numerous botanists.

Wild Dogs and their Relatives

These booklets give the general reader facts and information about fur-bearing mammals from a more conservation-oriented perspective than information generally available from other sources. Each is based on the relevant SSC Action Plan, and is well-illustrated with color photographs and a center spread of sketches showing the animals in action.


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European Bison

Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan

This review of the European bison’s (Bison bonasus) status clearly indicates that, through proper management and conservation, its present numbers and distribution have improved significantly since its extinction in the wild at the beginning of the 20th century. The Action Plan briefly summarizes the history of extinction in the wild and present status of the European bison, as well as the reasons of extinction. The ecology of the species has been reviewed and threats, including recent diseases, are described.

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Australasian Marsupials and Monotremes

An Action Plan for Their Conservation

Australia, Papua New Guinea, and eastern Indonesia together share all the monotremes (egg-laying mammals) of the world and all the marsupials (pouched mammals) except those of the Americas. There is an urgent need for concerted action to conserve the marsupials and monotremes of the Australasian region.

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Transition to Sustainability

Towards a Humane and Diverse World

The environmental movement has made huge progress over the last decades. Among others, it has raised awareness of challenges facing humanity, helped develop a critical mass of policies, and worked towards the implementation of many of these policies in collaboration with other stakeholders. Now, however, we are at a turning point in the history of the global environmental movement. In order to rise to challenges of the twenty-first century such as climate change and peak oil, it will not be possible to do business as usual; a step change will be needed.

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Building Resilience to Climate Change

Ecosystem-Based Adaptation and Lessons from the Field

With climate change now a certainty, the question is how much change there will be and what can be done about it. One of the answers is through adaptation. Many of the lessons that are being learned in adaptation are from success stories from the field. This publication contains eleven case studies covering different ecosystems and regions around the world. Its aim is to summarize some current applications of the Ecosystem-Based Adaptation concept and its tools used around the world, and also draw lessons from experiences in conservation adaptation.


Rodents

A world survey of species of conservation concern

This is the first ever publication to consider the global conservation needs for rodents. It is based on the proceedings of the IUCN/SSC Rodent Specialist Group meeting, held in Edmonton, Canada in August 1985.

African Elephant Status Report 2002

An Update From The African Elephant Database

The African elephant is the largest living land mammal, and their potential impact on their habitats raises important management issues both for protected areas and unprotected land. This Status Report, derived from data contained in the African Elephant Database, is rich in data and information on numbers, distribution and current issues, and provides continent-wide information that is vital for conservation.

Assessing the International Forest Regime

Provides an assessment of the international forest regime, in reponse to calls from many quarters, including the UN Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF) and the World Commission on Forests and Sustainable Development, as well as several NGOs. The focus is mainly on action taken by countries at the global level, in the framework of legally binding instruments and institutions. It builds on previous analyses of the international forest regime by looking beyond the legal mandates to begin exploring the actual performance of the components against their mandates.

Conservation of the Mediterranean Island Plants

Strategy For Action

With almost 5000 island and islets, the Mediterranean comprises one of the largest groups of islands in the world. With its wealth of species, high degree of endemism, long history and tolerance of all kinds of disruptions, it is of extremely high value to global biodiversity. However, over the last few decades, major socio-economic changes have increased the negative impact of human activity in the region and today, the islands are extremely vulnerable.

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