Govindasamy Agoramoorthy — новинки

Without sun, there is no life on planet Earth. Likewise, without nature, there is no humanity. Majority of our food needs come from nature, mainly from 20 varieties of plants. Nature has provided us with enormous amount of medicines and it continues to help us to sustain our life. It is difficult to quantify all the ecological services provided by nature that range from oxygen to breath and water to sustain our lives. Our planet had only 1.5 billion inhabitants in 1900 and the population soared to over 7 billion in 2011. The Asia and the Pacific region covers 23% of the world’s land area but 58% of its people. Patterns of unsustainable resource use and conflicting policies are already causing continued loss of forest and biodiversity, and the demand for forest products can no longer be satisfied by sustainable harvests in the region. Thus human survival depends on the future ethical management of our natural resources, the lifeline for human survival. In this book, the author, who has three decades of scientific expertise on nature conservation research, has synthesized the complex nature conservation issues of the island of Taiwan, formerly known as Formosa.

The world would be a better place to inhabit if humanity at large could eliminate the thorny social animosities and conflicts. If the civilized human society needs to refrain from socio-cultural hostilities in future, it must uphold righteousness, peace and compassion. Violence targeting the disadvantaged people happens even at this moment somewhere in the world. The question, however, is- why do some humans behave so violently and unethically? Do we share a gene coded with brutality with chimpanzees but have modern armaments and organizational skills than our non-human cousins do? But what, then, of the majority of humans who are peaceful and avoid such social wickedness? Of course, there is a brighter side to human nature— many people risk their lives for others, and some die while helping. Why? Simple lesson learnt in childhood that it’s the right thing to do to a fellow human. The capacity to make the right choices makes us the most privileged species on our Earth. The author, who has three decades of scientific expertise, has compiled his essays in this book highlighting some of the burning social issues facing the society with case studies from Asia.

The future survival of the global biodiversity depends on how the rapidly expanding human population is going to manage protected areas to preserve nature. The eeconomically weaker developing nations in the tropics harbor enormous amount of terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity. India for example, is a land of diversity and an emerging economy in Asia. While the enduring economic recession is dragging many nations in recent years, India’s economy has been projected to grow steadily. Due to aggressive developmental activities, India faces enormous environmental problems that range from polluting industries to increasing nuclear waste, and from toxic waste dumping in rivers to shrinking groundwater resources. But the question is can India tackle the enduring environmental nightmare? In this monograph of essays, the author, who is an environmental scientist, has outlined all about India’s nature conservation including workable scientific eco-solutions to solve the looming survival crisis facing humanity.

Nursing is an extraordinary profession since it involves compassion. Nurses work hard to promote health care, prevent diseases and aid patients to cope with sufferings of sickness. They serve as health educators for patients, their families and society at large. Nurses collaborate with physicians and surgeons to perform various duties that include examinations, treatments and surgeries. Nurses around the world work in constantly changing environment to do their services for millions of patients. Nurses need to learn new technologies and medications since scientific development is fast evolving. They have to spend more time in close contact with patients than doctors so they need to be highly skilled at human relationships. This work has compiled data related to nursing profession with case studies from Asia. The senior author’s personal experiences in nursing have been included to motivate the next generation of nurses. Therefore this book should serve as an introductory and reference text on professional nursing related courses in colleges, universities and institutes of higher learning globally.

The Hanuman langur is an acrobatic and adaptable leaf-eating monkey and it is widely distributed in diverse ecological settings across South Asia. These amazing monkeys can be seen from the cool snow-clad peaks of the majestic Himalayas in Nepal to the fringes of the scorching Thar Desert near Jodhpur in India. They are primarily vegetarians and they are adapted to digest all forms of leafy diet resembling the ruminants. They prefer to live in dry deciduous tropical forests and they are also uniquely adapted to live with humans in congested cities of India. These monkeys are revered by Hindus as the living incarnation of Hanuman, the monkey God. The author, an international primatologist with three decades of field research experience from Asia, Africa and South America, has studied the langurs in India. In this monograph, the author has synthesized his long-term field research on the Hanuman langurs of India and presented data on population dynamics, ecology, social behavior and conservation. Hence this monograph should serve as an introductory and reference text on primatology and animal behavior related courses in colleges, universities and institutes of higher learning globally

The Proboscis monkey is a fascinating primate and it is found only on the tropical island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. The wild populations are often restricted to coastal rainforest, mangrove forest and riverine forest. They feed on the naturally-occurring leaves and fruits from the forest. Little is know about their population dynamics, ecology and social behavior. Besides, it is not all that easy to keep them alive in captivity due to their specialized leafy diet. Only a few zoos in Asia display these rare monkeys. The author, an international primatologist with three decades of field research experience, has studied these amazing monkeys, both in the wild (in-situ) and in captivity (ex-situ). In this monograph, the author has synthesized his scientific research on proboscis monkeys in the wild and in zoo setting with details on population, ecology, behavior, conservation and management. Therefore this monograph should serve as an introductory and reference text on primatology and animal behavior related courses in colleges, universities and institutes of higher learning globally.

Howler monkeys are the largest among the monkeys in the New World and they are distributed across the tropical forests of Central and South America. A total of 10 different species have been recognized; they include the red howler, red-handed howler, black-and-gold howler, Coiba Island howler, red-and-black howler, Guyana red howler, Bolivian red howler, black howler, Amazon black howler and mantled howler. The howlers have amazing prehensile tails and its fun to watch them feeding while hanging upside down by their tails. The author, a field primatologist with three decades of field research experience from Asia, Africa and South America, has studied two species of howler monkeys such as the red howlers in Venezuela and Trinidad, and the black-and-gold howlers in Argentina. In this monograph, the author has synthesized his long-term field research and presented data on ecology, social behavior and conservation. This monograph can serve as an introductory and reference text on primatology and animal behavior related courses in colleges, universities and institutes of higher learning globally.

Ecotourism has been recognized as an important tool in education and preservation of ecologically sensitive sites less disturbed by human activities. It incorporates travel to destinations to see, learn and enjoy the natural beauty of plants, animals, landscapes, and cultural heritages. The main objective of ecotourism is to show tourists the imminent human impact on nature. Then only, timely appreciation of nature and cultural heritages can be realized ultimately contributing to the protection and management of ecotourism sites. Thus the concept of ecotourism spins around minimizing negative impact of conventional mass tourism on nature and maximizing sensitiveness towards cultural integrity of communities and conservation of threatened habitats. In this monograph, the authors who have extensively travelled in the wilderness have synthesized unique case studies covering Asia, Africa, South America, North America, Europe and New Zealand.

India is a land of diversity with a jigsaw puzzle of people belonging to various faiths and they all live together to create a culturally unique society. India’s economy is growing at 9%, the fastest after China and it ranks 12th among the largest global economies—third largest in Asia after China and Japan. While the enduring economic recession is dragging many nations, India’s economy is projected to grow. Due to aggressive developmental activities, India faces enormous environmental problems that range from polluting industries to nuclear power plants, and from toxic waste dumping in rivers to shrinking groundwater. But the question is can India tackle the enduring environmental nightmare? The answer is ‘yes’. India is a big country indeed but the problems can be solved by setting up timely priorities. In this monograph of essays, the author, who is an environmental scientist, has outlined all about India’s environmental problems including workable scientific eco-solutions to solve the crisis before it is late.

The persistent poverty in many developing countries continues to influence ecological degradation. Almost half of the world's primate species that mainly include monkeys and apes are threatened with extinction due to increasing human population growth, deforestation, and illegal hunting. According to the IUCN Red List, 48% of the total 634 primate species that occur globally are threatened with extinction. Besides, half of the forests that once covered the Earth have vanished completely due to human impact. If the current rate of deforestation continues, today's forests will be gone by the year 2081. So the conflict between human progress and the survival of forest and primates is not likely to end anytime soon. Thus human survival depends largely on the future wise use of natural forests. In this monograph, the author based on his three decades of experience in conducting long-term field research highlights the urgent need for primate conservation with case studies from the jungles of Asia, Africa and South America.

India’s Green Revolution has evolved at an environmental cost, which is perhaps irreversible. The country now follows a rapid development path, which is similar to the past growth patterns of most developed nations. Whether or not such a fast growth blueprint would be eco-friendly under local conditions is questionable since hasty economic growth tends to influence environmental degradation. India is a land of villages with 700 million people living in over 600,000 villages. The author, who is Tata Visiting Chair, has conducted long-term research on sustainable agriculture across India’s drylands. In this monograph, the author has examined how India’s remote drylands can be transformed to achieve a ‘Sustainable Green Revolution’ to meet India’s future food demands without creating serious negative consequences to nature. If the model highlighted is adopted across the drylands of developing nations, it would certainly increase agriculture output, guarantee food security, protect nature, and above all, wipe out the greatest insult to human dignity—poverty.

Public perception towards zoos has changed noticeably around the world in recent decades. Therefore it is essential to understand zoo animal welfare in Southeast Asia. In this monograph, the author, an international scientific expert on zoo animal welfare, examines the underlying causes of animal welfare problems in zoos and recreational parks in several countries in the Southeast Asian region and suggests strategies to improve standards. The author narrates accounts of various common problems zoos and recreational parks often face in terms of ethics and welfare. He also introduces basic welfare problems and the concept of zoo assessments and how they ultimately upgrade welfare standards for many of the captive animals that usually rely on their zoos for survival. Scientific data on zoo animal welfare in Southeast Asia are limited to journal articles, news items and reports by non-profit agencies. Therefore this monograph should serve as an introductory and reference text on zoo animal welfare and ethics related courses in colleges, universities and other institutes of higher learning globally

Infanticide or the killing of dependent offspring by a mature animal of its own kind occurs in various species of monkeys. The interpretation on the adaptive significance of infanticide in monkeys has been one of the most controversial topics in animal behavior. Documenting infanticide in non-human primate species in the wild is not an easy task since it often occurs quickly and field observers could easily miss out the actual process. The author, who is an international primatologist with 25 years of experience in watching wild monkeys in all three tropical continents, has managed to observe several cases of infanticide among Hanuman langurs of India, red howler monkeys of Venezuela and proboscis monkeys of Borneo. In this book, the author has synthesized his field observations on infanticide in monkeys including theoretical interpretations and explained the evolutionary cause and function of this bizarre behavior. This book should serve as an introductory and reference text on animal behavior, primatology and zoology related courses in colleges, universities and other institutes of higher learning around the world.

Each year about 13 million hectares of forests around the world are lost due to deforestation. Over a third of the world''s non-human primates are critically endangered due to deforestation, logging, hunting, agriculture and other development activities. Asia is by far the most populous region on our planet and its tropical rainforests have suffered enormously due to human impact. Scientists have recently warned that man''s closest living relatives- the world''s apes and monkeys are increasingly facing threats from humanity. According to statistics, 25% of the total 625 primate species and subspecies known to science today could soon become extinct if urgent conservation measures are not taken. Among the 22 extant species in the genus Macaca that are found in Asia and Northwestern Africa, the Formosan macaque is the least known. In this monograph, the authors based on their two decades of field research on the Formosan macaques of Mt. Longevity presents new data on ecology, social behavior, demography and conservation. The authors also highlight the urgent need to protect Taiwan''s only non-human primate species for future generations.

In today''s world, we do not pass a day without reading or hearing the words "climate change". Politicians and policymakers have been converging at global climate summits every year to find ways to ease the crisis. It is known for decades that human creativity has developed resource-intensive economies with their unprecedented toll on nature. However, the technocratic approach to development has ignored certain spiritual and philosophical values that have channeled human energy within culture-specific ethical boundaries for centuries. Humanity requires not only scientific solutions but also spiritual guidance in its use of the limited resources of our planet. In this context, one can also ask if the teachings of the ancient spiritual scriptures persuade contemporary Hindus to take action aimed at mitigating the effects of human action on the environment. In this monograph, the author, an international environmentalist, addresses the seldom discussed subject matter of easing the climate change crisis using spirituality in the context of Hinduism.

The most significant issue facing the human species in the twenty-first century and beyond is our ecological dilemma- how can we survive as a species and fit into a biosphere without destroying the delicate fabric of our natural environment, the very means of our survival? This impending dilemma gathers force year by year. The purpose of this book is to introduce readers on the impact of heavy metals on natural terrestrial biota in a regional respective with scientific case studies from Taiwan and India. This book highlights some crucial and often ignored environmental conservation predicaments facing developed and developing nations globally. The society has moral obligation to protect nature for future generations. It is therefore essential to choose appropriate sustainable development programs to enhance not only nature conservation, but also human survival in the Asian region and beyond. This book presents current data on the impact of toxic pollution on biota with case studies from Taiwan and India since pollution threatens the survival of organisms globally.

Half of our planet''s animals and plants live in tropical rainforests. Increasing human population growth and persistent poverty in many developing countries continue to influence ecological degradation, especially of forests and wildlife. About half of the forests that once covered the Earth have vanished completely due to intense human impact. Another 40 million acres of forest continue to disappear each year. If the current rate of deforestation continues, today''s forests will be gone by the year 2081. The conflict between human progress and the survival of forests and wildlife is not likely to end anytime soon. The diversity of plants and animals are declining, carbon emissions are above the earth''s carbon-fixing capacity, and human population pressure is exceeding the population of all species of nonhuman primates combined. Thus human survival depends on the future wise and ethical use of natural resources, mainly the forest and wildlife. In this monograph, the author based on his three decades of experience in watching wildlife highlights the urgent need for conservation with case studies from three tropical continents.

Water has emerged as one of the most important commodities of the 21st century. Prior to 1900, only 40 reservoirs had been built that held total volumes greater than 25 billion gallons. However, today there are approximately 3,000 reservoirs that taken together, hold more than 1,500 cubic miles of water. Global water use has increased six fold during the last century, and policymakers and politicians have met this increasing demand by building larger dams. Can big dams solve chronic water shortages, poverty, and food insecurity? Proponents argue that bigger dams are better since they reduce dependency on rainfall, increase irrigation, reduce flooding, and supply hydropower. However, opponents argue that dams cause ecological damage. Evidence from India has shown that a more sustainable solution may be to build numerous check dams—small barriers using stones, cement, and concrete built across the direction of water flow on rivers to harvest rainwater in villages. In this book, the authors based on their research on check dams introduce the pressing issues of water management in India emphasizing eco-friendly development.