Fauna

The Maduganga estuary and mangrove islets are a complex coastal wetland ecosystem situated in the southern part of Sri Lanka. Currently not a protected area, Maduganga has been recognised as a priority wetland for conservation because of its rich biodiversity.

In 1990, the Bundala lagoons of Sri Lanka became the country's first Ramsar site, a wetland of international importance for migratory waterfowl. In 1992, Bundala was upgraded to a National Park. This guide to the habitats, animals and plant species currently present in Bundala National Park stems from a survey on the status of the park's biodiversity conducted by IUCN's Country Office in Sri Lanka. It is hoped that this guide will raise awareness of this important protected area.

The Sundarbans, the immense target_idal mangrove forests of Bangladesh, are a mosaic of islands of different shapes and sizes, perennially washed by brackish water swirling in and around the endless and mind-boggling labyrinths of twisting water channels. This is the place where mainland Bangladesh meets the Bay of Bengal, making the area a globally unique ecological niche.

The eastern African coastal strip contains a tiny chain of patches of lowland tropical dry forest. They were previously considered to be of low conservation priority in terms of endemism and species diverstiy, but research since the mid-1980s has shown that their biological richness is comparable to other important tropical forest types in Africa.

This book focuses on the relationship between climate change and biodiversity. It opens with general perspectives on the main issues, pointing out the need to take an holistic approach and to urge policy makers to take action, even when scientific evidence is not always conclusive. Evidence on climate change and biodiversity loss in an historical context is presented, and the impact of climate change on terrestrial flora and fauna and on aquatic life closely examined.