Global change

The rapidly increasing human pressure on the biosphere is pushing biodiversity into the sixth mass extinction event in the history of life on Earth. The organisms being exterminated are integral working parts of our planet’s life support system, and their loss is permanent. Like climate change, this irreversible loss has potentially devastating consequences for humanity. As we come to recognise the many ways in which we depend on nature, this can pave the way for a new ethic that acknowledges the importance of co-existence between humans and other species.

This book provides a wealth of factual material to prove that we are indeed experiencing worldwide climate change. The main focus of the book is on Switzerland. It demonstrates how climate change affects mountainous regions and glaciers, agriculture, forests, but also the tourism industry. Switzerland is getting warmer - and our everyday life is affected.

Through gripping narrative stories and incidents that exemplify his arguments, the author takes us on a world tour that begins with a heartstopping description of the tragic crash of United Airlines Flight 232 from Denver to Chicago and includes Las Vegas in ts desert, a wilderness beach in British Columbia, and his solitary search for a little girl in Patna, India.

This guidelines outlines one management tool, strategic adaptive management, that has been developed by the staff and managers of Kruger National Park. This approach recognises and is responsive to global change factors in a realistic and practical manner. The guideline aims to present an overview of strategic adaptive management practice, or SAM, as it has emerged within the specific context of Kruger National Park. The specific illustrative context that we use is that of rivers which have undergone enormous change. 

The aim of this publication is to present an initial synthesis of core problems in each region, the status and focus of related research, and corresponding new research needs. This book provides an overview of knowledge about the negative impacts of global and local change in selected regions of the world, based on qualitative appraisals made by multarget_idisciplinary teams of specialists. It also outlines how research can contribute to mitigating these impacts and reinforcing positive trends in order to promote sustainable developmen.