Canada

Protected Landscapes are a strong option for biodiversity conservation in human-influenced landscapes and seascapes. They often contain threatened or endemic species. There is now also a growing interest in the nature conservation benefits of protected landscapes. But do protected landscapes really protect wild biodiversity? The case studies collected here launch an investigation into wild biodiversity.

The first in a regional series, this report examines forest management experiences of Canada and the United States, which have interrelated histories, economies and similar ecological and social systems.

These 15th Proceedings provide an overview of the ongoing research and management activities on polar bears in the circumpolar Arctic. Together with the previous 14 proceedings, they provide an historic record of the international effort in protecting, studying, and managing polar bears. The document addresses more recent concerns of threats arising as a consequence of increased human activities in both the Arctic and in regions far beyond the Arctic.

Biodiversity captured worldwide attention at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro when 150 nations signed the Convention on Biological Diversity. Although most countries by now have had some experience planning and implementing biodiversity-related measures, few have approached them in the comprehensive, integrated manner required by the Convention.

IUCN's 5th World Parks Congress (2003) concluded that parks should not exist as unique islands, but need to be planned and managed as an integral part of the broader landscape. Ecological networks provide an operational model for conserving biodiversity that is based on ecological principles and allow a degree of human use of the landscape.

Environmental accounting---the modification of the national income accounts to take into consideration the economic role of the environment---has grown in importance over the past ten years. However, many countries have not yet implemented such accounts, and there is much controversy about whether and how to do so.

This magnificient publication vividly portrays the beauty and grandeur of World Heritages Sites in North America - where the ideas of national parks, wilderness preservation and the World Heritage Convention began.