Biodiversity (Papers from the 1st National Forum on Biodiversity, September 1986, Washington, D.C.)

This important book for scientists and nonscientists alike calls attention to a most urgent global problem: the rapidly accelerating loss of plant and animal species to increasing human population pressure and the demands of economic development. Based on a major conference sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences and the Smithsonian Institution, Biodiversity creates a systematic framework for analyzing the problem and searching for possible solutions. Table of ContentsFront MatterThe Current State of Biological DiversityPart 1: Challenges to the Preservation of BiodiversityPart 2: Human Dependence on Biological DiversityPart 3: Diversity at Risk: Tropical ForestsPart 4: Diversity at Risk: The Global PerspectivePart 5: The Value of BiodiversityPart 6: How is Biodiversity Monitored and Protected?Part 7: Science and Technology: How Can They Help?Part 8: Restoration Ecology: Can We Recover Lost Ground?Part 9: Alternatives to DestructionPart 10: Policies to Protect DiversityPart 11: Present Problems and Future ProspectsPart 12: Ways of Seeing the BiospherePart 13: EpilogueIndex