Synopsis
The years 2021 to 2030 have been designated as "The United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration". Ecological restoration and biodiversity conservation efforts face unprecedented challenges, especially in developing countries and areas, such as the Hindu Kush-Himalayan (HKH) region. This huge HKH region, which includes areas in eight separate countries (Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, India, China, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Bhutan), is a biodiversity hotspot with a vast array of ecosystems, landscapes, peoples and cultures. It is known as one of 'the pulses of the world'. However, the HKH is also the world's largest and poorest mountain region, where landscapes and environments have been severely damaged as a result of climate change and human activities. Coordinating conservation and restoration policies, sharing knowledge and funds, and maintaining livelihoods are major challenges and are in urgent need of improvement. This book details the past and current ecological problems in the HKH region, and the threats and challenges that ecosystems and local people face. It pays special attention to developments of transformative adaptations and presents examples of sustainable conservation and ecological restoration management practices. Three primary questions are addressed: (1) Do the existing conservation strategies of international organizations and government policies really protect ecosystems and solve biodiversity problems? (2) Can these management measures be one-time solutions? and (3) What is the strategic framework and scenario prognosis for the future based on the historical trajectory of ecological conservation and restoration in the region? This book is essential reading for ecologists and conservation biologists involved in large-scale ecological restoration projects, along with practitioners, graduate students, policy makers and international development workers.
About the Author
Zhanhuan Shang is a full professor at College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, China. His research interests include ecological restoration, grassland management, rural sustainable development, carbon management, biodiversity on the Tibetan plateau. He has more than 200 publications in international and Chinese journals and books.<br /><br />A. Allan Degen is an emeritus professor at Ben-Gurion University, Beer Sheva, Israel. He does research on livestock production under harsh conditions and has co-operated in projects in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Nepal, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Kenya, South Africa and China. He has authored or co-authored 16 books or chapters and over 220 publications in peer-reviewed journals.<br /><br />Devendra Gauchan is an Agricultural Economist, specializing in Agricultural Economics, Agrobiodiversity conservation, Farming systems and Agricultural research policy. He has published over 50 papers and publications related to socioeconomics, farming systems, technology adoption, seed system, agriculture marketing, agrobiodiversity policy and agriculture development in Nepal.<br /><br />Madan Koirala is a full Professor of Environmental Science in Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal. He has published more than 100 papers on environmental science, sustainable development, water research, and ecology in the HKH region.<br /><br />Muhammad Khalid Rafiq is Senior Scientific Officer at the Rangeland Research Institute (RRI), National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC) Islamabad, Pakistan, and Commonwealth Rutherford Fellow at UK Biochar Research Center, School of Geosciences, the University of Edinburgh (UoE), United Kingdom.
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