Twenty contributors from academia and conservation organisations provide a comprehensive new text, divided into three sections: 1. Issues - perceptions of nature, wildlife and biological diversity, cultural and social issues relevant to conservation practices, the role and function of biodiversity. 2. Perspectives - existing political, economic and legislative limitations and constraints. 3. In Practice - at different levels and scales from the genetic to the ecosystem, from immediate problems to modelling for the future.
Section A: Conservation Biology Issues Themes, terms and concepts Changes in biological diversity Conserving biological diversity Section B: Conservation Biology in Perspective Politics and economics Legislation Conservation strategies Conservation education Biological conservation and site classification: the importance of abiotic variables Taxonomy and systematics Section C: Conservation Biology in Practice The genetic basis of conservation biology Conservation of populations Conservation of habitats Communities and ecosystems Protected areas: where should they be and why should they be there? Ex situ conservation Restoration and conservation gain Risk and uncertainty: mathematical models and decision making in conservation biology.