ALTERNATIVE REPRODUCTION STRATEGIES

Edited by Motonori Hoshi & Midori Matsumoto, 2000. Published in The Journal of Reproduction and Development (Vol. 46, Supplement March, 2000, (88 pages).

This Supplement Issue is a collection of the extended abstracts of the presentations at the IUBS-TAIB Symposium on "Alternative Reproductive Strategies." The meeting was held on 25-28 Nov., 1999, in Hayama, Japan to discuss the problem of alternative strategies with a very broad view from theoretical to experimental, from molecular biology to natural history, and from bacteria to mammals.

 

BALANCED THINKING

An Educational Perspective for 2000+ on the Basis of a Cross-cultural German/Japanese Study

By Gerhard Schaefer and Ryoei Yoshioka. Published by Peter Lang GMBH, Frankfurt/M., Germany, 2000, (206 pages)

This book, initiated by a comparative empirical study on ways of thinking of populations of German and Japanese students, picks up on the old question of the decision-making process between contradicting needs. Stimulated by striking differences found in the way the two populations dealt with the contradiction problem, the study addresses the general problem of contradiction against the background of a "polarity approach" to life.

 

BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOSAFETY

Edited by Ismail Serageldin and Wanda Collins. Published by the IBRD/World Bank, 1999, (214 pages).

These are the proceedings of the meeting on "Biotechnology and Biosafety," an associated event of the fifth annual World Bank Conference on Environmentally Sustainable Development. Focusing on how the promises of biotechnology can be realized for the benefit of the world’s poor, the environment, and the safe management of biotechnology products and processes, this volume summarizes the wide-ranging, stimulating and provocative presentations and discussions that took place during the meeting.

 

GLOBAL CHANGE STUDIES

Scientific Results From ISRO Geosphere Biosphere Programme

Edited by BH Subbaraya, DP Rao, PS Desai, B Manikiman , P Rajaratnam. Send your order to: San Subscription Agency, 104, Sector 28, Faridabad -121 008 (Haryana-India) Tel: 5278504 E.mail: sansub@ndf.vsnl.net.in

The book Global Change Studies contains about 20 scientific articles based on actual work done and results obtained by ISRO-GBP scientists during the period 1994 to 1997. The papers address a wide range of topics from atmospheric chemistry and radiation (trace gases and aerosols) atmospheric/climate modelling, boundary layer research, agriculture and forestry biodiversity and ecosystem studies, oceanography and paleoclimate studies.

 

LIMNOLOGY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Edited by Robert G. Wetzel and Brij Gopal, Published by SIL and International Scientific Publications New Delhi, India, 1999 (330 pages)

Freshwater resources are becoming more crucial than ever for the sustenance of life on the earth. The ever increasing human demands for water and rapid deterioration of water quality threaten freshwater biodiversity. Understanding of the functioning of inland water ecosystems and their interactions with their respective drainage basins is critical to their sustainable management. The principal aim of the "Limnology in Developing Countries" series, which is published by the International Association for Theoretical and Applied Limnology (SIL), is to review the status of conservation and management of inland water resources, and to encourage limnological research and training in developing countries. This 2^nd volume of the series includes reviews of limnological research and training for five countries: Costa Rica, Uruguay, Ethiopia, Indonesia and Morocco. Reviews for three of the largest developing countries, Brazil, China and India, are in advanced stages of preparation.

 

MOUNTAIN BIODIVERSITY, LAND USE DYNAMICS, AND TRADITIONAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE

Edited P.S. Ramakrishnan, U.M. Chandrashekara, C. Elouard, C.Z. Guilmoto, R.K. Maikhuri, K.S. Rao, S. Sankar & K.G. Saxena. Published by UNESCO MAB and Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, India, 2000 (353 pages).

This book presents the results of a 3-year research initiative funded by UNESCO and the MacArthur Foundation and comprising three case studies in India, namely: the Kodagu District , Karnataka State; the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary in the Kerala State; and the buffer zone of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, in the Uttar Pradesh. This comparative study programme looked at the dynamics involved in natural resource management, both in space and time, linking them wherever appropriate with traditional ecological knowledge.

A whole gamut of interconnections ranging from sub-specific, species, ecosystem, leading up to landscape levels were used to arrive at conclusions relevant to natural resource management with concern for the livelihood/development of the communities and regions under consideration.

 

OUR COMMON JOURNEY

A Transition Toward Sustainability

By the Board on Sustainable Development, Policy Division, National Research Council. Published by National Academy Press, 1999, (363 pages).

With the world human population expected to reach upwards of 9 billion by 2050, two key questions arise: How can the transition to a stabilizing population also be a transition to sustainability ? And how can science and technology help ensure that human needs are met while the planet’s environment is nurtured and restored?

Examining these questions, this book draws strategic connections between scientific research, technological development, and societies’ efforts to achieve environmentally sustainable improvements in human well-being. Arguing that societies should approach sustainable development not as a destination but as an on-going, adaptive learning process, the book proposes a strategy for using scientific and technical knowledge to inform future action in the areas of fertility reduction, urban systems, agricultural production, energy and materials use, ecosystem restoration and biodiversity conservation, and suggests an approach for building a new research agenda for sustainability science.

 

THE VENICE LAGOON ECOSYSTEM

Inputs and Interactions Between Land and Sea

Edited by P. Lasserre & A. Marzollo, 2000. Published by UNESCO MAB & The Parthenon Publishing Group (508 pages).

The scientific results of the Venice Lagoon Ecosystem Project, which are reported in this volume, represent a distinctive contribution to the understanding of one of the most renowned coastal lagoon ecosystems, as well as to decisions on the future development of Venice and its lagoon. The approaches and insights described in the book will also be of interest to scientists working on coastal lagoon ecosystems in other parts of the world.