Conservation Replacing Quantity with Quality as a Goal for Global Management

In his fascinating book, Jordan promotes the idea that conservation is a philosophy of managing the environment in a manner that does not despoil, exhaust or extinguish. He stresses that an understanding of ecological economics, environmental policy and culture are paramount to achieving the goals of conservation. Despite the text's emphasis on humanities' role in the environment, traditional conservation is not neglected. Resource management is updated and the chapter on biodiversity reviews the current controversy over the species versus the habitat approach in conservation biology. Four photoessays provide concrete examples of several problems and proposed solutions facing conservationists today.

Carl F. Jordan is Professor Emeritus, Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia.