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Island Press was
established in 1984 to meet the need for reliable, peer reviewed
information to help solve environmental problems. We identify
innovative thinkers and emerging trends in the environmental field.
We work with world-renowned experts and aspiring authors to develop
cross-disciplinary solutions to environmental challenges. Then we
make sure this information is communicated effectively to the widest
possible audience – via our books, electronic media, and outreach to
scientists, policymakers, the news media, and the general public.
Island Press
publishes approximately 40 new titles per year on topics ranging
from biodiversity and land use to forest management, agriculture,
marine science, climate change, and energy. In addition, Island
Press is engaged in several collaborative partnerships designed to
help facilitate the stimulation of new ideas, new information
products, and targeted outreach to specific audiences. Our
Communication Partnership for Science and the Sea COMPASS is one
such example.
Island Press has led
the way in shaping and advancing acceptance of several new,
interdisciplinary fields of endeavor. For example:
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In the late 1980s,
Island Press played a major role in defining the then-emerging
field of conservation biology. One of our first titles in this
area, Building an Ark: Tools for the Preservation of Natural
Diversity Through Land Protection by Phillip Hoose of The
Nature Conservancy, laid out the guiding argument for preserving
entire ecosystems rather than merely protecting arbitrarily
selected pieces of land.
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In 1989, with
Research Priorities for Conservation Biology by Michael Soulé
and Kathryn Kohm, Island Press provided the first book ever to
establish multidisciplinary research priorities for the
conservation of biodiversity. In 2002, Conservation Biology:
Research Priorities for the Next Decade by Michael Soulé and
Gordon Orians assessed the field’s progress and laid out the
latest research priorities in this rapidly growing field.
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Island Press’s 1997
publication Nature’s Services: Societal Dependence on Natural
Ecosystems by Gretchen Daily was the first-ever comprehensive
volume to describe the concept of “ecosystem services” – the true
economic and ecological value of natural processes such as water
filtration, flood control, and pollination. In 2002, with the
publication of The New Economy of Nature: The Quest to Make
Conservation Profitable by Gretchen Daily and Katherine
Ellison, Island Press offered examples of people around the world
who are undertaking financially profitable projects to preserve
ecosystem services.
Island Press has 30
employees and a 16-member Board of Directors. Our main editorial
office is located in Washington, D.C. Incorporated as the Center for
Resource Economics, we do business as Island Press and are a
tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization under the Internal Revenue Code.
www.islandpress.org
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