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San Diego, June 28 -- Dryland degradation and desertification now
affect almost a billion people around the world. Tragically, the
biological resources and productivity of millions of acres of land
are lost to desertification each year because people remain unaware
of strategies and techniques that could improve yields, reduce risk,
and begin healing the world’s deserts. “Once damaged, deserts are
very difficult to repair,” states David A. Bainbridge, author of
A Guide for Desert and Dryland Restoration: New Hope for Arid
Lands (Island Press, June 25),
“but I have demonstrated that it can be done.”
Bainbridge, associate professor in the Marshall Goldsmith School
of Management at Alliant University in San Diego, has spent 25 years
in the deserts of the American Southwest developing his restoration
methods and has traveled to Jordan, Portugal, Mexico, and China to
refine them further. “Through restoration we can improve our
understanding of desert ecology, and we can improve management of
some of the harshest environments on Earth,” he states. Improved
management takes not just ecological skills, but must also recognize
economic and cultural drivers.
A Guide for Desert and Dryland Restoration,
Bainbridge discusses the ecology of desert plants, explores the
causes of desertification and land abuse, and outlines the processes
and procedures needed to evaluate, plan, implement, and monitor
desert restoration projects, including restoration in use for
ranchers and farmers. It is the first comprehensive, illustrated
guide to practical, field-tested strategies and techniques on desert
restoration and will be an invaluable resource for anyone working in
arid lands, including restorationists, farmers, ranchers, gardeners,
landscapers, outdoor recreation professionals, and activists.
A Guide for Desert and Dryland Restoration
is the newest volume in The Science and Practice of Ecological
Restoration series, published by Island Press in collaboration with
the Society for Ecological Restoration International. The series
offers a foundation of practical knowledge and scientific insight
that will help ecological restoration become the powerful reparative
and healing tool that the world needs. To learn more about the
series, please visit: http://www.islandpress.org/ser/index.html
Island Press was established in 1984 to stimulate, shape, and
communicate the ideas that are essential for solving environmental
problems. A nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, Island Press publishes
for scientists, policy makers, environmental practitioners,
students, journalists, and the general public. Island Press –
Solutions that inspire change.
FOR ADDITIONAL I NFORMATION
To arrange an interview with David A.
Bainbridge, please contact him directly at
dbainbridge@alliant.edu.
For a review copy
contact John Cangany at 202-232-7933 x 24 or via email at jcangany@islandpress.org.
If you review or otherwise mention A Guide for Desert and Dryland
Restoration in your publication, please forward two tearsheets
to: John Cangany, Island Press, 1718 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite
300, Washington, DC 20009
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