African rain forest ecology and conservation: an interdisciplinary perspective.

New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001.
Octavo, dustwrapper, 588 pp. maps, text illustrations.

This title is not held in stock but we are happy to supply on special order. Please contact us. This book sheds light on the current efforts to understand and conserve the African rain forest, an area in need of urgent action to save its biological wealth, cultural heritage, and economic potential. Early chapters trace the forces - from paleoecological factors to recent human actions - that have shaped the African forest environment. The next chapters discuss the dominant biological patterns of species ranging from the distinctive elephants, gorillas, the okapi to the the less well known birds, butterflies, and amphibians. Other chapters focus on how such different groups as hunter-gatherers, forest farmers, bushmeat hunters, recent immigrants, and commercial foresters have used the forests. The final section draws lessons from the colective experience of those working in an Africa wracked by political strife and economic hardship.