Conservation in Human-modified ecosystems
Dr. David Western, known as Jonah, began research into savannas ecosystems at Amboseli in 1967, looking at the interactions of humans and wildlife. His work, unbroken since then, has served as a barometer of changes in the savannas and test of conservation solutions based on the continued coexistence of people and wildlife.
Publications
We Alone: How Humans Have Conquered the Planet and Can Also Save It
By : David Western
This personal and thoughtful book by renowned Kenya conservationist David Western traces our global conquest from Maasai herders battling droughts in Africa to the technological frontiers of California. Western draws on a half century of research in the savannas and his own life’s journey to argue that conservation is not a modern invention. The success of all societies past and present lies in conservation practices, breaking biological barriers and learning to live in large cooperative groups able to sustain a healthy environment.
Conservation for the Twenty-first Century (OUP, 1989)
By : David Western, Mary C. Pearl
In this stimulating overview, international experts offer vital information for anticipating and meeting the environmental and ecological challenges of the next century. Representing a diverse range of specialties, the contributors examine such key topics as species extinction, ecosystem conservation and management, strategies for national parks, planning and management programs, legislative initiatives, and conservation.
Natural Connections: Perspectives in Community-based Conservation (Island Press, 1994)
By : David Western, Miachael Wright
Both realism and justice demand that efforts to conserve biological diversity address human needs as well. The most promising hope of accomplishing such a goal lies in locally based conservation efforts — an approach that seeks ways to make local communities the beneficiaries and custodians of conservation efforts. Natural Connections focuses on rural societies and the conservation of biodiversity in rural areas.
In the Dust of Kilimanjaro (A Shearwater Book)
By : David Western
“Kilimanjaro slowly takes shape as the night sounds die, its glaciated peak tinged pink in the early light. A solitary wildebeest stares motionless as if mesmerized by the towering mass; a small caravan of giraffe drifts across the plain in solitary file, necks undulating to the slow rhythm of their gangling stride. There is an inexplicable deja vu about the African savannas, as if some subliminal memory is tweaked by the birthplace of our hominid lineage.” –from In the Dust of KilimanjaroIn the Dust of Kilimanjaro is the extraordinary story of one man’s struggle to protect Kenya’s wildlife. World-renowned conservationist David Western