Conservation of Living Nature and Resources: Problems, Trends, and Prospects

The deterioration of the environment has become one of the most serious problems of the 20th century. We are faced with increasing global problems - hunger and desertification, depletion of natural resources and deficiency of energy, pollution and man-triggered changes of climate. Presenting many new facts and examples from environmental studies in East and West, part I analyzes the problems of conservation at all main levels of life: the molecular-genetic, the ontogenetic, the species-population, and the ecosystem level. After an appraisal of present conditions, the authors show which changes in the different sectors of society (including agriculture, industry, recreation, etc.) are necessary to solve our environmental problems.

Pollution and destruction of nature by man deprives mankind of its own bases of life. Numerous alarming data of environmental studies in east and west as well as possibilities to solve these problems are given.

This book is based on our two books, published in the USSR and translated in a number of other countries Conservation of living nature: problems and perspectives (1983) and The levels of conservation of living nature (1985). It differs from the vast majority of the numerous books on conservation and environment, which are mainly devoted either to specific problems of conservation of certain taxons, or to problems of conservation of prescribed regions, or to general issues of environmental conservation in toto, while the problems of the conservation of living nature are represented only to a small degree. Our book is one of the volumes - at present not numerous - that place a high value on the diversity ofliving nature as the basis for the existence and development of mankind on the Earth. Living nature, besides its own intrinsic value, at all times was, is now and will ever remain the sole, unique and indispensable resource and provider for mankind.