As humans we have stewardship over the environment. Man's dominion does not mean a license to abuse, spoil, squander or destroy. Future cultures will be able to reach their potential only if this generation remembers that sustainable land use is a combination of economics, ecology and social justice. Our ancestors survived due to an innate sense of oneness whereby they helped each other. For them everything was holy. Sustaining desired ecological, economic, and social conditions in the system is a big challenge, but not an impossible task. This book presents chapters by scientists from different disciplines from the Mediterranean Basin and its environs. It presents updated information and highlights the way forward for the fields of economy, environment and ecology, making this book a very useful source for people working in these different disciplines. Contributions have been prepared by experts in these respective fields. The book also brings to the fore important future tasks for these particular disciplines, and provides up-to-date references, tables and figures illustrating research findings. As such, this volume is a must-read for students, researchers and professionals in environmental sciences, ecology, forestry, geography and other related fields.
About the Author: Dr. Recep Efe received his MSc and PhD degrees from the Institute of Marine Sciences and Geography at Istanbul University. He has authored and edited 35 books on geography and ecology, and has published more than 125 papers in the fields of ecology, human-natural environment interactions, ecotourism, and biogeography. He has acted as editor and guest editor of journals such as Journal of Environmental Biology, Human Geographies, and Geographical Forum. His research projects cover the fields of ecology, ecosystem analysis, geomorphology, vegetation, biogeography, land degradation, land use, and ecotourism. Dr. Munir Ozturk holds PhD and DSc degrees in Plant Ecology from Ege University, Turkey. He is the author of over 400 papers on ecological studies as well as biomonitoring in different habitats, and is a member of the editorial board, as well as a reviewer, for several academic journals. Dr. Ozturk has worked at Munich Technical University, Germany, Tohoku University, Japan, and the University of Chapel Hill, USA; as a Consultant Fellow at the Faculty of Forestry, University Putra Malaysia; and as Distinguished Visiting Scientist at the ICCBS, Karachi University, Pakistan. He has published and edited over 35 books and has acted as guest editor for several journals.