Overview
Can we prevent the destruction of the world's tropical forests? In the fire-scarred hills of Costa Rica, award-winning science writer William Allen found a remarkable answer: we can not only prevent their destruction--we can bring them back to their former glory. In Green Phoenix, Allen tells the gripping story of a large group of Costa Rican and American scientists and volunteers who set out to save the tropical forests in the northwestern section of the country. It was an area badly damaged by the fires of ranchers and small farmers; in many places a few strands of forest strung across a charred landscape. Despite the widely held belief that tropical forests, once lost, are lost forever, the team led by the dynamic Daniel Janzen from the University of Pennsylvania moved relentlessly ahead, taking a broad array of political, ecological, and social steps necessary for restoration. They began with 39 square miles and, by 2000, they had stitched together and revived some 463 square miles of land and another 290 of marine area. Today this region is known as the Guanacaste Conservation Area, a fabulously rich landscape of dry forest, cloud forest, and rain forest that gives life to some 235,000 species of plants and animals. It may be the greatest environmental success of our time, a prime example of how extensive devastation can be halted and reversed. This is an inspiring story, and in recounting it, Allen writes with vivid power. He creates lasting images of pristine beaches and dense forest and captures the heroics and skill of the scientific teams, especially the larger-than-life personality of the maverick ecologist Daniel Janzen. It is a book everyone concerned about the environment will want to own.
Full Product Details
Author: William Allen (Senior Fellow, Senior Fellow, Institutes for Journalism and Natural Resources)
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc
Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc
Dimensions:
Width: 15.30cm
, Height: 2.50cm
, Length: 23.60cm
Weight: 0.485kg
ISBN: 9780195161779
ISBN 10: 0195161777
Pages: 344
Publication Date: 27 March 2003
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: To order
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.
Reviews
The book is a paradigm of how one man can make such a difference through dedication and perseverance ... --Biologist<br> This is a remarkable story of a valuable ecosystem rising from its own ashes-a hopeful story for our time. --Wildlife Activist<br>
The book is a paradigm of how one man can make such a difference through dedication and perseverance ... --Biologist This is a remarkable story of a valuable ecosystem rising from its own ashes-a hopeful story for our time. --Wildlife Activist The book is a paradigm of how one man can make such a difference through dedication and perseverance ... --Biologist This is a remarkable story of a valuable ecosystem rising from its own ashes-a hopeful story for our time. --Wildlife Activist
Author Information
William Allen is an award-winning science writer at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. His reporting on tropical forests has appeared in such publications as The Sciences, BioScience, and Harvard. He lives in Chesterfield, Missouri.
