"Ecological restoration projects seek to recover the natural functioning of degraded ecosystems, most often areas disturbed by human large scale projects such as agriculture developments, road building, mining and urban sprawl. While scientists focus on the ecological basis of habitat repair, practitioners, governmental and non-governmental organizations, and local people, tend to worry about social, economic, cultural and political aspects. The value of ecological restoration is discussed here with examples including tropical forests in Vietnam and Australia; degraded environments in China as a paradigm of global issues; the restoration of wetlands and the coastal zone and how to proceed with urban developments. The author also uniquely assesses how ecological restoration can be used against the impacts of climate change. In addition to strategies for extending ecological restoration at global scale, it provides useful ideas and tools for the everyday work of professionals,researchers and students"--Provided by publisher. "The rapid growth of the global economy during the last century, coupled with a tripling of the world's population, has taken a heavy toll on the natural environment. Although it is difficult to quantify the current extent of degraded land globally, some estimate this to include around one third of the total global land area (Eswaran et al. , 2001C03-018). It is clear that land degradation has been occurring at a scale which makes it one of the most pressing environmental problems of our time"--Provided by publisher.