The Full Value of Parks: From Economics to the Intangible - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 074252714X ISBN 13: 9780742527140

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2003

Synopsis

The Full Value of Parks is the first comprehensive look at the values associated with parks and other kinds of protected areas. Much has been written about the importance of parks to the tourism industry, yet the reasons why people care deeply about them usually have little or nothing to do with money. Instead, people value parks as sacred sanctuaries and places of spiritual self-discovery, as settings of breathtaking beauty, as venues of scientific inquiry, as destinations for much-needed recreation-even as places where one can go to heal a wounded psyche. The profound attachment that people feel to the world's great natural areas and cultural sites arises from an incredibly diverse, complex, and sometimes conflicting array of values. After a thorough overview of the kinds of values found in parks, the unique challenges of managing parks to accommodate differing viewpoints are surveyed in this path-breaking book. Drawing on insights from a broad group of international experts, and offering examples from Siberia to tropical Africa, from the Andes to the Australian outback, The Full Value of Parks is an engaging and lucid exploration of the entire range of benefits and values of protected areas-from economics to the intangible.

About this title

About the Author

David Harmon is executive director of the George Wright Society. Allen Putney is a consultant on protected areas.

Review

Various perspectives on how to view, analyze, manage, and preserve parks and park-like protected lands are revealed in this book. U.S. experience plays a prominent part in this book, but does not dominate the material. The editors' selection of contributions reflects philosophies and experiences from the Americas, Africa, Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and Europe in 21 essays, plus the editors' introduction and synthesis. The book challenges the premise that science and economic principles are enough to preserve parks and similar areas from the pressures of development. This book will be a valuable addition to any library supporting ecology programs and a good resource for ecologists, economists, geographers, and others studying parks and protected lands. It certainly will become an anchor point for discussions in economics, religion, geography, ecology, and public policy. Highly recommended. (E. J. Delaney, Western Washington University)

About this edition

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 074252714X
• ISBN 13: 9780742527140
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 360
• Editor: Harmon David, Putney Allen