Recovering Caribbean Nature

The Caribbean is a global biodiversity hotspot; half its resident bird species are found nowhere else, yet, a quarter are threatened with extinction. Nearly all its native amphibians and reptiles and thousands of plants also are endemic. Yet, less than 1% of the landscape can be considered natural; and apart from reserves, most land is privately owned. Despite the challenges of such habitat fragmentation, the Caribbean?s distinctive fauna and flora can be preserved through planning and managing a connected network of sustainable naturalistic landscapes, reserves, parks, and private gardens. This book uniquely provides both a theoretical background and practical applications to restoring nature within the tropical Caribbean. Packed with beautiful color photographs, it offers unifying principles that can be applied across the tropics and synthesizes information on the Caribbean's environmental uniqueness and globally significant biodiversity. It also provides explicit guidance on establishing sustainable and more naturalistic landscapes from large public lands to private yards and gardens.

The book is essential reading for academics and researchers studying the Caribbean environment, resource management professionals, and scientists and.educatos from nongovernmental organizations who provide programs and advocacy for conservation and regional sustainability. Moreover, it highlights the importance of private lands and gardens, where the greatest gains can be made, and so offers a handbook for knowledgeable private landowners and their professional advisors.

The recovery of nature is one of the most urgent challenges we face, in the Caribbean and around the world. With more than 1 million species threatened with extinction and the specter of climate change and sea level rise upon us the path forward may seem insurmountable. But the good news is that we can all participate in the creation of a new sustainable world, though personal actions in our gardens and landscapes. Recovering Caribbean Nature comes at a perfect time and is a welcome new resource packed with detailed guidance on how to personally contribute to the restoration and recovery of nature.

George D. Gann, Executive Director, The Institute for Regional Conservation and Chair Emeritus, Society for Ecological Restoration.

Recovering Caribbean Nature is a monumental ?how to? restore the Caribbean native flora. Decades of research, island reconnaissance, and visits to gardens, nurseries and still intact and pristine habitats, provide the authors with unique insights into a growing imperative to restore the region?s native flora. As a conservation practitioner for BirdLife International, it?s given me a refreshing perspective on the Caribbean natural history. I even think it is the foundation for a much-needed Caribbean-wide rewilding movement ? one garden at a time.

Ian J. Davidson, Director-Americas, BirdLife International.

Jim Kushlan and Kirsten Hines have consolidated knowledge from a range of resources and their own studies over many years to provide Caribbean-specific information on how to protect, restore, and recreate Caribbean nature. I am confident this book will have a tremendous impact on inspiring more people to plant native, thereby providing more high-quality habitats that are needed to support and sustain the incredible diversity of endemic and migratory birds that call the Caribbean home. Present and future generations and locals and visitors alike will enjoy and benefit from a healthier environment flourishing with native plants and abundant birds.

Lisa Sorenson, Executive Director, BirdsCaribbean.

I learned from and enjoyed reading this book, Recovering Caribbean Nature. Its review of the environmental history of the Caribbean and its role in current nature conservation provide valuable examples that can be useful for both a community member and university classes. Recovering Caribbean Nature rightly emphasizes the roles played by gardens in conserving Caribbean birds, as we have discovered in the National Botanic Garden of Cuba. The authors provide accounts of plants suggested for nature recovery and describe the birds and other animals that might use them, information that will now be available to many people in the Caribbean. The book provides both practical advice and reflections on nature restoration that can guide conservation action throughout the Caribbean. Books like this may help the islands of the West Indies to be more resilient and beautiful and at the same time become a better place in the world!

Lourdes Mugica Valdés, PhD, Faculty of Biology, University of Havana.