http://www.bradtguides.com/ To outsiders, China projects a publically ambivalent approach towards wildlife, seemingly treating it as just another natural resource to be harvested and fed to its expanding economy.
The demands of traditional Chinese medicine are rightly blamed for the ongoing demise of several endangered species, and the old anecdote about anything with four legs bar a table ending up on restaurant menus further compounds an apparently mercenary attitude towards the natural world.
Martin Walters's new Chinese Wildlife guidebook does not aim to overturn these preconceptions, which turn out to be broadly correct anyway.
Yangtze River Dolphins are almost certainly the latest species to be crushed beneath China's boots as it continues on its long march of progress. What Walters does seek is to highlight the careless and uninformed destruction of China's remarkable natural-history heritage.
He comments, ‘publishing a book such as this is both timely and urgent, partly to promote further field work, conservation and ecotourism, and partly to increase public education and awareness.'
Though cuddly headliners such as Giant Pandas are valued as national icons, and as such are closely guarded, many others less fortunate, including the south China tiger, have been hunted to extinction as unwelcome pests.
Chinese Wildlife covers the whole spectrum of flora and fauna, from delicate orchids, to mammals and invertebrates. Details of key World Heritage sites, marine and nature reserves, including when to visit, are backed up by full-colour maps and over 300 colour photographs.
There's been much recent emphasis on international co-operation with China in trade, tourism and sport, not least the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Walters makes an overwhelmingly prescient case, supported by Heather Angel's superb wildlife photography, for even more concerted joint efforts in the areas of wildlife conservation and the environment.
Martin Walters is a Cambridge-based naturalist, writer and editor. He studied Zoology at Oxford University and has maintained a lifelong fascination with birds, botany, natural history and conservation. Martin has a wide range of titles to his name on various aspects of the natural world, but China in particular has always captivated him through both its remarkable wildlife and its people.
Heather Angel is a biologist and award-winning wildlife photographer. She first visited China in 1984 and has developed a great passion for panda, writing three books about them. Heather was the President of the Royal Photographic Society 1984-86 and is the principle photographer for this wildlife guide.
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