In these papers from workshops that united desert and camel scientists from western Europe, the Mediterranean and Central Asia, contributors address how to maintain animal productivity to satisfy human requirements in the desert in both quantity and quality. Papers from plenary sessions include a survey of new trends in camel sciences and the place of the camel in society, and studies of desertification in Central Asian countries, and camels of the Arvana breed. Topics include the history of domestication, participatory approaches to using camels in desertification, the wild Bactrian camel, environmental education and public awareness, camel-breeding in Kalmykia and Turkmenistan, methods of advising producers, standards for camel milk and new dairy methods, new data on adipocyte size and plasma leptin, human treatment with camel chal, pasturing, and wool and meat production. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)