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The effects of climate change are beginning to be felt around the world with rising temperatures, changing precipitation levels, more frequent and severe storms and longer more intensive droughts threatening human life and livelihoods and damaging property and infrastructure. As such, society in all countries – both developing and developed – need to increase their resilience to the impacts of climate change, where resilience is the ability of a system to absorb stresses and adapt in ways that improve the overall sustainability of the system; enabling it to be better prepared for future climate change impacts.In this context, a climate resilient society is one that is: reflective (learns from experiences); robust (both people and infrastructure can withstand the impacts of extreme conditions); forward-thinking (with plans made to ensure systems function during extreme events); flexible (so systems and plans can change, evolve or adopt alternative strategies); resourceful (to respond quickly to extreme events); inclusive (so all communities including the vulnerable are involved in planning); and integrated (so people, systems, decision-making and investments are mutually supportive of common goals).The Climate Resilient Societies Major Reference Work includes chapters covering a range of themes that provide readers with an invaluable overview on how various levels of government have attempted to create climate resilient societies. In particular, each chapter, under its respective theme, will address how a government, or series of governments, at various levels in non-OECD and/or OECD countries, have implemented innovative climate resilient policies that seek synergies across strategies, choices and actions, in an attempt to build a climate resilient society. Each chapter will address one specific sub-theme out of the population of themes covered in the Major Reference Work: Water, Energy, Agriculture and Food, Built environment and Infrastructure, Transport, Human health, Society, Disaster, Business and Economy, and Financing Climate Resilience.

Etwas messbar zu machen, bedeutet es steuern zu könnenNachhaltigkeit ist ein Begriff mit einer Fülle von Bedeutungen und vielen möglichen Missdeutungen. Dabei kann Nachhaltigkeit ein mächtiges und effektives Werkzeug sein, um unser praktisches Handeln zu leiten und komplizierte Entscheidungen zu vereinfachen.Mit Nachhaltigkeit lassen sich Kosten sparen und jede Organisation sowie jedes Unternehmen stabilisieren. Sie schont das Klima und die Umwelt und führt alle Menschen in eine gute Zukunft.Das Sachbuch „Nachhaltigkeit messbar machen“ ist ein praxisnaher Leitfaden, wie Methoden und Instrumente der Nachhaltigkeit erfolgreich eingesetzt werden können – sei es im beruflichen Leben oder im privaten und ehrenamtlichen Engagement.Das Buch verschafft nicht nur dem interessierten Laien eine umfassende Übersicht über die zentralen Aspekte des Nachhaltigkeitsmanagements, es bietet auch dem Praktiker wichtige Entscheidungshilfen und Tipps zur Umsetzung. Derleicht verständliche Stil vermittelt auch Neueinsteigern alle wesentlichen Inhalte der Thematik der Nachhaltigkeit. Ob Vorkenntnisse oder nicht - mit den vielen sofort umsetzbaren „Best-Practices“ bietet das Buch eine Menge praktische Anwendungsmöglichkeiten. Die Anhänge enthalten uneingeschränkt nutzbare Tools aus der Praxis des Autors für die Einführung eines erfolgreichen Nachhaltigkeitsmanagements.

Today more than ever, when the world is beset by environmental, social, healthcare and economic challenges, we need courage in our politics, both nationally and globally. This book tells the stories, some for the first time, of twelve individuals who made heroic contributions to protecting our planet through ground-breaking international treaties.Can individuals change the world? Today, when impersonal forces and new technologies seem to be directing our lives and even our entire planet in ways we cannot control, this question feels more relevant than ever before. This book argues that we can all make a difference. It tells inspiring stories of individuals who have had a global impact that is beyond dispute, as well as others who have brought about change that is understated or hard to measure, where the scale of the impact will only become clear in years to come. While some are scientists, others are politicians, diplomats, activists, and even businesspeople. However, they all share the qualities of perseverance, patience, a willingness to innovate or try new approaches, and the endurance to continue over years, even decades, to pursue their goal. Drawing on interviews and the inside stories of those involved, each chapter follows one or more of these heroic individuals, a list which includes Luc Hoffmann, Mostafa Tolba, Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, Raul Oyuela Estrada, Barack Obama and Paula Caballero.Presenting an uplifting and gripping narrative, this book is an invaluable resource for students, scholars, activists and professionals who are seeking to understand how consensus is reached in these global meetings and how individuals can have a genuine impact on preserving our planet and reinforcing the positive message that global cooperation can actually work.

The book examines concurrent green initiatives and their spillover effects on environmental conservation and management to reveal their impact on conservation effectiveness, drawing on a range of international case studies. Green initiatives are programs, payments, or endeavors that restore, sustain, or improve nature's capacity, with examples including payments for ecosystem services and the development of nature reserves and protected areas. This book explicitly examines concurrent green initiatives, where initiatives overlap either geographically or in terms of recipients of multiple payments. The book provides a detailed analysis of case studies in the USA and China, including the USA-based Conservation Reserve Program and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, and the China based Grain-to-Green Program and the Forest Ecological Benefit Compensation Fund. Through this comparison, the book shows the impact of concurrent green initiatives, including additional or unintended benefits for conservation and local communities as well as negative spillover effects. The book complements these case studies by drawing on other global examples ranging in size from local to continental, including planting native trees and shrubs in Australia and green initiatives in the Baltic Sea region. Overall, this book demonstrates the importance of analyzing concurrent green efforts to better understand both the positive and negative impacts to ensure the optimal effectiveness of these policies and programs for conservation and environmental management. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of environmental conservation and management, land use, ecosystem services and environmental policy, as well as policymakers and practitioners working on environmental initiatives and programs.

Es ist das brandaktuelle Buch für die zentrale, globale Herausforderung unserer Zeit. In seinem Vermächtnis, zeigt sich Friedrich Schmidt-Bleek erneut als richtunggebender Vordenker, als Visionär, Umweltforscher und Gestalter einer zukunftsfähigen Umweltpolitik. Ein erfolgreiches Ökologiekonzept muss alle die Klimakrise auslösenden und Umwelt zerstörenden Bereiche in ihren ineinandergreifenden Wirkungszusammenhängen ganzheitlich betrachten. Darauf kann eine verantwortungsbewusste Politik mit klaren Zielen, mit richtungssicheren sozialen, ökologischen und wirtschaftlichen Indikatoren aufbauen. Der zentrale Hebel zur Bewältigung der Klimakrise und Beendigung der Umweltzerstörung besteht für den Autor in der qualitativen Veränderung der Ressourcenabhängigkeit von Produkten und Dienstleistungen durch eine wesentliche Minimierung des Ressourcenverbrauchs. Mit dem seit 1990 entwickelten MIPS Konzept (Material-Input pro Serviceeinheit) ist ein Parameter entstanden, der den Ressourcenverbrauch im Lebenszyklus von Produkten und Dienstleistungen berechenbar und damit veränderbar macht. Damit ist der Weg zu zukunftsfähigen, nachhaltigen Produkten gangbar geworden. Anschaulich und allgemeinverständlich geschrieben legt Schmidt-Bleek hier sein über Jahrzehnte verfeinertes, und vorsorgendes Ökologiekonzept dar, dass eine gesamtgesellschaftliche Transformation und Ressourcenwende ermöglicht und uns allen Wege aufzeigt, aktiv daran teilzuhaben zu können.

This book explores sustainable development from the perspective of resources and energy, based on China's practical experience and cross-disciplinary research. It focuses on major challenges, key solutions and policy recommendations, and studies and explores seven important themes of resources, energy and sustainable development, including: 1) China's low-carbon energy transition, 2) China's urbanization and low-carbon development, 3) China's low-carbon action in cities, 4) China's low-carbon power transition, 5) China's water resources management, 6) electric vehicle development and key metal resources and 7) China's low-carbon development of the iron & steel industry. This book contributes to a more integrated understanding of many themes and their relationships in the area of resources, energy and sustainable development and guides the related policy and management.

The environmental studies about natural resource issues are often studied as conflicts; this book is carefully designed to expound on how resolutions are negotiated and maintained. A number of factors influence how conflicts are framed and how resolutions are determined regarding fracking, shared waters and environmental threats. This book explores the power, community activism, and politics regarding natural resources. Decisions often ignore ecological and social sustainability stewardship needs. By understanding how socio-political dynamics affect policy and negotiation, this book also contributes to the understanding of how natural resource policies are negotiated. It illuminates social inequalities between rural and urban populations.

The Global Casino is an introduction to environmental issues which deals both with the workings of the physical environment and with the political, economic and social frameworks in which the issues occur. Using examples from all over the world, the book highlights the underlying causes behind environmental problems, the human actions which have made them issues, and the hopes for solutions. It is a book about the human impact on the environment and the ways in which the natural environment impacts human society.The sixth edition has been fully revised and updated throughout, with new case studies, figures, and online resources including a complete lecture course for tutors and multiple-choice questions for students. New concepts and topics covered for the first time in this edition include the green economy, the forest transition model, marine microplastic pollution, urban disasters, decommissioning of big dams, and the start of the Anthropocene. Recent international initiatives covered include the Paris Agreement on climate change, the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, and the Sendai Framework for managing disaster risk. New case studies include Morocco's Noor concentrated solar power plant, desert recovery in Kuwait, and river management on the Huang Ho.Eighteen chapters on key issues follow three initial chapters which outline the background contexts of the physical and human environments and the concept of sustainable development. Each chapter provides historical context for key issues, outlines why they have arisen, and highlights areas of controversy and uncertainty to appraise how issues can be resolved both technically and in political and economic frameworks. Each chapter also contains an updated critical guide to further reading – many of them open access – and websites, as well as discussion points and essay questions. The text can be read in its entirety or individual chapters adopted as standalone reading.This book is an essential resource for students of the environment, geography, earth sciences and development studies. It provides comprehensive and inspirational coverage of all the major global environmental issues of the day in a style that is clear and critical.

This Open Access book presents feedback from the ‘Territorial Agroecological Transition in Action'- TATA-BOX research project, which was devoted to these specific issues. The multidisciplinary and multi-organisation research team steered a four-year action-research process in two territories of France. It also presents:i) the key dimensions to be considered when dealing with agroecological transition: diversity of agriculture models, management of uncertainties, polycentric governance, autonomies, and role of actors'networks;ii) an operational and original participatory process and associated boundary tools to support local stakeholders in shifting from a shared diagnosis to a shared action plan for transition, and in so doing developing mutual understanding and involvement;iii) an analysis of the main effects of the methodology on research organisation and on stakeholders'development and application;iv) critical analysis and foresights on the main outcomes of TATA-BOX, provided by external researchers.

In terms of China's current situation, the prevention and control of land degradation and the development of innovative sustainable land management activities lie within the purview of public works. Further, public-private partnerships (PPPs) hold considerable potential for application in this field. Inner Mongolia is one of the Chinese provinces hardest hit by land degradation. Fortunately, after years of dedicated efforts, meaningful achievements have been made: the increasing participation of the people as a whole, combined with growing investments in land degradation prevention and ecological construction on the part of private enterprises, has to some extent compensated for the lack of government involvement. Further, Inner Mongolia has been a pioneer in the use of PPPs for the prevention and control of land degradation, which has yielded numerous ecological, social and economic benefits. To better promote the development of ecological construction and expand the participationin land degradation control, this book systematically studies the use of PPPs in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, drawing on field investigations and case analyses to do so. Its main goal is to explore a public-private partnership model that can effectively expand the scale of investment in land degradation prevention and sustainable land management.

This book deals with not just complex linkages, interactions and exchanges that form the relationship between the economic activities, human society and the ecosystems, but also the influences and impacts that each causes on the other. In recent times, this ecology–economy–society interface has received unprecedented attention within the broader environment–development discourse. The volume is in honour of Kanchan Chopra, one of the pioneers of research in these areas in India. She has recently been awarded the coveted Kenneth Boulding Award by the International Society for Ecological Economics (ISEE) and is the first Asian to receive it. The four sub-themes of the book reflect some of the important areas in the environment–development discourse — sustainability of development, institutions and environmental governance, environment and well-being, and ecosystem and conservation. Within each of the sub-themes, the policy and the practice as well as the macro and micro aspects are addressed. With contributions mainly from ecological economists and ecologists, the book's approach is interdisciplinary, both in spirit and content, reflecting the honoree's work, which went not just beyond the mainstream ideology of economics, but also the way she listened to ideas from disciplines like ecology and sociology. The volume also includes two reflective essays on academic life and works of Kanchan Chopra. The book is a valuable resource for students, teachers, researchers, practitioners and policy makers in the areas of development economics, ecological economics, environmental economics and related disciplines such as conservation, development, ecology, economics, environment, governance, health, sociology and public policy.

Although climate change and pollution make near-daily appearances in the news, humans have not always recognized that the environment needs to be protected. Only after the publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring in 1962 did environmental protection became a political and social priority. In Environmental Protection: What Everyone Needs to Know®, environmental lawyer Pamela Hill offers clear, engaging answers to some of the most pressing questions facing us today. She discusses the science behind current environmental issues, defining key terms such as ecosystems, pollutants, and endocrine disruptors. Hill explains why our environment needs protection, using examples from history and current events, from the Irish potato famine to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the drinking water crisis in Flint, Michigan. She also assesses the effectiveness of landmark laws and treaties, including the Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Kyoto Protocol. To what extent is it acceptable to rank human interests over ecological interests? And is it fair to ask developing countries to reduce emissions, even though they bear little responsibility for our current environmental problems? Hill identifies the greatest environmental threats we are facing today and suggests what we need to do as citizens, businesspeople, and lawmakers to protect the environment for each other and for future generations.

This book addresses the political ecology of the Ecuadorian petro-state since the turn of the century and contextualizes state-civil society relations in contemporary Ecuador to produce an analysis of oil and Revolution in twenty-first century Latin America. Ecuador's recent history is marked by changes in state-citizen relations: the election of political firebrand, Rafael Correa; a new constitution recognizing the value of pluriculturality and nature's rights; and new rules for distributing state oil revenues. One of the most emblematic projects at this time is the Correa administration's Revolución Ciudadana, an oil-funded project of social investment and infrastructural development that claims to blaze a responsible and responsive path towards wellbeing for all Ecuadorians. The contributors to this book examine the key interventions of the recent political revolution—the investment of oil revenues into public works in Amazonia and across Ecuador; an initiative to keep oil underground; and the protection of the country's most marginalized peoples—to illustrate how new forms of citizenship are required and forged. Through a focus on Amazonia and the Waorani, this book analyzes the burdens and opportunities created by oil-financed social and environmental change, and how these alter life in Amazonian extraction sites and across Ecuador.

This book examines the role and practical dynamics of governmental environmental law enforcement agencies and individuals who combat environmental crime. It will inform researchers about the'real world'experiences of practitioners and provide an intellectual space for practitioners to examine critically what it is they do and why.

We think we understand environmental damage: pollution, water scarcity, a warming world. But these problems are just the tip of the iceberg. Food insecurity, financial assets drained of value by environmental damage, and a rapid rise in diseases of animal origin are among the underreported consequences of an unsustainable global system. In State of the World 2015, the flagship publication of The Worldwatch Institute, experts explore hidden threats to sustainability and how to address them. How will nations deal with migration as climate change refugees cross borders in order to escape flooding, drought, or other extreme weather events? What will happen to the price and availability of fossil energy—the foundation of industrial civilization--as these resources oscillate between surplus and scarcity? If perpetual economic growth on a finite planet is impossible, what are the alternatives? Can national governments manage the transition? Eight key issues are addressed in depth, along with the central question of how we can develop resilience to these and other shocks. For decades, The Worldwatch Institute has been a leader in identifying and analyzing emerging environmental threats. With the latest edition of State of The World, the authorities at Worldwatch bring to light challenges we can no longer afford to ignore.

Citizens expect their governments to lead on sustainability. But from largely disappointing international conferences like Rio II to the U.S.'s failure to pass meaningful climate legislation, governments'progress has been lackluster. That's not to say leadership is absent; it just often comes from the bottom up rather than the top down. Action—on climate, species loss, inequity, and other sustainability crises—is being driven by local, people's, women's, and grassroots movements around the world, often in opposition to the agendas pursued by governments and big corporations. These diverse efforts are the subject of the latest volume in the Worldwatch Institute's highly regarded State of the World series. The 2014 edition, marking the Institute's 40th anniversary, examines both barriers to responsible political and economic governance as well as gridlock-shattering new ideas. The authors analyze a variety of trends and proposals, including regional and local climate initiatives, the rise of benefit corporations and worker-owned firms, the need for energy democracy, the Internet's impact on sustainability, and the importance of eco-literacy. A consistent thread throughout the book is that informed and engaged citizens are key to better governance. The book is a clear-eyed yet ultimately optimistic assessment of citizens'ability to govern for sustainability. By highlighting both obstacles and opportunities, State of the World 2014 shows how to effect change within and beyond the halls of government. This volume will be especially useful for policymakers, environmental nonprofits, students of environmental studies, sustainability, or economics—and citizens looking to jumpstart significant change around the world.

Information is crucial when it comes to the management of resources. But what if knowledge is incomplete, or biased, or otherwise deficient? How did people define patterns of proper use in the absence of cognitive certainty? Discussing this challenge for a diverse set of resources from fish to rubber, these essays show that deficient knowledge is a far more pervasive challenge in resource history than conventional readings suggest. Furthermore, environmental ignorance does not inevitably shrink with the march of scientific progress: these essays suggest more of a dialectical relationship between knowledge and ignorance that has different shapes and trajectories. With its combination of empirical case studies and theoretical reflection, the essays make a significant contribution to the interdisciplinary debate on the production and resilience of ignorance. At the same time, this volume combines insights from different continents as well as the seas in between and thus sketches outlines of an emerging global resource history.

The Global Casino is an introduction to environmental issues which deals both with the workings of the physical environment and the political, economic and social frameworks in which the issues occur. Using examples from all over the world, the book highlights the underlying causes behind environmental problems, the human actions which have made them issues, and the hopes for solutions. It is a book about the human impact on the environment and the ways in which the natural environment impacts human society. The fifth edition has been fully revised and updated throughout, with new case studies, figures, and online resources such as downloadable figures and tables from the text and multiple choice questions for students, accessible at: www.routledge.com/cw/middleton. New topics covered in extended boxed case studies include payment for environmental services, ocean acidification, biofuels in Brazil, waste reduction through industrial symbiosis, and the long-term impact of natural disasters on vulnerable groups. Other approaches and concepts covered for the first time in this new edition include traditional ecological knowledge, environmental justice, the ‘resource curse', and urban biodiversity. Eighteen chapters on key issues follow three initial chapters which outline the background contexts of the physical and human environments and the concept of sustainable development. Each chapter provides historical context for key issues, outlines why they have arisen, and highlights areas of controversy and uncertainty to appraise how issues can be resolved both technically and in political and economic frameworks. Each chapter also contains an updated critical guide to further reading and websites, as well as discussion points and essay questions. The text can be read in its entirety or individual chapters adopted as standalone reading. The Global Casino is an essential resource for students of the environment, geography, earth sciences and development studies. It provides comprehensive and inspirational coverage of all the major global environmental issues of the day in a style that is clear and critical.

This series is dedicated to serving the growing community of scholars and practitioners concerned with the principles and applications of environmental management. Each volume is a thorough treatment of a specific topic of importance for proper management practices. A fundamental objective of these books is to help the reader discern and implement man's stewardship of our environment and the world's renewable resources. For we must strive to understand the relationship between man and nature, act to bring harmony to it, and nurture an environment that is both stable and productive. These objectives have often eluded us because the pursuit of other individual and societal goals has diverted us from a course of living in balance and the environment. At times, therefore, the environmental manager may have to exert restrictive control, which is usually best applied to man, not nature. Attempts to alter or harness nature have often failed or backfired, as exemplified by the results of imprudent use of herbicides, fertilizers, water, and other agents. Each book in this series will shed light on the fundamental and applied aspects of environmental management. It is hoped that each will help solve a practical and serious environmental problem.

Im Zusammenhang mit der EU-Gesetzgebung werden auf allen Planungsebenen Konzepte zur Definition von Umweltzielen und Umweltindikatoren, basierend auf der Agenda 21, gefordert. In Deutschland bestehen durch das föderale System Hürden, die es in anderen europäischen Ländern so nicht gibt. Die Unterteilung der Gesetzgebung in Bundes-, Landes-, Regional- und Kommunalebene erschwert den Prozess der Zielfindung auf der einen und der Umsetzung auf der anderen Seite. Der vorliegende Band stellt zum ersten Mal in geschlossener Form die wissenschaftlichen Anforderungen an die Festlegung von Umweltzielen und Umweltindikatoren vor. Die hier vorgestellten Anforderungen werden anschließend durch Fallbeispiele anschaulich ergänzt.

This unique volume brings together key writings from experts drawn from the first ten years of the Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM), launched in 1999 as a forum for encouraging better linkages between environmental assessment and management tools. The book is structured around four themes that focus on the characteristics of tools that influence their ability to link together effectively: The Nature of Tools; The Nature of Decision-Making and Institutional Context; The Nature of Engagement and The Nature of Sustainability.Edited and introduced by William Sheate, founding and present editor of JEAPM, the book provides an analysis of what makes for successful linking of assessment and management tools, supported by theoretical and practical examples. Key authors include Roland Clift, David Gadenne, Robert Gibson, Neils Faber, Thomas Fischer, David Lawrence, Måns Nilsson, Bronwyn Ridgway, and Frank Vanclay.

The most significant shift in environmental governance over the last thirty years has been the convergence of environmental and liberal economic norms toward'liberal environmentalism'—which predicates environmental protection on the promotion and maintenance of a liberal economic order. Steven Bernstein assesses the reasons for this historical shift, introduces a socio-evolutionary explanation for the selection of international norms, and considers the implications for our ability to address global environmental problems.The author maintains that the institutionalization of'sustainable development'at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) legitimized the evolution toward liberal environmentalism. Arguing that most of the literature on international environmental politics is too rationalist and problem-specific, Bernstein challenges the mainstream thinking on international cooperation by showing that it is always for some purpose or goal. His analysis of the norms that guide global environmental policy also challenges the often-presumed primacy of science in environmental governance.

The worst chemical disaster ever could be happening right now. In India and Bangladesh between forty and eighty million people are at risk of consuming too much arsenic from well water that might have already caused one hundred thousand cancer cases and thousands of deaths. Many millions elsewhere in South-East Asia and South America may soon suffer a similar fate. Venomous Earth is the story of this tragedy: the geology, the biology, the politics and the history. It starts in Ancient Greece, touches down in today's North America and takes in William Morris, alchemy, farming, medicine, mining and a cosmetic that killed two popes.

The Guide to Sustainable Development and Environmental Policy is a comprehensive presentation of definitions, philosophies, policies, models, and analyses of global environmental and developmental issues. With a wealth of comparative, multidisciplinary, and geographically varied perspectives on environmental governance, it also provides detailed and balanced discussions about specific environmental issues.The guide combines formal, objective entries with critical commentaries that emphasize different opinions and controversies. With succinct explanations of more than a thousand terms, thoughtful interpretations by international experts, and helpful cross-referencing, this resource is designed to serve as a roadmap for understanding the issues and debates in the overlapping fields of environment and development. Intended for use by activists, journalists, policymakers, students, scholars, and interested citizens, the Guide to Sustainable Development and Environmental Policy will be a helpful tool for anyone trying to get a comprehensive look at the many environmental organizations, schools of thought, development programs, international environmental treaties, conventions, and strategies that have proliferated in the past few decades.