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This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license.This volume shares new data relating to Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA), with emphasis on experiences in Eastern and Southern Africa. The book is a collection of research by authors from over 30 institutions, spanning the public and private sectors, with specific knowledge on agricultural development in the region discussed. The material is assembled to answer key questions on the following five topic areas: (1) Climate impacts: What are the most significant current and near future climate risks undermining smallholder livelihoods? (2) Varieties: How can climate-smart varieties be delivered quickly and cost-effectively to smallholders? (3) Farm management: What are key lessons on the contributions from soil and water management to climate risk reduction and how should interventions be prioritized? (4) Value chains: How can climate risks to supply and value chains be reduced? and (5) Scaling up: How can most promising climate risks reduction strategies be quickly scaled up and what are critical success factors? Readers who will be interested in this book include students, policy makers, and researchers studying climate change impacts on agriculture and agricultural sustainability.

This is the second volume of papers in the topical area of environmental management. Arising from work done by the International Centre for the Environment at the University of Bath, the papers address inter-disciplinary environmental themes particularly from a business and management perspective.

This open access book offers a selection of research papers and case studies presented at the 3rd international conference “Smart and Sustainable Planning for Cities and Regions”, held in December 2019 in Bolzano, Italy, and explores the concept of smart and sustainable planning, including top contributions from academics, policy makers, consultants and other professionals. Innovation processes such as co-design and co-creation help establish collaborations that engage with stakeholders in a trustworthy and transparent environment while answering the need for new value propositions. The importance of an integrated, holistic approach is widely recognized to break down silos in local government, in particular, when aimed at achieving a better integration of climate-energy planning. Despite the ongoing urbanization and polarization processes, new synergies between urban and rural areas emerge, linking development opportunities to intrinsic cultural, natural and man-made landscape values. The increasing availability of big, real-time urban data and advanced ICT facilitates frequent assessment and continuous monitoring of performances, while allowing fine-tuning as needed. This is valid not only for individual projects but also on a wider scale. In addition, and circling back to the first point, (big) urban data and ICT can be of enormous help in facilitating engagement and co-creation by raising awareness and by providing insight into the local consequences of specific plans. However, this potential is not yet fully exploited in standard processes and procedures, which can therefore lack the agility and flexibility to keep up with the pulse of the city and dynamics of society. The book provides a multi-disciplinary outlook based on experience to orient the reader in the giant galaxy of smart and sustainable planning, support the transposition of research into practice, scale up visionary approaches and design groundbreaking planning policies and tools.

This DAC Reference Paper outlines key issues faced when designing Environmental Fiscal Reform (EFR). EFR refers to a range of taxation and pricing measures which can raise fiscal revenues while furthering environmental goals. The objective is to provide insights and'good practice'on how development co-operation agencies can help developing countries take advantage of EFR approaches in both their development and poverty reduction strategies. Following a review of the instruments of EFR and related technical issues, Environmental Fiscal Reform for Poverty Reduction focuses on the political economy and governance aspects of EFR. This includes an examination of the precondition for successful design and implementation, the various steps involved through the EFR Policy Cycle, the challenges faced at each stage, and the main stakeholders involved. The role of donors in supporting EFR processes is also outlined. Subsequently, these issues are reviewed in relation to sectors of particular relevance for developing countries: forestry, fisheries, fossil fuel, electricity, drinking water and industrial pollution control.

The dangers of organochlorines and a proposed solution.Pandora's Poison presents a solution to one of the most insidious environmental problems of our time: the global build-up of toxic chemicals. Everywhere on the planet, hundreds of industrial chemicals called organochlorines are accumulating in the environment, the food supply, and our bodies. These substances—such infamous pollutants as dioxins, PCBs, and DDT, along with thousands of lesser-known hazards—are produced when chlorine gas is used to make plastics, paper, pesticides, and many industrial chemicals. In a thorough and accessible analysis, biologist Joe Thornton shows how global organochlorine pollution is already contributing to infertility, immune suppression, cancer, and developmental disorders in humans and wildlife.Thornton proposes a major shift in environmental science and policy. He shows that the current framework radically overestimates the ability of science and technology to address the complex global hazards of chemical mixtures. And he reveals how the'sound science'that dominates environmental regulations disguises political biases that protect polluters and gamble with public health. Articulating principles for a new environmental strategy, Thornton shows that the only practical solution is to take global action on broad classes of hazardous chemicals and the processes that produce them, starting with organochlorines. He lays out a democratically controlled program to replace the production and use of chlorine gas and its derivatives with safer, effective, and economically feasible alternatives, which are already available for the majority of chlorine uses. With an innovative interdisiciplinary approach, Pandora's Poison promises to revolutionize the debate over pollution, health, and the role of science in public policy.

This academic book critically examines the concept of sustainable futures and its interdependence with the policy framework of Green New Deals. We emphasize the inherent link between the two concepts by highlighting how Green New Deals can pave the way for a sustainable and just future in key areas such as environmental policy, economic development, and social equity. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, the book draws on insights from fields such as environmental studies, sustainable development, political ecology, and climate policy to explore the intricacies of these interconnections. The revised description underscores the importance of understanding the Green New Deal's historical and political contexts, as well as its implications for sustainable futures. The book delves into the theoretical perspectives that shape our comprehension of sustainable futures, the diverse strategies employed by countries and regions in implementing Green New Deals, the role of technological innovation and social movements in fostering sustainable transitions, and the political dynamics surrounding the Green New Deal. Through an analysis of the Green New Deal's role in sustainable development, climate policy, and environmental justice, the book provides a necessary and timely contribution to ongoing debates. The chapters offer detailed explorations of the interrelationships between these key areas, emphasizing how the Green New Deal can serve as a transformative policy framework for achieving sustainable and equitable futures.'Sustainable Futures and Green New Deals'is intended for scholars, policymakers, activists, and students interested in understanding the complex and interconnected issues surrounding sustainable development, climate policy, and environmental justice.

This contributed volume presents an attempt to understand climatic variability and induced risk to livelihood of communities and to offer insights on how catastrophic conditions and crises can be mitigated through public policy interventions. The case studies herein offer insights into different spheres and domains affected by climate change and present models of adaptation possibilities. The book is divided into three thematic sections. The first contains chapters that deal with assessing the effects of climate change. The second section offers perspectives on adaptation and governance, vulnerability in the context of sustainable livelihoods. The third and last section looks at Policy and Governance, with respect to climatic change adaptation and mitigations. The lessons contained in this volume are useful to a wide audience including research scholars, students, policymakers, and planners.

This book will cover the basic principles and salient features of EIA. The authors attempt to cover the shortcomings observed in EIA reports, the manner of conducting EIA for proposed projects, and also to facilitate the preparation of good quality EIA reports. The book is written in a straightforward format avoiding long descriptive texts to enhance the reader experience Although the focus is on the Indian context, the concepts and techniques of EIA described in this book are applicable universally. An Environmental Management Plan (EMP) is also discussed, and this is an essential aspect of EIA in countries where priority is on economic development by way of development projects and when the EIA process has inherent weaknesses. For the continual improvement of EIA reports, EIA consultants maybe assigned the task of implementing and operationalizing the suggested EMP in addition to conducting an EIA study and in preparation of an EIA report. The system of peer review of EIA reports is also expected to improve EIA quality. “Environmental Impact Assessment: A Journey to Sustainable Development” is an attempt to cover EIA according to new knowledge acquired through research and experiences which will make this tool more versatile and dynamic. The authors recognise that since EIA is continuously expanding and developing there will always be potential for improving the scope of this book to make it more useful to the users as per their requirement. This book will be of interest to academics, EIA professionals and consultants, EIA review/appraisal authorities and particularly stakeholders in emerging economies where major developmental work is being undertaken and which is expected to continue in decades to come.

This accessible book provides the first comprehensive analysis of environmental crime victims within criminal prosecutions in the United States. By combining empirical analysis of criminal investigations undertaken by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from 1983-2022 with narrative discussion of numerous related criminal prosecutions, it provides novel insights to help advance a stronger empirical understanding of how the administrative state protects victims of environmental harm, punishes environmental offenders, and aids in furthering the development of an environmental victimology.

The book presents the experiences, complexities, and contradictions of the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in Brazil so far. Through chapters from a variety of stakeholders, the book examines national, regional, and local aspects of development in Brazil. The chapters here draw from scientific knowledge and practical experience to take a critical look at what the SDGs mean in a Global South country and what the implications of this are for global development. The book is divided into three sections. The first section addresses the critical political and institutional aspects related to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in Brazil, highlighting advances as well as pitfalls and setbacks. The chapters look at broad questions related to the role of civil society in defining political priorities and strategies to move forward with the SDGs as well as issues involved in incorporating the SDGs at different levels of government and other institutions. The chapters in this section critically address the political and institutional advances as well as barriers to the progress of the SDGs in Brazil. The second section directly addresses progress made toward the SDGs in the context of the political, economic and social variables specific to Brazil. The chapters address critical shortcomings and demands for Brazilian society: the need for improvements in education and employment policies to reduce poverty, the urgent need to increase gender equality and reduce violence, as well as the imperative to strengthen institutions and policies to mitigate climate change and protect the environment. The final section focuses on critically assessing the 2030 Agenda itself and drawing from a Global South IR perspective. The chapters here dialog with decolonial and post-developmentalist perspectives to highlight problems with the agenda and lift up sidelined priorities, presenting yet-unexamined policy solutions and innovations that are currently absent from the global institutional agenda. The Brazilian case is a perfect illustration of how underdevelopment and political instability can constrain the paths to sustainable development, while at the same time social innovations, leverages based on regional dynamics, and strength from social and cultural diversity can drive sustained progress.

This book explores how China's media narrate climate policy and climate change. With the rapid growth of economy and carbon emissions, China has been seen as having a key role in addressingclimate change and receives substantial attention from the media. In theChinese coverage, climate change issues can be interpreted as various concernsand ideas involving the dimensions of the economy, energy and emissions, publicinvolvement, science and ecology, and responsibility. In this sense, a discourseapproach can be used to understand how the newspapers construct the climatechange discourse and discourse networks in the coverage. This study selectsthree different newspapers in China, namely People'sDaily, China Daily and Southern Weekend. This book will interest scholars of Chinese politics, environmentalists, and media studies scholars.

Als die Autoren – über die Grenzen zweier Wissenschaftskulturen hinweg – Anfang der 90er Jahre begannen, über die wissenschaftliche und populäre Wahrnehmung und Konstruktion des Phänomens Klima, Klimawandel, Klimapolitik und die Auswirkungen des Klimas auf die Gesellschaft nachzudenken, stießen sie auf erheblichen Widerstand, insbesondere als sie über die dringende Notwendigkeit einer gesellschaftlichen Anpassung an den Klimawandel schrieben. Die Autoren sehen sich als Pioniere in diesem Politikfeld. Viele, wenn nicht die meisten Maßnahmen für den Klimaschutz und gegen die Klimafolgen erfordern die Innovationskraft aller Wissenschaften und der Technik. Die künftige Umsetzung wissenschaftlicher Erkenntnisse in der Klimapolitik ist Schlüssel des erfolgreichen Umgangs der Gesellschaft mit den Folgen des Klimawandels. Dies geschieht jedoch nicht automatisch. Die Umsetzung von Wissenschaft in die Gesellschaft unterliegt ökonomischen, politischen und kulturellen Zwängen, und kann insbesondere durch den Mehrwert interdisziplinärer Zusammenarbeit von Wissenschaftlern, wie sie in diesem Band praktiziert wird, erreicht werden.

This book engages with the implications of an expanding Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of Transnational Corporations in their supply chains. Taking the case of a cocoa sustainability certification project in Ghana, the study examines the implementation process of such a transnational CSR intervention and its outcomes regarding the local governance and institutional environment of the cocoa sector in Ghana. The study deploys a theoretical framework based on Global Value Chain Analysis and a neo-Gramscian approach to Global Governance to assess transnational CSR as a concept and strategy that reflect power struggles in global production fields.

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are a class of chemicals that are persistent, bio accumulative and toxic (PBT), which are restricted for use under the Stockholm Convention. They adversely impact the environment, human and animal health. Most of the POPs are semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) and known to have a long-range transport potential and are often deposited in colder climate and found in places away from the regions they are produced. POPs are usually hydrophobic (i.e., “water-hating”) and lipophilic (i.e., “fat-loving”) chemicals, due to which they bind to solids, particularly organic matter, and fatty tissues in both marine and terrestrial environments. As a result, POPs may move up the food chain. This book focuses on determining the sources, fate, analytical techniques of detecting POPs as well as their health impacts. It further dwells on the regulatory aspects, management of POPs, best environmental practices (BEPs), Indian and international case studies, gaps in understanding the regulatory aspects. A few key recommendations for the way forward form the concluding chapters of this book.

This Handbook aims to provide a unique and convenient one-volume reference work, exhibiting the latest interdisciplinary explorations in this urgently burgeoning field of intellectual and practical importance. Due to its immense range and diversity, environmental politics and theory necessarily encompasses: empirical, normative, policy, political, organizational, and activist discussions unfolding across many disciplines. It is a challenge for its practitioners, let alone newcomers, to keep informed about the ongoing developments in this fast-changing area of study and to comprehend all of their implications. Through the planned volume's extensive scope of contributions emphasizing environmental policy issues, normative prescriptions, and implementation strategies, the next generation of thinkers and activists will have very useful profiles of the theories, concepts, organizations, and movements central to environmental politics and theory. It is the editors'aspiration that this volume will become a go-to resource on the myriad perspectives relevant to studying and improving the environment for advanced researchers as well as an introduction to new students seeking to understand the basic foundations and recommended resolutions to many of our environmental challenges. Environmental politics is more than theory alone, so the Handbook also considers theory-action connections by highlighting the past and current: thinkers, activists, social organizations, and movements that have worked to guide contemporary societies toward a more environmentally sustainable and just global order. Chapter “Eco-Anxiety and the Responses of Ecological Citizenship and Mindfulness” is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

This volume discusses topics of global sustainability involving sustainability indicators, stakeholders'participation, and technological and strategic advances with the goal of'thinking locally to act globally'. Scientists, academics, policymakers, and planners are currently focused on escalating global socioeconomic and ecological issues, such as rising inequality, adverse anthropogenic impacts on the environment, and deficiencies in natural resources. These variables are pushing the earth system's resistance capacity past its breaking point, with additional pressures incurred by a global pandemic. Therefore, this book looks to impart knowledge on participatory learning action research for human and environmental health and well-being. Sustainable development planning and management are needed in these pressing circumstances, and they necessitate an analytical interpretation of ongoing processes, current and future challenges, and an understanding of available tools and technologies. The main sections of the book focus on challenges and management practices for global sustainability, promoting educational values, smart initiatives in urban contexts, and integrating emerging sustainability dimensions in policies and legislation. The primary audience for the work is policy makers, urban planners, social scientists, economists, NGOs, and students, researchers, and educators engaged in environmental social science and sustainability management.

This book provides an in-depth insight into the ecological perspective on a number of ongoing issues pertaining to security, the economy, the state, global environmental governance, development, and the environment. The chapters critically compare and analyze the role of global eco-politics in understanding and sorting out issues linked with climate change. Furthermore, it presents a contemporary and accessible description of why we need to embrace eco-politics in order to address the various ecological challenges that we face in the current changing climate scenario.

Environmental protection has not equally established itself as a permanent fixture in the political systems of all countries: to date, governments and entire societies have responded to environmental challenges in a variety of ways, and concrete environmental policy is still a highly national matter. Moreover, the perception of environmental problems varies considerably on a global scale. The reasons normally cited for these differences largely stem from the environmental policy debates themselves, e.g. poverty, ignorance, capital interests, etc. In contrast, this book shows that concrete environmental policy emerges from a complex interplay of mass media and political conflicts: first, the mass media provide the framework for national environmental policy through agenda-setting, framing and scandalization; second, the mass media thereby change values in the political and social discourse, e.g. by altering the perception of global commons and expanding the possibilities of interest articulation; and third, this can lead to political decision-making processes in which legal and other measures for environmental protection are enforced. The book systematically compares industrialized countries such as Germany and Japan with several rapidly emerging countries in South and Southeast Asia.

This Brief discusses the translation of global environmental norms across local contexts in France. It provides a snapshot of how global-level environmental norms travel vertically across levels of governance, from the global to the local, and asks how global environmental norms are (re)interpreted by local-level actors and translated to a particular local context. Chapters focus on three in-depth case studies, each involving multi-stakeholder environmental governance: (1) the Cerbère-Banyuls Marine Nature Reserve, (2) the Thau Fisheries Local Action Group (FLAG), and (3) the Biovallée biodistrict. In each of these cases, the author assesses how twilight norms are used to frame, promote, and generally develop a local discourse that centers on environmental conservation and sustainability. By combining concepts from the literature on norm localization with processes from the literature on norm-based institutional change, this Brief will generate new insights on the dynamic aspects of norm translation. As such, it will be of interest to researchers studying environmental politics, comparative policy, governance, and norms.

This book builds on recent advances in the theory of sustainable development and links it with environmental stewardship in a dialectical manner, as envisioned by global scholars in this emerging field. Environmental stewardship deals with practical issues of ecosystem management and governance to address changes in socio-ecological systems to sustain the supply and availability of ecosystem services by society. It means reducing our total footprint on the planet, not just carbon footprint. Truly global in scope, this volume is a humble offering of more than 12 scholars and practitioners from around the world to the exciting adventure of sustainable development and eco-stewardship. Featuring topics such as climate change, organizational sustainability, green innovation, and urban governance, this book is useful for policy makers, managers of NGOs, and sustainability researchers in developing engaging strategies for a more sustainable planet.

Environmental planning is the integrated analysis and assessment of the surroundings environmental information into the planning process for development and is concerned with the protection and enhancement of environmental systems while meeting demands for growth and development. The process involves a systematic evaluation of socio-economic, political, and administrative factors affecting the natural ecosystem to promote environmentally sound development and management of natural resources. This process may be applicable at the local, state, federal and international levels. This book, divided into 10 chapters, provides the reader with a detailed account of the multi-faceted and interdisciplinary aspects of environmental planning.

The water policy issues are well- documented in a large set of reports and studies, completed over time showing that the policy prescription and its implementation has been weak in the past as this book reveals. The key reforms initiated were lost due to a lack of government's will and commitment and more so by pervasive political economy of water. Given this background, each chapter in the book follows a balanced approach in seeking and evaluating alternate solutions to water management issues, especially improvements in water governance and tackling new challenges emerging from the climate change in the short and long term. This approach underpins the importance of moving from the culture of piloting projects to actual implementation on an impact-oriented scale. The book would also highlight that most of the water solutions lie outside the water sector such as agriculture, population, economy, etc. Post COVID-19 policies are exploring new food-health nexus that calls for naturebased solutions for our future agriculture growth. The book would show case pioneer work underway in Pakistan on how new policy discourse can reduce water use in agriculture without investing in expensive water technology and infrastructure, thus saving enough water for other competing purposes.

This book explores the leadership of state and federal environmental agencies and local environmental groups in restoring the degraded rivers that flow into North America's Great Lakes and other sites in the northeastern industrial corridor of the US. Robinson examines twenty of the forty-eight sites included in the Areas of Concern Program of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between Canada and the US. These twenty include heavily urbanized locales such as those along the River Rouge and Detroit River, but also more pristine locales such as the St. Louis River that flows through Duluth. Additionally, Robinson examines challenging river restorations within the northeastern industrial corridor which are led by effective local environmental advocacy organizations: the Penobscot Nation of Indigenous People, the Mystic River Watershed Association, and the Housatonic River Valley Association. All of these river restorations are led and managed by the environmental experts of (i) state and federal agencies, (ii) academia, and (iii) environmental NGOs. Local restorations of industrially degraded water bodies now compose a significant segment of the environmental movement and, ultimately, Robinson demonstrates that local environmental advocacy organizations can help marshal state and local funding for those efforts.

This open access book documents myriads of ways community-based climate change adaptation and resilience programs are being implemented in South Asian countries. The narrative style of writing in this volume makes it accessible to a diverse audience from academics and researchers to practitioners in various governmental, non-governmental and international agencies. At a time when climate change presents humanity with a gloomy future, the stories of innovation, creativity, grassroots engagement and locally applicable solutions highlighted in this book provides insights into hopeful ways of approaching climate solutions. South Asian countries have been dealing with the impact of climate change for decades and thus offer valuable learning opportunities for developing countries within and beyond the region as well as many western countries that are confronting the wrath of climate induced natural disasters more recently.SANDEE has been a pioneer in the developmentof research and training in environmental economics and related issues in South Asia and Prof Maler has been throughout SANDEE's history, its mentor, and its strongest supporter. Many young economists in South Asia have significantly benefited from Prof Maler's guidance and inputs. The present volume on “Climate Change and Community Resilience: Insights from South Asia” is a fitting tribute and an excellent reflection of Prof Maler's contributions to the SANDEE programme throughout his association.- Mahesh Banskota, Professor, Development Studies, School of Arts, Kathmandu UniversityThis comprehensive volume aptly identifies grassroots initiatives as the core of the problem of adaptation to climate change. The analysis of the different experiments is lucid, inclusive, and full of interesting detail. The methodologies used and the subjects covered span a range of frameworks and narratives. Put together, the studies are a fitting tribute to Karl-GoranMaler, who spent years putting his impeccable expertise to use for the cause of enhancing research in South Asia.- Kanchan Chopra, Former Director and Professor, Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi, and Fellow, SANDEEThe slow international policy response to climate change elevates the importance of understanding how communities can respond to climate change's many threats. This unusually accessible volume provides that understanding for South Asia while being relevant to the rest of the world. Its emphasis on research by scholars from the region makes it a wonderful tribute to Prof. Karl-Göran Mäler, who contributed so much to the growth of environmental economics research capacity in South Asia.- Jeffrey R. Vincent, Clarence F. Korstian Professor of Forest Economics & Management, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, USA

Reviewing over 50 years of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) policy-making and implementation around the world, this thought-provoking Handbook provides a comprehensive overview of the current research surrounding EIA. Presenting new trends in law and policy-making, it highlights best practices in the application of technology to impact prediction and management, procedural efficiency, decision-making and public participation. In addition to explaining the practicalities of the EIA process, chapters delve deep into EIA's decision-making stages and methods, revealing the causes of, and solutions to, recurrent issues. Contributions from leading scholars analyse case studies from Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, and North and South America to provide a truly global picture of EIA implementation. Critically examining the laws, policies and procedures involved in these case studies, this Handbook concludes by highlighting new ideas, trends and methods in the field. With a global scope, the illustrative case studies and critical evaluations will prove a useful resource for students and scholars of environmental and management studies and law. Exploring how to implement best practices, it will prove invaluable to EIA practitioners, including consultants, developers and regulators, offering inspiration and guidance for policy reforms.

The book is an edited collection of contributions by a distinguished international panel of academics on the main scientific, juridical, and economic aspects involved in the mitigation and adaptation processes imposed by climate change. Explicitly interdisciplinary, the book transversally cuts through different disciplines offering an outline of a phenomenon that is too often left to specific and sectorial insights. The volume is divided into four parts. The first part introduces the main concepts of the book: climate change and sustainability, wellbeing, and mitigation and adaptation. The second part presents the scientific understanding of climate change and explores some of the more pressing issues driving policy development, such as the melting of the glaciers and the impact on coastal areas. The third part discusses significant experiences in the environmental policies both in the European Union and in the United States of America. The last section explains possible approaches to climate change, by exploring the legal and economic aspects of both adversarial and more lenient approaches towards a more sustainable world. It faces four main issues in the economic and juridical context: consumer behaviors, climate litigations, environmental litigations and the alternative forms of dispute resolution on environmental matters, with particular regard to environmental mediation. Offering a new vision of sustainable policies, this volume will be of interest to researchers and students of environmental policy, resource economics, environmental law, sustainable development, and public administration, as well as practitioners and policy makers working in related areas.

This book records the press release of Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People's Republic of China in 2020. It is divided into three parts chronologically. The first part contains the records of Minister Huang Runqiu‘s attendance at the press conference of the National People's Congress and the Chinese Political Consultative Conference as well as the'Minister Channel'. The second part contains the records of four press conferences on ecological and environmental protection held by the State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China. The third part contains the records of 12 regular press conferences held by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People's Republic of China.

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.

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.

This open access book is based on the research outputs of China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) in 2020. It covers major topics of Chinese and international attention regarding green development, such as climate, biodiversity, ocean, BRI, urbanization, sustainable production and consumption, technology, finance, value chain, and so on. It also looks at the progress of China's environmental and development policies，and the impacts from CCICED. This is a highly informative and carefully presented book, providing insight for policy makers in environmental issues.

Die Autorin analysiert die gesellschaftlichen Auseinandersetzungen um den frühen Implementierungsversuch einer Carbon Dioxide Removal Technologie. Diese Maßnahmen sind vom Weltklimarat als ein Baustein zur Eindämmung des Klimawandels anerkannt. Die EU setzte eine solche Technologie, Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), bereits im Jahr 2009 auf die politische Agenda der Mitgliedstaaten. Die Arbeit untersucht die restriktive Regulierung der Kohlendioxidabscheidung und –speicherung in Deutschland, die im journalistisch-öffentlichen Diskurs auch als gescheitert dargestellt wird. Statt die (fehlende) öffentliche Akzeptanz von CCS zu erklären, untersucht die Arbeit die gesellschaftliche Politisierung des Technologie-Sets. Auf der Grundlage von Theorieansätzen der Science and Technology Studies werden die Deutungsrahmen von Interessengruppen auf Bundesebene analysiert. Die Inhaltsanalyse, der öffentlichen Dokumente von Gesellschaftsakteuren im Kontext des Gesetzgebungsverfahrens (2009-2012), zeigt die Verknüpfung von Carbon Capture and Storage und bestehenden soziotechnischen Systemen sowie deren gesellschaftspolitische Kontexte. Die qualitative Analyse behandelt ein vergangenes Beispiel einer umstrittenen technologischen Intervention. Dies ist zugleich zukunftsweisend, da nachträgliche Methoden der CO2-Entnahme aktuell im Zusammenhang von sog. unvermeidbaren Restemissionen erneut diskutiert werden.

This book provides a comprehensive study of the notion of responsibility in environmental governance. It starts with the observation that, although the rhetoric of responsibility is indeed all-pervasive in environmental and sustainability-related fields, decisive political action is still lacking. Governance architectures increasingly strive to hold different stakeholders responsible by installing accountability and transparency mechanisms to manage environmental problems, yet the structural background conditions affecting these issues continue to generate unevenly distributed, socially unjust, and ecologically devastating consequences. Responsibility in Environmental Governance develops the concept of responsibility as an analytical approach to map and understand these dynamics and to situate diverse meanings of responsibility within larger socio-political contexts. It applies this approach to the study of food waste governance, uncovering a narrow governance focus on accountability, optimization, and consumer behavior change strategies, opening up spaces for organizing more democratic solutions to a truly global problem.

This volume sheds light on urban resilience strategies in times of climate emergency and social and economic crisis by reflecting on related social vulnerabilities and inequalities within cities and showing the potential of participatory governance approaches for socio-environmental transformation. The book compiles critical research documenting the articulation of urban resilience strategies dealing with climatic changes, as well as the understanding of the unexpected implications of top-down resilience plans to address the impacts of climate change in cities, especially on the most vulnerable urban populations, and the transformative capacities of bottom-up and socially innovative resilience strategies. The book especially focuses on co-produced and grassroots transformative processes that are concerned with social equity in urban planning for climate change. Although several publications cover the topic of urban resilience, this book provides a more nuanced exploration of urban climate governance and citizen engagement in urban climate resilience policies through the lenses of political ecology, environmental justice and co-production. In this regard, the volume moves beyond the approach of multilevel urban climate governance by critically addressing the unexpected impacts of top-down strategies of urban resilience with the goal of expanding the reflection on citizen engagement. The book also explores the emerging possibilities behind the co-production of urban resilience as well as the critical role of grassroots and citizens in promoting such alternative strategies. While the primary target audience is scholars from different disciplines (e.g. geography, urban studies, planning, political ecology, architecture, urban sociology, environmental studies) focusing on urban resilience, the editors also aim to reach urban resilience practitioners from local, national and international organisations as well as environmental grassroots and climate activists.

Pluralism in Ecosystem Governance, Volume 66 in the Advances in Ecological Research series, highlights new advances in the field, with this release including chapters on An exploration of the effects of political pluralism on decision making for sustainability: Implications for membership on public sector boards, Transdisciplinary agroecological research on biodiversity and ecosystem services for sustainable and climate resilient farming systems in Malawi, Pluralistic approaches in research advance farming and freshwater sustainability efforts in the Great Lakes Basin, Pluralism to manage the complexity of ecosystem services co-production, Of green spaces and gray areas: An Ethnography of Ecosystem Governance in Peri-Urban Bangaluru, India, and more. Additional chapters include Charting Evidence-based Biodiversity Pathways for Sustainable Development in Canada, Community-scientist collaboration in the creation, management and research for two new National Wildlife Areas in Arctic Canada, Rigid social-ecological governance: how discourse inertia has limited pluralism in Doñana, and a variety of other topics. Provides the authority and expertise of leading contributors from an international board of authors Presents the latest release in the Advances in Ecological Research series Updated release includes the latest information on Pluralism in Economic Governance

As we witness a series of social, political, cultural, and economic changes/disruptions this book examines the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the way emerging technologies are impacting our lives and changing society.The Fourth Industrial Revolution is characterised by the emergence of new technologies that are blurring the boundaries between the physical, the digital, and the biological worlds. This book allows readers to explore how these technologies will impact peoples'lives by 2030. It helps readers to not only better understand the use and implications of emerging technologies, but also to imagine how their individual life will be shaped by them. The book provides an opportunity to see the great potential but also the threats and challenges presented by the emerging technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, posing questions for the reader to think about what future they want. Emerging technologies, such as robotics, artificial intelligence, big data and analytics, cloud computing, nanotechnology, biotechnology, the Internet of Things, fifth-generation wireless technologies (5G), and fully autonomous vehicles, among others, will have a significant impact on every aspect of our lives, as such this book looks at their potential impact in the entire spectrum of daily life, including home life, travel, education and work, health, entertainment and social life. Providing an indication of what the world might look like in 2030, this book is essential reading for students, scholars, professionals, and policymakers interested in the nexus between emerging technologies and sustainable development, politics and society, and global governance.

Big Earth Data in Support of the Sustainable Development Goals (2021): China showcases the innovative practice of applying Big Earth Data to the monitoring and evaluating indicators for six SDGs, i.e., SDG 2 Zero Hunger, SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation, SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG 13 Climate Action, SDG14 Life below Water, SDG 15 Life on Land, and the analysis of the interactions among multiple SDG indicators. It presents 52 case studies on 27 targets. The report showcases the results of research, monitoring, and evaluation of SDGs and their indicators at two scales-local, national-totalling 36 data products, 25 methods and models, and 41 decision-support recommendations. These research results demonstrate China's exploration and practice in promoting the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through scientific and technological innovation, fully reveal the application value and broad prospects of Earth's big data technology in monitoring and evaluating the sustainable development goals, and open up new ways and methods to support the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through the use of advanced technologies and methods such as big data and artificial intelligence under the framework of the UN technology promotion mechanism. It can provide reference for countries to strengthen the implementation monitoring and evaluation of the agenda.This report can be read by researchers in related fields and decision makers in relevant national departments.

Big Earth Data in Support of the Sustainable Development Goals (2021): The Belt and Road showcases the innovative practice of applying Big Earth Data to the monitoring and evaluating indicators for six SDGs,i.c., SDG 2 Zero Hunger, SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation, SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG 13 Climate Action, SDG14 Life below Water, SDG 15 Life on Land, and the analysis of the interactions among multiple SDG indicators. It presents 42 case studies on 22 targets relevant to countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative. The report showcases the results of research, monitoring, and evaluation of SDGs and their indicators at four scales--local, national, regional, and global--totalling 37 data products, 19 methods and models, and 32 decision-support recommendations. These research results demonstrate China's exploration and practice in promoting the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through scientific and technological innovation, fully reveal the application value and broad prospects of Earth's big data technology in monitoring and evaluating the sustainable development goals, and open up new ways and methods to support the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through the use of advanced technologies and methods such as big data and artificial intelligence under the framework of the UN technology promotion mechanism. It can provide reference for countries to strengthen the implementation monitoring and evaluation of the agenda.This report can be read by researchers in related fields and decision makers in relevant national departments..

The multidisciplinary edited book Visions and Strategies for a Sustainable Economy: Theoretical and Policy Alternatives provides a thorough examination – at the theoretical and, especially, policy levels – of a number of key topics related to a sustainable economy and a better society. With important contributions by distinguished academics, the book presents alternative views, provides an assessment of contemporary realities in an era of ecological emergency, and offers visions, strategies, and realistic policies towards a better economy and society while paying special attention to a “green new deal” for different areas.

This book will serve as a ready reckoner of contemporary information regarding municipal solid waste landfill biomining, treatment of landfill leachate and heavy metals in a single platform. The academicians, researchers, and students at master's and doctoral levels will be able to understand the current trends in municipal solid waste landfill operations, which will help in augmenting their research. Construction of new landfills requires huge monetary investments, which can be avoided if old landfills were bio-mined for resources and the space can be re-used as new landfills. Landfill leachate is a hazardous waste which needs proper treatment that could generate value-added products such as clean energy and biofertilizers. In this book, each chapter would provide the background, methodology, and relevant calculations for sustaining landfill operations. Also, the case studies based on best practices in municipal solid waste landfilling are discussed in this book.

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.

This book will provide a comprehensive discussion of groundwater sustainability, including what it is, how its definition has changed over time, why traditional assessments of it are wrong, how assessments of it are ideally multidisciplinary efforts recognizing that policy is more controlling of outcomes than science, and why achieving it is difficult once pumping exceeds sustainable levels of pumping. The book will provide a nontechnical background of hydrogeology relevant to groundwater sustainability and present several case studies from around the United States and the world. The book has been designed to appeal to academics, students, and practitioners. Academics, particularly those just getting into the subject, will find the book a useful entry in terms of management concepts and political realities of attempting to achieve groundwater sustainability. It will also be useful to academics in that the book will include discussions on the history and development of groundwater sustainability and the practical aspects of aspiring to and achieving sustainable production. Although not a textbook, the book could be used as the basis for teaching a course or as a supplement to a hydrogeology or groundwater management class. Accordingly, the book will include questions and additional reading materials at the end of each chapter. This book will also be useful to practitioners through non-technical explanations of the sciences, discussions of the nuances of defining sustainability in aquifers, and the presentation of case studies where sustainable management has failed and succeeded.

This book examines the pathways to decarbonising African cities, structured around strategies and applications in renewable energy, waste management, healthcare, telecommunication, education and governance reconfigurations for Petro-cities. Throughout the book the authors highlight infrastructural, governance and policy approaches to drive decarbonisation. Opening with chapters focused on propositions for solar urban planning and scope for decarbonisation in waste management the book then moves on to examine innovative strategies for a low-carbon healthcare sector. The authors then discuss the use of hybrid power systems at remote telecommunication sites, their deployment on university campuses, and how this can be optimised to reduce carbon emissions. Further chapters explore government, private sector and civil society actions for decarbonising Kenyan cities and an overview of the political economic choices for decarbonising Petro-cities. Finally, closing chapters propose mechanisms for translating COP26 takeaways to decarbonisation policies and a low-carbon framework for African cities.

This book presents the background and context of an urban health issue, research findings, and recommendations for policy/decision-makers and action-takers. This book is a collection of policy briefs produced from research presented at the 16th Conference on Urban Health in Xiamen, China, during November 4–8, 2019, under the theme “People Oriented Urbanisation: Transforming Cities for Health and Well-Being,” co-organized by the Urban Health and Wellbeing (UHWB) programme of the International Science Council (ISC), The 15th Annual Session of Global Forum on Human Settlements in Shenzhen, China, during October 15–16, 2020, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences & Technology (CAST) International Conference on'Digital economy and green development'held during November 2020. The UHWB programme takes an interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral, and systemic view on issues of health and well-being in cities which include the urban economy and finance systems, education, employment, mobility and transport, food, energy and water resources, access to public services, urban planning, public spaces and urban green, as well as social inclusion. Contributions to this book have been made by scientists from multidisciplinary research fields. The policy briefs in this book provide an interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral perspective on urban health and human well-being issues, primarily food security, urban infrastructure, public services, traffic and transportation, smart city building, urban health and safety, social cohesion sustainable development policies, and urban planning. In some case, it informs about urban health issues in different regions of the world, the current status, and key insights into addressing related issues, with emphasis on factual cases in the current COVID-19 pandemic. The book is intended for citizens and political decision-makers, who are interested in systems perspectives on urban health and well-being, examples ofhow to deal with the increasing complexity of cities and the accompanying environmental and social impacts of increasing urbanization. Furthermore, it hopes to inspire decision-makers to facilitate finding solutions, in order to reach the goal of advancing global urban health and well-being.

In this comprehensive Handbook, scholars from across the globe explore the relationships between workers and nature in the context of the environmental crises. They provide an invaluable overview of a fast-growing research field that bridges the social and natural sciences. Chapters provide detailed perspectives of environmental labour studies, environmental struggles of workers, indigenous peoples, farmers and commoners in the Global South and North. The relations within and between organisations that hinder or promote environmental strategies are analysed, including the relations between workers and environmental organisations, NGOs, feminist and community movements.

This book introduces the press release work carried out by Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People's Republic of China in 2019. It is divided into four parts, each arranged chronologically. The first part contains the records of Li Ganjie, Minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, who attended the press conference on'Promoting Ecological Civilization and Building a Beautiful China'. The second part contains the records of Minister Li Ganjie's attendance at the press conference of the National People's Congress and the Chinese Political Consultative Conference as well as the'Minister channel'. The third part contains the records of four press conferences on ecological and environmental protection held by the State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China. The fourth part contains the records of 12 regular press conferences held by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

This book offers a conceptual framework for the critical understanding of the present socio-environmental conflicts. It reflects on the evolution of subject and thought, a shift in environmental thinking triggered by the development of eco-territorial conflicts and the social responses given to the environmental question. Bringing together 40 years of the authors writing and research, the book explores the transition from ecological economics and historical materialism to ecological Marxism. It unpacks the forging of political ecology from value theory in political economy, to ecological distribution and ecologies of difference; a transition to an environmental rationality grounded in the ontology of diversity, a politics of difference and an ethics of otherness. This evolution in thinking gives consistency to a theoretical discourse able to respond to the territorial conflicts generated by the radicalization of the environmental question as a key social issue of our times. The bookis a call to respond to the urgent challenge of reversing the tendency towards the entropic death of the planet and to building a sustainable world order.

This book features a comprehensive analysis of the development of shale gas resources in China, with a focus on the potential environmental impacts that may result. China has the world's largest shale gas resources, which it is keen to develop to alleviate air pollution and successfully transition to a low-carbon energy future. However, one significant obstacle standing between the ambition and reality is the potentially serious environmental impacts of shale gas production. This book offers a systematic assessment of these potential impacts, including the risk of water contamination, ecological disruption due to the huge consumption of water and methane leakage. It presents valuable first-hand data collected from the authors'fieldwork in Sichuan and Chongqing and the latest information on China's current shale gas operations and also includes a set of models and methods developed to quantify the impacts. It allows readers to gain a deeper understanding of environmental regulatory management systems regarding shale gas production in China by examining whether the existing monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) systems and environmental regulations can effectively prevent adverse impacts from shale gas production. Providing a detailed study of shale gas development in China based on an unprecedented primary dataset, the book is a valuable resource for scholars, engineers and students who are interested in the energy development and environmental risks.

This book provides a detailed treatment of the ecological, economic and social impacts in the context of environmental impact assessment (EIA) and makes clear the necessary link between EIA and the sustainability principles of protecting biodiversity, risk aversion, and inter and intra-generational equity. It proposes that the benefits and costs of a project need to be weighted according to who bears them, giving particular attention to the planet's poor. Furthermore, this book presents a comprehensive analysis of environmental offsetting which has come to be commonly resorted to when negative impacts cannot be mitigated. In this context, the book argues that offsetting is only viable if advanced offsets are quarantined through a Strategic Environmental Impact approach. Finally, the book explores the role of the various disciplines which need to be mastered in undertaking an EIA.This book takes you on a journey from the beginning of environmental impact assessment to the present day. It is a scholarly warts and all study. For each trial and tribulation, Hundloe presents a remedy. It is essential reading and an invaluable reference for environmental practitioners, politicians, policy makers, academics and, the most important group, future environmental practitioners.

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.