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This book focuses on documenting and understanding the nature of environmental changes observed by indigenous residents of the Arctic. Common themes include increasing variability and unpredictability of the weather and seasonal climatic patterns, as well as changes in the sea ice and the health of wildlife. Nine papers focus on these changes, their impact on indigenous communities, the growing collaboration between communities and environmental researchers, and utilization of findings in community workshops and school classes. Chapters are: "These Are Things That Are Really Happening: Inuit Perspectives on the Evidence and Impacts of Climate Change in Nunavut" (Shari Fox); "Community Contributions to Ecological Monitoring: Knowledge Co-Production in the U.S.-Canada Arctic Borderlands" (Gary Kofinas); "We Can't Predict the Weather Like We Used to: "Inuvialuit Observations of Climate Change, Sachs Harbour, Western Canadian Arctic" (Dyanna Jolly, Fikret Berkes, Jennifer Castleden, Theresa Nichols); "Coastal Sea Ice Watch: Private Confessions of a Convert to Indigenous Knowledge" (David W. Norton); "Watching Ice and Weather Our Way: Some Lessons from Yupik Observations of Sea Ice and Weather on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska" (Igor Krupnik); "Nowadays It Is Not the Same: Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit, Climate and Caribou in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut, Canada" (Natasha Thorpe, Sandra Eyegetok, Naikak Hakongak); "Travelling with Fred George: The Changing Ways of Yup'ik Star Navigation in Akiachak, Western Alaska" (Claudette Bradley); "Climate Change and Health in Nunavik and Labrador: Lessons from Inuit Knowledge" (Christopher M. Furgal, Daniel Martin, Pierre Gosselin); "Putting the Human Face on Climate Change through Community Workshops: Inuit Knowledge, Partnerships, and Research" (Scot Nickels, Christopher Furgal, Jennifer Castleden, Pitseolalaq Moss-Davies, Mark Buell, Barbara Armstrong, Diane Dillon, Robin Fonger); and "Epilogue: Making Sense of Arctic Environmental Change?" (Fikret Berkes). The appendix, "Indigenous Views on Climate Change: A Circumpolar Perspective" (Tero Mustonen), describes Snowchange, a multi-year education-oriented project to document indigenous observations of climate change in northern Finland. (Contains references in each paper, data tables, maps and figures, and photographs.) (SV)

This paper proposes reflexive mitigation as an ecologically effective insurance system response to dangerous anthropogenic climate change. Reflexive mitigation is an adaptive approach to mitigating climate change recognizing (1) atmospheric CO2e concentrations consistent with Earth system stability will vary over time in response to changes in the Earth system and the global economy, and in the relationship between them; and (2) relationships between the Earth system, the economy and the insurance system are evolving, and therefore understanding of them is necessarily incomplete. The paper presents a complex adaptive systems approach to anthropogenic climate change and demonstrates that the Earth system, the global economy and the insurance system are connected social–ecological systems. Current insurance system responses to anthropogenic climate change are generally adaptive and weakly mitigative rather than strongly mitigative. The paper argues successful insurance system adaptation to anthropogenic climate change depends on returning the climate to a stable, familiar and relatively predictable state: effective mitigation is therefore a necessary precondition for successful longer-term insurance system adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is one of the greatest social and economic challenges today. It is a global problem which needs a global solution and for this each country has to play its part in reaching that global solution through local actions. Adverse weather conditions are impacting the society on all fronts, be it food, habitat, livelihood, or income. There is an urgent need to take into consideration input from all segments of society. This paper deals with one such segment: the indigenous communities who have the vast potential to adapt in response to climate change. The paper deals with a general review of the efforts of indigenous communities across Asia with a specialized focus on the capacity of indigenous communities in India in combating climate change. The recognition that many environmental problems are local in nature is a rationale behind including the indigenous communities in addressing this global issue. These communities constitute an insignificant percentage of the global population and their contribution to the greenhouse gas emissions is minimal. A collaboration between these communities and the climate scientists could evolve solutions which go beyond the need to mitigate emissions and development of clean development mechanisms. Presenting a holistic approach of the indigenous communities in coping with climate change, the paper provides an input to the policy makers on including the views of stakeholders from this sector to deal with the local needs and adopt a balanced approach between adaptation and mitigation strategies. It also gives an insight to the general public into more alternatives to climate change solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using Open Systems Theory's comprehensive, internally consistent conceptual framework, this paper analyses the world's inadequate response to increasing anthropogenic global warming. The full diagnosis involves a motivation deficit born of a cultural malaise that has its roots in the industrial revolution and later, in the failure of the wave of social change in the 1960–1970s, that wave which precipitated a backlash from elites. The third major element is a pernicious economic system based on dysfunctional values where the planet has no intrinsic value. At the heart of the diagnosis lies the first genotypical, organizational design principle which produces hierarchies of dominance, of one person over another, and of people over the planet. The paper describes a plan to cure the motivation disease in Australia which can be adjusted for any country's circumstances. It shows the logistics and design of the two-stage model, Search Conference plus Participative Design workshop, applied across the country such that the people of every region would participate in ˵The Future of Australia,″ taking climate change into account. The design would revitalize communities, organizations and individuals. The paper also outlines how the United Nations would successfully deal with climate change if it functioned as an organization built on the second design principle, a non-dominant hierarchy based on collective work and negotiations between peers. Finally, it provides some data on why the designs would work. The scope of the paper limits consideration of the economic changes required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is an attempt to assess the impacts of climate change on the livelihoods of coastal people in the south-western part of Bangladesh. This study has been conducted by using quantitative method with semi-structured interview questionnaire for data collection in purposive manner. The paper examines the impacts of climate change on agricultural productivities, food securities and institutional challenges that the coastal people face. This paper finds that the frequency and severity of natural disasters have increased in recent years, that threat on food securities by inundating low agriculture land, restricting economic activities, decreasing employment opportunities, expanding different health diseases, destructing houses, crops and other infrastructures in Bangladesh. The findings indicate that the most climate change induced vulnerable and risky people are women, children, elderly and disabled people as they cannot easily cope with the unfavorable environment during disasters. There has not been conducted much empirical research about the impacts of climate change, so policy makers can get comprehensive view about this concern by this study and implement policy for the survival of the climate change induced affected coastal people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is widely recognized that although climate change impacts will affect all countries, marginalized communities in the South will be disproportionally affected. Poor people in the developing world have limited capacity to cope and adapt, and are highly dependent on climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture, forestry, and fisheries. The Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP) is strengthening communities and working with civil society to respond to climate change while addressing their pressing development needs. Communities can act on global climate change concerns through the application of local solutions that generate local benefits. GEF SGP is the delivery mechanism by which the GEF and UNDP support the implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at the community level. Much planning and policy making on addressing the adverse effects of climate change is based on ˵top-down″ assessments (such as modelling data, economic assessments, National Communications, and National Adaptation Programmes of Action), which provide relevant macro-level guidance; however, this can significantly benefit from bottom-up governance. The paper will provide case studies on how empowerment of local communities provides critical guidance to national planning and policy making and consequently ensures calibration and relevance to end beneficiaries. The paper will show how local communities can be in the driver΄s seat to leverage systemic policy changes at a national level, thereby accelerating the pace of change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Africa contains about one-fifth of all known species of plants, mammals, and birds, as well as one-sixth of amphibians and reptiles. These species make up some of the world΄s most diverse and biologically important ecosystems, such as savannahs, tropical forests, coral reef marines and freshwater habitats, wetlands, and montane ecosystems. These globally important ecosystems provide the economic foundation that many Africa countries rely on, by providing water, food, and shelter. However, because of climate change, these ecosystems and the livelihoods that depend on them are threatened. The aim of this paper is to highlight some of the major impacts of climate change on conservation for East African countries including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda. As this paper illustrates, climate change in Africa is not only a conservation problem, but a socio-economic issue that must be dealt with on a global scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is an issue that cuts across several policy domains, from the environment to transport, industry, agriculture, and health, among others. It follows that responses to climate change need to cut across the various policy fields also. The phenomenon of incorporating or mainstreaming climate policy into other policy fields is often termed ˵climate policy integration″, and it is a policy requirement that has not yet been extensively explored, especially at EU level. With the agreement on the EU΄s integrated climate and energy package in December 2008, it is clear that climate policy integration is considered important for the Union΄s strategy to combat climate change. Can it be said that climate policy integration is already in place in the EU? How can we identify climate policy integration? How can we ensure that climate policy integration is effective? The aim of this paper is to examine the extensive research already carried out on environmental policy integration (EPI) in order to draw out lessons that could help, firstly, to conceptualize climate policy integration, and, secondly, to identify a framework for analysis or a set of criteria that could aid the analysis of climate policy integration at EU level. EPI is an area of literature that rarely deals with climate policy in particular. However, its focus on policy processes, administrative structures and communication channels, for example, can provide lessons for the study and implementation of climate policy integration. This paper contributes to the development of an analytical framework for assessing and studying climate policy integration at EU level, and concludes by highlighting some areas for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is now beyond reasonable doubt that climate change is happening. The Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC AR4) concluded that even the most stringent mitigation efforts would not avoid further impacts of climate change in the next few decades. This makes adaptation essential, particularly in addressing near-term impacts. Yet mitigation also remains crucial: to rely on adaptation alone would lead to a level of climate change to which it is no longer possible to effectively adapt, or only at very high social, economic and environmental costs. Successful action on climate change therefore must include both mitigation and adaptation. For the last two decades or even more, the literature on climate change, its science, the role of human society, the physical and socio-economic impact has experienced an explosive growth and surge in research and policy analysis on ways in which technology and finance can support mitigation. Similar studies for adaptation are much more recent, and their results therefore less mature. As adaptation is deemed an urgent need, its financing issue is now at the centre of all discussions related to adaptation. Against this background, the major focus of this paper is the financing of adaptation measures in developing countries. Of course, it should be acknowledged that mere financing represents only a part of what is needed in order to adapt to climate change. But to keep the discourse limited to adaptation financing, this paper is organized into the following sections: describing the nature and scale of the adaptation challenge in developing countries, presenting the range of numbers that have been put on the table to estimate the developing countries΄ actual need for adaptation funding. Subsequently, the current status of adaptation funding – how much money is currently being channelled through the multilateral adaptation funds as well as potential bottlenecks for post-Kyoto regimes – is particularly discussed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC (2007), ˵Climate change 2007: impacts, adaptation and vulnerability″, Working Group II contribution to the fourth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK) describes warming of the climate system as ˵unequivocal″. In future, global warming will influence the frequency and severity of extreme events and in response, local councils around the world must take adaptive measures. In this paper we focus on an investment tool that relates adaptation strategies to climatic extremes for the local government jurisdiction, Ku-ring-gai Council, Australia. The impacts of climatic extremes cannot be solely viewed in terms of economic losses, but should also be considered with regard to their social and environmental implications. Bayesian inference, a method usually used in operational risk analysis is used to assess the economic cost and benefit of adaptation options. The use of this method helps in accounting for the uncertainties and absence of observations for extreme events. Economic modelling is done with selected discount rates considering the economic constraints of local councils. Social and environmental ranks for adaptation options are obtained by drawing ideas from the Delphi approach that elicits expert opinion and tries to obtain consensus in a number of iterative steps. Through this paper we introduce a method to obtain a prioritized set of adaptation options for local scale climate extreme events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global circulation models all forecast that climate change will increase mean temperatures and change precipitation regimes. As a result, traditional coffee growing regions may disappear and new regions may appear. At the same time, demand for high quality, responsibly sourced coffee continues to grow globally. For sustainable sources of coffee, participants in the global coffee supply chain need to know where coffee will grow in the future and how the suitability of these areas will change over time. With this information, the supply chain then needs to develop appropriate site-specific mitigation and adaptation strategies for both the short and the long term, to guarantee coffee supply as well as to support improved livelihoods for rural communities. In this paper, we firstly quantify the impact of climate change on the suitability of land to grow coffee in a case study in Nicaragua and on acidity content of beverage coffee in a case study in the Veracruz Department of Mexico. Secondly, we propose site-specific adaptation strategies and finally identify critical potential impacts of climate change on the overall supply chain and the implications for all actors in the system. We conclude the paper by identifying key directions for future research to seek mitigation and adaptation strategies at both the community and the supply-chain level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents and discusses an approach for web-based assessment and decision support using multi-criteria evaluation methodology to be integrated into an interoperable service infrastructure. The research is imbedded in the EU-funded BALANCE project, which tries to assess possible impact and vulnerability to climate change. The results will be incorporated into an Assessment and Decision Support System (ADSS) for the arctic, which shall raise awareness among stakeholders in the BALANCE study area about possible climate change impacts on their environment and way of live and support decisions concerning possible adaptation and mitigation strategies. The paper elucidates the concept of geoprocessing and service chaining with the help of a use case in the field of reindeer herding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finding out ways to support farmers' decision to adapt to climate change is a challenge for agricultural policy. Hypothesizing that awareness through learning about climate change enhances farmers' perception of and adaptation to climatic uncertainty, this paper gives an empirical evidence of the relationships between learning about climate change and farmers' perception of, and adaptation to new climate conditions. The study was conducted in northern Benin by a survey method on 336 farmers. Talking about climate change, farmers mainly perceive it based on observed changes in their daily life environment, implying from own experience. About 56 % of the farmers were also aware through learning about climate change and the most predominant vectors of climate change information (although indigenous knowledge) are neighbour farmers or farmers associations and extension services. Using the Heckman probit model built on the assumption that the perception of is a precondition for the adaptation to, the results highlighted that the main driving forces of farmers' decision to adapt to climate change are level of education and organisation membership. On the other hand, the main determinants of farmers' perception are gender, contact with extension and awareness of climate change trends. Subsequently, enhancing farmers' awareness through learning about the predicted trends of climate change is likely to strengthen their perception of and furthermore encourage their adaptation to. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to its geo-political characteristics and social and economic features, the Latin American region is considered as being among the most vulnerable ones, as far as climate change is concerned. The combination of two further important elements, namely limited access to technologies and restricted adaptation capacity, may help to explain why the region is so vulnerable and is likely to remain so, unless fundamental changes in decision-making processes are implemented. From an objective point of view, decision-making processes may play a key role in facilitating the ways countries perceive and, as importantly, manage the impacts of climate change. Yet, there is a paucity of research which looks at the extent to which the sound management of the impacts of climate change may take place, across Latin America, in a systematic way. This paper addresses this need, by discussing the extent to which individual Latin American countries handle matters related to climate change, and by illustrating a number of the problems and deficiencies which have been limiting progresses over the past two decades. It also describes some of the recent and on-going initiatives from across the region, and introduces the project CELA, an initiative to promote technology transfer on climate change by means of cooperation between universities in the European Union and Latin American nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The university system can be conceived as an institution that nurtures, trains, educates, and monitors students in the understanding of myriad bodies of knowledge about the Earth system and all other natural and human activities. With particular reference to climate change education, it also engages students in research activities as a way of learning science, understanding climate change, contributing to climate change studies and participating in several local and international workshops, seminars, and conferences. This paper focuses on how climate change projects within the university system can be used to develop and build capacities in the field of climate science. The study develops a triadic model of capacity building built around training, mentoring, and networking. A case of Assessments of Impacts and Adaptations to Climate Change (AIACC) project in sub-Saharan West Africa is used to illustrate this model. Considering the fact that many developed and developing countries are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, albeit with different intensities, it is recommended that these countries adopt this triadic model so as to increase capacity, as well as reduce their levels of vulnerabilities to climate change impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: REDD is being criticized on several fronts and thus, there is a need for an integrated, comprehensive paradigm that incorporates emissions reduction, biodiversity conservation, and community development, and is leveraged towards sustainability in forests and livelihoods rather than narrower goals such as emissions reduction or conservation. Design/methodology/approach: A SWOT analysis of REDD is conducted and based on the results of the analysis, a new framework is proposed. Findings: Although REDD has enormous potential to not just reduce emissions but also provide significant co-benefits, there has also been criticism on various fronts. A new theoretical framework with carbon, conservation, and community as the three pillars has been proposed. Originality/value: The paper proposes a new paradigm that addresses GHG emission reduction, conservation of forests and biodiversity, community livelihoods support, and valuation of environmental services provided by forests. Forests, covering one-third of the earth΄s surface, are home to more than half of the biodiversity on earth, provide multiple ecosystem services, and contribute to more than a billion livelihoods globally. However, forests have largely been mismanaged and remain one of the key challenges in international as well as national policy and governance. The dual role of forests in climate change, both as a source and sink of GHG emissions, adds to the urgency for action. Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) is being intensely discussed for its likely role in climate change mitigation. The argument had originated with avoided deforestation, subsequently broadened to REDD and is currently being discussed around REDD+, an indication that there is more to this debate than just incentivizing emissions reduction. Although REDD has enormous potential to not just reduce emissions but also provide significant co-benefits, there has also been criticism on various fronts. The author proposes the climate, community, conservation, and sustainability (C3S) paradigm which would include objectives such as GHG emissions reduction, valuation of environmental services provided by forests, conservation of forests and biodiversity, and community livelihoods support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Voluntary initiatives undertaken across private and public sectors have enabled innovative national and regional ICT practices, however fragmented and localized in scope these collaborations are. Policy proposals for an enabling environment have emerged from the voluntary actors, highlighting the need for a framework to spur adoption of carbon-friendly ICT practices. By exploring the links between ICT and climate change, this paper intends to highlight the policy gaps that exist to enable a wider use of ICT for climate change solutions. The study explores the potentials of climate change mainstreaming into global ICT policy platforms at the ITU, as it moves towards a framework regarding ICTs and climate change. A combination of supply and demand side policy analysis identified the forces that present both risk and opportunity for ITU to become a more meaningful player in this context. It was identified that ITU can enable greater coherence and catalysis among stakeholders and policy areas given the potentials across climate change mitigation, monitoring, and adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A systemic approach on the elaboration of adaptation policy systems was begun in 2008 by the approval of the Report on Adaptation to Climate Change by the Latvian Government and a new task was put forward – to elaborate national strategy on adaptation. Several examples of sectoral adaptation policies and measures are already being implemented in Latvia (flood risk assessment and management, risk management and insurance in agriculture, coastal zone management, etc.) and research is being conducted on climate change impacts. A systemic approach is required for decision-making to solve such a huge, global, and unstructured problem as climate change impacts and risks. This involves facilitating work of different partners and stakeholders involved in decision-making to reach a common basis for efficient action, normative principles, and appropriate criteria (sustainability, and others subordinated to it – precautionary measures, solidarity and cooperation, dematerialization, sustainable resource use, triple bottom line, diversification, ˵polluter pays″). This paper analyses some key aspects integral to the development of a national system of adaptation to climate change, discusses practical considerations (policies and measures) already being implemented in Latvia, and proposes a new policy design approach for more efficient elaboration and implementation of adaptation policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is a reality and forest trees are a major mitigating factor since they can sequester carbon dioxide and store carbon. Current climate change policy frameworks should address increased wood production in developing countries. The Kyoto Protocol (Article 3.3) should emphasize afforestation and reforestation while promoting increased use of wood products via wood recycling and good forest management. Sustainable forest management in Nigeria arising from global concern for climate change has led to increased afforestation programmes with the intensive taungya system and private establishment of many hectares of teak plantation in Nigeria. Ethiopia, Turkey, Kenya, and Mexico have planted 100–700 million trees under the UNEP tree planting programme initiative from 2006 to 2008. Legislation on Kyoto Protocol implementation may have to place emphasis on higher prices for trees that are to be given off (carbon trading) instead of being cut. A carbon tax incentive for tree planters will increase wood production and possible environmental protection. Those who contributed least to the atmospheric build-up of greenhouse gases are the least equipped to deal with the negative impacts; therefore, policies and issues in climate change should promote increased wood production in developing nations. The need to make policy issues in climate change to address increased wood production in developing nations is addressed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper gives a structured overview about possible contributions of psychology to the climate change debate. As a starting point, it assumes that understanding people΄s behaviour related to climate change (mitigation and adaptation) is crucial for successfully dealing with the future challenges. Climate change-related behaviour includes voting, support for climate lobbyists, individual consumption, adapting new technology, and taking adaptive actions. A framework model is presented that assumes the following psychological processes to be relevant for people΄s climate related behaviour (1) experiencing climate change, (2) developing an understanding for climate change, (3) building up knowledge about climate change, (4) emotionally reacting to climate change, (5) the perception of risk, (6) making behavioural decisions, and (7) evaluating behavioural outcomes. Based on psychological theory and empirical findings, it is argued that climate change possesses certain features that make it hard for laypeople to develop an understanding, build correct knowledge, and react emotionally. Furthermore, explanations are presented for why the risk of climate change has a rather low perception among laypeople, and what possible factors there are that interfere with individual mitigation and adaptation. Finally, based on the presented findings, suggestions for climate policy are made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper reports the undertaking of the authors, starting in the mid-1980s, to reestablish mangroves on the dry side of the Isla Margarita, Venezuela together with landscape engineers for the benefit of a new hotel complex. The preparation of the site and the planting of four different mangrove species, Rhizophora mangle, Avicennia nitida, Laguncularia racemosa and Conocarpus erectus is described. The success of the plantation 10 years after the plantation is shown. It demonstrates that mangroves can be planted in locations outside their natural habitats if the ecological conditions for its establishment can be generated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper summarizes the most important reasons for the shortage of drinking water. The shortage of freshwater is mainly caused by the increase of water consumption for the human population and their domestic animals. There are additional shortages generated by the salinisation of irrigated soils and the climate changes causing the extension of dry regions. This is especially true for the southern tropical hemisphere. The work reported in this paper focusses on the use of saline water for the irrigation of halophytes in desert regions of the world. It discusses physiological and ecological problems, which arise with greenifi cation of landscapes and the management of salt tolerant crops by reutilisating drainage and waste water. Several examples are presented to explain the circumstances under which halophytes can be utilisated. The physiology as well as the ecology of these species are discussed for some species. These examples are selected from a large number of halophytic species for which we have enough information that we could start with them large production systems. Physiological and genomic works with halophytes are also valuable for research and development of glycophytic crops. The improvement of salinity tolerance involves work on several genes because of functional as well as structural elements are important for salinity tolerance of plants. Until these problems are solved halophytes will contribute to eleviate the water crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since our Internet presentation of different possibilities during the EXPO 2000 to use halophytes in a sustainable manner (Lieth and Mochtchenko 2003) has biological research and development added major fields and methods to our study goals. The major fields not covered by the former European group of halophyte researchers were the field of genomics and the extended analyses of vegetation properties from satellite remote sensing. We needed to add these in several presentations on international conferences during the past few years to our previously developed concepts for establishing sustainable systems of halophyte utilisation (see in Kafi et al. eds. 2007). One concept is included in papers by Koyro et al. and Lieth in this volume. Starting from these concepts we want to discuss the future research needed in Venezuela to compare the major problems here with the problems and research results in other regions of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the chapters following this introductory presentation are the topics of the papers briefly highlighted, especially the topics which newly entered the discussion of halophyte research like genomics and remote sensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The consequences of a globalisation of trade and climate change present an increased threat from first-entry pests and a challenge to plant health authorities. In this paper, pest reporting for the continents of Africa and Europe are discussed, and argued as a barometer of effective Plant Pest Diagnostic Services (PPDS) in terms of human capacity, infrastructure and policy-culture for phytosanitary issues. To illustrate particular areas of concern, case studies are presented on recent pest events which include outbreaks of Ralstonia solanacearum on Pelargonium, Xanthomonas campestris pv. musacearum on banana (banana Xanthomonas wilt) and Puccinia graminis f.sp. tritici race Ug99 on wheat (black stem rust). Examples are given of some recent initiatives to invigorate diagnostic capacity in East Africa, spanning state-of-the-art centres of excellence, traditional capacity building and networking projects, and grass-root level 'going-public' pest surveillance initiatives. Discussion is presented on the provision of PPDS and the impact of technology, institutional factors, the private sector, accreditation of services and policy. Emphasis is placed on the role of PPDS in support of regulatory policy. In recognising the precarious nature of many African cropping systems, the argument is made for a more consolidated approach to PPDS in and for Africa. The paper is presented from the perspective of European practitioners in pest diagnostic and risk analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public service agencies are increasingly expected to adapt effectively and respond to dynamic and discontinuous changes in their external environments. Organisational culture is often presented as a strong determinant of both adaptation and responsiveness. In this paper, we provide a descriptive analysis of this claim. We base the paper on the view that agencies involved in managing the use of ecosystems have strong organisational cultures partly because of their origins, which are rooted in certain ethical and moral precepts. We suggest examining assumptions — the core of organisational culture — as a critical starting point in seeking adaptation, responsiveness and managing for change in such agencies. Explicit analysis of assumptions is critical for securing support for, and reducing prospects of resistance to change. The examination of assumptions also has an important role in harmonising the goals of society, science and government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a simultaneous equations model that provides a computationally efficient framework for computing long term, policy-dependent projections of global climate change. As part of our formulation, we explore the dynamic properties and numerical stability of the coupled system. We illustrate the framework with a numerical case study that utilizes the coupled system to compute projections of global-mean surface temperature change for three global carbon emissions control strategies. As part of our analysis, we explore the system's sensitivity to changes in the numerical specification of two key scientific uncertainties concerning the global climate system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper overviews the monitoring of surface water flow and storage using satellites. The overview is cast in the context of surface water-related problems of Bangladesh and South Asia. The paper then provides a basic introduction of a planned space-borne mission for surface water called SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography) mission suggested for launch in 2015. The opportunities offered by SWOT for enhancing the capacity for flood hazards monitoring and adaptation to climate change for Bangladesh are also overviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the impacts of aviation on global climate change, and shows attempts by the aviation industry to mitigate those impacts by means of alternative fuels. Special respect in this paper is given to the use of hydrogen as aviation fuel. Examples of practical and theoretical research projects on the application of hydrogen are presented and the current outlook towards an introduction of hydrogen into practice is presented. From a technological point of view, hydrogen as an aircraft fuel is feasible. However, in the current attempts by the aviation industry to improve environmental friendliness, hydrogen is not included as a measure within the foreseeable timeframe due to large financial and technical efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I analyse the jargonized climate change language used in very common material including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change΄s (IPCC΄s) Fourth Assessment Report (AR4), recent economic policy papers (Stern, The economics of climate change, 2006 and Garnaut, Garnaut climate change review, 2008), government responses, and the full set of abstracts for the Climate Congress held in Copenhagen in March 2009. Despite the best efforts of experts who try explain messages of climate action urgency, the fact of climate change seems to still suffer from a credibility shortfall. At least part of this problem are the climate change communication ˵code words″ as described by Hassol, Eos 89(11):106, 2008. She explains that words such as ˵anthropogenic″, ˵bias″, ˵debate″, ˵enhance″, ˵positive″ (as in positive feedback and trend), and, perhaps most dangerous of all, ˵theory″ have common language meanings very different from their climate change meaning. She says that terms that now seem perfectly reasonable to global change scientists are still jargon in the wider world and always have simpler substitutes. For example few people say ˵spatial″ and ˵temporal,″ they say ˵space″ and ˵time″. Surely, in day-to-day speech, people say ˵caused by us (or people)″ rather than anthropogenic. The very terminology we have developed to talk about this diabolical challenge for humanity may be slowing down our ability to galvanize the actions so urgently required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change poses challenges for many economic and societal sectors, particularly the wine sector. The wine sector is of particular importance to many economies, especially in the context of Chile, where it has contributed significantly to the country΄s economic development, as in 2005, wine accounted for 10% of exports. This paper assesses the vulnerability of the wine sector to climate change in the context of other stresses via a case study of the Maule Region, Chile. The research used a vulnerability approach, which is based on the empirical documentation of exposures, adaptive strategies and adaptive capacity. Problematic climatic exposures, including spring frosts, wet falls and drought, were identified and placed in the context of other forces important to producers, including market price, currency fluctuations, national and international rules and regulations, and labour availability. Producers΄ experiences with climate have not warranted the development of an extensive suite of adaptation strategies to manage climate risks. The results indicate that the current strategies may not be effective in the future because they are not suited to anticipated changes in water availability and the temperature regime. Although future climate change may be beneficial and create opportunities, many of the producer-identified climatic exposures are projected to be exacerbated in the future, and the current management systems may not have the capacity to address climate variations beyond the currently experienced regime. This has considerable implications for the sector΄s viability and economic profitability. With this in mind, large producers have greater access to capital than their smaller counterparts, placing them in a better position to take advantage of opportunities and successfully manage risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper consists of two independent research projects which were carried out through the use of the same questionnaire. The questionnaire was completed by students of the Department of Forestry and Management of the Environment and Natural Resources, Democritus University of Thrace and by students of the School of Pedagogical and Technological Education in Athens. The two groups of respondents were asked to assess on a scale from 1 to 10 the reasons for disagreement among scientists regarding the increase of global temperature as a result of the greenhouse effect. The most important reasons are (1) the interdependence of science and economic activity (mean 7.33 for the students of Forestry and mean 7.22 for the students of the School of Pedagogical and Technological Education) and (2) the dependence of scientists on employers (mean 7.17 and 7.92). Reasons for disagreement are also the desire for personal fame (mean 6.88 and 5.92), the different scientific background and skills of every scientist (mean 6.68 and 5.88), the complexity of climate issues (mean 6.58 and 6.84), approaching the problem through emotion or logic (mean 6.57 and 6.19), the subjective element in each scientist which means seeing different things in the same picture (mean 6.65 and 6.00), the difficulty of proving hypotheses (mean 6.64 and 6.42), and access of scientists to different data (mean 5.55 and 5.40). Through the use of hierarchical analysis in clusters we have the following groups of variables: ˵financial dependence of scientists″, ˵possibilities regarding human and material potential″, ˵personality of scientists″, and ˵nature of the problem″. Generally, the scientific information regarding the increase of global temperature as a result of the greenhouse effect receives low grades by both the students of Forestry and the students of the School of Pedagogical and Technological Education (6.73 and 6.42). However, both groups believe that we should not wait for more convincing scientific information in order to adopt the necessary measures for confronting the problem (57.1% and 87.9%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to give a brief overall account of the present situation and outlook in terms of transport energy use and GHG emissions in the context of European Union transport policy. This topic is a huge one, and no attempt at comprehension is claimed. Instead the assessment will be based on a selection of a few key indicators, which the author believes are important to evaluate the present situation and identify challenges for future action and research. The indicators are all drawn from official sources or scholarly studies, while the ways in which they are interpreted and presented here are those of the author alone. During 2006 the European transport policy White Paper will undergo an official mid-term review by the European Commission. This will provide an opportunity for further reflections and possibly new directions for some of the issues to be discussed here. The present paper will first (in Section 10.2) present what we call system indicators, with the aim to highlight some critical aspects of the European transport systems' standing in terms of volume, growth, energy use and GHG emissions. Then the paper moves into policy. Section 10.3 highlights a few fundamental conditions for transport policy-making in the European Union, while Section 10.4 will go through some of the relevant targets and measures that have been adopted, evaluating them one by one with simple policy indicators. After summing up performance, Section 10.5 will address the outlooks for European transport beyond the present Kyoto agreement period, and some research issues related to policy implementation in that context will be identified. Finally a few conclusive statements are proposed, not about how much European transport, exactly, there will be room for in the common greenhouse of the future, but rather on the kinds of discussions that need to be faced in dealing with this sector's climate impact in the coming years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study has been carried out to investigate the protection and (pre-) adjustment of seeds and embryos under a highly saline environment. We have chosen Chenopodium quinoa because it is a common crop for the population in the Andes, but according to our experiments a promising crop for the use on saline soils. Hardly little is known about salt-induced changes of the seed composition and viability of quinoa and the uptake and distribution of potentially toxic salts. We studied therefore the mechanisms responsible for seed protection, the yield, the viability, the seed structure and the content and localization of food reserves and nutrients. In contrast to glycophytes, Chenopodium quinoa was able to complete its life cycle and produced seeds even at seawater salinity. However, the growth furthermore, the yield, number of seeds, weight and seed dry matter per plant were significantly reduced in the presence of salinity. The content of proteins (as well as total N) increased significantly in the seeds whereas the content of total carbohydrates (as well as total C) decreased remarkably leading to the overall picture of a decreased C/N ratio. At high salinity the passage of NaCl into the seed was hindered. There seems to be a correlation between these effects, the salinity resistance of the plant and a possible preadjustment to saline conditions of the produced seed. However, further studies are essentially needed and it is advisable to study more intense the influence of salinity on the regulation of grain-filling, usability, genomics, gene expression and enzymology. Equipped with these informations it is likely that plant breeder could develop targeted research projects and produce highly salt resistant, fertile and productive crops. Because of the presentation of this paper on the seminar with Venezuelan colleagues we have compared our results from the experiments with quinoa with findings from other crops. Although this enlarges the manuscript substantially it will help our colleagues to compare physiological function of quinoa with those of other plants they know from the references. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The distribution of Thalassia-dominated ecosystems is closely connected to mangrove ecosystems as is the case in large areas of the Caribbean. In this paper we describe the geographical distribution of the ecosystems in Venezuela and provide detailed lists of associated phanerogams, macroalgae and faunal groups. Some ecological values and problems of the systems are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainability of irrigation with saline waters can only be achieved if the appropriate management of the whole soil-water-plant-atmosphere system is considered. In the present paper is argued that existing guidelines on plant tolerance to salinity and leaching requirement supply just roughly approximate, sometimes misleading indications for a correct management. Results of previous experiments and demonstration activities with woody and herbaceous plants are reported to demonstrate that plant tolerance to salinity is much higher than resulting from the literature; that climate and management conditions can radically influence plant response; that the principle of increasing the leaching fraction when salinity is higher is basically wrong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chapter focuses on a critical assessment of the latest declaratory policy of the Brazilian government as expressed in the 2005 Brazilian Defence Policy Document. This does not correspond to a white paper or to a national security policy but, as it results from an extensive process of political bargaining, it does express contemporary Brazilian conceptualizations of security authoritatively. We speak of ‘conceptualizations', in the plural form, since it does not express a single, or even a dominant, conception. Its appreciation sets the stage for the historical consideration of the trajectory that can explain its nature, introducing the presentation of the philosophical, ethical, and cultural contexts and issues of the Brazilian conceptualization of security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]