Innovatively rethinking the discipline of political economy, Fred P. Gale builds on a range of contemporary examples to develop a pluralistic conception of sustainability value that underpins sustainable development. He identifies why current approaches are having no meaningful impact and unifies diverse perspectives into one integrative approach. This definitive work argues that sustainability value?s realization requires a complete rethink of the way firms and polities are governed, challenging the idea that preferences are rational. Treating sustainability value as supervening on four other elemental economic values, the book illustrates how '?tetravaluation?' is being partially realized at the level of the firm and the state. With vast differences in institutional requirements across conventional liberal, nationalist and socialist frameworks, Gale implores political economy to abandon its monistic modernist legacy and embrace the pluralistic, reflexive and interdisciplinary standpoint that sustainability demands. With striking implications for existing political, economic and cultural institutions, Gale offers a new perspective on generating better policy outcomes for public policy professionals and sustainability practitioners. This book is a must-read for public policy theorists, political and ecological economists, and environmental policy researchers, as Gale challenges the conventional ideas linked to the functioning of liberal democracy and explores the future of political economic thought.

delivers a realistic and feasible framework for creating resilient landscapes in an era of anthropogenic climate change. presents fifteen case studies of differing sociocultural, economic, and biophysical backgrounds that showcase opportunities and limitations for creating resilient landscapes throughout the world. provides that much-needed link between theory and practice to deliver forward-thinking, practical solutions. This book will be of great interest to students, researchers, practitioners and policymakers who are interested in the complex relationship between landscapes, climate change, biodiversity loss, and land-based conversion at local, national and global scales.

It is more and more evident that our living system is completely disturbed by human intrusion. Such intrusion affects the functioning of entire systems in ways we do not yet fully understand. We use paradigms such as the disturbance to cover large and deep gaps in our scienti?c knowledge. Human ecology is an uncertain terrain for anthropologists, geographers, and ecologists and rarely is expanded to include the social and economic realms. The integration of different disciplines and the application of their many paradigms to problems of environmental complexity remains a distant goal despite the many efforts that have been made to achieve it. Philosophical and semantic barriers are erected when such integration is pursued by pioneering scientists. Recently, evolutionary ecology has shown great interest in the spatial processes well described by the emerging discipline of landscape ecology. But this interest takes the form of pure curiosity or at worst, of skepticism toward the real capacity of landscape ecology to contribute to the advancement of ecological science. The past two centuries have been characterized by huge changes occurring in the entire ecosphere. Global changes are the effects of human intervention at a planetary scale, with consequent degradation of the environment creating an e- logical debt for future generations. On the other side of the issue, new technologies have improved the welfare of billions of people and have given hope to many other billions that they may also see such improvement in the near future.

Biological diversity is important for ecosystem function and services, which in turn is essential for human well-being. Under the Convention on Biological Diversity, international efforts have been made to achieve a significant reduction in the current rate of biodiversity loss. The loss continues, however. The Asia-Pacific region includes both developing countries with high biodiversity and developed countries with sophisticated data collection and analyses, but only limited information about the status quo of biodiversity in this region has been available. Many Asia-Pacific countries have rapidly grown their economies and social infrastructures, causing a loss of biodiversity and requiring an urgent mandate to achieve a balance between development and conservation in the region. In December 2009, scientists successfully organized the Asia-Pacific Biodiversity Observation Network in the region, to establish a network for research and monitoring of ecosystems and biodiversity and to build a cooperative framework. The present volume is the first collection of information on biodiversity in the Asia-Pacific and represents a quantum step forward in science that optimizes the synergy between development and biodiversity conservation.

This book provides a description of the state of the art on environmental disclosure, illustrating the key theoretical issues, the regulatory frameworks, and the main standards developed and reporting the results of an empirical analysis on the environmental disclosure released by listed firms. Luigi Lepore and Sabrina Pisano begin by analysing the origin and evolution of environmental disclosure. They go on to provide a description of the main theoretical frameworks used by scholars, explaining the conceptual basis of each theory and describing how the specific theory has been used to explain the company's decision to release environmental disclosure. The second part of the book highlights the role and evolution of the European regulatory frameworks, emphasising the transition from voluntary to mandatory disclosure, and the major standards and guidance developed. The book ends by providing a picture of the evolution of sustainability reporting practices in European Union nations over the past two decades. This book investigates the critical issues and new directions in environmental disclosure, which are currently under examination by regulators and standard setters. It will therefore be of great interest to academics and students working in the areas of business and sustainability.

This book discusses John Stuart Mill's intellectual activity from about 1827 to 1848, namely between his recovery from his so-called 'Mental Crisis' and the publication of Principles of Political Economy. During this period, along with deepening his understanding of contemporary society as commercial civilization, Mill aspired to create a new system of science of society which would inquire into the nature, process of historical change, and prospects of society. Among the indispensable constituent sciences of his system, this book pays particular attention on his projected sciences of history and of the formation of character (ethology), and clarifies that the implications of his interest in these sciences were more significant for the better understanding of Mill's political thought than many scholars have assumed.

The importance of the effective management of the natural environment has become vital over the past few decades. In different countries, varying policies are implemented by governments to manage the environment, both to foster growth and reduce pollution and destruction. Employing a broad country-based approach, this edited collection, first published in 1986, surveys the growth, nature and effectiveness of the environmental management policies implemented by governments around the world. The overarching argument is that a coherent international approach is needed to deal with the problems surrounding environmental sustainability. This title will be of great value to students of the natural environment, sustainability and resource management.

The book looks into the domestic water issues and disputes in the Himalayan South Asian countries, and based on it analyzes trans-boundary water disputes. Himalayan South Asia comprises India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Afghanistan. All except Afghanistan share river waters with India. Home to some of the major river basins of the world, a part of this region falls into water scarce zone, and according to the United Nations Water Report of 2018 some of them will experience severe water scarcity by 2050. The book also studies water issues in China. Though the country is not a part of the Himalayan South Asia, most of the major rivers of this region originate in China. Over the years, China has been alleged by countries like India for diverting, choking or using the trans-boundary river waters for its purpose. Understanding water competition and issues in China will help one to understand its transboundary water behavior.

This is the sixth volume in a series designed to publish theoretical, empirical and review papers on scientific human ecology. Human ecology is interpreted to include structural and functional changes in human social organization and sociocultural systems as these changes may be affected by, interdependent with, or identical to changes in ecosystemic, evolutionary or ethological processes, factors or mechanisms. Three degrees of scope are included in this interpretation: the adaptation of sociocultural forces to bioecological forces; the interactions, two-way adaptations, between sociocultural and bioecological forces; and the integration, or unified interactions, of sociocultural with bioecological forces.

This book examines energy security as one of nontraditional issues that are strategic for Indonesia's foreign policy. It argues that energy has not been considered as a strategic commodity in the foreign policy to support the effectiveness of Indonesia's diplomacy at the regional and international levels. International and outward looking perspectives have not been much visible both in the policy and political realities. Since foreign policy is a reflection of domestic politics under the influence of international developments, this study focuses its analysis on the domestic and international aspects of the energy security issues.

This handbook addresses the intersection between corporate sustainability and digital transformation. It analyzes the challenges and transformations required to be able to have sustainable businesses with a future orientation. Topics include current and potential social, demographic, technological, and managerial trends; the implications of the digital revolution in society and business; as well as the challenges of being sustainable, and profitable. Providing an understanding of the business reasons to incorporate a future orientation into the business strategy, this handbook facilitates an understanding of the need for profound changes in individual behavior, organizational culture, public policy, and business environments to adapt to the accelerated changes and manage business with orientation to the future.

Provides a state-of-the-science overview of arthropods affecting grape production around the world. Vineyard pest management is a dynamic and evolving field, and the contributed chapters provide insights into arthropods that limit this important crop and its products. Written by international experts from the major grape-growing regions, it provides a global overview of arthropods affecting vines and the novel strategies being used to prevent economic losses, including invasive pests affecting viticulture. The book contains reviews of the theoretical basis of integrated pest management, multiple chapters on biological control, current status of chemical control, as well as in-depth and well-illustrated reviews of the major arthropod pests affecting grape production and how they are being managed worldwide. This text will serve as a primary resource for applied entomologists, students, growers, and consultants with interests at the intersection of viticulture and applied entomology.

In 1984, the Conference on Environmental Quality, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Science Foundation convened a series of panel meetings to discuss long-term environmental issues. "Preserving Ecological SystemS" is the result of that prestigious conference. Drawing on contributions from nationally recognized scientists and experts from industry and government, this collection of papers covers geochemical and hydrologic processes and provides overall recommendations for conducting environmental research and development during the next twenty years. In addition, the book offers insights on how environmental analyses can be made more reliable. The book covers global cycles, habitat diversity and genetic variability, improved methods for mitigating the environmental impacts of current technologies, and anticipating the environmental impact of emerging technologies, among other topics.

This book explores the challenges and opportunities presented by the formulation of a global code of conduct for transnational corporations. It assesses the current state of research on global regulations intended to enhance the social responsibility of transnational corporations, and provides a platform for future research. In particular the book examines frameworks and instruments for regulating social responsibility, reviews recent developments concerning the proposed UN Code of Conduct on Transnational Corporations, and provides insights into international civil society groups' movements in pursuit of a code of conduct. In a separate chapter the book discusses theoretical issues in regulating transnational corporations, and investigates their legitimacy and behavioral dynamics. In closing, the book discusses alternatives to a global code of conduct, the impact of sovereign power in the era of globalization, "soft regulations," and the feasibility and normative efficacy of enforcing regulations.

This book addresses three big economic challenges from a dynamic perspective: European integration, economic growth, and global climate change. In the light of the recent crises of the European Union (EU), the first part of the book deals with challenges to the real, monetary and fiscal integration of the EU and required institutional adjustments. The second part of the book addresses fundamental challenges of advanced market economies like economic growth and changes of technologies. The final part focuses on the global challenge of climate change from an economic perspective and discusses policy strategies for a successful mitigation of climate change.

- Provides an up to date and comprehensive introduction to forest policy and governance in the US - Written in an accessible and engaging tone, with a strong emphasis on real-world case studies - Appropriate for undergraduate and postgraduate students on forestry, natural resources and environmental governance courses, as well as professionals working in the forestry industry

In the 1960s, it was believed that no more than about 4,000 orang-utans remained in the wild. Consequently, IUCN - The World Conservation Union - declared the ape an endangered species, demanding its world-wide protection. Nevertheless, the orang-utan today faces extinction because it is dependent on a rain-forest habitat that is rapidly being demolished due to human greed, and a growing human population. Rijksen was among the first to make a detailed study of the ape in the wild, emerging as an authority on orang-utan conservation. In the late 1980s he became so alarmed by local rumours of the rapid decline of wild orang-utans that he initiated the study leading to this book. Meijaard conducted the ambitious, island-spanning surveys in Borneo and Sumatra to reveal the ape's whereabouts. This is the story of their findings. It is the first comprehensive study of the ape's distribution and status based on a wealth of first-hand field data, and a frank, disturbing account of a mixture of good intentions, ignorance and greed, spelling doom for our Asian relative. Nevertheless, the authors emphasise that the orang-utan can survive. A realistic plan to save the ape, and with it thousands of unique wild animals and plants, does exist. It is the authors' hope that Our Vanishing Relative, so urgent and eloquent in its description of the deadly net of problems descending over our helpless relative, will awaken attention and empathy in order to safeguard the future of the orang-utan.

Among the deep-sea marine invertebrates, pycnogonids and crustaceans represent ecologically important and most diverse groups of species. Yet both are still poorly understood. Sampling and exploring operations off the west and east coast of the Americas has significantly increased in the last two decades. However such operations are very costly and limited in number and frequency. In countries like Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Peru, the United States of America, and El Salvador a large effort has been made to explore the deep-sea resources and the rich diversity of the communities, resulting in a better understanding of the natural ecosystems on both coasts of America. Pycnogonids and many groups of deep-sea crustaceans have been intensively studied, from the smallest animals, like the mostly unknown benthic copepods to the largest decapods. This book presents new and updated information on various groups of deep-sea pycnogonids and crustaceans occurring off the American continent. Offering a valuable reference resource for scientists interested in this fascinating fauna, it includes review papers and new data on the deep-sea communities occurring off the USA, Mexico, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Brazil and Argentina, as well as in larger areas in both the East Pacific and the West Atlantic. As such it covers most of the current deep-water research in Latin America.

The aim of this book is to support and inspire teachers to contribute to much-needed processes of sustainable development and to develop teaching practices and professional identities that allow them to cope with the specificity of sustainability issues and, in particular, with the teaching challenges related to the ethical and political dimension of environmental and sustainability education. Bringing together recent scholarship on the topic, this book translates state-of-the-art academic research into teaching models, methods and tools. Starting with an outline of the challenge of sustainability, it offers insights and models for understanding the interesting yet ambiguous concept of 'sustainable development' and the complex process of transforming society in a more sustainable direction (Part I). It then goes on to provide a guide to preparing courses and lessons as well as tools for reflection about teaching practices and the multiplicity of approaches to addressing ethical and political challenges in sustainable development teaching (Part II). Finally, the book offers useful conceptual frameworks, models and typologies about the concrete design and implementation of sustainable development teaching (Part III). This book will be essential reading for students of education, as well as teachers in compulsory and higher education and sustainability education researchers.

Proceedings of the EEC/DOE Workshop hosted by the Commissariat a L'Energie Solaire, held in Sophia-Antipolis, France, 23-24 October 1980

Ecological Significance of Riparian Ecosystems: Challenges and Management Strategies examines the current issues related to river ecosystems, their environmental importance, pollution issues and potential management strategies. The book is divided into 4 key themes: Basics of river ecosystem, Natural phenomenon of river ecosystem, Human-induced problems of river ecosystem, and Management measures for the river ecosystem. Through these four themes, the contributors present both practical and theoretical aspects of river ecosystem in changing climate. An emphasis has been made on the recent research of climate change and its impact on the river ecosystem. River ecosystems have tremendous potential to store CO2, however, with changing climatic and anthropogenic activities, these habitats are under threat, and river ecosystems are losing the very vital service of storing carbon. Unlike well documented terrestrial biodiversity, the biodiversity in aquatic ecosystems is still unrecognized to some extent.

Climate change and the pressures of escalating human demands on the environment have had increasing impacts on landscapes across the world. In this book, world-class scholars discuss current and pressing issues regarding the landscape, landscape ecology, social and economic development, and adaptive management. Topics include the interaction between landscapes and ecological processes, landscape modeling, the application of landscape ecology in understanding cultural landscapes, biodiversity, climate change, landscape services, landscape planning, and adaptive management to provide a comprehensive view that allows readers to form their own opinions.

Professor Bojie Fu is an Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chair of scientific committee at the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.

Professor K. Bruce Jones is the Executive Director for Earth and Ecosystem Sciences Division at Desert Research Institute, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA.

Butterflyfishes of the family Chaetodontidae are conspicuous members of almost all tropical reefs. These colorful fishes have attracted a great deal of attention from both the scientific community and especially the aquarium fish industry. At first one is tempted to say that butterflyfishes are abundant worldwide, but the evidence does not support this statement. The biomass of chaetodontids on reefs may range from 0.02-0.80%, and in terms of numbers they comprise only 0.04-0.61 % of the individuals on the reef. Yet in spite of these relatively small numbers they have been extensively studied. A quick census shows some 170 articles on or about butterfly fishes, with 78% of them being published since the 1970's. Along with the cichlids and damselfishes they might be one of the most studied and well published family of tropical fishes. Why then have chaetodontids attracted so much attention? The butterflyfishes are mostly shallow water inhabitants that are approachable and easily recognizable, making their study very feasible. Their bright coloration has provoked many hypotheses but has posed more questions about coloration than it has provided answers. And despite their apparent overall morphological similarity, their highly structured and varied social systems have made them an ideal model for such studies. The reasons for choosing these organisms are indeed as diverse as the studies themselves."