World population and the number of city dwellers are steadily growing. Globalization and digitalization lead to an increased competition for skilled and creative labor and other economic resources. This is true not only for firms, but increasingly also for cities. The book elaborates on resulting challenges and opportunities for urban management from the European perspective, and discusses theories, methods and tools from business economics to cope with them. Contributions in this volume come from scholars and practitioners of economics, business administration and urban management, and cover aspects ranging from urban dynamics to city marketing. They draw on experiences from several European cities and regions, and discuss strategies to improve city performance including Open Government, Smart City, cooperation and innovation. The book project was initiated and carried out by the Center for Advanced Studies in Management (CASiM), the interdisciplinary research center of HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management. It is addressed to scholars and managers in Europe and beyond, who will benefit from the scientific rigor and useful practical insights of the book.

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

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.

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 discusses microbial diversity in various habitats and environments, its role in ecosystem maintenance, and its potential applications (e.g. biofertilizers, biocatalysts, antibiotics, other bioactive compounds, exopolysaccharides etc.). The respective chapters, all contributed by renowned experts, offer cutting-edge information in the fields of microbial ecology and biogeography. The book explains the reasons behind the occurrence of various biogeographies and highlights recent tools (e.g. metagenomics) that can aid in biogeography studies by providing information on nucleic acid sequence data, thereby directly identifying microorganisms in various habitats and environments. In turn, the book describes how human intervention results in depletion of biodiversity, and how numerous hotspots are now losing their endemic biodiversity, resulting in the loss of many ecologically important microorganisms. In closing, the book underscores the importance of microbial diversity for sustainable ecosystems.

This series presents studies that have used the paradigm of landscape ecology. Other approaches, both to landscape and landscape ecology are common, but in the last decade landscape ecology has become distinct from its predecessors and its contemporaries. Landscape ecology addresses the relationships among spatial patterns, temporal patterns and ecological processes. The effect of spatial configurations on ecological processes is fundamental. When human activity is an important variable affecting those relationships, landscape ecology includes it. Spatial and temporal scales are as large as needed for comprehension of system processes and the mosaic included may be very heterogeneous. Intellec tual utility and applicability of results are valued equally. The Inter national Association for Landscape Ecology sponsors this series of studies in order to introduce and disseminate some of the new knowledge that is being produced by this exciting new environmental science. Gray Merriam Ottawa, Canada Foreword This is a book about real nature, or as close to real as we know - a nature of heterogeneous landscapes, wild and humanized, fine-grained and coarse-grained, wet and dry, hilly and flat, temperate and not so temper ate. Real nature is never uniform. At whatever spatial scale we examine nature, we encounter patchiness. If we were to look down from high above at a landscape of millions of hectares, using a zoom lens to move in and out from broad overview to detailed inspection of a square meter we would see that patterns visible at different scales overlay one another."

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."

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.

The purpose of this work is to develop a better understanding and thinking about the cumulative impacts of multiple natural resource development projects. Cumulative impacts are now one of the most pressing, but complex challenges facing governments, industry, communities, and conservation and natural resource professionals. There has been technical and policy research exploring how cumulative environmental impacts can be assessed and managed. These studies, however, have failed to consider the necessary integration of community, environment and health. Informed by knowledge and experience in northern British Columbia, this book seeks to expand our understanding of the cumulative impacts of natural resource development through an integrated lens. The book offers a timely response to a growing imperative - proposing integrative response to multiple natural resource developments in a way that addresses converging environment, community and health issues. Informed by the editors' experiences across several complementary areas of expertise, we envision this book as appealing to a wide range of researchers, educators and practitioners, with relevance to a growing audience with appetite for and interest in integrative approaches.

Part of a series which covers advances and progress in the field of human ecology, this volume discusses such topics as: the world around us and how we make it; the political economy of environmental problems and policies; and, the assembling of human populations.

The book is about accountability processes and how they contribute solutions to our current environmental and global political problems. This book is different to other literature in this field. This is so because the dominant accountability discourse is shaped by what is defined as a neoliberal business case for social and environmental reform. This book assumes a nirvana stance within globalisation where all citizens operate within the parameters of the free market and will recover from adverse economic and political damage. Further this book uses neoliberalism and free-market reforms aims as examples to implement efficient management technologies and create more competitive pressures. Central to the argument of the book are perspectives on authenticity, expressivism and interpretivism which are found to provide a radical reworking of our understanding of being in the world. These frameworks offer a starting point for rethinking the way individuals, businesses and communities ought to be dealing politically with accountability and ecological crises. The argument builds to an accountability perspective that utilises work from expressivism, interpretivism, classical liberalism and postmodern theory. The theoretical quest undertaken in this book is to develop connections between accountability, democratic, ethical and ecological perspectives.

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.

This book presents innovative strategies for sustainable, socially responsible enterprise management from leading thinkers in the fields of corporate citizenship, nonprofit management, social entrepreneurship, impact investing, community-based economic development and urban design. The book's integration of research and practitioner perspectives with focused best practice examples offers an in-depth, balanced analysis, providing new insights into the social issues that are most relevant to organizational stakeholders. This integrated focus on sustainable social innovation differentiates the book from academic research monographs on stakeholder theory and practitioner guides to managing traditional Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs. Managing for Social Impact features 15 contributed chapters written by thought leaders, industry analysts, and managers of global and local organizations who are engaged with innovative models of sustainable social impact. The editors also provide a substantive introductory chapter describing a new strategic framework for enhancing the Return on Social Innovation (ROSI) through four pillars of social change: Open Circles, Focused Purpose Sharing, Mutuality of Success, and a Persistent Change Perspective.

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.

Biodiversity, sometimes simply understood as "diversity of species," is a specific quality of life on our planet, the dimensions and importance of which have just lately been fully realized. Today we know that "biological diversity is a global asset of incalculable value to present and future generations" (Kofi Annan). Biodiversity is spread unequally over the world: in fact, the main share of biological resources worldwide is harboured predominantly by the so-called developing countries in the tropics and sub tropics. Therefore, Biodiversity - A Challenge for Development Research and Policy was chosen as the title for an international conference which was held in Bonn in 1997 as one of the first major events organized by the then newly established North-South Centre for Development Research (ZEF) at Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universitat Bonn (Germany). Since the ZEF, founded by the Senate of the University of Bonn in 1995, has played a central role in turning Bonn into a centre for international cooperation and North-South dialogue. The Centre is a product of the Bonn Berlin agreement of July 1994 which was adopted to offset the effects caused by the Parliament and much of the Government moving to Berlin. It fits in well with the double strategy to strengthen Bonn's position as an interna tional science arena and as an eminent place for development policy and the national and supranational agencies dealing with this issue."

Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology attempts to provide concise, critical reviews of timely advances, philosophy, and significant areas of accomplished or needed endeavor in the total field of xenobiotics, in any segment of the environment, as well as toxicological implications.

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.

A Shadowy backlash against environmentalists has begun to emerge in America, the most visible element of which calls itself the "Wise Use" movement. Among its stated goals are the unregulated use of timber, oil, gas, minerals, and range land, and the abolition of all environmental laws and agencies. In this first in depth investigation of the "Wise Use" backlash, author David Helvarg visits rallies, conferences, and confrontations that are the fronts in its war against the greens. Helvarg shows the dimensions of this struggle as it is being waged in the courts; in the media, through popular mouthpieces like Rush Limbaugh and sympathetic coverage in influential newspapers such as the New York Times; in the heretical claims of the movement's "counterscience"; and in the growing number of physical confrontations and threats used against environmental activists. Helvarg also documents the failure of the FBI to prevent such violence.

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.

This book provides a complete overview of an alpine ecosystem, based on the long-term research conducted at the Niwot Ridge LTER. The alpine ecosystem features conditions near the limits of biological existence, and is a useful laboratory for asking more general ecological questions, because it offers large environmental change over relatively short distances. Factors such as macroclimate, microclimate, soil conditions, biota, and various biological factors change on differing scales, allowing insight into the relative contributions of the different factors on ecological outcomes.

This is the 2nd edition of The Sustainable Business (2010), winner of The President's Award for Excellence in a Published Body of Work at Kozminski University, Poland. Recommended for managers, employees, teachers and students, this readable and informative guide explains the importance of waste minimization as a first step toward sustainability. Within its pages, the breadth and depth of long-term profitable business practices are explored with an emphasis on optimizing resources (including labour and markets) and maximizing purchases and investments while eliminating the costs of non-product (waste), unemployment, short-term thinking and environmental degradation. As proof of its potency, The Sustainable Business has already been disseminated to over 1.3 million people around the world and the first edition is available in four different languages. The bottom line: if you're looking to gain insight on the future of business, this is it!

Biofuels and Rural Poverty makes an original contribution to the current controversial global debate on biofuels, in particular the consequences that large-scale production of transport fuel substitutes can have on rural areas, principally in developing countries but also in some poor rural areas of developed countries.

Three key concerns are examined from a North-South perspective: ecological issues (related to land use and biodiversity), pro-poor policies (related to food and land security, gender and income generation) and equity of benefits within the global value chain. Can biofuels be pro-poor? Can smallholder farmers be equitably integrated in the biofuels global supply chain? Is the biofuels production chain detrimental to biodiversity?

Most other books available on biofuels take a technical approach and are aimed at addressing energy security or climate change issues. This title focuses on the socio-economic impacts on rural people's livelihoods, offering a unique perspective on the potential role of biofuels in reducing rural poverty.

Heavy metal pollution is a serious threat to living organisms. Industrial development has aggravated multifaceted problems in the environment requiring a comprehensive solution. Appraisal of Metal(loids) in the Ecosystem addresses this need and provides a basic introduction of different heavy metals. Presented in a consistent and comprehensive manner, each chapter highlights the background level, occurrence, speciation, bioavailability, uptake detoxification mechanisms, and management of each metal in polluted soils. It provides the latest up-to-date information about different aspects of As, Hg, Si, Cu, Co, Ni, Mn, Cd, Cr, etc. in single source. This book provides scientists and researchers with the most current source of information on the topic. Written by a global and diverse group of experts, Appraisal of Metal(loids) in the Ecosystem also covers the many field applications associated with phytoremediation and extraction and provides guidance on decision making when selecting advanced techniques.