Tourism is the world's largest industry and its fastest growing one. It has the potential to contribute significantly to the economic development of most economies, including those of less developed countries and peripheral economic regions. However, it depends heavily on environmental conditions, natural and man-made, for its market and its sustainability. This book analyzes market and political failures in relation to tourism development and the environment, and the implications of those for national gains from international tourism, for public finance and policy, and for the sustainability of tourism. Particular emphasis is placed on ecotourism and the sustainable use of natural sites, methods of evaluating the sustainability of tourism and the impacts of pollution on tourism. Case studies cover both large and small developing countries e.g. Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India and the Maldives, as well as more developed economies. While some attention is given to the evaluation of protected areas, most attention is given to policies in terms of the sustainable recreational use of such areas - examples include scuba diving and encounters of tourists with whale sharks and sea turtles. This is a fascinating book that will be of great use to a wide readership including economists, environmentalists, geographers, tourism scholars and professionals, as well as academics in development studies.

The interaction between climate change and trade has grown in prominence in recent years. This Research Handbook contains authoritative original contributions from leading experts working at the interface between climate change and trade rules. Regional as well as international perspectives are taken into account to inform the complex questions that arise and redirect research efforts towards newly emerging issues. The Research Handbook on Climate Change and Trade Law discusses some of the most important challenges regarding conflicting interests at the intersection of trade, climate change and investment. The insightful chapters map from both regional and global perspectives the state of affairs in such diverse areas as: carbon credits and taxes, sustainable standard-setting, and trade in 'green' goods and services. This timely book redefines the interrelationship of trade and climate change for future scholarship and offers specific suggestions for much-needed research in topics such as energy, carbon taxes and credits, food, standardization, and investment. This Research Handbook will be essential reading for researchers and advanced students in international trade and investment law. It will also be an invaluable resource for practitioners and policymakers in this dynamic and highly significant area of law. Contributors include: M. Alder, P. Arnaiz, S. Bigdeli, J. Chaisse, T. Cottier, P. Delimatsis, A. Dimopoulos, F. Fleurke, A. Gourgourinis, A.H. Lim, J. McMahon, S. Melnyk, J. Munro, K. Nadakavukaren Schefer, R. Partain, T. Payosova, V. Pogoretskyy, D. Ramos, E. Reid, M. Rimmer, L. Tamiotti, J.P. Trachtman, A. vanDuzer, E. Vranes, M. Wu, M. Young, R. Zhang

Sustainability is becoming an increasingly urgent factor in all areas of life, and its effect on contemporary economies can be vast. Sustainable development can truly propel modern economies forward, and it is important to study the impacts of such progress. Measuring Sustainable Development and Green Investments in Contemporary Economies provides an authoritative look at how green investments are shaping global economies. Highlighting emerging topics such as socio-economic systems, green performance strategies, forest ecosystems, and food security, this is a detailed reference resource for all practitioners, academicians, graduate students, and researchers interested in discovering more about the impact of sustainable development on modern economies.

In recent years our understanding of corporate sustainability has moved from exploitation to exploration, from corporate environmental management to sustainable entrepreneurship, and from efficiency to innovation. Yet current trends indicate the need for radical innovation via entrepreneurial start-ups or new ventures within existing corporations despite difficulties with the financing and marketing of such efforts. Presenting both conceptual and empirical research, this fascinating book addresses how we can combine environmental and social sustainability with economic sustainability in order to produce innovative new business models. The international cast of contributors addresses the wide range of issues in the balance between growth and environmental concerns. The first five chapters discuss various aspects of sustainable entrepreneurship. This is followed by two chapters that look at innovation within existing firms. Innovation is not successful until it finds a customer, so the two chapters that follow delve into the marketing aspects of business-to-consumer and business-to-business settings. The book closes with a broad discussion of the evolution and future of the research agenda into the intersection of sustainability, innovation and entrepreneurship. Academics, students, business professionals, and NGOs will find this volume enlightening and useful.

This timely book offers a fresh view on how oceans and coasts are, and should be, managed. The urgency of this issue is increasingly being recognized, as critical limits to the economic exploitation of our oceans and coasts are reached. The authors argue that ecological economics is in a unique position to address this problem given its particular focus on interconnected ecological and economic systems. Four 'cornerstones' of this ecological economics approach to the oceans and coasts are presented; most importantly, sustainability is the overarching policy goal, rather than economic efficiency, as I soften emphasized in mainstream economics. Secondly, recognizing the biophysical limits and thresholds of marine systems is fundamental. Thirdly, a complex systems view is adopted, which has profound implications for managing marine systems in the face of intrinsic uncertainty, irreversibility and interdependent behaviour. Finally, the approach is necessarily methodologically pluralistic, given the complexity and multi-faceted character of marine ecological-economic systems. Ecological Economics of the Oceans and Coasts is a unique book that will be warmly welcomed by ecological economists, researchers and academics of coastal and marine management and policy as well as natural resource and environmental economists. Policy advisors on oceans and coasts, coastal and marine managers will also find this book of great interest and value.

This book offers a comprehensive analysis of dynamic networks and evolutionary variational inequalities, a topic of growing prominence in the study of networks. The extraordinary importance of networks in finance, mathematics, computer science and other areas is well known but the relatively new concept of 'dynamic' networks is less well understood. They become dynamic when the constitutive elements of the phenomena associated with the fixed geometry of networks are considered to be evolving over time. Patrizia Daniele offers many numerical examples to illustrate the issues discussed and provides a broad appendix to enrich this challenging but deeply informative book. Researchers, students and practitioners in the areas of finance, economics, computer science, and mathematics will find this volume an indispensable resource in understanding the use and development of networks in their disciplines.

This volume is the first to provide a comprehensive analysis of the nine environmental and health disputes that have been adjudicated at the WTO since 1995. The investigation concludes that criticism of the WTO has been overstated and, surprisingly, nations do in fact retain sovereignty over environmental and health policy. The disputes explored suggest that the WTO has been able to balance trade, environmental and health objectives. The discussion illuminates the strengths and weaknesses of the dispute resolution process and closes with suggestions for improving it. The Impact of the WTO will appeal not only to academics, be they economists, lawyers, political scientists, and academic libraries, but also practitioners, policymakers, and members of consumer, environmental, and business organizations who follow the debates surrounding the WTO's influence on environmental and health regulations.

Climate change and energy consumption are at the forefront of current environmental debate. Whilst energy is essential to the functioning and survival of our societies, the environmental impact that energy consumption is having, particularly on climate change, is a growing concern and the design and practicalities of energy and energy-related environmental policies are under constant scrutiny. This innovative new book not only addresses the economic assessment of environmental and energy policies but also discusses the efficiency and distributional consequences these policies have for producers and consumers. With contributions from leading academics in the field, this comprehensive volume uses a variety of methodological approaches with which to explore a number of pertinent issues, including several studies on the EU Emission Trading System, as well as more advanced topics such as indeterminacy and optimal environmental public policies, energy-saving technological progress, oil shocks and energy transitions and policy design. Combining theoretical and empirical work, this timely book is a significant contribution to the existing literature and deals with issues at the frontier of current economic knowledge. Economic Modelling of Climate Change and Energy Policies is a unique and informative book and will have widespread appeal amongst scholars, students and policymakers.

The development of a green and sustainable economy continues to grow in awareness and popularity due to its promotion of a more comprehensive way of achieving economic development through social and environmental efficiency. Sustainable Technologies, Policies, and Constraints in the Green Economy carefully investigates the complex issues which surround the wide array of concepts, policies, and measures that come into play when promoting this somewhat new ideology. This publication covers over 50 years of research in the field in order to provide the best theoretical frameworks and empirical research to its readers. Professors, researchers, practitioners, and students will all benefit from the relevant discussions and diverse conclusions which are revealed in these chapters.

Prosopis describes the enormous historical importance of these trees as a human food source and reviews the contemporary food science of the fruit derived from these trees. As well, this treatise reviews the native genetic resources of this genus on 4 continents and classical genetic and horticultural techniques that could help stabilize the environment and alleviate human suffering on some of the world's most destitute agro-ecosystems. This book is an essential read for researchers interested in forestry and plant science, environmental science, and functional foods. The legume family (Fabaceae) contains many genera and species that through their nitrogen fixing process provide high protein food and feed for humans and animals. As evidenced by its presence in Death Valley, California, which holds the record for the highest temperatures in the world, these types of plants can thrive in extreme environments.

The increasing demands which society places on the natural environment have led us to seek new ways of estimating the monetary costs of environmental degradation so that they can be compared with the benefits of development. This book provides a comprehensive and readable examination of the major techniques used in cost-benefit analysis and project appraisal to value environmental goods and services.Written by two leading practitioners in environmental valuation, the book includes detailed examinations of the theory and practice of a wide range of valuation techniques including contingent valuation, hedonic pricing, choice experiments and travel cost methods. Complementing the theory are case studies on various policy areas such as water quality, recreation, landscape and biodiversity drawn from Europe, the United States and Asia. The book concludes with an informative and provocative review of important contemporary issues as well as suggesting areas of future research in the practice of environmental valuation. Economic Valuation of the Environment will be essential reading for environmental and ecological economists and those practising resource management as well as for planners and policymakers.

This specially formulated collection features 3 reviews of current topics and key research in sweetpotato. The first chapter examines the origin and dispersal of sweetpotato, considers in vitro germplasm storage in sweetpotato genebanks, and looks at the importance of managing sweetpotato crop wild relatives (CWR). The chapter also considers the specific issues associated with sweetpotato germplasm, as well as the application of next-generation sequencing to sweetpotato and its CWR. The second chapter reviews the development and application of genetic transformation and trait improvement to sweetpotato, including the development of sweetpotato plants which are resistant to disease and abiotic stress, and sweetpotatoes with improved starch quality and higher anthocyanin content. The final chapter examines the nutritional contribution made by OFSP (orange-fleshed sweetpotato) in poor rural communities in Malawi, Ghana, Nigeria and Burkina Faso; sustainable breeding and seed systems; and effective commercialisation and marketing to benefit the communities concerned. This chapter includes detailed case studies from Ghana and Malawi.

Research on the cutting edge of economics, ecology, and ethics is presented in this timely study. Building from a theoretical critique of the tradition of cost-benefit analysis, the contributors lay the foundation for a macroeconomics of environmental sustainability and distributive justice. Attention is then turned to three of the most critical areas of social and environmental applied research - biodiversity, climate change, and energy. The contributors redefine progress away from growth and toward development. To this end, the first section of the book tackles the dominant framework used in the US today to evaluate tradeoffs between economic growth and its inherent externalities. Succeeding chapters cover a wide variety of studies related to biodiversity health and energy. Each section is anchored with overviews by top scholars in these areas - including Herman Daly, Carl McDaniel, Stephen Schneider, and Nathan Hagens - and followed by detailed analyses reflecting the transdisciplinary approach of ecological economics. Students and scholars of ecological, environmental, and natural resource economics, sustainability sciences, and environmental studies will find this book of great interest. Non-profit and government agencies in search of methods and cases that merge the study of ecology and economics will also find the analyses of great practical value.

This innovative book investigates the practical applications of sustainable development in the spirit of the Brundtland Report, paying special attention to water-stressed developing countries. Satoshi Kojima argues that the main objective of sustainable development is poverty alleviation within the present generation without destroying those ecosystems underpinning life support systems. The policy implications of such sustainable development policies are investigated with an original quantitative policy analysis framework. The book develops an innovative dynamic optimisation CGE model based on the Ramsey growth model but employs an imperfect foresight assumption and a decentralised setting in which the private agent and the government optimise their objective functions separately. The model also addresses trade-offs between rain-fed and irrigated agriculture, urban unemployment due to rural-urban migration and welfare costs of lack of safe water access. The model is calibrated and dynamically validated against Moroccan time-series data. Researchers in environmental, ecological and development economics will find this book of great interest. It will also appeal to researchers and scholars interested in water management and related issues.

Sustainable development helps undo the havoc that has been created by human beings in the last few years in the name of development and growth. It helps to promote a more social, environmental, and economical way of living. There are many ways in which we all can practice sustainable development in our daily lives and further study is required. Multidisciplinary Approaches to Sustainable Human Development focuses on all agendas of sustainable development goals and offers approaches to develop a transdisciplinary perspective that encompasses the natural, social, and human sciences in the search for a sustainable society. Covering topics such as green economy, social innovation, and climate change, this premier reference work is ideal for environmentalists, government officials, policymakers, researchers, scholars, academicians, practitioners, instructors, and students.

Trade and the environment has become a major issue in international relations, yet the surrounding debate remains polarised and hostile. This book answers the question: Can an international liability regime facilitate international trade while fostering environmental sustainability?On the one hand, the authors argue, international trade is perceived as a major threat to environmental sustainability, whilst on the other, trade and the economic development arising from it is seen as the prerequisite to stronger environmental protection. Nowhere is the debate more acrimonious than over trade in genetically modified organisms. The Biosafety Protocol has been negotiated to govern trade in genetically modified products and includes provisions for an international liability regime to facilitate trade - a subject that has been little studied. This valuable study explores the role, design and potential effectiveness of such a regulating body and addresses questions such as - what are the options for an international environmental liability regime? Why are some options unworkable? Is there a set of options that will achieve the dual goals of trade facilitation and environmental protection? Is international liability the best option for defusing the trade and environment debate? This illuminating book will be an essential read for scholars and students (senior undergraduate as well as postgraduate) of international trade policy, environmental economics, international politics and international law. Individuals working in international organizations, those employed by environmental NGOs and government policy makers will also find much to engage them within this book.

Containing papers presented at the 13th International Conference on Urban Regeneration and Sustainability, this volume includes latest research providing solutions that lead towards sustainability. The series maintains its strong reputation and contributions have been made from a diverse range of delegates, resulting in a variety of topics and experiences. Urban areas face a number of challenges related to reducing pollution, improving main transportation and infrastructure systems and these challenges can contribute to the development of social and economic imbalances and require the development of new solutions. The challenge is to manage human activities, pursuing welfare and prosperity in the urban environment, whilst considering the relationships between the parts and their connections with the living world. The dynamics of its networks (flows of energy matter, people, goods, information and other resources) are fundamental for an understanding of the evolving nature of today's cities. Large cities represent a productive ground for architects, engineers, city planners, social and political scientists able to conceive new ideas and time them according to technological advances and human requirements. The multidisciplinary components of urban planning, the challenges presented by the increasing size of cities, the amount of resources required and the complexity of modern society are all addressed. The published papers cover the following fields: Urban strategies; Planning, development and management; The community and the city; Infrastructure and society; Eco-town planning; Spatial conflicts in the city; Urban transportation and planning; Conservation and regeneration; Architectural issues; Sustainable energy and the city; Environmental management; Flood risk; Waste management; Urban air pollution; Health issues; Water resources; Landscape planning and design; Intelligent environment; Planning for risk and natural hazards; Waterfront development; Case studies.

1.2 billion people on Earth still don't have electricity. Even where cell phones are now common, like sub-Saharan Africa and parts of India, villagers still walk miles to charge them. But new large-scale, sustainable solutions will not only usher in a new era of light, but be an important first step in lifting people from poverty and putting them on a road of sustainable economic development. Also, a unique, transforming opportunity for Western thinkers and practitioners will be created. These areas have largely skipped the analog stage of power development, and have moved straight from the middle ages to the digital age. They are not encumbered by existing infrastructure, dependence on fossil fuels, or too many outdated laws and regulations. An ideal innovation incubator, the developing world might just be the best way to make progress on our own energy issues at home. Jim Rogers is leading a grand collaborative effort to bring sustainable, clean electrical power to everyone who lacks it. This reverse engineering, he contends, could solve the energy crises of America and Europe, while also making the world a cleaner, smarter place. But it won't be easy. In Lighting the World, Rogers details the bold thinking, international cooperation, and political will required to illuminate the future for everyone.

This fully updated new edition continues in the vein of its predecessor by viewing cost-benefit analysis as applied welfare economics, while at the same time building on the earlier framework by extending the theory and providing further applications in each chapter. New for this edition are analyses of theory related applications in mental health, condom social marketing programs, female primary education as a means of preventing HIV/AIDS and the pricing of natural gas. Presented in an integrated manner, the theoretical concepts are constructed around the main building blocks of CBA, such as shadow pricing, distribution weights, the social discount rate and the marginal cost of public funds. This edition will cement the book's place as a major and accessible text in the field and will be of great interest to graduate and undergraduate students of welfare economics and microeconomic theory, as well as government economists involved with any area of public policy.