Freedom Mazwi examines patterns of agricultural finance in Zimbabwe since the radical Fast Track Land Resettlement Programme (FTLRP) was implemented in 2000-and, especially, the varying impact that the FTLRP reforms have had not only on land use, but also on the well-being of farmers.Focusing on contract farming in the tobacco and sugarcane sectors, Mazwi offers penetrating insights into social contradictions and power relations in Zimbabwe's rural areas. He also assesses the institutional finance mechanisms that have emerged in response to the radical land reforms and reflects on the related political and economic isolation of the country since 2000. Not least, he suggests how agrarian policy could be restructured to better benefit small-scale farmers.

"The Economics of a Disaster" represents a major contribution to the understanding of the economics of liability and damages. It is based on the assumption that if people know they can be held responsible for some or all of the costs or damages sustained in an environmental accident, they will change their behavior to make the accident less likely to occur or to reduce the damages should it occur. The work develops a framework to examine and measure changes in market conditions after a disaster, showing the kinds of information that need to be collected and analyzed. Based on the Exxon Valdez case, this work provides an interesting framework for practitioners, specialists, and scholars in the fields of business, economics, law, and environmental studies.

This book comprises a selection of the top contributions presented at the second international conference "Smart and Sustainable Planning for Cities and Regions 2017", held in March 2017 in Bolzano, Italy. Featuring forty-six papers by policy-makers, academics and consultants, it discusses current groundbreaking research in smart and sustainable planning, including the progress made in overcoming cities' challenges towards improving the quality of life. Climate change adaptation and mitigation of global warming, generally identified as drivers of global policies, are just the "tip of the iceberg" when it comes to smart energy transition. Indeed, equally relevant towards this current transformation - and key topics in this volume - are ICTs, public spaces and society; next economy for the city; strategies and actions for good governance; urban-rural innovation; rethinking mobility. The book's depth in understanding and insightfulness in re-thinking demonstrate the breaking of new ground in smart and sustainable planning. A new ground that policy-makers, academics and consultants may build upon as a bedrock for smart and sustainable planning.

This is the first book that takes a theoretical approach to the effects of international immigration by considering the current economic topics confronted by more highly developed countries such as Japan. Developed here is the classic trade model by Heckscher-Ohlin-Samuelson, McDougall's basic model of the international movement factor, the urban-rural migration model by Harris-Todaro, and Copeland-Taylor's well-known model in the field of environmental economics by introducing new trends such as economic integration including free trade and factor mobility between countries at different stages of development. Coexistence of two types of immigrants - legal, skilled workers and illegal, unskilled workers - without any explicit signs of discrimination, transboundary pollution caused by neighboring lower-developed countries with poor pollution abatement technology, difficult international treatment of transboundary renewable resources, the rapid process of aging and population decrease, the higher unemployment rate of younger generations, and the serious gap between permanent and temporary employed workers-are also considered in this book as new and significant topics under the context of international immigration. Taking into account the special difficulties of those serious problems in Asia, each chapter illustrates Japanese and other Asian situations that encourage readers to understand the importance of optimal immigration policies. Also shown is the possibility that economic integration and liberalization of international immigration should bring about positive effects on the economic welfare of the developed host country including the aspects of natural environment, renewable transboundary resources, the rate of unemployment, and the wage gap between workers.

This book explores the political aspects of China's climate change policy, focusing on the newly established carbon markets and carbon trading schemes. Lo makes a case for understanding the policy change in terms of discourse and in relation to narratives of national power and development.

This book brings together the work of researchers in Eastern and Western Europe, who analyze competitiveness, social exclusion and sustainability from a range of perspectives. It examines the key challenges faced by the EU in its efforts to establish a socially inclusive and greener path to growth and develops policy recommendations to simultaneously achieve the EU 2020 agenda's long-term goals and address the current economic crisis in Europe.

This volumes consists of 59 peer-reviewed papers, presented at the International Conference on Sustainable Design and Manufacturing (SDM-16) held in Chania, Crete Greece in April 2016. Leading-edge research into sustainable design and manufacturing aims to enable the manufacturing industry to grow by adopting more advanced technologies, and at the same time improve its sustainability by reducing its environmental impact. SDM-16 covers a wide range of topics from sustainable product design and service innovation, sustainable process and technology for the manufacturing of sustainable products, sustainable manufacturing systems and enterprises, decision support for sustainability, and the study of societal impact of sustainability including research for circular economy. Application areas are wide and varied. The book will provide an excellent overview of the latest research and development in the area of Sustainable Design and Manufacturing.

Ground water resources are receiving global attention, as human population growth and development cause significant changes to the earth system. It plays a major role in ensuring livelihood security in many parts of South Asia and its contribution to poverty alleviation is substantial. The complex nature of ground water problems in the Indian Sub-continent requires a precise delineation of the ground water regimes in different hydro geological settings and socio-economic conditions and is a primary necessity for sustainable and equitable management. Strategies to respond to ground water over-exploitation and deteriorating water quality must be based on a new approach. Practical policies and various solution options urgently need to be formulated and implemented to prevent the development problems. There is pressing need to evolve workable methods and approaches based on modern scientific researches on ground water resources, as well as to build a social framework including community participation at all levels for a ground water development system. The community participation in water pumping policies, incentives of efficient use, affordability of low income users and other vulnerable groups, water awareness are prime factors for success of any ground water based water supply project.

Implementation of technology into social and economic developments have provided key strengths in improving competitiveness and meeting the demands of modern society for life and the economy; including adapting to green development as a means to confront the economic crisis. E-Innovation for Sustainable Development of Rural Resources During Global Economic Crisis brings together a multidisciplinary exchange of knowledge on the application of electronic and mobile innovations towards the sustainable development of the economy. Providing an opportunity to identify effective e-innovation and successful practices, this book is essential for researchers, students, rural developers, and academics in the fields of economics, sustainable development, informatics, and the environment.

Based on the work of Poly5, or the Mediterranean Corridor, mega-transport infrastructure project, this ground-breaking reference explains how and why traditional top-down government-defined transport planning policies are failing, due to their tendency to eschew acknowledgement of profoundly multifarious local and regional issues. The authors use cognitive reports from the Mediterranean Corridor experience as a learning platform, unpacking the tangled sources of the challenges faced to find firm ground from which to embark upon future projects. They propose the replacement of the current fragmented and unbalanced implementation efforts across various territories with a bottom-up, holistic, inclusive approach in which individual territories and regions have buy-in from the outset, a chance to bring their strengths to bear on the broader infrastructural planning, an ongoing communication channel to report and tackle difficulties and clear, strategic directives to drive sustainable future growth of environmentally desirable and practical mega-transport systems.

The last two decades have seen rapid and often dramatic changes in the institutional, economic and ecological contexts faced by firms operating in South Asian economies. The most significant driver of this change has been the economic liberalization attempts of national governments resulting in easier and faster flows of information, labor and capital between these economies and the rest of the world. Consequently, global environmental and social concerns are increasingly driving governmental and corporate decision-making processes for firms operating in South Asia. This edited collection aims to examine issues related to building an environmentally sustainable industrial system from an emerging-economy perspective, with specific emphasis on the subcontinent.

This book uses electricity-sector reforms to question some of the preconceived ideas concerning the MENA region and to provide a broader analysis of related political economy issues. It presents potential further developments of MENA's electricity-sector reforms, taking into consideration the region's unique constraints and opportunities, and discusses the practical limits of reform and deregulation. Specifically, it examines the relationship between reforms and oil prices from a new perspective and presents alternatives to the Single Buyer Model. Complementing existing research on electricity-sector reforms in other emerging markets, the book provides a new analytical framework for assessing reforms that can be easily applied to other markets and sectors.

This book includes papers presented at the 6th Arte-Polis International Conference. The theme of the conference was "Imagining Experiences: Creative Tourism and the Making of Place", and the book brings together studies based on lessons-learned, research and critical reviews related to creative tourism and reflections on placemaking. Covering a broad range of topics, including cultural and experiential perceptions of landscape, sustainable design, urban and rural planning, traditional and vernacular environment, public realm, thematic tourism, as well as heritage preservation and management, it discusses how issues of tourism shape our understanding of and discourse on architecture and landscapes. The book serves as an invitation to more participatory and polyphonic dialogues in the field of architecture, art and planning.

The research and its outcomes presented here focuses on tropospheric or ground level ozone, in particular due to its surfacing as a major threat to crop productivity around the world. This book presents the ozone concentration data for a variety of geographical regions, examines the factors responsible for its increasing concentrations and its potential effects on physiological and biochemical responses culminating in crop productivity losses which, in turn may pose a serious threat to global food security. Beside this, certain ameliorative measures that could be adopted to assess ozone injury in plants are also discussed. Global climate change scenarios predict a significant increase in future tropospheric ozone concentration. Particular attention is therefore given to evaluate the effect of global climate change on ozone concentrations. Readers will also discover how yield losses due to ozone are related to changes in the socio-economic conditions of the society, especially in South Asian regions. Students and researchers studying crop and soil science, environmental scientists, risk assessment professionals and policy makers will find this book of interest.

This book highlights the processing, characterization and applications of various green composites. Composites are known for their unique properties, which are derived by combining two or more components. This yields properties such as greater strength and rigidity than that of the individual components, as well as reduced weight. To help achieve such outcomes, the book discusses the potential applications of hybrid bio-composites and sisal-fiber-reinforced epoxidized non-edible oil-based epoxy green composites.

Guy Robinson and Doris Carson have assembled a wonderfully comprehensive and timely book that both reveals and joins together the many and varied elements of diverse contemporary agriculture and food production systems. The book stands as a valuable scan of the diverse forces and processes of change in agriculture and also makes visible, through its various and well-chosen case analyses, the abiding and sometimes colliding roles of structure , agency, power and place in shaping farm and food futures.' - John Smithers, University of Guelph, Canada'An excellent, timely and innovative contribution to the wide-ranging debates on the globalisation of agriculture. The book brings together a wide array of authors who approach agricultural globalisation issues from various angles spanning both the social and natural sciences, including key contributions on agriculture/environment issues, food security challenges, policy regimes, transnational corporations, and challenges of an increasingly globalised agriculture.' - Geoff A. Wilson, Plymouth University, UK Agriculture is becoming increasingly influenced by globalisation. The result is a more interconnected world where new forms of trade and cultural exchange can thrive on an international level. This novel Handbook provides insights to the ways in which globalization is affecting the whole agri-food system, from farms to the consumer. The expert contributors cover themes including the physical basis of agriculture, the influence of trade policies, the nature of globalised agriculture, and resistance to globalisation in the form of attempts to foster sustainability and multifunctional agricultural systems. They present a state-of-the-art summary of current debates and provide a starting point for subsequent research into solutions aimed at addressing food insecurity, global hunger and uneven development. Drawing upon studies from around the world, the Handbook will appeal to a broad and varied readership, across academics, students, and policy-makers interested in economics, trade, geography, sociology and political science. Contributors: K. Anderson, D.K. Bardsley, P. Basu, A. Blay-Palmer, S. Bringezu, L. Bryant, D. Burch, D.A. Carson, A. Dorward, J. Entwistle, S.J. Fielke, D. Fuchs, T. Gomiero, W. Grant, P. Hoppe, B. Ilbery, A. Kalfagianni, J. Klepek, I. Knezevic, G. Lawrence, T. Li, Y. Liu, H. Long, D. Maye, J. Morrison, S. Nicholson, M. O'Brien, A. Omer, C.R. Parfitt, K.E. Rickson, R.E. Rickson, D.F. Robinson, G.M. Robinson, N. Russell, B.A. Scholten, H. Schutz, S.R. Sippel, R. Taylor, B. Winders

This fourth volume on detox fashion focuses on case studies, which are essential to showcase how practical applications have been accomplished, and provide an opportunity for others to (learn about and) adopt the best practices, challenges and practical implications. The book consists of three core chapters: Detoxifying the Supply Chain: Slow Production Networks in South-East European Garment Factories; Detoxifying the Luxury and Fashion Industry: The Case of Market-driving Brands; and Detox My Fashion under Mission 2020-Case Studies from Different Brands.

The book covers the latest development in the biosciences field covering key topics in crop improvement including 'omic approaches to improving sustainable crop production, advancement in marker technology, strategies in genetic manipulation, crop quality and sustainability and plant microbe interaction detailing on proven technologies to address critical issue for agricultural sustainability which are beneficial for researchers and students. The book also includes aspects of preserving crops after harvest as this is a key factor in promoting sustainable crop quality in terms of addressing waste, choosing the appropriate packaging and moving crops through the food and industrial supply chain. An important strategy to overcome the challenges in providing food for the world population in a sustainable manner is through concerted efforts by crop scientists to embrace new technologies in increasing yield, quality and improving food safety while minimizing adverse environmental impact of the agricultural activities. Most of the proven molecular and genetic technologies in crop science have been tested and verified in model plants such as Arabidopsis and tomato. The technologies, when deployed on various plant species of importance for human nutrition and industrial applications, including cereals, vegetables, fruits, herbs, fibre and oil crops, face many challenges, not only due to their longer life cycle but many other physiological and environmental factors affecting yield and quality of plant products. Furthermore, major impacts on crop production due to catastrophic diseases and global climate change needs urgent and innovative solutions. Therefore a systematic approach, employing various leading-edge technologies that enable the functional elucidation of key pathway genes via 'omics tools, genome wide association with desired phenotypes and development of cost effective and practicable molecular tools for selection, is vital. The International Conference on Crop Improvement was held to address these and other pressing issues. This volume summarizes the keynote presentations from the meeting and highlights addition discussions that are critical to crop improvement in a challenging time.

The realm of sustainable development focuses on the ability to meet the demands of the present, while not compromising the demands of the future. The knowledge of balancing sustainable development goals with high performance is essential. Even more essential is sharing the practices and accomplishments within sustainable development so that it may be spread throughout many organizations and societal functions. The Handbook of Research on Novel Practices and Current Successes in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals provides valuable insights, challenges, and practices to highlight the key determinants in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. This book presents a complex and thorough theoretical infrastructure concerning the Sustainable Development Goals, challenges and practices, as well as an important set of empirical results that will make a tremendous contribution to the analysis of the key determinants specific to the Sustainable Development Goals. Covering topics such as alternative consumption models, non-profit organizations, and sustainable communities, this is an essential text for academicians, scientists, researchers, students, PhD scholars, post-doctoral students, specialists, practitioners, governmental institutions, and policymakers worldwide.

The Commoner's Catalog for Changemaking was born of a simple realization: The world we have inherited is no longer working. The future of the planet and civilization as we know it are threatened, and the cries heard during the pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests-"I can't breathe"-continue to echo. By giving us tools for navigating the transitions ahead, this catalog helps us breathe more deeply. The Commoner's Catalog for Changemaking explains the transformational power of social collaboration by showcasing dozens of pathbreaking projects, books, websites, and activist initiatives. Commoners seek to prioritize people's needs over market extraction, steward the Earth, relocalize the economy, and build new institutions of empowerment. The emerging Commonsverse can be seen in relocalized food systems and community land trusts...in racial empowerment through collective action and mutual aid...and in free and open source software, peer production, and platform cooperatives. Commoning is helping communities to managing scarce water supplies, farmers to develop regenerative agriculture, and artists to reclaim control of their creative lives. Ordinary people are becoming more self-reliant through timebanking and collaborative finance, care collectives and gift economies, and alternative local currencies. The Commoner's Catalog for Changemaking is an indispensable guide for understanding many profound social transformations now underway. In 25 thematic sections, The Commoner's Catalog offers a rare collection of tools for navigating the transitions ahead and building a new world. It offers a portrait of the system-change activism that is creating an economics of sufficiency, a politics of fairness, and a culture of belonging.