There is no question that Africa is endowed with abundant natural resources of different magnitudes. However, more than a decade of high commodity prices and new hydrocarbon discoveries across the continent has led countless international organizations, donor agencies, and non-governmental organizations to devote considerable attention to the potential of natural resource-based development. Natural Resource-Based Development in Africa places a particular emphasis on the actors that help us understand the extent to which resources could be transformed into broader developmental outcomes. Based on a wide variety of primary sources and fieldwork, including in-person interviews and participant observations, this collection contributes to both scholarly and policy discussions around the governance and economic development roles of local entrepreneurs, transnational firms, civil society groups, local communities, and government agencies in Africa's natural resource sectors. Natural Resource-Based Development in Africa explores the impact that these actors have on regional trends such as resource nationalism and local procurement policies as well as grassroots-related issues such as poverty, livelihoods, gender equity, development, and human security.

This compact and elegant work (equally fitting for both academic as well as the trade audiences) provides a readily accessible and highly readable overview of Bhutan's unique opportunities and challenges; all her prominent environmental legislation, regulatory statutes, ecological customs and practices, both in historic and contemporary terms. At the same time, Bionomics places the ecological context, including a section on animal rights in Bhutan, within the nation's Buddhist spiritual and ethical setting. Historic contextualization accents the book's rich accounting of every national park and scientific reserve, as well as providing up-to-the-minute climate-change related hurdles for the country. Merging the interdisciplinary sciences, engineering and humanities data in a compelling up-to-date portrait of the country, the authors have presented this dramatic compendium against the backdrop of an urgent, global ecological time-frame. It thus becomes clear that the articulated stakes for Bhutan, like her neighboring Himalayan and Indian sub-continental countries (China, India, Bangladesh and Myanmar) are immense, as the Anthropocene epoch unfolds, affecting every living being across the planet. Because Bhutan's two most rewarding revenue streams derive from the sale of hydro-electric power and from tourism, the complexities of modern pressures facing a nation that prides herself on maintaining traditional customs in what has been a uniquely isolated nation are acute.

The author uses the work of the eminent Canadian philosopher, Charles Taylor, to develop a critique of those political perspectives that are based on instrumental ways to reason about the world, claiming that such perspectives invariably sever the connections between the social and natural worlds.

The nineteenth-century roots of environmental writing in American literature are often mentioned in passing and sometimes studied piece by piece. Writing the Environment in Nineteenth-Century American Literature: The Ecological Awareness of Early Scribes of Nature brings together numerous explorations of environmentally-aware writing across the genres of nineteenth-century literature. Like Lawrence Buell, the authors of this collection find Thoreau's writing a touchstone of nineteenth-century environmental writing, particularly focusing on Thoreau's claim that humans may function as "scribes of nature." However, these studies of Thoreau's antecedents, contemporaries, and successors also reveal a range of other writers in the nineteenth century whose literary treatments of nature are often more environmentally attuned than most readers have noticed. The writers whose works are studied in this collection include canonical and forgotten writers, men and women, early nineteenth-century and late nineteenth-century authors, pioneers and conservationists. They drew attention to the conflicted relationships between humans and the American continent, as experienced by Native Americans and European Americans. Taken together, these essays offer a fresh perspective on the roots of environmental literature in nineteenth-century American nonfiction, fiction, and poetry as well as in multi-genre compositions such as the travel writings of Margaret Fuller. Bringing largely forgotten voices such as John Godman alongside canonical voices such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, and Emily Dickinson, the authors whose writings are studied in this collection produced a diverse tapestry of nascent American environmental writing in the nineteenth-century. From early nineteenth-century writers such as poet Philip Freneau and novelist Charles Brockden Brown to later nineteenth-century conservationists such as John James Audubon and John Muir, Scribes of Nature shows the development of an environmental consciousness and a growing conservationist ethos in American literature. Given their often surprisingly healthy respect for the natural environment, these nineteenth-century writers offer us much to consider in an age of environmental crisis. The complexities of the supposed nature/culture divide still work into our lives today as economic and environmental issues are often seen at loggerheads when they ought to be seen as part of the same conversation of what it means to live healthy lives, and to pass on a healthy world to those who follow us in a world where human activity is becoming increasingly threatening to the health of our planet.

No one looking ahead at the middle of the last century could have foreseen the extent and the importance of the ensuing environmental crises. Now, more than a decade into the next century, no one can ignore it.

A New Environmental Ethics: the Next Millennium for Life on Earth offers clear, powerful, and oftentimes moving thoughts from one of the first and most respected philosophers to write on the environment. Rolston, an early and leading pioneer in studying the moral relationship between humans and the earth, surveys the full spectrum of approaches in the field of environmental ethics. This book, however, is not simply a judicious overview. Instead, it offers critical assessments of contemporary academic accounts and draws on a lifetime of research and experience to suggest an outlook for the future. As a result, this focused, forward-looking analysis will be a necessary complement to any balanced textbook or anthology in environmental ethics, and will teach its readers to be responsible global citizens, and residents of their landscape, helping ensure that the future we have will be the one we wish for.

Awareness of eco-literature has recalled the central ideology of environmentalism - "to think globally and act locally." As this volume shows, various tags of contemporary discourse have emerged, including transnational, cosmopolitan, hybridity, diaspora, and generally cultural. These concerns highlight such global environmental problems as biodiversity, climate change, and developing new forms of interconnectedness with local and regional communities. In this context, contemporary discourse becomes of immediate concern in understanding the environmental crisis. In a way, reading different cultures and experiences can contribute to a contemporary discourse that can facilitate an environmental sensibility and develop a unique ecological approach.

These studies reveal that public participation in environmental decision making is both shaped by &, in many cases, constrained by ways in which environmental issues, problems & solutions are defined or framed through the strategic communication practices of the participants.

Voice and Environmental Communication explores how people give voice to, and listen to the voices of, the environment. This foundational book introduces the relationship between these two fundamental aspects of human existence and extends our knowledge of the role of voice in the study of environmental communication.

The study of literature and the environment evokes and promotes this highly original eco-critical collection and its contributions to evaluating the preservation of nature and human attachment and to situate it at a local, communitarian, or bio-regional level. Revisiting eco-literature can aid our exploration of numerous global issues and challenges through a literary rendition of the natural world in poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. Reflecting on different works will prompt the readers to intensify their search for viable and effective choices and healthy alternatives in a confusing world.

Water is the key to human civilization. Most of the ancient civilization had its roots to river basins, where people-water interaction was the key aspect. Due to innovations of knowledge and technology and modernization of lifestyles, the human-water direct contact has become less significant. People have become more dependent to the system, and consequently, the closeness to water is gradually diminishing. It is however, a challenge on how to learn from the basic principles of water human interaction and apply those lessons to the current context of urban and rural settings. This book will provide a few analytical case studies on different aspects of water communities, which is defined as the human-water interaction process.

This book presents narratives, perspectives and policies on the Arctic and brings to fore the strategies of five Asian countries - China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea and Singapore who were granted the status of Permanent Observers in the Arctic Council in 2013. The book also captures Arctic countries' reactions to Asian approaches, and their expectations from these countries. The melting of the polar sea-ice induced by climate change has placed the Arctic region in the forefront of global scientific, economic, strategic and academic interest. The discourse involves a number of issues such as claims of the littoral countries to the continental shelves of the region, the management and exploitation of its living and non-living resources, the rights and interests of indigenous communities, and the prospects of new ice-free shipping routes. The contemporary discourse also suggests that the Arctic region presents challenges and offers opportunities for the international community. These issues have given rise to new geopolitical, geoeconomic, and geostrategic dynamics amongst the Arctic littorals, and led to the growing interest of non-Arctic states in the affairs of the Arctic. It is evident that the Asian countries have a variety of interests in the Arctic, and the grant of Permanent Observer status to these countries is an acknowledgement of their capabilities. These countries are keen to explore opportunities in the Arctic, and have begun to formulate appropriate long-term national strategies. The preliminary approach of the Asian Observer countries has rightly been to graduate from 'involvement' to 'engagement' in the Arctic, which seems to have generated significant interest amongst analysts. This book helps to understand the approaches of various Arctic and non-Arctic stakeholders, in light of the evolving dynamics in the region.

Harnessing new enthusiasm for Nan Shepherd's writing, The Living World asks how literature might help us reimagine humanity's place on earth in the midst of our ecological crisis. The first book to examine Shepherd's writing through an ecocritical lens, it reveals forgotten details about the scientific, political and philosophical climate of early twentieth century Scotland, and offers new insights into Shepherd's distinctive environmental thought. More than this, this book reveals how Shepherd's ways of relating to complex, interconnected ecologies predate many of the core themes and concerns of the multi-disciplinary environmental humanities, and may inform their future development. Broken down into chapters focusing on themes of place, ecology, environmentalism, Deep Time, vital matter and selfhood, The Living World offers the first integrated study of Shepherd's writing and legacy, making the work of this philosopher, feminist, amateur ecologist, geologist, and innovative modernist, accessible and relevant to a new community of readers.

The importance of Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) is increasing due, in part, to recent major disasters throughout the world. CCA and DRR are closely associated and there has been significant awareness at global and national levels to make collective focus on CCA and DRR. Although there are several books on CCA, this is the first systematic academic publication to highlight the linkages between CCA and DRR, CCA-DRR synergy and interactions. The book is divided into four parts: Part 1 focuses on the theory of CCA and DRR and its enabling environment; Part 2 focuses on governance, education and technology as the framework of CCA-DRR linkage; Part 3 focuses on different entry points with chapters on urban, coast, mountain, river and housing; and Part 4 focuses on regional perspective of CCA and DRR looking at developing nations, south Asia, ASEAN and Small Island Developing States. Key issues and challenges related to the CCA and DRR are highlighted throughout, mostly drawing lessons and experiences from the field practices. This book gives researchers and practitioners greater awareness on the current trend of research in the field.

Measurements, Indicators, and Research Methods for Sustainability presents a thorough and accessible overview of the ways in which sustainability is charted worldwide. Some articles introduce basic concepts, such as quantitative versus qualitative data or the weak versus strong sustainability debate; others examine how indicators in specific areas (climate change and soil conservation, agriculture, and mining) have been applied (or not) to different regions. Research analysts explain the modes and media through which these measurements are broadcast, stressing the importance of developing methods that can be understood by both experts and ordinary citizens. They also examine the process of monitoring, itself a controversial topic affecting national or international policy, law, rules, and regulations.

In a time of darkening environmental prospects, frightening religious fundamentalism, and moribund liberalism, the remarkable and historically unprecedented rise of religious environmentalism is a profound source of hope. Theologians are recovering nature-honoring elements of traditional religions and forging bold new theologies connecting devotion to God and spiritual truth with love for God's creation and care for the Earth. And religious people throughout the world are transforming the meaning of their faiths in the face of the environmental crisis. The successes and significance of religious environmentalism are manifest in statements by leaders of virtually all the world's religions, in new and "green" prayers and rituals, and in sophisticated criticisms of modern society's economy, politics, and culture. From the Evangelical Environmental Network to the Buddhist prime minister of Mongolia, the National Council of Churches to tree-planting campaigns in Zimbabwe, religious environmentalism has become a powerful component of the world environmental movement.
In A Greener Faith, Roger S. Gottlieb chronicles the promises of this critically important movement, illuminating its principal ideas, leading personalities, and ways of connecting care for the earth with justice for human beings. He also shows how religious environmentalism breaks the customary boundaries of "religious issues" in political life. Asserting that environmental degradation is sacrilegious, sinful, and an offense against God catapults religions directly into questions of social policy, economic and moral priorities, and the overall direction of secular society. Gottlieb contends that a spiritual perspectiveapplied to the Earth provides the environmental movement with a uniquely appropriate way to voice its dream of a sustainable and just world. Equally important, it helps develop a world-making political agenda that far exceeds interest group politics applied to forests and toxic incinerators. Rather, religious environmentalism offers an all-inclusive vision of what human beings are and how we should treat each other and the rest of life.
Gottlieb deftly analyzes the growing synthesis of the movement's religious, social, and political aspects, as well as the challenges it faces in consumerism, fundamentalism, and globalization. Highly engaging and passionately argued, this book is an indispensable resource for people of faith, environmentalists, scholars, and anyone who is concerned about our planet's future.

Following on from Volume 4 in this series, which looked at issues and challenges with regard to Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Volume 5 has a specific focus on Asia. Arguably among the regions of the world most vulnerable to climate change, Asia has different mechanisms for CCA and DRR activities. Synergies between DRR and CCA in this region are necessary not only to avoid duplicities and derive optimal benefits from scarce resources but also to add value to projects through lessons learnt from a variety of perspectives. This volume provides 19 case studies from 13 countries and regions in Asia. The case studies highlight different aspects of CCA-DRR entry points, such as policy interventions, drought risk management, coastal management, agro-forestry, lagoon management, livelihood issues and risk communication. A valuable aid to students and researchers in the field of disaster risk reduction, climate change, environmental studies and related risks, it provides a greater awareness on the current trend of research in the field also for practitioners and policy makers applying the collective knowledge into policy and decision making.

This book features a selection of the best papers presented during the 8th ATMC (Advances in Tourism Marketing Conference) of 2019. With contributions from internationally regarded academic experts, this edited collection addresses two major challenges for the tourism industry. Firstly, the criticism that tourism marketing is exploitative and fuels hedonistic consumerism. This volume seeks to illustrate that marketing skills and techniques can also be used for the good purposes, by understanding market needs, designing more sustainable products and identifying more persuasive methods of communication to transform tourist unsustainable behaviours. The contributions in this volume present theories, methods and results for enhancing such techniques for more sustainable marketing. Secondly, the challenge of new and growing collaborative business models, with champions as Airbnb or Uber, that are often presented as more sustainable than traditional ones, as they empower ordinary people and promote the shared use of resources. This volume explores how sharing practices in business raises new social challenges and the ethical questions that arise as a consequence. Sustainable and Collaborative Tourism in a Digital World offers discussion and insights from some of the world experts in the area as to how tourism marketing can evolve and advance to rise-up to these new challenges and opportunities. Part of the Advances in Tourism Marketing Series - a series of cutting-edge research-informed edited books that introduce the reader to a range of contemporary marketing phenomena in the domain of travel and tourism. Series editors: Alan Fyall, UCF, USA, Metin Kozak, Dokuz Eylul University, Turkey and Antonia Correia, Universidade do Algarve, Portugal.

This book features a selection of the best papers presented during the 8th ATMC (Advances in Tourism Marketing Conference) of 2019. With contributions from internationally regarded academic experts, this edited collection addresses two major challenges for the tourism industry. Firstly, the criticism that tourism marketing is exploitative and fuels hedonistic consumerism. This volume seeks to illustrate that marketing skills and techniques can also be used for the good purposes, by understanding market needs, designing more sustainable products and identifying more persuasive methods of communication to transform tourist unsustainable behaviours. The contributions in this volume present theories, methods and results for enhancing such techniques for more sustainable marketing. Secondly, the challenge of new and growing collaborative business models, with champions as Airbnb or Uber, that are often presented as more sustainable than traditional ones, as they empower ordinary people and promote the shared use of resources. This volume explores how sharing practices in business raises new social challenges and the ethical questions that arise as a consequence. Sustainable and Collaborative Tourism in a Digital World offers discussion and insights from some of the world experts in the area as to how tourism marketing can evolve and advance to rise-up to these new challenges and opportunities. Part of the Advances in Tourism Marketing Series - a series of cutting-edge research-informed edited books that introduce the reader to a range of contemporary marketing phenomena in the domain of travel and tourism. Series editors: Alan Fyall, UCF, USA, Metin Kozak, Dokuz Eylul University, Turkey and Antonia Correia, Universidade do Algarve, Portugal.

David Ehrenfeld is a highly esteemed writer on ecology and conservation biology. The founding editor of The Journal of Conservation Biology and author of The Arrogance of Humanism and Beginning Again, his new book is an elegant study of the cost to human dignity and potential, of the shrinking wilderness and the ongoing degredation of the environment. He ruminates on the impacts of short-sighted governmental and economic policies, and of new technologies on human values and communities, tracing the human impacts upon the urban, agricultural and wilderness environments. Ehrenfeld has a unique, unmistakable voice as a major spokesperson for the conservation ethic and the human values implicit in environmentalism and conservation biology. This book should appeal strongly to readers of Ehrenfeld's earlier books and essays, and reach and satisfy a broad constituency on the green end of the political spectrum.

The effect of manmade activities is primarily local but can extend far away from the location of intervention. This underlines the importance of establishing coastal zone management plans covering large stretches of coastlines.
In recent years, interest in Low Crested Structures (coastal defense structures with a low-crest) has been growing together with awareness of the sensitivity to environmental impacts produced by coastal defenses.
The relation between wave climate, beach erosion, beach defence means, habitat changes and beach value, which clearly exists based on EC research results, suggests the necessity of an integrated approach when designing coastal protection schemes. In accordance with this need, the present design guidelines cover structure stability and construction problems, hydro and morphodynamic effects, environmental effects (colonisation of the structure and water quality), societal and economic impacts (recreational benefits, swimming safety, beach quality).
Environmental Design Guidelines for Low Crested Coastal Structures is specifically dedicated to Low Crested Structures, and provides methodological tools both for the engineering design of structures and for the prediction of performance and environmental impacts of such structures. A briefing of current best practice for local and national planning authorities, statutory agencies and other stakeholders in the coastal zone is also covered.
Presented in a generic way, this book is appropriate throughout the European Union, taking into account current European Commission policy and directives for the promotion of sustainable development and integrated coastal zone management.
* Fills the gap between engineering and ecology in coastal defense planning
* Shows the reader how to perform an integrated design of coastal defense schemes
* Presents latest insights on hydro-morphodynamics induced by structures
* Provides directly applicable tools for the design of low crested structures
* Highlights socio-economic perspectives in coastal defense design

This book explores the social origins of the Western preoccupation with health and environmental hazards. It looks at the rise of the dichotomy between the vulnerable "in" and the threatening "out" by examining the pathologies associated with weather, domestic space, ventilation, clothing, and travel in Britain at the turn of the 19th century.

Ecological restoration integrates the science and art of repairing ecosystems damaged by human activities. Despite relatively little attention from environmental ethicists, restoration projects continue to gain significance, drawing on citizen volunteers and large amounts of public funds, providing an important model of responding to ecological crisis. Projects range from the massive, multi-billion dollar Kissimmee River project; restoring 25,000 acres of Everglades' wetlands; to the $30 million effort to restore selected wetlands in industrial Brownfield sites in Chicago's south side Lake Calumet area; to the reintroduction of tall grass prairie ecosystems in various communities in the Midwest. Restored to Earth provides the first comprehensive examination of the religious and ethical dimensions and significance of contemporary restoration practice, an ethical framework that advances the field of environmental ethics in a more positive, action-oriented, experience-based direction. Van Wieren brings together insights and examples from restoration ecology, environmental ethics, religious studies, and conservation and Christian thought, as well as her own personal experiences in ecological restoration, to propose a new restoration ethic grounded in the concrete, hands-on experience of humans working as partners with the land.