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Books > Earth & environment > Geography > Physical geography > General
In 2000 the European Union and its 78 African-Caribbean-Pacific partners signed the Cotonou Agreement, heralding a new era in developmental politics. This comprehensive book draws attention to the limitations in the EU's approach to implementing pro-poor, environmentally sustainable development amongst its African-Caribbean-Pacific partners.
The current scenario provides an ideal opportunity to confer higher priority to the marine resources of the Indian Ocean, particularly in terms of integrated management of the deep sea, shallow sea and coastal resources. This will maximize their potential in the sustainable development goal (SDG) pattern, leading to an appropriate environmental management. Therefore, this book aims to provide an overview of the area and to highlight the potential market opportunities represented by this vast and rapidly developing nation. In doing so the following aspects have been covered: Exclusive title focussing on mineral resources of Indian ocean. Discusses living, nonliving, ocean waves and tidal energy, ocean environment and protection aspects. Includes information on key themes, details of organizations associated with the Indian Ocean. Illustrates deep sea mining technology and environmental perspectives. Covers hydrocarbons-sub sea oil and gas, minerals from placer deposits to deep sea nodules, sea floor massive sulphides and cobalt rich encrustations.
As a continent of extreme, rare and complex environments, Australia has produced a startling group of ecological pioneers. Australian thinkers and innovators have made some truly original contributions to ecological thought. This study traces the emergence of ecological awareness in Australia. By constructing a social history with chapters focusing on different fields in the arts, sciences, politics and public life, Martin Mulligan and Stuart Hill are able to bring to life the work of significant individuals.
These three volumes present an original exploration of all aspects
of water--social, cultural, political, religious, historical,
economic and technological--from ancient times until the present
day. Among the varied themes, the contributors examine the changing
histories of water as a private or common good, the politics of
water at local, urban, national and international level, water in
cities, great river plans, dams, river biographies, and cultural
constructions of water--images of water in religion, myth,
literature and art. With empirical and ethnographic case studies
from around the world the three volumes together represent one of
the most complete and up to date accounts of the central role of
water in the history and development of humanity.
Clumsy Solutions for a Complex World is a powerful and original statement on why well-intended attempts to alleviate pressing social ills too often derail, and how effective, efficient and broadly acceptable solutions to social problems can be found.
Drawing on a variety of disciplines, Sustainable Diplomacy is a highly constructive work. Set in the context of modern Moroccan-Spanish relations, this text is a direct critique of realism as it is practiced in modern diplomacy. Proposing a new eco-centric approach to relations between nation-states and bioregions, Wellman presents the case for Ecological Realism, an undergirding philosophy for conducting a diplomacy which values the role of popular religions, ecological histories, and the consumption and waste patterns of national populations. Sustainable Diplomacy is thus a means of building relations not only between elites but also between people on the ground, as they together face the real possibility of global ecological destruction.
This is an extraordinary 1997 collection of essays about landscape. With a lively and engaging style, George Seddon considers everything from creating a garden in Freemantle, to locating ancient plants while wandering in a far North Queensland rainforest to analysing the geological features on either side of the tram tracks in Collingwood. Yet while the book celebrates Australia, and covers many topics that seem familiar and everyday, it is challenging and provocative. Seddon is acutely aware of the moral and environmental aspects of history and is able to present local and regional history on a grand scale. Landprints reflects a lifetime devoted to questions about landscape: the ways we use and abuse the land, how Australian landscapes are different from European landscapes and how this land makes those who live on it uniquely, if ambiguously, Australian.
This book contains a selection of papers from the International Military Geology and Geography Conference, held at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York in June 2003. Studies in Military Geography and Geology expands a series of recent publications originating from conferences and symposia on military geology that began in 1994. The 25 contributions address a broad range of military topics ranging from the strategic perspective, through analyses of historical battles at the operational and tactical levels, to the use of advanced technologies applied to present-day military problems.
Does participatory governance benefit the environment? The European Water Framework Directive (WFD), which came into force in 2000 with the aim of revolutionizing European water governance, mandates participatory river basin management planning across the European Union. The belief of European policymakers and the European Commission is that participation will deliver better policy outputs and implementation. This book examines a range of approaches to participatory river basin management planning, and considers whether and how participation impacted on the environmental standard of planning documents, quality of implementation, and social outcomes. It draws on evidence from WFD implementation in eight case studies from Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom on the basis of a matched comparative case study design. The Directive sets common timeframes and procedural requirements, which provides a perfect test-bed and unique opportunity to study the effects of participation on implementation and outcomes in comparative perspective.
This text is a complete introduction to reseah methods in political science, covering all the topics typically included in a one semester undergraduate-level course. h concentrates on the basics of what a student needs to know how to do in order to be an effecise consumer of scientific research and begin to conduct his or her own research projects. The approach of 'learning by doing" is encouraged through nUmeroUs examples and exercises. The book is written in an informal style, with minimal use of technical jargon. Alan D. Monroe (Ph.D.. Indiana Univrsity) has taught introductory research methods at Illinois Slate University for more than 25 years. He has published research on a variety of topics, particularly of public opinion and public policy in the U.S.. and has also conducted a number of research projects for governmental agencies and private clients, including surveys for political campaigns.
Volcanoes are some of the most dramatic expressions of the powerful tectonic forces at work in the Earth beneath our feet. But volcanism, a profoundly important feature of Earth, and indeed of other planets and moons too, encompasses much more than just volcanoes themselves. On a planetary scale, volcanism is an indispensable heat release mechanism, which on Earth allows the conditions for life. IIt releases gases into the atmosphere and produces enormous volumes of rock, and spectacular landscapes - landscapes which, during major eruptions, can be completely reshaped in a matter of hours. Through geological time volcanism has shaped both climate and biological evolution, and volcanoes can affect human life, too, for both good and ill. Yet, even after much study, some of the fundamental aspects of volcanicity remain mysterious. This Very Short Introduction takes the readers into the inferno of a racing pyroclastic current, and the heart of a moving lava flow, as understood through the latest scientific research. Exploring how volcanologists forensically decipher how volcanoes work, Michael Branney and Jan Zalasiewicz explain what we do (and don't) understood about the fundamental mechanisms of volcanism, and consider how volcanoes interact with other physical processes on the Earth, with life, and with human society. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
This book is unique in providing a comprehensive, up-to-date synthesis of what is known about soil biodiversity and the factors that regulate its distribution, as well as the functional significance of below-ground biodiversity for ecosystem form and function. It describes the vast diversity of biota that live in the soil environment - the most complex habitat on earth - and discusses the factors that act as determinants of this diversity across different spacial and temporal scales. The Biology of Soil also considers how biotic interactions in soil influence the important soil processes of decomposition and nutrient cycling. It demonstrates how interactions and feedbacks between diverse plant and soil communities act as important drivers of ecosystem form and function. The importance of these relationships for understanding how ecosystems respond to global change phenomena, including climate change, is discussed in depth. Much is still to be learned about the soil biota and their roles in ecosystems, and the author highlights some of the many challenges that face ecologists in the exploration of soil. Richard Bardgett has wide experience in soil and terrestrial ecology, and his background of research in many ecosystems is reflected in this book which is the most comprehensive, up-to-date volume currently available in soil ecology. It provides an introduction to the biology of soil, and it also discussed the most recent developments in this progressive field of ecology. The importance of soil biotic interactions or community and ecosystem ecology is illustrated through the use of numerous examples and case studies. The Biology of Soil provides an excellent, easy to read introduction toanyone working in the field of soil ecology and related disciplines, and will be ideal for students taking undergraduate and postgraduate courses in soil ecology, plant-soil relationships, ecosystem ecology, and land management.
This textbook introduces political ecology as an interdisciplinary approach to critically examine land and environmental issues. Drawing on discourse and narrative analysis, Marxist political economy and insights from natural science, the book points at similarities, differences and inter-connections between environmental governance in the global North and South. A wide range of carefully curated case studies are presented, with a particular focus on Africa and Norway. Key themes of power, justice and environmental sustainability run through all chapters. The authors challenge established views and leading discourses and present research findings that may surprise readers. Chapters cover topics including wildlife conservation, climate change and conflicts, land grabbing, the effects of population growth on the environment, jihadism in the African Sahel, bioprospecting, feminist political ecology, and struggles around carbon mitigation within a fossil fuel-based economy. This introductory text provides tools and examples for both undergraduate and postgraduate students to better understand on-going struggles about some of the world's most urgent challenges.
This book presents approaches to landscape modelling not only from geography but also from various related disciplines, especially from applied mathematics, computer science, and geophysics. New methods of terrain representation, analysis and classification are presented as well as short- and long-term process models. The intention of the book is not to give a complete overview of these broad and complex topics, but to stimulate interdisciplinary cooperation and to encourage scientists to consider the ideas of related disciplines.
This volume provides a textbook and reference work on the physical and biotic landscapes of Southern Africa. It examines the links between these environments and the ways in which they have been, are and will likely be subject to change. It covers the geomorphology, soils, vegetation and land use across a range of landscapes, including mountains, coasts, savannah, drylands and wetlands, and identifies the impacts of current and potential climate change and other factors on these environments. The geographical focus is on the region defined by Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Swaziland. Illustrated throughout in full colour, the book will serve as a reference volume for researchers and environmental professionals internationally, as well as a textbook for senior undergraduate and graduate-level students of geography, ecology and environmental studies in Southern Africa.
This book, first published under the title "Urban Geography - A First Approach" serves as an introduction to the field of urban geography and offers a balance between studies of systems of cities on the one hand and specific cities on the other. It is designed to provide a broad introduction to the study of urban geography as part of a discipline which has experienced rapid change in the past two decades and also to demonstrate ways in which geographers have become far more involved in the more general interdisciplinary field of urban studies.
This book addresses contemporary geographical issues in the Mediterranean Basin from a perspective that recognizes the physical characteristics and cultural interactions which link the different Mediterranean states as a recognisable geographic entity. Sixteen chapters each deal with a major geographical issue currently facing the Mediterranean, each providing an invaluable summary of the extensive but widely dispersed literature relating to Mediterranean issues. Particular emphasis is placed on the interaction between society and environment in terms of environmental management, differential regional development and its associated political, demographic, cultural and economic tensions.
The book concentrates on hydrological and geomorphological
processes in mountain rivers with the majority of the contributions
focusing on the Alps.
Soil and Water Contamination, Second Edition gives a structured overview of transport and fate processes of environmental contaminants. Dealing with all topics essential for understanding and predicting contaminant patterns in soil, groundwater and surface water, it contributes to the formation of a solid basis for adequate soil and water pollution control and integrated catchment management. A unique feature of this work is that it does not treat water and soil pollution as independent processes, but as components of an integrated whole. The core of this geoscientific approach is divided into four parts: Introduction to the basics of soil and water contamination, such as the fundamentals of environmental pollution and chemistry and the basic properties of soil, groundwater and surface water. Source, role, and behaviour of substances in soil and water, treating natural and anthropogenic sources of nutrients, heavy metals, radionuclides and organic pollutants as well as emerging substances of concern, their physico-chemical characteristics, behaviour, and toxicity. Transport and fate of substances in soil and water, focusing on processes of transport, exchange and transformations like advection, dispersion, adsorption kinetics and biochemical decay. Special attention is paid to the mathematical description and modelling of these processes. Patterns of substances in soil and water, explaining spatial and temporal patterns of pollutants in soil, groundwater, and surface water, illustrated by recent case studies from fundamental and applied research. This comprehensive, successful textbook, now in its second edition, has been conscientiously updated and extended and includes many case studies, examples and exercises sections, providing undergraduate and graduate students in the Earth and Environmental Sciences with all the material necessary for the study of soil and water contamination. In addition, it can serve as a useful source of info
This book looks at the evolution of rural settlement in Scotland from the Mesolithic period through to the improving movement of the 18th and 19th centuries. The main emphasis is on changes in society and technology, but the book also considers how the development of the physical landscape laid the foundation for such changes. The author strikes a balance between general perspectives (including relevant contextual materials such as the political structures) and local studies, with much emphasis on individual sites. Lack of documentation prior to the 10th century places particular importance on the archaeological evidence, but imaginative interpretation of this evidence has led to a major re-evaluation. Ideas emphasizing continuity of settlement and local adaptation are replacing older 'invasionist' theories emphasizing Celtic war lords and broch-building pirates.
Here is a guide to the most beautiful and important sites of geological interest in England and Wales. Grouped by region, with clear topographical and geological maps, it may be used as a field-guide by students of geology and geography, as well as by interested walkers and ramblers.
The overarching contribution of this book is a review and assessment of the current and future impacts of globalization on the world's forests. The work has been developed by the "Resources for the Future" Task Force for the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO). Four key themes are addressed: the effect of globalization on forests (including future trade flows); plantations as the primary source of forest products and its consequences, including plant breeding and forest health; the effect of new products such as bio-products and markets on forests; and the emergence of forest ecosystem services and their impact on the landscape and human communities. These four themes are examined in detail to map out the impacts of these trends for forests throughout the world and at multiple scales, and how forest research needs to be adapted to address these trends. Overall, the volume provides a major synthesis of current thinking and knowledge on the topic for advanced students, as well as policy-makers and professionals in the forest sector.
Originally published in 1976, this is a book about tropical soils written from the point of view of the field soil scientist. In includes a discussion of methods of soil survey in less developed countries, and its role in land development planning. Whilst primarily directed at those concerned with, or training for, field studies of soils in the tropics, the book was also aimed at non-specialists, including agriculturalists, economists, and planners, as well as anyone with a wish to understand the significance of soils in agriculture and economic development. |
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