This edited collection assesses governance in forestry programmes and projects, including REDD+ governance. It examines political representation, participation and decentralisation in forest governance, providing insight as to how forest governance arrangements can be responsive to the socio-economic interests of local people and communities who live adjacent to and depend on forests. Global Forest Governance and Climate Change argues that inclusive complementary representation of local communities is required for strong participatory processes and democratic decentralisation of forest governance. Responsiveness to local people's socio-economic interests in forestry initiatives require paying attention to not just the hosting of participatory meetings and activities, but also to the full cast of appointed, self-authorized, and elected representative agents that stand, speak, and act for local people. This book will be of interest to students and academics across the fields of climate change governance, forestry, development studies, and political economy. It will also be a useful resource for policy makers and practitioners responsible for forestry and climate change initiatives.

Drawing from military geography's spatial roots, its embrace of dynamic systems, and integration of human and biophysical environments, this book helps in understanding the value of analyzing patterns, processes and systems, and cross-scale and multi-disciplinary ways of acting in a complex world, while making the case for a resurgence of strategic and military geography in Australia. Here, leading experts demonstrate that geography retains its relevance in clarifying the scale and dynamics of defense activities in assessments of the international, regional, national, and site impacts of changes in physical, cyber and human geographies. The cases presented show Australia contributing to a growing strategic and military geography.

Significant progress has been made by industrial countries to reduce emissions from the use of fossil fuels, but as the economies of the less-developed regions of the world begin to expand, they too will face similar challenges. This book looks at energy transitions being made in developing countries, focusing on the adoption of renewable energy systems in Africa, for example under the UN Sustainable Energy for All programme, but also by the EU in the Former Soviet countries of Eastern and Central Europe. It draws on experience from involvement with programmes in the EU and Africa and will be of great interest to academics, policy makers and practitioners in the development aid and renewable energy policy fields.

This book presents a range of academic research and personal reflections on the Gorkha earthquake that struck Nepal in 2015. For the first time, perspectives from geography, disaster risk reduction, cultural heritage protection, archaeology, anthropology, social work, health and emergency response are discussed in a single volume. Contributions are included from practitioners and researchers from Nepal and Durham University in the UK, many of whom were in Nepal at the time of the earthquake. Evolving Narratives of Hazard and Risk explores the event of the earthquake, its consequences and its impacts, to provide a holistic and multi-perspective understanding of this special hazard and its significant ramifications for social, political, economic and cultural aspects of life in Nepal. The book highlights how these multiple perspectives are needed to inform each other in order to develop and shape new ways of thinking and interacting with environmental hazards. This collection of works will be of interest to students and academics of Environment Studies, Human Geography and Environmental Policy, and will be of particular relevance to those involved in risk research and managing risk and hazard events.

This book analyzes climate change associated effects in the mountainous and coastal environments of Vietnam. The scope of the book allows international comparisons to be made between these two affected areas and other similarly affected locations under constant environmental pressure. Frequent and intense climate change hazards are described, along with a wider context of integrated interpretations, socioeconomic implications and policy responses. The book reports on original research combining methodologies from the natural sciences with approaches in human sciences, providing an interdisciplinary human ecological context to analyze similar situations worldwide. The book is structured in four parts. The first part offers background information, and details the human ecological framework. The geography of the analyzed regions is discussed to reflect the environmental and socioeconomic context of Vietnam's coasts and mountains. The second part addresses the coast of Central Vietnam. The effects of tropical storms, floods, rising sea levels and coastal erosion in Ky Anh are studied to highlight the impacts on the local population and its development perspectives. The third part focuses on the uplands of Northern Vietnam. The effects of cyclones, heavy rains, floods, flash floods, and landslides in the Van Chan Mountains are studied to compare the biophysical and socioeconomic impacts. Part four makes policy recommendations in building resilient landscapes and green cities, and discusses the potential implications of findings for practice in Vietnam. The book addresses a wide array of researchers, geography and economics students, consultants and decision makers interested in the actual status and the likely developments on the physical, socioeconomic and mitigation and adaptation attitudes and policies of climate change associated effects.

This atlas provides the most comprehensive and accurate overview of environmental risks relating to climate change vulnerability and adaptation in China. It addresses the agricultural, ecosystem and heat wave health risk posed by climate change and presents the projected environmental risks in the 21st century under climate change and socioeconomic scenarios. The detailed and concise risk assessments are mapped in grid units, allowing easy environmental risk assessment for specific locations. The atlas contributes significantly to the knowledge base for climate change adaptation in China and is a valuable resource for students and professionals in the fields of geographic sciences and climate change.

This book describes the existential threats facing the global water systems from population growth and economic development, unsustainable use, environmental change, and weak and fragmented governance. It argues that 'business-as-usual' water science and management cannot solve global water problems because today's water systems are increasingly complex and face uncertain future conditions. Instead, a more holistic, strategic, agile and publically engaged process of water decision making is needed. Building Resilience for Uncertain Water Futures emphasises the importance of adaptation through a series of case studies of cities, regions, and communities that have experimented with anticipatory policy-making, scenario development, and public engagement. By shifting perspective from an emphasis on management to one of adaptation, the book emphasizes the capacity to manage uncertainties, the need for cross-sector coordination, and mechanisms for engaging stakeholder with differing goals and conflict resolution. This book will be a useful resource for students and academics seeking a better understanding of sustainable water use, water policy and water resources management.

This book is a compilation of recent developments in land, ecosystem, and water management in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. The state is located in the biodiversity hotspot of the Atlantic Forest (Mata Atlantica), a biome characterized by high biological diversity and endemism. At the same time the state of Rio de Janeiro emerged to one of the economic hubs in Latin America. This development process has been accompanied by population growth, industrialization, urbanization, as well as consumption and degradation of land and water resources. In the past years many efforts have been made to stop or at least slow down these degradation processes and restore degraded environments with the overall goal to bring together sustainable management of natural resources, nature conservation, and economic development. An overview is provided of the different strategies and tools that have been developed in the fields of agriculture, ecosystem management and biodiversity, integrated water management, land restoration, disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation, as well as environmental governance and economic instruments. This book covers a wide spectrum from applied research to science-policy interfaces, planning concepts, and technical tools and has a model character for other rural areas in Latin America. Target groups are scientists, practitioners, policy makers and graduate students in the field of environmental management. The different chapters are written by researchers and practitioners of the German-Brazilian project INTECRAL (Integrated Eco Technologies and Services for a Sustainable Rural Rio de Janeiro), the rural development program Rio Rural under the state secretary for agriculture and animal husbandry, as well as invited scientists from Brazilian universities and research institutes. It bridges existing gaps between science, policies, and practice in rural development.

This book presents studies on current vegetation topics, from polar to tropical regions. It is a festschrift to mark the 70th birthday of Prof. Elgene O. Box, who has studied vegetation all over the world, both through fieldwork and modeling. It reflects a number of his interests, including basic ecological plant forms (cf 'plant functional types'), temperate-zone forests, and evergreen versus seasonal patterns. Section 1 discusses the concept of vegetation series, while Section 2 has two global-scale chapters on plant functional traits and whether they are related more to climate or phylogeny. Section 3 has nine chapters focusing on vegetation history, regional vegetation, and how these have influenced current species organizations and distributions. Regions treated include Russia, China, the USA, Mexico and Mediterranean areas. Lastly, Section 4 addresses aspects of vegetation change and plant ecology. Every chapter in this unique book offers original ideas on the topic of vegetation, as the authors are assembled from a world-wide population of leading vegetational ecologists, whose interests range from local communities to global theoretical questions.

This handbook is recognition of the need to better integrate physical and human geography. It combines a collection of work and research within the new field of Critical Physical Geography, which gives critical attention to relations of social power with deep knowledge of a particular field of biophysical science. Critical Physical Geography research accords careful attention to biophysical landscapes and the power relations that have increasingly come to shape them, and to the politics of environmental science and the role of biophysical inquiry in promoting social and environmental justice. The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Physical Geography lays out the scope and guiding principles of Critical Physical Geography research. It presents a carefully selected set of empirical work, demonstrating the range and intellectual strength of existing integrative work in geography research. This handbook is the first of its kind to cover this emerging discipline and will be of significant interest to students and academics across the fields of geography, the environment and sustainability.

The past half century has seen an evolution in thinking from 'flood control' to 'flood risk management', recognizing that risk results from both hazard and vulnerability. Rather than rely only on engineering structures to reduce flood magnitude or extent, recent policies emphasize avoiding construction in flood-prone areas (or moving people from floodplains), reducing impacts on exposed populations through early warning systems, and insurance to aid in recovery. Implementing this new approach faces many challenges but also offers opportunities for synergies, as described in this book for a range of large floodplain rivers and smaller urban streams across North America and Europe. This book is unique in presenting the voices of those on the front lines of implementing a new paradigm in flood risk management, each river with a unique set of challenges and opportunities derived from its specific geography as well as differences in governance between the American and European contexts.

This book focuses on the spatial distribution of landslide hazards of the Darjeeling Himalayas. Knowledge driven methods and statistical techniques such as frequency ratio model (FRM), information value model (IVM), logistic regression model (LRM), index overlay model (IOM), certainty factor model (CFM), analytical hierarchy process (AHP), artificial neural network model (ANN), and fuzzy logic have been adopted to identify landslide susceptibility. In addition, a comparison between various statistical models were made using success rate cure (SRC) and it was found that artificial neural network model (ANN), certainty factor model (CFM) and frequency ratio based fuzzy logic approach are the most reliable statistical techniques in the assessment and prediction of landslide susceptibility in the Darjeeling Himalayas. The study identified very high, high, moderate, low and very low landslide susceptibility locations to take site-specific management options as well as to ensure developmental activities in theDarjeeling Himalayas. Particular attention is given to the assessment of various geomorphic, geotectonic and geohydrologic attributes that help to understand the role of different factors and corresponding classes in landslides, to apply different models, and to monitor and predict landslides. The use of various statistical and physical models to estimate landslide susceptibility is also discussed. The causes, mechanisms and types of landslides and their destructive character are elaborated in the book. Researchers interested in applying statistical tools for hazard zonation purposes will find the book appealing.

This book explores the real-world consequences changing ideas and strategies have on effective climate governance. Its main focus is on why accountability matters - both for transformations and transitions in international climate change governance and how international support for environmentally responsible actions, and extending shared accountabilities, might strengthen climate governance globally. A main point of discussion is if and how better understanding of accountabilities and transformations in ecosystems dynamics, the capacities of organisms to adapt, migrate or otherwise respond to environmental or climatic changes, can improve climate governance mechanisms. Bringing together a diverse set of considerations from various fields of study, chapters examine responses to environmental transformations that occur during periods of climatic crisis, such as species depletion, industrialisation, de-industrialisation or urbanisation. Throughout, this book aims to further readers understanding of if or how accountable climate governance can reduce the risks of global political disorder and widespread conflict in the 21st century, arising from environmental transformations of depleted forests, re-routed waterways, coastlines impacted by sea level rises, changed rainfall patterns and industrial practices.

The soils are fundamental to our existence, delivering water and nutrients to plants, that feed us. But they are in many ways in danger and their conservation is therefore a most important focus for science, governments and society as a whole. A team of world recognised researchers have prepared this first English edition based on the 16th European edition. * The precursors and the processes of soil development * The physical, biological and chemical properties of soils * Nutrients and Pollutants * The various soil classifications with the main focus on the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) * The most important soils and soil landscapes of the world * Soil Evaluation Techniques * Basic Principles of Soil Conservation Whoever works with soils needs this book.

This book, based on conference excerpts, investigates various aspects of contemporary Iranian urbanism. The topics covered range from the impacts of political developments on the cities' rapid socio-economic developments, to the cities' troubled relationship with the country's built-environment history and their frequently ill-managed exposure to Western notions of development and globalisation. Last but not least, the country's vulnerability to natural disasters in an age of increasing urban-population densification is also considered. Alongside more theoretically and artistically oriented debates, the book's individual contributions turn their attention to the now much higher proportion of urban dwellers in the country's rising population. It also discusses the policies designed in response to these demographic moves, including those to develop new towns, find housing for the excess population in existing cities, renovate historic buildings and create new public spaces. The practice-policy oriented contributions also include those concerning the country's responses to natural disasters.

This book offers a systematic and comprehensive introduction to the Arctic in the era of globalization, or as it is referred to here, the 'GlobalArctic'. It provides an overview of the current status of the Arctic as a result of global change, while also considering the changes in the Arctic that have a global effect. It positions the Arctic within a broad international context, it addresses four main themes are discussed: economics and resources; environment and earth system dynamics; peoples and cultures; and geopolitics and governance. Gathering together expert authors and building on long-term research activities, it serves as a valuable reference for future research endeavors.

This book provides a critical review of global environmental governance as part of the broader process of sustainably transforming modern society. The author argues for substantial modifications, outlining potential improvements in knowledge bridging processes, integration and synthesis that offer valuable information for environmental policy and governance. These improvements, he argues, should be achieved through the use of theoretical and empirical knowledge gleaned from global scenario analysis and interdisciplinary environmental research, and with the aid of new practices for knowledge sharing, cooperation and collective learning. The analysis presented in the book is based on recent developments in social ecology and the author's interdisciplinary theory of society-nature interaction (Social-Ecological Transformation: Reconnecting Society and Nature, Palgrave Macmillan, 2016).

This book offers an overview of recent scientific and professional literature on urban greening and urban ecology, focusing on diverse disciplines such as landscape architecture, geography, urban ecology, urban climatology, biodiversity conservation, urban governance, architecture and urban hydrology. It includes contributions in which academics, public policy experts and practitioners share their considerable knowledge on the multi-faceted aspects of greening cities. The greening of cities has witnessed a global resurgence over the past two decades and has made a significant contribution to urban liveability and sustainability, as well as increasing resilience. As urban greening efforts continue to expand, it is useful to promote recent advances in our understanding of various aspects of planning, design and management of urban greenery, but at the same time, it is also important to realize that there are important gaps in our knowledge and that further research is needed. The book is organized in three main parts: concepts, functions and forms of urban greening. The first part examines the historical roots of greening cities and how the burgeoning field of urban ecology can contribute useful principles and strategies to guide the planning, design and management of urban greening. The second part shifts the focus to the diverse range of services - the functions - provided by urban greening, such as those related to urban climate, urban biodiversity, human health, and community building. The final part explores conventional, often neglected, but important forms of urban greenery such as urban woodlands and urban farms, as well as relatively recent forms of urban greenery like those integrated with buildings and waterways. It offers a ready reference resource for researchers, practitioners and policy-makers to grasp the critical issues and trigger further studies and applications in the quest for high-performance green cities.

This edited collection of works by leading climate scientists and philosophers introduces readers to issues in the foundations, evaluation, confirmation, and application of climate models. It engages with important topics directly affecting public policy, including the role of doubt, the use of satellite data, and the robustness of models. Climate Modelling provides an early and significant contribution to the burgeoning Philosophy of Climate Science field that will help to shape our understanding of these topics in both philosophy and the wider scientific context. It offers insight into the reasons we should believe what climate models say about the world but addresses the issues that inform how reliable and well-confirmed these models are. This book will be of interest to students of climate science, philosophy of science, and of particular relevance to policy makers who depend on the models that forecast future states of the climate and ocean in order to make public policy decisions.

This book explores the link between individual lives and significant environmental issues affecting millions of people around the world. Zolnikov offers a novel perspective on the environment and human health through autoethnographic stories. Each chapter includes an overview of an environmental risk factor or issue, such as air quality, accompanied by a reflective personal story. Her experiences were gathered around the world and revolve around immersion into local cultures. Learning about environmental health through this qualitative approach will enable readers to understand how issues in the environment are currently affecting people on an individual basis.

This book discusses ways to deepen the debate on the linkages between global risks and human and environmental security. The approach put forward in this book is one of questioning the ability of existing concepts, regulatory frameworks, technologies and decision-making mechanisms to accurately deal with emerging risks to human and environmental security, and to act in the direction of effectively managing their impacts and fostering the resilience of concerned systems and resources. Empirical research findings from Africa, Asia and the Pacific Islands are provided. During the last decades the links between emerging risks and the security of humans and nature have been the object of considerable research and deliberations. However, it is only recently becoming an important focus of policy making and advocacy. In this contributed volume, it is presumed that the ability - or lack thereof - to make innovative conceptual frameworks, institutional and policy arrangements, and technological advances for managing the current emerging risks, will foster or undermine the environmental security, and consequently determine the future human security. Moreover, taking into account the links between environmental/climate security, human security and sustainability will help frame a new research agenda and potentially develop a broad range of responses to many delicate questions.

This book highlights studies of differentiation problems of natural geosystems because of anthropogenic impact. The systematic methodology of comprehensive ecological assessment of anthropogenic impact on natural geosystems and their differentiations on the level of technogenic conditionality for ensuring rational environmental management and environmental protection are discussed. The practical importance of this book lies in the evidence-based recommendations and actions for conservation and quality management of the environment in order to decrease the degree of anthropogenic impact and in prevention of degradation processes. The book is useful to the researchers, industrial, scientific, and other organizations in establishing the purpose of the problem and solution to environmental protection and rational environmental management.

This book presents the core concepts of geographical education as a means of understanding global issues from a spatial perspective. It treats education, supported by high standards, approaches, methodologies, and resources, as essential in exploring the interactions of the world's human and environmental systems at local, regional, and global scales embedded in the nature of the discipline of geography. It covers topics such as climate change, sustainable development goals, geopolitics in an uncertain world, global crisis, and population flows, which are of great interest to geography researchers and social sciences educators who want to explore the complexity of contemporary societies. Highly respected scholars in geography education answer questions on key topics and explain how global understanding is considered in K-12 education in significant countries around the globe. The book discusses factors such as the Internet, social media, virtual globes and other technological developments that provide insights into and visualization - in real time - of the intensity of relationships between different countries and regions of the earth. It also examines how this does not always lead to empathy with other political, cultural, social and religious values: terrorism threats and armed conflicts are also essential features of the global world. This book opens the dialogue for global understanding as a great opportunity for teachers, educators, scholars and policy makers to better equip students and future citizens to deal with global issues.

This book integrates the analyses of organic carbon and carbonate accumulation in soil and lake sediment in a typical arid region of China that has experienced significant climate and land-use changes. It demonstrates that carbonate accumulation greatly exceeds organic carbon in both soil and sediment. It also shows that intensive cropping with sound land management in the arid land not only increases soil organic carbon stock, but also enhances accumulation of soil carbonate, particularly in subsoils. Carbon accumulation in the lake sediment increased between 1950 and 2000, after which it declined, and the authors explore how human activity and climate change may have caused the changes in carbon burial in the lake sediment. This book is of interest to researchers in a number of fields such as soil science, limnology and global change, as well as to the policy-makers.

This book brings together contributions from experts in water management, scientists, researchers, academics and lecturers, sharing experiences and successes in this field. It is devoted to a wide range of water resources management issues, including water quality to water quantity, considering all impacts of water issues in the environment. The book presents international approaches to the latest developments in both the fundamental bases and the applicability of state-of-the-art knowledge that can be effectively used for solving a variety of large problems in integrated water resources management. The main focus of the book is on water pollution - physical, chemical, biological, and geographical pollution, hydrology problems, and limnology tasks.