This book explores the multi-dimensional asymmetries of scale, time, and directions in the large dam controversy with a regional focus on Asia, especially on India and China. Whereas the concept of large-scale transformation of fluvial environments into technological hydroscapes originated in the West, widespread construction of large dams started in the countries of the Global South in the period after decolonisation. Construction and operation of large dams are amongst the most prestigious but also most sensitive development issues, often accompanied by massive resistance of adversely affected people and civil society organisations. Based on the notion of a contested politicised environment, various case studies are analysed to identify the dominant narratives and imaginations that shape the large dams debate. This volume largely contains contributions related to several subprojects from within the Cluster of Excellence 'Asia and Europe in a Global Context: Shifting Asymmetries in Cultural Flows', based at Heidelberg University, with several expert contributions from external researchers.

This book provides policymakers, researchers, and other interested audiences with knowledge on how to quantify and integrate and advance co-benefits in their decisions. It begins with an introductory chapter that provides an overview of the concept of co-benefits. This followed by a section that details quantitative approaches to estimate co-benefits, particularly in cities. A third section presents a series of case studies from the energy sector in Northeast and Southeast Asia. A final section focuses on new perspectives on co-benefits from linking climate change with biodiversity, social justice, and through new models of co-innovation. The book is particularly timely as many countries in Asia seek to achieve objectives in the national climate policies and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The climate emergency poses an increasingly severe threat to the health and well-being of more than a billion people in Asia. Policymakers in the region have sought to curb this threat by adopting clean energy, energy efficiency, and other sectoral policies. In some cases, these policies can bring additional benefits beyond mitigating climate change. These so-called "co-benefits" --ranging from improved air quality to better health to socioeconomic equity--could not only offset the costs of climate mitigation but also make Asia's development more sustainable. Yet all too frequently policymakers lack the analytical methods and practical experiences to incorporate co-benefits into their decisions. This has created difficulties in aligning climate and sustainable development policies in Asia.

Forest ecosystems are characterized by a steady change in their structure of function. Natural developments are more and more radically disturbed by human impact. Air pollution leads to soil acidification, change in nutrient budget and to a decreasing vitality of the trees. Forest management can prevent natural succession and often leads to less stable forests. In this book, selected results of 10 years of interdisciplinary ecosystem research are presented. Not only growth and physiological reactions on environmental stress, but also natural succession processes are described and analysed. Besides the description of forest development processes, based on longterm experiments and observation, conclusions for practical forest management are given.

This book offers a new and differentiated overview of Agri-Food Law against the background of national and global integration of markets, and compares for the first time important aspects of the agricultural, environmental and food law of China and Germany / the European Union. In addition to the basics, it discusses a wide range of issues, such as the respective legal regulatory structures for food security, food safety, geographical indications of origin, climate protection, fertilizers, plant protection products, genetic engineering, water protection, soil protection, land resources and organic farming. In addition, it addresses key environmental impacts and developments in order to create integrated value chains. The increasing fusion of upstream and downstream areas is becoming apparent from primary production, to the refinement and trade up level, and even to consumption. Agri-Food Law is now productively taking these important developments into account with regard to the aforementioned countries.

This book gathers papers presented and discussions held at the Conference on Wind Energy and Wildlife Impacts in Melbourne, Australia on 9th October 2012. The purpose of the conference was to bring together researchers, industry, consultants, regulators and Non-Government Organizations to share the results of studies into wind farm and wildlife investigations in Australia and New Zealand. The aim was to further networking and communication between these groups. The conference discussed key issues and areas for future investigation, with the intention of developing consistencies in research and management. Like the Conference, the book showcases current research and management in the field of wind farms and wildlife in Australia and New Zealand; establishes consistencies in research and management; and highlights areas in need of further examination. The papers in these Proceedings are presented in two session topics. The first covers "Investigations and assessment of new wind farms" and the second, "Monitoring, mitigation and offsets." The Proceedings then summarize the panel discussions held at the end of the conference. The themes include improving pre- and post-construction survey design; identifying key knowledge gaps and research priorities; uncertainties and errors in data sets and analysis; creating opportunities to share knowledge; and assessing cumulative impacts across multiple sites.

This book is based on presentations from the Conference ‘Arctic Marine Resource Governance’ held in Reykjavik Iceland in October 2015. The book is divided into four main themes: 1. Global management and institutions for Arctic marine resources 2. Resource stewards and users: local and indigenous co-management 3. Governance gaps in Arctic marine resource management and 4. Multi-scale, ecosystem-based, Arctic marine resource management’. The ecosystem changes underway in the Arctic region are expected to have significant impacts on living resources in both the short and long run, and current actions and policies adopted over such resource governance will have serious and ultimately irreversible consequences in the near and long terms.

This book documents the state of the art and the emerging operational perspectives in the field of the appraisal discipline. It covers a wide range of topics, including energy efficiency, environmental sustainability, socio-economic evaluation of regional and urban transformations, real estate and facility management, risk management. It also discusses the potential role of appraisal in minimising unexpected consequences; the role of evaluators in urban development projects as well as the contribution of several methodologies with respect to the overall planning and design processes; the need to manage the complexity of the current decision contexts, while at the same time promoting efficient and effective evaluation processes; improving the quality of discussion and communication of the outcomes of evaluation processes; as well as the appropriateness of current regulation and policy regimes (EU, national, regional etc.). It comprises a selection of the best papers presented at the SIEV 2015 conference "Appraisal: Current Issues and Problems", which was held in Bari, Italy, in July 2015, and brought together architects, engineers, urban planners, decision-makers and government representatives.

This book documents and compares the experiences of a wide range of universities across the five continents with regard to sustainable development, making it of special interest to sustainability researchers and practitioners. By showcasing how integrative approaches to sustainable development at the university level can be successfully employed to bridge the gaps between disciplines, the book provides a timely contribution to the literature on sustainability and offers a valuable resource for all those interested in sustainability in a higher education context.

"Principles of Soil and Plant Water Relations, 2e" describes the principles of water relations within soils, followed by the uptake of water and its subsequent movement throughout and from the plant body. This is presented as a progressive series of physical and biological interrelations, even though each topic is treated in detail on its own. The book also describes equipment used to measure water in the soil-plant-atmosphere system. At the end of each chapter is a biography of a scientist whose principles are discussed in the chapter. In addition to new information on the concept of celestial time, this new edition also includes new chapters on methods to determine sap flow in plants dual-probe heat-pulse technique to monitor water in the root zone.
Provides the necessary understanding to address advancing problems in water availability for meeting ecological requirements at local, regional and global scalesCovers plant anatomy: an essential component to understanding soil and plant water relations"

This book explores how different governments have leveraged their capacity to advance a revival of nuclear power. Presenting in-depth case studies of France, Finland, Britain and the United States, Baker and Stoker argue that governments may struggle to promote new investment in nuclear power.

Many hydrological, geochemical, and biological processes associated with water reclamation and reuse are poorly understood. In particular, the occurrence and effects of trace organic and inorganic contaminants commonly found in reclaimed water necessitates careful analysis and treatment prior to safe reuse. "Water Reclamation and Sustainability "is a practical guide to the latest water reclamation, recycling, and reuse theory and practice. From water quality criteria and regulations to advanced techniques and implementation issues, this book offers scientists a toolkit for developing safe and successful reuse strategies. With a focus on specific contaminant removal techniques, this book comprehensively covers the full range of potential inorganic/organic contaminating compounds and highlights proven remediation methods. Socioeconomic implications related to current and future water shortages are also addressed, underscoring the many positive benefits of sustainable water resource management.
Offers pragmatic solutions to global water shortagesProvides an overview of the latest analytical techniques for water monitoringReviews current remediation effortsCovers innovative technologies for green, gray, brown and black water reclamation and reuse

This book reviews and analyzes emerging challenges in water policy, governance and institutions in India. Recent times have seen the contours of water policy shaped by new discourses and narratives; there has been a pluralization of the state and a changing balance of power among the actors who influence the formulation of water policy. Discourses on gender mainstreaming and Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) are influential, though they have often remained rhetorical and difficult to put into practice. Debate over property rights reform and inter-linking of rivers has been polarized. At the same time, there has been a rising disenchantment with policy initiatives in participatory irrigation management, cleaning up of water bodies and pollution control. Fast depletion of groundwater resources and the importance of adopting new irrigation methods are getting increased focus in the recent policy dialogue. The contributors review current debate on these and other subjects shaping the governance of water resources, and take stock of new policy developments. The book examines the experience of policy implementation, and shows where important weaknesses still lie. The authors present a roadmap for the future, and discuss the potential of alternative approaches for tackling emerging challenges. A case is made for greater emphasis on a discursive analysis of water policy, to examine underlying policy processes. The contributors observe that the ongoing democratization of water governance, coupled with the multiplication of stresses on water, will create a more visible demand for platforms for negotiation, conflict resolution and dialogue across different categories of users and uses. Finally, the authors propose that future research should challenge implicit biases in water resources planning and address imbalances in the allocation of water from the perspectives of both equity and sustainability.

The aim of this book is to document for the first time the dimensions and requirements of effective integrated groundwater management (IGM). Groundwater management is a formidable challenge, one that remains one of humanity's foremost priorities. It has become a largely non-renewable resource that is overexploited in many parts of the world. In the 21st century, the issue moves from how to simply obtain the water we need to how we manage it sustainably for future generations, future economies, and future ecosystems. The focus then becomes one of understanding the drivers and current state of the groundwater resource, and restoring equilibrium to at-risk aquifers. Many interrelated dimensions, however, come to bear when trying to manage groundwater effectively. An integrated approach to groundwater necessarily involves many factors beyond the aquifer itself, such as surface water, water use, water quality, and ecohydrology. Moreover, the science by itself can only define the fundamental bounds of what is possible; effective IGM must also engage the wider community of stakeholders to develop and support policy and other socioeconomic tools needed to realize effective IGM. In order to demonstrate IGM, this book covers theory and principles, embracing: 1) an overview of the dimensions and requirements of groundwater management from an international perspective; 2) the scale of groundwater issues internationally and its links with other sectors, principally energy and climate change; 3) groundwater governance with regard to principles, instruments and institutions available for IGM; 4) biophysical constraints and the capacity and role of hydroecological and hydrogeological science including water quality concerns; and 5) necessary tools including models, data infrastructures, decision support systems and the management of uncertainty. Examples of effective, and failed, IGM are given. Throughout, the importance of the socioeconomic context that connects all effective IGM is emphasized. Taken as a whole, this work relates the many facets of effective IGM, from the catchment to global perspective.

With the exception of Haiti, the sensationalized issues of hunger reported in certain parts of the developing world are largely unknown in the Caribbean. Despite this, there are growing concerns about the state of food security in the region, as declining domestic production and increased dependence on imported food create vulnerability. This study examines some of the contemporary issues impacting food production and food and nutrition security in the CARICOM region of the Caribbean. The authors focus on enhancing domestic food production as the most appropriate way to improve food security and discuss strategies for building capacity in local food production systems. The book is the product of over ten years of research by the authors. It will be of interest to scholars and students of Caribbean geography, cultural geography, food and agricultural geography, and food security.

Increased investment in the mining sector in Africa is often presented as a key strategy to leverage growth and development on the continent. It has been described as a "motor for growth," which will contribute to poverty reduction. Massive investment has taken place, but the results in crucial areas such as sustainable economic and social development have been extremely disappointing. These outcomes are most frequently attributed to dysfunctional internal governance processes, mismanagement and corruption. Much attention has been given in recent years to the issue of "the poor resource governance" in mineral rich countries. In this volume, academics, policy-makers and practitioners from Africa and beyond aim to achieve a better understanding of these issues by proposing a renewal of approaches. Discussing the cases of Ghana, Mali and the Democratic Republic of the Congo they explore new ways of thinking about issues concerning governance and revenue flows.

This book provides the detail information about nanoparticles, their types, characterization techniques such as TEM, FESEM, AFM, XRD etc. nanogenotoxicity, metal and metal oxide nanoparticle's toxicity, physical and chemical characterization of nanomaterials, entry routes, cell-nano interaction studies, possible impacts to the human kind, and on the methods of evaluating the toxicity. It puts together comprehensive and up-to-date information about sustainable approaches in making an eco-friendly environment using advanced nanotechnologies. It educated readers about the new frontiers and scope of employing various state-of-art nano-technologies to clean-up and save our environment. This book will be of interest to teachers, researchers, environmental biotechnologists, capacity builders and policymakers. Also the book serves as additional reading material for undergraduate and graduate students of agriculture, environmental sciences, environmental engineering and biotechnology.

This book provides a timely and insightful analysis of the expansion of biofuels production and use in recent years. Drawing on interviews with key policy insiders, Ackrill and Kay show how biofuels policies have been motivated by concerns over climate change, energy security and rural development.

The book combines food security and agricultural competitiveness issues and treat them together. It starts with definitions and evolution of both concepts, followed by reviews on global and regional food security challenges. The book identifies global agricultural trade and competitiveness patterns and uses it as a basis for analysing global food security. Further, the book also identifies countries/regions/products groups and develops a typology of agricultural competitiveness, giving policy lessons and recommendations on how to increase national/regional/global agricultural competitiveness to achieve sustainable food security goals. The motivation behind writing such a book are numerous. First, as researchers interested in both food security and agricultural competitiveness issues, we have always found a gap in the scientific literature in treating the two notions together. Second, as lecturers of various agricultural policy and food security related courses, we have many times been faced with questions related to the competitive positions of different countries and the factors lying behind these positions. Third, as economic advisors, we have been faced with the need to provide clear policy recommendations and lessons on how increase competitiveness and associated food security many times. Such a need is mainly coming from developing country policy and decision makers.We think the book is unique in many ways. First, it provides a consistent analysis of global agricultural trade patterns over 25 years. Second, it analyzes and synthetizes the definitions, concepts and measurement methods of competitiveness, covering a major gap in the current literature. Third, it establishes a link between the analysis of global agricultural competitiveness and food security, which is also an understudied area. Finally, the book provides policy lessons to increase a country's agricultural competitiveness and food security by identifying its determinants.

This book integrates diversified methodologies of area studies, regional economic development, regional science, and related fields to draw up a strategy for forming the "regional food industrial cluster" in Northeast Asia. This is done by assigning "innovation" to a core concept, with the basic problem of food security as the horizontal axis and the areas of Northeast Asia as the vertical axis. Specifically, the principle of "collaborative advantage" as a key factor is extracted from case studies on food industrial clustering in each area. As a final objective, a practical policy recommendation is presented while the theorization of the industrial cluster is developed. Therefore it is also a challenge to the old and new issue of food security which has been argued until now.

This book discusses various issues relating to water resources, climate change and sustainable development. Water is the main driving force behind three major pillars of sustainable development: environmental, social and economic. As stated in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, development of these pillars rests on the availability and management of resources to fulfill the demand for water. By identifying the various challenges in the context of water resources and climate change, the book offers insights into achieving a better and more sustainable future. It provides a unique forum for practitioners and academics to exchange ideas on emerging issues, approaches, and practices in the area of water resources, climate change, and sustainability, while also presenting valuable information for policymakers on the changing contours of water management and climate change mitigation. As such it is a useful resource for decision-makers at the local as well as the global level.

This book introduces readers to the status quo and recent advances in China's low-carbon development. From the evolution of human civilization, to the proposal of low-carbon concepts, up to the choice of China's low-carbon path, the book provides a comprehensive review of low-carbon development, while also elaborating on the core concept, goals and methods. In addition, it addresses a series of questions and issues closely tied to today's social development, such as: "Why is it so vital to pursue low-carbon development?" and "How can China implement low-carbon development?" Accordingly, readers will gain a better grasp of low-carbon development, including low-carbon production and low-carbon lifestyles.

For over a century, Yellowstone National Park has been a monument to wildness in America. But long before flames swept through Yellowstone in 1988, that wildness had come under fire from encroachments that were making the park one of our nation's most commodified pieces of real estate.

For as long as they've existed, parks like Yellowstone have been the scene of some of the most intensive commercial activity in the American West. Selling Yellowstone recounts the story of such activities in our oldest park from the 1870s through the 1960s. It is the first book to examine critically the place of business in the development of America's national parks, demonstrating the prominent role played by profit-driven entrepreneurs in shaping the physical landscape of what is generally perceived as unaltered wilderness.

Challenging popular perceptions that our national parks are protected from commercialism, Mark Barringer reveals how businessmen, with the support of the National Park Service, marketed Yellowstone as a museum of mythology: a landscape created to look like what Americans wanted to believe the Old West once was. Together, the NPS and the concessionaires--particularly Harry W. Child's Yellowstone Park Company--altered the park repeatedly to fit a desired image and then creatively promoted it for mass consumption. As a result, the concessionaires virtually owned Yellowstone, selling it piecemeal to receptive customers as if it were an inexhaustible commodity.

First marketed as a nature museum to be viewed from the comfort of stagecoach seats or hotel room windows, the park was transformed from a wilderness preserve to a series of roadside attractions. Roads were built to geysers and waterfalls; wolves were eliminated and bison were bred; visitors were given a choice between comfortable hotels and more rustic lodges and camps. The Yellowstone Park Company sought to meet all of the public's expectations, reaping the profits from satisfying American idealizations.

Contemporary environmental attitudes eventually forced significant policy changes in the parks, but shifting political winds continue to determine such matters as snowmobile access to Yellowstone. Barringer's book contributes to the ongoing debate over the character and limits of the social construction of nature as it raises important questions about what our national parks represent, why so many people continue to feel so strongly about them, and what must be done to protect them.