Ways of handling climate change vary worldwide. Differences can be observed in the perception of potential threats and opportunities as well as in the appraisal of adequate coping strategies. Collective efforts often fail not because of technical restrictions, but as a result of social and cultural differences between the actors involved. Consequently, there is a need to explore in greater depth those zones of cultural friction which emerge when actors deal with climate change. This book examines how cultural differences in the handling of climate change can be described and explained. The work develops the concept of culture as relational space, elaborates explanatory approaches, and investigates them by surveying more than 800 actors responsible for spatial development of the European coastal regions in the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, and Poland. In doing so, this book engages with debates on cultural globalisation, in which the attachment of culture to place is increasingly being questioned. Adopting the approach of culture as relational space allows possible cultural formations to be examined across diverse fields of application from the local to the global scale. In addition, the book investigates how far different value orientations, beliefs, and identities can explain diverse perceptions of problems and opportunities right up to preferences for climate-mitigation and adaptation measures. Providing comprehensive insights into the diverse zones of cultural friction which scholars and practitioners face when handling climate change locally and globally, this book will be of great interest to those studying climate change, environmental sociology, and sustainable planning.

In 2017 four rivers in Aotearoa New Zealand, India, and Colombia were given the status of legal persons, and there was a recent attempt to extend these rights to the Colorado River in the USA. Understanding the implications of creating legal rights for rivers is an urgent challenge for both water resource management and environmental law. Giving rivers legal rights means the law can see rivers as legal persons, thus creating new legal rights which can then be enforced. When rivers are legally people, does that encourage collaboration and partnership between humans and rivers, or establish rivers as another competitor for scarce resources? To assess what it means to give rivers legal rights and legal personality, this book examines the form and function of environmental water managers (EWMs). These organisations have legal personality, and have been active in water resource management for over two decades. EWMs operate by acquiring water rights from irrigators in rivers where there is insufficient water to maintain ecological health. EWMs can compete with farmers for access to water, but they can also strengthen collaboration between traditionally divergent users of the aquatic environment, such as environmentalists, recreational fishers, hunters, farmers, and hydropower. This book explores how EWMs use the opportunities created by giving nature legal rights, such as the ability to participate in markets, enter contracts, hold property, and enforce those rights in court. However, examination of the EWMs unearths a crucial and unexpected paradox: giving legal rights to nature may increase its legal power, but in doing so it can weaken community support for protecting the environment in the first place. The book develops a new conceptual framework to identify the multiple constructions of the environment in law, and how these constructions can interact to generate these unexpected outcomes. It explores EWMs in the USA and Australia as examples, and assesses the implications of creating legal rights for rivers for water governance. Lessons from the EWMs, as well as early lessons from the new 'river persons,' show how to use the law to improve river protection and how to begin to mitigate the problems of the paradox.

Forest landscape restoration (FLR) is a planned process that aims to regain ecological integrity and enhance human wellbeing in deforested or degraded landscapes. The aim of this book is to explore options to better integrate the diverse dimensions - spatial, disciplinary, sectoral, and scientific - of implementing FLR. It demonstrates the value of an integrated and interdisciplinary approach to help implement FLR focusing specifically on four issues: understanding the drivers of forest loss and degradation in the context of interdisciplinary responses for FLR; learning from related integrated approaches; governance issues related to FLR as an integrated process; and the management, creation and use of different sources of knowledge in FLR implementation. The emphasis is on recognising the need to take human and institutional factors into consideration, as well as the more obvious biophysical factors. A key aim is to advance and accelerate the practice of FLR, given its importance, particularly in a world facing increasing environmental challenges, notably from climate change. The first section of the book presents the issue from an analytical and problem-orientated viewpoint, while later sections focus on solutions. It will interest researchers and professionals in forestry, ecology, geography, environmental governance and landscape studies.

Twisted Mountains is a collection of short stories set among the summits of England, Scotland and Wales, from Ben Hope to the South Downs. Each tells the story of someone who has their own reasons to be in the mountains. From a vengeful student to obsessive hostel owner, the wannabe biker to the Wainwright expert with a secret. While the stories are varied in their subjects, all have mountains at their heart and a dark humour running through them. Authored by Tim Woods, Twisted Mountains provides a different take on the characters you find in and around the mountains. Tim tells their stories in the characters' varied voices, in ways that are shocking, dark, funny and sad, sometimes all at once.

This book argues that legal geography provides new insights into contemporary conservation challenges. Despite unprecedented efforts, we are facing an extinction crisis, and in situ protected area programs are falling short. This book discusses the protected area phenomenon and calls for changes to current approaches, informed by legal geography -an inter-disciplinary area focused on the intertwined people-place-law dynamics that enable, or disable, effective management practices. The book examines two protected area types: World Heritage Sites, where places of 'outstanding universal value' are protected for all humanity, and Ramsar protected wetland sites, one of the first global environmental protection initiatives. Using case studies from the Australasian region (Australia, the Pacific and Southeast Asia), it reveals how current approaches can be improved by taking into account the people-place-law nexus embedded in legal geography research.

Seashells have been the most coveted and collected of nature's creations since the dawn of humanity. They were money before coins, jewellry before gems, art before canvas. In The Sound of the Sea, acclaimed environmental author Cynthia Barnett blends cultural history and science to trace our long love affair with seashells and the hidden lives of the mollusks that make them. Spiralling out from the great cities of shell that once rose in North America to the warming waters of the Maldives and the slave castles of Ghana, Barnett has created an unforgettable account of the world's most iconic seashells. She begins with their childhood wonder, unwinds surprising histories like the origin of Shell Oil as a family business importing exotic shells, and charts what shells and the soft animals that build them are telling scientists about our warming, acidifying seas. From the eerie calls of early shell trumpets to the evolutionary miracle of spines and spires and the modern science of carbon capture inspired by shell, Barnett circles to her central point of listening to nature's wisdom-and acting on what seashells have to say about taking care of each other and our world.

Why do we travel? Are holidays good for our health? What are the social and psychological factors that drive us to move? The Psychology of Travel provides an eclectic introduction to the range of travel experiences from commuting, to going on holiday, to studying abroad. Travel is a near-universal experience and manifests itself in various forms, from everyday experiences to exotic adventure, although it varies across time and cultures. The book unpacks the concept of travel, and engages with topics including migration, wellbeing, acculturation, wayfinding, slow travel, place attachment and nostalgia, and brings them into sharp focus in relation to globalisation and climate change, By asking what drives us to journey and offering key insights into the psychological factors behind different kinds of travel, The Psychology of Travel introduces the reader to new ways of thinking about global mobility and movement.

First Published in 1978, The Circumpolar North is designed for anyone with a more than superficial interest in the northern regions of our planet, geographical, economic, social, or political. The primary importance of North today is as a source of raw materials, as a world crossroads, and as a touchstone of the way nations behave towards their minority groups. Strategic considerations have led to the expenditure of vast sums of money; but world population expansion has not yet affected the northlands and their preservation in a natural state is still a feasible objective. The authors are experts in their own areas and have provided regional chapters on each of the land and ocean areas. The book compares the different approaches of the countries involved and deals also, in the context of the northern seas, with another political dimension – the relations between nations and their success in achieving international management of resources. This is an interesting read for scholars of geography, international relations and international economics.

From the towering pines of Shasta Trinity National Forest, to the chaparral scrub of San Diego's Mexican border, to Yosemite and the Western Sierras, trained wildland firefighter and photojournalist Stuart Palley documents California's raging wildfires and the forces behind them during the state's worst fire season in modern history. The dramatic images, a half decade in the making, capture the simultaneous beauty and destruction that wildfires bring as fire seasons get longer and more deadly, expensive, and destructive. In the wake of California's record-breaking series of wildfires in 2017, the images encompass five fire seasons and 45 fires. They are presented chronologically and culminate with the wine country fire siege that devastated Sonoma and Napa Counties in October 2017 and the Thomas Fire in Southern California, the largest in recorded state history. This timely book defines the state's drought and urban sprawl challenges, drawing a broader picture of global warming and its acute effects worldwide.

This book provides an up-to-date introduction to the fundamental methods related to planning and human services delivery. These methods aid planners in answering crucial questions about human activities within a given community. This book brings the pillars of planning methods together in an introductory text targeted towards senior level undergraduate and graduate students. Planning professionals will also find this book an invaluable reference.

Written by a career geologist with decades of experience in the field, North America's Natural Wonders guides readers through the most iconic, geologically significant scenery in North America, points out features of interest, explains what they are seeing, and describes how these features came to be. Presented as classic excursions to some of the best-known natural wonders on the continent, Volume II focuses primarily on Central and Eastern North America, including the Appalachians, the Colorado Rockies, Austin-Big Bend Country, and the Sierra Madre. The trips detailed in this volume include stops at quintessential features, such as the Shenandoah Valley, Carlsbad Caverns, Big Bend National Park, and La Popa Basin of Nuevo Leon and Coahuila, Mexico, as well as many others. It also features discussions of lesser-known but equally interesting geologic formations and important information on accessing these sites. Features Clearly explains the geology of these regions with an emphasis on landscape formation Addresses issues of interest, such as fossils, earthquakes, mineral sites, mining, and oil fields Lavishly illustrated with numerous colorful maps and breathtaking geological landscapes and their various features These six self-guided tours explain to the curious layman, student, and geologist what they are seeing when they look at a roadcut or a quarry and enhances the experience far beyond simple sightseeing.

* A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK * 'The very treeline is on the move: a devastating image. This book is an evocative, wise and unflinching exploration of what it will mean for humanity.' Jay Griffiths, author of Wild A ground-breaking and beautifully written investigation into the Arctic Treeline with an urgent environmental message The Arctic treeline is the frontline of climate change, where the trees have been creeping towards the pole for fifty years already. These vast swathes of forests, which encircle the north of the globe in an almost unbroken green ring, comprise the world's second largest biome. Scientists are only just beginning to understand the astonishing significance of these northern forests for all life on Earth. Six tree species - Scots pine, birch, larch, spruce, poplar and rowan - form the central protagonists of Ben Rawlence's story. In Scotland, northern Scandinavia, Siberia, Alaska, Canada and Greenland, he discovers what these trees and the people who live and work alongside them have to tell us about the past, present and future of our planet. At the treeline, Rawlence witnesses the accelerating impact of climate change and the devastating legacies of colonialism and capitalism. But he also finds reasons for hope. Humans are creatures of the forest; we have always evolved with trees. The Treeline asks us where our co-evolution might take us next. Deeply researched and beautifully written, The Treeline is a spellbinding blend of nature, travel and science writing, underpinned by an urgent environmental message. * SHORTLISTED FOR THE JAMES CROPPER WAINWRIGHT PRIZE 2022 *

Originally published in 1975 and in a second edition in 1980, Plant Geography was the first text in biogeography that provided an adequate treatment of modern plant population theory. It is an introduction to the subject for students of both geography and biology. The author develops a series of plant geographic concepts that are based primarily in plant population biology, treating in turn processes that operate at the level of the individual plant and the plant population; interactions between plant populations; environmental conditions and plant dissemination in shaping plant species’ distributions, and the geography of vegetation. Emphasis throughout is placed upon the dynamic nature of the earth’s plant cover, and the interplay between contemporary conditions and historical events in shaping plant distributions and evolution.

Drawing on ethnographic and archival research, Changing Forests explores how the indigenous Lenca community of La Campa, Honduras, has conserved and transformed their communal forests through the experiences of colonialism, opposition to state-controlled logging, and the recent adoption of export-oriented coffee production. It merges political ecology, collective-action theories, and institutional analysis to study how the people and forests have changed through socioeconomic and political transitions. It studies the complex, often contradictory relationships between the people and their natural resources to understand why forest cover endures.

This book brings together original and novel perspectives on major developments in human rights law and the environment in Africa. Focusing on African Union law, the book explores the core concepts and principles, theory and practice, accountability mechanisms and key issues challenging human rights law in the era of global environmental change. It, thus, extend the frontier of understanding in this fundamental area by building on existing scholarship on African human rights law and the protection of the environment, divulging concerns on redressing environmental and human rights protection issues in the context of economic growth and sustainable development. It further offers unique insight into the development, domestication and implementation challenges relating to human rights law and environmental governance in Africa. This long overdue interdisciplinary exploration of human rights law and the environment from an African perspective will be an indispensable reference point for academics, policymakers, practitioners and advocates of international human rights and environmental law in particular and international law, environmental politics and philosophy, and African studies in general. It is clear that there is much to do, study and share on this timely subject in the African context.

Bringing together the analysis of a diverse team of social scientists, this book proposes a new approach to environmental problems. Cutting through the fragmented perspectives on water crises, it seeks to shift the analytic perspectives on water policy by looking at the social logics behind environmental issues. Most importantly, it analyzes the dynamic influences on water management, as well as the social and institutional forces that orient water and conservation policies. The first work of its kind, The Field of Water Policy: Power and Scarcity in the American Southwest brings the tools of Pierre Bourdieu's field sociology to bear on a moment of environmental crisis, with a study of the logics of water policy in the American Southwest, a region that allows us to see the contest over the management of scarce resources in a context of lasting drought. As such, it will appeal to scholars in the social and political sciences with interests in the environment and the management of natural resources.

Geoinformatics for Marine and Coastal Management provides a timely and valuable assessment of the current state of the art geoinformatics tools and methods for the management of marine systems. This book focuses on the cutting-edge coverage of a wide spectrum of activities and topics such as GIS-based application of drainage basin analysis, contribution of ontology to marine management, geoinformatics in relation to fisheries management, hydrography, indigenous knowledge systems, and marine law enforcement. The authors present a comprehensive overview of the field of Geoinformatic Applications in Marine Management covering key issues and debates with specific case studies illustrating real-world applications of the GIS technology. This "box of tools" serves as a long-term resource for coastal zone managers, professionals, practitioners, and students alike on the management of oceans and the coastal fringe, promoting the approach of allowing sustainable and integrated use of oceans to maximize opportunities while keeping risks and hazards to a minimum.

This book focuses on a representative example and one of the world's largest steppe conversions, and provides a detailed overview of the results of the BMBF-funded research project KULUNDA. As part of the Siberian virgin land policy, the Kulunda steppe was transformed into agricultural land from 1954 to 1965. In the course of the project, a multidisciplinary research team conducted a natural, social-economic and agro-scientific cause-and-effect analysis of (agro-)ecosystem destabilisation, as well as various field trials covering tillage and crop rotation options in their socio-economic context. The ecologically and economically sound findings offer strategies for combining climate smart land utilization, ecosystem restoration and sustainable regional development, and can readily be applied to other virgin land conversion efforts. In addition, the findings on the Eurasian steppes will expand the current conversion literature, which mainly consists of the 'Dust Bowl' literature of the North American plains. Given its scope, the book will appeal to scientists, professionals, and students in the environmental, geo- and climate sciences.

'I have given my whole life to the mountains. Born at the foot of the Alps, I have been a ski champion, a professional guide, an amateur of the greatest climbs in the Alps and a member of eight expeditions to the Andes and the Himalaya. If the word has any meaning at all, I am a mountaineer.' So Lionel Terray begins Conquistadors of the Useless - not with arrogance, but with typical commitment. One of the most colourful characters of the mountaineering world, his writing is true to his uncompromising and jubilant love for the mountains. Terray was one of the greatest alpinists of his time, and his autobiography is one of the finest and most important mountaineering books ever written. Climbing with legends Gaston Rebuffat, Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal, Terray made first ascents in the Alps, Alaska, the Andes and the Himalaya. He was at the centre of global mountaineering at a time when Europe was emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and he came out a hero. Conquistadors of the Useless tells of his wartime escapades, of life as an Alpine mountain guide, and of his climbs - including the second ascent of the Eiger North Face and his involvement in the first ever ascent of an 8,000-metre peak, Annapurna. His tales capture the energy of French post-war optimism, a time when France needed to reassert herself and when climbing triumphs were more valued than at any other time in history. Terray's death, in the Vercors, robbed mountaineering of one of its most passionate and far-sighted figures. His energy, so obvious in Conquistadors of the Useless, will inspire for generations to come. A mountaineering classic.

Despite our growing awareness of the vital role they play in the global environment, wetlands remain among the most endangered ecosystems on Earth and are still being destroyed and degraded at an alarming rate. This much-needed publication, which includes contributions from leading researchers and practitioners, presents a holistic perspective on the restoration of wetland ecosystems such as shallow lakes, streams, floodplains and bogs. Through the use of carefully chosen case studies, the authors examine European wetland restoration projects from Scandinavia to Bulgaria and from Ireland to Belarus, focusing on the lessons they can teach to a new generation of conservationists. As well as reviewing the sum of current knowledge on the subject, the text is a store of practical know-how, covering a wide range of conservation approaches and techniques. It analyzes the major problems in the field and identifies key principles for achieving sustainability in wetland restoration. The topics covered include: * the role of wetlands in landscape functioning * human interference with natural processes such as water and matter cycles and energy dissipation * the impact of land use on global problems such as climate change, floods and droughts * the role played by diversity in wetland functioning The work shows that without sustainable land use over the totality of their catchment areas, and without cohesive inter-agency cooperation, individual restoration projects will have a short life span. The balance between scientific background and practical restoration makes this book a valuable resource for scientists as well as wetland managers, decision makers and land use planners, as well as students of ecology, nature conservation and environmental protection.

The original edition of this seminal book, published in 1991, introduced the concept of using markets and property rights to protect and improve environmental quality. Since publication, the ideas in this book have been adopted not only by conservative circles but by a wide range of environmental groups. To mention a few examples, Defenders of Wildlife applies the tenets of free market environmentalism to its wolf compensation program; World Wildlife Federation has successfully launched the CAMPFIRE program in southern Africa to reward native villagers who conserve elephants; and the Oregon Water Trust uses water markets to purchase or lease water for salmon and steelhead habitats. This revised edition updates the successful applications of free market environmentalism and adds two new chapters.

Drylands have been cradles to some of the worlda (TM)s greatest civilizations, and contemporary dryland communities feature rich and unique cultures. Dryland ecosystems support a surprising amount of biodiversity. Desertification, however, is a significant land degradation problem in the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid regions of the world. Deterioration of soil and plant cover has adversely affected 70% of the worlda (TM)s drylands as a result of extended droughts as well as mismanagement of range and cultivated lands. The situation is likely to worsen with high population growth rates and accompanying land-use conflicts.

The contributions to The Future of Drylands a" an international scientific conference held under the leadership of UNESCO a" address these issues and offer practical solutions for combating desertification along with conserving and sustainably managing dryland ecosystems. Major themes include the conservation of dryland biological and cultural diversity and the human dryland interface. This volume documents how our improved understanding of drylands provides insight into the health and future prospects of these precious ecosystems that should help ensure that dryland communities enjoy a sustainable future.

For a decade Philip Connors has spent nearly half of each year in a 7' x 7' fire lookout tower, 10,000 feet above sea level, keeping watch over one of the most fire-prone forests in America. Fire Season is his remarkable reflection on work, untamed fire, our place in the wild, and the charms of solitude. Written with narrative verve and startling beauty, and filled with heartfelt reflections on his literary forebears who also served as "freaks on the peaks"--among them Edward Abbey, Jack Kerouac, and Norman Maclean--Fire Season is a book to stand the test of time.

This detailed exposition gives background and context to how modern biogeography has got to where it is now. For biogeographers and other researchers interested in biodiversity and the evolution of life on islands, Biogeology: Evolution in a Changing Landscape provides an overview of a large swathe of the globe encompassing Wallacea and the western Pacific. The book contains the full text of the original article explored in each chapter, presented as it appeared on publication. Key features: Holistic treatment, collecting together a series of important biogeographical papers into a single volume Authored by an expert who has spent nearly three decades actively involved in biogeography Describes and interprets a region of exceptional biodiversity and extreme endemism The only book to provide an integrated treatment of Wallacea, Melanesia, New Zealand, the New Zealand Subantarctic Islands and Antarctica Offers a critique of fashionable neo-dispersalist arguments, showing how these still suffer from the same weaknesses of the original Darwinian formulation. The chapters also include analysis of many major theoretical and philosophical issues of modern biogeographic theory, so that those interested in a more philosophical approach will find the book stimulating and thought-provoking.