Arthropods are invertebrates that constitute over 90% of the animal kingdom, and their bio-ecology is closely linked with global functioning and survival. Arthropods play an important role in maintaining the health of ecosystems, provide livelihoods and nutrition to human communities, and are important indicators of environmental change. Yet the population trends of several arthropods species show them to be in decline. Arthropods constitute a dominant group with 1.2 million species influencing earth's biodiversity. Among arthropods, insects are predominant, with ca. 1 million species and having evolved some 350 million years ago. Arthropods are closely associated with living and non-living entities alike, making the ecosystem services they provide crucially important. In order to be effective, plans for the conservation of arthropods and ecosystems should include a mixture of strategies like protecting key habitats and genomic studies to formulate relevant policies for in situ and ex situ conservation. This two-volume book focuses on capturing the essentials of arthropod inventories, biology, and conservation.Further, it seeks to identify the mechanisms by which arthropod populations can be sustained in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and by means of which certain problematic species be managed without producing harmful environmental side-effects. This edited compilation includes chapters contributed by over 80 biologists on a wide range of topics embracing the diversity, distribution, utility and conservation of arthropods and select groups of insect taxa. More importantly, it describes in detail the mechanisms of sustaining arthropod ecosystems, services and populations. It addresses the contribution of modern biological tools such as molecular and genetic techniques regulating gene expression, as well as conventional, indigenous practices in arthropod conservation. The contributors reiterate the importance of documenting and understanding the biology of arthropods from a holistic perspective before addressing conservation issues at large. This book offers a valuable resource for all zoologists, entomologists, ecologists, conservation biologists, policy makers, teachers and students interested in the conservation of biological resources.

Who controls what we eat? This book reveals how dominant corporations, from the supermarket to the seed industry, exert control over contemporary food systems. It analyzes the strategies these firms are using to reshape society in order to further increase their power, particularly in terms of their bearing upon the more vulnerable sections of society, such as recent immigrants, ethnic minorities and those of lower socioeconomic status. Yet this study also shows that these trends are not inevitable. Opposed by numerous efforts, from microbreweries to seed saving networks, it explores how opposition to this has encouraged even the most powerful firms to make small but positive changes. This revised edition has been updated to reflect recent developments in the food system, as well as the broad political economic forces that shape them. It also examines the rapidly changing technologies, such as Big Data and automation, which have the potential to reinforce, as well as to challenge, the power of the largest firms.

What has prompted the shift toward sustainability in numerous financial areas? Can investors mindsets be changed to embrace a long-term view? Can shareholders and activists play a greater role in encouraging financial actors to behave more responsibly? These are some of the relevant topics that are explored in this forward-looking set of essays.

New edition of one of the first primers of sustainability. Takes a holistic approach to the concept of sustainability. Covers some of the new developments such as Covid19, reporting and measurement and corporate behaviour.

This book evaluates Bangladesh's impressive economic and social progress, more often referred to as a 'development surprise'. In doing so, the book examines the gap in existing explanations of Bangladesh's development and then offers an empirically informed analysis of a range of distinctive factors, policies, and actions that have individually and collectively contributed to the progress of Bangladesh. In an inclusive way, the book covers the developmental role, relation, and impact of poverty reduction, access to finance, progress in education and social empowerment, reduction in the climatic vulnerability, and evolving sectoral growth activities in the agriculture, garments, and light industries. It also takes into account the important role of the government and NGOs in the development process, identifies bottlenecks and challenges to Bangladesh's future development path and suggests measures to overcome them. By providing an inclusive narrative to theorize Bangladesh's development, which is still missing in the public discourse, this book posits that Bangladesh per se can offer a development model to other developing countries.

As this book is the first book worldwide in the "sustainable" management of luxury area, it highlights key aspects in the sustainable management of luxury based on presentations using different approaches, whether reflexive, empirical, hands-on or applied theory and cases.

The Randstad metropolitan region encompassing Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht in the western Netherlands is regarded worldwide as a model of a 'successful' polycentric metropolis. It is widely cited as an example of how a region of interconnected small cities can effectively compete globally by providing complementary functions which together match the power of large monocentric cities. The methods of strategic spatial planning, regional design and strategic projects that are said to underpin this polycentric metropolis are used as models for practitioners and students around the world. But is this high reputation deserved? Does the Randstad really function as a polycentric metropolis? The operation of the Randstad as a polycentric networked region is controversial both in terms of the actual strength of relations between its component parts, and the value of promoting polycentricity in policy. What are the costs and benefits of a Randstad metropolis? Does polycentricity improve the performance of the region in economic, social and environmental terms? How has the polycentric metropolis evolved and what part is played by its delta location? Has spatial planning made a difference in the form and operation of the region today? How will this spatial configuration fare in the face of the climate crisis and need to create healthy cities and regions? Is there benefit in pursuing the idea of a polycentric metropolis in government policy and action, and how? These questions are of critical interest within the Netherlands but experience in the Randstad offers valuable insights to many other complex urban regions around the world. This book will provide a critical analysis of the Randstad and lessons for strategic planning in other metropolitan regions.

The IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report (2014) has highlighted the importance of urban areas in mitigating emissions of greenhouse gases. Urban centres are also subject to the impacts of climate change. Hence governance for urban sustainability and resilience needs to be developed to deal with the challenge of climate change in the future and its impacts on urban locations. This book is a rich repository of knowledge and information on this subject of growing relevance.' - Rajendra Pachauri, Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Professor, Yale Climate and Energy Institute, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, US'This book provides a timely overview of the range of government intervention models in the policy domain of urban sustainability. Combining the two closely related, but usually separated, policy objectives of Sustainability and Resilience has particular utility. Having good ideas about how to save the planet are necessary but if we can't use governance tools to deliver them, we have no hope.' - Peter Newman, Curtin University, Australia Cities, and the built environment more broadly, are key in the global response to climate change. This groundbreaking book seeks to understand what governance tools are best suited for achieving cities that are less harmful to the natural environment, are less dependent on finite resources, and can better withstand human-made hazards and climate risks. In mapping, describing and evaluating nearly 70 traditional and highly innovative governance tools from Asia, Australia, Europe and North America, Jeroen van der Heijden uncovers the five most eminent contemporary trends in governance for urban sustainability and resilience. He also develops a series of 12 design principles that will help to develop better governance tools for improving the sustainability and resilience of today's cities and those of the future. The book is unique in drawing lessons from the theoretical literature on environmental and hazard governance into a broad empirical study. The book will be of great interest to scholars in the field of urban governance, urban planning, sustainable development and resilience, environmental and hazard governance, and climate risk adaptation and mitigation. It will also appeal to students, policymakers and organizations involved with environmental policy and governance. Contents: 1. Where We are Today 2. Direct Regulatory Interventions 3. Collaborative Governance 4. Voluntary Programmes and Market-driven Governance 5. Trends in and Design Principles for Governance for Urban Sustainability and Resilience 6. Conclusion: In Search of an Answer to the Key-Question, Appendix - Methods Index

Photovoltaics, the direct conversion of sunlight to electricity, is now the fastest growing technology for electricity generation. Present "first generation" products use the same silicon wafers as in microelectronics. "Second generation" thin-films, now entering the market, have the potential to greatly improve the economics by eliminating material costs. Martin Green, one of the worlds foremost photovoltaic researchers, argues in this book that "second generation" photovoltaics will eventually reach its own material cost constraints, engendering a "third generation" of high performance thin-films. The book explores, self-consistently, the energy conversion potential of advanced approaches for improving photovoltaic performance and outlines possible implementation paths.

This book presents solutions to address water security in rapidly urbanizing cities, and explores the new paradigms of water security in changing contexts. Highlighting the latest developments in water research, changes in water policy, and current discourses on water security, the book also provides information and tools for local stakeholders, water managers, and policymakers to build the capacity for sustainable water governance. The book discusses a wide range of sustainable solutions and their implementation to ensure that the balance between water supply and demand remains sustainable in the long term, with a focus on local solutions to build capacity and developing policy awareness for a wide range of stakeholders. As the concept of urban water security in changing contexts is open to multiple interpretations, the authors set out various approaches. Providing an overview of the changing perspectives of urban water security in different contexts, the book is based on findings of the Asia-Pacific Network water security project at the United Nations University, Tokyo, as well as the authors' current research-based at Pokhara University, Nepal, Hosei University, Tokyo, Institute for the Global Environmental Strategies, Japan and the Australian National University, Australia. The book also includes the views of international authorities (such as water experts) on the subject. The solutions are complemented by analysis of case studies of various localized sustainable solutions at different scales. The book is a valuable resource for water professionals and policymakers around the globe, academics, teachers working in water-related areas, NGOs, think thanks, water research institutes, donor organizations, and international and local water utility services.

A global industry and an important tool for economic development, international tourism is facing an increasingly uncertain future. Global environmental change, including climate change; increasing fuel prices; and growing criticism from environmental and social interest groups are posing substantial challenges to the belief that international tourism can be sustainable at current rates and patterns of growth. This book therefore aims to answer the questions of if and how tourism can be a sustainable industry. The book concludes that sustainable tourism is possible but that it requires fundamental shifts in operations, systems and philosophies. The various contributions identify a number of means by which this can be accomplished but stress that sustainable tourism still has a long way to travel before it can reach its destination.

This book discusses capital separation processes of industrial interest and explores the potential for substantial improvement offered by a promising class of substances: ionic liquids. These low melting point salts, with their unique characteristics, have been gaining relevance in the field of separation through a variety of approaches. The chapters are structured from an application perspective, and cover the utilisation of ionic liquids in different unit operation contexts (distillation, liquid-liquid extraction, and solid-liquid extraction), giving an idea of their remarkable versatility. The final chapters focus on the use of ionic liquids in analytical applications based on separation procedures. This volume combines the review of the main advances to date with the analysis of the potential future use of ionic liquids in separation processes across a variety of fields, ranging from enhancement of state-of-the-art technologies to a revolution in the technological bases currently in use. It provides a valuable resource for engineers and scientists working in the field of separation, as well as for all readers generally interested in ionic liquids, in particular from an application standpoint. Hector Rodriguez is a faculty member of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

In 2005, The United Nations launched its Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, which recognises that education, including Higher Education is the key to the change in social attitudes that will be needed to protect the welfare of future generations. This involves helping learners to live as though the future matters and to achieve ecoliteracy. This includes the understanding that personal lifestyle decisions may have consequences, ranging from climate change, through loss of biodiversity, to pollution and resource depletion that may permit environmental degradation on a planetary scale. It also involves helping them to develop the skills needed to cope with such challenges. This international collection of research papers and position statements from special issues of the Journal of Geography in Higher Education and Applied Environmental Education and Communication, written by many of the leading practitioners in the field, aims to provide resources and practical guidance for all seeking to promote and engage in education for a sustainable future. Rabindranath Tagore encouraged each learner to make their actions demonstrate a harmonious union between education and environment. David Orr argued that the world needs people who live well in their places to make the world both habitable and humane and that the main challenge for education is to help learners make their minds fit for life on Earth. This book tries to chart a practical route towards these objectives. This book was previously published as special issues of the Journal of Geography in Higher Education and Applied Environmental Education and Communication

Hiroshi Komiyama's "Vision 2050" is a plan for paving a road to global sustainability. It lays out a path to a sustainable future for humanity that could realistically be achieved by 2050 through the application of science and technology. A prominent Japanese academic and leader in global sustainability, Komiyama draws upon realistic assumptions and solid scientific concepts to create a vision that makes the living standards enjoyed by developed countries today possible for all people by 2050. "Vision 2050" is built upon three fundamental principles - increased energy efficiency, recycling, and development of renewable energy sources - and the book argues for the technological potential of all three. Specifically, Komiyama envisions a three-fold increase in overall energy efficiency and a doubling of renewable energy resources by 2050. "Vision 2050: Roadmap for a Sustainable Earth" is written to address the concerned citizen as well as to inspire an exchange of ideas among experts, policy makers, industrial leaders, and the general public.

The first edition of The Small-Scale Poultry Flock helped thousands of small-scale farmers and smallholders adopt a practical model for working with chickens and other domestic fowl based on natural systems. In this expanded and thoroughly revised edition, readers will find plenty of all-new material. Author Harvey Ussery introduces readers to his new favorite breed of chicken, Icelandics; describes how he manages his breeding flock using a clan mating system; presents detailed information on the use of trapnests and record-keeping spreadsheets for evaluating breeding hen performance; and provides step-by-step instructions for construction of an ingeniously designed mobile poultry shelter. Readers will also find fully updated information and tips on all aspects of flock management, including: growing (and sourcing) feed on a small scale cultivating earthworms and grubs as high-protein poultry feed brooding (and breeding) at home implementing manure management using electric net fencing for ranging flocks using poultry as insect and weed managers in the garden and orchard enlisting your chickens as garden tillers and compost-makers protecting the flock from predators keeping the flock healthy working with mother hens In The Small-Scale Poultry Flock, Revised Edition Ussery presents a sustainable and ecologically friendly model that can be adapted to a variety of scales. His advice and examples throughout the book will prove invaluable for beginner farmers, growers looking to incorporate poultry into their programme and experienced farmers looking to create a truly sustainable system.

This book targets the issue of water scarcity in Egypt as a typical example of the world water crisis. Today, the available water resource is facing its limit because of rapid increase in water demand as a result of population growth and changes in peoples' life-style. The basic idea to solve the problem of water scarcity is that the irrigation sector, the biggest user of water, should increase water use efficiency. However, the real problem is how this can be achieved in view of the crucial need for water in this sector. This book addresses this challenge through case studies from the Nile delta in Egypt. The water problem in the Nile delta, the major source for water in Egypt, is discussed in this book from all its various aspects. This book covers the situation before and after the advent of the Aswan High Dam, so that the reader understands the entire development. Another special feature are the extensive and scientific descriptions of contemporary topics in water and agriculture, especially from the viewpoint of water saving and sustainability. These descriptions are based on field experiments and surveys in a six-year international research project. Topics of this book are local, but their implications are global.

Around the turn of the millennium it had become painfully evident that development aid, charity or "global business-as-usual" were not going to be the mechanisms to alleviate global poverty. Today, there is little dispute that poverty remains the most pressing global problem calling for innovative solutions. One recent strategy is the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) concept developed by Prahalad and Hart, which relies on entrepreneurial activity tapping into the previously ignored markets of the economically most disadvantaged. It is a process requiring innovations in several disciplines: technological, social and business.This book covers a number of areas. First, much of the current BoP discussion emphasises targeting products to the needs of the poor. But do we actually know what the real needs of the poor are? This book takes a bottom-up human-centred approach and examines examples that truly engage the poor in BoP product and service development. What types of needs assessment methodologies are indicated considering the cultural differences in BoP countries? Are the existing methodologies adequate? Do they need to be redefined and redeveloped? Second, the book considers how we can balance poverty alleviation and stimulate economic growth without stressing the ecosystem. Tragically, the poor are hardest hit by the adverse effects of environmental deterioration such as water shortages, climate change or the destruction of habitats. While the economic welfare of the poor is critical, the BoP approach must balance its inherent paradox of encouraging greater consumption while avoiding further pressures on environmental sustainability. The link between the BoP approach and sustainable development is a key feature of this book. Third, it looks at innovation and asks what kinds of"bottom-up" innovation (open source, technological, social and business) support BoP initiatives (and sustainable development)?Fourth, the book deals with the relationship between development assistance and BoP. Is a BoP strategy the antithesis to development aid or can these two co-exist or even complement each other?Finally, the book raises questions about the relationship between corporate responsibility and BoP. Is BoP a new form of corporate neo-colonialism or a new form of corporate responsibility? Although the BoP concept has unleashed an extensive and generally enthusiastic response from academics, businesses, NGOs and governments, the knowledge domain around this concept is still in the early stages of development. This book addresses that need with a focus on the needs of the end-users - the poor - as a starting point for BoP products and innovations. With contributions from both supporters and critics, it provides a treasure trove of global knowledge on how the concept has developed, what its successes and failures have been and what promise it holds as a long-term strategy for alleviating poverty and tackling global sustainability.

This book presents revealing case studies on carbon footprint calculation and mitigation in various industrial sectors. There are numerous sectors whose carbon footprints need to be calculated, and effective ways to mitigate the greenhouse-gas emissions from these sectors need to be found. Using representative case studies, this book highlights the carbon footprint of national power generation systems, crude glycerol production plants and the Brazilian highway network system, as well as the integration of renewable energy sources in expansion planning, so as to promote and implement power system decarbonization.

This book uses the metaphor "The economy is society's metabolism" as a springboard to develop a rigorous theoretical framework for a better system of national accounts which goes "Beyond GDP" and is relevant to the age of resource depletion. Society is entering a new era in which biophysical limits related to natural resource extraction rates and the biosphere's waste assimilation capacity are becoming binding constraints on mature economies. Unfortunately, the data needed for policy-makers to understand and manage economic growth in this new era are not universally available. All stakeholders need a new way to understand our economy in the context of the biosphere's ability to provide essential natural capital, and we suggest that detailed information about materials, energy, embodied energy, and energy intensity should be routinely gathered, analyzed, and disseminated from a centralized location to provide markets and policymakers with a more comprehensive understanding of the biophysical economy. However, a firm theoretical foundation is needed before proceeding along this new path, which this book is intended to provide. After arguing that the stock of manufactured capital is an important driver of material and energy demands imposed upon the biosphere, a new accounting framework is derived from the laws of thermodynamics to reflect the fact that material and embodied energy accumulate within the capital stock of economic sectors. This framework extends the Energy Input-Output (EI-O) techniques first developed by Bullard, Herendeen, and others to estimate energy intensity of economic products. Implications from the new framework are discussed, including the value of economic metrics for policy-making, the need for physically-based rather than product-based EI-O formulations, a re-assessment of the concept of economic "growth," and an evaluation of recycling, reuse, and dematerialization. The framework also provides an opportunity to assess an array of definitions for Daly's "steady-state economy" in relation to the ideal of a sustainable economy. The book ends with a list of steps to be taken in creating a more comprehensive system of national accounts: National accounting agencies worldwide should develop and maintain balance sheets of both natural and manufactured capital in addition to national income statements All stocks and inter-sector flows should be provided in physical as well as financial units In the US, the Bureau for Economic Analysis (BEA) should restart detailed Capital, Labor, Energy, Material, and Services (KLEMS) reporting National accounting agencies should routinely estimate the energy intensity of economic products, and all of the above should be estimated and disseminated on an annual basis.

This book gathers interdisciplinary reflections from researchers, educators, and other experts on the subject of biodiversity closer to education and learning. The book also highlights its role as an added value to strategic principles for healthy ecosystems and sustainable human development. It promotes critical thinking and foster practices and attitudes for Education for Sustainable Development reconciling education with principles of human behaviour and nature. Readers especially find this book a timely resource in light of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, the Aichi Targets, and the new EU biodiversity strategy "Our life insurance, our natural capital: an EU biodiversity strategy to 2020". Along with the challenge of ecosystems and public health, biodiversity conservation is essential for humanity's continued security and sustainability, as it touches on all aspects of people's lives.

This book figures out that network security and informatization have entered a development stage of greater permeation and deeper integration into all aspects of the economy and society. In particular since the 2008 financial crisis, the world's major economies have placed a strategic focus on network security and informatization in order to seek out new growth points, alleviate energy and ecological pressures, improve living standards, and improve social governance through new technological transformations in fields such as cloud computing, the Internet of Things, mobile internet, big data, smart cities, and a wave of applications. The effects on the economy and society have emerged and will continue to make significant progress. Based on China's stage of new urbanization, industrialization, informatization, and agricultural modernization and major characteristics, as well as the intrinsic need for synchronized development, this book encourages society to accelerate the pace of development, expand the scope of work and promote informatization and the comprehensive, coordinated, effective linking and deep integration of informatization with all areas of the economy and society.

This book contains 35 papers from the Tourism Outlook Conference held in Lombok, Indonesia in July 2015. The book presents comprehensive discussions on sustainability in the tourism industry. It includes research on various constituents of the tourism sector and analyses of each of them from a sustainability standpoint. Case studies that are global in nature are presented to show how sustainable applications can be used and how concerns can be addressed. The book is a response to rapid change in contemporary tourism trends brought about by global economic and social forces such as development pressures, population growth, major resource extraction, industrial fishing, global climate change and steadily rising sea levels. Balancing Development and Sustainability in Tourism Destinations serves as a platform for students and educators, government agency employees, hospitality and tourism industry practitioners, public and private land managers, community development workers, and others interested in identifying practical solutions, charting new directions, and creating opportunities for sustainable tourism development.

Environmental sustainability issues in a fragile, semi-arid region and its coastal area, which experience climate changes from extreme drought conditions to the effects of hurricanes over a period of weeks to years, provide specific challenges for the ecosystems and the populations existing within the region. The research presented focuses on the problems and some solutions specific to the South Texas-Mexico border region, on both sides of the Rio Grande, focusing on water and air pollution. "