Population ageing has been going on for many decades, but population shrinking is a rather new phenomenon. The population of Germany, as in many other countries, has passed a plateau and is currently shrinking. Demographic change is a challenge for infrastructure planning due to the longevity of infrastructure capital and the need to match supply and demand in order to ensure cost-efficiency. This book summarises the findings of the INFRADEM project team, a multidisciplinary research group that worked together to estimate the effects of demographic change on infrastructure demand. Economists, engineers and geographers present studies from top-down and bottom-up perspectives, focusing on Germany and two selected regions: Hamburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The contributors employed a broad range of methods, including an overlapping-generations model for Germany, regional input-output models, an energy systems model, and a spatial model of the transportation infrastructure.

If the political and social benchmarks of sustainability and sustainable development are to be met, ignoring the role of the humanities and social, cultural and ethical values is highly problematic. People's worldviews, beliefs and principles have an immediate impact on how they act and should be studied as cultural dimensions of sustainability. Collating contributions from internationally renowned theoreticians of culture and leading researchers working in the humanities and social sciences, this volume presents an in-depth, interdisciplinary discussion of the concept of cultural sustainability and the public visibility of such research. Beginning with a discussion of the concept of cultural sustainability, it goes on to explore its interaction with philosophy, theology, sociology, economics, arts and literature. In doing so, the book develops a much needed concept of 'culture' that can be adapted to various disciplines and applied to research on sustainability. Addressing an important gap in sustainability research, this book will be of great interest to academics and students of sustainability and sustainable development, as well as those studying sustainability within the humanities and social sciences, such as cultural studies, ethics, theology, sociology, literature and history.

Greening Airports considers the "greening", i.e., more sustainable development, of the entire air transport system - airports, air traffic control, and airlines - that could be achieved by the development and implementation of advanced operations and technologies. A broad overview of the general concept is given at the start of Greening Airports, which then goes on to provide a system for monitoring and assessing the level of greening of both the air transport system and individual airports. These are followed by analysis and modelling of the potential effects of particular advanced operations and technologies on the greening of airports and their local airspace. These include: the development of a large airport into a multimodal transport node by connecting it to a high speed rail network; the use of operations supported by new and existing air traffic control technologies to increase landing capacity of existing runways; the use of liquid hydrogen as a commercial aviation fuel; and the improvement of airport ground accessibility by a light rail rapid transit system. Greening Airports is written for researchers, planners, operators and policy makers in air transport.

This book examines in detail key aspects of sustainability in the textile industry, especially environmental, social and economic sustainability in the textiles and clothing sector. It highlights the various faces and facets of sustainability and their implications for textiles and the clothing sector.

This book dealt with a number of issues under the broad subject matter of protected area focusing on the policy of collaborative management as a means to augment the forest conservation activities and enhance community development in Bangladesh. Studies covered in the book emerged with the success stories of protected area co-management, both in terms of community development and biodiversity conservation. Significant level of development was noticed in the socio-economic conditions of the surrounding communities. Empowerment and improved social dignity of women participants signifies the initiation of co-management approach. The principles of participatory governance were found reasonably well reflected in legal and policy frameworks. Based on the lessons from the studies, a general metaphysical model, namely Spider-web model of protected area co-management has been developed that can be potentially applicable in countries where local communities rely heavily on protected areas."

NATO Advanced Research Workshop "The Black Sea: Strategy for Addressing its Energy Resource Development and Hydrogen Energy Problems" was held in order to evaluate the Black Sea Region's environment, discuss the ways and means of protecting it, and to evaluate the methods of production of the energy carrier, hydrogen. Papers presented at the workshop, proposed various methods of hydrogen production from the hydrogen sulfide, from marine macro algae and other bacteria, storage and utilization of hydrogen, oil spills and pollutants in the Black Sea, degradation of the sea and the land around the region, and ways and means of protecting the environment. The workshop participants unanimously expressed the need to establish close cooperation amongst the Region's countries regarding the development of its energy resources, and at the same time protecting its environment. These recommendations have been put together in the Batumi Manifesto. This book entitled "Black Sea Energy Resource Development and Hydrogen Energy Problems" puts together the papers presented at the workshop, starting with the Batumi Manifesto. This valuable volume should be in the libraries of all the scientists, engineers, environmentalists, economists and decision makers involved in the development of the Black Sea Region and in the introduction of clean and abundant Hydrogen Energy.

An Introduction to Sustainable Tourism provides a comprehensive, pragmatic, and realistic look at integrating sustainability into tourism. It adopts a systems-perspective, looking at the whole tourism supply chain to provide an integrated viewpoint of sustainability in the tourism industry and asks: * How does policy encourage or discourage sustainability? * How do intermediaries influence the sale of sustainable tourism? * What are the operator's concerns, how do tourists themselves respond to it? * What are the values of sustainability in tourism and what are the impacts 'trade-offs' to the tourist experience? Using first-hand research projects and packed with international case studies, it combines theoretical and applied knowledge with a scaffolded learning approach and takes a comprehensive look at practical management tools, certifications and innovation as part of the process of operationalising and implementing sustainable tourism. Complete with online resources and accompanied by video materials An Introduction to Sustainable Tourism is an essential text for tourism students across all levels, undergraduate and postgraduate studies.

This book presents advanced ecological techniques for crop cultivation and the chapters are arranged into four sections, namely general aspects, weeds, fungi, worms and microbes. Biocontrol is an ecological method of controlling pests such as insects, mites, weeds and plant diseases using other organisms. This practice has been used for centuries. Biocontrol relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms. Natural enemies of insect pests, also known as biological control agents, include predators, parasitoids, pathogens, and competitors.

This book highlights the rightful role of citizens as per the constitution of the country for participation in Governance of a smart city using electronic means such as high speed fiber optic networks, the internet, and mobile computing as well as Internet of Things that have the ability to transform the dominant role of citizens and technology in smart cities. These technologies can transform the way in which business is conducted, the interaction of interface with citizens and academic institutions, and improve interactions between business, industry, and city government.

As the world population is exploding and alongside fluctuations in climate is also prevalent, there is an increasing stress on the food requirements of the population. We have an urgent necessity to produce more food in the limited agricultural land. Further, to feed 7 billion people there is a requirement of high yielding crops, without harming environment and limiting the use of unnecessary pesticide and chemical fertilizers. Therefore it has become crucial to develop agri-bio-techniques which are environment friendly and also give high crop productivity. Many countries are evaluating the utility of biotechnology and its role in addressing problems of food security and poverty. Biotechnology is the application of scientific and engineering principles to the processing and production of materials by utilising biological agents. These agents are exploited to provide goods and services. Agricultural biotechnology encompasses a growing list of techniques that range from simple probes to determine a relevant gene from the complete genome to manipulating genes for a desired outcome. Many other popular methods used in the realm of agricultural technology are - gene integration, Marker-assisted breeding, Tissue culture, Gene profiling or association mapping, Metabolomics etc. The fundamental challenge facing the scientific community is how to devise innovative strategies that will bring all developed as well as developing countries into the "biological fold" and to do so in ways that will take full advantage of advances in the biological sciences to curb poverty, improve public health, and promote human development. This book contains information on eco-friendly techniques for high crop productivity and it is a myriad of different techniques and technology used to sustain productivity in crop plants. There are fewer books focusing on large-scale organic farming, molecular farming etc. Multidisciplinary research and literature is needed to deliver knowledge and products into the marketplace which fulfil these requirements. The present book is a collection of literature contributed by experts, scientists, professors, and researchers from around the world, it emphasizes work of concerned scientist and his choice of techniques used for enhancement of agricultural production. This book analyses the use of modern techniques to increase crop yields, production, and risk of hunger linked to socioeconomic scenarios.

Intense uplift of the Tibetan Plateau in Late Cenozoic Era is one of the most important events in geological history of the Earth. The plateau offers an ideal region for studying of lithospheric formation and evolution, probing into the mechanism of crustal movement, and understanding of changes in environments and geo-ecosystems in Asia. Intense uplift ofthe plateau resulted in drastic changes of natural environment and apparent regional differentiation on the plateau proper and neighboring regions. The plateau therefore becomes a sensitive area of climate change in Asian monsoon region, which is closely related to the global change. As a special physical unit, its ecosystems occupy a prominent position in the world. Due to its extremely high elevation and great extent, natural types and characteristics of physical landscapes on the plateau are quite different from those in lowlands at comparable latitudes, and environments are also different from those in high latitudinal zones. Consequently, the Tibetan Plateau has been classified as one of three giant physical regions in China and considered as a unique unit on Earth. Scientific surveys and expeditions to the Tibetan Plateau on large scale began from 1950's. Amongst them, a number of comprehensive scientific expeditions to the Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous Region, Hengduan Mts. areas, Karakorum and Kunlun Mts. regions, as well as the Hoh Xii Mts. areas, have been successively carried out by the Integrated Scientific Expedition to Tibetan Plateau, sponsored by Chinese Academy of Sciences since 1973."

The second volume of handbook explores different dimensions of the sustainable luxury textiles and fashion, broadly based on the following topics: Sustainable luxury Luxury and consumption Luxury, innovation and design potential Luxury and entrepreneurship Sustainable Luxury Management

This book presents papers from the 9th Applied Research Conference in Africa (ARCA), showcasing the latest research on sustainable education and development. The conference is focused on applied research discussion and its dissemination, developing understanding about the role of research and researchers in the development of the continent. ARCA gathers papers which explain how key education is to transforming lives, eradicating poverty and driving sustainable development in Africa. Presenting high quality research about developing economies, construction, education and sustainability, this proceedings will be of interest to academics, postgraduate students, and industry professionals.

This book features in-depth and thorough coverage of Minimum Impact Mill Technologies which can meet the environmental challenges of the pulp and paper industry and also discusses Mills and Fiberlines that encompass "State-of-the-Art" technology and management practices. The minimum impact mill does not mean "zero effluent", nor is it exclusive to one bleaching concept. It is a much bigger concept which means that significant progress must be made in the following areas: Water Management, Internal Chemical Management, Energy Management, Control and Discharge of Non-Process Elements and Removal of Hazardous Pollutants. At the moment, there is no bleached kraft pulp mill operating with zero effluent. With the rise in environmental awareness due to the lobbying by environmental organizations and with increased government regulation there is now a trend towards sustainability in the pulp and paper industry. Sustainable pulp and paper manufacturing requires a holistic view of the manufacturing process. During the last decade, there have been revolutionary technical developments in pulping, bleaching and chemical recovery technology. These developments have made it possible to further reduce loads in effluents and airborne emissions. Thus, there has been a strong progress towards minimum impact mills in the pulp and paper industry. The minimum-impact mill is a holistic manufacturing concept that encompasses environmental management systems, compliance with environmental laws and regulations and manufacturing technologies.

Nanotechnology is a rapidly evolving field finding newer and newer areas of application that remained unexplored previously. In the area of civil infrastructure systems such as buildings, roads, and bridges, there is a drive towards understanding the behavior of component materials and their interactions at the molecular or nano-level to manipulate and effect macro-level changes to engineer designer or smart materials. Nano-engineering and nano-modification of concrete and bituminous materials have far-reaching implications allowing the development of cost-effective, high-performance, and long-lasting products and processes for civil infrastructure within the ideals of sustainable development. This book focuses on the latest advances made in the development and characterization of nanotechnology based civil engineering materials, structures, and systems. Specific topics discussed in this book include nanoscience modeling to understand the atomic structure of C-S-H, the effect of nanomaterials on cement hydration and reinforcement, multifunctional concrete and Carbon Nanotube (CNT) reinforced cementitious systems, nano-optimized construction materials by nano-seeding, moisture damage characterization of asphalt materials using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and nanoindentation, nanoclay-modified asphalt binder systems, etc.

This book offers a detailed presentation of the principles and practice of life cycle impact assessment. As a volume of the LCA compendium, the book is structured according to the LCIA framework developed by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO)passing through the phases of definition or selection of impact categories, category indicators and characterisation models (Classification): calculation of category indicator results (Characterisation); calculating the magnitude of category indicator results relative to reference information (Normalisation); and converting indicator results of different impact categories by using numerical factors based on value-choices (Weighting). Chapter one offers a historical overview of the development of life cycle impact assessment and presents the boundary conditions and the general principles and constraints of characterisation modelling in LCA. The second chapter outlines the considerations underlying the selection of impact categories and the classification or assignment of inventory flows into these categories. Chapters three through thirteen exploreall the impact categories that are commonly included in LCIA, discussing the characteristics of each followed by a review of midpoint and endpoint characterisation methods, metrics, uncertainties and new developments, and a discussion of research needs. Chapter-length treatment is accorded to Climate Change; Stratospheric Ozone Depletion; Human Toxicity; Particulate Matter Formation; Photochemical Ozone Formation; Ecotoxicity; Acidification; Eutrophication; Land Use; Water Use; and Abiotic Resource Use. The final two chapters map out the optional LCIA steps of Normalisation and Weighting.

This book discussing in detail the Social Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA) of the global economy using the comprehensive Multi-Regional Input-Output (MRIO) technique. The content is presented in two parts, the first of which offers an introduction to social accounting and how it has been developed over the past few years with details on the methodologies and databases used. The second part of the book describes the footprints of the social accounts that have the highest impact on people's well-being (employment, income, working conditions,and inequality) and how they are linked to international trade. The need for reporting on such indicators falls within the purview of corporate/national social responsibility (part of the Triple Bottom Line). The book offers a valuable contribution to the literature for researchers and students engaged in the social sciences, human rights, and the implications of international trade on labour in developing countries.iv>

A set of new studies are included in this volume which provides solutions that lead towards sustainability. Contributions originate from a diverse range of researchers, resulting in a variety of topics and experiences. Urban areas face a number of challenges related to reducing pollution, improving main transportation and infrastructure systems and these challenges can contribute to the development of social and economic imbalances and require the development of new solutions. The challenge is to manage human activities, pursuing welfare and prosperity in the urban environment, whilst considering the relationships between the parts and their connections with the living world. The dynamics of its networks (flows of energy matter, people, goods, information and other resources) are fundamental for an understanding of the evolving nature of today's cities. Large cities represent a productive ground for architects, engineers, city planners, social and political scientists able to conceive new ideas and time them according to technological advances and human requirements. The multidisciplinary components of urban planning, the challenges presented by the increasing size of cities, the amount of resources required and the complexity of modern society are all addressed.

The green movement refers to an emphasis on goods and services considered to inflict minimal or no harm on the environment, that have provided a low carbon roadmap to economic growth disassociated from greenhouse gas and other polluting emissions. Green Finance and Sustainability: Environmentally-Aware Business Models and Technologies is devoted to examining a range of major issues concerning green finance and sustainability clustered into five sections on emerging environmentally aware business models, regulation and standard development, green ICT for sustainability, green finance and the carbon market, green manufacturing, logistics and SCM, and regional low carbon development. This book appears at the right time for field and is written to bring insights and enlarge researchers' view into this urgent and import field.

Comparative Evaluations of Innovative Fisheries Management begins with a look at four places outside the European Union known for innovative management: New Zealand, Nova Scotia, Alaska and Iceland. Then the focus shifts to the success criteria related to specific disciplines including biological and social robustness, economic efficiency and impacts on management costs. Hypotheses are tested using data capable of generating useful results. The main conclusions include a retrospective of how key concepts defined and represented the various perspectives, skills and backgrounds that made up the multidisciplinary CEVIS project.

Facilitating Sustainable Innovation through Collaboration, takes an unusually international perspective of sustainable innovation with contributions from Australia, Europe, and North America. Prominent policy makers, scientific researchers and practitioners in this field provide various inputs and analyses relating to the development of sustainable innovations. It is expected that policy makers, organizations, individual researchers, students and even communities can further develop and implement concepts and practices by drawing on the variety of projects and theoretical foundations presented in this volume.

The aim of this book is to present qualitative and qualitative aspects of logistics operations and supply chain management which help to implement the sustainable policy principles in the companies and public sector sinstitutions. Authors in individual chaptersaddress the issues related to reverse network configuration, forward and reverse supply chain integration, CO2 reduction in transportation, improvement of the production operations and management of the recovery activities. Some best practices from different countries and industries are presented. This book will be valuable to both academics and practitioners wishing to deepen their knowledge in the field of logistics operations and management with regard to sustainability issues."

This book discusses ways of increasing production/unit area by making full use of the soil and water under the harsh climatic conditions of semiarid areas. This leads to improved sustainability, increased availability of fresh produce, which is vital for human health and higher incomes for small and marginal farmers. Arid and semiarid areas account for almost 70 per cent of the total cropped area of India. In these areas physical constraints like low and erratic rainfall, high temperature, high wind velocity, low fertility, poor soil structure, salinity of soil and ground water all limit reliable crop production. In the absence of any type of aggregation, the soils are highly erodible, lack structure and have a very coarse in texture with low water holding capacity. Intensive agricultural practices, increasing population pressure, climatic changes, environmental pollution, loss of biodiversity, soil erosion, salinization and water depletion are all threatening the sustainability of agriculture. In view of the mounting demand for food, it is vital to link enhanced food production with nutritional security, conservation of natural resources, increasing farmers' incomes, employment generation through agricultural diversification. Horticulture, particularly of fruit trees, can play a major role in solving the problem of nutrition, as fruits are rich source of vitamins and minerals and have antioxidant properties. Fruit trees, which are mostly deciduous, add leaf litter to the soil, and this ultimately helps to improve the condition of the soil. In addition, fruit trees are known to reduce soil erosion and reduce run off. The trees also play a major role in purifying the environment as they are the known carbon sequesters. Fruit-tree cultivation is a profitable preposition. There is no scope to increase the land surface; all increase in productivity therefore has to be from the available land. This means introducing cropping systems that can meet the basic food, fodder and fuel requirement of farming families.