This Handbook presents state-of-the-art methodological guidance and discussion of international practice related to the integration of biodiversity and ecosystem services in impact assessment, featuring contributions from leading researchers and practitioners the world over. Its multidisciplinary approach covers contributions across five continents to broaden the scope of the field both thematically and geographically. A multifaceted variety of case studies provide examples of the use of information on biodiversity and ecosystem services in different types of impact assessment to improve decisions at all levels, from strategic choices to individual projects. In addition to its discussion of how biodiversity and ecosystem services can improve the salience and effectiveness of impact assessment, this Handbook presents a range of applications and possible solutions to challenges in key policy and planning sectors, including urban development, land use, energy, marine areas, infrastructure, agriculture, forestry, health and tourism. This Handbook's combination of cutting-edge literature and methodological guidance supports researchers, practitioners and students in developing and implementing biodiversity and ecosystem services-inclusive impact assessment processes, which can contribute to better decisions about the use of our lands and waters. As such it will appeal not only to scholars of impact assessment but of environmental sciences, environmental engineering, natural sciences, planning and economics as well. Contributors include: C. Albert, A. Anton, M. Ashley, J. Azcarate, B. Balfors, S. Brownlie, L. Bulling, C. Cortinovis, R.T.T. Forman, S. Frank, C. Furst, D. Geneletti, J. Goldstein, T. Hooper, P. Horwitz, M. Hughes, P. Itkonen, M. Jimenez, M. Karlson, L. Karrasch, C.M. Kennedy, J.M. Kiesecker, J. Koeppel, L. Kopperoinen, O. Langmead, D. Maia de Souza, L. Mandle, L. Mila i Canals, U. Moertberg, D. Newsome, S. Odelius Gordon, M.W. Parkes, K. Pietzsch, F. Pietzsch, A. Rajvanshi, D. Roe, D.A. Rozas Vasquez, M. Ruckelshaus, H. Tallis, L. Tardieu, F. Teillard, J. Treweek, J. Wu, L. Zardo

The European Union's renewable energy policy is one of the most ambitious attempts to facilitate a transition towards more sustainable energy systems. This book provides a comprehensive guide to the policy and its implementation. It contains key case studies for understanding how member states have shaped the policy, how the EU has affected the policies of its member states and how renewable energy policies have diffused horizontally. An analysis of its external dimension is also included. This remarkable guide is the first comprehensive attempt to shed light on the complex dynamics of renewable energy promotion in the European multilevel system. Theoretically driven, the study employs Europeanization as an analytical framework for assessing policy change, both at the EU level and in the member states, and compares the development of renewable energy policies in the electricity and transport sectors from the 1980s to the present. Comprising contributions from leading scholars, the book is an indispensible guide for academics, researchers and students interested in EU energy and climate policies in general and EU renewable energy policy specifically, as well as practitioners and stakeholders involved in renewable energy policy and climate protection. Contributors include: A. Ancygier, M. Bechberger, P. Bocquillon, S. Davidescu, L. Di Lucia, M.R. Di Nucci, H. Dyrhauge, G. Escribano, A. Evrard, J. Fairbrass, R. Fernandez, B. Hirschl, R. Hiteva, T. Hoppe, K. Jankowska, H. Joergens, T. Maltby, D. Ohlhorst, E. OEller, D. Russolillo, I. Solorio, E. van Bueren, T. Vogelpohl

In the late nineteenth century, humans came at long last to a devastating realisation: their rapidly industrialising and globalising societies were driving scores of animal species to extinction. In Beloved Beasts, acclaimed science journalist Michelle Nijhuis traces the history of the movement to protect and conserve other forms of life. From early battles to save charismatic species such as the American bison and bald eagle to today's global effort to defend life on a larger scale, Nijhuis's "spirited and engaging" account documents "the changes of heart that changed history" (Dan Cryer, Boston Globe). With "urgency, passion, and wit" (Michael Berry, Christian Science Monitor), she describes the vital role of scientists and activists such as Aldo Leopold and Rachel Carson, reveals the origins of vital organisations like the Audubon Society and the World Wildlife Fund, explores current efforts to protect species such as the whooping crane and the black rhinoceros and confronts the darker side of modern conservation, long shadowed by racism and colonialism. As the destruction of other species continues and the effects of climate change wreak havoc on our world, Beloved Beasts charts the ways conservation is becoming a movement for the protection of all species including our own.

This pathbreaking book contributes to the discourse of evidence-based policy-making. It does so by combining the two issues of policy evaluation and sustainable development linking both to the policy-cycle. It covers contributions: - examining the perception of sustainability problems, which analyze the relationship between sustainability and assessment; - highlighting the role of evaluation and impact assessment studies during policy formulation; - looking at policy implementation by examining sustainability and impact assessment systems in different application areas; - addressing policy reformulation by considering monitoring and quality improvement schemes; - assessing the quality of sustainability evaluation studies. Providing theoretic insights, reflections and case studies, this novel study will prove essential to postgraduate students, practitioners, policy makers and researchers in the area of sustainable development, policy making and evaluation. Contributors: J. Bakkes, S. Boschen, K. Diehl, F.J. Dietz, I. de la Flor, C. George, A.H. Hanemaaijer, K. Helming, A. Hirschbeck, B. Hirschl, T. Kaphengst, C. Kirkpatrick, D. Knoblauch, J. Koniecki, M. Lehtonen, A. Martinuzzi, A.C.M. Meuwese, W. Meyer, A. Neumann, F. Rubik, R. Stecker, C. Stevens, R. Stockmann, K. Umpfenbach, A. von Raggamby, S. White, T. Widmer

Containing a series of specially selected papers, this book deals with advances in disciplines contributing to sustainable development, such as planning, architecture, engineering, policy making, environmental sciences and economics, and identifies solutions to challenges posed by sustainable development. Written by researchers and practitioners from many different countries, the included papers provide a unique reference of experience and potential solutions to common problems via the application of planning and development strategies, assessment tools and decision making processes.

Current social, economic, and environmental challenges presented by the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals may be partially attained by digitalization and sustainable practices diffusion. The antecedents, occurrences, and consequences of this process are currently under investigation, but the big challenge is to get a systemic view. This book attempts to bring such a view into focus. Digital and Sustainable Transformations in a Post-COVID World is dedicated to studying the consequences of the global crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the new needs and practices inherent in developing and disseminating digital and clean technologies.

The current political economic system is misaligned for meeting the global imperatives of rapidly reducing greenhouse gases and sharing wealth more equitably. This book makes the case for a new environmentalism that implements a systems change approach to reorient the economy to be more sustainable, just, and democratic. This book addresses the laws and policies needed to support the emergence of a new economy across a variety of major areas - including energy, food, common pool resources, and the shifting of investments to capitalize locally-connected and mission-driven businesses. The contributors take the approach that these challenges are much broader than setting parameters around pollution, and indeed go to the heart of the dominant global political economy. The authors also explore the values needed to transform our current economic system into a new economy supportive of ecological integrity, social justice, and vibrant democracy. Law and Policy for a New Economy: Sustainable, Just, and Democratic will be of interest to academics and scholars of environmental law, climate change, environmental studies, political ecology and environmental economics. Contributors include: S.H. Baker, D. Bollier, M. James, K.B. Jones, C.I. Magallanes, J. Orsi, J. Purdy, L. Ristino, M.K. Scanlan, L. Sheehan, J.G. Speth, J. Taub, D.R.H. Winters, M.C. Wood

Consisting of presented papers from the 15th International Conference on Urban Regeneration and Sustainability, the included works address various aspects of the urban environment and provide solutions leading towards sustainability. Urban areas result in a series of environmental challenges varying from the consumption of natural resources and the subsequent generation of waste and pollution, contributing to the development of social and economic imbalances. As cities continue to grow all over the world, these problems tend to become more acute and require the development of new solutions. The challenge of planning sustainable contemporary cities lies in considering the dynamics of urban systems, exchange of energy and matter, and the function and maintenance of ordered structures directly or indirectly supplied and maintained by natural systems. The task of researchers is to improve the capacity to manage human activities, pursuing welfare and prosperity in the urban environment. Any investigation or planning on a city ought to consider 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 fertile ground for architects, engineers, city planners, social and political scientists, and other professionals able to conceive new ideas and time them according to technological advances and human requirements. Coastal areas and coastal cities are an important area covered in this volume as they have some specific features. Their strategic location facilitates transportation and the development of related activities, but this requires the existence of large ports, with the corresponding increase in maritime and road traffic and all its inherent negative effects. This requires the development of well-planned and managed urban environments, not only for reasons of efficiency and economics but also to avoid inflicting environmental degradation that causes the deterioration of natural resources, quality of life and human health. These research papers put a focus on sustainability across the multidisciplinary components of urban planning, the challenges presented by the increasing size of cities, the number of resources required and the complexity of modern society.

Atmospheric Impacts of the Oil and Gas Industry provides the most up-to-date scientific and technological methods available to quantify oil and gas industry emissions and atmospheric impacts in a manner that is relevant to the development of, compliance with, and enforcement of effective policy and regulations. The book offers a concise survey of these methods to facilitate the implementation of solutions that promote sustainable energy production. Part I covers a technical and descriptive summary of air quality and global change issues relevant to the oil and gas industry, with Part II summarizing state-of-the-art methods pertaining to the analysis and solution of the problems identified in the earlier section. Examples of state-of-the-art methods covered include real-time monitoring with chemical ionization mass spectrometry, drone-mounted mini-lasers and gas cells, tomographic remote sensing, inverse modeling of emissions, 3D fluid, chemical, and transport models, and contemporary control technologies, such as flare minimization, oxidation catalysts, and vapor recovery. In addition, field studies, policy-relevant modeling assessments, and regulatory decisions from multiple geographic regions are presented, providing readers best practices from real world applications.

Time and Methods in Environmental Interfaces Modelling: Personal Insights considers the use of time in environmental interfaces modeling and introduce new methods, from the global scale (e.g. climate modeling) to the micro scale (e.g. cell and nanotubes modeling), which primarily arise from the personal research insights of the authors. As the field of environmental science requires the application of new fundamental approaches that can lead to a better understanding of environmental phenomena, this book helps necessitate new approaches in modeling, including category theory, that follow new achievements in physics, mathematics, biology, and chemistry.

Developing countries need access to the technological advancements of the modern world in order to apply these advancements to their small-scale operations. Applying newly discovered information concerning efficient energy to remote corners of the world will ensure small-scale businesses can conduct successful production and sale of agricultural products. Advanced Agro-Engineering Technologies for Rural Business Development is an essential reference source that examines technological methods and technical means that ensure the organization of production of various products and adapts them for application in small-scale production. Additionally, it seeks to organize an efficient production process in the face of energy resource scarcity and emphasizes the need to rationally use them. This book is ideally designed for students, managers, experts, and small businesses.

Clean Coal Engineering Technology, Second Edition provides significant information on the major power generation technologies that aim to utilize coal more efficiently, and with less environmental impact. With increased coal combustion comes heightened concerns about coal's impacts on human health and climate change, so the book addresses the reduction of both carbon footprints and emissions of pollutants, such as particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, and mercury. Part 1 provides an essential grounding in the history of coal use alongside coal chemical and physical characteristics, worldwide distribution, and health and environmental impacts. Part 2 introduces the fundamentals of the major coal utilization technologies and examines the anatomy of a coal-fired power plant before going on to provide an overview of clean coal technologies for advanced power generation. Next, users will find a group of chapters on emissions and carbon management that have been extensively enlarged and updated for the second edition, thus reflecting the ever-increasing importance of this area. The final section of the book focuses on clean coal technology programs around the world and the future role of coal in the energy mix. This fully revised and selectively expanded new edition is a valuable resource for professionals, including environmental, chemical, and mechanical engineers who seek an authoritative and thorough one-volume overview of the latest advances in cleaner power production from coal.

Shivalik ranges cover an area of about 2.14 million ha in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Haryana States of north-west India. Over exploitation of the resources in the region had lead to soil erosion resulting in the rise of riverbeds, siltation of tanks, reservoirs and other natural water bodies. Soil erosion greater than 80 t ha-1 yr-1 have been recorded from denuded hills at places. More than 70 per cent people of the region are dependent on agriculture, however, only 18 per cent of the cultivated area is irrigated. Agroforestry where tree and crops are integrated with each other had been recommended worldwide to check soil erosion and simultaneously achieve production goals. Adoption of scientifically proven agroforestry systems in Shivaliks can reverse the degradation and improve the economic status of the farmers of the region. Extensive research had been done till date on role of agroforestry in resource conservation and livelihood security in the region. The book is an attempt to compile the available knowledge on the subject. There are 20 s in the book covering various topics relating agroforestry systems with soil and water conservation, livelihood security, slope protection through mechanical and vegetative measures, fertility build up, mine spoil rehabilitation, bamboos, climate change and carbon sequestration.

The book describes the existing Plant Biodiversity of Agri-horticultural importance of temperate Kashmir and cold arid Ladakh Himalayan regions of India. The diversity presented is based on actual survey conducted by the authors across the regions over the last several yeaThe contents of the book include the available varietal wealth, both in wild as well cultivated forms, existing within all major economic plant groups of the regions viz Cereals, Pulses, Oilseeds, Spice and Condiments, Forages, Vegetables, Ornamentals, Fruits and Nuts and Underutilized Plants. Technical, English and Kashmiri/Ladakhi names of plants of economic importance are given along with brief notes on their status and utility. The work will be helpful to researchers and students working in the fields of Plant Biodiversity, Plant Breeding, Horticulture and Economic Botany. It can specifically serve as a ready reference book for researchers and planners working on management and conservation of plant genetic resources of Indian Himalayan regions.

This book provides a holistic overview of the history of sustainable development in Denmark over the last fifty years, covering a host of issues central to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): ending poverty; ensuring inclusive and equitable education; reducing inequality; making cities and settlements inclusive, safe and resilient; and fostering responsible production and consumption patterns, to name a few. It argues for a new framework of sustainability history, one that is truly global in outlook. As such, it explores what truly global sustainable development would look like. It considers how economic growth has been the driver for prosperity in the global north, and considers whether sustainable development and continued economic growth are irreconcilable, and what the future of sustainable development initiatives in Denmark might look like.

A major theme of this book is that, contrary to what many experts believe, being endowed with a plenitude of natural resources is not a curse: rather it provides a potential advantage, if capitalized by the well-endowed economy. Much depends on the institutions that help frame the decision-making process that affects the process of growth and development. Canada is an example of a successful export-oriented economy. And, its export-orientation has been a focal point of discussion and debate, going way back to discussions of the early fur trade, the fishing industry, wheat farming, and mining and oil and gas exploration. Unlike other economies well-endowed with natural resources, Canada does not appear to be at all cursed, but rather blessed with natural resource abundance. This book, which ranges from the late seventeenth to the early twentieth century, provides insights from Canadian economic history on how such abundance can be a handmaiden of successful growth and development. From this perspective, the natural resource curse appears to be more of a 'man-made' phenomenon than anything else. This book also investigates aspects of gender inequality in Canada as well as the evolution of hours worked as it intersects with worker preferences and 'market forces'. The narratives in this book are contextualised by the construction of new or significantly revised data sets, which speaks to the importance of data construction to robust economic analysis and economic history.