The topics discussed in the Handbook on the Economics of Natural Resources are essential for those looking to understand how best to use and conserve the resources that form the foundation for human well-being. The expert contributors to this Handbook provide insightful solutions to many of the problems that growing populations now face. Organized into four fundamental parts, this book sketches the likely developments in the field of natural resource economics and paves the way for new thinking in the areas of: - nonrenewable resources - modeling of biological resources - conservation of biological resources - water resources. A key source of the most important research in the field, this important book will be of interest to graduate students, instructors and scholars in natural resource economics.

This volume provides visionary approaches within the multi-disciplines engaged with informal settlements covering three main themes; 'Innovative Policies and Strategies to Informal Urbanism'; 'Production, Operation and the Life-World of Urban Space' and finally 'The Dynamics of Informal Settlements'. The book reflects multi-disciplinary experiences dealing with informality, where authors from a number of global regions present cases, practices and ideologies related to their respective context. This is elaborated through fifteen selected papers, most of which, were presented at the International conference: ARCHCAIRO 6 (the 6th International Conference), "RESPONSIVE URBANISM IN INFORMAL AREAS TOWARDS A REGIONAL AGENDA FOR HABITAT III". The conference was organized as a collaborative activity within the "Informal Urbanism Hub" of the HABITAT University Network Initiative (UNI), the Regional Office for Arab Countries, and Cairo University, aiming at reducing the gap between academia and practice.

Clever, easy-to-follow tips for a fun and sustainable Christmas In the run-up to Christmas, it is all too easy to get overwhelmed by the rush to buy last-minute presents or feel pressurised into buying far more food than you can ever eat. At the same time, you know that tonnes of plastic will be making their way into landfill as a result of unwanted gifts or broken baubles. Not to mention the miles and miles of wrapping paper. If you're ready for a change this December, then Green Christmas is here to help you bring the focus back to happiness and togetherness. So, slow down, take a breath and approach the season as you should: merrily. Every chapter in this book is brimming with tips to help you seek out sustainable but beautiful alternatives for the things you no longer feel you need, and come up with fun things to do with the people you care about. Once you start the journey of creating your own advent calendar, upcycling a novelty jumper or learning the art of furoshiki gift-wrapping, you'll be beaming like a child at, well ... Christmas. It's all about little changes that will bring you joy, year after year. The planet will thank you too!

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. Any human endeavor is shaped by, and shapes, changes in the physical and biological environment. In this Advanced Introduction, Matthias Ruth draws on a diverse set of theories, methods and applications to critically assess key concepts in ecological economics. Understanding biophysical foundations of economic growth and development is at the core of ecological economics. The author provides a precise introduction to the interdependencies between economic and environmental change, focusing on the fundamental dependence of the economy on the environment, as a provider of energy, materials and waste assimilation services. Key features include: * an advanced introduction to theories, methods and applications of ecological economics that are reflective rather than enumerative * clarification of the differences between traditional resource and environmental economics * valuable insights from the Global South as well as from experiences in industrialized countries to explore the topic in depth. Offering a unique insight into a field that is still in its formative years of development, this concise and accessible Advanced Introduction will greatly benefit students, researchers and instructors in environmental science and ecological economics.

Now that Trump has turned the United States into a global climate outcast, will China take the lead in saving our planet from environmental catastrophe? Many signs point to yes. China, the world's largest carbon emitter, is leading a global clean energy revolution, phasing out coal consumption and leading the development of a global system of green finance. But as leading China environmental expert Barbara Finamore explains, it is anything but easy. The fundamental economic and political challenges that China faces in addressing its domestic environmental crisis threaten to derail its low-carbon energy transition. Yet there is reason for hope. China's leaders understand that transforming the world's second largest economy from one dependent on highly polluting heavy industry to one focused on clean energy, services and innovation is essential, not only to the future of the planet, but to China's own prosperity.

This book demonstrates the challenges and opportunities of climate change actions in developing countries and primarily focuses on case studies in Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country. The most important feature of the book is its examination of multiple facets of climate change issues in Indonesia, which allows readers to understand the complexity of climate change in developing countries: the synergies and trade-offs between different climate change actions as well as between climate and development priorities. Another unique feature is that it was jointly written by Indonesian and international authors, as well as by academics and development practitioners. This book addresses questions concerning mitigation measures in major sectors with original analyses of aspects including energy subsidies, sectoral energy efficiencies in manufacturing sectors, forest concessions, energy-saving labeling schemes, policy mixes for the urban transportation sector, and the introduction of waste-to-energy technologies. The book provides first-hand knowledge and data on energy and the institutional realities in Indonesia, which are not widely and readily available to an international audience. It offers a valuable reference guide for professionals working for governments and NGOs and donor agencies in the fields of climate change and development in developing countries. This work is also a valuable resource for undergraduate and graduate students of economics and environmental and development studies, in particular those who are interested in the synergies and conflicts between climate change and development.

This book brings together recent advances in the area of abiotic stress tolerance in various vegetables, fruit crops, plantation crops and tuber crops. The main challenges to improving the productivity of horticultural crops are the different types of abiotic stresses generally caused by climate change at the regional and global level. Heat, drought, cold and salinity are the major abiotic stresses that adversely affect growth and productivity and can trigger a series of morphological, physiological, biochemical and molecular changes in various horticultural crops. To date, there are no books covering horticultural crop-specific abiotic stress tolerance mechanisms and their management. Addressing that gap, the book is divided into 2 sections, the first of which highlights recent advances in the general aspects of abiotic stress tolerance like the role of hormones, reactive oxygen species, seed treatments, molecular mechanisms of heat tolerance and heavy metal toxicity, while the second focuses on the abiotic stress tolerance mechanisms of various vegetables, fruit crops, plantation crops and tuber crops. It includes comprehensive discussions of fruit crops like mango, grapes, banana, litchi and arid zone fruits; vegetables crops like tomato, capsicum, onion and tuber crops; and plantation crops like coconut, areca nut, oil palm and black pepper. Among the strategies for plant stress survival, examples of both avoidance and tolerance relevant to particular crops are examined in detail, supported by selected comprehensive case studies of progress. As such, the book offers a valuable resource suited for scientists and graduate students working in the fields of crop improvement, genetic engineering, and the abiotic stress tolerance of horticultural crops.

The Kruger National Park is one of the world’s leading stewards of biological diversity. Its management requires ongoing monitoring and re-evaulation to ensure that species survive.

Shaping Kruger provides fascinating insight into the lives, habits and behaviour of the larger animals that significantly affect the workings of the park. It expertly synthesizes decades of ground-breaking research into the animals and their environment, examining along the way individual species; predator-prey relationships; mammal distribution, and browsing and grazing interactions.

This detailed look at how Park management has had to interpret, monitor and adapt the processes that allow species to survive – even thrive – in an ever-changing environment makes for an intriguing and enlightening read.

This Handbook presents methods to advance the understanding of interdependencies between the well-being of human societies and the performance of their biophysical environment. It showcases applications to material and energy use; urbanization and technological transition; economic growth and social vulnerabilities; development and governance of social and industrial networks; and the role of history, culture, and science itself in carrying out analysis and guiding policy as well as the role of theory, data, and models in guiding decisions. Unique features include: * in-depth presentation of methods and applications in environmental studies * diverse examples of research methods complemented by a wide geographic and thematic range of applications * a careful balance between a review of the state of the art in environmental studies and an exploration of new developments in research methods and applications * strong emphasis on historic, social, and cultural issues together with the life sciences needed to fully assess environmental change * accessibility to a wide readership. Academics and students interested in broadening their knowledge of methods and applications in environmental studies will find this book to be a valuable resource. It will also be of great use to practitioners in environmental agencies looking to gain an insight into particular research methods.

With an ever-growing majority of the world's human population living in city spaces, the relationship between cities and nature will be one of the key environmental issues of the twenty-first Century. This timely book investigates how the rapidly growing number of city dwellers across the globe relate to their natural environments and what this means for the future of these environments. Offering an interdisciplinary approach to the impacts of urban spaces on the future of the environment, the book is a full-scale attempt to radically rethink the relationship between cities and nature. The editors bring together a diverse set of well-known authors and new voices to explore the various aspects of this relationship both theoretically and empirically. Rather than considering cities as wholly separate from nature, a running theme throughout the book is that cities, and city dwellers, should be characterized as intrinsic in the creation of specifically urban-generated 'socio-natures'. An essential resource for those working at the intersection of cities and the environment, it will be of great value to urbanists, geographers, planners, sociologists, economists, anthropologists, policy-makers, public administrators and environmental scientists.

As populations become increasingly concentrated in urban centres and mega cities, while demands on transportation continue to grow, the question of how to mitigate the environmental footprint of these trends is ever more pressing. This comprehensive book demonstrates the potentially significant role of environmental taxation and other market-based instruments in meeting these challenges. Providing global insights, the book features international contributions from specialists in economics, law, technology, political economy and policy analysis. Studying environmental pricing policies in the context of urban sustainability and transportation, the contributing scholars identify cross-cutting issues to demonstrate how the use and evaluation of policy instruments can be improved. In addition to addressing the pervasive environmental impact of cities and transportation, novel case studies illustrate how the digital economy, as well as increasing globalisation, necessitate a more sustainable approach in which environmental fiscal solutions could play a vital role. Environmental Fiscal Challenges for Cities and Transport will have broad appeal for researchers and will also be a useful resource for students in law, economics and politics with an interest in urban and environmental issues. Policymakers and their staff will find its use of real-world examples and non-technical language particularly beneficial.

This book highlights the efforts made by distinguished scientific researchers world-wide to meet two key challenges: i) the limited reserves of polluting fossil fuels, and ii) the ever-increasing amounts of waste being generated. These case studies have brought to the foreground certain innovative biological solutions to real-life problems we now face on a global scale: environmental pollution and its role in deteriorating human health. The book also highlights major advances in microbial metabolisms, which can be used to produce bioenergy, biopolymers, bioactive molecules, enzymes, etc. Around the world, countries like China, Germany, France, Sweden and the US are now implementing major national programs for the production of biofuels. The book provides information on how to meet the chief technical challenges - identifying an industrially robust microbe and cheap raw material as feed. Of the various possibilities for generating bioenergy, the most attractive is the microbial production of biohydrogen, which has recently gained significant recognition worldwide, due to its high efficiency and eco-friendly nature. Further, the book highlights factors that can make these bioprocesses more economical, especially the cost of the feed. The anaerobic digestion (AD) process is more advantageous in comparison to aerobic processes for stabilizing biowastes and producing biofuels (hydrogen, biodiesel, 1,3-propanediol, methane, electricity), biopolymers (polyhydroxyalkanoates, cellulose, exopolysaccharides) and bioactive molecules (such as enzymes, volatile fatty acids, sugars, toxins, etc.) for biotechnological and medical applications. Information is provided on how the advent of molecular biological techniques can provide greater insights into novel microbial lineages. Bioinformatic tools and metagenomic techniques have extended the limits to which these biological processes can be exploited to improve human welfare. A new dimension to these scientific works has been added by the emergence of synthetic biology. The Big Question is: How can these Microbial Factories be improved through metabolic engineering and what cost targets need to be met?

As the importance of corporate social responsibility grows, especially environmental responsibility, it is imperative to acknowledge the impact of the individual on a company's environmental performance. Given that individuals spend much of their day in the workplace, it is crucial to understand both their behaviours and the potential impact they can have on the company's environmental performance and the environment. Bringing together leading academics from various research fields, this Handbook examines the features and challenges within the area of employee pro-environmental behaviour. The Research Handbook on Employee Pro-Environmental Behaviour brings contributions that consolidate existing research in the field as well as adding new insights from organisational psychology, human resource management and social marketing. Drawing on studies from across the methodological spectrum, this Handbook covers a broad range of topics from the antecedents and consequences of employee pro-environmental behaviour to ways in which employers can encourage pro-environmental behaviour. This Handbook will be an invaluable tool for those engaged in research in employee environmental behaviour and sustainability. It will be especially useful for postgraduate students of environmental employee behaviour as well as environmental consultants and practitioners seeking to gain an understanding of employee behaviour.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. The Advanced Introduction to Environmental Impact Assessment explores the unifying and universal principles at the heart of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) wherever it may be practiced worldwide. This overview of the field by Angus Morrison-Saunders emphasizes the big ideas upon which EIA was founded and which remain central to theory and practice today. In a nutshell, EIA is essentially about thinking before acting. Key Features include: * A reminder of the fundamental ideas promoted by the pioneers and early writers about EIA * Consideration of environment and development and how the two come together in EIA * A short and concise overview of international best practice EIA principles as they apply today * Reflections on the increasing need to adopt a holistic, sustainability-oriented approach to EIA. This book is relevant to all stakeholders involved in EIA including practitioners, researchers, and teachers. It will also appeal to university students studying engineering, environmental science, geography, sustainability, and policy studies.

This book is a guide to the research, findings, and discussions of US and international experts on climate change and respiratory health. Since the publication of the first edition, climate change has been increasingly acknowledged as being directly related to the prevalence and incidence of respiratory morbidity. Evidence is increasing that climate change does drive respiratory disease onset and exacerbation as a result of increased ambient and indoor air pollution, desertification, heat stress, wildfires, and the geographic and temporal spread of pollens, molds and infectious agents. This second edition is fully updated to include the latest research by international experts on topics such as heat waves causing critical care-related diseases, climate-driven air pollution increases, and high-level ozone and ozone exposure linked to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, lung cancer, and acute lower respiratory infection. Seven new chapters have also been added on extreme weather and agricultural safety in California; desert dust effects on lung health; climate policy and the EPA; California's integrated approach to air quality and climate change; integrating climate change, the environment, and sustainability themes into professional health science courses; and the role of the physician as climate advocate. This is an ideal guide for all pulmonologists and health professionals treating patients with pulmonary disease.

With exponentially increasing population across the globe and shrinking resources, the concern of food security is looming large over the world community. To catch up with the fierce pace of growth in all the sectors of development, ensuring uninhibited availability of food resources is a prime agenda. The growing global demand for food, feed, fiber and bio-based renewable materials, such as bio-fuels, is changing the conditions for genetic resources development and bio-resource production worldwide. The crucial role in ensuring food security is played by the agro-based industries and enterprises. Advances in plant genetic resources coupled with traditional knowledge of the local tribes and native practices facilitate achievement of food security.

This book presents a detailed overview and critical evaluation of the state of the art and latest approaches in genetic manipulation studies on plants to mitigate the impact of climate change on growth and productivity. Each chapter has been written by experts in plant-stress biology and highlights the involvement of a variety of genes/pathways and their regulation in abiotic stress, recent advances in molecular breeding (identification of tightly liked markers, QTLs/genes), transgenesis (introduction of exogenous genes or changing the expression of endogenous stress- responsive genes) and genomics approaches that have made it easier to identify and isolate several key genes involved in abiotic stress such as drought, water lodging/flooding, extreme temperatures, salinity and heavy-metal toxicity. Food and nutritional security has emerged as a major global challenge due to expanding populations, and cultivated areas becoming less productive as a result of extreme climatic changes adversely affecting the quantity and quality of plants. Hence, there is an urgent need to develop crop varieties resilient to abiotic stress to ensure food security and combat increased input costs, low yields and the marginalization of land. The role of GM crops in poverty alleviation, nutrition and health in developing countries and their feasibility in times of climate change are also discussed. Recent advances in gene technologies have shown t he potential for faster, more targeted crop improvements by transferring genes across the sexual barriers. The book is a valuable resource for scientists, researchers, students, planners and industrialists working in the area of biotechnology, plant agriculture, agronomy, horticulture, plant physiology, molecular biology, plant sciences and environmental sciences.

Is corporate social responsibility (CSR) a universal idea? Is the same exact definition of CSR relevant for any organization, regardless of context? Or would such a definition need to be adapted to fit different types of organizations, in different cultures, industries and sectors? This book discusses how CSR should preferably be practiced. The expert authors share their knowledge on whether a broad definition of CSR can be practiced as is or if it first has to undergo changes to suit the context. The leading group of contributors argues that anyone wishing to adopt the CSR idea in their organization needs to take the context into account and, thus, find a version of CSR that fits the specific industry, sector, national culture, religion and so on, in which the organization exists. The book discusses the universality of CSR and includes a comparison of the relevance of a broad, general definition of CSR for organizations in contexts such as Buddhism and Islam, developing countries and the food processing, shipping and pharmaceutical industries. Guidelines for conducting studies on the examination of the relevance of CSR for organizations in any particular generalized context are also provided. Academics, students and practitioners involved in the fresh field of CSR will find this an essential resource.

Regulatory impact assessment (RIA) is the main instrument used by governments and regulators to appraise the likely effects of their policy proposals. This pioneering Handbook provides a comparative and comprehensive account of this tool, situating it in the relevant theoretical traditions and scrutinizing its use across countries, policy sectors and policy instruments. Comprising six parts, university researchers, international consultants and practitioners working in international organizations examine regulatory impact assessment from many perspectives, which include: * research traditions in the social sciences * implementation, regulatory indicators and effects * tools and dimensions such as courts and gender * sectoral case studies including environment, enterprise and international development * international diffusion in the European Union (EU), Americas, Asia and developing countries * appraisal, training and education. With its wealth of detail and lessons to be learned, the Handbook of Regulatory Impact Assessment will undoubtedly be of great value to practitioners and scholars working in governance, political science and socio-legal studies.

A symbol of strength, survival despite hardship and - more recently - the perils of global warming, the polar bear wears many different faces across the world. Polar Bears: A Life Under Threat is an uncompromising exploration of the animal behind the mythos. Rawicki's anthology transports us to the Arctic: the bears' home territory. His photographs depict playful cubs, hunting mothers and solitary adults on their yearly migration. The bears' innate curiosity shines through, as they peer through windows and rear up on their hind legs to study the camera. As well as trekking across miles of dazzling snow, they forage in forests and towns - leading to a striking series of photographs that document the relationship between bear, man and environment. Accompanying these images are a series of essays, poems and even a quiz, from the minds of Michel Rawicki and his contributors: Hubert Reeves, astrophysicist, and Remy Marion, author of several books about the polar regions. They explain the challenges encountered by polar bears in the modern age, and explore the future of a species threatened by climate change and pollution.

The polar regions are the 'canary in the coal mine' of climate change: they are likely to be hit the hardest and fastest. This comprehensive textbook provides an accessible introduction to the scientific study of polar environments against a backdrop of climate change and the wider global environment. The book assembles diverse information on polar environmental characteristics in terrestrial and oceanic domains, and describes the ongoing changes in climate, the oceans, and components of the cryosphere. Recent significant changes in the polar region caused by global warming are explored: shrinking Arctic sea ice, thawing permafrost, accelerating loss of mass from glaciers and ice sheets, and rising ocean temperatures. These rapidly changing conditions are discussed in the context of the paleoclimatic history of the polar regions from the Eocene to the Anthropocene. Future projections for these regions during the twenty-first century are discussed. The text is illustrated with many color figures and tables, and includes further reading lists, review questions for each chapter, and a glossary.

The Handbook on Climate Change and Human Security is a landmark publication which links the complexities of climate change to the wellbeing and resilience of human populations. It is written in an engaging and accessible way but also conveys the state of the art on both climate change research and work into human security, utilizing both disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches. Organized around thematic sections, each chapter is written by an acknowledged expert in the field, and discusses the key concepts and evidence base for our current policy choices, and the dilemmas of international policy in the field. The Handbook is unique in addressing sophisticated ethical and moral questions as well as new information and data from different geographical regions. It is a timely volume that makes the case for acting wisely now to avert impending crises and global environmental problems. The Handbook is international in scope and provides an assessment that will be of value to academics, students and policy professionals alike. NGOs and policy institutes which need a grasp of the specificity and range of the issues and problems will also find this book insightful.

This three-volume research collection covers the main topics and dimensions of environmental and energy law in its contemporary expression. It provides foundational material for those interested in understanding the development of the field and conducting research on the myriad of questions raised by transitions to sustainability. Particular emphasis is placed on the systematisation of the material. Volume 1 focuses on international dimensions, covering principles, substantive areas of regulation and implementation techniques. Volume 2 covers the European dimensions broadly understood, including EU law and other regional approaches (the UNECE and the Council of Europe), and distinguishing sector-specific and transversal regulation. Volume 3 focuses on the domestic, comparative and transnational dimensions and major questions arising from selected jurisdictions. Edited by two leading experts in the field, this collection will provide a solid foundation for the study of environmental and energy law.

We live on an increasingly human-dominated planet. Our impact on the Earth has become so huge that researchers now suggest that it merits its own geological epoch - the 'Anthropocene' - the age of humans. Combining theory development and case studies of 'planetary boundaries', emerging infectious diseases, financial markets and geoengineering, this groundbreaking book explores the 'Anthropocene Gap' otherwise known as society's current failure to address the most profound environmental challenges of our times. What are the political and institutional implications of this new epoch? And what are some novel ways to analyse the complicated interplay between institutions, Earth system complexity and technology? This book offers one of the first explorations of political and institutional dimensions of the Anthropocene concept by providing a novel combination of institutional analysis along with insights from Earth system sciences. It provides an exploration of the role of technology for global environmental governance and defines a new agenda for political science analysis in the Anthropocene. Offering the first summary of the planetary boundaries debate, this cutting edge book will be of great interest to researchers concerned in the interplay between politics, technology, and global environmental change, and those interested in the debate surrounding the Anthropocene and "planetary boundaries".

Water Stress Management contains the invited lectures and selected oral and poster presentations of the 11th International Symposium on the Properties of Water (ISOPOW), which was held in Queretaro, Mexico 5-9 September 2010. The text provides a holistic description and discussion of state-of-the-art topics on the role of water in Biological, Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Food systems within a frame of an integrated approach and future trends on the subject. Different points-of-view about the state of water and phase transitions in a variety of substrates are presented. ISOPOW is a non-profit scientific organization whose activities aim at progressing the understanding of the properties of water in food and related biological systems and the exploitation of this understanding in improved raw materials, products and processes in the food, agro food or related industries. The first Symposium was organized in Glasgow, Scotland in 1974. Since then, ISOPOW meetings have promoted the exchange of knowledge between scientists involved in the study of food materials and scientists interested in water from a more basic point of view and the dialogue between academic and industrial scientists/technologists.