Methods of environmental management, and especially the "tools" of environmental management, are increasingly being relied upon world-wide to deliver a degree of sustainability in all human activities. A thorough understanding of the nature, capabilities and limitations of the "tools" to be applied as well as the conditions under which they can be best applied, is essential for students, researchers and practitioners within the field of environmental management. This three-volume text presents research and practical applications in the field. Spanning the four main aspects of environmental management; instruments, compartments, sectors and ecosystems, the text contains over 60 contributions from leading specialists in each field and offers a major source of contemporary international research and application within environmental management in practice. This, the third volume, focuses on those ecosystems in which human intervention has been or continues to be predominant, specifically within cities and rural areas.

Methods of environmental management, and especially the tools of environmental management, are increasingly being relied upon world-wide to deliver a degree of sustainability in all human activities. A thorough understanding of the nature, capabilities and limitations of the tools to be applied as well as the conditions under which they can be best applied, is essential for students, researchers and practitioners within the field of environmental management. This three-volume text presents research and practical applications in the field. Spanning the four main aspects of environmental management; instruments, compartments, sectors and ecosystems, this work contains over 60 contributions from leading specialists in each field and offers a major source of contemporary international research and application within environmental management in practice.

The three volumes in "Environmental Management in Practice" cover the four main aspects of environmental management, containing over sixty contributions from leading specialists in each field, and offering the first major source of contemporary international research and application within environmental management in practice. "Volume 1: Instruments for Environmental Management" focuses on a theoretical background to the physical, economic, legislative and communication instruments in common use today. "Volume 2: Compartments, Stressors and Sectors" deals with the problems what occur in the three "compartments" of the environment: air, water and soil. "Volume 3: Managing the Ecosystem" focuses on those ecosystems in which human intervention has predominated, such as cities and rural areas.

Urban lifestyles characterized by high consumption levels, exuberant use of natural resources, excessive production of waste, a widening gap between rich and poor, and a rapid growth of the human population pose a major problem for the future of the species. Therefore urban development must meet the needs of present generations without compromising the needs of future generations. This work introduces "sustainability assessment", a concept that aims to help in steering societies in a more sustainable direction, and applies this concept to cities.