"Ecosystem Services and Management Strategy in China" is a two-year international cooperation project that culminated from the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development s Task Force on Ecosystem Services and Management. It combines case studies, scenario analysis, and stakeholder consultations that focus on Chinese forest, grassland and wetland ecosystems and assesses the economic and social benefits of sustainable ecosystems management. It also identifies better practices in ecosystem management from Chinese and international experience and recommends a more intensive integration of ecosystem services into decision-making processes. In November 2010, the Task Force presented five strategic policy proposals for the implementation of sustainable management for Chinese ecosystems. These proposals were extremely well-received by senior decision makers and have since been adopted by national government agencies. The book represents a valuable reference work for researchers and professionals working in related areas.

Professor Yiyu Chen worked as president at the National Natural Science Foundation of China from 2004 to early 2013 and is Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Professor Beate Jessel works as president at the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, Germany. Professor Bojie Fu works at the Research Center of Eco-Environment Sciences, CASand is Memberof the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Professor Xiubo Yu works at the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Dr.Jamie Pittock is a Senior Lecturer at the Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Australia."

This excellent volume provides an empirically robust, critically informed but also eminently readable interrogation of the politics and practice of sustainable development. Through a global governance and political economy lens it traverses the public and the private, and the local and the global and offers some carefully thought-through hope for a better way forward.' - Lorraine Elliott, Australian National University, Australia and the Academic Council on the UN System'Inaction on climate change and sustainable development is not an option. But we also do not have the luxury of time and resources for wasted efforts and ineffective actions. This book cuts through the political wrangling and the policy morass to identify interventions that can make a real difference. It is a refreshing, deep dive into the relative merits of key policy instruments and market mechanisms for tackling our most intractable sustainability challenges. If you want to make informed - rather than conformed - decisions on sustainable development policy, this is the book for you. The UN Sustainable Development Goals may give us the Why and the What for creating a better future. This book gives us the How.' - Wayne Visser, author of Sustainable Frontiers and Director of Kaleidoscope Futures 'An in-depth and critical interrogation of the politics of sustainable development and how policies in pursuit of this often elusive ideal are formulated, implemented and financed. Timothy Cadman and colleagues have provided an incisive tour de force that pays particular attention to private sector environmental governance as an institutional form that exists beyond governments.' - David Humphreys, The Open University, UK Since the Rio 'Earth' Summit of 1992, sustainable development has become the major policy response to tackling global environmental degradation, from climate change to loss of biodiversity and deforestation. Market instruments such as emissions trading, payments for ecosystem services and timber certification have become the main mechanisms for financing the sustainable management of the earth's natural resources. Yet how effective are they - and do they help the planet and developing countries, or merely uphold the economic status quo? This book investigates these important questions. Providing a comprehensive analysis and the latest research on sustainable development, the authors compare the divergent approaches to emissions trading. Included is a detailed investigation into illegal logging and the effectiveness of policy responses, with an evaluation of different forest certification schemes. Biodiversity offsets and environmental payments are also explored. Integral to the book are interviews and opinions of the key stakeholders in the political economy of sustainable development. This uniquely comprehensive analysis of the governance quality of different sustainable development mechanisms, unprecedented in its panorama of comparative case studies, is essential reading for all those in the policy, academic and non-governmental communities.

Freshwater ecosystems have the greatest species diversity per unit area and many endangered species. This book shows that, rather than being a marginal part of terrestrial protected area management, freshwater conservation is central to sustaining biodiversity. It focuses on better practices for conserving inland aquatic ecosystems in protected areas, including rivers, wetlands, peatlands, other freshwater and brackish ecosystems, and estuaries. The authors define inland aquatic ecosystems, showing just how diverse and widespread they are. They examine the principles and processes that are essential for the conservation of freshwater ecosystems and aquatic species. Major categories of threats to freshwater ecosystems and the flow-on implications for protected area design are described. Practical case studies are used to illustrate principles and practices applied around the world. Specific management needs of the main types of freshwater ecosystems are considered, as well as the management of freshwaters in the broader landscape, showing how natural resource governance processes can be harnessed to better manage freshwater biodiversity. The book offers commentary on how to adapt freshwater conservation practices to climate change and ends with an insightful synthesis.

Climate change is dramatically affecting freshwater supplies, particularly in the developing world. The papers in this volume present a powerful case for and exploration of different freshwater adaptation strategies in the face of global climatic change. The volume centres on six detailed case studies, from India, China, Mexico, Brazil, the lower Danube basin and Tanzania, written by experienced local academics and practitioners. They assess autonomous adaptation in the freshwater sector, drawing out key lessons about what motivated these societies to change, which factors led to more successful adaptation, and how interventions may best be sustained. The volume also contains a global overview of the lessons derived from these experiences. It sheds light on two key theories: that vulnerability to climate change is best reduced by reducing poverty and promoting sustainable development first, or by reducing bio-physical risks from climate change. The publication also highlights the need to ensure that access to more precise climate change impact data is not used as an excuse to delay implementation of no regrets adaptation measures.

Climate change is dramatically affecting freshwater supplies, particularly in the developing world. The papers in this volume present a powerful case for and exploration of different freshwater adaptation strategies in the face of global climatic change. The volume centres on six detailed case studies, from India, China, Mexico, Brazil, the lower Danube basin and Tanzania, written by experienced local academics and practitioners. They assess autonomous adaptation in the freshwater sector, drawing out key lessons about what motivated these societies to change, which factors led to more successful adaptation, and how interventions may best be sustained. The volume also contains a global overview of the lessons derived from these experiences. It sheds light on two key theories: that vulnerability to climate change is best reduced by reducing poverty and promoting sustainable development first, or by reducing bio-physical risks from climate change. The publication also highlights the need to ensure that access to more precise climate change impact data is not used as an excuse to delay implementation of no regrets adaptation measures.

This groundbreaking book provides a comparative perspective on water management and federalism across multiple countries. Through a collection of case studies, this book explores the water management experiences and lessons learned in nine federal countries and China. The territorial division of power in federations, plus the interconnected politics at the national and regional levels, present a classic governance test for waters shared across multiple political jurisdictions. This is increasingly important as democratic transitions have introduced or invigorated federalism across diverse contexts affecting more than 300 major river basins.Federal Rivers examines both the successes and failures of federal regimes in resolving water conflicts and achieving sustainable water management, particularly within river basins. Case studies across the Americas, Asia, Africa, Europe and Australia highlight the extent and diversity of federal rivers, identifying alternative pathways to sharerisks and make tradeoffs across political jurisdictions.This book will appeal not only to scholars of resource management and of federalism, but also to practitioners in government, the private sector and international networks with interests in water policy and federalism.

Freshwater ecosystems have the greatest species diversity per unit area and many endangered species. This book shows that, rather than being a marginal part of terrestrial protected area management, freshwater conservation is central to sustaining biodiversity. It focuses on better practices for conserving inland aquatic ecosystems in protected areas, including rivers, wetlands, peatlands, other freshwater and brackish ecosystems, and estuaries. The authors define inland aquatic ecosystems, showing just how diverse and widespread they are. They examine the principles and processes that are essential for the conservation of freshwater ecosystems and aquatic species. Major categories of threats to freshwater ecosystems and the flow-on implications for protected area design are described. Practical case studies are used to illustrate principles and practices applied around the world. Specific management needs of the main types of freshwater ecosystems are considered, as well as the management of freshwaters in the broader landscape, showing how natural resource governance processes can be harnessed to better manage freshwater biodiversity. The book offers commentary on how to adapt freshwater conservation practices to climate change and ends with an insightful synthesis.

"Ecosystem Services and Management Strategy in China" is a two-year international cooperation project that culminated from the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development's Task Force on Ecosystem Services and Management. It combines case studies, scenario analysis, and stakeholder consultations that focus on Chinese forest, grassland and wetland ecosystems and assesses the economic and social benefits of sustainable ecosystems management. It also identifies better practices in ecosystem management from Chinese and international experience and recommends a more intensive integration of ecosystem services into decision-making processes. In November 2010, the Task Force presented five strategic policy proposals for the implementation of sustainable management for Chinese ecosystems. These proposals were extremely well-received by senior decision makers and have since been adopted by national government agencies. The book represents a valuable reference work for researchers and professionals working in related areas. Professor Yiyu Chen worked as president at the National Natural Science Foundation of China from 2004 to early 2013 and is Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Professor Beate Jessel works as president at the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, Germany. Professor Bojie Fu works at the Research Center of Eco-Environment Sciences, CAS and is Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Professor Xiubo Yu works at the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Dr.Jamie Pittock is a Senior Lecturer at the Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Australia.

With the global population expected to reach nine billion by 2050, our capacity to provide enough food, water and energy relies on our understanding and management of the complex interdependencies in the climate-energy-water nexus. This book presents a comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of the interdependencies between these sectors and the knock-on consequences of those interactions for other sectors, such as food production and biodiversity conservation. The interdisciplinary nature of the book across the three sectors of climate, energy and water means that it will be valuable for advanced students, researchers and policymakers across a broad range of fields, including environmental/energy/water/climate policy, environmental economics, climate science, hydrology, ecology and geography.