Drawing on the biophysical sciences, public policy, geography, economics, exploratory research and the behavioural sciences, this book offers reviews and prescriptions for the future of ecological economics, placing particular emphasis on complex sustainability problems. The book is divided into three broad parts: challenges and reviews, reorientations and openings, and frameworks and applications. To begin, the authors illustrate the limitations of ecological economics by highlighting the lack of theory and method, the need for greater interdisciplinary co-operation and the domination by economists from developed nations. They move on to present strategies to address these shortcomings by focusing on interdisciplinary methods and their theoretical basis, discussing the future prospects for ecological economics, and addressing a host of ecological economic issues from a variety of natural and social science perspectives. They aim to challenge the notion of ecological economics by addressing 'what it is', and asking 'what it could be'. The book expands current thinking on ecological economics by exploring existing avenues for integrative and interdisciplinary research and discovering new overlaps with a range of other disciplines. It will appeal to ecological and environmental economists, and academics and researchers of the social sciences, particularly environmental science and geography.

As demonstrated in New Orleans, the vast human and financial costs of natural and human-induced disasters are often needlessly high as a result of poor planning and response stemming from inadequate disaster policy. This new handbook, from two top global authorities in the field, shows how to construct a coherent, relevant and effective policy framework. It is a vital read for all disaster policy makers, planners, managers and governments. From the Asian tsunami to hurricanes Katrina and Rita to the recent earthquake in Pakistan, disasters both natural and human-induced are leading to spiralling costs in terms of human lives, the destruction of homes, businesses, public buildings and infrastructure and the resulting financial and human crises that inevitably follow in the wake of such catastrophes. Yet the failures in planning for, and responding to, such disasters can often be traced to poor disaster policies that are unsuited to the emerging scales of the problems they confront and the lack of institutional capacity to implement plans and manage disasters when they happen.This handbook, written by two top authorities on disaster policy and management, seeks to overcome this mismatch and to guide the examination and development of a policy and institutional framework and associated strategies. In particular, for the first time it brings together into a coherent framework the insights of public policy, institutional design and emergency and disaster management, stressing the cognate nature of policy and institutional challenges between disasters and sustainability. This is indispensable reading for all disaster planners, policy makers and managers across the world seeking to improve the quality, robustness and capacity of their disaster management.

It is clear that the transition to ecologically sustainable patterns of development requires significant institutional change, yet we face a paradox. Although institutions are the primary means of driving reform, they are themselves a root cause of unsustainable development and a barrier to positive change. This volume moves beyond the current debate by advancing our understanding of the nature of institutional change, the features of more appropriate institutional settings, and the manner in which change can be enabled. Institutional Change for Sustainable Development presents a flexible, accessible, yet robust conceptual framework for comprehending institutional dimensions of sustainability, emphasising the complexity of institutional systems, and highlighting the interdependence between policy learning and institutional change. This framework is applied and developed through the analysis of five significant arenas of institutional and policy change: environmental policy in the EU; New Zealand's landmark Resource Management Act; strategic environmental assessment; emerging National Councils for Sustainable Development; and transformative property rights instruments. From these explorations, key principles for institutional change are identified, including the institutional accommodation of a sustainability discourse, the interdependence of normative and institutional change; reiteration and learning; integration in policy and practice; subsidiarity; and legal change. Institutional Change for Sustainable Development will be of interest to researchers, policymakers and practitioners concerned with sustainability, resource management and environmental policy.

A broad and comprehensive exploration of the role of the ecological sciences in sustainability for undergraduates.The urgent quest for more sustainable patterns of development has placed new and difficult demands on both scientists and policy makers as they seek to establish more informed and effective policy processes and management regimes in the the face of pervasive uncertainty. Written by an international group of authors from a range of disciplines - ecology, geography, law, policy analysis and others - the chapters explore issues of scientific legitimacy, public participation, non-governmental organisations, inter-sectoral communication and pragmatic public policy across a wide range of ecosystem management contexts.

Disasters both natural and human-induced are leading to spiralling costs in terms of human lives, lost livelihoods and damaged assets and businesses. Yet these consequences and the financial and human crises that follow catastrophes can often be traced to policies unsuited to the emerging scales of the problems they confront, and the lack of institutional capacity to implement planning and prevention or to manage disasters. This book seeks to overcome this mismatch and to guide development of a policy and institutional framework. For the first time it brings together into a coherent framework the insights of public policy, institutional design and emergency and disaster management.

Disasters both natural and human-induced are leading to spiralling costs in terms of human lives, lost livelihoods and damaged assets and businesses. Yet these consequences and the financial and human crises that follow catastrophes can often be traced to policies unsuited to the emerging scales of the problems they confront, and the lack of institutional capacity to implement planning and prevention or to manage disasters. This book seeks to overcome this mismatch and to guide development of a more strategic policy and institutional framework. This updated and revised second edition includes new coverage of climate change adaptation, which has rapidly become central to disaster and emergency planning and management. This is an essential handbook for practitioners across the world seeking to improve the quality, robustness and capacity of their disaster management mechanisms.

Disasters both natural and human-induced are leading to spiralling costs in terms of human lives, lost livelihoods and damaged assets and businesses. Yet these consequences and the financial and human crises that follow catastrophes can often be traced to policies unsuited to the emerging scales of the problems they confront, and the lack of institutional capacity to implement planning and prevention or to manage disasters. This book seeks to overcome this mismatch and to guide development of a more strategic policy and institutional framework. This updated and revised second edition includes new coverage of climate change adaptation, which has rapidly become central to disaster and emergency planning and management. This is an essential handbook for practitioners across the world seeking to improve the quality, robustness and capacity of their disaster management mechanisms.

What are the 10 key issues that must be addressed urgently to improve Australia's environment? In this follow up to the highly successful book Ten Commitments: Reshaping the Lucky Country's Environment, Australia's leading environmental thinkers have written provocative chapters on what must be done to tackle Australia's environmental problems - in terms of policies, on-ground actions and research. Each chapter begins with a brief overview of the 10 key tasks that need to be addressed in a given field, and then each issue is discussed in more detail. Chapters are grouped into ecosystems, sectors and cross-cutting themes. Topics include: deserts, rangelands, temperate eucalypt woodlands, tropical savanna landscapes, urban settlements, forestry management , tropical and temperate marine ecosystems, tropical rainforests, alpine ecosystems, freshwater ecosystems, coasts, islands, soils, fisheries, agriculture, mining, grazing, tourism, industry and manufacturing, protected areas, Indigenous land and sea management, climate change, water, biodiversity, population, human health, fire, energy and more. Ten Commitments Revisited is a 'must read' for politicians, policy makers, decision makers, practitioners and others with an interest in Australia's environment.

Environmental history in southern Africa has only recently come into its own as a distinct field of historical inquiry. While natural resources lie at the heart of all environmental history, the field opens the door to a wide range of inquiries, several of which are pioneered in this collection.
"South Africa's Environmental History" offers a series of local and particular studies followed by more general commentary and comparative studies.
The contributors include Sean Archer, William Beinart, Jane Carruthers, Beverley Ellis, Bill Guest, Nancy Jacobs, Elna Kotze, John Lambert, Gregory H. Maddox, John McAllister, John McNeill, S. Ravi Rajan, Jabulani Sithole, Georgina Thompson, Lance van Sittert, and Harald Witt.

Modern energy systems give rise to the bulk of greenhouse gases and other air pollutants which threaten the environment. Energy has therefore become a central focus of debates on sustainable development. This 1995 book explains the fundamental aspects of the energy issue and suggests ways to achieve a more sustainable energy future. A leading team of writers describes the importance of energy within the sustainable development debate and outlines the historical and current patterns of energy use in Australia and internationally. The book also assesses the scope for energy conservation, explores the potential for renewable sources of energy, and analyses policy options for promoting more sustainable patterns of energy use. Finally it surveys the possibilities for energy reform in Australia. Sustainable Energy Systems presents the broad spectrum of debate to non-experts. It emphasises the urgent need to reform patterns of energy use in Australia and around the world if we are to live in an ecologically sustainable and humanly desirable future.

Modern energy systems give rise to the bulk of greenhouse gases and other air pollutants which threaten the environment. Energy has therefore become a central focus of debates on sustainable development. This book explains the fundamental aspects of the energy issue and suggests ways to achieve a more sustainable energy future. A leading team of writers describes the importance of energy within the sustainable development debate and outlines the historical and current patterns of energy use in Australia and internationally. The book also assesses the scope for energy conservation, explores the potential for renewable sources of energy, and analyses policy options for promoting more sustainable patterns of energy use. Finally it surveys the possibilities for energy reform in Australia. Sustainable Energy Systems presents the broad spectrum of debate to non-experts for the first time. It emphasises the urgent need to reform patterns of energy use in Australia and around the world if we are to live in an ecologically sustainable and humanly desirable future.