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This book provides an ecosystem perspective in addressing the water resource management issues in the South Asian region. It argues… that aspects such as sources of water, its distribution and users; land–water interrelations; drivers of change such as laws, policies and institutions; management of issues and technologies related to water supply; institutional set-up; economic instruments such as pricing, taxes, subsidies; and economics of ecosystem services are crucial. Climate changes, melting of glaciers and polar ice caps, rising sea level and the increased frequency of extreme events, have to be factored into integrated management of water resources. This book addresses some of these major issues related to aquatic ecosystems and focuses on three major aspects: (a) concepts related to ecosystems, ecosystem services and their linkages with water; (b) human impacts on ecosystems, particularly the aquatic ecosystems, and their assessment; and (c) the management, including policy, governance and economics. Comprising new theories, research and case studies, the book will be useful those concerned with water resource management – professionals, students and researchers.
This volume provides an overview of key themes in Indigenous Environmental Knowledge (IEK) and anchors them with brief but well-grounded… empirical case studies of relevance for each of these themes, drawn from bioculturally diverse areas around the world. It provides an incisive, cutting-edge overview of the conceptual and philosophical issues, while providing constructive examples of how IEK studies have been implemented to beneficial effect in ecological restoration, stewardship, and governance schemes. Collectively, the chapters in the Routledge Handbook of Indigenous Environmental Knowledge cover Indigenous Knowledge not only in a wide range of cultures and livelihood contexts, but also in a wide range of environments, including drylands, savannah grassland, tropical forests, mountain landscapes, temperate and boreal forests, Pacific and Indian Ocean islands, and coastal environments. The chapters discuss the complexities and nuances of Indigenous cosmologies and ethno-metaphysics and the treatment and incorporation of IEK in local, national, and international environmental policies. Taken together, the chapters in this volume make a strong case for the potential of Indigenous Knowledge in addressing today’s local and global environmental challenges, especially when approached from a perspective of appreciative inquiry, using cross-cultural methods and ethical, collaborative approaches which limit bias and inappropriate extraction of IEK. The book is a guide for graduate and advanced undergraduate teaching, and a key reference for academics in development studies, environmental studies, geography, anthropology, and beyond, as well as anyone with an interest in Indigenous Environmental Knowledge.
Bears have fascinated people since ancient times. The relationship between bears and humans dates back thousands of years, during which… time we have also competed with bears for shelter and food. In modern times, bears have come under pressure through encroachment on their habitats, climate change, and illegal trade in their body parts, including the Asian bear bile market. The IUCN lists six bears as Vulnerable or Endangered, and even the Least Concern species, such as the brown bear, are at risk of extirpation in certain countries. The poaching and international trade of these most threatened populations are prohibited, but still ongoing. Covering all bear species worldwide, this beautifully illustrated volume brings together the contributions of 200 international bear experts on the ecology, conservation status, and management of the Ursidae family. It reveals the fascinating long history of interactions between humans and bears and the threats affecting these charismatic species.
This book identifies both the consistencies and disparities between Catholic Social Teaching and the United Nation’s (UN) Sustainable Development Goals… (SDGs). With Pope Francis’ Laudato si’ encyclical, Catholicism seems to be engaging more than ever with environmental and developmental concerns. However, there remains the question of how these theological statements will be put into practice. The ongoing involvement of the Catholic Church in social matters makes it a significant potential partner in issues around development. Therefore, with the use of the comparative method, this book brings together authors from multiple disciplines to assess how the political and legal aspects of each of the UN’s 17 SDGs are addressed by Catholic Social Teaching. Chapters answer the question of how the Catholic Church evaluates the concept of sustainable development as defined by the Agenda 2030 Goals, as well as assessing how and if it can contribute to shaping the contemporary concept of global development. Examining the potential level of cooperation between the international community and the Catholic Church in the implementation of the Agenda 2030 Goals, this volume will be of keen interest to scholars of Catholic Studies, Religious Studies and the Sociology of Religion, as well as Environmental Studies and Development Studies.
Once referred to as Toronto’s “accidental wilderness,” Tommy Thompson Park is now recognized as a fortuitous urban miracle. Initially created… as a landfill site on the city’s rapidly developing waterfront, the park’s physical and ecological footprint have grown dramatically. Forests, grasslands, and wildlife now thrive – all within a stone’s throw of some of the most densely populated areas of North America’s fourth-largest city. Accidental Wilderness is a rich and lyrical collection of essays curated by internationally recognized landscape architect and original designer of Tommy Thompson Park, Walter H. Kehm, complemented by a stunning collection of photographs by renowned landscape photographer Robert Burley. The book explores the city’s port origins; the park’s master plan principles and design; the native-plant succession process; the park’s unique flora and fauna; public advocacy; and public recreation in the park and its effect on mental, physical, and spiritual health. In an era where the looming dangers associated with climate change affect our daily lives, Tommy Thompson Park offers a hopeful narrative about how nature can flourish in, and contribute to, the well-being of twenty-first-century cities.
The first broad overview of conservation needs of Australia’s largely endemic freshwater insects, drawing on examples and information from many… parts of the world to illustrate and develop needs and practical prospects for conservation in inland water environments. The wide variety of those environments in Australia and their diverse insect inhabitants – many of them highly localised and ecologically specialised and vulnerable - and threats to them is illustrated. Case histories demonstrate the different aspects of practical conservation management that may be possible in different contexts, and numerous references facilitate understanding by non-specialist readers and non-entomologist conservation managers and practitioners.
This book analyses the political and economic causes, mechanisms and impacts of the industrial tree plantation boom in China. In… the past two decades, the industrial tree plantation sector has been expanding rapidly in China, especially in Guangxi Province. Based on extensive primary data, this book concentrates on the political economy of the sector’s expansion with a focus on the recent and dramatic agrarian transformation involving the land-labour nexus, the impact on villagers’ livelihoods, the role of the state, and political reactions from below. The book questions the stereotypical portrayal of local communities as the excluded villager. Instead, it demonstrates that this is a much more complex issue with varying levels of passive and active forms of inclusion and exclusion within local communities. While most literature focuses on crop booms for food and biofuel production the industrial plantation sector has largely been overlooked, despite it being one of the biggest sectors in the current rush for land. Filling this lacuna, this book also reveals that while China has traditionally been painted as a major land grabber and consumer of crop booms it is also a destination of foreign investment. In doing so the book highlights how large-scale foreign land deals can also take place in traditional ‘grabber’ countries like China which feeds into the wider debates about global land politics and resource grabbing. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of land grabbing, rural development and agrarian transformations, as well as Chinese development.
We know certain chemicals cause problems in the workplace. The issues now are: Where do they occur in the workplace?… How can we best evaluate them? What are the procedures for dealing with them safely? Many books simply define the problem and tell you that you need a program. Air Sampling and Industrial Hygiene gives you a guide to air sampling protocols from start to finish. The book presents sampling technology updated with today's tools - such as microcircuitry and remote sensing. The authors emphasize an interdisciplinary approach to understanding how air monitoring can adequately report current environmental conditions associated with outdoor media, indoor remediation efforts, proximal equipment, interior line monitoring, and the interrelationship of ventilation parameters. In addition to providing the how-tos of sampling, this guide covers the basics of chemical risk assessment, biological assessment, engineering evaluation of mechanical system design criteria, and chemical or process engineering hazard assessments. It presents the information using text, text outlines, graphics, and pictures - including cross sections of instrumentation and side bars to elaborate on complex concepts.Faulty readings caused by poor sampling techniques can be very costly. This book provides the how-tos for making design engineering and on-site decisions as to instrumentation selection and scheduled usage. Air Sampling and Industrial Hygiene Engineering will allow you to complete the sampling process systematically and correctly from initial suspicions to the use of obtained results.
Uncertainty can take many forms, can be represented in many ways, and can have important implications in decision-making and policy… development. This book provides a rigorous scientific framework for dealing with uncertainty in real-world situations, and provides a comprehensive study of concepts, measurements, and applications of uncertainty in ecological modeling and natural resource management. The focus of this book is on the kinds and implications of uncertainty in environmental modeling and management, with practical guidelines and examples for successful modeling and risk analysis in the face of uncertain conditions and incomplete information. Provided is a clear classification of uncertainty; methods for measuring, modeling, and communicating uncertainty; practical guidelines for capturing and representing expert knowledge and judgment; explanations of the role of uncertainty in decision-making; a guideline to avoiding logical fallacies when dealing with uncertainty; and several example cases of real-world ecological modeling and risk analysis to illustrate the concepts and approaches. Case topics provide examples of structured decision-making, statistical modeling, and related topics. A summary provides practical next steps that the reader can take in analyzing and interpreting uncertainty in real-world situations. Also provided is a glossary and a suite of references.
This comprehensive handbook provides up-to-date knowledge and practical advice from established authorities in aerosol science. It covers the principles and… practices of bioaerosol sampling, descriptions and comparisons of bioaerosol samplers, calibration methods, and assay techniques, with an emphasis on practicalities, such as which sampler to use and where it should be placed. The text also offers critiques concerning handling the samples to provide representative and meaningful assays for their viability, infectivity, and allergenicity. A wide range of microbes-viz., viruses, bacteria, fungi and pollens, and their fragments-are considered from such perspectives.Bioaerosols Handbook is divided into four parts, providing a wide-ranging reference work, as well as a practical guide on how best to sample and assay bioaerosols using current technology.
Coastal Ecosystem Processes, written by the renowned marine scientist Daniel Alongi, describes how pelagic and benthic food webs, from beaches… and tidal flats to the continental edge, process energy and matter. This volume focuses on recent advances and new developments on how food webs are closely intertwined with the geology, chemistry, and physics of coastal seas. Dr. Alongi presents a process-functional approach as a way of understanding how the energetics of coastal ecosystems rely not only on exchanges within and between food chains, but how such functions are influenced by terrigenous and atmospheric processes. There is a need for documentation and an awareness of just how necessary, yet delicate, is the interplay of biological and physical forces between coastal ocean, land, and the atmosphere. Marine scientists today need to make informed management decisions about sustainable development and conservation of these fragile ecosystems. Coastal Ecosystem Processes provides present and future marine scientists the latest coastal ecosystem information to make the right decisions concerning the ecology of our oceans.
Waste and Urban Regeneration examines the Nanjido region of Seoul and its transformation from Nanjido Landfill to the World Cup… Park, and its relation to the urban ecology within the context of the city’s urban development during the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. The study analyses the urban ecological meanings of the site’s two distinct forms by consolidating them with the Lefebvrian urban theory and relational ecological theories. This book looks at environmental transformations and their link to South Korea’s political and economic changes; how Seoul City controlled waste populations, the borderline characterisations of the inhabited landfill and its community, the regeneration of the landfill into the post-landfill park and site-specific artworks which explored the conflict between the invisible presence of the landfill’s garbage and its history. As one of the first accounts of a landfill and landfill-turned-park of South Korea, this study is a must-read for academics and researchers interested in waste management, ecology, landscape theory and history.
This book is a useful reference work for practicing engineers in their evaluation and design of systems for the control… of the industrial in-plant environment. It provides design criteria, useful calculations and proven techniques to control the environment in oil refineries and chemical industries.
A unique look at how the adoption of sustainable farming methods is being pursued throughout the world. This comprehensive book… provides clear insight into research and education needs and the many points of view that come to bear on the issue of sustainability. Essential for agricultural leaders in research, education, conservation, policy making, and anyone else interested in creating an economically and environmentally sustainable agriculture worldwide.
Written by a passionately concerned couple--David Seligman is an active duty U.S. serviceman and Melissa is a devoted stay-at-home mom--this… is the first book about going green that won't scare you with statistics, overwhelm you with science, or make you feel guilty about your SUV. Instead, this indispensable guide will help families everywhere to take simple, practical steps, to lower their energy consumption and help create a healthier planet--and a more sustainable lifestyle. Simply Green takes a fresh look at every part of your household and every aspect of your life, from what you teach your children to what you put in your laundry machines. Full of energy-saving and money-saving "Green Tips," Simply Green shows how to: * Use recycled water around your house and garden * Heat and cool your home while you lower your energy bill * Throw away less trash * Make your own, environmentally-friendly cleaning solutions * Lower the power usage of your appliances * Choose indoor houseplants that help purify the air * Make green awareness an active part of your family's life--and have more fun in the natural world * And much more! Filled with dozens of useful resources, surprising facts and a long list of options for "going green," Simply Green is for those of us who may not be able to afford to make huge changes--but can't not afford to do what we can.
This book presents a critical and integrated review of lizards from Patagonia. It summarizes the region’s geomorphological history and climatic… aspects, which makes it possible to interpret, from an evolutionary perspective, the latest findings on the various natural history aspects of its lizard fauna. As such, the book will appeal to all researchers and professionals specialized in lizard ecology and evolution.
The sustainable development of the agriculture sector is the only option to meet the demands of increased and economically viable… production in a changing climate. This means there is a need to introduce the latest technologies to enhance production, and also help policymakers make decisions for the future. Geospatial technologies & tools, such as remote sensing, geographical information systems (GIS), global positioning systems (GPS), and mobile & web applications, provide unique capabilities to analyze multi-scale, multi-temporal datasets, and support decision-making in sustainable agriculture development and natural resources management. Further, the availability of reliable and timely geospatial information on natural resources and environmental conditions is essential for sustainable agricultural development and food security. Since remote sensing solutions are fast, non-destructive and have large spatial coverage, they can play a significant role in the identification, inventory, and mapping of land resources. Over the past four decades, remote sensing has proved to be a cost-effective and powerful tool to assess crop and soil properties in varying spatial and temporal scales using both visual and digital techniques. Satellite remote sensing coupled with GIS & mobile-app based positional information has emerged as an efficient tool for optimizing input resources, and minimizing cost of production and risk of biotic/ abiotic factors nature to promote sustainable agriculture. This book comprehensively documents the applications of space-based technologies for crop and soil assessments for the sustainable development of agriculture.
“An eye-opening guide on how to lessen one’s dependence on plastics. . . . This is a clarion, convincing wake-up… call to the scope of the global plastic problem and what readers can do about it. —Publishers Weekly <P><P>Embrace a plastic-free lifestyle with more than 100 simple, stylish swaps for everything from pens and toothbrushes to disposable bottles and the 5 trillion plastic bags we use—and throw out—every year. Use a natural loofah, not a synthetic sponge Buy milk in glass bottles or make homemade nut milk Opt for a waste-free shampoo bar Skip the printed receipt and opt for an email instead Wrap gifts beautifully with cloth <P><P>Organized into five sections—At Home, Food & Drink, Health & Beauty, On the Go, and Special Occasions—Living Without Plastic is a cover-to-cover collection of doable, difference making solutions, including a 30-Day Plastic Detox Program.
Elephant tourism is a growing activity in many countries across Asia and Africa and is popular with tourists from all… parts of the world. Elephant tourism has grown rapidly, providing the only viable way for elephants and their owners to survive since the banning of logging. Old logging camps have been developed into sanctuaries for some elephants, but many other camps were established as entertainment centres, resulting in serious welfare issues for the elephants and their mahouts. The profits from elephant tourism in Asia have encouraged African operators to follow a similar business model. This book draws attention to the need for a comprehensive and rigorous focus on local solutions to improve the welfare of captive elephants, their mahouts and local residents, and to enhance tourists' experiences of elephant tourism. It achieves this by: - Critically reviewing recent research into elephant tourism. - Providing contemporary analytical case studies of elephant tourism policy and practice. The Elephant Tourism Business will contribute to a better understanding of how elephant tourism is organised, regulated and promoted, both in elephant areas and tourist origin countries. It identifies priorities for future research into elephant tourism and provides a unique, authoritative resource for researchers, elephant managers and administrators, and tourism managers. The book will be of interest to academics and practitioners with backgrounds in conservation, the environment, tourism and veterinary sciences, and will appeal to tourists keen to experience elephants in person.
Environmental law envisions ecological systems as existing in an equilibrium state, reinforcing a rigid legal framework unable to absorb rapid… environmental changes and innovations in sustainability. For the past four decades, "resilience theory," which embraces uncertainty and nonlinear dynamics in complex adaptive systems, has provided a robust, invaluable foundation for sound environmental management. Reforming American law to incorporate this knowledge is the key to sustainability. This volume features top legal and resilience scholars speaking on resilience theory and its legal applications to climate change, biodiversity, national parks, and water law.