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Resilience in Energy, Infrastructure, and Natural Resources Law: Examining Legal Pathways for Sustainability in Times of Disruption
The number of severe and sometimes catastrophic disruptive events has been rapidly increasing. Extreme weather events including floods, wildfires, hurricanes, and other natural disasters have become both more frequent and more severe, whilst events such as the COVID-19 pandemic represent a global threat to public health with huge economic effects that recovery packages tried to address. These disruptive events, alone and in combination, have dramatic consequences on nature, human life, and the economy, calling for urgent action to mitigate their causes and adapt to their impacts. In response to discourses of collapsology and end-of-growth theories, this monograph offers an analytical approach to developing legal responses that can help ensure the needs of present and future generations can be met through energy systems, infrastructure development, and natural resources management in these times of disruption. 'Resilience' is, therefore, seen as a common framework for the interpretation and development of energy, infrastructure, and natural resources law. With a mix of thematic chapters and case studies from multiple jurisdictions, Resilience in Energy, Infrastructure, and Natural Resources Law maps and assesses legal responses to disruptive nature-based events, and examines possible legal pathways for more sustainable outcomes, based on its engagement with this concept of 'resilience' and social-ecological thinking.
Restoring Layered Landscapes: History, Ecology, and Culture
Restoring Layered Landscapes brings together historians, geographers, philosophers, and interdisciplinary scholars to explore ecological restoration in landscapes with complex histories shaped by ongoing interactions between humans and nature. For many decades, ecological restoration - particularly in the United States - focused on returning degraded sites to conditions that prevailed prior to human influence. This model has been broadened in recent decades, and restoration now increasingly focuses on the recovery of ecological functions and processes rather than on returning a site to a specific historical state. Nevertheless, neither the theory nor the practice of restoration has fully come to terms with the challenges of restoring layered landscapes, where nature and culture shape one another in deep and ongoing relationships. Former military and industrial sites provide paradigmatic examples of layered landscapes. Many of these sites are not only characterized by natural ecosystems worth preserving and restoring, but also embody significant political, social, and cultural histories. This volume grapples with the challenges of restoring and interpreting such complex sites: What should we aim to restore in such places? How can restoration adequately take the legacies of human use into account? Should traces of the past be left on the landscape, and how can interpretive strategies be creatively employed to make visible the complex legacies of an open pit mine or chemical weapons manufacturing plant? Restoration aims to create new value, but not always without loss. Restoration often disrupts existing ecosystems, infrastructure, and artifacts. The chapters in this volume consider what restoration can tell us more generally about the relationship between continuity and change, and how the past can and should inform our thinking about the future. These insights, in turn, will help foster a more thoughtful approach to human-environment relations in an era of unprecedented anthropogenic global environmental change.
Rethinking Heritage in Precarious Times: Coloniality, Climate Change, and Covid-19
Rethinking Heritage in Precarious Times sets a fresh agenda for Heritage Studies by reflecting upon the unprecedented nature of the contemporary moment. In doing so, the volume also calls into question established ideas, ways of working, and understandings of the future. Presenting contributions by leading figures in the field of Heritage Studies, Indigenous scholars, and scholars from across the global north and global south, the volume engages with the most pressing issues of today: coloniality, the climate emergency, the Covid-19 pandemic, structural racism, growing social and economic inequality, and the ongoing struggle for dignity and restitution.Considering the impact of climate change, chapters re-imagine museums for climate action, explore the notion of a world heritage for the Anthropocene, and reflect on heritage and posthumanism. Drawing inspiration from the global demonstrations against racism, police violence and authoritarianism, chapters explore the notion of a people’s heritage, draw on local and Indigenous conceptualizations to lay out a notion of heritage in the service of social justice and restitution, and detail the precariousness of universities and heritage institutions in the global south. Analysing the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, chapters also explore the changing nature of life under lockdown, describe its effects on theories of urbanity, and reflect on emergent Covidsocialities and heritage-in-the-making. Rethinking Heritage in Precarious Times argues that we need the deep-time perspective that Heritage Studies offers, as well as its sense of transgenerational conversations andaccountabilities, in order to respond to these many challenges—and to craft open,creative, and inclusive futures. It will be essential reading for academics and studentsengaged in the study of heritage, anthropology, memory, history, and geography.
Richer Futures: Fashioning a new politics
In every area of life, traditional, centralized party politics has been failing and the seeds of a new form of political life are being sown. This is true in housing, health, education, consumption and transport, where public policy is attracting increasing criticism. In an age of social alienation and urban despondency Richer Futures is a timely response to the growing interest in community-based, self-help action. It introduces new forms of communication and decision-making and sets out a programme for a sustainable politics.Contributions from some of the best-known thinkers and writers on contemporary urban, cultural and social policy (and campaigns) in Britain today pay tribute to the ideas and industrious activities of the influential writer and commentator Colin Ward. This uplifting collection of essays looks forward to a new politics of self-management and environmentally aware and sustainable lifestyles.Ken Worpole has written a number of books on urban and cultural policy, and a series of influential reports for Comedia, Demos and the Department of the Environment.Originally published in 1999
The Right to a Healthy Environment in and Beyond the Anthropocene: A European Perspective
In light of the UN General Assembly’s recognition of the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, this erudite book presents in-depth analyses of the concrete operationalization of this right at the regional, national, and international level.The book delves into the question of how to operationalize a global recognition of the right to a healthy environment in and beyond the Anthropocene, an era characterized by significant heatwaves, droughts, pollution and biodiversity loss. Focusing on the interplay between EU environmental law, the European Convention on Human Rights, and the right to a healthy environment, it presents practical case studies to take stock of contemporary lessons and experiences regarding the application of this right in a European context. Chapters explore both the theoretical foundations and novel paradigms of environmental law, including rights of nature, animal welfare, climate change litigation, and civil disobedience, offering a unique insight into the future directions of the right to a healthy environment in the 21st century.Scholars and practitioners of environmental law will find this book to be an invaluable resource. Its astute analysis of recent court cases and litigation strategies will appeal to human rights advocates, NGOs, and political organizations invested in enhancing sustainable environmental governance from a human rights perspective.
Rights of Nature in Europe: Encounters and Visions
This book addresses the recognition of the Rights of Nature (RoN) in Europe, examining their conceptualisation and implementation. RoN refers to a diverse set of legal developments that seek to redefine Nature's status within the law, gradually emerging as a novel template for environmental protection. Countries like Ecuador and New Zealand, each with distinct histories and ways of dwelling in the world, have pioneered a new era in environmental governance by legally acknowledging rights or personhood for nature, ecosystems, and more-than-human populations.In recent years, Europe has witnessed growing interest in RoN, with academic, legislative, and political initiatives gaining momentum. A significant development is the September 2022 passage of a law in the Spanish Parliament, granting legal personhood and rights to the Mar Menor, a saltwater lagoon severely affected by environmental degradation.Given the diversity in interpretations and articulations of ‘Rights of Nature’, this edited volume argues that their arrival in Europe fosters different kinds of interactions across distinct areas of law, knowledge, practices, and societal domains. The book employs a multidisciplinary approach, exploring these interactions in law and policy, anthropology, Indigenous worldviews and jurisprudence, philosophy, spiritual traditions, critical theory, animal communication, psychology, and social work.This book is tailored for scholars in law, political science, environmental studies, anthropology and cultural studies; as well as legal practitioners, NGOs, activists and policy-makers interested in ecology and environmental protection.
River Basins and International Relations: Cooperation, Conflict and Sub-Regional Approaches (Earthscan Studies in Water Resource Management)
This book argues that river basins represent a particular structural setting in international relations with the potential for generating a dynamic of cooperation among the involved countries. The volume applies the concept of regional cooperation to international river basins to highlight their relevance as a particular space in international relations, emphasizing both the inter-connectivity and transnationalism of international river basins. It addresses the challenges related to resource distribution between up- and down-stream countries, showcasing a variety of examples of cooperation and conflictual relations within various international river basins. Case studies are drawn from across the globe and include the Mekong, the Indus, the Euphrates-Tigris and the Danube international river basins. Each chapter outlines the different aspects which support or undermine cooperation in each case, taking into consideration key areas surrounding resource sharing, national development, environmental considerations and national security. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars with an interest in international river basins, regional cooperation, water resource competition, international relations and environmental politics.
The Role of Coal in a Sustainable Energy Mix for India: A Wide-Angle View
As India switches away from a coal-based to a more sustainable energy use pattern, which pathway will it adopt? What is the nature of challenges that it will face, and who will be affected? Who will gain? This volume offers insights into the steps and challenges involved in this transition and addresses some urgent questions about the possible pathways for India’s renewable energy generation. Including contributions from researchers, policymakers, and practitioners, it draws on different disciplines, ranging from science and technology to economics and sociology, and situates the issue of low carbon transition within an interdisciplinary framework. India has committed to gradual decarbonisation of its economy. This book takes this as its starting point and uses a wide-angle lens, incorporating macro as well as micro views, to understand the possible next steps as well as trade-offs that will inevitably be posed. It incorporates the perspectives of all stakeholders ranging from central and state governments, public and private sector firms, on the one hand, to individuals and local communities, on the other, to explore their role in the transition, their interests, and how these will change and evolve. This timely volume will be of interest to students and researchers of environmental studies, development studies, environmental economics, political studies, and Asian studies. It will also be useful to academics, practitioners, and policymakers working on issues related to climate change, sustainable development, energy policy and economics,and public policy.
The Routledge Handbook of Applied Climate Change Ethics (Routledge Handbooks in Applied Ethics)
The Routledge Handbook of Applied Climate Change Ethics is a powerful reference source for the identification and exploration of the underlying ethical issues in climate change law and policy. Bridging theory with practice, it takes ethical engagement out of the classroom and into the halls of governance. The Handbook‘s 39 chapters--written by a diverse and inter-disciplinary team of experts from around the world--are case studies divided into five parts. Parts I-IV highlight the ethical issues that arise in climate change policy formation, from duties not to harm to duties to consider the views and voices of those who will be, or are being, harmed; from the role of human rights, justice, and democracy to how to identify and respond to disinformation and denialism. It also raises the ethics of various policy responses, such as cap-and-trade, carbon taxing, and geo-engineering. Part V offers a way forward, with strategies on how to expressly consider ethics in climate change policy formation, from negotiations to education, media, communication, and the power and potential of shaming. The volume is essential reading for students, professors, and practitioners who wish to better engage with government and non-government organizations on climate policy, to better understand the practical application of the theory and philosophy of ethics, and how to more strongly draft and defend ethical action in negotiating, drafting, and defending climate change law and policy.
The Routledge Handbook of Catalysts for a Sustainable Circular Economy (Routledge Environment and Sustainability Handbooks)
This groundbreaking handbook leads the way in accelerating the transition to a sustainable circular economy by introducing the concept of a catalyst as a positive and enhancing driving force for sustainability. Catalysts create and maintain favourable conditions for complex systemic sustainability transition changes, and a discussion and understanding of catalysts is required to move from a linear economy to a sustainable and circular economy.With contributions from leading experts from around the globe, this volume presents theoretical insights, contextualised case studies, and participatory methodologies, which identify different catalysts, including technology, innovation, business models, management and organisation, regulation, sustainability policy, product design, and culture. The authors then show how these catalysts accelerate sustainability transitions. As a unique value to the reader, the book brings together public policy and private business perspectives to address the circular economy as a systemic change. Its theoretical and practical perspectives are coupled with real-world case studies from Finland, Italy, China, India, Nigeria, and others to provide tangible insights on catalysing the circular economy across organisational, hierarchical, and disciplinary boundaries.With its broad interdisciplinary and geographically diverse scope, this handbook will be a valuable tool for researchers, academics, and policy-makers in the fields of circular economy, sustainability transitions, environmental studies, business, and the social sciences more broadly.The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.
Routledge Handbook of Climate Change Impacts on Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (Routledge Environment and Sustainability Handbooks)
This Handbook examines the diverse ways in which climate change impacts Indigenous Peoples and local communities and considers their response to these changes.While there is well-established evidence that the climate of the Earth is changing, the scarcity of instrumental data oftentimes challenges scientists’ ability to detect such impacts in remote and marginalized areas of the world or in areas with scarce data. Bridging this gap, this Handbook draws on field research among Indigenous Peoples and local communities distributed across different climatic zones and relying on different livelihood activities, to analyse their reports of and responses to climate change impacts. It includes contributions from a range of authors from different nationalities, disciplinary backgrounds, and positionalities, thus reflecting the diversity of approaches in the field. The Handbook is organised in two parts: Part I examines the diverse ways in which climate change – alone or in interaction with other drivers of environmental change – affects Indigenous Peoples and local communities; Part II examines how Indigenous Peoples and local communities are locally adapting their responses to these impacts. Overall, this book highlights Indigenous and local knowledge systems as an untapped resource which will be vital in deepening our understanding of the effects of climate change.The Routledge Handbook of Climate Change Impacts on Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities will be an essential reference text for students and scholars of climate change, anthropology, environmental studies, ethnobiology, and Indigenous studies.The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.
Routledge Handbook of Energy Communities and Smart Cities (Routledge Environment and Sustainability Handbooks)
This Handbook examines the regulatory, social, financial, and technological issues pertaining to energy communities in smart cities. Evidencing the emergence of new imperatives at the intersection of sustainability, resilience, innovation, and legal issues, energy communities embody the thrust of the user-centred digital transformation our societies are subjected to today. By bridging the energy communities debate with smart cities research, this Handbook positions itself at the heart of the conversation on energy sustainability, climate action, and “just transition”. Drawing on contributions from across the globe, this book offers both a birds-eye and a detailed inter- and multidisciplinary insight into the emergence of energy communities and their evolution in the smart city context. Technological and regulatory aspects of this transition are explored from a variety of conceptual and empirical perspectives. Case studies evidencing developments in the Global South and the Global North embellish the conversation. Questions of climate change, energy efficiency, renewable energy sources, emissions’ reduction, and corresponding policy frameworks are discussed. Dedicated to all those interested in climate action, energy transition, sustainable development, and smart cities, this Handbook will be of interest to policymakers, lawyers, energy and urban experts, researchers, and students.
Routledge Handbook of Environmental Displacement and Migration (Routledge International Handbooks)
The last twenty years have seen a rapid increase in scholarly activity and publications dedicated to environmental migration and displacement, and the field has now reached a point in terms of profile, complexity, and sheer volume of reporting that a general review and assessment of existing knowledge and future research priorities is warranted. So far, such a product does not exist. The Routledge Handbook of Environmental Displacement and Migration provides a state-of-the-science review of research on how environmental variability and change influence current and future global migration patterns and, in some instances, trigger large-scale population displacements. Drawing together contributions from leading researchers in the field, this compendium will become a go-to guide for established and newly interested scholars, for government and policymaking entities, and for students and their instructors. It explains theoretical, conceptual, and empirical developments that have been made in recent years; describes their origins and connections to broader topics including migration research, development studies, and international public policy and law; and highlights emerging areas where new and/or additional research and reflection are warranted. The structure and the nature of the book allow the reader to quickly find a concise review relevant to conducting research or developing policy on particular topics, and to obtain a broad, reliable survey of what is presently known about the subject.
Routledge Handbook of Environmental Displacement and Migration (Routledge International Handbooks)
The last twenty years have seen a rapid increase in scholarly activity and publications dedicated to environmental migration and displacement, and the field has now reached a point in terms of profile, complexity, and sheer volume of reporting that a general review and assessment of existing knowledge and future research priorities is warranted. So far, such a product does not exist. The Routledge Handbook of Environmental Displacement and Migration provides a state-of-the-science review of research on how environmental variability and change influence current and future global migration patterns and, in some instances, trigger large-scale population displacements. Drawing together contributions from leading researchers in the field, this compendium will become a go-to guide for established and newly interested scholars, for government and policymaking entities, and for students and their instructors. It explains theoretical, conceptual, and empirical developments that have been made in recent years; describes their origins and connections to broader topics including migration research, development studies, and international public policy and law; and highlights emerging areas where new and/or additional research and reflection are warranted. The structure and the nature of the book allow the reader to quickly find a concise review relevant to conducting research or developing policy on particular topics, and to obtain a broad, reliable survey of what is presently known about the subject.
The Routledge Handbook of Environmental History (Routledge International Handbooks)
The Routledge Handbook of Environmental History presents a cutting-edge overview of the dynamic and ever-expanding field of environmental history. It addresses recent transformations in the field and responses to shifting scholarly, political, and environmental landscapes.The handbook fully and critically engages with recent exciting changes, contextualizes them within longer-term shifts in the field, and charts potential new directions for study. It focuses on five key areas: Theories and concepts related to changing considerations of social justice, including postcolonial, antiracist, and feminist approaches, and the field’s growing emphasis on multiple human voices and agencies. The roles of non-humans and the more-than-human in the telling of environmental histories, from animals and plants to insects as vectors of disease and the influences of water and ice, the changing theoretical approaches and the influence of concepts in related areas such as animal and discard studies. How changes in theories and concepts are shaping methods in environmental history and shifting approaches to traditional sources like archives and oral histories as well as experiments by practitioners with new methods and sources. Responses to a range of current complex problems, such as climate change, and how environmental historians can best help mitigate and resolve these problems. Diverse ways in which environmental historians disseminate their research within and beyond academia, including new modes of research dissemination, teaching, and engagements with stakeholders and the policy arena. This is an important resource for environmental historians, researchers and students in the related fields of political ecology, environmental studies, natural resources management and environmental planning.Chapters 9, 10 and 26 of this book are freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.
Routledge Handbook of Environmental Policy (Routledge Environment and Sustainability Handbooks)
This Handbook provides a state-of-the-art review of research on environmental policy and governance. The Routledge Handbook of Environmental Policy has a strong focus on new problem structures – a perspective that emphasizes the preconditions and processes of environmental policymaking – and a comparative approach that covers all levels of local, national, and global policymaking. The volume examines the different conditions under which environmental policymaking takes place in different regions of the world and tracks the theoretical, conceptual, and empirical developments that have been made in recent years. It also highlights emerging areas where new and/or additional research and reflection are warranted. Divided into four key parts, the accessible structure and the nature of the contributions allow the reader to quickly find a concise expert review on topics that are most likely to arise in the course of conducting research or developing policy, and to obtain a broad, reliable survey of what is presently known about the subject. The resulting compendium is an essential resource for students, scholars, and policymakers working in this vital field.
Routledge Handbook of Insect Conservation (Routledge Environment and Sustainability Handbooks)
This handbook presents a comprehensive overview of insect conservation and provides practical solutions to counteract insect declines, at a time where insects are facing serious threats across the world from habitat destruction to invasive species and climate change.The Routledge Handbook of Insect Conservation consist of six sections, covering all aspects of insect conservation, containing contributions from academics, researchers and practitioners from across the globe. Section I addresses the fundamentals of insect conservation and outlines the reason why insects are important and discusses the greatest drivers of insect decline. The chapters in Section II examine the approaches that can be used for insect conservation globally, such as protected areas and agroecology, while highlighting the importance of insects in the composition and function of ecosystems. The chapters in Section III focus on insect populations in the major biomes around the world, from temperate and tropical forests to savannas and grasslands, with the chapters in Section IV focusing on natural and manmade ecosystems of the world, including mountain, soil, urban, island and agricultural habitats. They discuss the unique pressures and challenges for each biome and ecosystem and offer practical solutions for conserving their insect populations. Section V focuses on the assessment and monitoring of insects for conservation, discussing how we can implement practical monitoring protocols and what options are available. A wide variety of methods and tools are examined, including citizen science, bioindication, the role of taxonomy, drones and eDNA. The book concludes by examining policy and education strategies for insect conservation in Section VI. The chapters discuss key issues around social and policy strategies and conservation legislation for ensuring the long-term protection of insects.This book is essential reading for students and scholars of biodiversity conservation and entomology as well as professionals and policymakers involved in conservation looking for real-world solutions to the threats facing insects across the globe.
The Routledge Handbook of Law and the Anthropocene
The Routledge Handbook of Law and the Anthropocene provides a critical survey into the function of law and governance during a time when humans have the power to impact the Earth system. The Anthropocene is a “crisis of the earth system.” This book addresses its implications for law and legal thinking in the twenty-first century. Unpacking the challenges of the Anthropocene for advocates of ecological law and politics, this handbook pursues a range of approaches to the scientific fact of anthropocentrism, with contributions from lawyers, philosophers, geographers, and environmental and political scientists. Rather than adopting a hubristic normativity, the contributors engage methods, concepts, and legal instruments in a way that underscores the importance of humility and an expansive ethical worldview. Contributors to this volume are leading scholars and future leaders in the field. Rather than upholding orthodoxy, the handbook also problematizes received wisdom and is grounded in the conviction that the ideas we have inherited from the Holocene must all be open to question. Engaging such issues as the Capitalocene, Gaia theory, the rights of nature, posthumanism, the commons, geoengineering, and civil disobedience, this handbook will be of enormous interest to academics, students, and others with interests in ecological law and the current environmental crisis.
Routledge Handbook of Private Law and Sustainability (Routledge Environment and Sustainability Handbooks)
The Routledge Handbook of Private Law and Sustainability reflects on how the law can help tackle the current environmental challenges and make our societies more resilient to future crises.Sustainability has been high on the political agenda since the approval of the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 and the EU Green Deal in 2019. The Green Agenda aims at making Europe the first climate‑neutral continent by 2050, but humanity persists in an ecological overshoot that puts at risk the survival of species, including that of our own. Drawing together a selection of leading thinkers in the field, this Handbook provides a curated overview of the most recent and relevant discussions for private lawyers related to environmental and sustainability concerns. The authors delve into case study examples from 20 countries in Europe and beyond and discuss a wide range of issues, including new property law and consumer law paradigms, the use of legal tech for promoting sustainable property management, strategies for fighting planned obsolescence, eco‑design, the servitisation economy, advances on corporate climate litigation and mandated green private sludges. Overall, the volume is designed to empower new generations of legal scholars to take an active role in the transition to a more sustainable future. It will also assist policymakers in producing better policy, through pinpointing the main legal issues that need to be addressed and offering a comparative overview of legal solutions and best practices.Divided into six key parts and overseen by a team of internationally recognised expert editors, this Handbook will be an essential resource for students, scholars, private lawyers and policymakers who wish to have a comprehensive, fundamental overview of how environmental sustainability concerns reflect on private law.
Routledge Handbook of Urban Biodiversity (Routledge Environment and Sustainability Handbooks)
This handbook provides a state-of-the-art, comprehensive overview of the expanding field of urban biodiversity.The field of urban biodiversity has emerged from within the broad discipline of urban ecology in the past two decades and is now a significant field in its own right. In view of this, the Routledge Handbook of Urban Biodiversity presents a thorough treatment of this field detailing the history of urban biodiversity, theoretical foundations, current state of knowledge, and application of that knowledge. The handbook is split into four parts: Part I: Setting the Stage for Urban Biodiversity Research and Practice Part II: Foundational Concepts and Theory in Urban Biodiversity Research Part III: Population and Community Ecology of Key Urban Taxa Part IV: Urban Biodiversity Practice: Management, Planning, and Design for Healthy Communities This volume contains interdisciplinary and global contributions from established and early career academics as well as professionals and practitioners, addressing two key fields in urban biodiversity: fundamental research focused on answering questions about the mechanisms explaining the distribution of species among and within cities; and applied research and work by practitioners to address concerns about urban biodiversity conservation, restoration, planning, design, and public involvement. This handbook is essential reading for students, academics, and professionals interested and working in the fields of urban biodiversity, ecology, nature conservation, urban planning, and landscape architecture.
Routledge Handbook of Water and Development (Routledge International Handbooks)
Water is essential for human life and at the centre of political, economic, and socio-cultural development. This Routledge Handbook of Water and Development offers a systematic, wide-ranging, and state-of-the-art guide to the diverse links between water and development across the globe. It is organized into four parts: Part I explores the most significant theories and approaches to the relationship between water and development. Part II consists of carefully selected in-depth case studies, revealing how water utilization and management are deeply intertwined with historical development paths and economic and socio-cultural structures. Part III analyses the role of governance in the management of water and development. Part IV covers the most urgent themes and issues pertaining to water and development in the contemporary world, ranging from climate change and water stress to agriculture and migration. The 32 chapters by leading experts are meant to stimulate researchers and students in a wide range of disciplines in the social and natural sciences, including Geography, Environmental Studies, Development Studies, and Political Science. The Handbook will also be of great value to policymakers and practitioners.
Scale and Complexity in Plant Systems Research: Gene-Plant-Crop Relations (Wageningen UR Frontis Series #21)
The growing demand for food and increasing scarcity of fertile land and other resources (water, energy, etc. ) present multiple challenges to plant and crop scientists to meet the demands of future generations while protecting the environment and conserve biological diversity. Novel directions in linking basic plant sciences to crop and systems research are needed to meet the growing demand for food in a sustainable way. Crop performance can be changed by modifying genetic traits of the plant through plant breeding or changing the crop environment through agronomic management practices. To achieve that, systems analysis and modelling play an important role by integrating and evaluating new findings at the gene and plant level at higher scales of aggregation. Robust crop-physiological modelling can become an essential tool to use insights from functional genomics in explaining crop behaviour. Current crop models can predict crop performance over a range of environmental conditions. Recently QTL information has been incorporated into crop models, and this has proved the potential of narrowing genotype– phenotype gaps and of applying QTL-based models for the analysis of genotype-- environment interactions. To make further progress, model structure must be upgraded to allow for more physiological feedback features. Model input parameters should be designed to be potentially grounded in gene-level understanding. Integration of crop modelling into genetic and genomic researches can enhance the future position of crop physiology in ‘plant breeding by design’ (Yin, X.
Sharing the Costs and Benefits of Energy and Resource Activity: Legal Change and Impact on Communities
A new phase is emerging in the relationship between energy and resource activities and the communities that are affected by them. Any energy or resource project - a mine, a wind farm, a dam for hydroelectricity, or a shale gas development - will involve a mix of impacts and benefits for communities. For many years, the law has mediated impacts on communities and provided for the distribution of financial benefits. Now, there is growing awareness of the need to consider not only a wider range of costs and benefits for communities from energy and resource projects, but also the effects on communities at multiple scales and in complex ways. Sharing the costs and benefits of natural resource activity has now become a legal requirement for energy and resource projects operating in many jurisdictions, particularly in developing countries. This book uses cases studies from across the globe to examine the emergence of such legal measures, their advantages and disadvantages, and the improvements that may be feasible in the legal frameworks used to distribute the costs and benefits of energy and resources activity. The book has three parts: Part I considers general legal and conceptual frameworks; Part II addresses the mechanisms available to distribute costs and benefits; and Part III considers the role of public engagement and participation in the sharing of the costs and benefits from energy and resource projects.
Smart Food Industry: Fundamentals, Technologies, and Management, Volume 1
Smart Food Industry: The Blockchain for Sustainable Engineering, Volume I - Fundamentals, Technologies, and Management is a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge about food engineering and processing, under sustainable engineering perspective. This book includes disruptive approaches that will potentially enable the food industry for the transition to sustainable production. Divided into four parts, the book explores (i) fundamentals of sustainable food, (ii) conventional technologies in the food industry, (iii) sustainabile emerging technologies in food industries, and (iv) sustainable management in food industries. The book is an invaluable reference resource for students, researchers, graduates, and professionals, in general, who wish to gain knowledge in the engineering and food processing area as well as about sustainable food industry practices.
Smart Policies for Societies in Transition: The Innovation Challenge of Inclusion, Resilience and Sustainability
This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License. It is free to read, download and share on Elgaronline thanks to generous funding support from The Swedish Governmental Agency For Innovation Systems, Vinnova.This timely book expertly examines ongoing pressing issues in the modern world namely, an unstable economic climate, political turmoil and the environmental crisis. It takes a unique look at how science, technology and innovation could contribute towards the creation of a smarter and more resilient society by allowing more inclusive approaches into how science is integrated.With an insightful global interdisciplinary approach, Smart Policies for Societies in Transition combines in-depth theoretical analysis whilst also providing a reflective look at broadening the scope of science and innovation policy in order to understand the critical issues and challenges. Chapters illustrate historical practices and events, and discuss how the move to smart politics and the linking of boundaries from a social, ecological and global viewpoint leads to fewer but more creative policies.With its retrospective and forward-thinking perspectives, this book will be an excellent resource for academics wanting to rethink their approach to science and innovation governance, whilst scholars will find the collaborative method for combining policy analysis with theory of policymaking and governance informative and illuminating.