This book is based on the findings of a long-term (2000-2014) interdisciplinary research project of the University of Hohenheim in collaboration with several universities in Thailand and Vietnam. Titled Sustainable Land Use and Rural Development in Mountainous Areas in Southeast Asia, or the Uplands Program, the project aims to contribute through agricultural research to the conservation of natural resources and the improvement of living conditions of the rural population in the mountainous regions of Southeast Asia. Having three objectives the book first aims to give an interdisciplinary account of the drivers, consequences and challenges of ongoing changes in mountainous areas of Southeast Asia. Second, the book describes how innovation processes can contribute to addressing these challenges and third, how knowledge creation to support change in policies and institutions can assist in sustainably develop mountain areas and people’s livelihoods.

This book is about climate change and its relation to agriculture and rural livelihoods. It starts by providing a basic understanding of climate change science followed by the relation of climate change to agriculture, the impact of which is discussed based on the particular impact of climate change on plant and animal physiology. The book further discusses the inclusion of the agriculture sector in various international climate change negotiations. It also reviews the cost and opportunities for agricultural projects through international climate change regimes, specifically the Clean Development Mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol. With this background, the book finally proceeds to an explanation of the methodologies used to assess the impact of climate change on agriculture and empirically discusses its impact on agriculture and rural livelihoods in Nepal.

not only for land use systems that depend on the regular supply of rain or irrigation water but also for the future development of natural rainforests as drought stress has been shown to a?ect tree growth and species composition in old-growth forests (Wright 1991, Walsh and Newbery 1999, Engelbrecht et al. 2007). A drought experiment conducted in a cacao agroforestry plantation showed that this plantation was surprisingly resilient to an induced drought of more than a year (Schwendenmann et al. 2009). However, droughts can have a strong impact on household incomes from agriculture, they strongly a?ect the vulnerability to poverty and thus have to be analyzed as important exogenous shocks to households, forcing them to adjust their behaviour and develop strategies to cope with these problems. The stability of rainforest margins is a critical factor in the protection of tropical rainforests (Tscharntke et al. 2007). At present, however, rainf- est margins in many parts of the tropics are far from stable, both in soc- economic and in ecological terms. For example, protected areas may attract, rather than repel, human settlement, which may be due to international donor investment in national conservation programs (Wittemeyer et al. 2008). An alternative hypothesis is that protected areas might be compromised if leakage takes place, that is, if impacts that would take place inside the restricted area are displaced to a nearby, undisturbed area (Ewers and Rodrigues 2008).

This book provides a wide range of studies on methods of assessing natural disaster risks and reducing those risks in the context of land use. A major benefit of the book is that it presents extensive research and practices from interdisciplinary perspectives through case studies of land use management against various natural disasters. The natural hazards include earthquakes, tsunami, floods, and other disasters, with case studies ranging from urban areas to areas with natural environments such as mountains, coasts, and river systems. By quantitative and qualitative analysis, this work illustrates how interactions between natural and human environments create natural disasters, and how disaster risks can be managed or reduced through methods related to land use. This book also covers a variety of challenges in land use management with sample cases from Asia as well as the United States and Europe. The main purpose is to provide greater insight into studies of natural disaster risks from the perspective of land use and the possibility of non-engineering methods to reduce those risks. This goal can be achieved through management of land use against various natural hazards in diverse environments.

Egyptian coastal lakes and wetlands are among the most productive wetland ecosystems in the world. This volume explores their current status and how it can be maintained and improved. It describes the five Northern coastal lakes, their origin, physical and chemical properties and current development activities, and discusses the challenges facing these lakes, such as shrinking, pollution, degradation, and adaptive management. Further topics include hydrodynamics and modeling techniques, as well as strategies for the sustainable development of these valuable resources. The book closes with a concise summary of the conclusions and recommendations presented in the chapters. As such, it offers an invaluable resource for the academic community and postgraduate students, as well as for environmental managers and policymakers.

Science and Technology in Disaster Risk Reduction in Asia: Potentials and Challenges provides both a local and global perspective on how to implement the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. Topics demonstrate the advancement of scientific research as it applies to early warning systems, including identifying risk and the strengthening of infrastructure for different types of hazards. Through different major disasters, it has become evident that there must be a balance between hard and soft technology and physical, process and social solutions. This book demonstrates how this has been successfully implemented in Asia, and how these applications can apply on a global basis. - Covers new research on the role of science in Disaster Risk Reduction and lessons learned when research has been applied - Utilizes case studies to outline the broader lessons learned - Focuses on the Sendai Framework, which was adopted in the Third UN World Conference in 2015

This volume provides insightful analysis of the way higher education engages with socially excluded communities. Leading researchers and commentators examine the validity of the claim that universities can be active facilitators of social mobility, opening access to the knowledge economy for formerly excluded groups. The authors assess the extent to which the ‘Academy’ can deliver on its promise to build bridges with communities whose young people often assume that higher education lies beyond their ambitions. The chapters map the core dynamics of the relationship between higher education and communities which have bucked the more general trend of rapidly rising student numbers. Contributors also take the opportunity to reflect on the potential impact of these dynamics on the evolution of the university’s role as a social institution. The volume was inspired by a symposium attended by a wide spectrum of participants, including government, senior university managers, academic researchers and community groups based in areas suffering from social exclusion. It makes a substantive contribution to an under-researched field, with authors seeking to both shape solutions as well as better diagnose the problem. Some chapters include valuable contextual analysis, using empirical data from North America, Europe and Australia to add substance to the debates on policy and theory. The volume seeks to offer a defining intellectual statement on the interaction between the concept of a ‘university’ and those communities historically missing from higher education participation, the volume deepens our understanding of what might characterise an ‘engaged’ university and strengthens the theoretical foundations of the topic.

This is one of the first books to focus on explicit linkages between the changing environment and disasters and suggests proactive approaches towards disaster management. A ready-reference for field practitioners it covers areas such as elements of environmental entry, impacts of environment and disaster, strategies, planning and the way forward.