Climate change is broadly recognized as a key environmental issue affecting social and ecological systems worldwide. At the Cancun summit of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s 16th Conference, the parties jointly agreed that the vulnerable groups particularly in developing countries and whose livelihood is based on land use practices are the most common victims as in most cases their activities are shaped by the climate. Therefore, solving the climate dilemma through mitigation processes and scientific research is an ethical concern. Thus combining the knowledge systems of the societies and scientific evidences can greatly assist in the creation of coping mechanisms for sustainable development in a situation of changing climate. International Humboldt Kolleg focusing on “knowledge systems of societies and Climate Change” was organized at ISEC. This event was of unique importance, as the year 2011-12 was celebrated as the 60th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between India and Germany with the motto "Germany and India - Infinite Opportunities." This volume is the outcome of the papers presented during the IHK 2011 at ISEC, India.

The proceedings from the eighth KMO conference represent the findings of this international meeting which brought together researchers and developers from industry and the academic world to report on the latest scientific and technical advances on knowledge management in organizations. This conference provided an international forum for authors to present and discuss research focused on the role of knowledge management for innovative services in industries, to shed light on recent advances in social and big data computing for KM as well as to identify future directions for researching the role of knowledge management in service innovation and how cloud computing can be used to address many of the issues currently facing KM in academia and industrial sectors.

The success of international efforts to manage climate change depends on the participation of emerging economies. This book uses a comparative study of two of the most important, India and South Africa, to reveal new insights into managing climate change on a global scale. The book provides a unique in-depth analysis of how these two countries are dealing with climate change at both national and province levels, from India’s advances in solar and wind energy development to South Africa’s efforts to introduce a carbon tax. Using the innovative theoretical framework of climate knowledge systems, it explores how people in India and South Africa engage with one other, learn and act by forming communities of practice. The book identifies the drivers and barriers of climate governance, showing how different forms of scientific, technological, normative and pragmatic knowledge can aid climate governance and analysing how the underlying mind-set that guides climate action in these countries is changing. This book is a valuable resource for students and scholars of environmental policy, politics and governance, as well as comparative politics, climate change and sustainable development.

The Working Group II contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) provides a comprehensive assessment of the scientific literature relevant to climate change impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. The report recognizes the interactions of climate, ecosystems and biodiversity, and human societies, and integrates across the natural, ecological, social and economic sciences. It emphasizes how efforts in adaptation and in reducing greenhouse gas emissions can come together in a process called climate resilient development, which enables a liveable future for biodiversity and humankind. The IPCC is the leading body for assessing climate change science. IPCC reports are produced in comprehensive, objective and transparent ways, ensuring they reflect the full range of views in the scientific literature. Novel elements include focused topical assessments, and an atlas presenting observed climate change impacts and future risks from global to regional scales. Available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Climate change presents a profound challenge to food security and sustainable development in Africa. Its negative impacts are likely to be greatest in the African region, which is already food insecure. In the face of global climate change and its emerging challenges and unknowns, it is essential that decision makers base policies on the best available knowledge. In recent years, the knowledge of local and indigenous people, often referred to as indigenous knowledge (IK) has been increasingly recognised as an important source of climate knowledge and adaptation strategies.

Case studies explore the Million Trees initiative in Los Angeles; the relationship of cap-and-trade policy, public health, greenhouse gas emissions and environmental justice in Southern California; Urbanization, vulnerability and environmental justice in the Brazilian cities of Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba and São Paulo, and in Antofagasta, Greater Concepción and Valparaiso in Chile; Sociospatial patterns of vulnerability in the American southwest; and Urban flood control and land use planning in Greater Taipei, Taiwan ROC.

Climate change threatens our ability to ensure global food security, eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development. About 736 million people live in extreme poverty, and the global response to climate change today will determine how we feed future generations. By 2030, UN member countries have committed to eradicating extreme poverty and hunger for people everywhere. As ending poverty and hunger are at the heart of FAO’s work, the organization is helping countries develop and implement evidence-based pro-poor policies, strategies and programmes that promote inclusive growth and sustainable livelihoods, as well as to increase the resilience, adaptive and coping capacity of poor and vulnerable communities to climate change. In order to achieve this, FAO encourages an integrated Climate-Poverty Approach to support policy development and action by policymakers, government officials, local-level institutions, communities, researchers, and development and humanitarian agencies worldwide. The Approach has been developed with insights from many perspectives, and includes not only climate and poverty aspects, but also indigenous, gender, food security, disaster response, resilience, SIDS and coastal community perspectives, among others. With a series of policy recommendations and tools to improve the design, delivery, and results of synergies and linkages between climate mitigation and adaptation, poverty reduction and food security actions, these synergies and linkages can make significant contributions towards achieving both the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Paris Agreement targets.

Intellectual Property, Cultural Property and Intangible Cultural Heritage examines various notions of property in relation to intangible cultural heritage and discusses how these ideas are employed in rights discourses by governments and indigenous and local communities around the world. There is a strong historical dimension to the book’s exploration of the interconnection between intellectual and cultural property, intangible cultural heritage and indigenous rights discourses. UNESCO conventions, discussions in the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the Convention on Biological Diversity and the recent emphasis on intangible cultural heritage have provided various discourses and models. The volume explores these developments, as well as recent cases of conflicts and cross-border disputes about heritage, using case studies from Asia, Europe and Australia to scrutinize the key issues. Intellectual Property, Cultural Property and Intangible Cultural Heritage will be essential reading for scholars and students engaged in the study of heritage, law, history, anthropology and cultural studies.

Summing up knowledge and understanding of engineering geology as is applies to the urban environment at the start of the 21st century, this volume demonstrates that: working standards are becoming internationalised; risk assessment is driving decision-making; geo-environmental change is becoming better understood; greater use of underground space is being made; and IT advances are improving subsurface visualization. --

The JPI Climate – AXIS project “Unpacking climate impact CHAINs. A new generation of action – and user-oriented climate change risk assessments” (UNCHAIN) is approaching its end date (31.12.2022), and the project is looking for an opportunity to collect its remaining scientific publications into a Research Topic. The overall objective of UNCHAIN is to improve climate change risk assessment frameworks aimed at informed decision-making and climate change adaptation action through six methodological innovations: • To also cover the possible need for long-term and large-scale efforts of societal transformation; • To refine a structured method of co-production of knowledge and integrate this into impact modelling; • To develop and test an applicable framework for analyzing how societal change can affect local climate change vulnerabilities; • To develop and test a standardized analytical framework for addressing uncertainties involved in local decision-making on climate change adaptation; • To integrate the trans-national impacts of climate change; and, • To link mitigation and adaptation in climate risk and vulnerability assessments.