Food, water and energy form some of the basic elements of sustainability considerations. This ground-breaking book examines and decodes these elements, exploring how a range of countries make decisions regarding their energy and bio-resource consumption and procurement. The authors consider how these choices impact not only the societies and environments of those countries, but the world in general. To achieve this, the authors review the merits of various sustainability and environmental metrics, and then apply these to 34 countries that are ranked low, medium or high on the human development index. The book assesses their resource capacities and the environmental impacts, both within and outside their country boundaries, from consuming food, water, and energy. The final section uses the lessons derived from the earlier analyses of resource consumption to explore the importance of geography, climates and sustainable management of forests and other natural resources for building resilient societies in the future.

Increasing understanding of the role that secure water resources tenure plays in ensuring sustainable livelihoods, just resource governance, environmental protection, and sustainable economic development has led FAO to re-kindle the debate that had begun in 2012, when the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests (VGGT) were adopted by FAO, and that had culminated in 2016 with the publication of the FAO seminal study “Exploring the concept of water tenure”. Picking up from where that FAO publication had left off, an Expert Roundtable on Water Tenure was convened by FAO in Rome, in December 2019, to begin the process of developing a common conceptualization of water tenure and its scope within the broader context of water resources and tenure governance. Strengthening the position of individuals and communities within the political economy of water resources governance, particularly for the rural poor whose livelihoods and food security depend on secure and equitable access to - water and land - was central to the debates. This report includes the Policy Brief and the Expert Roundtable Summary that explored the bundle of water-related rights approach to un-packing the concept and the practical ramifications of water tenure. This report is based on recent research and analysis that have helped to identify the core elements of water tenure based on data demonstrating how water tenure systems are legally recognized at the national level and how they function across diverse countries.

Changes in the planet’s climate in recent years have led to significant impacts on natural resources and ecosystems. New strategies must be adopted in order to support the protection and continued development of numerous natural resources. Reconsidering the Impact of Climate Change on Global Water Supply, Use, and Management is a pivotal reference source for the latest scholarly material on the relationship between global climate changes and the planet’s water ecosystems. Highlighting relevant environmental, social, and economic issues, this book is ideally designed for academics, researchers, policy makers, students, and practitioners interested in the impacts of climate change on global water resources.

A prime concern in contemporary environmental science is the proper management of water supply and usage. It is critical to develop effective processes to manage these resources and decrease negative impacts on the ecosystem. Hydrology and Water Resource Management: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice is an innovative source of scholarly research on the latest technologies and techniques in optimizing current processes in managing water resources. Highlighting a range of pertinent topics such as climate change, sustainability, and water treatment, this book is an ideal reference source for engineers, professionals, researchers, students, and academics interested in emerging trends within environmental science.

Entrepreneurship empowers individuals to bring ideas to life. Entrepreneurs utilise their creative skills to develop business ventures, making use of knowledge spillovers that occur in entrepreneurial ecosystems, and the connections between businesses, individuals and other entities that allow collaboration on joint projects.

Low construction labour productivity and the inadequate welfare of construction workers are consistent challenges in developing countries. These challenges are partially due to shortcomings situated in the Decent Work Agenda. This book proposes ways of sustaining construction labour productivity through fulfilling the Decent Work Agenda. This is a unique area of focus that is essential to fulfilling the broader and global aspects of decent work, sustainability and construction labour productivity. Also, the focus of this book is on contributing to the plight of construction workers whose treatment is significantly unsound. The construction industry needs to develop a humanistic face and contribute to the UN’s sustainable development goal of achieving full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men. To achieve this, construction companies are encouraged to implement corporate social responsibility strategies by equipping workers of different educational levels with knowledge and skills that can be transferred to benefit themselves and their communities. Thus, establishing structured on-the-job training that incorporates sustainability-learning objectives to achieve workers’ safety on sites is essential. The book advocates for decency in the workplace through people-centred management, sustainability learning of skilled and semi-skilled construction workers and decent working conditions. It will be of interest to construction industry policymakers, construction professionals, academics and students of sustainable development and developing economies.

Now in its second edition, Global Capitalism and Climate Change: The Need for an Alternative World System examines anthropogenic climate change in the context of global capitalism, a political economy that emphasizes profit-making, is committed to on-going economic growth, results in massive social inequality, fosters a treadmill of production and consumption, and is heavily reliant on fossil fuels. Looking ahead, Hans A. Baer explores the systemic changes necessary to create a more socially just, democratic, and environmentally sustainable world system capable of moving humanity toward a safer climate. This book is recommended for readers interested in anti-systemic efforts, including eco-anarchism, eco-feminism, the de-growth perspective, Indigenous voices, and the climate justice movement.

This handbook provides an overview of physical, chemical and biological methods used to analyze soils and plant tissue using an ecosystem perspective. The current emphasis on climate change has recognized the importance of including soil carbon as part of our carbon budgets. Methods to assess soils must be ecosystem based if they are to have utility for policy makers and managers wanting to change soil carbon and nutrient pools. Most of the texts on soil analyis treat agriculture and not forest soils and these methods do not transfer readily to forests because of their different chemistry and physical properties. This manual presents methods for soil and plant analysis with the ecosystem level approach that will reduce the risk that poor management decisions will be made in forests. This manual was intended for the instructors that teach students soil and plant analyses; however it can also be used by the research laboratories and by environmental scientists. The laboratory procedures in this manual are outlined in easy-to-follow steps and frequently accompanied with examples of calculations, questions to answer, and also a blank data sheet to use. These methods used in this manual can be used on soil and plant tissues found in agricultural, horticulture, forestry, urban, and natural lands.

This insightful and timely book is the first of its kind to explore specific policies, issues, challenges, and practices that will enhance the sustainable development of tourism in island destinations, including island nations, twin-island nations, and sub-national island jurisdictions (SNIJs). Islands are faced with a myriad of challenges: economic failure, natural disasters, political upheavals, and socio-cultural dilemmas. Tourism is the most likely means for economic development in many islands and yet, specific tailor-made policies for an island context have received limited exploration and discussion. The policies explored in this volume include those relating to management, marketing, governance, and sustainable development of the tourism sector in islands. This book is ‘go-to’ guide on the topic and the case studies and best practices throughout the book provide practical knowledge and insight. The volume posits a concise and logically structured review of island tourism in a post-pandemic context, exploring specific tourism policies that will contribute to the enhancement of sustainable tourism development in islands, particularly those in developing countries. This significant book offers insight into best practices and will be of interest to academics, researchers, policymakers, and students of tourism policy, planning, and sustainable development.