The Ever-changing View

The Ever-changing View

Author: Anthony Godfrey

Publisher: U.S. Government Printing Office

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 688

ISBN-13:

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"United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region"


Realising REDD+

Realising REDD+

Author: Arild Angelsen

Publisher: CIFOR

Published: 2009-01-01

Total Pages: 390

ISBN-13: 6028693030

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REDD+ must be transformational. REDD+ requires broad institutional and governance reforms, such as tenure, decentralisation, and corruption control. These reforms will enable departures from business as usual, and involve communities and forest users in making and implementing policies that a ect them. Policies must go beyond forestry. REDD+ strategies must include policies outside the forestry sector narrowly de ned, such as agriculture and energy, and better coordinate across sectors to deal with non-forest drivers of deforestation and degradation. Performance-based payments are key, yet limited. Payments based on performance directly incentivise and compensate forest owners and users. But schemes such as payments for environmental services (PES) depend on conditions, such as secure tenure, solid carbon data and transparent governance, that are often lacking and take time to change. This constraint reinforces the need for broad institutional and policy reforms. We must learn from the past. Many approaches to REDD+ now being considered are similar to previous e orts to conserve and better manage forests, often with limited success. Taking on board lessons learned from past experience will improve the prospects of REDD+ e ectiveness. National circumstances and uncertainty must be factored in. Di erent country contexts will create a variety of REDD+ models with di erent institutional and policy mixes. Uncertainties about the shape of the future global REDD+ system, national readiness and political consensus require  exibility and a phased approach to REDD+ implementation.


Urban Stormwater Management in the United States

Urban Stormwater Management in the United States

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2009-03-17

Total Pages: 611

ISBN-13: 0309125391

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The rapid conversion of land to urban and suburban areas has profoundly altered how water flows during and following storm events, putting higher volumes of water and more pollutants into the nation's rivers, lakes, and estuaries. These changes have degraded water quality and habitat in virtually every urban stream system. The Clean Water Act regulatory framework for addressing sewage and industrial wastes is not well suited to the more difficult problem of stormwater discharges. This book calls for an entirely new permitting structure that would put authority and accountability for stormwater discharges at the municipal level. A number of additional actions, such as conserving natural areas, reducing hard surface cover (e.g., roads and parking lots), and retrofitting urban areas with features that hold and treat stormwater, are recommended.


Climate Change and Indigenous Peoples in the United States

Climate Change and Indigenous Peoples in the United States

Author: Julie Koppel Maldonado

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2014-04-05

Total Pages: 178

ISBN-13: 3319052667

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With a long history and deep connection to the Earth’s resources, indigenous peoples have an intimate understanding and ability to observe the impacts linked to climate change. Traditional ecological knowledge and tribal experience play a key role in developing future scientific solutions for adaptation to the impacts. The book explores climate-related issues for indigenous communities in the United States, including loss of traditional knowledge, forests and ecosystems, food security and traditional foods, as well as water, Arctic sea ice loss, permafrost thaw and relocation. The book also highlights how tribal communities and programs are responding to the changing environments. Fifty authors from tribal communities, academia, government agencies and NGOs contributed to the book. Previously published in Climatic Change, Volume 120, Issue 3, 2013.


Evaluating and Conserving Green Infrastructure Across the Landscape

Evaluating and Conserving Green Infrastructure Across the Landscape

Author: Karen Firehock

Publisher:

Published: 2013-04-30

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13: 9780989310307

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This is the New York State edition of the GIC's guide to evaluating and conserving green infrastructure (GI) across the landscape. It provides an historical background to GI, as well as practical steps for creating GI maps and plans for a community. It discusses issues around evaluating green assets, public involvement in the mapping process, and the practical steps in bringing together GIS information into a useful format. It draws from twelve field tests GIC has conducted over the past six years in a diversity of ecological and political conditions, at multiple scales, and in varied development patterns – from wildlands and rural areas to suburbs, cities and towns. This guide is intended to help people make land management decisions which recognize the interdependence of healthy people, strong economies and a vibrant, intact and biologically diverse landscape. Green infrastructure consists of our environmental assets – which GIC also calls ‘natural assets’ – and they should be included in planning processes. Planning to conserve or restore green infrastructure ensures that communities can be vibrant, healthful and resilient. Having clean air and water, as well as nature-based recreation, attractive views and abundant local food, depends upon considering our environmental assets as part of everyday planning. Available from GIC at www.gicinc.org.