This book (i) identifies a range of market and social forces driving the private sector toward more responsible environmental stewardship; (ii) shows the need for governments, the private sector, and communities to adjust their relations; (iii) and argues for enhanced enforcement of environmental regulations by governments even as they reach out to the private sector for stronger collaboration in environmental protection.
How do we take stock of the state and direction of the world’s environment, and what can we learn from the experience? Among the myriad detailed narratives about the condition of the planet, the Global Environment Outlook (GEO) reports—issued by the United Nations Environment Programme—stand out as the most ambitious. For nearly three decades the GEO project has not only delivered iconic global assessment reports, but through its multitude of contributors has inspired hundreds of similar processes worldwide from the regional to the local level. This book provides an inside account of the evolution of the GEO project from its earliest days. Building on meticulous research, including interviews with former heads of the United Nations Environment Programme, diplomats, leading contributing scientists, and senior leaders of collaborating organizations, the story is told from the perspective of five GEO veterans who all played a pivotal role in shaping the periodic assessments. The GEO’s history provides striking insights and will save valuable time to those who commission, design and conduct, as well as critique and improve, assessments of environmental development in the next decade.
More than twenty years after the Bruntland Commission report, Our Common Future, we have yet to secure the basis for a serious approach to global environmental governance. The failed 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development showed the need for a new approach to globalization and sustainability. Taking a critical perspective, rooted in political economy, regulation theory, and post-sovereign international relations, this book explores questions concerning the governance of environmental sustainability in a globalizing economy. With contributions from leading international scholars, the book offers a comprehensive framework on globalization, governance, and sustainability, and examines institutional mechanisms and arrangements to achieve sustainable environmental governance. It: considers current failures in the framework of global environmental governance addresses the problematic relationship between sustainability and globalization explores controversies of development and environment that have led to new processes of institution building examines the marketization of environmental policy-making; stakeholder politics and environmental policy-making; socio-economic justice; the political origins of sustainable consumption; the role of transnational actors; and processes of multi-level global governance. This book will be of interest to students and researchers of political science, international studies, political economy and environmental studies.
Until 1998 Indonesia was ruled by an authoritarian regime under which natural resources were exploited excessively so that resources governance was not appropriate anymore dealing with sustainability issue. Throughout the contemporary reform process with the decentralization of power via local and regional autonomy, natural resources are no longer dominated by direct state power only, but also managed by more actors at various levels of society. To employ the concepts of political ecology, new institutionalism, livelihood strategy and social sustainability, the research showed that spatial production of Upland Bromo have always been dominated by state actors in order to establish the control over land and people. In the other hand, the contemporary environmental changes, socially and physically, coincidentally lessen the availability and productivity of the resources, which in turn has affected the local people's livelihoods, leading to the increasing struggle for resources. As a result, three kinds of new local resources governance, namely multi institutional relationship, bilateral institutional relationship and personal relationship based resources governance are formed. In association with the sustainability issue, these new local resources governance was not really sustainable signalling by negative value in indicators analysed; ability to develop sustainability, bridge the sustainability, and maintenance sustainability. This research gives clear explanation that transformation of regime from authoritarian to democratic in developing countries do not always has significance impact in promoting sustainable resources governance.
This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Software Business, ICSOB 2021, which was held during December 2-3, 2021. The conference was originally planned to take place in Drammen, Norway, but changed to an online format due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The special theme of ICSOB 2021 was software sustainability. The 13 full papers and 5 short papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 39 submissions. They deal with a range of topics including software sustainability, Agile development, DevOps, software startups, prototyping, software ecosystems, crowdsourcing platforms, technical debts, and risk management.
This is an excellent textbook, suitable as a core text for environmental engineers and environmental scientists but equally it should, in my opinion, be compulsory reading for all researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers regardless of their discipline because it has relevance for all. In fact, the book is so lively and understandable that everyone and anyone could and should read it. . . Clearly written by a team of recognised environmental authors drawn from around the world, it guides the reader through current thinking on the tools and techniques industry. . . As an academic, it is a delight to find a book to recommend that I know students will enjoy and one which addresses so many different elements of a diversity of university courses, while covering the most important areas of environmental technology and management. I am certainly using it to enhance and update the content of some of my own lectures. Susan Haile, International Journal of Sustainable Engineering This substantial collection draws together a very wide variety of literatures and practices. . . I would expect this book to be a popular purchase by academic libraries, principally as a core text. R&D Management This stunning Handbook is an excellent tool for environmental manager and environmental officer alike. It is brimful of ideas, case studies and methodologies which stimulate continuous improvement thinking and help train staff to implement sustainability and environmental management concepts. Highly recommended. Eagle Bulletin This important Handbook is the first comprehensive account that brings together recent developments in the three related fields of environmental technology, environmental management and technology management. With contributions from more than 55 outstanding authors representing ten countries and five continents, the reader is provided with a vast range of insightful perspectives on the latest industry and policy issues. With the aid of numerous case studies, leading experts reflect on significant changes in the use of technology and management practices witnessed in the last decade. Within this Handbook, the authors discuss, in detail: eco-modernization and technology transformation environmental technology management in business practices measuring environmental technology management case studies in new technologies for the environment environmental technology management and the future. The International Handbook on Environmental Technology Management has a broad audience including researchers, practitioners, policymakers and students in the fields of sustainability and environmental science.
The key aim of this book is to explore the global conservation and management of sharks. There has been a rapid decline in populations of many shark species, while new science has emerged of the critical role they play in marine ecosystems. However, the authors show that conservation law and policy have been slow to develop, with only a small number of iconic species being protected worldwide. The increase in fishing impact – primarily through shark finning and by-catch - has led to shark conservation receiving greater international attention in recent years. The book explores our current knowledge and status of the law and science in relation to sharks with a particular focus on improving frameworks for their conservation and management. Recent trends are analysed, including shark finning bans that have been put in place in several countries, the widening number of nations establishing shark sanctuaries and the growth of shark-based tourism. The efficacy of current listing processes for endangered species and fisheries regulations is also examined. Tourism is explored as an alternative to fishing and the risks and impacts associated with this industry are analysed. Contributors include leading authorities from universities and conservation organizations in North America, Europe and Australia. A common theme is to emphasise the importance of collaborative governance between various interest groups and the need for inter-disciplinary research and management approaches that are necessary to address the decline in sharks.
Written by international experts in their respective fields, Sustainable Growth and Resource Productivity provides a comprehensive overview of global issues of raw materials supply and resource use. It also introduces new views and perspectives on the sustainable growth of emerging economies and develops a rationale for a new resource economics. This book emphasises why resources are back on the agenda: firstly, because of their fundamental economic role in technological progress and long-term prosperity; secondly, because deficits in raw material markets are now intertwined with deficits in the financial markets; and, thirdly, because the sustainable management of natural resources is a crucial element in responses to new global challenges such as climate change. Sustainable Growth and Resource Productivity analyses raw materials supply and resource use in a global context. The contributions present state-of-the-art results and perspectives on the availability of resources and discuss factors such as limited supply, demand from emerging and other economies and the critical shortage of some materials – particularly some metals – that are essential inputs in many high-tech processes and may put certain industries at risk. Sustainable Growth and Resource Productivity sheds new light on the economics of sustainable growth. Linking the current financial crisis with stock market pricing and innovation dynamics, it argues for reforms in international macro-economic policies. It also critically discusses the implications of valuing labour productivity over capital and resource productivity and argues that policies favouring capital productivity will increase both social and economic sustainability. Further contributions are made on the business dimensions of material efficiency as well as on policy recommendations. The book examines the overall empirical trend towards decoupling resource use from economic growth. It undertakes a rigorous cross-country comparison and looks in more detail at the cases of Finland and Greece, as well as at emerging economies and their role in the global governance of natural resources. A key focus is placed on China, with discussion of recent findings regarding Chinese domestic policy on energy, climate and resources as well as on developing Chinese foreign policy in Africa. The book concludes with the positing of a new theory of resource economics: an emerging sub-discipline that puts resources at its heart but clearly aligns with other fields of economics, and transcends the borderlines of geology, geography, material science, recycling and waste, as well as elements of other social sciences. This important new book will be essential reading for economic researchers, governmental officials, businesses and NGOs with an interest in understanding the policy links to sustainable growth and in learning more about the emerging field of resource productivity.
Looking at the governance of resources companies in China, this book tackles contemporary issues of resource security and environmental change which are closely related to the depletion of the world’s natural resources. It contains case studies of other international resources giants such as BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Shell and Chevron to enhance readers understanding of the differences that exist between them and Chinese resources companies.
This book on ‘Green Growth: Eco-Livelihood & Sustainability’ explores innovative & nature friendly alternate development of sustainability. Green Growth is a concept of sustainable way of growth and development while preventing environmental degradation and enhancing quality of life with innovations. Environment is the most significant dimension of life but too often its role and potential is underestimated when it comes to socio-economic development. The livelihood, skill development, employment potential, the challenges, opportunities, and solutions are studied and analyzed in a panoramic scenario. First the authors explore green growth as the new geopolitical paradigm to respond to the environment, climate challenges of today and resource challenges of tomorrow. Then analyze how eco-livelihood and sustainability generate the proper conditions for sustainability. In pursuit of development and poverty alleviation, there is great potential for green consumption, production, innovation, and entrepreneurial activity. This book prioritizes the vast opportunities from Green Growth and so highlights the obstacles. Green Growth will generate substantial benefits in the long run in the form of livelihood, pollution reduction, new markets etc. Green Growth is not just a short-term strategy but a transforming dynamic for both production processes and consumer behavior.
