Waterlogged Wealth was first published in 1986 and did much to raise awareness of the importance of wetlands to people, wildlife, and environmental quality, despite the limitations of appropriate scientific research at that time. The last twenty years has witnessed a dramatic increase in the technical knowledge of how wetlands work. They are among the world's most productive ecosystems; they support fisheries and provide protection from floods and storm surges. Wetlands are pollution filters and...
Law, Ecology, and the Management of Complex Systems (Law, Science and Society)
by Tiina Paloniitty
This book addresses the role of law in the adaptive management of socio-ecological systems. Recent years have witnessed a rise in discussion over the relation between adaptivity and law, as if after decades of insouciance, legal scholars have finally started to understand the impacts of the scientific paradigm called ‘adaptive management’ on the legal sphere. Even though the complicated relations between law and the adaptive management of socio-ecological systems have become more debated, a tho...
After the Green Revolution (Natural Resource Management Set)
by Gordon R. Conway and Edward B. Barbier
'The Green Revolution' of the 60's and 70's produced immense gains in food cereal production in the Third World. But there are huge problems in the 'post-revolutionary' era: farmers with small or marginal holdings have benefited less than wealthier farmers; intensive mono-cropping has made production more susceptible to environmental stresses and shocks. Now there is evidence of diminishing returns from intensive and intensively chemical agricultural production. What is needed is a new approach,...
A History of Water
The third set in the successful History of Water Series focuses on the most pressing global water issues: urbanisation, international water law, food security and climate change. As more and more of the world population live in urban environments what effect will this have on our capacity to meet growing water demands? And as demand for water increases, and climate change threatens the water security of already water scarce regions, how can we devise systems of water sharing and transboundary w...
Scarce Water and Institutional Change (RFF Water Policy Set)
by Kenneth D. Frederick
The authors assess alternative approaches to meeting long-term water needs and resolving conflicts among competing water users in five areas: the Columbia River Basin; Kern County, California; south California; Virginia Beach, Virginia; and northeastern Colorado. This book argues that America's water supply problems are caused largely by bad habits and poor policies-especially policies that price water far under its true value. Originally published in 1986
The vast size of the United States and extensive variation of its climate, topography, and biota across different regions contribute to both the richness of the nation`s natural heritage and the complexities involved in managing its resources. A follow-up to RFF`s popular America`s Renewable Resources (1990), Perspectives on Sustainable Resources in America updates readers about the current challenges involved in managing America`s natural resources, especially in light of the increasing emphasi...
This report looks at the use of 24 indicators elaborated by the Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP) for the assessment and monitoring of bioenergy sustainability in Viet Nam. The GBEP indicators are intended to provide policy-makers with information on the environmental, social and economic sustainability aspects of the bioenergy sector in their country and guide their policies accordingly. Ethanol from cassava and biogas at both household and industrial levels were chosen for this analysis as t...
This comprehensive book addresses both the principles and practicalities of petroleum unitization by mapping out the evolution of and rationale for unitization in legislation and by providing much-needed guidance on the formulation of a legislative framework for effective regulatory governance of the unitization process. Drawing on his own extensive experience of the global petroleum industry and his insights into petroleum unitization in some 90 jurisdictions worldwide, Paul F. Worthington di...
Law as if Earth Really Mattered (Law, Justice and Ecology)
This book is a collection of judgments drawn from the innovative Wild Law Judgment Project. In participating in the Wild Law Judgment Project, which was inspired by various feminist judgment projects, contributors have creatively reinterpreted judicial decisions from an Earth-centred point of view by rewriting existing judgments, or creating fictional judgments, as wild law. Authors have confronted the specific challenges of aligning existing Western legal systems with Thomas Berry's philosophy...
Due diligence, tenure and agricultural investment (FAO Legal guide, #1)
by Kate Cook and Matrix Chambers
This guide examines the responsibilities of private sector lawyers in avoiding, addressing, preventing and mitigating adverse human rights impacts on tenure right holders when advising on agricultural investments. These responsibilities arise under international standards for the protection of legitimate tenure rights, including the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security. In light of the United Nations...
Our National Park Policy (RFF Forests, Lands, and Recreation Set)
by John Isne
A legislative and administrative history on the social, cultural, and intellectual significance of the national park idea. Originally published in 1961
Rethinking Water Management
If water resources are to be distributed efficiently, equitably and cost-effectively in this rapidly changing world, then it is clear that current water management practices are no longer feasible. Innovative approaches are required to meet the increasing water demands of a growing world population and economy and the needs of the ecosystems supporting them. New approaches have to be employed at global, national and local levels. In Rethinking Water Management, a new generation of water expert...
Great Lakes Fisheries Policy and Management
To maintain thriving, sustainable fisheries in the Laurentian Great Lakes, an understanding of the numerous and complex ecological, societal, economic, management, and policy issues surrounding them is critical. This incisive study provides a collaborative, interjurisdictional, and multi-use perspective that is shaped by the United states and Canada together as part of their shared governance of these waters. This book offers an informed look at the Great Lakes fisheries and their ecosystems,...
Environmental Justice and Land Use Conflict (Earthscan Studies in Natural Resource Management)
by Amanda Kennedy
Conflict over the extraction of coal and gas resources has rapidly escalated in communities throughout the world. Using an environmental justice lens, this multidisciplinary book explores cases of land use conflict through the lived experiences of communities grappling with such disputes. Drawing on theories of justice and fairness in environmental decision making, it demonstrates how such land use conflicts concerning resource use can become entrenched social problems, resistant to policy and...
Balancing Water for Humans and Nature, authored by two of the world's leading experts on water management, examines water flows - the 'blood stream' of both nature and society - in terms of the crucial links, balances, conflicts and trade-offs between human and environmental needs. The authors argue that a sustainable future depends fundamentally on our ability to manage these trade-offs and encourage long-term resilience. They advocate an ecohydrological approach to land/water/environmental pro...
Regional Conflict and National Policy (RFF Policy and Governance Set)
by Kent A. Price
First Published in 2011. This is Volume 9 of fourteen in a set of titles on Policy and Governance. Resources for the Future is a non- profit organization for research and education in the development, conservation, and use of natural resources, including the quality of the environment. The issues of conservation, the environment, and energy have enormous implications not only in terms of those issues specifically, but also for regional conflict in the United States. If we are to have any kind of...
Comparisons in Resource Management (RFF Natural Resource Management Set)
by Henry Jarrett
Originally presented as public lectures in the 1961 Resources for the Future Forum on Comparative Resources Policy and Administration. Originally published in 1961
The Oxford Handbook of Food, Water and Society (Oxford Handbooks)
Food, water and society: what is managed by whom, and with what impacts? Our food supply chains are at risk. Water resources--sometimes scarce, often damaged, and always under-valued--are among the major reasons why food and water security rank high every year in the World Economic Forum's major global risk analysis. A stable and sustainable food system is critical to society's survival. This Handbook shows that keeping the food system stable comes at the expense of the environment, especially...
More than a billion people cannot get safe drinking water; half the world's population does not have adequate sanitation; within a generation over three billion will be suffering from water stress. This text analyzes the issues in this crisis of management and shows how water can be used effectively and productively. The key to sustainable water resources is an integrated approach. The authors assert that careful planning and concerted action can make the fundamental changes needed and that the...
Identification of Joint Management Structures for Shared Aquifers (World Bank Technical Paper, #415)
by World Bank
Overcoming the scarcity and temporal variance of water availability in semi-arid regions, or the excess of water in temperate regions, often requires cooperation. This paper describes the approach taken by an Israeli-Palestinian team to identify joint management structures for the aquifers shared by these two parties, and some of the lessons learned from the experience of this team.
Co-Management of Natural Resources in Asia (NIAS Man and Nature in Asia)
Co-management, that is the sharing of responsibilities between governmental institutions and groups of resource users, is rapidly becoming popular in Asia. In many countries environmental management is reformulated from exclusive state control to various kinds of joint management in which local communities, indigenous peoples and non-governmental organisations share authority and benefits with governmental institutions. In this book, case-studies of experiments with co-management in a number of...