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País 360. Presente y futuro del medioambiente en Colombia
by Manuel Rodríguez BecerraLa colección País 360 está compuesta por títulos de ensayo divulgativo que comprenden diversos aspectos de la realidad colombiana. Los más destacados investigadores y analistas presentan su mirada independiente sobre los temas que hoy definen nuestro país. Colombia es un país privilegiado por la naturaleza: con dos mares -cuya extensión es equivalente a su área continental-, una excepcional variedad de paisajes, ocupa el segundo lugar en diversidad de especies de flora y fauna y de ecosistemas del mundo, y el sexto en reservas de agua dulce. Sin embargo, esta riqueza se ha deteriorado en forma creciente en las últimas décadas y, además, está siendo afectada por la crisis ambiental mundial a la cual Colombia también ha contribuido. Manuel Rodríguez Becerra intenta responder con este libro a la demanda de información actualizada, clara y precisa de los lectores para comprender cuál es el presente y el futuro del medio ambiente en Colombia tomando en necesaria consideración el cambio climático, el declive de la biodiversidad y la contaminación que enfrenta nuestro planeta. Manuel Rodríguez Becerra es profesor emérito de la Universidad de los Andes, institución a la que se vinculó en 1971, y en donde ocupó los cargos de secretario general, vicerrector académico y decano de las facultades de Artes y Ciencias y Administración. Fue el primer ministro del Medio Ambiente de Colombia cuya creación coordinó. Hizo parte de la Comisión Mundial de Bosques y Desarrollo Sostenible y presidió el Panel Intergubernamental de Bosques de las Naciones Unidas. Su docencia e investigación se concentran en política ambiental, desarrollo sostenible y relaciones internacionales ambientales, las cuales lleva a cabo en la Facultad de Administración de la Universidad de los Andes. Cofundador de: el Foro Nacional Ambiental (1998) que hoy preside, Parques Naturales Nacionales Cómo Vamos (2017), el Centro de los Objetivos del Desarrollo Sostenible para América Latina y el Caribe (2018), y la Alianza para la Defensa de la Sabana de Bogotá (2019). Es autor de más de 25 libros y columnista de El Tiempo
Galapagos Islands: A Natural History Guide
by Pierre ConstantThe wildlife paradise of the Galapagos Islands, long regarded as a mysterious and desolate spot, is a showcase of evolution in action. A spawning ground for Charles Darwin's famous theory, the islands have become a National Park dedicated to the conservation of many unique species threatened with extinction. Pierre Constant provides detailed descriptions of the geology and natural history of the archipelago, the visitors' sites, as well as the spectacular sea and land birds, peculiar reptiles, playful mammals and amazing marine life that make their homes there.
The Edible Flower Garden
by Rosalind CreasyA comprehensive guide to selecting and growing flowers that can be used for cookery, both as garnishes and as ingredients.
Límites Socioculturales de la Educación Ambiental (Acercamiento desde la experiencia cubana)
by Carlos Jesús Delgado DíazEs evidente que el progreso científico-tecnológico, el bienestar de las sociedades industrializadas y el deterioro del medio ambiente se encuentran profundamente relacionadas. Al minarse las bases de los ciudadanos, la preocupación social por lo ambiental se ha manifestado como una institución social de ese vínculo con la naturaleza demandando una nueva educación que incluya la reflexión y modificación de su relación material con el mundo.
Plant Genetic Resources and Traditional Knowledge for Food Security
by Romesh Kumar Salgotra Bharat Bhushan GuptaWith exponentially increasing population across the globe and shrinking resources, the concern of food security is looming large over the world community. To catch up with the fierce pace of growth in all the sectors of development, ensuring uninhibited availability of food resources is a prime agenda. The growing global demand for food, feed, fiber and bio-based renewable materials, such as bio-fuels, is changing the conditions for genetic resources development and bio-resource production worldwide. The crucial role in ensuring food security is played by the agro-based industries and enterprises. Advances in plant genetic resources coupled with traditional knowledge of the local tribes and native practices facilitate achievement of food security.
Marine and Coastal Ecosystem Valuation, Institutions, and Policy in Southeast Asia
by Nancy Olewiler Herminia A. Francisco Alice Joan G. FerrerThis book is a compendium of case studies illustrating how economic tools and techniques can be used to address a wide range of problems in the management and conservation of marine and coastal ecosystems in a developing country context. The studies, which were conducted with support from the Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA), cover topics such as mobilizing conservation finance from beneficiaries of marine and coastal ecosystem services; quantifying ecosystem damage and its impact on dependents of ecosystem resources and services; determining the best package of policy reforms that put a price on pollution and regulate economic activities generating pollution with the goal of restoring coastal and marine resources; and analyzing community-based institutions that support sustainable management of fisheries and coastal resources. Studies in the book also provide general guidelines for conducting economic appraisals. It is essential reading for teachers, researchers, students and practitioners in fishery economics, economic development, ecosystem management, and other key issues facing policymakers in the Southeast Asian region.
Recycling of Solid Waste for Biofuels and Bio-chemicals
by Obulisamy Parthiba Karthikeyan Kirsten Heimann Subramanian Senthilkannan MuthuThis book presents the latest advances in and current research perspectives on the field of urban/industrial solid waste recycling for bio-energy and bio-fuel recovery. It chiefly focuses on five main thematic areas, namely bioreactor landfills coupled with energy and nutrient recovery; microbial insights into anaerobic digestion; greenhouse emission assessment; pyrolysis techniques for special waste treatment; and industrial waste stabilization options. In addition, it compiles the results of case studies and solid waste management perspectives from different countries.
The Attribute of Water
by Chang Q Sun Yi SunThis book features the latest advances and future trends in water science and technology. It also discusses the scientific popularization and quantitative resolution of a variety of mysterious properties of water and ice from the perspective of hydrogen-bond cooperativity in response to stimuli such as chemical contamination, electrification, magnetification, mechanical compression, molecular undercoordination, and thermal excitation. Anomalies include the floating of ice, the Hofmeister effect in solutions, regelation of ice, slipperiness of ice, water's tough skin, the Mpemba paradox, and the floating bridge. It also addresses the superfluidity of microchannels, hydrogen bond potentials, nanodroplet and bubble thermodynamics, quasisolidity and supersolidity, controlling superhydrophobicity-superhydrophilicity transition, and high-pressure ice formation. The target audience for this book includes students, senior scholars, engineers and practitioners in the area of physical chemistry, biology, as well as aqueous and colloid solutions.
Legal Methods of Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation in Chinese Water Management
by Xiangbai HeThis book addresses why, whether and how the existing legal framework on water management in China could make climate change adaptation a mainstream issue. The book uses a table to illustrate the distinctions and similarities between IWRM and water-centered adaptation to analyze the possibilities of mainstreaming adaptation. The new water-planning processes and EIA are also illustrated in the form of figures showing the differences after factoring in adaptation considerations. Interviews with water managers to obtain their perception and attitudes towards climate change adaptation offer new perspectives for readers. The adaptation- mainstreaming approach, which finds a way to balance various interests and tasks, will arouse the interests of those readers who argue that climate change is only one of the issues challenging water management, and that poverty reduction, environmental protection and living standard improvement are even more important. Readers will also be interested to discover that the adaptation mainstreaming approach could be applied in water management institutions such as water planning and EIA. In addition, the book offers a clear explanation of the challenges of adaptation to the existing water-related legal framework from a theoretical perspective, and provides theoretical and practical recommendations.
Super El Niño
by Li-Ciao HongThis book offers a new perspective on those El Niños that grow to extraordinary magnitudes, putting forward the claim that these "super El Niños" should be grouped into an isolated cluster. All known super El Niños exhibit pronounced features that are seldom seen in regular El Niños. Super El Niño events, which are marked by a highly deterministic life cycle, will dominate the Earth's climate for several years. This study identifies the pre-conditions and a booster mechanism that lead to the runaway growth of super El Niños, which is featured by the intense interaction between the anomalous circulation in middle/high latitudes and the ENSO source area. The study not only sheds new light on the fundamental mechanism of the ENSO but also contributes to improving its extended predictability.
Silviculture of South Asian Priority Bamboos
by Ratan Lal BanikThis monographaims at bringing out a comprehensive collection of information on bamboovarieties in South Asia. The main focus of this book is to address theecological and economic significance of bamboos. Bamboo is a versatile group of plants, capable of providing ecological,economic and livelihood security to the people. In the tropics, especially therural areas in different countries of South Asia, most of the houses aremade of bamboos. In the hilly areas of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and India, thetribal people take bamboo shoots as one of their major food items sinceprehistoric days. With palatableshoots and grass like leaves bamboo plants have also been liked by many herbivore animals, such as, elephants,the wild cattle, Indian Bison, and some speciesof deer. The red-panda in the Himalayas, and primates,pigs, rats and mice, porcupines, and squirrels are also incidental feeders onsoutheast Asian bamboos. There has been a growing awareness in recent years about the values ofbamboo being an important means of economic growth and for improving thesocio-economic conditions of the rural poor. Bamboo as an industrialmaterial can substitute wood and that to at low cost. Due to increasing demandand squeezing of bamboo area the plants have been overexploited and the qualityand quantity of resource alarmingly getting depleted. Besides many new bamboobased industries have come up which also urgently require uninterrupted supplyof species wise bamboo resource. The south Asia region has bestowed with more than 300 bamboospecies with enormous diversities at species, ecological and geneticallevel. A number of bamboo species are found common among countriesof the region selected for various utilization potentials having wide range of ability to adjustenvironmental conditions of these countries and thus prioritized forcultivation. Both government and private planters in the region have started allocating funds, land andother logistics to raise large scale plantation of desired bamboospecies. This book has been drafted to find out answers of the most pertinentqueries based on the field observations on each of the bamboo species andknowledge learnt from the indigenous people living with bamboos in differentparts of south-east and south Asian countries. This monograph would beinteresting and useful to bamboo professionals, foresters, horticulturists,field level extension workers, nurserymen, planters, industrial entrepreneurs,ecologists, and valuable source of reference to the relevant researchers andstudents in the region.
Principal Component Regression for Crop Yield Estimation
by T. M. V. Suryanarayana P. B. MistryThis book highlights the estimation of crop yield in Central Gujarat, especially with regard to the development of Multiple Regression Models and Principal Component Regression (PCR) models using climatological parameters as independent variables and crop yield as a dependent variable. It subsequently compares the multiple linear regression (MLR) and PCR results, and discusses the significance of PCR for crop yield estimation. In this context, the book also covers Principal Component Analysis (PCA), a statistical procedure used to reduce a number of correlated variables into a smaller number of uncorrelated variables called principal components (PC). This book will be helpful to the students and researchers, starting their works on climate and agriculture, mainly focussing on estimation models. The flow of chapters takes the readers in a smooth path, in understanding climate and weather and impact of climate change, and gradually proceeds towards downscaling techniques and then finally towards development of principal component regression models and applying the same for the crop yield estimation.
China's Energy Efficiency and Conservation: Sectoral Analysis (SpringerBriefs in Environment, Security, Development and Peace #30)
by Bin Su Elspeth ThomsonThis Brief identifies various aspects of energy challenges faced by the Chinese central/local governments, and also provides an opportunity to study how best to achieve green growth and a low-carbon transition in a developing country like China. The progress of China's carbon mitigation policies also has significant impacts on the on-going international climate change negotiations. Therefore, both policymakers and decision makers in China and other countries can benefit from studying the challenges and opportunities in China's energy development.
Aquatic Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystem Services (Ecological Research Monographs)
by Shin-Ichi Nakano Tetsukazu Yahara Tohru NakashizukaThis volume examines the topic of local biodiversity conservation in the Asia-Pacific region, one of the most rapidly changing areas in the world. With a focus on aquatic systems, this book offers insight on the state of local biodiversity, challenges in management and conservation of biodiversity, and newly developed methods for monitoring biodiversity. In addition, because the service provided by an ecosystem for humans is interlinked with conservation, the final part is dedicated to evaluating the socioeconomic aspect of ecosystem services, with special reference to local biodiversity. In effect, all contributions provide information that is invaluable for effective conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. This work will interest all stakeholders in biodiversity conservation, including policy makers, NPOs, NGOs, environment-related industries, and biodiversity researchers, not only in the Asia-Pacific region, but also across the entire globe.
Recovering Biodiversity in Indian Forests
by G. Vishwanatha Reddy K. Ullas Karanth N. Samba Kumar Jagdish Krishnaswamy Krithi K. KaranthThis book demonstrates how varying levels of human disturbance manifested through different management regimes influence composition, richness, diversity and abundance of key mammal, bird and plant species, even within ecologically similar habitats. Based on our results, we show the critical importance of the 'wildlife preservation' approach for effective biodiversity conservation. The study also provides examples of a practical application of rigorous methods of quantitative sampling of different plant and animal taxa as well as human influences, thus serving as a useful manual for protected area managers. Protectedareas of various kinds have been established in India with the goal ofarresting decline in, and to provide for, recovery of biodiversity andecosystem services. A model that targets 'wildlife preservation' under stateownership is practiced across the country. However, forests in India are underintensive human pressure and varying levels of protection; therefore, protectedareas may also experience open-access resource use, a model that is beingaggressively advocated as a viable alternative to 'preservationism'. We haveevaluated the conservation efficacy of alternative forest management models byquantifying levels of biodiversity under varied levels of access, resourceextraction and degree of state-sponsored protection in the Nagarahole forestlandscape of southwestern India.
Sustainable Water Management
by Ken'Ichi Nakagami Jumpei Kubota Budi Indra SetiawanThis book takes a new and critical look at the underlying factors that affect the management of water resources, and its content is guided by three important visions. With the "theory" vision, the existing knowledge system for IWRM is reorganized in order to supplement new theories related to our society and science. We then introduce two distinctive case studies on how to achieve sustainable water management. Based on the "social implementation" vision, one study is carried out by the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature on Indonesia's Bali Island, where there is a long history of educational and inspirational local-level water management systems with multistakeholder participation. A further study is based on the "harmony between science and society" vision, and the Ritsumeikan-Global Innovation Research Organization, Ritsumeikan University, proposes innovative water recycling system for the sustainable development of Chongming Island, an eco-island that belongs to China. These two studies highlight "science with society", a new perspective on science that could promisingly lead to more sustainable futures. This book offers a valuable reference guide for all stakeholders and scholars active in water resources management.
Amaranthus: A Promising Crop of Future
by Saubhik DasThis book serves the larger community of plant researchers working on the taxonomy, species delimitation, phylogeny, and biogeography of pseudo-cereals, with a special emphasis on amaranths. It also provides extensive information on the nutritive value of underutilized pseudo-cereals, the goal being to broaden the vegetable list. Amaranthus is a cosmopolitan genus of annual or short-lived perennial plants. Most of the species are summer annual weeds and are commonly referred to as pigweed. Only a few are cultivated as vitamin-rich vegetables and ornamentals. The protein-rich seeds of a handful of species, known as grain amaranths, are consumed as pseudo-cereals. Amaranthusmanifests considerable morphological diversity among and even within certain species, and there is no general agreement on the taxonomy or number of species. Currently the genus Amaranthus is believed to include three recognized subgenera and 70 species. Amatanthus is considered to potentially offer an alternative crop in temperate and tropical climate. The classification of amaranths is ambiguous due to the lack of discrete and quantitative species-defining characteristics and the wide range of phenotypic plasticity, as well as introgression and hybridization involving weedy and crop species. It is a known fact that both vegetable and grain amaranths have evolved from their respective weed progenitors. There are more than 180 different weed species that are herbicide-resistant, and amaranths are considered to be leading members of the resistant biotypes. Amaranth species provide ample scope for investigating herbicide resistance mechanisms. Amaranths also show variability in terms of their mating behavior and germplasm, adaptability to different growing conditions, and wide range of variability in sexual systems, from monoecy to dioecy. A solid grasp of these parameters is essential to the future utilization of amaranths as super crops. There are quite a few amaranth research center and germplasm collections all over the world that maintain and evaluate working germplasms. To date, the genetic improvement of amaranths has primarily involved the application of conventional selection methods. But advances in genomics and biotechnology have dramatically enriched the potential to manipulate the amaranth genome, especially improving the amount and availability of nutrients. In conclusion, the book covers all aspects of amaranths, including their food value, significance as vegetables and pseudo-cereals, taxonomy, phylogeny, germplasm variability, breeding behavior and strategies, cultivation practices, and variability in terms of their sexual systems. It offers a valuable resource for all students, researchers and experts working in the field of plant taxonomy and diversity.
Smart Economy in Smart Cities
by T. M. Vinod KumarThe present book highlights studies that show how smart cities promote urban economic development. The book surveys the state of the art of Smart City Economic Development through a literature survey. The book uses 13 in depth city research case studies in 10 countries such as the North America, Europe, Africa and Asia to explain how a smart economy changes the urban spatial system and vice versa. This book focuses on exploratory city studies in different countries, which investigate how urban spatial systems adapt to the specific needs of smart urban economy. The theory of smart city economic development is not yet entirely understood and applied in metropolitan regional plans. Smart urban economies are largely the result of the influence of ICT applications on all aspects of urban economy, which in turn changes the land-use system. It points out that the dynamics of smart city GDP creation takes 'different paths,' which need further empirical study, hypothesis testing and mathematical modelling. Although there are hypotheses on how smart cities generate wealth and social benefits for nations, there are no significant empirical studies available on how they generate urban economic development through urban spatial adaptation. This book with 13 cities research studies is one attempt to fill in the gap in knowledge base.
Approaches to Heavy Metal Tolerance in Plants
by Sumira Jan Javid Ahmad ParrayThis book summarizes the development of highly tolerant cultivars via plant breeding, genomics, and proteomic approaches. This book could supplement data for budding researchers by providing extensive ongoing measures to improve the detoxification competence of appropriate species via wide range of plant improvement approaches. It also offers insights into heavy metal signalling,metal chelation by organic acids, amino acids, and phosphate derivatives, and illustrates other strategies that have been extensively investigated, such as genetic engineering, ecological improvement of the rhizosphere using mycorrhiza and chelator enhanced phytoremediation technology. This book could provide simple anthology for undergraduate and postgraduate students to understand fundamentals of heavy metal pollution in the environment. The book closes with a prelude to an inclusive study of biodiversity that could provide new biofilters for metal detoxification.
Increasing Resilience to Climate Variability and Change
by Cecilia TortajadaThis book highlights the role that both infrastructure and governance play in the context of resilience and adaptation to climate variability and change. Eleven case studies analyze in-depth impacts of extreme events in projects, basins and regions in the Arid Americas (Unites States and Mexico), Australia, Brazil, China, Egypt, France, Nepal, Mexico, Pakistan, Turkey and South Africa. They discuss the importance of infrastructure (mainly reservoirs) in adaptation strategies, how planning and management aspects should improve in response to changing climatic, economic, social and environmental situations and what the management, institutional and financial challenges would be for their implementation. Governance aspects (policies, institutions and decision making) and technical and knowledge limitations are a substantial part of the analyses. The case studies argue that reservoirs are essential to build resilience contributing to adaptation to climate variability and change. However, that for them to be effective, they need to be planned and managed within a governance framework that considers long-term perspectives and multi-sector and multi-level actor needs and perspectives.
How Water Influences Our Lives
by Per Jahren Tongbo SuiThis beautifully illustrated book explains how water influences our culture; the many phases of water from ice to gas, its simple but still so unpredictable nature, and water resources on Earth; how water is distributed in ice, oceans, rivers, lakes and more; how it creates transport possibilities; how it produces and absorbs energy; how it is constantly changing the surface of the Earth; how there is enough water on Earth, yet sometimes there is too much or too litt≤ the role of water in recreation; and how water supplies us with food in a myriad of ways. Few things are like water - a subtle and thought-provoking element, so simple and yet complicated, so conspicuous yet unpredictable, so soft and peaceful yet powerful, and so universal yet unique. Water is by far the world's largest commodity. Though it belongs to all of us, it is still not shared by all. We very seldom take time to reflect on the many ways that water affects our lives. Though it would be too ambitious to believe that it claims all the meanings and roles of water, this book, by showcasing water's versatility and by sharing the experiences and insights gained by the two authors during their many travels across the globe, contributes to a greater awareness of the most important substance in our society - water. The book offers an insightful and intriguing read for anyone interested in science and culture related to water, from laymen to students and decision-makers.
Crop Responses to Global Warming
by Dinesh Chandra Uprety V. R. ReddyThe monograph entitled "Crop responses to Global warming" describes the normal historical shifts in the earth's atmospheric temperature and weighs the evidence concerning anthropogenic induced changes in the level of temperature. The unprecedented increase in the earth's temperature after pre industrial period has been possibly related to the anthropogenic activities. This monograph will give an overview of the global as well as Indian crops productivity in relation to the rise in the earth's surface temperature. A chapter in this monograph is on the technologies to study the response of crop plants to the elevated temperature. The impact assessment analysis of rising temperature on crops such as wheat, rice, maize, soybean, cotton and brassica are described, reviewed and discussed in separate chapters as case studies. The responses of physiological processes and biochemical reactions to the elevated temperature in crop plants are described crop wise. The monograph also includes the impact of elevating temperature on crop weed interaction, pest and diseases and soil dynamics for each crop species independently. The mitigation technologies to counter the adverse effect of high temperature stress are described for each crop according to their cultivation and climatic conditions. The future research strategies for each crop to meet the threat of elevating temperature on crop productivity and food security is described and discussed. The description of temperature enrichment technologies will help researchers and scientists to study the responses of biological materials to rising temperature. The monograph will be the main text for teaching climate change, global warming and environmental botany as no such book is currently available relating to the rising atmospheric temperature on crop plants. Therefore, the monograph will be highly useful for students of global climate change, environmental botany and agricultural sciences, scientists, researchers, farmers and policy makers
Sustainable Water Resources Planning and Management Under Climate Change
by Elpida Kolokytha Satoru Oishi Ramesh S.V. TeegavarapuThis book discusses different aspects of water resources, ranging from hydrology and modeling to management and policy responses. Climate changes and the uncertainty of future hydrological regimes make sustainable water resources management a difficult task, requiring a set of approaches that address climate variability and change. The book focuses on three main themes: hydrological changes, adaptive decision-making for water resources, and institutional analysis and risk management. It discusses the applications and limitations of climate change models and scenarios related to precipitation projection, which predicts to the future availability of water. It also offers interesting examples from around the globe to describe the policy options for dealing with climate change. Addressing emerging issues that need to be resolved and techniques that can be applied for sustainable climate-change-sensitive water resources protection and management, this practical, state-of-the-art reference book is a valuable resource for researchers, students and professionals interested in sustainable water resources management in a changing climate.
Asia and the Arctic: Narratives, Perspectives and Policies (Springer Geology)
by Vijay Sakhuja Kapil NarulaThis book presents narratives, perspectives and policies on the Arctic and brings to fore the strategies of five Asian countries - China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea and Singapore who were granted the status of Permanent Observers in the Arctic Council in 2013. The book also captures Arctic countries' reactions to Asian approaches, and their expectations from these countries. The melting of the polar sea-ice induced by climate change has placed the Arctic region in the forefront of global scientific, economic, strategic and academic interest. The discourse involves a number of issues such as claims of the littoral countries to the continental shelves of the region, the management and exploitation of its living and non-living resources, the rights and interests of indigenous communities, and the prospects of new ice-free shipping routes. The contemporary discourse also suggests that the Arctic region presents challenges and offers opportunities for the international community. These issues have given rise to new geopolitical, geoeconomic, and geostrategic dynamics amongst the Arctic littorals, and led to the growing interest of non-Arctic states in the affairs of the Arctic. It is evident that the Asian countries have a variety of interests in the Arctic, and the grant of Permanent Observer status to these countries is an acknowledgement of their capabilities. These countries are keen to explore opportunities in the Arctic, and have begun to formulate appropriate long-term national strategies. The preliminary approach of the Asian Observer countries has rightly been to graduate from 'involvement' to 'engagement' in the Arctic, which seems to have generated significant interest amongst analysts. This book helps to understand the approaches of various Arctic and non-Arctic stakeholders, in light of the evolving dynamics in the region.
Understanding Built Environment
by Fumihiko Seta Arindam Biswas Ajay Khare Joy SenThis book is a comprehensive document visualizing the future of built environment from a multidisciplinary dimension, with special emphasis on the Indian scenario. The multidisciplinary focus would be helpful for the readers to cross-refer and understand others' perspectives. The text also includes case studies substantiating theoretical research. This method of composition helps the book to maintain rational balance among theory, research and its contextual application. The book comprises selected papers from the National Conference on Sustainable Built Environment. The chapters provide varied viewpoints on the core issues of urbanization and planning. This compilation would be of interest to students, researchers, professionals and policy makers.