Environmental science, engineering and technology Books

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Book SynopsisThe rise of technology in human culture has changed almost every facet of society. Technology is especially useful regarding sustainable development. These technologies can cause significant greenhouse gas reductions and other benefits in terms of logistics and smart cities. New technology applied in this way can greatly help the human effort to restore the environment. Disruptive Technologies and Eco-Innovation for Sustainable Development provides an in-depth look into the new techniques, strategies, and technologies for achieving environmental sustainability through best business and technology practices. The book covers topics such as eco-innovation, green criteria, Agriculture 4.0, and topics related to logic, philosophy, and history of science and technology from the green/sustainable point of view. It is essential for managers, academicians, scientists, students, and researchers in various government, public, and private sectors.

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Book SynopsisAs the fastest growing segment of civil society, as well as featuring prominently in the global political arena, NGOs are under fire for being 'unaccountable'. But who do NGOs actually represent? Who should they be accountable to and how? This book provides the first comprehensive examination of the issues and politics of NGO accountability across all sectors and internationally. It offers an assessment of the key technical tools available including legal accountability, certification and donor-based accountability regimes, and questions whether these are appropriate and viable options or attempts to 'roll-back' NGOs to a more one-dimensional function as organizers of national and global charity. Input and case studies are provided from NGOs such as ActionAid, and from every part of the globe including China, Indonesia and Uganda. In the spirit of moving towards greater accountability the book looks in detail at innovations that have developed from within NGOs and offers new approaches and flexible frameworks that enable accountability to become a reality for all parties worldwide.Trade Review'Credible and effective accountability is quite simply a pre-condition for NGOs' continued historical significance as global and local agents of change. Prepared by informed and yet critical insiders, this book faces this reality unflinchingly whilst illuminating its real-life complexities and implications in today's daunting political context.' Simon Zadek, Chief Executive, AccountAbility, and author of The Civil Corporation 'This collection breaks out of the straitjacketed thinking that characterizes much of the accountability discussion today. Rather than treating NGO accountability as a technocratic endeavour based in managerial best practice, the authors confront its political and power-laden underpinnings head-on. Jordan and van Tuijl show us the dark side of accountability politics - how its language and mechanisms can be abused for suppressing basic rights of voice and political participation. Yet, they also give us a vision, grounded in field-based innovation, of what accountability can be: a pathway towards universal human rights and better democratic governance.' Alnoor Ebrahim, Visiting Associate Professor, Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, Harvard University, and Wyss Visiting Scholar, Harvard Business SchoolTable of ContentsPart I - KEY QUESTIONS AND CONCEPTS IN THE CURRENT GLOBAL DEBATE * Rights and Responsibilities in the Political Landscape of NGO Accountability: Introduction and Overview * Accountability of Non-Governmental Organizations in Global Governance * Civil Society, Representation and Accountability: Restating Current Debates on the Representativeness and accountability of Civic Associations * Part II - TRADITIONAL APPROACHES: LEGAL ACCOUNTABILITY, CERTIFICATION AND DONOR REGIMES * The Limits and Risks of Regulation: The Case of the World Bank-supported * Issues in Legislation for NGOs in Uganda * NGO Accountability and the Philippine Council for NGO Certification: Evolving Roles and Issues * The Donor Accountability Agenda * Part III - THE BENEFITS OF EMBRACING ACCOUNTABILITY * NGO Governance in China: Achievements and Dilemmas * NGO Governance and Accountability in Indonesia: Challenges in a Newly Democratizing Country * Part IV - INNOVATIONS: EXPANDING THE ACCOUNTABILITY FRONTIER * Chameleons and Accountability: Linking Learning with Increasing Accountability in ActionAid International Uganda and the Ugandan Land Alliance * NGO Accountability and the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership: Towards a Transformative Agenda * Addressing Accountability at the Global Level: The Challenges Facing International NGOs * On Trying to Do Good Well: Practicing Participatory Democracy through International Advocacy Campaigns *

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Book SynopsisThe management of water resources across boundaries, whether sub-national or international, is one of the most difficult challenges facing water managers today. The upstream exploitation or diversion of groundwater or rivers can have devastating consequences for those living downstream, and transboundary rivers can provide a source of conflict between nations or states, particularly where water resources are scarce. Similarly, water based-pollution can spread across borders and create disputes and a need for sound governance. This book is the first to bring together in a concise and accessible way all of the main topics to be considered when managing transboundary waters. It will raise the awareness of practitioners of the various issues needed to be taken into account when making water management decisions and provide a practically-based overview for advanced students. The authors show clearly how vital it is to cooperate effectively over the management of shared waters to unlock their contribution to regional sustainable development. The book is largely based on a long-running and tested international training programme, run by the Stockholm International Water Institute and Ramboll Natura, and supported by the Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency (Sida), where the respective authors have presented modules on the programmes. It addresses issues not only of conflict, but also of managing power asymmetries, benefit-sharing, stakeholder participation, international water law, environmental water requirements and regional development. It will be particularly useful for those with a background in hydrology or engineering who wish to broaden their management skills.Trade Review'It is essential that the international community support (these) efforts by strengthening all facets of institutional capacity for effective water management. This volume represents a tangible contribution to this effort by placing the current knowledge and experience of water management professionals and researchers within reach of a broad audience.' From the Foreword by Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO 'This remarkable book provides an essential overview of the topic for researchers and water resource managers. At the same time, as water rises higher on the political agenda in many regions of the world, and more and more people‘s lives are affected in various ways -either by too much or too little water - this book will provide vital insights for politicians and government negotiators concerned with issues of water security.' Ania Grobicki, Executive Secretary, Global Water Partnership, Sweden 'It is stimulating to find a book that considers transboundary waters as a challenge that can be dealt with to the benefit of the different riparians through negotiations, cooperation and institutional capacity, rather than stressing the irrelevant argument of water wars.' Cecilia Tortajada, Vice President, Third World Centre for Water Management, Mexico 'This book is the first to bring together in a concise and accessible way all of the main topics to be considered when managing transboundary waters' BASE 'It is a book of hope that considers transboundary waters a challenge that can be dealt with.' d-sector.orgTable of ContentsForeword Contributors 1. Introduction: Setting the Scene for Transboundary Water Management Approaches Part I: Analytical Approaches to Transboundary Water Management 2. Why Negotiate? Asymmetric endowments and asymmetric power and the invisible nexus of water, trade and power that brings apparent water security 3. Power, Hegemony and Critical Hydropolitics 4. Getting Beyond the Environment-Conflict Trap: Benefit-Sharing in International River Basins Part II: Transboundary Water Management Polity and Practice 5. International Water Law: concepts, evolution and development 6. Aquifer Resources in a Transboundary Context: A Hidden Resource? - Enabling the Practitioner To 'See It & Bank It' for Good Use 7. Governance in Transboundary Basins - the Role of Stakeholders, Concepts and Approaches in International River Basins 8. Environmental Flows in Shared Watercourses: Review of Assessment Methods and Relevance in the Transboundary Setting 9. Managing Water Negotiations and Conflicts in Concept and in Practice 10. Identifying Business Models for Transboundary River Basin Institutions Part III: Challenges and Opportunities 11. Sustainability of Transnational Water Agreements in the Face of Socio-Economic and Environmental Change 12. Enhanced Knowledge and Education Systems for Strengthening the Capacity of Transboundary Water Management 13. Case studies of TWM Initiatives: 13 initiatives from various parts of the world 14. Towards a Conceptual Framework for Transboundary Water Management Index

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Book SynopsisA reference and sourcebook to the organizations involved in environmental and resource conservation in all parts of the world and to their activities. It describes over 2000 organizations and programmes in over 200 countries, providing access to sources of information, expertise and action. A user's guide identifies who is doing what in over 50 areas, such as air quality, environmental economics, toxic materials and wildlife. There are also regional overviews, detailed analyses of the UN system, over 250 intergovernmental agencies, over 400 international NGOs, and over 1500 national organizations with full country and area listings, plus indices, a glossary and a list of landmark events.Trade Review'[An] indispensable tool for anyone engaged in environmental work.' Aslib Book Guide 'This ishould be a standard in all higher education libraries.' TEG NewsTable of ContentsPart 1: Introduction - How to Use This Book * Glossary * Introduction * The World Directory and the World Wide Web * Some Landmark Events * Part 2: Who's Doing What: Problems, Resources, and Biomes - Broad Concerns * Agriculture and Environmental Protection * Air Quality * Appropriate Technology * Arid Lands * Biodiversity * Biotechnology * Business and the Environment * Caves * Climate and Global Environmental Change * Communications Media * Conflict and the Environment * Cultural Heritage * Development and the Environment * Economic Aspects * Education and Training * Energy, Geology, and Mining * Fish and Fisheries * Forests and Forestry * Future Grasslands * Grasslands * Hazardous Materials * Health and the Environment * Human Settlements * Indigenous Peoples and the Traditional Ecological Knowledge * Lakes, Rivers, and Waterways * Landscape Architecture * Land Use * Law and Legal Action * Mountains * Natural Areas, Parks, and Wilderness * Noise * Nuclear Energy and Radiation * Occupational Safety and Health * Oceans, Coastal Zones, and Islands * Pest Management * Plants * Polar Zones * Politics and Policy Processes * Population and Growth Management * Religion, the Humanities, and Environmental Protection * Social Science and Psychology * Soil * Solid Waste and Resource Recovery * Specialized Support Services * Tourism Impacts * Transportation and Environmental Protection * Tropical Ecosystems * Water * Wetlands * Wildlife * Women and the Environment * Youth and the Environment * Part 3: The World Regions: An Overview ? Africa * Antarctica and the Southern Ocean * Arctic Ocean * Atlantic Ocean * East and South Asia * Europe * Indian Ocean * Latin America and the Caribbean * North America * Oceania * Pacific Ocean * West and Central Asia * Part 4: The United Nations ? The United Nations * Specialized Agencies of the United Nations * Other Organizations * Part 5: Other Governmental Organizations * Part 6: International Non-Governmental Organizations * Part 7: Country and Area Listings * Index: Countries; International and Selected National Organizations

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