Sustainability Books

Book SynopsisCorporate social and environmental responsibility (CSR/CER) can be understood as practices which voluntarily extend beyond mere compliance with mandatory social and environmental standards. Corporate social and environmental responsibility: Another road to China’s sustainable development, by Mengxing Lu, contributes to the current debate of CSR/CER by providing a legal and economic analysis of CSR/CER and its relationship with regulation. Although the development of CSR/CER is at an early juncture in China, it is nevertheless a prominent topic for Chinese policy makers and business leaders alike. By depicting the landscape of CSR/CER in China, Corporate social and environmental responsibility: Another road to China’s sustainable development successfully demonstrates the vast potential for CSR/CER’s contribution to China’s sustainable development.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe international community has come together to pursue certain fundamental, common goals over the coming period to 2030 to make progress toward ending poverty and hunger, improving social and economic well-being, preserving the environment and combating climate change, and maintaining peace. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been agreed to by states, which have in turn adopted national targets and action plans. This volume studies the governance and implementation of these goals in Southeast Asia, in particular the difficulties in the shift from the international to the national, the multi-level challenges of implementation, and the involvement of stakeholders, civil society, and citizens in the process. Contributors to this volume are scholars from across Southeast Asia who research these issues in developing (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar), middle-income (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam), and developed countries (Brunei, Singapore) in the region. The perspectives on governance and the SDGs emerge from the fields of political science, international relations, geography, economics, law, health, and the natural sciences.Trade Review"This book is useful in providing a complete and up-to-date overview of the 17 SDGs in the context of Southeast Asia and ASEAN. […] I have no hesitation in recommending this book to postgraduate students, researchers, and policymakers, as well as to the general reader seeking a detailed and proper perspective on the issue." – Syed Abdul Rehman Khan, Xuzhou University of TechnologyTable of ContentsList of Figures and Tables About the Editors About the Authors Part 1: Institutions and Governance for the Sustainable Development Goals 1 Introduction: Sustainable Development Goals in Southeast Asia and ASEAN  Ronald Holzhacker 2 Localizing the Sustainable Development Goals: Assessing Indonesia’s Compliance towards the Global Goals  Dafri Agussalim, Ahmad Rizky M. Umar, Karina Larasati and Dio H. Tobing 3 Partnerships for Implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Lao PDR  Phanthanousone Khennavong Part 2: Accountability to Citizens and Human Rights to Ensure Progress toward the SDGs 4 Accountability Challenges to Sustainable Development Goals in Southeast Asia  Julio C. Teehankee 5 Human Rights and Sustainable Development Goals: the Philippines in the Postnational  Ulrich Karl Rotthoff Part 3: SDGs and Progress on the Social Agenda in Middle-Income and Developing Countries in Southeast Asia 6 Sustainable Development Goals and Capacity Building in Higher Education in Malaysia and ASEAN  Azirah Hashim and Aliyyah Nuha Faiqah Azman Firdaus 7 Healthcare System Reform and Governance for Sustainable Development under Indonesia’s Health Insurance (JKN) Policy  Laksono Trisnantoro Part 4: SDGs and the New Urban Agenda, Cities, and Transport 8 Urban Transformation in Indonesia, the SDGs, and Habitat III: Political Will, Capacity Building, and Knowledge Production  Bakti Setiawan 9 A Vision in Which Every Family Has Basic Shelter  Noor Hasharina Hassan and Gabriel Y. V. Yong 10 The Missing Link: Sustainable Mobility for Sustainable Cities and Communities  Wendy Tan Part 5: SDGs and the Environment, Clean Air and Water for All 11 Transboundary Haze, ASEAN, and the SDGs: Normative and Structural Considerations  Helena Varkkey 12 Emerging Spaces of Citizenship: Grassroots Communities and Water Governance in Indonesia  Maharani Hapsari Part 6: SDGs and the Economic Agenda for Inclusive Economic Growth and Decent Work for All 13 Economic Reform and Sustainable Development in Vietnam  Tran Dinh Lam 14 Legal Protection of Construction Workers and the Right to Safe Working Conditions: Lessons from Cambodia  Kimsan Soy 15 The Bumblebee Doctrine: Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises as a Force for Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in Myanmar  Thuta Aung Part 7: SDGs, Agriculture, and Community Development through Partnerships 16 Bluewashing, Green Coffee, and the Sustainable Development Agenda in Southeast Asia  Amador IV Peleo and Titus C. Chen 17 Cooperation of Cooperatives: Partnership towards SDGs  Saikaew Thipakorn Index Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisDairy products have always constituted an essential component in the Mediterranean diet. In addition to their nutritional values, they represent also a part of the cultural heritage of the people. Prospects for a sustainable dairy sector in the Mediterranean, preconditions for its development and the future consumers' demand were some of the issues covered by the papers presented at the EAAP - CIHEAM - FAO Mediterranean symposium. It was organised by the Tunisian Office for Livestock and Pastures and the National Agronomic Research Institute and sustained by the Government of Tunisia, FAO, ICAR and CIRVAL. Over 280 participants from 25 countries participated. The symposium identified a variety of technically viable and scientifically sound policy options and defined the main fields requiring further scientific research and the development of new sustainable technologies. The available technologies to address intensive, semi intensive and extensive production systems and the existing institutional framework (research, education, extension systems, organisation of the sector), although requiring continuous adjustments and improvements, have proved to be in a position to meet a variety of demands and challenges. In this respect, the Symposium called for an increase in research for the semi-intensive farming systems in the South and emerging issues resulting from changes in agricultural policies in the North. It emphasised the importance of producers¹ associations as representatives of the interests of the sector and partners in the overall dialogue on policy matters and in the identification of research needs. The Symposium confirmed the wish and capacity of the dairy sector in the Region to contribute to the sustainable rural development, to the creation of new employment opportunities and to the reasonable and harmonious management of the natural resources.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book brings together two aspects of grassland soil management which, by and large, have hitherto been considered separately. Issues related to nutrient cycling and soil quality have dominated research directed towards aiding broad and local scale policy issues for improving land use. Protecting the environment and maintaining/preserving natural habitats and biodiversity, tend to be considered separately. In this book we attempt to bring what are, in reality, inseparable aspects of grassland soil characteristics together and consider physical, chemical and biological components of soils, their interrelations and the way that they influence nutrient transformations and flows and soil quality. Keynote discussions will be lead by the following experts: Physical constraints and drivers: Professor Iain Young, Abertay University, Scotland Biological aspects: Professor Tim Seastedt, University of Colorado at Boulder, USA Chemical aspects: Dr Mike Beare from Crop and Food, Research, Lincoln New Zealand Over-arching synopsis of these issues: Professor Richard Bardgett, Lancaster University, UK. Bringing together international expertise and experience does much to progress understanding and points ways forward to maintain what is a base resource, our soils, whether it be for production targets, environmental benefit or for maintenance of natural ecosystems for future generations. This volume is useful to all those interested in soils and their function, and all grassland managers, whether their aims are directed at producing food, forage or fibre of sustainable quantity and quality or at maintaining, restoring or encouraging above and below ground biodiversity. The international perspective on this is very important so that experiences in wide ranging circumstances can be cross-referenced and used to the advantage of all.Table of ContentsForeword 7; Keynote presentations 13; Soil biology and the emergence of adventive grassland ecosystems 15; T.R. Seastedt; Chemical components and effects on soil quality in temperate grazed pasture systems 25; M.H. Beare, D. Curtin, S. Thomas, P.M. Fraser and G.S. Francis; Physical constraints in grassland ecosystems 37; I.M. Young, K. Ritz, C.S. Sturrock and R. Heck; Integrating below-ground ecology into sustainable grassland management 45; R.D. Bardgett; Section 1; Soil biology and nutrient turnover 53; Benomyl effects on plant productivity through arbuscular mycorrhiza restriction in a Greek upland grassland 55; M. Orfanoudakis, A.P. Mamolos, F. Karanika and D.S. Veresoglou; The influence of burning on soil microbial biomass and activity along the Boro route in the Okavango delta of Botswana. 56; T. Mubyana-John and A. Banda; Estimating nitrogen fixation by pastures on a regional or continental scale 57; M. Unkovich; Cycling of N and P in grass-alone (Brachiaria) and mixed grass/legume (Brachiaria/ 58; R.M. Boddey, R.M. Tarre, R. Macedo, C. de P. Rezende, J.M. Pereira, B.J.R. Alves and S. Urquiaga; 40 years of studies on the relationships between grass species, N turnover and nutrient cycling in the Lamto reserve in the Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivoire) 59; L. Abbadie and J.C. Lata; The addition and cessation of inorganic fertiliser amendments in long-term managed grasslands: impacts on above and below-ground communities 60; C.D. Clegg, P.J. Murray, R. Cook and T. Tallec; Grassland management practices and the diversity of soil nematode communities 61; R. Cook, P.J. Murray and K.A. Mizen; Study of characteristics of soil animals in halophilous plant communities of Leymus chinensis grasslands of northeast in China 62; X. Yin, Y. Zhang and W. Dong; How soil properties affect egg development and larval longevity of a grassland insect pest - an empirically based model 63; S.N. Johnson, X. Zhang, J.W. Crawford, P.J. Gregory, S.C. Jarvis, P.J. Murray and I.M. Young; Impact of root herbivory on grassland community structure: from landscape to microscale 64; P.J. Murray, R. Cook, L.A. Dawson, A.C. Gange, S.J. Grayston and A.M. Treonis; Analysis of the soil foodweb structure on organic- and conventional dairy farms 65; N. van Eekeren, F. Smeding and A.J. Schouten; The effect of forage legumes on mineral nitrogen content in soil 66; M. Isolahti, A. Huuskonen, M. Tuori, O. Nissinen and R. Nevalainen; Field experiments to help optimise nitrogen fixation by legumes on organic farms 67; A. Joynes, D.J. Hatch, A. Stone, S. Cuttle and G. Goodlass; Effects of applied quantity of phosphorus fertiliser on phosphorus content in plant tissues of lucerne (Medicago sativa) and seed yield in North-western China 68; Y.W. Wang, J.G. Han, S.M. Fu and Y. Zhong; Cool-season grass response to increasing nitrogen fertiliser rates in Michigan 69; R.H. Leep, T.S. Dietz and D.H. Min; Within resting period seasonal soluble carbohydrate profiles of rotationally grazed elephant grass 70; L.P. Passos, M.C. Vidigal, I.G. Perry, F. Deresz and F.B. de Sousa. The role of grass tussocks in maintaining soil condition in north east Australia 71; B.K. Northup and J.R. Brown; Effect of a grazing intensity gradient on primary production and soil nitrogen mineralisation in a humid grassland of western France 72; N. Rossignol, A. Bonis and J-B. Bouzille; Diet effects on dairy manure nitrogen excretion and cycling 73; J.M. Powell and T.H. Misselbrook; How will removal of the non-organic feed derogation affect nutrient budgets of organic livestock farms in Wales? 74; H. McCalman and S.P. Cuttle; Section 2: Chemical controls over soil quality and nutrient turnover 75; The effect of a reduction in phosphate application on soil phosphate pools 77; C. van der Salm, J. van Middelkoop and P.A.I. Ehlert; Changes in nutrient turnover and supply during the reversion of arable land to acid grassland/Calluna heathland 78; A. Bhogal, B.J. Chambers, R. Pywell and K. Walker; Study of dairy manure N cycling in soil-plant continuum using 15N and other methods 79; J.M. Powell, P.R. Cusick and K.A. Kelling; Nitrogen leaching from cattle, sheep and deer grazed pastures in New Zealand 80; K. Betteridge, S.F. Ledgard, C.J. Hoogendoorn, M.G. Lambert, Z.A. Park, D.A. Costall and P.W. Theobald; Effect of soil chemistry on microbial biodiversity and functionality in grassland and tilled soils 81; C. Carrigg, S. Kavanagh, D. Fay and V. O' Flaherty; Effect of different carbon and nitrogen inputs on soil chemical and biochemical properties in maize-based forage systems in Northern Italy 82; S. Monaco, D. Hatch, L. Dixon, C. Grignani, D. Sacco and L. Zavattaro; Seasonal changes in the ratio of microbial biomass P to total P in soils of grazed pastures 83; M. Kaneko, Y. Kurokawa, H. Tanaka and S. Suzuki; Nitrogen mineralisation in situ and in controlled environment 84; F. Palmason; N-mineralisation and phosphorous: important elements in decision support for grassland systems 85; A.L. Nielsen and C.C. Hoffmann; Implications for N transformations in acidic soils of replacing annual-based legume pastures with lucerne-based pasture in dryland farming systems of southern Australia 86; I.R.P. Fillery; Characterisation of soil organic matter from Pensacola bahiagrass pastures grazed for four years at different management intensities 87; J.C.B. Duheux, Jr., L.E. Sollenberger, N.B. Comerford, A.C. Ruggieri and K.M. Portier; Organic matter transformation processes of soils in native steppe grass communities 88; E. Forro; Study of soil characteristics to estimate sulphur supply for plant growth 89; M. Mathot, R. Lambert, B. Toussaint and A. Peeters; Total sulphur content and N:S ratio as indicators for S deficiency in grasses 90; M. Mathot, R. Lambert, B. Toussaint and A. Peeters; Supplementation of cattle with rock phosphate and urea treated straw to improve manure quality and crop yields in the Sahel zone of Senegal 91; M. Cisse, M. N'Diaye and C.M. N'Dione; Nitrogen response of spring and winter wheat to biosolids compared to chemical fertiliser 92; W. Kato, O.T. Carton, D. McGrath, H. Tunney, W.E. Murphy and P. O'Toole; Improving nutrient supply of grassland soil 93; G. Fuleky and M. Orban. Section 3: Physical constraints to soil formation 95; Assessment of nitrogen nutrition status of grasses under water deficit and recovery 97; V.G. Dugo, J-L. Durand and F. Gastal; Denitrification under pastures on permeable soils helps protect ground water quality 98; M.P. Russelle, B.A. Browne, N.B. Turyk and B. Pearson; Phosphorus transfer to river water from grassland catchments in Ireland 99; H. Tunney, P. Jordan G. Kiely, R. Moles, G. Morgan, P. Byrne, W. Menary and K. Daly; Maximising slurry crop available nitrogen utilisation in grassland systems 100; J.R. Williams, E. Sagoo, B.J. Chambers, J. Laws and D.R. Chadwick; Fire and nutrient cycling in shortgrass steppe of the southern Great Plains, USA 101; P.L. Ford and C.S. White; Soil aggregate dynamics, particulate organic matter and phosphate under dryland and irrigated pasture 102; J.T. Scott, L.M. Condron and R.W. McDowell; Fine colloids 'carry' diffuse water contaminants from grasslands 103; P.M. Haygarth and A.L. Heathwaite; Leaching losses of N, P and K from grazed legume based swards: some preliminary results 104; E.R. Dixon, A.C. Stone, D. Scholefield and D.J. Hatch; Nitrogen dynamics following the break-up of grassland on three different sandy soils 105; M. Kayser, K. Seidel and J. Muller; Mechanical aeration and liquid dairy manure: application impacts on grassland runoff water quality and yield 106; T.J. Basden, S.B. Shah and J.L. Miller; Management options to reduce N-losses from ploughed grass-clover 107; J. de Wit, G.J. van der Burgt and N. van Eekeren; Rangeland ecological management counter-measures study of Xinjiang 108; H.X. Cui, J. Li, S. Asiya, J.L. Zhang and Jialin; Green Dairy, a project for environmental friendly and sustainable dairy systems in the Atlantic area 109; H. Chambaut, A. Pflimlin and C. Raison; SAFE - a tool for assessing the sustainability of agricultural systems: an illustration 110; X. Sauvenier, C. Bielders, M. Hermy, E. Mathijs, B. Muys, J. Valckx, N. Van Cauwenbergh, M. Vanclooster, E. Wauters and A. Peeters; SAFE - a tool for assessing the sustainability of agricultural systems: methodology 111; X. Sauvenier, C. Bielders, M. Hermy, E. Mathijs, B. Muys, J. Valckx, N. Van Cauwenbergh, M. Vanclooster, E. Wauters and A. Peeters; Keyword index 113; Author index 115.

Read more less

Book Synopsis"Food has emerged as a political topic par excellence. It is increasingly involved in controversies at a transnational level, in relation to issues of access, dominance, trade and control in a shared global environment. At the same time, innovations in biotechnology and animal domestication have brought ethics to the forefront of food debates. Thus, we live in an era when the ethics and the politics of food must come together. This book addresses the ethics and the politics of food from a broad range of academic disciplines, including sociology, philosophy, nutrition, anthropology, ethics, political science and history. The chapters expose novel problem areas, and suggest guidelines for approaching them. Topics range from fundamental issues in philosophy to sustainability, from consumer trust in food to ethical toolkits. Transparency, power and responsibility are key concerns, and special attention is given to animal welfare, emerging technologies in food production and marine domestication. Together, the chapters represent a wide range of academic responses to the fundamental dilemmas posed by food production and food consumption in the contemporary world."

Read more less

Book Synopsis"This comprehensive volume - containing 27 chapters and contributions from six continents - presents and discusses key principles, perspectives, and practices of social learning in the context of sustainability. Social learning is explored from a range of fields challenged by sustainability including: organizational learning, environmental management and corporate social responsibility; multi-stakeholder governance; education, learning and educational psychology; multiple land-use and integrated rural development; and consumerism and critical consumer education. An entire section of the book is devoted to a number of reflective case studies of people, organizations and communities using forms of social learning in moving towards sustainability. 'This book brings together a range of ideas, stories, and discussions about purposeful learning in communities aimed at creating a world that is more sustainable than the one currently in prospect. ...The book is designed to expand the network of conversations through which our society can confront various perspectives, discover emerging patterns, and apply learning to a variety of emotional and social contexts.' From the Foreword by Fritjof Capra, co-founder of the Center of Ecoliteracy. 'Joining what is so clear and refreshing in this book with the larger movements toward a critically democratic and activist education that is worthy of its name, is but one step in the struggle for sustainability. But it is an essential step if we are to use the insights that are included in this book.' From the Afterword by Michael Apple, author of 'Educating the ""Right"" Way: Markets, Standards, God, and Inequality'."Trade Review"This book brings together a range of ideas, stories, and discussions about purposeful learning in communities aimed at creating a world that is more sustainable than the one currently in prospect....The book is designed to expand the network of conversations through which our society can confront various perspectives, discover emerging patterns, and apply learning to a variety of emotional and social contexts." From the Foreword by Fritjof Capra, co-founder of the Center of Ecoliteracy. "Joining what is so clear and refreshing in this book with the larger movements toward a critically democratic and activist education that is worthy of its name, is but one step in the struggle for sustainability. But it is an essential step if we are to use the insights that are included in this book." From the Afterword by Michael Apple, author of 'Educating the "Right" Way: Markets, Standards, God, and Inequality'."

Read more less

Book Synopsis"Sustainability has become an issue widely debated in many countries. Given the central role of food supply and the emotional relationship that modern mankind still has to its food, sustainability is seen as a value which has to be maintained throughout food supply chains. The complexity of modern food systems invokes a variety of ethical implications which emerge from contrasts between ideals, perceptions and the conditions of technical processes within food systems, and the concerns connected to this. This book covers a broad range of aspects within the general issue of sustainable food production and ethics. Linking different academic disciplines, topics range from reflections about the roots of sustainability and the development of concepts and approaches to globalisation and resilience of food systems as well as specific ethical aspects of organic farming and animal welfare. Modern technologies which are intensely advocated by certain stakeholder groups and their societal challenges are addressed, as are many other specific cases of food production and processing, consumer perception and marketing."

Read more less