Making Grasslands Sustainable in Mongolia


Book Description

Payments for environmental services (PES) are a potential mechanism to provide incentives for sustainable management of grasslands and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. PES is not widely practiced in Mongolia, but has been included in the Green Development Strategy of the government. This paper reviews 50 PES schemes operating in grasslands and other grazing lands globally, including Mongolia. It discusses key issues related to the design of PES schemes in Mongolian grasslands, including potential benefits, risks, constraints, and trade-offs.




Making Grasslands Sustainable in Mongolia


Book Description

Climate change threatens grassland ecosystems and herders' livelihoods in Mongolia. Herders depend on pasture and water resources for their livestock, and are thus among the most vulnerable groups to climate change impacts. However, although climate change impacts on grassland ecosystems are measurable, current institutional capacity and financial resources limit implementation of adaptation practices. This publication reviews grassland management and traditional nomadic pastoralism in the local Mongolian context, and identifies potential adaptation strategies and practices, such as rotation and resting of pasture, long-distance migration of animals in fall and/or winter, and reduction of livestock stocking rates.




Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Environmental Science and Technology (EST 2023)


Book Description

This is an open access book. We are delighted to announce that our biannual meeting this year will be held in person in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on August 10–11, 2023. The primary goal of EST 2023 is to bring academic scientists, researchers, and scholars from diverse institutions in various countries to share their knowledges and findings on the rapidly changing environment and its challenges due to climate change.




The Mongolian Ecosystem Network


Book Description

The aim of this book is to describe what is currently occurring in the Mongolian grasslands, to analyze how various factors creating environmental problems interact, and to suggest solutions for sustainable management of the grasslands. The book has three parts. Part I is an introduction, explaining the key concept of an ecosystem network and providing background information on the general features of Mongolian nomadic pastoralism as well as distribution of vegetation in Mongolian grasslands. Part II describes the effects of natural environmental factors and nomadic activities on grassland conditions. Water dynamics that maintain the grassland system are analyzed in a steppe region with shrubs and in a forest-steppe region with trees. Part III describes the effects of economic and social factors on land-use and the livelihood of herders. As nomadic people moved closer to large cities for economic advantage in the 1990s, degradation of pastures by overgrazing resulted. Finally, the impacts of global warming and globalization on the Mongolian society and ecosystem are examined. This book analyzes environmental problems in Mongolian grasslands, but the contents contribute to consideration of environmental problems and sustainable pasture use in grassland areas worldwide.




Farm Animal Welfare Law


Book Description

This book introduces the various aspects of international farm animal protection and wildlife conservation through the lenses of food safety and environmental protection law. Bite-sized chapters focus on a wide range of topics from agrobiodiversity, fishing, and aquaculture to pollinators and pesticides, soil management, industrial animal production, and transportation, as well as international food trade. Animal welfare and biodiversity conservation sit at the core of the selected chapters, each one providing real-world examples to make the complex field easy to understand. Current developments including food safety modernization, blockchain, and COVID-19 considerations are addressed head-on. Farm Animal Welfare Law provides a primer for law school courses and masters’ programs, for practitioners, advocates, and animal enthusiasts alike. Through its emphasis on sustainable food production, this book offers a cutting-edge selection of evolving topics at the heart of the pertinent discourse.




ADB Publications Catalog 2014


Book Description

This edition compiles books, reports, and guides published by the Asian Development Bank in 2014. These cover topics such as agriculture, food security, education, energy, environment, financial sector, and gender equality. Titles are classified under broad and cross-cutting themes in development and poverty reduction in Asia and the Pacific. Most of these publications may be downloaded for free from the Publications page (www.adb.org/publications). Hard copies of listed titles, including this publications catalog, may be requested or ordered online; or through the Public Information Center at ADB headquarters in Manila. Orders can also be placed through our commercial distributors, booksellers, and copublishers when indicated in the publication's description.




International Farm Animal, Wildlife and Food Safety Law


Book Description

This volume is an inspiring and breakthrough piece of academic scholarship and the first of its kind featuring a comprehensive reader-friendly approach to teach the intricacies of the various aspects of international farm animal, wildlife conservation, food safety and environmental protection law. The selected focus areas are grouped in sections, such as agrobiodiversity, fishing and aquaculture, pollinators and pesticides, soil management, industrial animal production and transportation, and international food trade. Farm animal welfare, environmental protection, biodiversity conservation, and food safety are the core of the selected chapters. Every chapter provides real-world examples to make the complex field easy to understand. With its systematic approach, this book is devoted to anyone interested in the subject, becomes a valuable resource for professionals working in food regulation, and provides a solid foundation for courses and master’s programs in animal law, environmental policy, food and agriculture law, and regulation of these subjects around the world. Through its emphasis on sustainable food production, this work offers a cutting-edge selection of evolving topics at the heart of the pertinent discourse. As one of its highlights, this books also provides “Tools for Change,” a unique compilation and analysis of laws from the major farm animal product trading nations. With these tools, practitioners, advocates, policy makers and other state-holders are equipped with information to start work toward improving farm animal welfare, wildlife conservation, and food safety through the use of law and policy.




The Political Ecology of Climate Change Adaptation


Book Description

This book provides the first systematic critique of the concept of climate change adaptation within the field of international development. Drawing on a reworked political ecology framework, it argues that climate is not something ‘out there’ that we adapt to. Instead, it is part of the social and biophysical forces through which our lived environments are actively yet unevenly produced. From this original foundation, the book challenges us to rethink the concepts of climate change, vulnerability, resilience and adaptive capacity in transformed ways. With case studies drawn from Pakistan, India and Mongolia, it demonstrates concretely how climatic change emerges as a dynamic force in the ongoing transformation of contested rural landscapes. In crafting this synthesis, the book recalibrates the frameworks we use to envisage climatic change in the context of contemporary debates over development, livelihoods and poverty. With its unique theoretical contribution and case study material, this book will appeal to researchers and students in environmental studies, sociology, geography, politics and development studies.




Environmental Law Dimensions of Human Rights


Book Description

How can we guarantee a right to life or a right to health without also guaranteeing a decent environment in which to exercise these rights? It is becoming increasingly obvious that a high quality environment is key to the fundamental human rights of life and health, and associated rights such as the right to clean water, adequate housing, and food. This book canvasses a range of law and policy issues concerning human rights and the environment. Each chapter examines an aspect of the links between environmental law and human rights in substantive and/or procedural terms, loosely falling into four themes: human rights and the environment in the context of the private sector; analysis of decisions of the European and Inter-American courts in respect of substantive and procedural aspects; human rights and the environment in the Asian region, including the issue of human displacement; and the future direction of human rights and environment law.




International Yearbook of Soil Law and Policy 2016


Book Description

The first volume of the International Yearbook of Soil Law and Policy includes an important discussion on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals that are the basis for the post-2015 development agenda up to the year 2030; the Yearbook focuses in particular on Goal 15, which includes achieving a “land degradation-neutral world.” It also provides a comprehensive and highly informative overview of the latest developments at the international level, important cross-disciplinary issues and different approaches in national legislation. The book is divided into four sections. Forewords by internationally renowned academics and politicians are followed by an analysis of the content and structure of the Sustainable Development Goals with regard to soil and land as well as the scientific methods for their implementation. In addition, all relevant international regimes are discussed, including the latest developments, such as the decisions made at the 12th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The next section deals with cross-disciplinary issues relevant to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals like the right to food, land tenure, migration and the “Economics of Land Degradation” initiative. The last section gathers reports on the development of national legislation from various nations and supra-national entities, including Brazil, China, the European Union, Mongolia, Namibia and the United States. Addressing this broad range of key topics, the book offers an indispensible tool for all academics, legislators and policymakers working in this field. The “International Yearbook of Soil Law and Policy” is a book series that discusses the central questions of law and politics with regard to the protection and sustainable management of soil and land – at the international, national and regional level.