Research and Information Needs Assessment to Support Sustainable Watershed Management in Northeast British Columbia


Book Description

Watershed management issues are among the many challenges facing natural resource managers in British Columbia. This assessment, combined with a compilation of relevant research and data/information sources for northeast British Columbia, forms the basis for developing an applied research strategy to support sustainable water resource management in this region. This report presents the data collection methods used in the survey, a profile of the respondents, the ranking (High, Moderate, Low) of key research needs by topic area within each theme, and a summary of the written comments for each of the five main topical themes.--Includes text from document.
















Forest Hydrology


Book Description

Forests cover approximately 26% of the world's land surface area and represent a distinct biotic community. They interact with water and soil in a variety of ways, providing canopy surfaces which trap precipitation and allow evaporation back into the atmosphere, thus regulating how much water reaches the forest floor as through fall, as well as pull water from the soil for transpiration. The discipline "forest hydrology" has been developed throughout the 20th century. During that time human intervention in natural landscapes has increased, and land use and management practices have intensified. The book will be useful for graduate students, professionals, land managers, practitioners, and researchers with a good understanding of the basic principles of hydrology and hydrologic processes.







Climate Change in Cities


Book Description

This book presents pioneering work on a range of innovative practices, experiments, and ideas that are becoming an integral part of urban climate change governance in the 21st century. Theoretically, the book builds on nearly two decades of scholarships identifying the emergence of new urban actors, spaces and political dynamics in response to climate change priorities. However, it further articulates and applies the concepts associated with urban climate change governance by bridging formerly disparate disciplines and approaches. Empirically, the chapters investigate new multi-level urban governance arrangements from around the world, and leverage the insights they provide for both theory and practice. Cities - both as political and material entities - are increasingly playing a critical role in shaping the trajectory and impacts of climate change action. However, their policy, planning, and governance responses to climate change are fraught with tension and contradictions. While on one hand local actors play a central role in designing institutions, infrastructures, and behaviors that drive decarbonization and adaptation to changing climatic conditions, their options and incentives are inextricably enmeshed within broader political and economic processes. Resolving these tensions and contradictions is likely to require innovative and multi-level approaches to governing climate change in the city: new interactions, new political actors, new ways of coordinating and mobilizing resources, and new frameworks and technical capacities for decision making. We focus explicitly on those innovations that produce new relationships between levels of government, between government and citizens, and among governments, the private sector, and transnational and civil society actors. A more comprehensive understanding is needed of the innovative approaches being used to navigate the complex networks and relationships that constitute contemporary multi-level urban climate change governance. Debra Roberts, Co-Chair, Working Group II, IPCC 6th Assessment Report (AR6) and Acting Head, Sustainable and Resilient City Initiatives, Durban, South Africa “Climate Change in Cities offers a refreshingly frank view of how complex cities and city processes really are.” Christopher Gore, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Politics and Public Administration, Ryerson University, Canada “This book is a rare and welcome contribution engaging critically with questions about cities as central actors in multilevel climate governance but it does so recognizing that there are lessons from cities in both the Global North and South.” Harriet Bulkeley, Professor of Geography, Durham University, United Kingdom “This timely collection provides new insights into how cities can put their rhetoric into action on the ground and explores just how this promise can be realised in cities across the world - from California to Canada, India to Indonesia.”




Agrindex


Book Description




Surface Mining Operations in Oil Sands


Book Description

The creation of the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) – commonly known as the Brundtland Commission – and the publication in 1987 of its report, "Our Common Future", marked a turning point towards finding the balance among society, economy, and environment. Since then, governments have improved regulations; new standards have been developed; management and process practices have addressed potential gaps; public and private organisations have taken initiative through the creation of committees and programs; and research covering all areas of sustainable development has become a priority for academics and practitioners. These different sources serve as the basis for a pre-selection process of sustainable development indicators (SDIs). While some sources do not specifically address certain industries, the pre-selection process suggested in this book studies and analyses each SDI’s resource and the possible applicability of already-identified indicators. An assertive set of SDIs is not solely based on regulatory systems, as measuring sustainability cannot become a bureaucratic process, and neither can any other SDI’s source single-handedly determine or mandate the final set of indicators, as the real objective is to assist decision-makers and effectively engage stakeholders. This book presents an analysis of six different sources for pre-selecting SDIs, accompanied by a methodology to then finalise with a set of SDIs for the surface mining operations in oil sands projects. Surface mining projects are complex operations with several social, economic, environmental, and health impacts. As the government and oil sands developers are turning towards increasing productivity with a more conscious sustainable development approach, a pre-selection of SDIs is required to assist further formal multi-criteria selection processes.