Routledge Handbook of Global Sustainability Governance


Book Description

The Routledge Handbook of Global Sustainability Governance provides a state-of-the-art review of core debates and contributions that offer a more normative, critical, and transformatively aspirational view on global sustainability governance. In this landmark text, an international group of acclaimed scholars provides an overview of key analytical and normative perspectives, material and ideational structural barriers to sustainability transformation, and transformative strategies. Drawing on pivotal new and contemporary research, the volume highlights aspects to be considered and blind spots to be avoided when trying to understand and implement global sustainability governance. In this context, the authors of this book debunk many myths about all-too optimistic accounts of progress towards a sustainability transition. Simultaneously, they suggest approaches that have the potential for real sustainability transformation and systemic change, while acknowledging existing hurdles. The wide-ranging chapters in the collection are organised into four key parts: • Part 1: Conceptual lenses • Part 2: Ethics, principles, and debates • Part 3: Key challenges • Part 4: Transformative approaches This handbook will serve as an important resource for academics and practitioners working in the fields of sustainability governance and environmental politics.




Food-Energy-Water Nexus Resilience and Sustainable Development


Book Description

This book presents readers with an integrated modeling approach for analyzing and understanding the interconnection of water, energy, and food resources and discusses the relationship between resilience and sustainability of the food- energy –water (FEW) system. Authors provide novel frameworks, models, and algorithms designed to balance the theoretical and applicative aspects of each chapter. The book covers an integrated modeling approach for FEW systems along with developed methods, codes, and planning tools for designing interdependent energy, water and food systems. In-depth chapters discuss the impact of renewable energy resources in FEW systems, sustainable design and operation, net zero energy buildings, and challenges and opportunities of the FEW nexus in the sustainable development of different countries. This book is useful for graduate students, researchers, and engineers seeking to understand how sustainable FEW systems contribute to the resilience of these systems and help policy and design makers allocate and prioritize resources in an integrated manner across the food, energy, and water sectors.




Implementing the Water-Energy-Food- Ecosystems Nexus and Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals


Book Description

The book’s primary intention is to serve as a roadmap for professionals working in developing countries interested in the Nexus Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems (WEFE) approach. The book shows a multi-disciplinary approach, showcasing the importance of the proper use of Nexus WEFE when implementing certain development programs in regions around the globe. It can be presented as a manual for an individual that either wishes to implement intervention projects following the NEXUS approach or students interested in cooperation and development. The book begins with a general explanation of the theoretical concepts and implementation processes of Nexus WEFE and continues getting into case studies, explaining the importance of proper implementation and potential drawbacks and solutions to them. This book has a particular focus on the European Union cooperation policies when implementing such an approach in developing countries.




The Water–Food–Energy Nexus


Book Description

The world of development thinkers and practitioners is abuzz with a new lexicon: the idea of "the nexus" between water, food, and energy which is intuitively compelling. It promises better integration of multiple sectoral elements, a better transition to greener economies, and sustainable development. However, there appears to be little agreement on its precise meaning, whether it only complements existing environmental governance approaches or how it can be enhanced in national contexts. One current approach to the nexus treats it as a risk and security matter while another treats it within economic rationality addressing externalities across sector. A third perspective acknowledges it as a fundamentally political process requiring negotiation amongst different actors with distinct perceptions, interests, and practices. This perspective highlights the fact that technical solutions for improving coherence within the nexus may have unintended and negative impacts in other policy areas, such as poverty alleviation and education. The Water–Food–Energy Nexus: Power, Politics and Justice lays out the managerial-technical definitions of the nexus and challenges these conceptions by bringing to the forefront the politics of the nexus, around two key dimensions – a dynamic understanding of water–food–energy systems, and a normative positioning around nexus debates, in particular around social justice. The authors argue that a shift in nexus governance is required towards approaches where limits to control are acknowledged, and more reflexive/plural strategies adopted. This book will be of interest to academic researchers, policy makers, and practitioners in the fields of international development studies, environmental politics, and science and technology studies, as well as international relations.




Sustainability in the Water-Energy-Food Nexus


Book Description

It is beyond doubt that the interconnectedness between food, energy, water security and environmental sustainability exists and is getting amplified with increased globalization. It has been recognized that efforts to address only one part of a systemic problem by neglecting other inherently interlinked aspects may not lead to desirable and sustainable outcomes. In this perspective, policy- and decision- making requires a nexus approach that reduces trade-offs and builds synergies across sectors, and helps to reduce costs and increase benefits for humans and nature compared to independent approaches to the management of water, energy, food and the environment. In the past, work related to the Nexus has looked at the interactions between water and food or water and energy, but there has been a reluctance to bring forward a broader systematic perspective that captures the multiple sectors and resource dependencies while understanding its cost to the environment if we neglect these linkages. This book is a compilation of thirteen papers published previously as a special issue of Water International, contains significant pieces of work on the W-E-F nexus focusing on relevant tools, solutions and governance at local and broader human scales.




The Water, Food, Energy and Climate Nexus


Book Description

Global trends of population growth, rising living standards and the rapidly increasing urbanized world are increasing the demand on water, food and energy. Added to this is the growing threat of climate change which will have huge impacts on water and food availability. It is increasingly clear that there is no place in an interlinked world for isolated solutions aimed at just one sector. In recent years the "nexus" has emerged as a powerful concept to capture these inter-linkages of resources and is now a key feature of policy-making. This book is one of the first to provide a broad overview of both the science behind the nexus and the implications for policies and sustainable development. It brings together contributions by leading intergovernmental and governmental officials, industry, scientists and other stakeholder thinkers who are working to develop the approaches to the Nexus of water-food-energy and climate. It represents a major synthesis and state-of-the-art assessment of the Nexus by major players, in light of the adoption by the United Nations of the new Sustainable Development Goals and Targets in 2015. With a foreword by HRH the Prince of Wales




The Water–Energy–Food Nexus


Book Description

Water, Energy and Food are the very basic necessities of human life and all the three of them are interconnected with each other, this connection being called the Water-Energy-Food nexus. Water is an inevitable element to energy and food systems to work. Water is essential for the growth of crops and produce energy and it consumes a lot of energy to treat and move water. Food and energy are equally dependent upon each other as well. This book highlights with various examples and case studies from around the World, the importance of this concept.




Policy and Governance in the Water-Energy-Food Nexus


Book Description

This book discusses the balance of priorities within the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus and its impact on policy development and implementation, highlighting innovative perspectives in adopting a holistic approach to identify, analyse and manage the nexus component interdependencies. Due to increasing demands for natural resources, the WEF nexus has emerged as a response to the numerous global challenges. Addressing WEF challenges often involves balancing multiple and competing priorities and identifying and managing interrelations, synergies and trade-offs between the three components of the nexus. In this volume the authors focus on the dynamics between multiple stakeholders, such as governments, businesses, NGOs and local communities, when addressing WEF challenges by adopting a nexus approach. The book argues that effective engagement of multiple stakeholders can address difficulties arising from the introduction of an integrated approach to WEF policy design and implementation, increasing the potential benefits. The book also looks at the effect of international relations and regional power struggles on resolving cross-border WEF nexus issues. Case studies are drawn from Kenya, Central Asia, USA and Peru, highlighting key themes, such as how collaborative governance, enabled and facilitated by relational equity management, can be viewed as an innovative way to reconcile competing priorities. The combination of theoretical and case study chapters makes the book of interest to a wide audience, including scholars and advanced students of sustainable development, agriculture and food studies, water and energy policy design and governance, as well as to practitioners working in the fields of water, energy and food security.




A Nexus Approach for Sustainable Development


Book Description

This book explores how integrated management of environmental resources via a nexus approach can help in achieving the respective Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It provides conceptual considerations but mainly practical examples on how to implement a nexus approach in cities and multifunctional land-use systems to increase resource use efficiency and develop a low carbon economy. After sketching out the background and conceptual outline, contributions to the book explore key aspects of the nexus implementation. Specifically, they • Demonstrate how to sustainably use organic waste and wastewater for agriculture, • Explore examples on how to manage multifunctional land-use systems including multipurpose reservoirs, • Highlight the importance of economic incentives for successful nexus implementation, and • Provide a comprehensive perspective on challenges and opportunities of implementation, considering peer-to-peer learning, indigenous knowledge, and stakeholder participation. The chapters in this book shed a new light on key aspects of the interrelation between SDGs and the nexus approach in resilient cities and multifunctional land-use systems, and provide specific examples on how to advance sustainable resources management.




Water, Climate Change, and Sustainability


Book Description

An in-depth review of sustainable concepts in water resources management under climate change Climate change continues to intensify existing pressures in water resources management, such as rapid population growth, land use changes, pollution, damming of rivers, and many others. Securing a reliable water supply—critical for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—requires understanding of the relation between finite water resources, climate variability/change, and various elements of sustainability. Water, Climate Change, and Sustainability is a timely and in-depth examination of the concept of sustainability as it relates to water resources management in the context of climate change risks. Featuring contributions by global authors, this edited volume is organized into three sections: Sustainability Concepts; Sustainability Approaches, Tools, and Techniques; and Sustainability in Practice. Detailed chapters describe the linkage between water and sustainable development, highlight the development and use of new measuring and reporting methods, and discuss the implementation of sustainability concepts in various water use sectors. Topics include localizing and mainstreaming global water sustainability initiatives, resilient water infrastructure for poverty reduction, urban water security for sustainable cities, climate actions and challenges for sustainable ecosystem services, and more. This important resource: Reviews contemporary scientific research and practical applications in the areas of water, climate change and sustainability in different regions of the world Discusses future directions of research and practices in relation to expected patterns of climate changes Covers a wide range of concepts, theories, and perspectives of sustainable development of water resources Features case studies of field and modelling techniques for analyzing water resources and evaluating vulnerability, security, and associated risks Discusses practical applications of water resources in contexts such as food security, global health, clean energy, and climate action Water, Climate Change, and Sustainability is an invaluable resource for policy makers water managers, researchers, and other professionals in the field, and an ideal text for graduate students in hydrogeology, climate change, geophysics, geochemistry, geography, water resources, and environmental science.