Sustainable consumption is a controversial concept: politically, socially and intellectually. Consumption drives our economies and defines our lives; making it sustainable is an enormous and essential challenge. The World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 set in place a 10-year programme of effort by national governments to develop strategies for sustainable consumption and production. The problem of changing consumer behaviour and making our lives more sustainable continues to challenge opinion-formers and policy-makers alike. This book provides a coherent synthesis of key...

This comprehensive reader offers in-depth analyses of critical developments in environmental values, bringing together in one volume the most influential scholarship in the field. Each carefully selected contribution assesses some of the most pressing questions of our time, such as: what is the relationship between human values, worldviews and preferences, and the natural world? As the first reader of its kind in a rapidly expanding multidisciplinary field, this text provides students with a valuable framework for understanding the intellectual progress and future development of the study of...

Features the contributions that cover the following principle themes: the history of sustainable development; the problems in defining the concept; the issues surrounding it; and, national international policies and schemes to implement it.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) vary widely in their origins and in their nature. However, all share similar but distinctive challenges to their managerial and organizational development. This reader draws together a range of key texts from diverse sources, covering ten critical areas of management for non-profit organizations involved in international development. It describes how NGOs can and must develop their management strategies in order to fulfil their goals and benefit those whom they were set up to help. Accompanied by an extensive, detailed introduction, this collection...

Globalization and increasing international trade are becoming a fact of life, bringing increasing tensions and conflicts over their impacts on societies, livelihoods and the environment. The impacts are felt in industrialized countries but are often most harsh in developing economies. The growing debate involves not only professional economists and lawyers, but a broad range of academic disciplines as well as civil society and citizens' groups around the world. This text presents the most important contributions to the debate, and to the understanding of how sustainable international trade...

Sustainable consumption is a controversial concept: politically, socially and intellectually. Consumption drives our economies and defines our lives; making it sustainable is an enormous and essential challenge. The World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 set in place a 10-year programme of effort by national governments to develop strategies for sustainable consumption and production. The problem of changing consumer behaviour and making our lives more sustainable continues to challenge opinion-formers and policy-makers alike. This book provides a coherent synthesis of key...

Rural-urban linkages have become an important focus for research and policy relating to local and national economic development, poverty relief and governance. This volume collects the key contributions in the field, covering the conceptual background, and locating different approaches in their intellectual and historical contexts.

Climate change is now upon us. While mitigation is essential to reduce the future severity of climate change, it will take time and some effects will inevitably continue for centuries. Consequently, more attention is now being directed to adaptation as a means of reducing losses. As the importance of adaptation becomes more apparent, there is need for wider appreciation and understanding of the concept and its potential, as well as the obstacles to its effective deployment. This reader, the first of its kind, gathers some of the most significant writings on adaptation to climate change from...

Climate change is now upon us. While mitigation is essential to reduce the future severity of climate change, it will take time and some effects will inevitably continue for centuries. This reader gathers some of the most significant writings on adaptation to climate change. It is suitable for students, policymakers, researchers, and NGOs.

This new anthology is a comprehensive introduction to the field of risk theory. The introduction provides the ideal starting point for students and professionals new to risk studies and offers a concise refresher for researchers and practitioners. Coverage includes the origins of the 'concept of risk' and its often misunderstood cousin 'uncertainty, ' before moving on to address risk perception, risk communication, the idea of trust and post trust as well as risk in policy and regulation with a close look at the Precautionary Principle. Following the introduction, the volume includes a...