The participation of citizens and other stakeholders is increasingly important for policy making in sustainability and environmental development. The contributors to this book examine methods for facilitating public participation on local and international levels. Policy makers must consider a complex network of social and natural interactions. The study suggests consultation procedures integrating technical scientific modelling with democratic decision-making processes.

This volume is based on plenary presentations from Challenges of a Changing Earth, a Global Change Open Science Conference held in Amsterdam, The Neth- lands, in July 2001. The meeting brought together about 1400 scientists from 105 co- tries around the world to describe, discuss and debate the latest scientific - derstanding of natural and human-driven changes to our planet. It examined the effects of these changes on our societies and our lives, and explored what the future might hold. The presentations drew upon global change science from an exceptionally wide range of disciplines and...

In this book the author has succeeded in presenting the many facets of the globel problems and hazards for our climate and thei r i nterdi scip l inary aspects, as we II as maki ng these under- standable for the non-specialist. In doing this, the author has not restricted himself to an analysis of the difficult problems but has indicated the necessity and the possibilities for ratio- na l so lutions. The book, therefore, can be a va lueb le deci si on- aid for all those who directly or indirectly are in positions of responsibi lity at various levels of administration or in industry end busi...

This book is one of the outputs of the conference on 'Environmental Change, Forced Migration, and Social Vulnerability' (EFMSV) held in Bonn in October 2008. Migration is one of the oldest adaptation measures of humanity. Indeed, without migration the multitude of civilizations and interactions between them - peaceful and otherwise - would be hard to imagine. The United Nations (UN)-led global dialogue on migration is a clear sign that governments and the specialized UN agencies and bodies have recognized the need to view, govern, manage, and facilitate migration; to mitigate its negative...

This volume promotes an understanding of Integrated Regional Assessment (IRA), which analyses how different regions contribute to global environmental change.