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Sustainable Cities in Asia
by Federico Caprotti Li YuWith Asia’s cities undergoing unprecedented growth in the 21st century, lauded the ‘urban century’ by many, Sustainable Cities in Asia provides a timely examination of the challenges facing cities across the continent including some of the projects, approaches and solutions that are currently being tested. This book uses numerous case studies, analysing topical issues ranging from city cycling in India, to green spaces in China, to the use of community-led energy generation projects in post-Fukushima Japan. Containing contributions from an international team of scholars, it also takes a multi-disciplinary approach and draws on examples from a wide range of countries, including China, India, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. Ultimately, by providing a comprehensive discussion of the broader debates around the shape of sustainable urbanism, it demonstrates that Asia is one of the most active regions in terms of the development of sustainable city strategies. Tackling the contemporary issues of key importance for sustainability, such as property markets, migration and transport, this book will appeal to students and scholars of Urban Geography, Sustainability, Environmental Studies and Asian studies.
Sustainable Community Health: Systems and Practices in Diverse Settings
by Elias MpofuApplying a trans-disciplinary approach, this book provides a comprehensive, research-based guide to understanding, implementing, and strengthening sustainable community health in diverse international settings. By examining the interdependence of environmental, economic, public health, community wellbeing and development factors, the authors address the systemic factors impacting health disparities, inequality and social justice issues. The book analyzes strategies based on a partnership view of health, in which communities determine their health and wellness working alongside local, state and federal health agencies. Crucially, it demonstrates that communities are themselves health systems and their wellbeing capabilities affect the health of individuals and the collective alike. It identifies health indicators and tools that communities and policy makers can utilize to sustain truly inclusive health systems. This book offers a unique resource for researchers and practitioners working across psychology, mental health, rehabilitation, public health, epidemiology, social policy, healthcare and allied health.
Sustainable Conservation of UNESCO and Other Heritage Sites Through Proactive Geosciences (Springer Geology)
by Gad Mohamed El-Qady Claudio MargottiniThis book presents up-to-date geoscience technologies for heritage investigations and conservation, covering various sub-disciplines of geophysics, geodesy, 3D laser scanning technology, hydrogeology, and rock mechanics applied to the exploration of new heritage sites, mapping and visualization, as well as hazard mitigation. The current shift toward interdisciplinary ways of thinking highlights the added value of merging arts with sciences and other disciplines for better management and preservation of cultural heritage. Featuring advanced scientific investigations in 40 case studies around the globe, the book demonstrates how a better understanding of natural processes coupled with conservation approaches, mainly based on sustainable practices such as the use of traditional knowledge in recovery techniques and building local capacities, can ensure effective conservation.
Sustainable Development: Exploring the Contradictions (Sustainable Development Set Ser.)
by Michael RedcliftArgues that environmental problems need to be looked at internationally, in terms of the global economic system, and that the degradation of the environment is not natural', but an historical process which is intrinsically linked and shaped by economic and political systems.
Sustainable Development and Communication in Global Food Networks: Lessons From India
by Maria TouriThis book offers a novel approach to sustainable development through the theory and practice of communication in global food networks, focusing specifically on organic food and fair trade movements. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, it brings together the fields of Communication for Development and Social Change, Agri-Food Studies and Economic Geography. This is supported with a participatory method that unveils voices from Indian farming communities, small European businesses and UK-based consumers. The book exemplifies the integral role of communication in sustainable development through direct and mediated communication processes that bring these actors together in the global food market. Such processes include trade relations, self-representation, and information and knowledge exchange through the spaces of the internet. Through these processes the book uncovers the instrumental role of communication in building a more holistic understanding of sustainable development. It also advocates that sustainable solutions require smaller, self-sustained projects and initiatives that pay closer attention to the voices and localized experiences of the people on the ground.
Sustainable Development as Environmental Harm: Rights, Regulation, and Injustice in the Canadian Oil Sands (Crimes of the Powerful)
by James HeydonIn this in-depth analysis of First Nations opposition to the oil sands industry, James Heydon offers detailed empirical insight into Canadian oil sands regulation. The environmental consequences of the oil sands industry have been thoroughly explored by scholars from a variety of disciplines. However, less well understood is how and why the provincial energy regulator has repeatedly sanctioned such a harmful pattern of production for almost two decades. This research monograph addresses that shortcoming. Drawing from interviews with government, industry, and First Nation personnel, along with an analysis of almost 20 years of policy, strategy, and regulatory approval documents, Sustainable Development as Environmental Harm offers detailed empirical insight into Canadian oil sands regulation. Providing a thorough account of the ways in which the regulatory process has prioritised economic interests over the land-based cultural interests of First Nations, it addresses a gap in the literature by explaining how environmental harm has been systematically produced over time by a regulatory process tasked with the pursuit of ‘sustainable development’. With an approach emphasizing the importance of understanding how and why the regulatory process has been able to circumvent various protections for the entire duration in which the contemporary oil sands industry has existed, this work complements existing literature and provides a platform from which future investigations into environmental harm may be conducted. It is essential reading for those with an interest in green criminology, environmental harm, indigenous rights, and regulatory controls relating to fossil fuel production.
Sustainable Development, Digitalization, and the Green Economy in Africa Post-COVID-19 (International Political Economy Series)
by Korbla P. Puplampu Kobena T. Hanson Peter ArthurThis book examines sustainable development in the broader framework of Africa post COVID-19. Specifically, the book studies governance and digitalization from the perspective of natural environment management, climate change, the green economy, as well as agriculture and education. Digitalization supports the deepening of natural resource governance by assessing extractive practices, sovereign wealth funds and the emerging discourse on global warming and green economic policies. This analytical exercise will better inform economic and socio-political policies and institutions for African development. The book, against the backdrop of the United Nations Agenda 2030 and the African Union Agenda 2063, offers unique insights on digitalization, governance, the green economy, and natural resource regime in Africa post COVID-19.
Sustainable Development Disciplines for Humanity: Breaking Down the 5Ps—People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, and Partnerships (Sustainable Development Goals Series)
by Kazuo Kuroda Shujiro Urata Yoshiko TonegawaThis Open Access book provides eight problem solving lectures for sustainable development for people, peace, and partnerships. Those are three of the five keywords for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): people, the planet, prosperity, peace, and partnerships or “the 5Ps”. Each of these lectures is classified into one of the keywords for SDGs and based on the history of social thought, human development, law, education, sociology, and peace studies. Further, each lecture delineates the essence of each discipline when it is practically applied to development studies. This book, Sustainable Development Disciplines for Humanity, along with its sister volume related to the planet and prosperity, Society, will be useful in studying development. Interdisciplinary research is necessary to achieve the SDGs advocated by the United Nations. Hence, it is essential to learn the basics of individual disciplines, as they each offer ample knowledge fostering problem solving through the accumulation of existing research. This and its sister volume are the first comprehensive textbooks summarizing the essence of each necessary discipline to approach development studies from an interdisciplinary perspective. In developing countries, this book will provide access to development research for readers aiming to further develop their own nations. Moreover, in developed countries, the book will provide access to problem-solving research for readers seeking holistic solutions to complex social problems.
Sustainable Development Disciplines for Society: Breaking Down the 5Ps—People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, and Partnerships (Sustainable Development Goals Series)
by Shujiro Urata Ken-Ichi Akao Ayu WashizuThis multidisciplinary Open Access book provides nine problem-solving lectures for sustainable development for the planet and prosperity. Those are two of the five keywords for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): people, the planet, prosperity, peace, and partnerships, or “the 5Ps”. Each of these lectures is classified into one of the keywords for SDGs and based on law, economics, management, international trade, input–output analysis, or agricultural and urban engineering. Further, each lecture delineates the essence of each discipline when it is practically applied to development studies. This book, Sustainable Development Disciplines for Society, along with its sister volume related to the people, peace and partnerships, will be useful in studying development. Interdisciplinary research is necessary to achieve the SDGs advocated by the United Nations. Hence, it is essential to learn the basics of individual disciplines, as they each offer ample knowledge fostering problem solving through the accumulation of existing research. This and its sister volume are the first comprehensive textbooks summarizing the essence of each necessary discipline to approach development studies from an interdisciplinary perspective. In developing countries, this book will provide access to development research for readers aiming to further develop their own nations. Moreover, in developed countries, this book will provide access to problem-solving research for readers seeking holistic solutions to complex social problems.
Sustainable Development Goal 16 and the Global Governance of Violence: Critical Reflections on the Uncertain Future of Peace (Routledge Studies in Sustainable Development)
by Timothy Donais Alistair D. Edgar Kirsten Van HoutenThis book brings together a diverse range of scholars and practitioners working at the nexus of peace and development to reflect, at the mid-way point of the Sustainable Development Goals implementation period, what impact Goal 16 has made, or may yet make, toward reducing violence in ‘all its forms.’ Adopted in 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals include 17 objectives designed to shape and direct the global development agenda through to 2030, with Goal 16 aiming to promote ‘peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development.’ Amidst an ongoing global pandemic, evidence of a fracturing liberal international order, and the persistence of seemingly intractable conflict in large parts of the world, this volume takes stock of current progress toward providing access to justice and ensuring inclusive and democratic institutions. Across 15 chapters, the book’s contributors explore the universal aspirations of Goal 16 and its specific implications for conflict-affected states, which continue to experience ‘development in reverse,’ and for historically marginalized groups such as women, youth, the disabled, and indigenous peoples. In doing so, it offers a comprehensive assessment of Goal 16’s broader contribution to the creation of a more just, peaceful world against the realities of societies emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic and grappling with a deepening climate crisis. This volume will appeal to scholars, researchers, policymakers, and postgraduate students in sustainable development, global governance, international relations, global development, international law, and political science.
Sustainable Development Goals: Analysis by Mathematics of Uncertainty (Studies in Systems, Decision and Control #299)
by John N. Mordeson Sunil MathewThis book uses mathematics of uncertainty to examine how well countries are achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the members of the United Nations, with a focus on climate change, human trafficking and modern slavery. Although this approach has never been used before, mathematics of uncertainty is well suited to exploring these topics due to the lack of accurate data available. The authors place several scientific studies in a mathematical setting to pave the way for future research on issues of sustainability, climate change, human trafficking and modern slavery to using a wide range of mathematical techniques. Moreover, the book ranks countries in terms of their achievement of not only the SDGs, but in particular those SDGs pertinent to climate change, human trafficking, and modern slavery, and highlights the deficiencies in the foster care system that lead to human trafficking. As such it is an excellent reference resource for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in mathematics and the social sciences, as well as for researchers and teachers.
Sustainable Development Goals and Human Rights (Interdisciplinary Studies in Human Rights #5)
by Markus Kaltenborn Markus Krajewski Heike KuhnThis open access book analyses the interplay of sustainable development and human rights from different perspectives including fight against poverty, health, gender equality, working conditions, climate change and the role of private actors. Each aspect is addressed from a more human rights-focused angle and a development-policy angle. This allows comparisons between the different approaches but also seeks to close gaps which would remain if only one perspective would be at the center of the discussions. Specifically, the book shows the strong connections between human rights and the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations in 2015. Already the preamble of this document explicitly states that “the 17 Sustainable Development Goals ... seek to realise the human rights of all”. Moreover, several goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda correspond to already existing individual human rights obligations. The contributions of this volume therefore also address how the implementation of human rights and SDGs can reinforce each other, but also point to critical shortcomings of the different approaches.
Sustainable Development Goals and Indian Cities: Inclusion, Diversity and Citizen Rights (Towards Sustainable Futures)
by Ashok Kumar D. S. MeshramThis book critically examines Sustainable Development Goals and cities in developing countries with special reference to climate change, inclusion, diversity, and citizen rights in India. It discusses global issues of sustainability and climate change in the context of rapid urbanisation and focuses on the role of equitable and just processes of urban development aimed at protecting social diversity, redeeming natural environments and, pursuing economic growth geared towards improving the quality of life. The volume looks at the nature of opportunities and future challenges presented to cities and codifies ways to transcend these. It explores key themes such as mitigation of risks from heat island effects, devastating floods, and extreme weather events like droughts; improvement of air quality; compact development; reduction in urban sprawl and protection of agriculturally productive lands for long-term food security; growth of small and medium towns; protection of rural landscapes; access to basic services like water sanitation, primary education, and housing; protection of forest and green spaces for the conservation of biodiversity; renewable energy sources; enhancement of mobility through efficient public transit systems like metro systems or suburban rail; effective and equitable governance for the vulnerable; balanced regional development; inclusive human development; securing the right to the city; and climate risk and resilience. Based on new research and data presented by global experts on climate change and sustainability, this book advances multiple discourses of sustainable urbanisation by connecting social challenges such as democracy, equity, diversity, and inclusion to create an enabling environment for a better future for cities in the developing world. Lucid and topical, this book will be useful to scholars and researchers of urban studies, urban planning, development studies, sociology, public policy and administration, political sociology, city studies, geography, architecture, and economics and also to professionals and NGOs.
Sustainable Development Goals and Migration (Towards Sustainable Futures)
by P. Sivakumar S. Irudaya RajanThis book looks at migration in contemporary society and its interrelations with development. It presents the complexities and dilemmas associated with migration, the changes in theoretical and historical perspectives on migration and development, and the role of policies and the sustainable development goals in this context. The volume views migration as a phenomenon for advancing human development outcomes. It deals with wide-ranging issues including labour migration, the idea of decent work, migration and transnationalism, remittances, social networks and capital, and addressing poverty. The chapters highlight the focus of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and its relevance on migrant rights, safeguarding livelihoods and health. They also offer insights into regional and international co-operation on policies for migration, social growth and protection, and citizenship. With comparative analyses of data, trends and development indicators as well as various case studies, this volume examines the impact of migration on international relations and politics, labour market outcomes, gender, youth and education among others. It also discusses the loss of lives and livelihoods due to the Covid-19 pandemic, its impact on migration and the effects of the pandemic on the contemporary discussions on migration and SDGs. Rich in empirical data, this book will be an excellent read for scholars and researchers of migration and diaspora studies, development studies, refugee studies, public policy and governance, international relations, political studies, political economy, sociology and South Asian Studies.
Sustainable Development Goals and the Catholic Church: Catholic Social Teaching and the UN’s Agenda 2030 (Routledge New Critical Thinking in Religion, Theology and Biblical Studies)
by Katarzyna Cichos Jaros 322 Aw A. Sobkowiak Ryszard F. Sadowski Beata Zbarachewicz Rados 322 Aw Zenderowski Stanis 322 Aw Dzieko 324 SkiThis book identifies both the consistencies and disparities between Catholic Social Teaching and the United Nation’s (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With Pope Francis’ Laudato si’ encyclical, Catholicism seems to be engaging more than ever with environmental and developmental concerns. However, there remains the question of how these theological statements will be put into practice. The ongoing involvement of the Catholic Church in social matters makes it a significant potential partner in issues around development. Therefore, with the use of the comparative method, this book brings together authors from multiple disciplines to assess how the political and legal aspects of each of the UN’s 17 SDGs are addressed by Catholic Social Teaching. Chapters answer the question of how the Catholic Church evaluates the concept of sustainable development as defined by the Agenda 2030 Goals, as well as assessing how and if it can contribute to shaping the contemporary concept of global development. Examining the potential level of cooperation between the international community and the Catholic Church in the implementation of the Agenda 2030 Goals, this volume will be of keen interest to scholars of Catholic Studies, Religious Studies and the Sociology of Religion, as well as Environmental Studies and Development Studies.
Sustainable Development Goals for Society Vol. 1: Selected topics of global relevance (Sustainable Development Goals Series)
by Godwell Nhamo Muchaiteyi Togo Kaitano DubeWritten by 43 authors from Africa, Europe and Latin America, this book presents 19 topics addressing poverty in the context of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), leadership in implementing SDGs, and SDGs in service delivery and local government. As the world has gone past five years of implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the intertwined 17 SDGs, new opportunities in research continue to open up. Hence, documenting some of the initiatives put in place around the world regarding the implementation of the SDGs is one of the aims of this publication. With 10 years remaining, the book further enhances the desire to scale up SDGs implementation. The selection of case studies from the selected regions also provides a balance in terms of how the SDGs are being rolled out for economic growth, environmental stewardship and social protection. The ambition remains even with the challenge brought by the COVID-19 pandemic that preoccupied the whole of 2020; spilling over to 2021. There is no doubt that resources have been diverted, but the world must stay on the course to 2030 and beyond. Therefore, the book is relevant for several stakeholders including the academics, development partners, government officials and other individuals that are involved in making sure no one is left behind in the lead to 2030.
Sustainable Development Goals in Europe: A Geographical Approach (Key Challenges in Geography)
by María Luisa De Lázaro Torres Rafael De Miguel GonzálezThe aim of this book is to provide a synthesis of the newest research in Geography concerning the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). Although the world is strongly interconnected, the majority of the chapters in this volume focus on Europe or the work of European researchers. Each chapter of this book focusses on one of the 17 SDG’s providing in-depth knowledge from a geographical perspective, fostering comprehensive research on these global targets to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and tackle climate change.The Sustainable Development Goals are part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. To achieve them, it will be necessary for all stakeholders, including citizens (civil society, doctors, teachers), governments, private sector to collaborate.
The Sustainable Development Goals in Higher Education: A Transformative Agenda?
by Wendy Steele Lauren RickardsThis book explores the role universities have to play in fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At the heart of “sustainable development” is the legacy of unsustainable development with its roots in modernity and colonialism. Critical engagement with the SDGs involves recognising these roots are shared by universities and the reciprocal need for maintenance, repair and regeneration. Universities are not just enablers of change, but also important targets of change. By focusing on the role of education about, for and through the SDGs, the authors seek to advance critical engagement with higher education that is both progressive and meaningful. We are all responsible for bearing witness to our age. This book will appeal to all those who hope that more sustainable future worlds are still possible.
Sustainable Development Goals in the Republic of Korea (Routledge Studies on Asia in the World)
by Tae Yong JungThis book explores the attempts of South Korea in its to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. It addresses 6 of the 17 goals – clean water, affordable and clean energy, decent work and economic growth, sustainable cities and communities, climate action, and partnership – and defines specific national strategies. For each strategy, the contributors define the research indicators they selected, then analyze and examine the extent to which South Korea has met the SDG concerned. They draw these conclusions from national and international reports, government documents and policy papers on SDGs. South Korea’s experience in sustainable development and green programs will contribute to the planning of long-term development strategies for developing countries.
Sustainable Development, Human Dignity and Choice: Lessons from the ENRICH Programme, Bangladesh
by Martin Greeley Asif M. Shahan Shubhasish BaruaThe Enhancing Resources and Increasing Capacities of Poor Households Towards Elimination of their Poverty (the ENRICH) programme is being implemented by Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), which is a government-established Foundation and implements its programmes through Partner NGOs. The efforts are concerned with the perspective of eradicating poverty, aiming at enabling individuals to live a life that is humanly dignified. In doing so, the ENRICH programme focuses on creating opportunities for them to exercise freedom in determining their choices. The approach based on this understanding, i.e. poverty reduction/elimination and economic improvement strategies, coupled with interventions that ensure access to universal human rights, should promote freedom of choice leading to a dignified life and has shaped the programme contents and implementation framework. The ENRICH programme has been conceptualized and promoted by the current Chairman of PKSF, Dr. Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, who was appointed to the position in November 2009. In essence, the ENRICH programme is innovative, integrated, human-centred, taking into consideration the multidimensionality of human life and living, involving socio-economic and environmental dimensions. It focuses on human capability, both individual and collective and social capital formation to facilitate the way forward, the ultimate goal being humanly dignified living of all those who are deprived of this fundamental call of humanity.
Sustainable Development in Central Asia (Central Asia Research Forum)
by Shirin Akiner Jon Hay Sander TidemanThis book is the result of a pioneering conference held in Ulaan Baatar in September 1994. The first Conference on the Sustainable Development of Central Asia brought together government officials, development professionals, academics, activists and religious representatives from Central, South and East Asia and the West. The full range of perspectives from this diverse group is presented here on how Central Asia can find paths of development which really serve its long term interests, and what the rest of the world can learn from Central Asians about living in harmony with the environment.
Sustainable Development in China (Routledge Contemporary China Series)
by Curtis Andressen Mubarak A. R. Wang XiaoyiOver the past three decades, China’s economic structure, direction and international presence have undergone a dramatic transformation. This rapid rise and China’s enormous success in economic terms has created new challenges, and this book examines how the Chinese economy can continue to flourish, whilst at the same time protecting the environment and giving people more equal access to the benefits of the country’s economic development. Examining the key issues surrounding China's continued sustainable development, in economic, political, social and more traditional environmental terms, this book assesses the costs of China's rapid development to date and in turn asks whether this can be maintained. The contributors show that the idea of sustainable development must take into account more than just the physical environment, and that there are additional problems relating to the sustainability of China’s economic growth that are much more complicated. Divided into two broad sections, the book looks first at the broader issues of sustainability in China, before turning to the more classic idea of sustainability, that of the environment. In doing so, the contributors show that sustainability is a far more complex phenomenon than is often assumed, and that economic and social sustainability are inherently linked to linked to environmental sustainability. Dealing with what are arguably the greatest challenges facing China today, this book will be will be of great interests to students and scholars of Chinese studies, Chinese economics and Chinese politics, as well as those interested in development studies and sustainable development more broadly.
Sustainable Development in India: Groundwater Irrigation, Energy Use, and Food Production (Routledge New Horizons in South Asian Studies)
by Koichi Fujita Tsukasa MizushimaThis book explores and interrogates the food–water–energy nexus, arguably the most crucial factor in sustaining India’s economic development. The book sheds light on different experiences faced in states across India, including the consequences of electricity tariff reforms and related policies on irrigated agriculture. Part 1 focuses on the historical development of agriculture and social change in India, with special reference to the mode of responses and adaptations in social systems against the inherent low and erratic rainfall and resulting water stress in India during the pre-colonial period. Additionally, it investigates how colonial development destroyed social systems and discusses future development prospects. Part 2 discusses contemporary issues of agriculture and social change in India. A comprehensive examination of various important issues related to South Asian agricultural development in the past and in the present, this book will be a valuable reference for researchers of Asian development, sustainable development, environmental policy, South Asian Studies and Development Studies.
Sustainable Development in Post-Pandemic Africa: Effective Strategies for Resource Mobilization (Routledge Studies in African Development)
by Fred OlayeleWith both domestic and external financing expected to dry up in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, this book argues that there is a need for fresh ideas and new strategies for achieving sustainable development in Africa. In addition to triggering the most severe recession in nearly a century, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted global value chains, causing unprecedented damage to healthcare systems, economies, and well-being, hitting the world’s most vulnerable people the hardest. Even before the pandemic, Africa was suffering from the effects of low commodity prices, sluggish GDP growth, high debt levels, low levels of domestic savings, and weak private capital inflows. This book argues that now, as the continent emerges from the current crisis, it will be important to reconfigure current financing sources under a forward-looking framework that incorporates other non-traditional financing tools and mechanisms such as public-private partnerships, sovereign wealth funds, gender lens investing, new growth drivers, and emerging and disruptive technologies. Finally, the book concludes by adopting a sectoral approach and examining the real economy impacts of new growth drivers such as agriculture value chains, industrialization, tourism, and the blue economy. Drawing on a range of original research as well as insights from practice, this book will be a useful guide for Global Development and African Studies researchers, as well as for policy makers, investors, finance specialists, and global business practitioners and entrepreneurs.
Sustainable Development in Rural China: Farmer Innovation and Self-Organisation in Marginal Areas
by Bin WuSustainable development in marginal areas, especially in those where rural poverty and environmental degradation are interwoven, is a great concern of development agencies worldwide, and much effort is put into development programmes, technology transfer schemes and so on. The problem is particularly acute in China, where increasing regional differences and inequality are eroding governmental poverty reduction efforts and exacerbating ecological crises. This book, based on extensive original research, examines the situation in China, especially in the Loess Plateau of Shaanxi Province. It explores in particular how farmers have organised themselves to initiate technical innovation, and considers communication networks and co-operative mechanisms. It discusses successful self-organisation, and how interfaces with external development agencies and with institutional innovation might be handled, highlighting the potential of farmer innovation initiatives, especially when they are linked with external development and environmental improvement programmes.