'This volume on interdisciplinary work in mountain areas is an excellent compilation of examples as well as lessons learned. In effect it provides guidance on how best to approach such work. While different in training and backgrounds the [authors] clearly articulate the global conviction that interdisciplinary work is the only approach. This volume of case studies repeats this strong and important message.' Nikita Lopoukhine Chair of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas and former Director General of National Parks Parks Canada 'Over the past twenty years the rhetoric surrounding inte.

The book aims to address the interdisciplinary targets of watershed management in mountain regions based on the current knowledge of the subject. The focus of the book is particularly on monitoring, research, and modelling the interactions between the climate, water cycle, and aquatic ecosystem. The issues of watershed management in mountain regions in different parts of Europe, Africa, America and Asia have been the central theme of the book, which is basically divided into five sections: Institutional aspects in control of mountain regions; Stream-flow processes in mountain catchments; Water chemistry and biota in mountain streams and lakes; Effects of forest practices and climate change on hydrological phenomena; and Soil conservation and control of floods and landslides. The contributions have been peer-reviewed and the interdisciplinary team of authors includes experts from the specialised areas of geography, hydrology, chemistry, biology, forestry, ecology, economy and sociology. The practical applications and management strategies mentioned in the book, deal with the integrated resource management approach, based on the compromise between the development, conservation/ protection of the nature. Finally, the socio-economic and cultural aspects, and ecosystem prevalent in a mountain catchment are discussed in detail.

The products of mining are everywhere – if it wasn’t grown, it was mined or drilled. But the mining industry has a chequered past. Pollution, human rights abuses, and corruption have tarnished the reputation of the industry across the globe. Over a decade ago the major mining companies embraced the concept of sustainable and equitable development and embarked on an explicit process of reform – but has the industry actually changed? This book explores the dynamics of change-making for sustainable development in the resources sector, specifically the mining of mineral and energy resources. The author recounts the stories and insights of over forty change-makers both inside and outside the industry, from anti-mining activists to the professionals charged with the task of reform, introducing the people who are moving an industry that moves mountains. The book takes stock of what has worked and what has not, analyzing the relative influence and dynamics of the key corporate, civil society and government actors with a view to developing new approaches for improving environmental and social outcomes from mineral and energy development. Illustrated with case studies from Angola, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Guinea, Peru, The Philippines, Romania, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and The United States of America, and brimming with the backstories to the major sustainability initiatives, Mountain Movers reveals where progress has been made and where reform is still needed towards a more sustainable and equitable mining industry.

This second edition of the book Sustainable Development of Mountain Regions: Southeastern Europe integrates the scientific results and expertise of the researchers from the countries in Southeastern Europe. The book consists of updated information for the topics observed in first edition and several new chapters with analysis of some problems in the mountain regions of four new for the edition countries in Southeastern European space. The general themes in the book are related to Global problems and mountain regions; Nature resources and landuse in mountain regions; Social, economic and regional problems of mountain regions; Nature protection, conservation and monitoring and Networks and strategies for mountain regions. The key topics for discussion are: Natural recourses and land use in mountain regions. Sustainable social and economic development of the mountain regions. Natural disasters and risk prevention. Spatial modeling and planning. Nature protection, monitoring and conservation. Politics and sustainable practices for development of mountain regions. Transborder and regional cooperation. Mountain regions in Southeastern Europe are characterized by unique landscape and biological diversity and great economic potential. They have function as a living space and provide different groups of ecosystem and landscape services. In social and economic aspects these regions are one of the poorest in Southeastern European countries with unused potential. Human, ecological and economic problems arising in various mountain regions have the same basic characteristics irrespective of the country. Some mountain regions are subject to specific for the conditions of the mountain and country policy for planning, development and mountain population promotion. The general goal is development of whole economy and the efficient management of natural resources and prevention of natural and tec hnological disasters. The mountain regions are one of the most threatened landscape systems in Southeastern Europe. Understanding the importance of the mountain regions and conservation of the natural heritage require scientific and institutional cooperation at all levels.

This book is about mountainurbanology grounded in Southwest China, where mountain is a typical landform for many towns and cities. From the multi-disciplinary perspective in a dynamic changing context, it presents a comprehensive framework including the location of mountain city, planning, design, building, transportation, disaster, aesthetics and governance in building up mountain cities based on investigation of natural, social and economic studies. The book also emphasizes ecological planning method based on topography in mountainous area through the lens of teaching and practice on urban planning for over half a century in Southwest China. It is a highly informative book providing academic insight for senior undergraduates, graduate students, lecturers, research professionals and decision makers with an interest in urban planning, ecology, planning and design in mountainous region development. Prof. Guangyu Huang is regarded as Founding Pioneer of mountainurbanology in China, a sub-discipline of urban planning.

This book is written for general readers with an interest in science, and offers the tools and ideas for understanding how climate change will affect mountains of the American West. A major goal of the book is to provide material that will not become quickly outdated, and it does so by conveying its topics through constants in ecological science that will remain unchanged and scientifically sound. The book is timely in its potential to be a long-term contribution, and is designed to inform the public about climate change in mountains accessibly and intelligibly. The major themes of the book include: 1) mountains of the American West as natural experiments that can distinguish the effects of climate change because they have been relatively free from human-caused changes, 2) mountains as regions with unique sensitivities that may change more rapidly than the Earth as a whole and foreshadow the nature and magnitude of change elsewhere, and 3) different interacting components of ecosystems in the face of a changing climate, including forest growth and mortality, ecological disturbance, and mountain hydrology. Readers will learn how these changes and interactions in mountains illuminate the complexity of ecological changes in other contexts around the world.

This book gives an overview of the state of research in fields pertaining to the detection, understanding and prediction of global change impacts in mountain regions. More than sixty contributions from paleoclimatology, cryospheric research, hydrology, ecology, and development studies are compiled in this volume, each with an outlook on future research directions. The book will interest meteorologists, geologists, botanists and climatologists.

Addressing policy related issues, providing up-to-date scientific background information and laying out pressing land management questions, this interdisciplinary volume identifies and discusses key directions of environmental change in uplands, as well as providing an outlook into future management and conservation options responding to these changes.

Offering a cutting-edge, transdisciplinary approach to bio-physical and bio-cultural scales of sustainability, this Companion explores diverse understandings of the what, how, why and where questions of sustainability. It examines the key notion of how to optimize human quality of life whilst minimizing environmental suffering. Integrating a range of disciplines through the social sciences, natural sciences and arts and humanities, this Companion focuses on the human component of sustainability, using a place-based and life-scape approach to environmental questions. Chapters analyze critical topics including: urbanization and city life, environmental conservation and rural landscapes, long-term interactions with natural life, climate change and the importance of mountain regions. Looking beyond an economic analysis of sustainability and well-being, this Companion incorporates cross-cutting social, cultural, judicial and spiritual dimensions of sustainability and regenerative development. With a combination of international case studies and an interdisciplinary framework for understanding the topic, this will be an interesting read for those studying sustainability from a range of disciplinary bases including ecological economists, human ecologists and geographers. It will also be beneficial to urban planners and ecologists interested in how the profoundly impactful evolutionary trend towards the urban environment is impacting human geographies around the world. Contributors include:B. Antaki, J. Balsiger, A. Barreau, S. Boillat, B. Boley, A. Borsdorf, F. Boyer, M. Bush, J.B. Campbell, M. Carré, R. Cheddadi, T.J. Christoffel, B. Debarbieux , M.E. Donoso-Correa, N. Dudley, W. Dunbar, F. Ficetola, L. François, L.M. Frolich, E. Guevara, J.A. González, A. Haller, C.P. Harden, D. Harmon, A.-J. Henrot, S.L. Hitchner, G.A. Holdridge, K. Huang, J.T. Ibarra, K. Ichikawa, E.A. Macdonald, C. Mena, C. Merchant, A. Michaels, C. Monterrubio-Solís, E. Müller, M. Navarro, H. Norberg-Hodge, M. Oliva, S. Padgett-Vasquez, S.E. Pilaar Birch, D. Quiroga, J.K. Reap, L.M. Resler, A. Rhoujjati, R. Rozzi, F.O. Sarmiento, J.W. Schelhas, Y. Shao, C. Stadel, P. Taberlet, K. Taylor, S.J. Walsh, K.R. Young, Z. Zheng, F.M. Zimmermann, S. Zimmermann-Janschitz