Science : Environmental Science

As globalization and market liberalization march forward unabated the global commons continue to be commodified and privatized at a rapid pace. In this global process the ownership sale and supply of water is increasingly a flashpoint for debates and conflict over privatization and nowhere is the debate more advanced or acute than in Southern Africa. The Age of Commodity provides an overview of the debates over water in the region including a conceptual overview of water 'privatization' how it relates to human rights macro-economic policy and GATS. The book then presents case studies of important water privatization initiatives in the region drawing out crucial themes common to water privatization debates around the world including corruption gender equity and donor conditionalities. This book is powerful and necessary reading in our new age of commodity. more...

Price: $48.95

Agrarian Landscapes in Transition researches human interaction with the earth. With hundreds of acres of agricultural land going out of production every day, the introduction, spread, and abandonment of agriculture represents the most pervasive alteration of the Earth's environment for several thousand years. What happens when humans impose their spatial and temporal signatures on ecological regimes, and how does this manipulation affect the earth and nature's desire for equilibrium?. Studies were conducted at six Long Term Ecological Research sites within the US, including New England, the Appalachian Mountains, Colorado, Michigan, Kansas, and Arizona. While each site has its own unique agricultural history, patterns emerge that help make sense of how our actions have affected the earth, and how the earth pushes back. The book addresses how human activities influence the spatial and temporal structures of agrarian landscapes, and how this varies over time and across biogeographic regions. It also looks at the ecological and environmental consequences of the resulting structural changes, the human responses to these changes, and how these responses drive further changes in agrarian landscapes. The time frames studied include the ecology of the earth before human interaction, pre-European human interaction during the rise and fall of agricultural land use, and finally the biological and cultural response to the abandonment of farming, due to complete abandonment or a land-use change such as urbanization. more...

Price: $45.00

Despite 250 years of land reform all over the World, important land inequalities remain, especially in Latin America and Southern Africa.While in these countries, there is near consensus on the need for redistribution, much controversy persists around how to redistribute land peacefully and legally, often blocking progress on implementation.This book focuses on the "how" of land redistribution in order to forge greater consensus among land reform practitioners and enable them to make better choices on the mechanisms of land reform. Reviews and case studies describe and analyze the alternative implementation options. more...

Price: $40.00

Kimble, a research soil scientist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service National Soil Survey Center in Lincoln, NE, relates Senate appeals to the agricultural sector to heed scientific evidence on global climate change. These 48 contributed chapters are derived from a July 1999 symposium designed to generate dialogue between all stak more...

Price: $199.95

Esta publicación sintetiza los resultados de tres décadas de investigación apoyada por el IDRC sobre abastecimiento de agua. Demuestra que algunas de las respuestas de mayor peso a la problemática de la escasez de agua se han implementado a nivel local —en hogares, campos agrícolas, aldeas y vecindarios urbanos. Centrándose no sólo en los resultados de la investigación sino también en sus carencias, este libro presenta propuestas con fundamento sólido a las personas que deben tomar decisiones y a los investigadores; ofrece una serie de recomendaciones claras y pertinentes para la formulación de políticas y los esfuerzos futuros de la investigación. Concluye ofreciendo una perspectiva sobre el futuro del abastecimiento de agua y algunos de los recursos clave en este campo. more...

Price: $15.00