Preface

Chapter 7 **What Are the Roles of National and International Institutions**

Chapter 8 **Policy Arrangement for Waste Management in East Africa's**

Chapter 10 **Disaster Risk Management and Social Impact Assessment:**

Chapter 11 **Different Farming Methods – But No Solution to Improve Rural Sustainability and to Save Australia's Family Farm 275**

**Roles of Institutions 185**

Masachika Suzuki

**VI** Contents

**Urban Centres 215** Christine Majale-Liyala

**Section 3 Community Engagement 233**

A.C Murgor

B.A. Usman

Chapter 9 **Climate Change and Food Security 235**

**Community Projects 259**

Ingrid Muenstermann

**to Overcome Barriers in Diffusing Clean Energy Technologies in Asia?: Matching Barriers in Technology Diffusion with the**

Christopher Kipkoech Saina, Daniel Kipkosgei Murgor and Florence

Raheem A. Usman, F.B. Olorunfemi, G.P. Awotayo, A.M. Tunde and

**Understanding Preparedness, Response and Recovery in**

Around the globe, environmental change is rapidly occurring as a result of human actions to transform the earth into a livable home. Such human-induced or anthropogenic environ‐ mental change is hardly a new phenomenon. Historically, humans have modified bio-physi‐ cal environments in order to satisfy and meet basic biological needs such as food and shelter. Whether it has been the intentional burning of grasslands, clearing forest for agricul‐ ture, the draining of wetlands, mining for minerals or fossil fuels, reshaping coastal ecosys‐ tems, polluting freshwater systems, overharvesting of fish stocks or the production of greenhouse gas and other toxic emissions, humans have altered the earth's bio-physical en‐ vironments in myriad ways. The alteration of the environment – its humanization – has had unintended and often negative impacts on human societies. According to many scientists, global climate change currently poses the greatest threat to human health and socio-eco‐ nomic welfare of all human-induced environmental changes. The task for environmental and social scientists is to use available scientific tools and technologies to document and un‐ derstand the causes of environmental change and to develop more sophisticated theoretical models and concepts to understand the dynamics and impacts of such changes. With an in‐ creased understanding of the people-environment interface and the bio-physical and socioeconomic consequences of environmental change, policy-makers, communities and individuals can chart more appropriate responses to environmental and global climate change. The goal is to enhance our knowledge of environmental changes and map out a range of possible human responses to such changes; responses that will enhance socio-eco‐ nomic resiliency and reduce human vulnerability to the risks and hazards associated with environmental changes occurring at the local, regional and global spatial scales.

Over the last thirty-five years, sustainability and sustainable development has emerged as a policy-making guide for scientific and lay discussions over how states, cities and communi‐ ties ought to respond to the threats and risks posed by environmental change. Major world institutions, such as the United Nations, the World Trade Organization and the World Bank see sustainable development as one of their primary policy goals. The basic and most widely disseminated definition of sustainable development was articulated by the United Nations sponsored World Commission on Environment and Development (referred to as the Brundtland Commission) in its landmark 1987 report, "Our Common Future." The Commis‐ sion defined sustainability as development that "seeks to meet the needs and aspirations of the present without compromising the ability to meet those of the future." The Commission recognized the importance in minimizing the risks and hazards associated with environ‐ mental changes: "policy makers guided by the concept of sustainable development will nec‐ essarily work to assure that growing economies remain firmly attached to their ecological roots and that these roots are protected and nurtured so that they may support growth over the long term. Environmental protection is thus inherent in the concept of sustainable devel‐ opment, as is a focus on the sources of environmental problems rather than the symptoms."

Since Brundtland, sustainability has come to be defined as a balancing act: promoting eco‐ nomic growth in order to reduce poverty and inequality, enhancing social equity and com‐ munity development, and at the same time protecting the overall integrity and functioning of the environment. Each of these so-called "realms" are no longer conceptualized as sepa‐ rate or independent of one another. Rather, sustainability recognizes the interdependence of economic development, protection of the environment and the enhancement of social and community well-being.

The present book brings together a group of international scholars examining environmen‐ tal change and sustainability from different theoretical perspectives and in different geo‐ graphic contexts. The advantages of this approach and thus the relevance of the current volume is that it demonstrates that place and context matters; that the impacts of environ‐ mental change varies and that human responses to environmental change is dependent on the environmental, historical, cultural, demographic and economic context of a specific place. In particular, the volume demonstrates that for developing regions responding to en‐ vironmental change and the crafting of policies that promote sustainable development is particularly challenging as these regions confront specific environmental (e.g. tropical envi‐ ronments, "fragile lands"), demographic and economic conditions (e.g. poverty) that differ from more developed regions.

We hope this book will demonstrate the continuing relevance of the Brundtland Commis‐ sion's definition of sustainability; a definition that is broad enough to be used in different times and places and yet specific enough to give meaning and direction to efforts from local communities to the international community to debate and implement particular policies and actions. We agree with the Commission's conclusion that "No single blueprint of sus‐ tainability will be found, as economic and social systems and ecological conditions differ widely among countries. Each nation will have to work out its own concrete policy implica‐ tions. Yet irrespective of these differences, sustainable development should be seen as a global objective."

Three themes inform and are reflected in the eleven chapters in this book. The first section of this book brings together papers that use the tools and techniques of the natural sciences to identity and assess changes in the environment (e.g. hillslopes, deserts, coral reef ecosys‐ tems, contamination of sites); the idea is that such primary knowledge is essential for identi‐ fying, debating and implementing policies to ameliorate environmental change, reduce risks and promote sustainability. In the second part of the book, the spotlight shifts to a focus on the key role that human perception and attitudes play in understanding and responding to environmental change. Human perception and changes in public discourses are key deter‐ minants of how and why policy choices are being made. The chapters in this section exam‐ ine the roles of external events and institutions in shaping how we conceptualize and socially construct environmental problems. In the last section of the book, the emphasis is on the importance of community and bottom-up approaches to reducing the risks and vulnera‐ bility to environmental change. Sustainability will only be achieved when local, indigenous and traditional knowledge of the environment and environmental management are com‐ bined with the techniques and understandings generated by modern environmental science. Place and context matter. Sustainable development, in the face of global environmental changes, will be best achieved when it is rooted in the local community and not merely im‐ posed by policy-makers and decision makers divorced from the local context. The editors hope that you enjoy reading the diverse group of papers and find them useful as we move humanity to a more sustainable transformation of the earth to ensure that we have a livable earth for future generations.

the long term. Environmental protection is thus inherent in the concept of sustainable devel‐ opment, as is a focus on the sources of environmental problems rather than the symptoms." Since Brundtland, sustainability has come to be defined as a balancing act: promoting eco‐ nomic growth in order to reduce poverty and inequality, enhancing social equity and com‐ munity development, and at the same time protecting the overall integrity and functioning of the environment. Each of these so-called "realms" are no longer conceptualized as sepa‐ rate or independent of one another. Rather, sustainability recognizes the interdependence of economic development, protection of the environment and the enhancement of social and

The present book brings together a group of international scholars examining environmen‐ tal change and sustainability from different theoretical perspectives and in different geo‐ graphic contexts. The advantages of this approach and thus the relevance of the current volume is that it demonstrates that place and context matters; that the impacts of environ‐ mental change varies and that human responses to environmental change is dependent on the environmental, historical, cultural, demographic and economic context of a specific place. In particular, the volume demonstrates that for developing regions responding to en‐ vironmental change and the crafting of policies that promote sustainable development is particularly challenging as these regions confront specific environmental (e.g. tropical envi‐ ronments, "fragile lands"), demographic and economic conditions (e.g. poverty) that differ

We hope this book will demonstrate the continuing relevance of the Brundtland Commis‐ sion's definition of sustainability; a definition that is broad enough to be used in different times and places and yet specific enough to give meaning and direction to efforts from local communities to the international community to debate and implement particular policies and actions. We agree with the Commission's conclusion that "No single blueprint of sus‐ tainability will be found, as economic and social systems and ecological conditions differ widely among countries. Each nation will have to work out its own concrete policy implica‐ tions. Yet irrespective of these differences, sustainable development should be seen as a

Three themes inform and are reflected in the eleven chapters in this book. The first section of this book brings together papers that use the tools and techniques of the natural sciences to identity and assess changes in the environment (e.g. hillslopes, deserts, coral reef ecosys‐ tems, contamination of sites); the idea is that such primary knowledge is essential for identi‐ fying, debating and implementing policies to ameliorate environmental change, reduce risks and promote sustainability. In the second part of the book, the spotlight shifts to a focus on the key role that human perception and attitudes play in understanding and responding to environmental change. Human perception and changes in public discourses are key deter‐ minants of how and why policy choices are being made. The chapters in this section exam‐ ine the roles of external events and institutions in shaping how we conceptualize and socially construct environmental problems. In the last section of the book, the emphasis is on the importance of community and bottom-up approaches to reducing the risks and vulnera‐ bility to environmental change. Sustainability will only be achieved when local, indigenous and traditional knowledge of the environment and environmental management are com‐ bined with the techniques and understandings generated by modern environmental science. Place and context matter. Sustainable development, in the face of global environmental

community well-being.

VIII Preface

from more developed regions.

global objective."

**Dr. Steven Silvern and Dr. Stephen Young**

Department of Geography Salem State University USA

**Section 1**

**Physical Dimension**
