Download or read book Review of the Draft Fourth National Climate Assessment written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2018-06-18 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Climate change poses many challenges that affect society and the natural world. With these challenges, however, come opportunities to respond. By taking steps to adapt to and mitigate climate change, the risks to society and the impacts of continued climate change can be lessened. The National Climate Assessment, coordinated by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, is a mandated report intended to inform response decisions. Required to be developed every four years, these reports provide the most comprehensive and up-to-date evaluation of climate change impacts available for the United States, making them a unique and important climate change document. The draft Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4) report reviewed here addresses a wide range of topics of high importance to the United States and society more broadly, extending from human health and community well-being, to the built environment, to businesses and economies, to ecosystems and natural resources. This report evaluates the draft NCA4 to determine if it meets the requirements of the federal mandate, whether it provides accurate information grounded in the scientific literature, and whether it effectively communicates climate science, impacts, and responses for general audiences including the public, decision makers, and other stakeholders.
Download or read book Soil Fertility Decline in the Tropics written by Alfred E. Hartemink and published by CABI. This book was released on 2003 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wide coverage of soils and perennial cropping systems in the tropicsSynthesis of decades of researchChallenges assumptions on the benefits of plantations for soil fertilityIt is generally assumed that soil fertility decline is widespread in the tropics and that this is largely associated with annual cropping and subsistence farming. In contrast, perennial plant cover (as in plantation agriculture) provides better protection for the soil.This book reviews these concepts, focusing on soil chemical changes under different land-use systems in the tropics. These include perennial crops, annual crops and forest plantations. Two case studies, on sisal plantations in Tanzania and sugar cane in Papua New Guinea, are presented for detailed analysis. The author demonstrates that soil fertility decline is also a problem on plantations.
Download or read book Farmer Behaviour Agricultural Management and Climate Change written by OECD and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2012-03-05 with total page 87 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study examines the broad range of factors driving farm management decisions that can improve the environment, including drawing on the experiences of OECD countries.
Download or read book Rangeland Systems written by David D. Briske and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-04-12 with total page 664 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is open access under a CC BY-NC 2.5 license. This book provides an unprecedented synthesis of the current status of scientific and management knowledge regarding global rangelands and the major challenges that confront them. It has been organized around three major themes. The first summarizes the conceptual advances that have occurred in the rangeland profession. The second addresses the implications of these conceptual advances to management and policy. The third assesses several major challenges confronting global rangelands in the 21st century. This book will compliment applied range management textbooks by describing the conceptual foundation on which the rangeland profession is based. It has been written to be accessible to a broad audience, including ecosystem managers, educators, students and policy makers. The content is founded on the collective experience, knowledge and commitment of 80 authors who have worked in rangelands throughout the world. Their collective contributions indicate that a more comprehensive framework is necessary to address the complex challenges confronting global rangelands. Rangelands represent adaptive social-ecological systems, in which societal values, organizations and capacities are of equal importance to, and interact with, those of ecological processes. A more comprehensive framework for rangeland systems may enable management agencies, and educational, research and policy making organizations to more effectively assess complex problems and develop appropriate solutions.
Download or read book OECD Studies on Water Mitigating Droughts and Floods in Agriculture Policy Lessons and Approaches written by OECD and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2016-01-18 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Climate change is expected to increase the frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events, notably of droughts and floods to which the agriculture sector is particularly exposed.
Download or read book Drought risk management a strategic approach written by Speed, Robert and published by UNESCO Publishing. This book was released on 2016-09-19 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Climate Variability and Water Dependent Sectors written by Dannele E. Peck and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-02-22 with total page 141 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Demand for water in agricultural, municipal, industrial, and environmental uses is growing. More frequent and severe extreme weather conditions now exacerbate water shortages in many locations and existing infrastructure to store and release water rarely has the capacity to both prevent floods during wet periods and meet demand during drought periods. Competition among sectors adds pressure not only on water infrastructure, but also on management policies and allocation institutions. This book of contributed chapters assesses the performance of existing infrastructure, institutions and policies under different climate variability scenarios. It also provides suggestions for minimizing conflict over scarce water resources. More flexible water-allocation institutions and management policies, and better tools for decision-making under uncertainty will be required to maximize society’s net benefit from less reliable water resources. The chapters show how incentives for individuals to conserve water, and policies for helping vulnerable populations prepare for and recover from extreme events, will also need to be improved. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Natural Resources Policy Research.
Download or read book Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation written by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2012-05-28 with total page 593 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Extreme weather and climate events, interacting with exposed and vulnerable human and natural systems, can lead to disasters. This Special Report explores the social as well as physical dimensions of weather- and climate-related disasters, considering opportunities for managing risks at local to international scales. SREX was approved and accepted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on 18 November 2011 in Kampala, Uganda.
Download or read book Adaptation Policy Frameworks for Climate Change written by Ian Burton and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2004-11-15 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Adaptation is a process by which individuals, communities and countries seek to cope with the consequences of climate change. The process of adaptation is not new; the idea of incorporating future climate risk into policy-making is. While our understanding of climate change and its potential impacts has become clearer, the availability of practical guidance on adaptation has not kept pace. The development of the Adaptation Policy Framework (APF) is intended to help provide the rapidly evolving process of adaptation policy-making with a much-needed roadmap. Ultimately, the purpose of the APF is to support adaptation processes to protect - and enhance - human well-being in the face of climate change. This volume will be invaluable for everyone working on climate change adaptation and policy-making.
Download or read book Rewilding Agricultural Landscapes written by H. Scott Butterfield and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2021-04-08 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the world population grows, so does the demand for food, putting unprecedented pressure on agricultural lands. In many desert dryland regions, however, intensive cultivation is causing their productivity to decline precipitously. "Rewilding" the least productive of these landscapes offers a sensible way to reverse the damage, recover natural diversity, and ensure long-term sustainability of remaining farms and the communities they support. This accessibly written, groundbreaking contributed volume is the first to examine in detail what it would take to retire eligible farmland and restore functioning natural ecosystems. The lessons in Rewilding Agricultural Landscapes will be useful to conservation leaders, policymakers, groundwater agencies, and water managers looking for inspiration and practical advice for solving the complicated issues of agricultural sustainability and water management.
Download or read book Community Champions written by Hannah Reid and published by IIED. This book was released on 2010 with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Effects of Drought on Forests and Rangelands in the United States written by James M. Vose and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This assessment provides input to the reauthorized National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) and the National Climate Assessment (NCA), and it establishes the scientific foundation needed to manage for drought resilience and adaptation. Focal areas include drought characterization; drought impacts on forest processes and disturbances such as insect outbreaks and wildfire; and consequences for forest and rangeland values. Drought can be a severe natural disaster with substantial social and economic consequences. Drought becomes most obvious when large-scale changes are observed; however, even moderate drought can have long-lasting impacts on the structure and function of forests and rangelands without these obvious large-scale changes. Large, stand-level impacts of drought are already underway in the West, but all U.S. forests are vulnerable to drought. Drought-associated forest disturbances are expected to increase with climatic change. Management actions can either mitigate or exacerbate the effects of drought. A first principal for increasing resilience and adaptation is to avoid management actions that exacerbate the effects of current or future drought. Options to mitigate drought include altering structural or functional components of vegetation, minimizing drought-mediated disturbance such as wildfire or insect outbreaks, and managing for reliable flow of water.
Download or read book Overcoming Drought written by and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Building Resilience for Adaptation to Climate Change in the Agriculture Sector written by Alexandre Meybeck and published by Food & Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO). This book was released on 2012 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The joint workshop on Building resilience for adaptation to climate change in the agriculture sector was organized by FAO and OECD, and was held from 23 to 24 April 2012, at FAO headquarters in Rome."--P. 5.
Download or read book Policy Implications of Greenhouse Warming written by National Academy of Engineering and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1992-02-01 with total page 945 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Global warming continues to gain importance on the international agenda and calls for action are heightening. Yet, there is still controversy over what must be done and what is needed to proceed. Policy Implications of Greenhouse Warming describes the information necessary to make decisions about global warming resulting from atmospheric releases of radiatively active trace gases. The conclusions and recommendations include some unexpected results. The distinguished authoring committee provides specific advice for U.S. policy and addresses the need for an international response to potential greenhouse warming. It offers a realistic view of gaps in the scientific understanding of greenhouse warming and how much effort and expense might be required to produce definitive answers. The book presents methods for assessing options to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, offset emissions, and assist humans and unmanaged systems of plants and animals to adjust to the consequences of global warming.
Download or read book Routledge Handbook of Ecosystem Services written by Marion Potschin and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-01-22 with total page 929 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The idea that nature provides services to people is one of the most powerful concepts to have emerged over the last two decades. It is shaping our understanding of the role that biodiverse ecosystems play in the environment and their benefits for humankind. As a result, there is a growing interest in operational and methodological issues surrounding ecosystem services amongst environmental managers, and many institutions are now developing teaching programmes to equip the next generation with the skills needed to apply the concepts more effectively. This handbook provides a comprehensive reference text on ecosystem services, integrating natural and social science (including economics). Collectively the chapters, written by the world's leading authorities, demonstrate the importance of biodiversity for people, policy and practice. They also show how the value of ecosystems to society can be expressed in monetary and non-monetary terms, so that the environment can be better taken into account in decision making. The significance of the ecosystem service paradigm is that it helps us redefine and better communicate the relationships between people and nature. It is shown how these are essential to resolving challenges such as sustainable development and poverty reduction, and the creation of a green economy in developing and developed world contexts.
Download or read book Integrating adaptation and mitigation in climate change and land use policies in Peru written by Emilia Pramova and published by CIFOR. This book was released on 2015-06-09 with total page 29 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The interactions between climate change adaptation and mitigation are particularly evident in agriculture, forestry and other land-use-based activities. Adaptation projects can affect ecosystems and their ability to sequester and store carbon, while mitigation projects can enhance adaptive capacity or increase the vulnerability of people. These interactions must be considered when designing policies and strategies. The discussion on policy integration of climate change adaptation and mitigation should focus on two issues: (1) integrating adaptation and mitigation in climate change policies to consider multiple goals, assess trade-offs and seek mutually supportive outcomes; and (2) integrating adaptation and mitigation jointly into sectoral policies, such as agriculture or forestry, in order to balance trade-offs and maximize co-benefits between climate change and other objectives. National strategies and plans related to climate change in Peru as well as key land-use policies encompass both adaptation and mitigation objectives. Frameworks have been developed for the integrated implementation of adaptation and mitigation in the new National Climate Change Strategy and draft National Forests and Climate Change Strategy. Although most of the other strategies and action plans do not mention the joint implementation of adaptation and mitigation, they do emphasis delivery of ecosystem services. And enhancing ecosystem services can ultimately benefit both adaptation and mitigation and other national priorities. What is needed is a strong focus on information and knowledge generation and management and an assessment of the current and potential impacts of national and subnational policies on ecosystem services at different scales. Establishing mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating policy implementation, stakeholder engagement and adaptive management are also crucial.
