Suchergebnisse

7) Links between Floods and Other Water Issues in the Himalayan and Tibetan Plateau Region - Robert J. Wasson and Barry Newell, S. 653-675Abstract: The Himalayan and Tibetan region and adjacent plains are highly flood-prone, causing massive damage in both urban and rural areas. While this is well known and moderately well studied, we contend that floods are connected to other water issues in this region and hence should not be analyzed in isolation. We use influence diagrams to present initial hypotheses concerning possible cause-effect links between key variables of the wider system. The links emphasize a need to take a much broader than usual view to minimize the unintended consequences of governance interventions, and to avoid worsening already highly dangerous situations. The governance challenges revealed by such a view are immense, but the large-scale framework presented here indicates a need for a collaborative, cross-sectoral approach to adaptive governance. While some of what is suggested in this paper is geopolitically unrealizable at the moment, the discussion is offered as a guide to future planning. (Pac Aff/GIGA)

The interactions between environmental change and human societies have a long, complex history spanning many millennia, but these have changed fundamentally in the last century. Human activities are now so pervasive and profound that they are altering the Earth in ways which threaten the very life support system upon which humans depend. This book describes what is known about the Earth System and the impact of changes caused by humans. It considers the consequences of these changes with respect to the stability of the Earth System and the well-being of humankind, as well as exploring future paths towards Earth System science in support of global sustainability. TOC:An Integrated Earth System.- Planetary Machinery: The Dynamics of the Earth System Prior to Significant Human Influence.- The Anthropocene Era: How Humans are Changing the Earth System.- Reverberations of Change: The Responses of the Earth System to Human Activities.- Living with Global Change: Consequences of Changes in the Earth System for Human Well-Being.- Towards Earth System Science and Global Sustainability