This volume brings together a number of prominent economic studies all of which deal with key water quality issues. The studies focus on the economic aspects of water quality including identifying the polluters' actions and incentives, designing and comparing control mechanisms, analyzing the costs and benefits of water quality programmes, and finally managing transboundary water quality. They all make recommendations for improving water quality through changing incentives, programmes and/...

This book reports on a study that assessed the effectiveness of irrigation technologies and management practices in the Third World. Using a management model, it offers new perspectives on the evaluation of investment priorities and the benefits of irrigation projects in developing countries.

Minnesota has a unique role in U.S. water policy. Hydrologically, it is a state with more than 12,000 lakes, an inland sea, and the headwaters of three major river systems: the St Lawrence, the Red River of the North, and the Mississippi. Institutionally, Minnesota is also unique. All U.S. states use Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) approaches to addressing impaired waters. Every TMDL requires a substantial investment of resources, including data collection, modeling, stakeholder input and ...

Howe and Easter analyze existing evidence on direct and indirect benefits attributable to water, as well as the potential costs of interbasin transfers, and examine feasibility of alternatives.Originally published in 1971

This book evaluates the history, the present and the future of water markets on 5 continents, beginning with the institutional underpinnings of water markets and factors influencing transaction costs. The book examines markets in seven countries and three different U.S. states, ranging from village-level water markets in Oman to basin wide formal water markets in Australia's Murray-Darling River basin.Introductory chapters on the background of water markets and on transaction costs...

Global warming and changes in climate will have severe and lasting impacts on national efforts to alleviate poverty and promote sustainable development. Some of the world's poorest countries and communities are the most vulnerable and are already suffering the consequences. Yet often these countries are rich in natural capital, ecosystems, and biodiversity that can contribute to solutions as they can to climate change. Biodiversity is the foundation and mainstay of agriculture, forests, and f...

This publication is the latest in a series of reports by FAO, the first of which was published in 1948. It is a synthesis of key results from the 2015 Global Forest Resources Assessment which is conducted every five years. It summarizes findings and data sources and links to more detailed publications and online resources.

Water is the world's life source and essential to all living creatures. Although we live on the blue planet, only 3 percent of all our water is drinkable. Yet we've grown accustomed to using it with abandon – individuals consume about 80 to 100 gallons per day adding up to the equivalent of an Olympic sized swimming pool every year. By this decade's end, when the world population is predicted to reach 8 billion, we will face severe shortages.In this ground breaking and forward-looki...

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) works towards ending hunger and poverty while using precious natural resources sustainably. The fisheries and aquaculture sector makes substantial contributions to food security, livelihoods and global trade. Global production of fish and other aquatic animals continued to grow and reached 179 million tonnes in 2018, and about 59.5 million people were engaged in the primary sector of capture fisheries and aquaculture. Fisher...

It's time to think differently about cities and nature. Understanding how to better connect our cities with the benefits nature provides will be increasingly important as people migrate to cities and flourish in them. All this urban growth, along with challenges of adapting to climate change, will require a new approach to infrastructure if we're going to be successful. Yet guidance on how to plan and implement projects to protect or restore natural infrastructure is often hard to come by....

In the last few decades, natural disasters have become more frequent and increasingly destructive. Populations depending on fisheries and aquaculture for their livelihoods are threatened not only by natural hazards but also by human-induced events and other developments beyond their control. Most small-scale fishers and fish workers live in developing countries, and they often face a multitude of problems that increase their vulnerability to hazards, such as pollution, environmental degrad...

Land is the integrating component of all livelihoods depending on farm, forest, rangeland, or water (rivers, lakes, coastal marine) habitats. Due to varying political, social, and economic factors, the heavy use of natural resources to supply a rapidly growing global population and economy has resulted in the unintended mismanagement and degradation of land and ecosystems. Sustainable Land Management provides strategic focus to the implementation of sustainable land management (SLM) component...