Sustainability
A Biological Perspective

Focuses on how the theories underlying sustainability can be translated into practice and the challenges involved in achieving this.

Stephen Morse (Author)

9780521543002, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 8 July 2010

274 pages, 89 b/w illus. 23 tables
22.8 x 15.1 x 1.4 cm, 0.45 kg

'This is a useful text to make students recognise the interconnectedness that underlies conservation, agriculture and environmental management with economics, ethics and politics. Although he cannot cover all aspects of sustainability Morse provides enough in this volume, from food miles to evidence based policy making, to challenge any ecologist, economist or even policy maker to think more broadly.' Bulletin of the British Ecological Society

Encouraging students to engage in the challenges and complexity of sustainability, this text considers not only the theories underlying sustainability, but more importantly how theories are translated into practice and the difficulties of achieving this in the world in which we live. This pragmatic focus gives students a greater understanding of the practice of sustainability and highlights the challenges involved. Models and theories are illustrated throughout with real world examples to help students move away from the abstract and connect with genuine issues. The text begins by focusing on sustainable production and consumption and how they are related. The role of tools such as modelling and sustainability indicators are explored, and extended into the fields of stakeholder participation, livelihoods and evidence-based policy. The final chapter explores the interconnections between apparently disparate subjects and the importance of taking an interdisciplinary perspective.

Preface
1. Sustainability: a word of our time
2. Sustainable agriculture: more and more production
3. Sustainable management of fisheries
4. Applying sustainability to industry
5. Social and economic dimensions to sustainability
6. The 'doing' of sustainability
7. Sustainability science?
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Environmental science, engineering & technology [TQ], Sustainability [RNU], Conservation of the environment [RNK], Environmental management [RNF], Applied ecology [RNC]