Community seed banks first appeared towards the end of the 1980s, established with the support of international and national non-governmental organizations. This book is the first to provide a global review of their development and includes a wide range of case studies. Countries that pioneered various types of community seed banks include Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Nepal, Nicaragua, the Philippines and Zimbabwe. In the North, a particular type of community seed bank emerged known as a seed-savers network. Such networks were first established in Australia, Canada, the UK and the USA before spreading to other countries. Over time, the number and diversity of seed banks has grown. In Nepal, for example, there are now more than 100 self-described community seed banks whose functions range from pure conservation to commercial seed production. In Brazil, community seed banks operate in various regions of the country. Surprisingly, despite 25 years of history and the rapid growth in number, organizational diversity and geographical coverage of community seed banks, recognition of their roles and contributions has remained scanty. The book reviews their history, evolution, experiences, successes and failures (and reasons why), challenges and prospects. It fills a significant gap in the literature on agricultural biodiversity and conservation, and their contribution to food sovereignty and security.

There is a considerable gap between the science of conservation biology and the design and execution of biodiversity conservation projects in the field. Science is often failing to inform the practice of conservation, which remains largely experience-based. The main reason is the poor accessibility of evidence on the effectiveness of different interventions. This is the basis for this book adopting an 'evidence-based approach', modelled on the systematic reviews used in health sciences and now being applied to many policy arenas. Evidence-based Conservation brings together a series of case studies, written by field practitioners, that provides the evidence-base for evaluating how effective conservation and poverty alleviation strategies can be better implemented. A series of systematic reviews uses experiences and data from fifteen integrated conservation and development projects conducted in the Lower Mekong region, specifically in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. They provide wide-ranging overviews of the effectiveness of protected areas and how innovative tools and methods for monitoring and evaluation can be utilised for more effective outcomes. Results are in the form of management and policy recommendations, based on the quality of evidence and the cost-utility of the intervention. By bridging the gap between field practice and conservation, the analysis should lead to more effective integrated conservation and development interventions. The book represents one of the first attempts to apply the evidence-based approach to conservation and development.

The water resources of the Mekong river catchment area, from China, through Thailand, Cambodia and Laos to Vietnam, are increasingly contested. Governments, companies and banks are driving new investment in roads, dams, diversions, irrigation schemes, navigation facilities, power plants and other emblems of conventional "development." Their plans and interventions pose multiple burdens and risks to the livelihoods of millions of people dependent on wetlands, floodplains, fisheries and aquatic resources.

Solid waste management issues, technologies and challenges are dynamic. More so, in developing and transitory nations in Asia. This book, written by Asian experts in solid waste management, explores the current situation in Asian countries including Pacific Islands. There are not many technical books of this kind, especially dedicated to this region of the world. The chapters form a comprehensive, coherent investigation in municipal solid waste (MSW) management, including, definitions used, generation, sustainable waste management system, legal framework and impacts on global warming. Several case studies from Asian nations are included to exemplify the real situation experienced. Discussions on MSW policy in these countries and their impacts on waste management and minimization (if any) are indeed an eye-opener. Undoubtedly, this book would be a pioneer in revealing the latest situation in the Asian region, which includes two of the world’s most dynamic nations in the economic growth. It is greatly envisaged to form an excellent source of reference in MSW management in Asia and Pacific Islands. This book will bridge the wide gap in available information between the developed and transitory/developing nations.

"This document builds on the brief paper presented at the 7th Meeting of the UN-REDD Programme Policy Board, held in Berlin, October 2011 (UNREDD/PB7/2011/13), which lays out ways to consider the REDD+ monitoring and information provision needs in the broader context of national development and environmental strategies, at the implementation level. The purpose of this document is to describe the elements in National Forest Monitoring Systems (NFMSs) as they relate to REDD+ under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and to describe the UN-REDD Programme approach to Monitoring and Measurement, Reporting and Verification (M & MRV) requirements."--Page v.

Buddhism, often described as an austere religion that condemns desire, promotes denial, and idealizes the contemplative life, actually has a thriving leisure culture in Asia. Creative religious improvisations designed by Buddhists have been produced both within and outside of monasteries across the region—in Nepal, Japan, Korea, Macau, Hong Kong, Singapore, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. Justin McDaniel looks at the growth of Asia’s culture of Buddhist leisure—what he calls “socially disengaged Buddhism”—through a study of architects responsible for monuments, museums, amusement parks, and other sites. In conversation with noted theorists of material and visual culture and anthropologists of art, McDaniel argues that such sites highlight the importance of public, leisure, and spectacle culture from a Buddhist perspective and illustrate how “secular” and “religious,” “public” and “private,” are in many ways false binaries. Moreover, places like Lek Wiriyaphan’s Sanctuary of Truth in Thailand, Suối Tiên Amusement Park in Saigon, and Shi Fa Zhao’s multilevel museum/ritual space/tea house in Singapore reflect a growing Buddhist ecumenism built through repetitive affective encounters instead of didactic sermons and sectarian developments. They present different Buddhist traditions, images, and aesthetic expressions as united but not uniform, collected but not concise: Together they form a gathering, not a movement. Despite the ingenuity of lay and ordained visionaries like Wiriyaphan and Zhao and their colleagues Kenzo Tange, Chan-soo Park, Tadao Ando, and others discussed in this book, creators of Buddhist leisure sites often face problems along the way. Parks and museums are complex adaptive systems that are changed and influenced by budgets, available materials, local and global economic conditions, and visitors. Architects must often compromise and settle at local optima, and no matter what they intend, their buildings will develop lives of their own. Provocative and theoretically innovative, Architects of Buddhist Leisure asks readers to question the very category of “religious” architecture. It challenges current methodological approaches in religious studies and speaks to a broad audience interested in modern art, architecture, religion, anthropology, and material culture.

Water Reuse: An International Survey of current practice, issues and needs examines water reuse practices around the world from different perspectives. The objective is to show how differently wastewater reuse is conceived and practised around the world as well as to present the varied needs and possibilities for reusing wastewater. In the first section water reuse practices around the world are described for regions having common water availability, reuse needs and social aspects. The second section refers to the “stakeholders” point of view. Each reuse purpose demands different water quality, not only to protect health and the environment but also to fulfil the requirements of the specific reuse. Reuses considered are agricultural, urban agriculture as a special case of the former, municipal and industrial. Alongside these uses, the indirect reuse for human consumption through aquifer recharge is also discussed. The third section deals with emerging and controversial topics. Ethical and economical dilemmas in the field are presented as a subject not frequently addressed in this field. The role of governments in respect of public policy in reuse is discussed as well as the different international criteria and standards for reusing wastewater. The importance of public acceptance and the way to properly handle it is also considered. The fourth section of the book presents contrasting case studies; typical situations in the developed world (Japan and Germany) are compared to those in developing countries (Pakistan and Brazil) for agricultural and industrial reuse. Indirect planned reuse for human consumption (Germany) is compared with an unplanned one (Mexico). The Windhoek, Namibia case study is presented to emphasize why if the direct reuse of wastewater for human consumption has been performed with success for more than 35 years it is still the only example of this type around the world. To illustrate the difficulties of having a common framework for regulating water reuse in several countries, the Mediterranean situation is described. Other case studies presented refer to the reuse situation in Israel, Spain, Cameroon, Nepal and Vietnam, these latter countries being located in water rich areas. This book will be an invaluable information source for all those concerned with water reuse including water utility managers, wastewater policy makers and water resources planners as well as researchers and students in environmental engineering, water resources planning and sanitary engineering. Scientific and Technical Report No. 20