A fusion of ecological restoration and sustainable development, restorative redevelopment represents an emerging paradigm for remediating landscapes. Rather than merely fixing the broken bits and pieces of nature, restorative development advocates the reuse of devastated landscapes to improve the value and livability of a location for humans at the same time as effectively reinstating natural processes and functions. Restorative Redevelopment of Devastated Ecocultural Landscapes explores the use of this approach to address the long-term, sustainable reparation of the fabled marshlands of southern Iraq destroyed by Saddam Hussein, as well as numerous examples of other ecologically sensitive regions. Case studies presented include: Southern marshlands Iraq Hula swamp, Israel Azraq Oasis, Jordan Las Vegas Wash, USA Xochimilco, Mexico Pantanal, Brazil Clark County Wetlands Park, USA Tonle Sap, Cambodia Lake Titicaca, Peru Nature Reserves, Jordan The book reviews successfully-implemented and celebrated case studies from more than 15 countries around the world which, either in whole or in part, can offer valuable insight into the restorative development of the Iraqi marshlands as well as other devastated ecocultural landscapes. It presents practical approaches for sustaining the process of restoration efforts, both during and after the reparation work has been accomplished. The editor suggests solutions targeted for Iraq but that also have resonance in other regions devastated by conflict and natural disasters. He takes a synoptic or cross-system approach to problem solving when repairing large-scale landscapes that have been devastated by conflict or natural disasters such as tsunami-damaged Indonesia and earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

A critical and detailed analysis of inequalities of world trade systems.

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.