This book is a cornerstone resource for a wide range of organizations and individuals concerned with sustainable development at national or local levels, as well as for international organizations concerned with supporting such development. Whilst the focus is on integrated strategies for sustainable development, the approaches and methods covered are equally relevant to poverty reduction, environmental and sectoral strategies, programme development and review. Agenda 21 called for all countries to develop sustainable development strategies. For such strategies to be effective there needs to be a real commitment. In every country, government at all levels, the private sector, and civil society, must work together in a true partnership, in transparent ways which enable genuine stakeholder participation. The necessary mechanisms and processes need to be coordinated to enable continuous learning and improvement. This resource book provides flexible, non-prescriptive guidance on how to develop, assess and implement national sustainable development strategies. It sets out principles and ideas on process and methods, and suggests how these can be used. It is based on an analysis of past and current practice, drawing directly from experience in both developed and developing countries. Following a discussion of the nature and challenges of sustainable development and the need for strategic responses to them, the heart of the book covers the main tasks in strategy processes. Individual chapters offer a rich range of guidance, ideas and case studies.

How will China use its increasing military capabilities in the future? China faces a complicated security environment with a wide range of internal and external threats. Rapidly expanding international interests are creating demands for the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to conduct new missions ranging from protecting Chinese shipping from Somali pirates to evacuating citizens from Libya. The most recent Chinese defense white paper states that the armed forces must "make serious preparations to cope with the most complex and difficult scenarios . . . so as to ensure proper responses . . . at any time and under any circumstances." Based on a conference co-sponsored by Taiwan's Council of Advanced Policy Studies, RAND, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and National Defense University, The People's Liberation Army and Contingency Planning in China brings together leading experts from the United States and Taiwan to examine how the PLA prepares for a range of domestic, border, and maritime...

Addressing a field that has been dominated by astronomers, physicists, engineers, and computer scientists, the contributors to this collection raise questions that may have been overlooked by physical scientists about the ease of establishing meaningful communication with an extraterrestrial intelligence. These scholars are grappling with some of the enormous challenges that will face humanity if an information-rich signal emanating from another world is detected. By drawing on issues at the core of contemporary archaeology and anthropology, we can be much better prepared for contact with an extraterrestrial civilization, should that day ever come.