Environmental Resource Management and the Nexus Approach

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-vi

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2. Managing Water, Soil, and Waste in the Context of Global Change

   • Hiroshan Hettiarachchi, Reza Ardakanian

   Pages 1-7

3. Climate Change Adaptation

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 9-9

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   2. Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation in Water and Land Context

      • Zbigniew W. Kundzewicz

      Pages 11-39

   3. Climate Change, Profligacy, Poverty and Destruction: All Things Are Connected

      • Brian Moss

      Pages 41-76

4. Urbanization as a Main Driver of Global Change

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 77-77

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   2. A Nexus Approach to Urban and Regional Planning Using the Four-Capital Framework of Ecological Economics

      • Robert Costanza, Ida Kubiszewski

      Pages 79-111

   3. The Urban Water–Energy Nexus: Building Resilience for Global Change in the “Urban Century”

      • Christopher A. Scott, Arica Crootof, Sarah Kelly-Richards

      Pages 113-140

5. Population Growth and Increased Demand for Resources

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 141-141

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   2. Role of Soils for Satisfying Global Demands for Food, Water, and Bioenergy

      • Winfried E. H. Blum

      Pages 143-177

   3. Implications of the Nexus Approach When Assessing Water and Soil Quality as a Function of Solid and Liquid Waste Management

      • Johan Bouma

      Pages 179-209

This book elaborates how water, soil, and waste may be managed in a nexus and how this approach may help combat global change. In addition to providing a brief account on nexus thinking and how it may help us tackle issues important to the world community such as food security, the book presents the environmental resource perspective of three main aspects of global change: climate change, urbanization, and population growth.

Taking as its point of departure the thematic discussions of the Dresden Nexus Conference (DNC 2015) held in March 2015, the book presents the perspectives of a number of thought leaders on how the nexus approach could contribute to sustainable environmental resource management.

The first chapter provides an introduction to the issues and consent of the book. Chapters 2 and 3 focus on climate change adaptation. Chapters 4 and 5 discuss the role of urbanization as a main driver of global change. The last two chapters of the book present ideas on how the nexus approach may be used to cope with population growth and increased demand for resources.

• Climate Change
• Global Change
• Integrated Resources Management
• Nexus Approach
• Wastewater Management

• United Nations University Institute for, Dresden, Germany

  Hiroshan Hettiarachchi, Reza Ardakanian

Prof. Dr. Reza Ardakanian is the Founding Director of United Nations University Institute for Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources (UNU-FLORES). He served as Director of the UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity Development hosted by UNU (2007–2015) and as Vice-Rector of UNU in Europe, ad interim (2009–2011). He sat on the Boards of various international programmes/organisations such as UNESCO-IHP, UNESCO-IHE, the International Hydropower Association, and UNU-EHS. Prof. Dr. Ardakanian holds a PhD in Water Resources Management from McMaster University (Canada) and is a faculty member of Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, Iran. He formerly held a number of national offices in Iran, including Deputy Minister for Water Affairs (2001–2005), Senior Vice-Minister (1998–2001) and Deputy Minister for Planning & Economic Affairs (1989–1991) with the Ministry of Energy, and Deputy Minister for Urban Development and Municipalities with the Ministry of Interior (1987–1989).

Dr. Hiroshan Hettiarachchi is a civil engineer specialised in geotechnical and geo-environmental engineering. He joined United Nations University Institute for Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources (UNU-FLORES) as Academic Officer and leads the Waste Management unit. He previously served as Associate Professor at Lawrence Technological University, USA. Dr. Hettiarachchi’s past research is mainly focused on geotechnical aspects of landfills and properties and behaviour of geomaterials. He holds a PhD in Civil Engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology, USA.

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