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Land represents an important resource for the economic life of a majority of people in the world. The way people handle and use land resources impacts their social and economic well-being as well as the sustained quality of land resources. Land use planning is also integral to water resources development and management for agriculture, industry, drinking water, power generation, etc. This valuable work brings to the forefront the state of practice of land use planning in India, highlighting governmental programs and research with wide-ranging chapters on important topics. The book discusses: the impending impacts of climate change and variability issues have that direct bearing on agricultural land use and rural development, doable technologies that are land-based activities for effective agro-technology transfer strategies and approaches, the huge investments necessary for the effective planning methodologies and approaches, how land use planning activities are likely to improve nutrition and food security and enhance the livelihoods of the small and marginal farmers, the use and reliability of information technology tools, legal frameworks, and much more that are needed to adopt appropriate policies. With high population growth, endemic poverty, and weak existing institutional capacity for land management, India (and other regions of the world) require strong scientific and strategically important land use policies and methods for sustainable development. This book helps to show the way. This volume is published in association with the Centre for Agrarian Studies and Disaster Mitigation of the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRD and PR).

Städtischer Raum ist ein Gemeingut, ein „commons“: ein Ort der Zusammenarbeit und des Verhandelns von Menschen und zugleich deren Ergebnis. Städtischen Raum als ein Gemeingut zu verstehen folgt der Annahme, dass die begehrte Produktivität der Städte den Strategien des Staates und des Kapitals vorausgeht, also gerade nicht aus ihnen resultiert. Dieser Ansatz stellt die These infrage, Urbanisierung sei kapitalgesteuert, eine Annahme, die auch von einer Reihe aktueller urbaner sozialer Bewegungen wie dem Arabischen Frühling, der Occupy-Bewegung oder den „Right to the City“-Zusammenschlüssen unterstützt wird. Gleichwohl existiert das urbane Gemeingut in engem Zusammenhang mit Staat und Markt: beide versuchen, es zu kontrollieren und es sich zu Nutze zu machen: Einerseits werden Initiativen zur Schaffung von gemeinschaftlichen Freiräumen von den Regierungen unterstützt, um städtischen Raum wieder aufzuwerten und die Auswirkungen wirtschaftlicher Umstrukturierungen abzuschwächen. Andererseits wird das kreative und produktive Potenzial der „urban commons“ durch die anhaltenden Versuche untergraben, diese zu privatisieren und kommerzialisieren. Der Band untersucht diese aktuelle Thematik theoretisch und empirisch anhand eines breiten Spektrums von internationalen Fallstudien wie etwa Berlin, Hyderabad und Seoul. Aus dem Blickwinkel der Stadtforschung wird erstmals eine breite Diskussion über die urbanen „commons“ erschlossen, die derzeit in Forschung und unter Aktivistinnen zu den Themen Wohnungsbau, öffentlicher Raum und städtische Infrastruktur geführt wird. Urban space is a commons: simultaneously a sphere of human cooperation and negotiation and its product. Understanding urban space as a commons means that the much sought-after productivity of the city precedes rather than results from strategies of the state and capital. This approach challenges assumptions of urbanization as capital-driven, an idea which resonates with a range of recent urban social movements, from the Arab Spring and the Occupy movement to the “Right to the City” alliance. However commons exist in a tense relationship with state and market, both of which continually seek to exploit and control them. Initiatives to create “commons” are welcomed and even facilitated by governments in order to (re-)valorize urban space and lessen the impacts of economic restructuring, while, at the same time, the creative and reproductive potential of the urban commons is undermined by continuing attempts to commodify them. This volume examines these topics theoretically and empirically through a wide spectrum of international case studies providing perspectives from a variety of cities as diverse as Berlin, Hyderabad and Seoul. A wider discussion of commons in current scientific and activist literature from housing, public space, to urban infrastructure, is explored through the lens of the urban condition.

This book focuses on the challenges people face in managing agricultural crops, aquaculture, fisheries and related ecosystems in areas of coastal zones in the tropics of Asia, Africa, Australia and South America. Challenges arise from conflicts in the use of natural resources among different stakeholders. Through many case studies, the book discusses the nature of these conflicts and identifies what is known and not known about how to manage them. Case studies include: * trade-offs between enhancing agricultural production and maintenance of rural livelihoods and aquatic biodiversity.* lessons learnt from the conversion of mangrove forests to shrimp farms.

Written by 27 World Bank experts, this book draws on the Bank's unique global capabilities and experience to promote an understanding of key global issues that cannot be solved by any one nation alone in an increasingly interconnected world. It describes the forces that are shaping public and private action to address these issues and highlights the Bank's own work in these areas. Covering four broad themes (global economy, global human development, global environment, and global governance), this comprehensive volume provides an introduction to today's most pressing global issues -- from poverty, conflict, and migration to climate change, international trade, education, health, and corruption. With its straightforward presentation of complex topics, use of real world examples, and suggestions for further reading on-line and in the literature, this unique volume will be an invaluable resource for students in international relations, global business, public policy, international development studies, sociology as well as other interested readers.