La Caraïbe, données environnementales

La Caraïbe, données environnementales
Author:
Publisher: KARTHALA Editions
Total Pages: 478
Release: 2006
Genre: Caribbean Area
ISBN: 2845867565

A l'interface des continents nord et sud américains, la Caraïbe se caractérise par de grandes disparités sociétales et biologiques. A la pluralité des environnements physiques correspond une diversité floristique, faunistique, écosystémique et paysagère. Ressource primordiale pour les Amérindiens, les écosystèmes terrestres et marins sont aujourd'hui à l'intersection d'intérêts divers relevant de l'économique et du culturel ou encore de l'aménagement territorial. Les spécificités écologiques, qui sont fonction des différentes terres caribéennes, sont à la base d'usages nouveaux susceptibles de participer au développement économique, par exemple le tourisme. A cette histoire singulière, façonnée par l'action des hommes, s'ajoutent les incommodités naturelles telluriques et atmosphériques, dont les effets directs et indirects ont érigé certaines composantes de cette partie de la biosphère en terre à risques. Les nuisances de toutes sortes, inhérentes au fonctionnement de ces sociétés, sont des freins au développement maîtrisé ou soutenable. Pour l'essentiel, les économies relèvent des propriétés du mal-développement et peuvent entraîner, dans des cas extrêmes, un chaos politique et social. Les conséquences pour les milieux biophysiques sont souvent graves et s'apparentent à un écocide (Haïti par exemple). Le but premier de ce numéro de Terres d'Amérique est d'explorer les différentes facettes du fonctionnement des sociétés caribéennes ainsi que leurs dynamiques d'interface au regard des environnements physiques et biologiques.

Urban Climates in Latin America

Urban Climates in Latin America
Author: Cristián Henríquez
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 414
Release: 2019-02-23
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3319970135

This book describes the observation of urban climates in Latin-American and their relationships with urban sprawl, the economic emergence of Latin American countries, social segregation, urban ecology, disasters and resilience. The chapters include contributions dealing with urban heat islands, local climate zones, thermal comfort, air pollution, extreme climate index, green infrastructure, health issues and adaptions based on the socio-economic background of urban areas. This book revises the role of urban planning and environmental governance, highlighting the singularities in climate adaptation policies in developing countries.

Innovation Issues in Water, Agriculture and Food

Innovation Issues in Water, Agriculture and Food
Author: Maria do Rosario Cameira
Publisher: MDPI
Total Pages: 406
Release: 2019-07-15
Genre: Science
ISBN: 303921165X

In a worldwide context of ever-growing competition for water and land, climate change, droughts and man-made water scarcity, and less-participatory water governance, agriculture faces the great challenge of producing enough food for a continually increasing population. In this line, this book provides a broad overview of innovation issues in the complex water–agriculture–food nexus, thus also relative to their interconnections and dependences. Issues refer to different spatial scales, from the field or the farm to the irrigation system or the river basin. Multidisciplinary approaches are used when analyzing the relationships between water, agriculture, and food security. The covered issues are quite diverse and include: innovation in crop evapotranspiration, crop coefficients and modeling; updates in research relative to crop water use and saving; irrigation scheduling and systems design; simulation models to support water and agricultural decisions; issues to cope with water scarcity and climate change; advances in water resource quality and sustainable uses; new tools for mapping and use of remote sensing information; and fostering a participative and inclusive governance of water for food security and population welfare. This book brings together a variety of contributions by leading international experts, professionals, and scholars in those diverse fields. It represents a major synthesis and state-of-the-art on various subjects, thus providing a valuable and updated resource for all researchers, professionals, policymakers, and post-graduate students interested in the complex world of the water–agriculture–food nexus.

Medellín: environment urbanism society

Medellín: environment urbanism society
Author: Michel Hermelin Arbaux
Publisher: Universidad EAFIT
Total Pages: 381
Release: 2012-01-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9587201140

In recent times what has become known as "the case of Medellín " has generated a growing interest in the international community. These urban transformation that Medellín has experimented have become a focus of attention and reference for experts in many fields, around the world. The book ́Medellin: Environment, Urbanism and Society ́, that now published the Center for Urban and Environmental Studies, Urbam, of EAFIT University is a testimony of the value given by our culture to the accomplishments of the city, to the idea of the public sphere and the growing relationship between the technical sphere and the political sphere, understood in the broad sense as a form of disciplinary knowledge and construction of civil society. This book brings together a knowledge of the city from multiple perspectives; knowledge that is, without any doubt, impressive for its extension and profoundity, as well as for its capacity to combine objective data with conceptual reflections about the scope and impact of the different perspectives concerning the theme of urban transformation and the different actors that have participated in such processes. The book weaves a broad net over the city, its history and development, adopting a multidisciplinary vision. I think that this will be the first step in creating a speech that might finally liberate itself from the strict disciplinary boundaries, building a trans-disciplinary perspective that can amplify the urban dimension of the city. This is the beginning of a profound and complex reflection that is, at the same time, a project of knowledge and an instrument of action and participation.