Emily Boyd
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780197265536
- eISBN:
- 9780191760327
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265536.003.0020
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
Adaptive governance explains processes of reaction and social learning through leadership, experience, and experimentation. Much of this is set in frameworks of culture, power, social relations, ...
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Adaptive governance explains processes of reaction and social learning through leadership, experience, and experimentation. Much of this is set in frameworks of culture, power, social relations, social justice, and vulnerability. Adaptive governance stipulates cooperative management, collective action to help prepare society, business, markets, and civil organizations for the characteristics of tipping points: convulsive and unpredictable change and outcomes, and huge uncertainty over the effectiveness of initial responses. Resilience comes about when resources are released by sudden events, or by social value shifts, leading to overall transformation. Examples are offered from drought in Amazonia and the Sahel and urban flooding in Mumbai. Adaptivity is neither easy nor assured and always unpredictable. Local to global institutional fits are required but often wanting. Yet resilience can be found even in the most adverse circumstances, so we need to discover more about its character and adaptiveness.Less
Adaptive governance explains processes of reaction and social learning through leadership, experience, and experimentation. Much of this is set in frameworks of culture, power, social relations, social justice, and vulnerability. Adaptive governance stipulates cooperative management, collective action to help prepare society, business, markets, and civil organizations for the characteristics of tipping points: convulsive and unpredictable change and outcomes, and huge uncertainty over the effectiveness of initial responses. Resilience comes about when resources are released by sudden events, or by social value shifts, leading to overall transformation. Examples are offered from drought in Amazonia and the Sahel and urban flooding in Mumbai. Adaptivity is neither easy nor assured and always unpredictable. Local to global institutional fits are required but often wanting. Yet resilience can be found even in the most adverse circumstances, so we need to discover more about its character and adaptiveness.
R. Ford Denison
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691139500
- eISBN:
- 9781400842810
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691139500.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
As human populations grow and resources are depleted, agriculture will need to use land, water, and other resources more efficiently and without sacrificing long-term sustainability. This book ...
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As human populations grow and resources are depleted, agriculture will need to use land, water, and other resources more efficiently and without sacrificing long-term sustainability. This book presents an entirely new approach to these challenges, one that draws on the principles of evolution and natural selection. It shows how both biotechnology and traditional plant breeding can use Darwinian insights to identify promising routes for crop genetic improvement and avoid costly dead ends. It explains why plant traits that have been genetically optimized by individual selection—such as photosynthesis and drought tolerance—are bad candidates for genetic improvement. Traits like plant height and leaf angle, which determine the collective performance of plant communities, offer more room for improvement. Agriculturalists can also benefit from more sophisticated comparisons among natural communities and from the study of wild species in the landscapes where they evolved. The book reveals why it is sometimes better to slow or even reverse evolutionary trends when they are inconsistent with our present goals, and how we can glean new ideas from natural selection's marvelous innovations in wild species.Less
As human populations grow and resources are depleted, agriculture will need to use land, water, and other resources more efficiently and without sacrificing long-term sustainability. This book presents an entirely new approach to these challenges, one that draws on the principles of evolution and natural selection. It shows how both biotechnology and traditional plant breeding can use Darwinian insights to identify promising routes for crop genetic improvement and avoid costly dead ends. It explains why plant traits that have been genetically optimized by individual selection—such as photosynthesis and drought tolerance—are bad candidates for genetic improvement. Traits like plant height and leaf angle, which determine the collective performance of plant communities, offer more room for improvement. Agriculturalists can also benefit from more sophisticated comparisons among natural communities and from the study of wild species in the landscapes where they evolved. The book reveals why it is sometimes better to slow or even reverse evolutionary trends when they are inconsistent with our present goals, and how we can glean new ideas from natural selection's marvelous innovations in wild species.
Toby Gardner
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780197265536
- eISBN:
- 9780191760327
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265536.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
The Amazon is a major biome for helping to stabilize the water and temperature of its region and possibly even the whole planet. But increasingly it is subject to droughts leading to the possibility ...
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The Amazon is a major biome for helping to stabilize the water and temperature of its region and possibly even the whole planet. But increasingly it is subject to droughts leading to the possibility of a runaway drying into a far less diverse forest and even an emergent savannah. In essence this is a highly complex socio-ecological biome which is experiencing global interconnections over carbon emissions and food price spikes. All of this makes predictions of the tipping points for the Amazon extremely difficult to model or to manage. Turning these disturbance factors around requires regional and local scale commitment involving all communities and real incentives to conserve ecosystem services with appropriate safeguards and payments. This is a tall order as at the level of land use and forest conservation, the incentives are perverse.Less
The Amazon is a major biome for helping to stabilize the water and temperature of its region and possibly even the whole planet. But increasingly it is subject to droughts leading to the possibility of a runaway drying into a far less diverse forest and even an emergent savannah. In essence this is a highly complex socio-ecological biome which is experiencing global interconnections over carbon emissions and food price spikes. All of this makes predictions of the tipping points for the Amazon extremely difficult to model or to manage. Turning these disturbance factors around requires regional and local scale commitment involving all communities and real incentives to conserve ecosystem services with appropriate safeguards and payments. This is a tall order as at the level of land use and forest conservation, the incentives are perverse.
Gregory P. Cheplick and Stanley H. Faeth
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195308082
- eISBN:
- 9780199867462
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195308082.003.0002
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology
In symbiotic associations, there is great variation in ecological outcomes shaped by the underlying coevolutionary process. Endophytic fungi of grasses have been shown to affect host growth and ...
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In symbiotic associations, there is great variation in ecological outcomes shaped by the underlying coevolutionary process. Endophytic fungi of grasses have been shown to affect host growth and reproduction, photosynthetic physiology, abiotic stress tolerance, and competitive ability. Although positive effects of endophytes on host growth in several grass-endophyte systems have been described, many studies have been done mostly on a limited set of species growing in controlled environments. Effects of endophytes on host sexual reproduction range from parasitic castration (e.g., sexual Epichloë endophytes which cause choke disease) to improved seed production (e.g. asexual Neotyphodium endophytes in tall fescue). Vertical transmission within seeds occurs in asexual endophytes and may favor the evolution of mutualistic symbioses. Most reports of improved tolerance of abiotic stresses, such as low soil water and/or minerals shown by infected hosts, have involved tall fescue or perennial ryegrass. The grass-endophyte interaction could represent an adaptive symbiosis in relation to at least some environmental stresses. Effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 on grass-endophyte interactions have not been clearly demonstrated. Although past workers have sometimes shown that endophytes increased the competitive ability of their hosts, recent analyses have not supported the contention that endophytes significantly improve host competitive ability.Less
In symbiotic associations, there is great variation in ecological outcomes shaped by the underlying coevolutionary process. Endophytic fungi of grasses have been shown to affect host growth and reproduction, photosynthetic physiology, abiotic stress tolerance, and competitive ability. Although positive effects of endophytes on host growth in several grass-endophyte systems have been described, many studies have been done mostly on a limited set of species growing in controlled environments. Effects of endophytes on host sexual reproduction range from parasitic castration (e.g., sexual Epichloë endophytes which cause choke disease) to improved seed production (e.g. asexual Neotyphodium endophytes in tall fescue). Vertical transmission within seeds occurs in asexual endophytes and may favor the evolution of mutualistic symbioses. Most reports of improved tolerance of abiotic stresses, such as low soil water and/or minerals shown by infected hosts, have involved tall fescue or perennial ryegrass. The grass-endophyte interaction could represent an adaptive symbiosis in relation to at least some environmental stresses. Effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 on grass-endophyte interactions have not been clearly demonstrated. Although past workers have sometimes shown that endophytes increased the competitive ability of their hosts, recent analyses have not supported the contention that endophytes significantly improve host competitive ability.
David Beresford-Jones
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197264768
- eISBN:
- 9780191754005
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264768.001.0001
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
This book presents an archaeological case of prehistoric human environmental impact: a study of ecological and cultural change from the arid south coast of Peru, beginning around 750 bc and ...
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This book presents an archaeological case of prehistoric human environmental impact: a study of ecological and cultural change from the arid south coast of Peru, beginning around 750 bc and culminating in a collapse during the Middle Horizon, around ad 900. Its focus is the lower Ica Valley — today depopulated and bereft of cultivation and yet with archaeological remains attesting to substantial prehistoric occupations — thereby presenting a prima facie case for changed environmental conditions. Previous archaeological interpretations of cultural changes in the region rely heavily on climatic factors such as El Niño floods and long droughts. While the archaeological, geomorphological, and archaeobotanical records presented here do indeed include new evidence of huge ancient flood events, they also demonstrate the significance of more gradual, human-induced destruction of Prosopis pallida (huarango) riparian dry-forest. The huarango is a remarkable leguminous hardwood that lives for over a millennium and provides forage, fuel, and food. Moreover, it is crucial to the integration of a fragile desert ecosystem, enhancing microclimate and soil fertility and moisture. Its removal exposed this landscape to the effects of El Niño climatic perturbations long before Europeans arrived in Peru. This case study therefore contradicts the popular perception that Native Americans inflicted barely perceptible disturbance upon a New World Eden. Yet, it also records correlations between changes in society and degrees of human environmental impact. These allow inferences about the specific contexts in which significant human environmental impacts in the New World did, and did not, arise.Less
This book presents an archaeological case of prehistoric human environmental impact: a study of ecological and cultural change from the arid south coast of Peru, beginning around 750 bc and culminating in a collapse during the Middle Horizon, around ad 900. Its focus is the lower Ica Valley — today depopulated and bereft of cultivation and yet with archaeological remains attesting to substantial prehistoric occupations — thereby presenting a prima facie case for changed environmental conditions. Previous archaeological interpretations of cultural changes in the region rely heavily on climatic factors such as El Niño floods and long droughts. While the archaeological, geomorphological, and archaeobotanical records presented here do indeed include new evidence of huge ancient flood events, they also demonstrate the significance of more gradual, human-induced destruction of Prosopis pallida (huarango) riparian dry-forest. The huarango is a remarkable leguminous hardwood that lives for over a millennium and provides forage, fuel, and food. Moreover, it is crucial to the integration of a fragile desert ecosystem, enhancing microclimate and soil fertility and moisture. Its removal exposed this landscape to the effects of El Niño climatic perturbations long before Europeans arrived in Peru. This case study therefore contradicts the popular perception that Native Americans inflicted barely perceptible disturbance upon a New World Eden. Yet, it also records correlations between changes in society and degrees of human environmental impact. These allow inferences about the specific contexts in which significant human environmental impacts in the New World did, and did not, arise.
Yadvinder Malhi and James Wright
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198567066
- eISBN:
- 9780191717888
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198567066.003.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Plant Sciences and Forestry
This chapter presents an analysis of the mean climate and climatic trends of tropical rainforest regions over the period 1960-98, with the aid of climatological databases. Since the mid-1970s all ...
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This chapter presents an analysis of the mean climate and climatic trends of tropical rainforest regions over the period 1960-98, with the aid of climatological databases. Since the mid-1970s all tropical rainforest regions have experienced a warming, in synchrony with a global rise in temperature that has been attributed to the anthropogenic greenhouse effect. Over the study period precipitation appears to have declined sharply in northern tropical Africa, declined marginally in tropical Asia, and showed no significant trend in Amazonia. There is no evidence to date of a decline in precipitation in eastern Amazonia, a region thought vulnerable to climate-change induced drying. The strong drying trend in Africa suggests that this should be a priority study region for understanding the impact of drought on tropical rainforests. Only African and Indian tropical rainforests appear to have seen a significant increase in dry season intensity. The El Niñno-Southern Oscillation is the primary driver of interannual temperature variations across the tropics, and of precipitation fluctuations for large areas of the Americas and Southeast Asia.Less
This chapter presents an analysis of the mean climate and climatic trends of tropical rainforest regions over the period 1960-98, with the aid of climatological databases. Since the mid-1970s all tropical rainforest regions have experienced a warming, in synchrony with a global rise in temperature that has been attributed to the anthropogenic greenhouse effect. Over the study period precipitation appears to have declined sharply in northern tropical Africa, declined marginally in tropical Asia, and showed no significant trend in Amazonia. There is no evidence to date of a decline in precipitation in eastern Amazonia, a region thought vulnerable to climate-change induced drying. The strong drying trend in Africa suggests that this should be a priority study region for understanding the impact of drought on tropical rainforests. Only African and Indian tropical rainforests appear to have seen a significant increase in dry season intensity. The El Niñno-Southern Oscillation is the primary driver of interannual temperature variations across the tropics, and of precipitation fluctuations for large areas of the Americas and Southeast Asia.
Patrick Meir and John Grace
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198567066
- eISBN:
- 9780191717888
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198567066.003.0007
- Subject:
- Biology, Plant Sciences and Forestry
Drought stress in tropical forests can have a major impact on global carbon, water, and energy cycles. This chapter examines drought-induced responses in the processing of carbon and water by intact ...
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Drought stress in tropical forests can have a major impact on global carbon, water, and energy cycles. This chapter examines drought-induced responses in the processing of carbon and water by intact tropical forest ecosystems over short (physiological) and longer (ecological) timescales. Both levels of understanding should be represented in analyses of climate-forest ecosystem feedback. Although limited spatial information on the diversity of the physical properties of soil constrains estimates of drought vulnerability, tree functional convergence across species based on simple measures such as wood density would simplify how drought responses can be represented and linked to changes in forest composition through mortality indices. While insufficient on their own, satellite-derived measurements of ecosystem properties (e.g. leaf area index) and processes (e.g. mortality and photosynthesis) are expected to provide increasingly detailed information that can be used to test understanding of short- and longer-term responses to drought.Less
Drought stress in tropical forests can have a major impact on global carbon, water, and energy cycles. This chapter examines drought-induced responses in the processing of carbon and water by intact tropical forest ecosystems over short (physiological) and longer (ecological) timescales. Both levels of understanding should be represented in analyses of climate-forest ecosystem feedback. Although limited spatial information on the diversity of the physical properties of soil constrains estimates of drought vulnerability, tree functional convergence across species based on simple measures such as wood density would simplify how drought responses can be represented and linked to changes in forest composition through mortality indices. While insufficient on their own, satellite-derived measurements of ecosystem properties (e.g. leaf area index) and processes (e.g. mortality and photosynthesis) are expected to provide increasingly detailed information that can be used to test understanding of short- and longer-term responses to drought.
Michael B. Silvers
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780252042089
- eISBN:
- 9780252050831
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5622/illinois/9780252042089.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, Ethnomusicology, World Music
Voices of Drought is an ethnomusicological study of relationships between popular music, the environmental and social costs of drought, and the politics of culture and climate vulnerability in the ...
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Voices of Drought is an ethnomusicological study of relationships between popular music, the environmental and social costs of drought, and the politics of culture and climate vulnerability in the northeast region of Brazil, primarily the state of Ceará. The book traces the articulations of music and sound with drought as a discourse, a matter of politics, and a material reality. It encompasses multiple entwined issues, including ecological exile, poverty, and unequal access to vital resources such as water, along with corruption, prejudice, unbridled capitalism, and rapidly expanding neoliberalism. Each chapter is a case study: the use of carnauba wax, formed by palm trees as a protective climate adaptation, in the production of wax cylinder sound recordings in the late nineteenth century; the political significance of regionalist popular music, especially baião and forró, in the mid-twentieth century; forró music and practices of weather forecasting that involve listening to bird calls; the production and meaning of the soundscape of a small city as it involves musician Raimundo Fagner; social and musical change at the turn of the twenty-first century; and the cancellation of state-sponsored Carnival celebrations due to a costly multi-year drought in the 2010s. Demonstrating how ecological crisis affects musical culture by way of and proportionate to social difference and stratification, the book advocates a focus on environmental justice in ecomusicological scholarship.Less
Voices of Drought is an ethnomusicological study of relationships between popular music, the environmental and social costs of drought, and the politics of culture and climate vulnerability in the northeast region of Brazil, primarily the state of Ceará. The book traces the articulations of music and sound with drought as a discourse, a matter of politics, and a material reality. It encompasses multiple entwined issues, including ecological exile, poverty, and unequal access to vital resources such as water, along with corruption, prejudice, unbridled capitalism, and rapidly expanding neoliberalism. Each chapter is a case study: the use of carnauba wax, formed by palm trees as a protective climate adaptation, in the production of wax cylinder sound recordings in the late nineteenth century; the political significance of regionalist popular music, especially baião and forró, in the mid-twentieth century; forró music and practices of weather forecasting that involve listening to bird calls; the production and meaning of the soundscape of a small city as it involves musician Raimundo Fagner; social and musical change at the turn of the twenty-first century; and the cancellation of state-sponsored Carnival celebrations due to a costly multi-year drought in the 2010s. Demonstrating how ecological crisis affects musical culture by way of and proportionate to social difference and stratification, the book advocates a focus on environmental justice in ecomusicological scholarship.
Robert Wuthnow
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691146119
- eISBN:
- 9781400836246
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691146119.003.0003
- Subject:
- Sociology, Urban and Rural Studies
This chapter examines how the Middle West recovered from the ill effects of the Great Depression. The Great Depression was something Americans hoped they would never experience again. In the rural ...
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This chapter examines how the Middle West recovered from the ill effects of the Great Depression. The Great Depression was something Americans hoped they would never experience again. In the rural Midwest, foreclosures and sheriff's auctions were common. The worst drought years devastated the land. Dust storms blew with such intensity that crops failed and machinery broke down. World War II sparked the economy, revived agriculture, and coincided with better weather. However, the war took millions of men and women away from their families, necessitated mandatory rationing, and drove up prices. When it was over, rural communities faced continuing challenges. The chapter considers the case of Smith Center, Kansas, to illustrate the challenges rural communities faced as they overcame the setbacks of the Great Depression and prepared for the era ahead. Recovery from the Great Depression varied across middle America, but many of the dynamics evident in Smith County occurred elsewhere.Less
This chapter examines how the Middle West recovered from the ill effects of the Great Depression. The Great Depression was something Americans hoped they would never experience again. In the rural Midwest, foreclosures and sheriff's auctions were common. The worst drought years devastated the land. Dust storms blew with such intensity that crops failed and machinery broke down. World War II sparked the economy, revived agriculture, and coincided with better weather. However, the war took millions of men and women away from their families, necessitated mandatory rationing, and drove up prices. When it was over, rural communities faced continuing challenges. The chapter considers the case of Smith Center, Kansas, to illustrate the challenges rural communities faced as they overcame the setbacks of the Great Depression and prepared for the era ahead. Recovery from the Great Depression varied across middle America, but many of the dynamics evident in Smith County occurred elsewhere.
Elizabeth N. Arkush
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813035260
- eISBN:
- 9780813039107
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813035260.001.0001
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
By AD 1000, the Colla controlled the high-altitude plains near Lake Titicaca in southern Peru. They fought over the region for many centuries before becoming a subject people of the Inca (who ...
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By AD 1000, the Colla controlled the high-altitude plains near Lake Titicaca in southern Peru. They fought over the region for many centuries before becoming a subject people of the Inca (who described them as the most formidable foes they had faced) circa 1450, and then of the Spanish in the sixteenth century. Like any people at war, the Colla were not engaged in active conflict all the time. But frequent warfare (perhaps over limited natural resources), along with drought and environmental changes, powerfully influenced the society's settlement choices and physical defenses, as well as their interaction with the landscape. By focusing on the pre-Inca society in this key region of the Andes, the book demonstrates how a thorough archaeological investigation of these hillfort towns reveals new ways to study the sociopolitical organization of pre-Columbian societies.Less
By AD 1000, the Colla controlled the high-altitude plains near Lake Titicaca in southern Peru. They fought over the region for many centuries before becoming a subject people of the Inca (who described them as the most formidable foes they had faced) circa 1450, and then of the Spanish in the sixteenth century. Like any people at war, the Colla were not engaged in active conflict all the time. But frequent warfare (perhaps over limited natural resources), along with drought and environmental changes, powerfully influenced the society's settlement choices and physical defenses, as well as their interaction with the landscape. By focusing on the pre-Inca society in this key region of the Andes, the book demonstrates how a thorough archaeological investigation of these hillfort towns reveals new ways to study the sociopolitical organization of pre-Columbian societies.
Ian W. McLean
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691154671
- eISBN:
- 9781400845439
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691154671.003.0006
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic History
This chapter talks about negative shocks from internal imbalance, external factors, and drought wrought havoc with the economy for more than a decade. Against this background of a major threat to ...
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This chapter talks about negative shocks from internal imbalance, external factors, and drought wrought havoc with the economy for more than a decade. Against this background of a major threat to prosperity, important changes occurred in the institutional framework with the federation of the Australian colonies in 1901. Though some recovery in economic fortunes occurred before the outbreak of war, it was short-lived. Per capita real GDP fell by 22 percent by 1895 and did not regain its 1889 peak for a full two decades. The approach adopted here includes a comparative perspective on Australians' reduced levels of prosperity between 1890 and 1914. Australia recorded the highest per capita income in the world for some period prior to the 1890s. The chapter shows how this achievement has never been repeated.Less
This chapter talks about negative shocks from internal imbalance, external factors, and drought wrought havoc with the economy for more than a decade. Against this background of a major threat to prosperity, important changes occurred in the institutional framework with the federation of the Australian colonies in 1901. Though some recovery in economic fortunes occurred before the outbreak of war, it was short-lived. Per capita real GDP fell by 22 percent by 1895 and did not regain its 1889 peak for a full two decades. The approach adopted here includes a comparative perspective on Australians' reduced levels of prosperity between 1890 and 1914. Australia recorded the highest per capita income in the world for some period prior to the 1890s. The chapter shows how this achievement has never been repeated.
Todd Lewis and Subarna Tuladhar
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195341829
- eISBN:
- 9780199866816
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195341829.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
This chapter begins with the death of Queen Māyā a week after the birth. The mourning of the royal court contrasts vividly with the happiness that ended the previous chapter. The last rites for the ...
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This chapter begins with the death of Queen Māyā a week after the birth. The mourning of the royal court contrasts vividly with the happiness that ended the previous chapter. The last rites for the queen are described in accordance with Newar custom. The poet narrates how the king solicited the prophecy of an elderly sage, Asita, who upon examining the boy concluded that the child would either be a universal emperor or a great religious sage. The boy is given the name Siddhārtha. An extended description of a drought that withers crops, kills insects, and leaves everyone parched plunges the reader into the emotion of the grief that lingers in the kingdom. As planting season approaches and monsoon rain clouds gather, the royal ploughing ceremony is described, one in which the canonical texts describe Siddhārtha off to the side seeming to meditate, the first of many wondrous signs of the boy's extraordinary nature.Less
This chapter begins with the death of Queen Māyā a week after the birth. The mourning of the royal court contrasts vividly with the happiness that ended the previous chapter. The last rites for the queen are described in accordance with Newar custom. The poet narrates how the king solicited the prophecy of an elderly sage, Asita, who upon examining the boy concluded that the child would either be a universal emperor or a great religious sage. The boy is given the name Siddhārtha. An extended description of a drought that withers crops, kills insects, and leaves everyone parched plunges the reader into the emotion of the grief that lingers in the kingdom. As planting season approaches and monsoon rain clouds gather, the royal ploughing ceremony is described, one in which the canonical texts describe Siddhārtha off to the side seeming to meditate, the first of many wondrous signs of the boy's extraordinary nature.
Cagan H. Sekercioglu
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199554232
- eISBN:
- 9780191720666
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199554232.003.0004
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology, Biodiversity / Conservation Biology
In this chapter, Cagan H. Sekercioglu recapitulates natural ecosystem functions and services. Ecosystem services are the set of ecosystem functions that are useful to humans. These services make the ...
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In this chapter, Cagan H. Sekercioglu recapitulates natural ecosystem functions and services. Ecosystem services are the set of ecosystem functions that are useful to humans. These services make the planet inhabitable by supplying and purifying the air we breathe and the water we drink. Water, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur are the major global biogeochemical cycles. Disruptions of these cycles can lead to floods, droughts, climate change, pollution, acid rain, and many other environmental problems. Soils provide critical ecosystem services, especially for sustaining ecosystems and growing food crops, but soil erosion and degradation are serious problems worldwide. Higher biodiversity usually increases ecosystem efficiency and productivity, stabilizes overall ecosystem functioning, and makes ecosystems more resistant to perturbations. Mobile linked animal species provide critical ecosystem functions and increase ecosystem resilience by connecting habitats and ecosystems through their movements. Their services include pollination, seed dispersal, nutrient deposition, pest control, and scavenging. Thousands of species that are the components of ecosystems harbor unique chemicals and pharmaceuticals that can save people's lives, but traditional knowledge of medicinal plants is disappearing and many potentially valuable species are threatened with extinction. Increasing habitat loss, climate change, settlement of wild areas, and wildlife consumption facilitate the transition of diseases of animals to humans, and other ecosystem alterations are increasing the prevalence of other diseases. Valuation of ecosystem services and tradeoffs helps integrate these services into public decision‐making and can ensure the continuity of ecosystems that provide the services.Less
In this chapter, Cagan H. Sekercioglu recapitulates natural ecosystem functions and services. Ecosystem services are the set of ecosystem functions that are useful to humans. These services make the planet inhabitable by supplying and purifying the air we breathe and the water we drink. Water, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur are the major global biogeochemical cycles. Disruptions of these cycles can lead to floods, droughts, climate change, pollution, acid rain, and many other environmental problems. Soils provide critical ecosystem services, especially for sustaining ecosystems and growing food crops, but soil erosion and degradation are serious problems worldwide. Higher biodiversity usually increases ecosystem efficiency and productivity, stabilizes overall ecosystem functioning, and makes ecosystems more resistant to perturbations. Mobile linked animal species provide critical ecosystem functions and increase ecosystem resilience by connecting habitats and ecosystems through their movements. Their services include pollination, seed dispersal, nutrient deposition, pest control, and scavenging. Thousands of species that are the components of ecosystems harbor unique chemicals and pharmaceuticals that can save people's lives, but traditional knowledge of medicinal plants is disappearing and many potentially valuable species are threatened with extinction. Increasing habitat loss, climate change, settlement of wild areas, and wildlife consumption facilitate the transition of diseases of animals to humans, and other ecosystem alterations are increasing the prevalence of other diseases. Valuation of ecosystem services and tradeoffs helps integrate these services into public decision‐making and can ensure the continuity of ecosystems that provide the services.
Jean Drèze
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780198286363
- eISBN:
- 9780191718458
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198286363.003.0002
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
Though one may mistakenly attribute India's impressive recent record of famine prevention to a steady improvement in food production or to the overall evolution of the economy, this chapter argues ...
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Though one may mistakenly attribute India's impressive recent record of famine prevention to a steady improvement in food production or to the overall evolution of the economy, this chapter argues that it is the relief system that played the crucial role in averting large-scale famine. The two components of a reliable famine prevention system are: an intelligent and well-planned interventionist procedure and a mechanism ensuring an early step by the authorities. For India, both were appreciably influenced first by the emergence of Famine Codes and then by the country's attainment of independence. Providing case studies, the chapter underscores the urgency of recreating the lost entitlements through relief and wage-based employment, and spotlights the roles of public pressure, cash relief, and public works.Less
Though one may mistakenly attribute India's impressive recent record of famine prevention to a steady improvement in food production or to the overall evolution of the economy, this chapter argues that it is the relief system that played the crucial role in averting large-scale famine. The two components of a reliable famine prevention system are: an intelligent and well-planned interventionist procedure and a mechanism ensuring an early step by the authorities. For India, both were appreciably influenced first by the emergence of Famine Codes and then by the country's attainment of independence. Providing case studies, the chapter underscores the urgency of recreating the lost entitlements through relief and wage-based employment, and spotlights the roles of public pressure, cash relief, and public works.
Susan R. Holman
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195139129
- eISBN:
- 9780199834310
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195139127.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This chapter places Basil of Caesarea's fourth‐century famine relief activities within the broader spectrum of the history of famine relief and the physiology of starvation. It summarizes what is ...
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This chapter places Basil of Caesarea's fourth‐century famine relief activities within the broader spectrum of the history of famine relief and the physiology of starvation. It summarizes what is known of his response to the famine of 368–69 ce and compares his sermon “In time of famine and drought” with a sixth‐century famine chronicle by Ps. Joshua the Stylite and Philagathos's eleventh‐century sermon on famine, considering these three texts in light of modern medical and sociological studies on starvation and hunger typology. Basil's texts from the famine crisis show him exercising a priest–bishop's politics of power, by evoking vivid images of the destitute compared with mourning infants, by insisting that the hungry are suffering unjustly, and by demanding grain donations as both a ceremonial gift exchange and an act of redemptive almsgiving.Less
This chapter places Basil of Caesarea's fourth‐century famine relief activities within the broader spectrum of the history of famine relief and the physiology of starvation. It summarizes what is known of his response to the famine of 368–69 ce and compares his sermon “In time of famine and drought” with a sixth‐century famine chronicle by Ps. Joshua the Stylite and Philagathos's eleventh‐century sermon on famine, considering these three texts in light of modern medical and sociological studies on starvation and hunger typology. Basil's texts from the famine crisis show him exercising a priest–bishop's politics of power, by evoking vivid images of the destitute compared with mourning infants, by insisting that the hungry are suffering unjustly, and by demanding grain donations as both a ceremonial gift exchange and an act of redemptive almsgiving.
Gregory White
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199794829
- eISBN:
- 9780199919284
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199794829.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This chapter explores the science associated with climate induced migration. Humans have always migrated in response to a complex array of stimuli and “forcings.” Despite the historical precedents, ...
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This chapter explores the science associated with climate induced migration. Humans have always migrated in response to a complex array of stimuli and “forcings.” Despite the historical precedents, chapter 2 takes seriously the natural scientific evidence that climate change has accelerated in the twentieth century because of anthropocentric contributions and that climate change will deepen further in the twenty-first century. As a result, migration patterns are likely to change profoundly. CIM is a worldwide phenomenon and obviously an issue for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) confronting rising sea levels. (SIDS were first recognized as a diplomatic entity at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro.) CIM is also salient in South Asia, especially in Bangladesh on an annual basis and, for example, in Pakistan in the aftermath of the August 2010 floods. Nonetheless, this book drills into the geographical space associated with African migration to Europe and its implications for governance and transit states. Much of the population movement ostensibly directed toward Europe emerges from the Sahel and sub-Saharan Africa. Changing temperatures and precipitation patterns are likely to affect migratory pressures in the region. And since Africa is geographically proximate to Europe, it is the most immediate concern for North Atlantic interests. Importantly, however, chapter 2 emphasizes that while climate change may continue to contribute to CIM, most migrants within the region move short distances because adverse environmental conditions reduce access to the resources they need to migrate. The research on migration in the Sahelian and sub-Saharan context is that, paradoxically, climate change may inhibit long-range migration. So while CIM pressures to the Mediterranean and Europe are hardly insignificant, the bulk of CIM’s impact has been, and will likely remain, felt south of the Sahara—not on North Atlantic borders.Less
This chapter explores the science associated with climate induced migration. Humans have always migrated in response to a complex array of stimuli and “forcings.” Despite the historical precedents, chapter 2 takes seriously the natural scientific evidence that climate change has accelerated in the twentieth century because of anthropocentric contributions and that climate change will deepen further in the twenty-first century. As a result, migration patterns are likely to change profoundly. CIM is a worldwide phenomenon and obviously an issue for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) confronting rising sea levels. (SIDS were first recognized as a diplomatic entity at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro.) CIM is also salient in South Asia, especially in Bangladesh on an annual basis and, for example, in Pakistan in the aftermath of the August 2010 floods. Nonetheless, this book drills into the geographical space associated with African migration to Europe and its implications for governance and transit states. Much of the population movement ostensibly directed toward Europe emerges from the Sahel and sub-Saharan Africa. Changing temperatures and precipitation patterns are likely to affect migratory pressures in the region. And since Africa is geographically proximate to Europe, it is the most immediate concern for North Atlantic interests. Importantly, however, chapter 2 emphasizes that while climate change may continue to contribute to CIM, most migrants within the region move short distances because adverse environmental conditions reduce access to the resources they need to migrate. The research on migration in the Sahelian and sub-Saharan context is that, paradoxically, climate change may inhibit long-range migration. So while CIM pressures to the Mediterranean and Europe are hardly insignificant, the bulk of CIM’s impact has been, and will likely remain, felt south of the Sahara—not on North Atlantic borders.
Engida Mersha and Vijendra K. Boken
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- November 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780195162349
- eISBN:
- 9780197562109
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780195162349.003.0027
- Subject:
- Earth Sciences and Geography, Meteorology and Climatology
In Ethiopia, 85% of the population is engaged in agriculture (CSA, 1999). Agriculture supplies a significant proportion of the raw materials for the ...
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In Ethiopia, 85% of the population is engaged in agriculture (CSA, 1999). Agriculture supplies a significant proportion of the raw materials for the agro-industries, and accounts for 52% of the gross product and 90% of the export earnings. A wide range of climatic, ecological, and socioeconomic diversities influence Ethiopian agriculture. The dependency of most of the population on rain-fed agriculture has made the country’s economy extremely vulnerable to the effects of weather and climate, which are highly variable both temporally and spatially. If rains fail in one season, the farmer is unable to satisfy his needs and pay his obligations (tax, credit, etc). Farmers remain in the bottom line of poverty and lead a risky life. Moreover, due to climatic change and other human-induced factors, areas affected by drought and desertification are expanding in Ethiopia (NMSA, 1996a; WMO, 1986). There are three major food supply systems in Ethiopia (IGADD, 1988; Teshome, 1996): crop, livestock, and market-dependent systems. Cropbased systems are practiced principally over the highlands of the country and comprise a very diverse range of production, depending on altitude, rainfall, soil type, and topography. Any surplus above the farmer’s need is largely dependent on, for example, good weather conditions, absence of pests and diseases, availability of adequate human and animal power. Failure of rains during any cropping season means shortage of food supply that affects farmers and others. The livestock system constitutes about 10% of the total population, which is largely based in arid and semiarid zones of the country. This system is well adapted to highly variable climatic conditions and mainly depends on animals for milk and meat and is usually supplemented by grains during nondrought years. Approximately 15% of the Ethiopian population is market dependent and is affected by the preceding two food supply systems. Its food supply (grain, pulses, and oil seeds) has been facing serious shortages due to recurring droughts. People’s purchasing power determines access to food in the market-dependent food supply system. In Ethiopia, an agricultural drought is assessed using the concept of the length of growing period (LGP).
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In Ethiopia, 85% of the population is engaged in agriculture (CSA, 1999). Agriculture supplies a significant proportion of the raw materials for the agro-industries, and accounts for 52% of the gross product and 90% of the export earnings. A wide range of climatic, ecological, and socioeconomic diversities influence Ethiopian agriculture. The dependency of most of the population on rain-fed agriculture has made the country’s economy extremely vulnerable to the effects of weather and climate, which are highly variable both temporally and spatially. If rains fail in one season, the farmer is unable to satisfy his needs and pay his obligations (tax, credit, etc). Farmers remain in the bottom line of poverty and lead a risky life. Moreover, due to climatic change and other human-induced factors, areas affected by drought and desertification are expanding in Ethiopia (NMSA, 1996a; WMO, 1986). There are three major food supply systems in Ethiopia (IGADD, 1988; Teshome, 1996): crop, livestock, and market-dependent systems. Cropbased systems are practiced principally over the highlands of the country and comprise a very diverse range of production, depending on altitude, rainfall, soil type, and topography. Any surplus above the farmer’s need is largely dependent on, for example, good weather conditions, absence of pests and diseases, availability of adequate human and animal power. Failure of rains during any cropping season means shortage of food supply that affects farmers and others. The livestock system constitutes about 10% of the total population, which is largely based in arid and semiarid zones of the country. This system is well adapted to highly variable climatic conditions and mainly depends on animals for milk and meat and is usually supplemented by grains during nondrought years. Approximately 15% of the Ethiopian population is market dependent and is affected by the preceding two food supply systems. Its food supply (grain, pulses, and oil seeds) has been facing serious shortages due to recurring droughts. People’s purchasing power determines access to food in the market-dependent food supply system. In Ethiopia, an agricultural drought is assessed using the concept of the length of growing period (LGP).
Amartya Sen
- Published in print:
- 1983
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198284635
- eISBN:
- 9780191596902
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198284632.003.0008
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
A case study of the drought of 1968–73, and the famines of the 1970s in the in the six West African countries of Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Upper Volta, Niger, and Chad. The famines are analysed in ...
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A case study of the drought of 1968–73, and the famines of the 1970s in the in the six West African countries of Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Upper Volta, Niger, and Chad. The famines are analysed in terms of food availability decline (FAD) vis à vis entitlements, occupational status of the destitutes, and their entitlements. The most susceptible groups were the nomadic pastoralists and the sedentary agriculturalists. The last part of the chapter addresses some policy issues relating to the freeing of the Sahelian population from vulnerability to drought and famine.Less
A case study of the drought of 1968–73, and the famines of the 1970s in the in the six West African countries of Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Upper Volta, Niger, and Chad. The famines are analysed in terms of food availability decline (FAD) vis à vis entitlements, occupational status of the destitutes, and their entitlements. The most susceptible groups were the nomadic pastoralists and the sedentary agriculturalists. The last part of the chapter addresses some policy issues relating to the freeing of the Sahelian population from vulnerability to drought and famine.
JOCELYN ALEXANDER, JO ANN McGREGOR, and TERENCE RANGER
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198297390
- eISBN:
- 9780191685323
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198297390.003.0009
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter examines the ethnic and political conflicts in the Matabeleland region in Zimbabwe in relation to the role of conflict in complex humanitarian emergencies. This conflict, though not ...
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This chapter examines the ethnic and political conflicts in the Matabeleland region in Zimbabwe in relation to the role of conflict in complex humanitarian emergencies. This conflict, though not generally classified as a complex humanitarian emergency, provoked significant internal population displacements and refugee flows and it coincided with a severe drought. The absence of humanitarian intervention in the Matabeleland case was partly a product of the state's power to control access to information about the conflict.Less
This chapter examines the ethnic and political conflicts in the Matabeleland region in Zimbabwe in relation to the role of conflict in complex humanitarian emergencies. This conflict, though not generally classified as a complex humanitarian emergency, provoked significant internal population displacements and refugee flows and it coincided with a severe drought. The absence of humanitarian intervention in the Matabeleland case was partly a product of the state's power to control access to information about the conflict.
José Alfredo Rodríguez-Pineda and Lorrain Giddings
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- November 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780195162349
- eISBN:
- 9780197562109
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780195162349.003.0018
- Subject:
- Earth Sciences and Geography, Meteorology and Climatology
Drought is the most significant natural phenomenon that affects the agriculture of northern Mexico. The more drought-prone areas in Mexico fall in the ...
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Drought is the most significant natural phenomenon that affects the agriculture of northern Mexico. The more drought-prone areas in Mexico fall in the northern half of the country, in the states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Zacatecas, and Aguascalientes (figure 10.1). The north-central states form part of the Altiplanicie Mexicana and account for 30.7% of the national territory of 1,959,248 km2. This area is characterized by dry and semidry climates (Garcia, 1981) and recurrent drought periods. The climate of Mexico varies from very dry to subhumid. Very dry climate covers 21%, dry climate covers 28%, and temperate subhumid and hot subhumid climates prevail in 21% and 23% of the national territory, respectively. About 20 years ago, almost 75% of Mexico’s agricultural land was rainfed, and only 25% irrigated (Toledo et al., 1985), making the ratio of rainfed to irrigated area equal to 3. However, for the northern states this ratio was 3.5 during the 1990–98 period (table 10.1). Because of higher percentage of rain-fed agriculture, drought is a common phenomenon in this region, which has turned thousands of hectares of land into desert. Though the government has built dams, reservoirs, and other irrigation systems to alleviate drought effects, rain-fed agriculture (or dryland farming) remains the major form of cultivation in Mexico. In Mexico, there is no standard definition for agricultural drought. However, the Comisión Nacional del Agua (CNA; i.e., National Water Commission), which is a federal agency responsible for making water policies, has coined its own definition for drought. This agency determines whether a particular region has been affected by drought, by studying rainfall records collected from the national climatic network. The national climatic network is spread throughout the country and is managed by the Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (SMN; i.e., National Meteorological Services). The CNA determines, for a municipal region, if the rainfall is equal to or less than one standard deviation from the long-term mean over a time period of two or more consecutive months. If it is, then the secretary of state declares drought for the region.
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Drought is the most significant natural phenomenon that affects the agriculture of northern Mexico. The more drought-prone areas in Mexico fall in the northern half of the country, in the states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Zacatecas, and Aguascalientes (figure 10.1). The north-central states form part of the Altiplanicie Mexicana and account for 30.7% of the national territory of 1,959,248 km2. This area is characterized by dry and semidry climates (Garcia, 1981) and recurrent drought periods. The climate of Mexico varies from very dry to subhumid. Very dry climate covers 21%, dry climate covers 28%, and temperate subhumid and hot subhumid climates prevail in 21% and 23% of the national territory, respectively. About 20 years ago, almost 75% of Mexico’s agricultural land was rainfed, and only 25% irrigated (Toledo et al., 1985), making the ratio of rainfed to irrigated area equal to 3. However, for the northern states this ratio was 3.5 during the 1990–98 period (table 10.1). Because of higher percentage of rain-fed agriculture, drought is a common phenomenon in this region, which has turned thousands of hectares of land into desert. Though the government has built dams, reservoirs, and other irrigation systems to alleviate drought effects, rain-fed agriculture (or dryland farming) remains the major form of cultivation in Mexico. In Mexico, there is no standard definition for agricultural drought. However, the Comisión Nacional del Agua (CNA; i.e., National Water Commission), which is a federal agency responsible for making water policies, has coined its own definition for drought. This agency determines whether a particular region has been affected by drought, by studying rainfall records collected from the national climatic network. The national climatic network is spread throughout the country and is managed by the Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (SMN; i.e., National Meteorological Services). The CNA determines, for a municipal region, if the rainfall is equal to or less than one standard deviation from the long-term mean over a time period of two or more consecutive months. If it is, then the secretary of state declares drought for the region.
