Just transitions : explorations of sustainability in an unfair world
by
 
Swilling, Mark.

Title
Just transitions : explorations of sustainability in an unfair world

Author
Swilling, Mark.

ISBN
9789280812039
 
9781919895239

Personal Author
Swilling, Mark.

Publication Information
Claremont, South Africa : UCT Press ; Tokyo, Japan : Published in North America, Europe and Asia by United Nations University Press, 2012.

Physical Description
xxiii, 360 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm

Contents
Introduction: on becoming visible -- Part I. Complexity, sustainability and transition. Ch. 1. Complexity and sustainability -- Ch. 2. What is so unsustainable? -- Ch. 3. Crisis, transitions and sustainability -- Part II. Rethinking development. Ch. 4. Greening the developmental state -- Ch. 5. Rethinking urbanism -- Ch. 6. Soils, land and food security -- Part III. From resource wars to sustainable living. Ch. 7. Resource wars, failed states and blood consumption: insights from Sudan -- Ch. 8. Transcending resource and energy-intensive growth: lessons from South Africa -- Ch. 9. Decoupling, urbanism and transition in Cape Town -- Ch. 10. Pioneering liveable urbanism: reflections on an invisible way.

Abstract
Current economic growth strategies around the world are rapidly depleting the natural resources and ecosystem services that we depend on. Just Transitions provides a comprehensive overview of these challenges from a Global South perspective. The authors ask: How do developing countries eradicate poverty via economic development, while at the same time facing the consequences of global warming and dwindling levels of cheap oil, productive soils, metals, clean water supplies, and forest products? How do they address widening inequalities in income as well as the need to rebuild ecosystem services and natural resources? The book considers the theme of a just transition, which reconciles the sustainable use of natural resources with a pervasive commitment to sufficiency (where overconsumers are satisfied with less so that underconsumers can secure enough). It explores a range of different viewpoints and ideas and synthesizes them to illuminate new ways of thinking from a sustainability perspective. It rethinks development with special reference to the greening of the developmental state, explores the key role that cities could play in the transition to a more sustainably urbanized world, and highlights the neglect of soils in the global discussions around the potential of sustainable agriculture to feed the world. Case studies drawn from the African continent detail the challenges, but they are set in the context of global trends. The authors conclude with their experiences in building a community that aspires to live sustainably.

Subject Term
Sustainable development -- Developing countries.
 
Natural resources -- Developing countries -- Management.
 
Sustainable development -- South Africa.

Geographic Term
Developing countries -- Economic conditions.

Added Author
Annecke, Eve.

Electronic Access
ebrary http://site.ebrary.com/id/10541139


LibraryMaterial TypeItem BarcodeShelf NumberCopy
IIEMSAGeneral Books33168025768843338.927091724 S976J 20121