Bücher der Reihe Sustainable Development Goals Series

This book discusses and provides empirical evidence of the importance of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a number of developing countries. In doing so, the book focuses on the contributions of MSMEs to national efforts, directly or indirectly, to achieve poverty reduction (Goal 1), zero hunger (Goal 2), good health and wellbeing (Goal 3), quality education (Goal 4), gender equality (Goal 5), clean water & sanitation (Goal 6), income distribution (Goal 10), and sustainable cities & communities (Goal 11). The book consists of chapters discussing evidence on these particular topics based on research from various countries including Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Malaysia.

This book charts the roller coaster ride taken by the authors over the past 33 years, in the ongoing fight to acknowledge, prevent, and respond to the rape and sexual abuse of women in conflict and displacement situations. They have worked with an international network of academics, refugee women, and human rights activists in 22 countries. The story moves between refugee camps and the United Nations, refugee settlements in cities and national governments. Theory and ethical research methods are an important part of the story. At times it is very confronting, sometimes amusing and often uplifting.

This book examines the extent to which the environment is addressed in the sustainability plans of Canadian cities. It assesses if and to what extent select leading environmental priorities are addressed in the sustainability plans of sixteen Canadian cities, followed by analysis of efforts towards each priority. It scores and ranks cities against each environmental priority and highlights what makes some cities lead and others lag in environmental sustainability.The book unravels the complexity, similarities, and differences in environmental sustainability planning across major cities in Canada. The project reflects what¿s working, whös leading, and which environmental priorities support the sustainable city model. Climate change has exacerbated the impacts of flood, droughts, wildfire and storms, urban centers must account for sustainability to mitigate and adapt to a changing and uncertain landscape. It begins with robust and integrative sustainability plans that prioritize theenvironment.This book will make a timely contribution to the on-going debate regarding the ways and means to become a sustainable city. It reflects the on-going sustainable development discourse and deliberations to meet the Sustainable Development Goals. It cut across many SDGs in particular SDG 11, Sustainable Cities and Communities. What makes this study unique is its special attention to environmental priorities within urban sustainability planning. This subject is topical and would appeal to both scholars and practitioners at local, regional, national, and global scales.

This book aims to contribute to the discourse on climate crisis by bringing together high-quality empirical research on adaptive approaches and sustainability case studies from across the world. The book is divided into six sections. The introductory section has two chapters which sets the ground of the book as it discusses the framing of climate crisis and the different approaches towards it. It also situates the book within the global discourse. The first chapter seeks the traditional approaches to bridge the gap in the new climate science, while the second chapter delivers the ultimate reasons for temperature change, global warming and its consequences (extreme weather events) in a comprehensive way. It is hoped that the book as a whole will provide a timely synthesis of a rapidly growing and important field of climate science but will also bring forward new and stimulating ideas that will shape a coherent and fruitful vision for future work for the community of Undergraduates, Postgraduates, Ph.D. Scholars and Researchers in the fields of environmental sciences, humanistic and social sciences and geography. In addition, policy and decision makers, environmentalists, NGOs, corporate sectors, social scientists, and government organizations will find this book to be of great value. We believe that a diverse group of academics, scientists, geographers, environmentalists, environmental regulators, social scientists, and sustainable scientists with a common interest within the earth environmental sciences and humanistic and social sciences will find this book to be a comprehensive source for reference. Also, we strongly deemed that it will also provide some support for various levels of organizations and administrations for developing and achieving UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 in purview of climate change.

This book explores the economic and development challenges seen within post-colonial Africa. Particular attention is given to governance and political leadership challenges within Africa and how they have resulted in poor education facilities, a lack of infrastructure development, corruption, and economic insecurity. The ways in which Africäs natural resources and agricultural land have not been utilised to drive development and economic growth are examined in relation to internal political conflicts. Broader issues, such as labour exploitation, financial leakage, and the exclusion of women from decision making, are also discussed.This book highlights poor political leadership within Africa and presents a framework for inclusive economic growth within post-colonial Africa. It will be of interest to students, researchers, policymakers and leaders working with development of African economics.

This book explores modern approaches to sustainability and its measurement. It thoroughly reviews a wide range of existing sustainability measurement systems. Accordingly, the book documents the state of progress toward sustainability measurement by first assessing the past development of wellbeing measurement going beyond GDP and synthesizing the various conceptual approaches to sustainability and its dimensions. It then explores crucial methodological aspects that stay at the core of constructing a sound index system. In the main part of the book, we map the available indices or index systems, their conceptual and methodological backgrounds as well as approaches, which have not yet resulted in an index, but have the potential to contribute to a better understanding of sustainability. More specifically, the book assesses the scope, motivation, and potential usage of each index. It also documents their limitations and drawbacks. This mapping exercise is useful for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners as it offers a detailed and compact overview of where we are and what we still need to account for when measuring sustainability.

¿While significant attention has been devoted to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 13 (SDG 13) and scaling up climate finance for developing countries, the adverse impacts of funded projects on local communities remains inadequately explored by both academics and policymakers. Mobilizing climate finance on an unprecedented scale is undeniably vital for the success of developing countries¿ climate policies. However, these initiatives often give rise to adverse consequences for individuals in these countries, leading to displacements, exacerbating food insecurity, or even triggering conflicts over resources.This book examines the extent to which the climate funds established for achieving SDG 13 are adequate for addressing climate change impacts in developing countries. Yet, its analysis transcends the mere evaluation of the sufficiency or efficacy of these efforts found in much of the existing literature. Beyond the scope of quantifiable success, the book delves into the root causes of the adverse impacts that these funds can have on local communities and offers tailored recommendations to realize the noble aspirations of SDG 13, all without implying that the individuals who should benefit from climate finance are the ones who pay in the end.

This book is a narrative of conversations between two professors, with different backgrounds, academic disciplines, life experiences, and from different continents. It shows how their discourse has brought them to a single destination defined by a mutual interest in the social purposes of universities, and a hope in common that their academic efforts will somehow do good in the world.The seventeen internationally-agreed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide focus for aspirations and plans regarding sustainability, but notably, the SDGs¿ targets and indicators rarely provide detailed accounts of who is expected to enact change. This book addresses the role of higher education in this context and explores the social purposes of universities and their relation to the Sustainable Development Goals. It presents an academic analysis of this complex situation, based on insights from published literature on higher education, and the personal but very different experiences oftwo professors with this shared interest.

This book explores the connection between family structure and circumstances, parental engagement, and adolescent sexual behavior. Given that South Africa contains the highest portion of the global HIV epidemic within a single country, a comprehensive, book-length investigation intösometimes risky¿adolescent sexual behaviour is necessary. Drawing from the longitudinal Cape Area Panel Study (CAPS) of more than 4,000 adolescents between the ages of fourteen and twenty-two, as well as qualitative interviews and focus group discussions with parents and adolescents, this study pioneers empirical investigation of adolescent sexual behavior within the intricate framework of family dynamics in South Africa.

Set against the backdrop of a rising population in Africa and the lowering opportunities for white collar jobs, as well as the continent¿s limited access to resources, this edited collection demystifies the interconnectedness between the factors and actors involved with innovation and entrepreneurship development in sub-Saharan Africäs (SSA) informal economy for more effective, result-oriented outcomes.Exposing the underlying motivations that define uniqueness in Africäs innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, particularly in the informal sector, the editors argue that there is a significant knowledge gap that this book seeks to fill, concerning institutionalization, motivational factors and the harnessing of the innovative potentials of Africäs informal sector entrepreneurs and their supporting role in achieving a more sustainable African regionBy identifying patterns of domesticating entrepreneurship theories and showcasing the latest research, the book covers awide array of topics that discuss a multidisciplinary and multicultural perspective to entrepreneurship theory and practices in Africa. In this way the book contributes to the goals of SDG 9 ('Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation') in Africa.

This book is an interdisciplinary work that reveals the contemporary sustainability narratives in India within the context of various SDGs. Several case studies are presented, each of which sheds light on the challenges and constraints that are impeding the process of achieving SDGs and investigates potential long-term answers to socio-economic and environmental issues. Through empirical case studies from different parts of India, the book explores the current status of achieving sustainable development goals in India. The volume immensely benefits scientists, researchers, policymakers and practitioners as it offers a thematic and comprehensive understanding of challenges associated with mainstreaming SDGs at national, sub-national, and micro scales in India.

The proposed book presents the cutting-edge research on the urban development of three cities: Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Singapore. By comparing their responses to the COVID-19 pandemic from an international political economic perspective, this book examines the commonalities and differences in urban governance in these three widely recognized and well-developed Asian cities with outward-oriented economies through the lens of world-systems theory and related theories of historicism. These cities are all generally considered to be under authoritarian regimes, but there are substantial differences in their social systems, rules of law and justice, and administrative structures. In the context of globalization, the cities are competing on a more even playing field. In addition, city governments worldwide are increasingly pursuing growth, land markets, urban regeneration, and large-scale public projects. With the advent of globalization, urban development is gradually changing from the past crude model of spatial expansion and land finance to a more refined model of socioeconomic development driven by industrial upgrading and enhanced consumption. However, cities¿ political and economic contexts and governance systems vary greatly. Unsurprisingly, given their differences, the three cities of Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Singapore demonstrated varied responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. This book discusses the efforts of these governments to address and reduce the spread of COVID-19 as well as how national responses to the pandemic outbreak were influenced by global dynamics, geopolitics, and each nation¿s particular historical context.

This book applies system theory to analyze the operation and structure of the complex earth surface system, including the interactions between society and nature that cause environmental degradation and threats to human populations.