Natural Resources, Sustainability and Humanity A Comprehensive View

About this book

Shortly, Natural Resources, Sustainability and Humanity is the written upgraded version of the topics discussed during the Small Meeting of the 2nd International School Congress: Natural Resources, Sustainability and Humanity, held in Braga, Portugal, 5-8 May 2010 with the diverse participation of scientists, educators and governmental representatives.

The Earth hosts an immense ecosystem, colonized by millions of species for billions of years but only for a few tens of thousands of years by humans. Environmental history tells though that it was humankind that shaped the environment as no other species. History, geography, religion and politics among other reasons have differentiated populations with respect to access to safe food and water, education, health, and to space and natural resource utilization. The globalization era of trade, information and communication is shortening distances and increasing overall wealth, but, as is pointed out in Natural Resources, Sustainability and Humanity, it is also contributing to the propagation of diseases, and to the modification or even destruction of native ecosystems by exotic invasive species.

Man is the only species that has the perception of its history, evolution, of the consequences of its decisions, and that there is a future ahead. It is also the only species that has the potential to change it. This awareness can be a source of anxiety and contradictory behaviours, but it is also the key to changing attitudes towards the construction of a common sustainable home, by committed education, interdisciplinary approaches, mobilization and empowerment of people and political consonant actions.

Contents

- Preface
- Water Challenges of the 21st Century
- Human Rights and Harm
- Clever Minds for Climate Control
- The World we Want and the World we Have: Bridging the Gaps
- Mental Health Effects of the Environment
- The General Environmental Issues and Climate Change
- An Integrated Approach to Conserve Mangrove Forest at Keti Bunder, Indus Delta, Pakistan
- Pedagogic Strategies on Teaching Science and Environmental Education
- What Environmental History Teaches
- Participatory Development of Fotonovelas for Environment Education and Community Empowerment
- The Contribution of the Barcode of Life Initiative to the Discovery and Monitoring of Biodiversity
- The Portuguese Committee for Planet Earth: a Case of Good Practices in Portugal in the Framework of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014)
- Public Participation as Leverage for the Building Up of more Sustainable Societies
- Conclusion
- Index

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