In recent years the concept of the resource "nexus" has been both hotly debated and widely adopted in research and policy circles. It is a powerful new way to understand and better govern the myriad complex relationships between multiple resources, actors and their security concerns. Particular attention has been paid to water, energy and food interactions, but land and materials emerge as critical too. This comprehensive handbook presents a detailed review of current knowledge about resource nexus-related frameworks, methods and governance, including a broad set of inter-disciplinary perspectives.

Written by an international group of scholars and practitioners, the volume focuses on rigorous research, including tools, methods and modelling approaches to analyse resource use patterns across societies and scales from a "nexus perspective". It also provides numerous examples from political economy to demonstrate how resource nexus frameworks can illuminate issues such as land grabs, mining, renewable energy and the growing importance of economies such as China, as well as to propose lessons and outlooks for sound governance.

The volume seeks to serve as an essential reference text, source book and state-of-the-art, science-based assessment of this increasingly important topic - the resource nexus - and its utility in efforts to enhance sustainability of many kinds and implement the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in an era of environmental and geopolitical change.

About the Author

Raimund Bleischwitz is Chair in Sustainable Global Resources and Deputy Director at the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, University College London, UK.

Holger Hoff has a joint appointment as a Senior Researcher in the Resources and Development Group at the Stockholm Environment Institute, Sweden, and in the Research Domain "Earth System Analysis" at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany.

Catalina Spataru is a Lecturer on Energy Systems and Networks and Director of the MRes course Energy Demand Studies at UCL Energy Institute, University College London, UK.

Ester van der Voet is an Associate Professor of Industrial Ecology at the Institute of Environmental Sciences, Leiden University, The Netherlands. She is also a member of the UN International Resource Panel.

Stacy D. VanDeveer is a Professor of Global Governance and Human Security at the McCormack School of Policy and Global Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston, USA.

Reviews

"The language of the nexus highlights the need for interconnected thinking between the natural and social sciences, and between the research community and decision makers. By bringing together such an outstanding range of thinkers and perspectives from across the world, Routledge Handbook of the Resource Nexus looks set to become an indispensable volume for all those engaged in these debates. It sets out with admirable clarity the theoretical, empirical and research underpinnings of this field, and will provide nexus brokers and boundary-spanners with the intellectual tools they need to achieve tangible progress." - James Wilsdon, Professor of Research Policy, University of Sheffield, UK and Director, ESRC Nexus Network

"No energy myopia, no water myopia and no food cry of alarm, but a great handbook addressing the mutual relations." - Ernst von Weizsacker, Past Co-Chair, International Resource Panel

"This handbook provides a qualified response, given by key experts, to the recurring question of what the Resource Nexus actually means. That nexus is presented as a useful heuristic for addressing the new challenges of the Anthropocene and for evidence-based support of a sustainability transition. Integrative methods and tools for systemic resource management and governance are illustrated, adaptable to a wide range of thematic and geographic contexts and scales." - Prof. Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Germany and Senior Research Fellow at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, Sweden

"[the handbook is] a massive volume packed with 32 interesting and thought-provoking chapters researched and written by over 50 contributors" - Anton Loef, in Mineral Economics (March, 2019)

Book Information
ISBN 9780367505288
Author Raimund Bleischwitz
Format Paperback
Page Count 518
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 980g