2017/12/30     Dresden, Germany

Image: istockphoto/elenaleonova

The year 2017 has indeed been a productive year for UNU-FLORES. As we look back at some of the achievements this year, we are pleased to compile a reading list for you for the holidays. Here’s wishing you a reflective and fruitful close to the year!

1. The Water-Energy-Food Nexus: Trade-Offs, Thresholds and Transdisciplinary Approaches to Sustainable Development, Environmental Science & Policy
   

   Image: istockphoto/bizoo_n

   This article attempts to provide the broad contours of an institutional framework that can inform discussions focused on implementing the Nexus Approach; elaborates upon the concepts of trade-offs; and finally emphasises the importance of transdisciplinary approaches to research, training, and policy.

2. Uso Seguro de Aguas Residuales en la Agricultura: Ejemplos de Buenas Prácticas (Safe Use of Wastewater in Agriculture: Good Practice Examples)
   

   Image: istock/Todd Arbini

   Seventeen interesting case studies gathered from around the world on wastewater reuse in agriculture are presented in this book. All cases provide first-hand information as they have been authored by the experts who implemented these cases or monitored their progress closely for years. Following its successful launch last year, the book has since been translated into Spanish.

3. Multifunctional Land-Use Systems for Managing the Nexus of Environmental Resources
   

   Image: UNU-FLORES/Kai Schwärzel

   In a new book published with Springer, UNU-FLORES presents the state-of-the-art in forest management and land-use policy, with reference to the case of the Loess Plateau region in China.

4. TIGER Savanna Tool Handbook: On Remote Sensing of Water Use and Water Stress in African Savanna Ecosystems from Local to Regional Scale
   

   Image: Ana Andreu

   This handbook provides guidance on Earth Observation techniques and the topic of remote sensing in theory, as well as sheds light on the tools such as the Water Observation Information System (WOIS) in practice. A how-to manual at the end guides practitioners through the steps implementing the equations, and deriving information from data gathered.

5. Making the Water–Soil–Waste Nexus Work: Framing the Boundaries of Resource Flows, Sustainability
   

   Image: istock/Veronica Bogaerts

   This paper analyses integrated management systems and how their system boundaries are defined. It is determined that in order for system boundaries to be applicable, they should be clear, wide, and flexible. The authors propose the boundary of the Water–Soil–Waste Nexus system, using two case studies to exemplify the usefulness of these system boundaries.