Eco-Responsible Cities and the Global Ocean : Geostrategic Shifts and the Sustainability Trilemma

This book examines the nexus of cities and oceans and the interrelations between the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 11 and 14, just after the first two critical years following the milestone year of hope in 2015. It advocates for actions both for sustainable cities, the largest interconnected and only human ecosystem, and for the global ocean that is the largest physical ecosystem. Cutting-edge concepts and actions are presented by and for cities and oceans, following the global engagements during the years 2015-2017. In the era of global geopolitics, cities offer major democratic spaces between the micro-regulations of the local communities and the governance of the global commons. The role of education, trust, and citizen empowerment cannot be stressed enough. This book offers an evidence-based, holistic and integrated view of key urban and ocean sustainability issues at the horizon of 2030 and of 2050. The chapters cover the most prominent issues at the heart of the matter, and highlight systemic multi-stakeholder eco-responses towards sustainability with economic, social, environmental dimensions, including political and cultural aspects. This book offers a full exploration of cities and seas with an emphasis on vigorous paradigm shifts, redesigning human systems, and reconciling them with nature. Building on robust evidence, and transformational cases, it provides structured advice for world leaders, stakeholders and scholars.-- Provided by publisher Front Matter ....Pages i-xxvii Planet Ocean, a World of Cities: A Journey Around the Shores of the Anthropocene (Voula P. Mega)....Pages 1-41 Threatened Urban and Ocean Biodiversity: The Imperative of Resilience (Voula P. Mega)....Pages 43-84 The Future of Climate Will Be Decided in Cities and Oceans (Voula P. Mega)....Pages 85-119 The Paths to Decarbonisation Through Cities and Seas (Voula P. Mega)....Pages 121-166 Towards Purposeful, Circular, and Sustainable Economies (Voula P. Mega)....Pages 167-202 An Inclusive, Just Society as the Ultimate Frontier on Land and the Sea (Voula P. Mega)....Pages 203-231 Cities and Oceans at the Crossroads of Knowledge, Ingenuity, and Co-creation (Voula P. Mega)....Pages 233-271 Open Cities and the Ocean: Local and Global Engagement (Voula P. Mega)....Pages 273-298 Messages for Leaders Towards a World of Difference (Voula P. Mega)....Pages 299-310 Back Matter ....Pages 311-342