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This chapter identifies significant transformations in agricultural land in terms of land use and land-use changes, analyses major drivers and trade-offs, and describes substantial policy interventions to arrest negative trends. The rapidly growing population and their needs constitute one of the significant drivers of land-use changes in the Asia...

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has emerged as one of the severe and important health disasters during recent times. The impacts of the COVID-19 have spanned across the globe and rightly qualify to be a transboundary disaster. When looked through the lens of transboundary risks, COVID-19 is not the first of its kind. Health and non-health...

Climate-fragility risks are on the rise globally and developmental paths taken by countries could be attributed to this rise. To understand the link between development and climate-fragility risks, this chapter presents the findings of the survey conducted by authors with the development practitioners and experts from Asia. The purpose of the...

Policies are the channels through which governments influence society and make course corrections for intended consequences. Institutions have the power to influence policy processes and outcomes and can determine the way governments engage with society. Policy formulation and implementation thus far have largely been based on populist assumptions...

The Himalaya and Hindu Kush Region (HKH) is one of the world's most fragile ecosystems in terms of climate change and its impacts, such as, slow- and fast-onset disasters. Traditionally, nature and human beings have co-existed in this area with indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) systems and practices being used in different ways, such as for...

Enhancing capacity for building resilient cities is a growing concern among policy makers and international communities to minimize the impacts of climate change and natural disasters. The UN Conference on Sustainable Development 2012 and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015–2030) called for urgent need in building resilient...

The scope of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as “drone technology,” is increasing, with various applications in the field of remote sensing and environment. UAVs not only provide high-resolution, real-time data but also have different applications for end users. They have become an essential tool for land surveyors because traditional...

Food production and productivity improvements have contributed to lifting millions of people out of poverty and reduced hunger and malnutrition, but are associated with patterns of land intensification that have degraded agricultural land and caused great environmental harm. Underlying drivers affecting land conversion to and from agriculture...

Urbanization plays a significant role in how the sustainable development goals (SDGs) can be achieved by countries and regions since they can deliver the benefits of SDGs to a relatively large number of people in a short period of time by concentrating efforts in relatively focused areas than the widely dispersed rural areas. With 55% of people...

This is a precarious moment for the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH). Environmentally, socially, and economically, there is no single likely future for the HKH. Between now and 2080, the HKH may run downhill, or the region may continue doing business as usual and muddling through, or it may advance toward prosperity. Evidence-based actions to reduce...