This article investigates if higher levels of social capital, better governance structures, and a more ambitious conservation policy are positively linked to the ability of states to address biodiversity loss. Serving this purpose is a data set containing estimates of woodpecker diversity in 20 European countries.

Using the latest forest inventory, this article provides a detailed analysis of China's changing forest sector by focusing on new forest trends, forest policy changes, and challenges to achieving a sustainable forest management. The authors analyze the dynamics of forest resources and provide an impact assessment of forest policies on China's forestry development during the past decades.

Local climate change policy making in Japan started in the middle of the 1990s. The national government

For all its economic capacity, population size, and resource base, California remains only one among the 50 United States and, essentially, is a subnational actor attempting to play a role in the climate change policy arena on par with the nation-states of the world. This raises a series of questions about the substance and breadth of the state's new policy and what has motivated it.

This article provides an analysis of a puzzling development among local governments in China: Climate change largely ignored as a problem in the past has suddenly become a high priority of provincial and prefectural governments. It is observed that the

Germany is one of the leading countries in Europe, as well as globally, in terms of its renewable energy and climate change policies. The multiple levels of government within the European Union (EU) mean that the German government must interact both with EU institutions (e.g., the Commission, Council, and Parliament) and subnational L

Since India gained Independence, the Krishna basin has seen an increasing mobilization of its water resources. Warnings of basin closure (minimal flow to the ocean) emerge during dry periods. Basin water development and local rural dynamics have led to a degradation of downstream ecosystems manifesting itself by salinizing soil and groundwater, increasing pollution, making mangroves disappear, and desiccating wetlands. Reversing this evolution requires the formal recognition of the environment as a water user in its own right and the implementation of an environmental water provision.

Bangladesh is one of the most electricity deprived nations in the world. Despite large potential for renewable energy sources in Bangladesh, currently their contribution to the electricity supply remains insignificant. Use of renewable energy is considered an indispensable component of sustainable energy systems, as renewables emit less greenhouse gas emissions compared to fossil fuel energy systems. However, to advance such sustainable energy systems, appropriate strategies and institutional settings need to be put in place for all nations.

This article presents data illustrating the networked structure of the water sector in two Nile Basin states, Egypt and Ethiopia. Social network analysis is applied to quantify network

This article examines the role of the United States in international institutions and practices for governing water. Water is a critical global challenge of environmental protection and human security. Water is also characteristic of a set of