V. Santhakumar – författare

This book explores the possibilities of and the challenges in implementing Intercultural Education to address the internal divides in education in non-western contexts. The book examines both regional and international experiments on Intercultural Education and their relevance for Asia. It highlights the lack of attention to the possible use of Intercultural Education to address internal divides in countries like India, China, or those in South and South-East Asia, where there are internal divisions pertaining to ethnicities, castes, region and religion, among others. The final section of the book discusses some of the national, regional and global challenges in the implementation of a truly Intercultural Education in Asia. This book is useful to researchers, practitioners and policymakers in the domains of Intercultural Education in different parts of the world, and education and human development in Asia.

This book explores the possibilities of and the challenges in implementing Intercultural Education to address the internal divides in education in non-western contexts. The book examines both regional and international experiments on Intercultural Education and their relevance for Asia. It highlights the lack of attention to the possible use of Intercultural Education to address internal divides in countries like India, China, or those in South and South-East Asia, where there are internal divisions pertaining to ethnicities, castes, region and religion, among others. The final section of the book discusses some of the national, regional and global challenges in the implementation of a truly Intercultural Education in Asia. This book is useful to researchers, practitioners and policymakers in the domains of Intercultural Education in different parts of the world, and education and human development in Asia.

Land degradation that has been taking place in different parts of the world and its negative impacts are acknowledged widely. One estimate notes that nearly 20-40% of global land area is degraded or degrading (UNCCD, 2022). The main causes of land degradation include anthropogenic factors such as deforestation, wetland drainage, overgrazing, and the expansion of agriculture and industrialisation and urbanisation. The need for land restoration is accepted and a number of initiatives are launched for this purpose. However, a dynamic view of the livelihoods of people and their impacts on ecosystem is somewhat missing. There is a need to understand the real constraints which work at different levels and think about what may enable land restoration. This monograph is based on the research and field work carried out for the G20 Global Land Initiative. The research carried out so far indicates the need for a systems approach to understand the enablers of land restoration in each country, taking into account local communities and socioeconomic factors at each step. Though there are global efforts to fund and support land restoration in specific countries, these may be attempted without understanding the domestic incentives to degrade or restore land. Locating the international effort to restore land in the context of national and local incentives is the other focus of this book. The book examines how a variety of factors including human development, private sector initiatives, and efforts from local communities and governments can best be put to use in specific contexts for land restoration.

Land degradation that has been taking place in different parts of the world and its negative impacts are acknowledged widely. One estimate notes that nearly 20-40% of global land area is degraded or degrading (UNCCD, 2022). The main causes of land degradation include anthropogenic factors such as deforestation, wetland drainage, overgrazing, and the expansion of agriculture and industrialisation and urbanisation. The need for land restoration is accepted and a number of initiatives are launched for this purpose. However, a dynamic view of the livelihoods of people and their impacts on ecosystem is somewhat missing. There is a need to understand the real constraints which work at different levels and think about what may enable land restoration. This monograph is based on the research and field work carried out for the G20 Global Land Initiative. The research carried out so far indicates the need for a systems approach to understand the enablers of land restoration in each country, taking into account local communities and socioeconomic factors at each step. Though there are global efforts to fund and support land restoration in specific countries, these may be attempted without understanding the domestic incentives to degrade or restore land. Locating the international effort to restore land in the context of national and local incentives is the other focus of this book. The book examines how a variety of factors including human development, private sector initiatives, and efforts from local communities and governments can best be put to use in specific contexts for land restoration.

Land degradation affects much of the world’s land and threatens the lives and livelihoods of billions of people. Many countries have pledged large-scale restoration, yet recent global assessments show that degradation continues to outpace progress. This book examines why these efforts fall short and what can be done to change course.This book uses a comparative case-study approach to study how socioeconomic conditions shape the pace and pattern of degradation in ten countries - Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, India, Peru, South Africa and Tanzania - that together account for nearly half of global restoration commitments. Using a framework that combines systems thinking with the DPSIR (drivers, pressures, states, impacts and responses) model, it traces how income levels, human development, historical land policies, land tenure, and structural change influence both degradation and the ability to restore land.The contrasting histories, landscapes and development paths of the countries studied reveal why similar restoration pledges produce different outcomes. By linking institutions and social conditions to environmental change, the book highlights the factors that enable or hinder meaningful progress toward addressing land degradation.

This book is a narrative of conversations between two professors, with different backgrounds, academic disciplines, life experiences, and from different continents. It shows how their discourse has brought them to a single destination defined by a mutual interest in the social purposes of universities, and a hope in common that their academic efforts will somehow do good in the world.The seventeen internationally-agreed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide focus for aspirations and plans regarding sustainability, but notably, the SDGs’ targets and indicators rarely provide detailed accounts of who is expected to enact change. This book addresses the role of higher education in this context and explores the social purposes of universities and their relation to the Sustainable Development Goals. It presents an academic analysis of this complex situation, based on insights from published literature on higher education, and the personal but very different experiences oftwo professors with this shared interest.

This book is a narrative of conversations between two professors, with different backgrounds, academic disciplines, life experiences, and from different continents. It shows how their discourse has brought them to a single destination defined by a mutual interest in the social purposes of universities, and a hope in common that their academic efforts will somehow do good in the world.The seventeen internationally-agreed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide focus for aspirations and plans regarding sustainability, but notably, the SDGs’ targets and indicators rarely provide detailed accounts of who is expected to enact change. This book addresses the role of higher education in this context and explores the social purposes of universities and their relation to the Sustainable Development Goals. It presents an academic analysis of this complex situation, based on insights from published literature on higher education, and the personal but very different experiences oftwo professors with this shared interest.

This book is a compendium on economics specially designed for development practitioners and civil-society activists who do not have formal training in the subject. It provides an understanding of microeconomics, knowledge of the macroeconomic environment and insights from the specialized area called development economics. Through separate chapters, it covers poverty, inequality, social and gender discrimination, and environmental impact.Economics in Action provides the necessary knowledge to participants of public debates who do not have a background in economics and would like to reinforce their arguments and analyses with sound economic theory. It also carries specific tips on using economics in development practice and interventions. The author, in general, tries to relate the ideas and relationships described in economics with the real-world problems that we may encounter as part of our lives.