Hans Gunter Brauch, Adj. Prof. (PD) at the Free University of Berlin, chairman of AFES-PRESS, senior fellow at UNU-EHS in Bonn and editor of this series; he publishes on security and environment issues. ula Oswald Spring, Professor at UNAM-CRIM, xi co; first UNU-EHS chair on social vulnerability; she writes on su stainability, de ve lopment, gender, disaster, poverty and colla borates with pea sants. John Grin, Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Amsterdam; he publishes on societal transformations in water ma na gement, agriculture and health care, and advices practitioners. Czeslaw Mesjasz, Assoc. Professor, Manage ment, Cra cow University of Economics; he pu blishes on sy stems and game theo ry, conflict resolu tion, nego tiation, economics, finance and security. Patricia Kameri-Mbote, Professor, Strathmore University; Programme Director, International Environ men tal Law Research Centre, Nairobi; she writes on law, development, property, environment and gender. Bechir Chourou, Director, Univer sity of Tunis-Carthage, he taught International Relations at Univer sity of Tunis; he publishes on Euro-Me di terranean rela tions, food policy and human security in the Arab world. Pal Dunay, Faculty Member, Geneva Centre for Security Policy, Director of International Training Course in Security Policy; he publishes on European security, the post-Soviet space and conventional arms control. Jorn Birkmann, Adj. Prof. (PD) at Bonn University, Head, Vulnerability Assessment, Risk Management and Adaptive Planning Section, United Nations University, Institute for Environment and Human Security.

• Forewords.- Dedications.- Acknowledgements.- Prefaces.- Part I Introduction: Concepts of Security Threats, Challenges, Vulnerabilities and Risks.- Part II Securitization of Global Environmental Change.- Part III Economic, Social, Environmental Security and Human Threats, Challenges, Vulnerabilities and Risks in the Near East, North and Sub-Sahara Africa and in Asia,- Part IV Threats, Challenges, Vulnerabilities and Risks for Urban Centres in Hazards and Disasters.- Part V Coping with Global Environmental Change: Climate Change, Soil and Desertification, Water Management, Food and Health.- Part VI Coping with Hazards and Strategies for Coping with Social Vulnerability and Resilience Building,- Part VII Coping with Global Environmental Change: Scientific, International, Regional and National Political Strategies, Policies and Measures.- Part VIII A Technical Tool: Remote Sensing, Vulnerability Mapping and Indicators of Environmental Security Challenges and Risks.- Part IX Towards an Improved Early Warning of Conflicts and Hazards.- Part X Summary and Conclusions.- Abbreviations.- Bibliography.- Biographies of Contributors.- Index.