Environmental Resource Management and the Nexus Approach

Prof. Dr. Reza Ardakanian is the Founding Director of United Nations University Institute for Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources (UNU-FLORES). He served as Director of the UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity Development hosted by UNU (2007–2015) and as Vice-Rector of UNU in Europe, ad interim (2009–2011). He sat on the Boards of various international programmes/organisations such as UNESCO-IHP, UNESCO-IHE, the International Hydropower Association, and UNU-EHS. Prof. Dr. Ardakanian holds a PhD in Water Resources Management from McMaster University (Canada) and is a faculty member of Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, Iran. He formerly held a number of national offices in Iran, including Deputy Minister for Water Affairs (2001–2005), Senior Vice-Minister (1998–2001) and Deputy Minister for Planning & Economic Affairs (1989–1991) with the Ministry of Energy, and Deputy Minister for Urban Development and Municipalities with the Ministry of Interior (1987–1989).Dr. Hiroshan Hettiarachchi is a civil engineer specialised in geotechnical and geo-environmental engineering. He joined United Nations University Institute for Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources (UNU-FLORES) as Academic Officer and leads the Waste Management unit. He previously served as Associate Professor at Lawrence Technological University, USA. Dr. Hettiarachchi’s past research is mainly focused on geotechnical aspects of landfills and properties and behaviour of geomaterials. He holds a PhD in Civil Engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology, USA.

• 1. Managing Water, Soil, and Waste in the Context of Global Change (Hiroshan Hettiarachchi).- Part 1. Climate Change Adaptation.- 2. Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation in Water and Land Context (Zbigniew Kundzewicz).- 3. Climate Change, Profligacy, Poverty and Destruction: All Things are Connected (Brian Moss).- Part 2. Urbanization as a Main Driver of Global Change.- 4. A Nexus Approach to Urban and Regional Planning Using the Four Capital Framework of Ecological Economics (Robert Costanza).- 5. The Urban Water-Energy Nexus: Building Resilience for Global Change in the ‘Urban Century’ (Christopher A. Scott).- Part 3. Population Growth and Increased Demand for Resources.- 6. Role of Soils for Satisfying Global Demands for Food, Water, and Bioenergy (Winfried E.H. Blum).- 7. Implications of the Nexus Approach when Assessing  Water and Soil Quality as a Function of Solid and Liquid Waste Management (Johan Bouma).