Sustainability in Sub-Saharan Africa: Problems, Perspectives, and Prospects

(Hardback)

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This book considers the issue of sustainability in sub-Saharan Africa. It assesses the progress that has been made in sustainable development and the challenges that must still be addressed. Most importantly, it focuses on African experiences with sustainable development. Using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as the framework for the analysis, the manuscript traces how the discourse on sustainability has evolved from a cultural, political, economic, and social perspective. It focuses on the goals for climate action, sustainable cities and communities, institutions, and partnerships to examine the vulnerability of Africans to climate change, attitudes towards sustainability, ethical challenges to implementing sustainable development programs, the relationship between governance, poverty, and sustainability, environmental terrorism, sustainable health care, sustainable transportation, and the use of open green space to promote a sustainable urban community. The book integrates the theory, practice, ethics, and policy of sustainability to better understand the implications for problems and responses to sustainable development in Africa. No book has applied the SDGs to an evaluation of sustainable development in Africa. This book fills that gap. Chapters from leading scholars utilize various research methods combined with case study analysis to provide context and a deeper understanding of the critical issues in sustainability in the sub-Saharan African world. The first section of the book examines the theory of sustainability and provides an overview of some of the most important institutional questions in the discourse on environmental policies in the African world. The next section of the book focuses on the issues and challenges that inform our understanding of sustainability and the implementation of best practices. Sustainability is examined in a global context as the difficulties in enforcing international standards and protections in the state-centered international order are considered. The final part of the book engages in a more in-depth examination of several specific examples of sustainability in urban Africa.

Reviews

While global policy discourse is dominated by sustainable development, in sub-Saharan African countries, sustainable development has remained elusive for many. What is Africas position on sustainability in the face of war and environmental crises, financial upheavals, resource management, climate change, under-resourced healthcare, and the explosion of population in urban areas This timely and well-written collection examines the strategies that African nations have implemented to build economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection. The contributed chapters align with the goals of the global initiative on sustainability and cover all regions of the sub-continent. Through social, environmental and economic foci, the authors examine the links between health, water, climate change, transportation, natural resources, urban design, land use, and economic growth. -- Deborah Pellow, Syracuse University

Author Bio

Jennifer L. De Maio is professor of political science at California State University, Northridge. Suzanne Scheld is professor of anthropology at California State University, Northridge. Mintesnot Woldeamanuel is professor of urban studies and planning at California State University Northridge.