Sustainability assessment is being increasingly viewed as an important tool to aid in the shift towards sustainability. However, this is a new and evolving concept and there remain very few examples of effective sustainability assessment processes implemented anywhere in the world. Sustainability assessment is often described as a process by which the implications of an initiative on sustainability are evaluated, where the initiative can be a proposed or existing policy, plan, programme, project, piece of legislation, or a current practice or activity. However, this generic definition covers a broad range of different processes, many of which have been described in the literature as 'sustainability assessment'. This article seeks to provide some clarification by reflecting on the different approaches described in the literature as being forms of sustainability assessment, and evaluating them in terms of their potential contributions to sustainability. Many of these are actually examples of 'integrated assessment', derived from environmental impact assessment (EIA) and strategic environmental assessment (SEA), but which have been extended to incorporate social and economic considerations as well as environmental ones, reflecting a 'triple bottom line' (TBL) approach to sustainability. These integrated assessment processes typically either seek to minimise 'unsustainability', or to achieve TBL objectives. Both aims may, or may not, result in sustainable practice. We present an alternative conception of sustainability assessment, with the more ambitious aim of seeking to determine whether or not an initiative is actually sustainable. We term such processes 'assessment for sustainability'. 'Assessment for sustainability' firstly requires that the concept of sustainability be well-defined. The article compares TBL approaches and principles-based approaches to developing such sustainability criteria, concluding that the latter are more appropriate, since they avoid many of the inherent limitations of the triple-bottom-line as a conception of sustainability.

Conceptualising sustainability assessment

IBM SPSS for Intermediate Statistics: Use and Interpretation, 4th Edition

by Paige West, Duke University Press, Durham, NC, 2006, xxx + 320 pp., £14.95, (ISBN 0822337495). This is a highly personalized study. The use of repeated qualifications in the preface appears to e...

Conservation is Our Government Now: The Politics of Ecology in Papua New Guinea

Organizational Research Methods

Many small groups of indigenous peoples in the Amazon basin avoid and resist direct encounters with outsiders. As far as we know, they do so because of appalling experiences in earlier encounters with national society. When contacted today, they are extremely vulnerable to introduced diseases and exploitation. In this paper we draw on our experience in the Kugapakori Nahua Reserve for isolated peoples in SE Peru to discuss some of the current debates about whether isolated peoples should be contacted and how best to respect their right to life, health, autonomy and territory. The remote headwater regions where isolated peoples sought refuge during the last century are increasingly sought after for resource extraction. In particular, the extraction of oil and gas is increasing throughout the Peruvian Amazon. In the second part of the paper we give some examples of how oil/gas companies and the energy sector in Peru have affected the well-being of the peoples in this reserve in the 21st century. If this trend is not reversed the impacts for isolated peoples will be irreparable.

The dilemma of contact: voluntary isolation and the impacts of gas exploitation on health and rights in the Kugapakori Nahua Reserve, Peruvian Amazon

The Imbabura Geopark, like many other geoparks around the world, has an alliance between population growth factors, the development of agricultural, industrial and tourist activities, and the need for these activities to be sustainable for the conservation of the geopark. The use of information systems to identify the factors to be addressed is a fundamental aspect of decision-making by stakeholders. The aim of this research was to identify the attributes of the SAFA and Geogebra systems to support decision-making in terms of the sustainability of growing strawberries, one of the crops produced within the Imbabura Geopark. The combined use of the two systems allowed us to answer the question: “Are the systems used to support decision-making in terms of sustainable agricultural production?” And it was identified that computer tools play a fundamental role in decision-making.

Decision Support Systems for the Imbabura Geopark: Ecuadorian Andes

Cada año se reporta un estimado de 3 millones de intoxicados por plaguicidas en todo el mundo, dando como resultado 250.000 muertos, la mayoría en países pobres. Los pequeños agricultores son los más expuestos a intoxicación por plaguicidas, esto se debe al conocimiento y prácticas deficientes sobre los métodos adecuados de aplicación, por lo que, tienden a minimizar el peligro de estos compuestos. Por esta razón, el objetivo del presente estudio fue determinar los factores que influyen en la toma de decisiones con respecto al uso, aplicación y almacenaje de plaguicidas, mediante el análisis de prácticas agrícolas realizadas por arroceros. Con base en los resultados, se elaboraron propuestas adecuadas de manipuleo de plaguicidas. El estudio se desarrolló en el cantón Macará provincia de Loja. Se utilizaron encuestas estructuradas dirigidas a productores de arroz que compran, almacenan y aplican plaguicidas. Para el análisis, los agricultores fueron agrupados según sus años de experiencia, estableciéndose dos grupos: menores a 30 años y mayores a 30 años. Se analizaron las características socioeconómicas, las prácticas de seguridad y el conocimiento: plaguicidas más utilizados y el riesgo para la salud, seguridad durante la aplicación de plaguicidas y el riesgo por el uso de plaguicidas. Los datos se evaluaron mediante frecuencias y porcentajes. Los resultados demostraron que los años de experiencia influyen en usos como: la reutilización de envases vacíos y la aplicación de plaguicidas altamente tóxicos, entre otras prácticas. Además, se evidenció que el empleo de equipo de protección personal en los dos grupos de estudio fue casi nulo, limitándose, principalmente, al uso de botas de caucho.

Conocimiento, percepción y prácticas de los agricultores sobre la aplicación de plaguicidas: un estudio de caso de productores de arroz en Ecuador

Although urban areas in Latin America are not major GHG emitters, they play crucial, little-studied roles in the field of climate change. In Ecuador, there are 21 intermediate cities, which include at least 7 border cities. Intermediate cities are key to achieving sustainable urban development, merged with rural networks and environmental systems. The present work aims to conduct a sociodemographic characterization of intermediate and border cities of Ecuador and to develop a mapping of climate change actors. Three intermediate and border cities (Esmeraldas, Loja and Nueva Loja), belonging to the country's regions: Coast, Highlands and Amazonian Lowland, respectively, were analyzed. The methodology was proposed from a qualitative-quantitative approach, with two stages: 1) Identification of the sociodemographic structure and distribution through the survey of secondary sources; and 2) Development of a mapping of actors based on a given methodology, which groups four steps: a) Clarify the objectives of the mapping, b) Define the variables and design the scheme, c) Collect the information, and d) Analyze the mapping of actors. The results contrast the social characteristics and demographic indicators between these cities and the climate governance instruments. Based on these data, a dynamic graphic mapping was developed that identifies the active strategic actors of climate change at the national, provincial and cantonal levels, determining the National Government as the leading actor of climate governance, and the absence of key actors such as media, journalists and private companies.

Climate Governance and Sustainable Development: A Sight to the Intermediate and Border Cities of Ecuador

The current study determined the floristic composition, structure, and aboveground biomass (AGB) of the individuals of the Moraceae family. This occurred in order to value them as a source of biomass carbon, which itself is dependent on the altitudinal gradient (601–1000 m.a.s.l.) in the evergreen foothill forest of the Ecuadorian Amazon. The study encountered 117 individuals belonging to the Moraceae family, which was grouped into 32 species. Hereby, the most abundant were the genus Ficus sp., with 9.40% relative abundance, Brosimun alicastrum with 6.84%, and Aucleopsis sp. with 5.98%. Forest structural characteristics, such as the horizontal and vertical structure, diameter at breast height (DBH), and the diameter of the tree crown, were considered for the analysis. The horizontal profile determined that the crowns of the species of the Moraceae family cover approximately 16.43% of the upper canopy within the sampling unit area. The trees of the Moraceae family have a carbon capture capacity in the projected AGB per hectare of 35.09 (Mg ha−1), with the Ficus cuatracasana Dugand species being the species with the highest projected capture per hectare, with 15.737 (Mg ha−1). These results highlight the relevance of similar studies assessing the carbon accumulation capacity of species from other families, emphasizing high commercial value species due to their timber resource.

Floristic Composition, Structure, and Aboveground Biomass of the Moraceae Family in an Evergreen Andean Amazon Forest, Ecuador

Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from livestock raise the increase of temperature worldwide. They contribute 14.5% of global emissions while enteric fermentation is the largest contributor (39.1%). The main objectives of the current study were: a) to determine the socio-productive characteristics at the household/farm level and b) to estimate the GHG emissions of dairy farms. This study was conducted in the Andes of northern Ecuador. Sociodemographic information and characteristics of the farms were obtained through field surveys. In order to estimate GHG emissions, the Cool Farm Tool program (version 0.11.36) was used. The probabilistic technique of cluster sampling was performed, with the support of a key informant, while the survey lasted some 45 min each. Hereby, we surveyed 73 mestizo people, being 54.79% male and 45.21% female, with an average experience in milk production of 23 years, distributed in 20 homes in 15 communities. The average values have been of pastures with 3.1 ha in 5.07 ha of farm, with a herd of seven animals, a milk production of 33 l/day and a price of 0.37 dollars/liter. The estimate of GHG emissions indicated that 81% of livestock emissions derived from enteric digestion. Methane from enteric digestion is higher for some species (ruminants) than others, demonstrating that changes in diet potentially improve such scenario. Most of the emissions originated from the management of pasture residues, occupying 82% of the total. These may be compensated by directly incorporating such residues or its compost and using it in soil.

Marco Heredia-R

Papers

Decision Support Systems for the Imbabura Geopark: Ecuadorian Andes

Conocimiento, percepción y prácticas de los agricultores sobre la aplicación de plaguicidas: un estudio de caso de productores de arroz en Ecuador

Climate Governance and Sustainable Development: A Sight to the Intermediate and Border Cities of Ecuador

Floristic Composition, Structure, and Aboveground Biomass of the Moraceae Family in an Evergreen Andean Amazon Forest, Ecuador

Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Subsistence Dairy Livestock in Rural Livelihoods in the Northern Andes of Ecuador