The Theory of Communicative Action, Vol. 1, Reason and the Rationalization of Society

▪ Abstract The world's system of protected areas has grown exponentially over the past 25 years, particularly in developing countries where biodiversity is greatest. Concurrently, the mission of protected areas has expanded from biodiversity conservation to improving human welfare. The result is a shift in favor of protected areas allowing local resource use. Given the multiple purposes of many protected areas, measuring effectiveness is difficult. Our review of 49 tropical protected areas shows that parks are generally effective at curtailing deforestation within their boundaries. But deforestation in surrounding areas is isolating protected areas. Many initiatives now aim to link protected areas to local socioeconomic development. Some of these initiatives have been successful, but in general expectations need to be tempered regarding the capacity of protected areas to alleviate poverty. Greater attention must also be paid to the broader policy context of biodiversity loss, poverty, and unsustainable la...

http://web.mnstate.edu/wisenden/TFB2013/Naughton-Treves%202005%20role%20of%20protected%20areas%20in%20conserving%20biodiversity.pdf

The role of protected areas in conserving biodiversity and sustaining local livelihoods

The continued growth of human populations and of per capita consumption have resulted in unsustainable exploitation of Earth’s biological diversity, exacerbated by climate change, ocean acidification, and other anthropogenic environmental impacts. We argue that effective conservation of biodiversity is essential for human survival and the maintenance of ecosystem processes. Despite some conservation successes (especially at local scales) and increasing public and government interest in living sustainably, biodiversity continues to decline. Moving beyond 2010, successful conservation approaches need to be reinforced and adequately financed. In addition, however, more radical changes are required that recognize biodiversity as a global public good, that integrate biodiversity conservation into policies and decision frameworks for resource production and consumption, and that focus on wider institutional and societal changes to enable more effective implementation of policy.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/329/5997/1298.full.pdf

Biodiversity conservation: challenges beyond 2010.

Historically, management theory has ignored the constraints imposed by the biophysical (natural) environment. Building upon resource-based theory, this article attempts to fill this void by proposing a natural-resource-based view of the firm—a theory of competitive advantage based upon the firm's relationship to the natural environment. It is composed of three interconnected strategies: pollution prevention, product stewardship, and sustainable development. Propositions are advanced for each of these strategies regarding key resource requirements and their contributions to sustained competitive advantage.

A natural resource-based view of the firm

(2002). Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement without Giving in. Quality Management Journal: Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 73-74.

Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement without Giving in

This article is intended as a contribution to the ongoing conceptual development of Sustainability-Oriented Innovation (SOI) and provides initial guidance on becoming and being sustainable. We organize and integrate the diverse body of empirical literature relating to SOI and, in doing so, develop a synthesized conceptual framework onto which SOI practices and processes can be mapped. SOI involves making intentional changes to an organization’s philosophy and values, as well as to its products, processes or practices to serve the specific purpose of creating and realising social and environmental value in addition to economic returns. A critical reading of previous literature relating to environmental management and sustainability reveals how little attention has been paid to SOI and what exists is only partial. In a review of 100 scholarly articles and 27 grey sources drawn from the period of the three Earth Summits (1992, 2002 and 2012), we address four specific deficiencies that have given rise to these limitations: the meaning of SOI, how it has been conceptualised, its treatment as a dichotomous phenomenon and a general failure to reflect more contemporary practices. We adopt a framework synthesis approach involving first constructing an initial architecture of the landscape grounded in previous studies which is subsequently iteratively tested, shaped, refined and reinforced into a model of SOI with data drawn from included studies: so advancing theoretical development in the field of SOI.

Sustainability‐oriented Innovation: A Systematic Review

‘Sustainability’ is a major and growing driver of business change. Its implications for innovation are clear – living and working in a world of up to 9 billion people with rising expectations, providing energy, food and resource security, dealing with climate change, ecosystem degradation, a widening economic divide and a host of other interdependent issues will require massive change in products, services, processes, marketing approaches and the underlying business models which frame them. The focus of this paper is to develop an understanding of new approaches to innovation management required to take account of the growing pressures and emerging opportunities in the ‘sustainability’ agenda. In particular, it draws on case studies of a variety of organisations to help answer the question of what practical actions might be taken beyond the rhetoric of moving towards greater sustainability or ‘greening’ of business.

/pdf/managing-innovation-for-sustainability-52az7d3o21.pdf

Managing innovation for sustainability

Les AA. etudient la relation entre biodiversite et niveau de vie. Ils soulignent que la preservation de la biodiversite constitue une preoccupation fondamentale. Ils montrent que les differents groupes sociaux n'envisagent pas la preservation de la biodiversite d'une facon identique. Ils examinent les dispositions definies par la Convention sur la biodiversite elaboree dans le cadre de la United Nations Conference on Environment and Development organisee a Rio de Janeiro en 1992. Ils comparent la vision de la biodiversite des hommes d'Etat, des hauts fonctionnaires au sein de l'appareil d'Etat, des entreprises, de certaines institutions comme le European Timber Trade, qui a interdit le commerce du bois issu des forets tropicales en Europe, des associations locales d'agriculteurs. Ils montrent comment la Russie gere ses ressources forestieres, comment le Cameroun s'efforce de preserver sa faune. Ils presentent les reglementations internationales concernant la peche a la baleine. Ils distinguent une approche «classique», une approche «neo-populiste» et une approche «neo-liberale economique» de la biodiversite

http://www.unrisd.org/unrisd/website/document.nsf/d2a23ad2d50cb2a280256eb300385855/aca8333a4cb1d7f980256b67005b68f5/$FILE/dp72.pdf

Biodiversity and human welfare

Despite endorsements of the concept of sustainable development and the linking of sustainable development with the Millennium Development Goals, progress towards the eradication of poverty has been disappointing. The underlying principles of sustainable development need to be more critically and actively applied to both poverty reduction and biodiversity conservation. While recognizing the need for better integration of poverty reduction and conservation objectives by both developmental and conservation agencies, particular attention is paid to the reasons why conservation should do better in contributing to long-term sustainable development and more immediately to poverty reduction.

Poverty and Conservation: Landscapes, People and Power

The environmental movement has made huge progress over the last decades. Among others, it has raised awareness of challenges facing humanity, helped develop a critical mass of policies, and worked towards the implementation of many of these policies in collaboration with other stakeholders. Now, however, we are at a turning point in the history of the global environmental movement. In order to rise to challenges of the 21st century such as climate change and peak oil it will not be possible to do business as usual; a step change will be needed. As IUCN celebrates its 60th anniversary, and marks six decades of global conservation achievement, it is also taking stock of the urgent challenges facing life on earth and reviewing its strategies. The key to future conservation action will lie in reconciling the needs of the environment with those of society in a manner which is equitable and just, and in promoting sustainable lifestyles and livelihoods as well as protecting endangered species and spaces. This document outlines IUCNs Future of Sustainability initiative, the rationale for its implementation and describes how the conservation movement can play new and decisive roles in the transition to sustainability.

Sally Jeanrenaud

Papers

Sustainability‐oriented Innovation: A Systematic Review

Managing innovation for sustainability

Biodiversity and human welfare

Poverty and Conservation: Landscapes, People and Power

Transition to Sustainability: Towards a Humane and Diverse World