Showing papers on "Sustainability published in 1991"

Ecological Economics: The Science and Management of Sustainability

Abstract: Outlines an interdisciplinary approach to the understanding and management of the ecology and sustainable economics on local, regional and global scales. The topics discussed include the modelling of ecological economics systems and the institutional changes required.

Caring for the Earth: A Strategy for Sustainable Living

Abstract: The successor to the World Conservation Strategy published in 1980, this global strategy for a sustainable society, is intended to restate current thinking about conservation and development in an informative and encouraging way, and is orientated towards practical action. It sets targets fro the changes in our lives that will move us towards a sustainable society and urges a concerted effort to make this ethic a global force in personal, national and international relations.

Tourism, Environment, and Sustainable Development

Abstract: In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to the effects of tourism and related developments upon the environment of ‘destination areas’. The increasing popularity of the concept of sustainable development has resulted in tourism being viewed as an activity which could easily be developed along those appropriate lines. It is argued, however, that such a viewpoint is often simplistic and naive, because of a lack of understanding of the complex nature of tourism. While tourism is dependent upon the environment for much of its well-being, the prevailing lack of knowledge, responsibility, and long-term planning, has often resulted in development which is neither environmentally nor culturally sympathetic to the host area and community.A broad definition of environment is necessary in this context, encompassing both the physical and human realms and also Nature's, as is an equally wide view of human leisure activities, which needs to include far more than tourism. It is necessary to take a critical view of some alternative approaches to mass-tourism, which have been suggested as appropriate for environmentally significant areas; for at least some of the problems resulting from tourism-related developments are more profound, and less easily solved, than has often been suggested. Solutions are inevitably a combination of compromise and positive planning and management, and successful examples are difficult to find. Improved understanding of the complex nature of tourism, and of its linkages to the environment, is crucial if a symbiotic relationship is to be attained and maintained.It is necessary to appreciate that tourist destination areas evolve and change over time, both responding to, and being altered by, changes in tourism. They are not static environments, and need responsible and pro-active planning and management. Reliance upon local initiatives, uncoordinated planning, and self-regulation in a situation of ill-defined responsibility, will not result in a secure long-term future for either the tourist industry or the environment of the destination area. Coordination of policies, pro-active planning, acceptance of limitations on growth, education of all parties involved, and commitment to a long-term viewpoint, are prerequisites to the successful linking of tourism and sustainable development.

Goals, agenda, and policy recommendations for ecological economics

Abstract: This introductory chapter: 1) Summarizes the state and goals of the emerging transdisciplinary field of ecological economics, particularly as regards issues of sustainability; 2) provides a working agenda for research, education and policy for the coming decade to ensure sustainability; 3) provides some policy guidelines and recommendations for achieving these goals. This chapter represents, to the extent possible, the "sense of the meeting" or consensus of the workshop which produced it. This does not mean that all the workshop participants agree with all that is said here; we can only offer one perspective. The following chapters by individual workshop participants elaborate the themes we describe and give more detailed and varied perspectives. OVERVIEW OF THE BOOK The book is divided into three major parts following this introductory chapter. Part I focuses on defining the basic world view of ecological economics, along with how (and 1 2 Goals, Agenda, and Policy Recommendations for Ecological Economics why) it differs from conventional approaches. The ten papers in the section cover a broad range of perspectives. Boulding, Daly, and Hardin set the stage with incisive discussions of the root causes of the problems facing humanity and definitions of some basic ecological economic principles to build on. Page, Christensen, Norgaard and Howarth, and Norton offer perceptive insights into the problems of sustainability, discounting, and valuation. Martinez-Alier outlines some of the historical precedents for ecological economics. Funtowicz and Ravetz, and Perrings round out the section with their unique contributions on the role of uncertainty in an ecological economic world view and develop appropriate ways to deal with this uncertainty. Part II of the book focuses on accounting, modeling, and analysis of ecological economic systems. It begins with El Serafy's discussion of the environment as capital. Peskin, Hueting, and Faber and Proops offer different perspectives on and methods for incorporating natural capital and services into national income accounting. Hannon and Ulanowicz extend and generalize these concepts to deal with ecosystems and combined ecological economic systems. Braat and Steetskamp offer a more elaborate modeling system for regional analysis and Cleveland rounds out the section with an analysis of resource scarcity from an ecological economics perspective. Part III of the book deals with institutional changes necessary to achieve sustainability, and includes case studies. The first five papers in the section deal with incentives and instruments. Colin Clark offers an analysis of the perverse incentives that work against sustainability, while Costanza and Farber deal with methods to alter incentives to assure sustainability. Cumberland, and d'Arge and Spash apply these concepts to intergenerational transfers, while Zylicz attacks international transfers. Following the papers on transfers, two papers, by Mary Clark and Zucchetto, discuss the role of education in furthering the goals of ecological economics and sustainability. The section ends with five papers that offer case studies of ecological economic problems and approaches. Mitsch defines the field of ecological engineering and compares the experiences of the United States and China. Jansson takes an ecological economic look at the Baltic Sea region, Tiezzi et al. look at integrated agro-industrial ecosystems, and Cavalcanti looks at the Brazilian situation. Finally Goodland et al. offer a detailed analysis and policy recommendations for the management of moist tropical forests. While the chapters overlap to some degree in their coverage of certain basic themes, the multiple perspectives enrich the reader's understanding of the pluralistic nature of ecological economics. AN ECOLOGICAL ECONOMIC WORLD VIEW Increasing awareness that our global ecological life support system is endangered is forcing us to realize that decisions made on the basis of local, narrow, short-term criteria can produce disastrous results globally and in the long run. We are also beginning to realize that traditional economic and ecological models and concepts fall short in their ability to deal with global ecological problems. Ecological Economics 3 Ecological economics is a new transdisciplinary field of study that addresses the relationships between ecosystems and economic systems in the broadest sense. These relationships are central to many of humanity's current problems and to building a sustainable future but are not well covered by any existing scientific discipline. By transdisciplinary we mean that ecological economics goes beyond our normal conceptions of scientific disciplines and tries to integrate and synthesize many different disciplinary perspectives. One way it does this is by focusing more directly on the problems, rather than the particular intellectual tools and models used to solve them, and by ignoring arbitrary intellectual turf boundaries. No discipline has intellectual precedence in an endeavor as important as achieving sustainability. While the intellectual tools we use in this quest are important, they are secondary to the goal of solving the critical problems of managing our use of the planet. We must transcend the focus on tools and techniques so that we avoid being "a person with a hammer to whom everything looks like a nail." Rather we should consider the task, evaluate existing tools' abilities to handle the job, and design new ones if the existing tools are ineffective. Ecological economics will use the tools of conventional economics and ecology as appropriate. The need for new intellectual tools and models may emerge where the coupling of economics and ecology is not possible with the existing tools. How Is Ecological Economics Different from Conventional Approaches? Ecological economics (EE) differs from both conventional economics and conventional ecology in terms of the breadth of its perception of the problem, and the importance it attaches to environment-economy interactions. It takes this wider and longer view in terms of space, time and the parts of the system to be studied. Figure 1.1 illustrates one aspect of the relationship: the domains of the different subdisciplines. The upper left box represents the domain of "conventional" economics, the interactions of economic sectors (like mining, manufacturing, or households) with each other. The domain of "conventional" ecology is the lower right box, the interactions of ecosystems and their components with each other. The lower left box represents the inputs from ecological sectors to economic sectors. This is the usual domain of resource economics and environmental impact analysis: the use of renewable and nonrenewable natural resources by the economy. The upper right box represents the "use" by ecological sectors of economic "products." The products of interest in this box are usually unwanted by-products of production and the ultimate wastes from consumption. This is the usual domain of environmental economics and environmental impact analysis: pollution and its mitigation, prevention and mediation. Ecological economics encompasses and transcends these disciplinary boundaries. Ecological economics sees the human economy as part of a larger whole. Its domain is the entire web of interactions between economic and ecological sectors. Table 1.1 presents some of the other major differences between ecological economics (EE) and conventional economics (CEcon) and conventional ecology (CEcol). These issues are covered in more detail and from a number of different perspectives in Part I of TABLE 1.1 Comparison of "Conventional" Economics and Ecology with Ecological

Environmental economics and sustainable development

Abstract: Environment and development are no longer considered mutually exclusive by governments and developmental agencies. It is now recognized that a healthy environment is essential to sustainable growth. This paper explains the key role of environmental economics in facilitating effective incorporation of environmental concerns into development decision making. It reviews concepts and techniques for valuation of environmental impacts. Attempts to improve and make use of economic techniques to value environmental assets in developing countries are increasing. This paper seeks to help practitioners in the field to keep up with the advances. It describes the framework for environmental analysis for sustainable development and presents case studies grouped according to the various techniques of environmental valuation.

The Sustainability of Fiscal Policy: New Answers to an Old Question

Abstract: The early 1980s were a time of large budget deficits and increasing ratios of government debt to GNP for many of the OECD countries (Table 1), prompting concerns that the fiscal policies which led to such outcomes were not only unwise, but also unsustainable. Assessing wisdom is not easy, however, and surely not an exercise which can or should be reduced to the construction and examination of a few indicators. Assessing sustainability, on the other hand, is a much less ambitious task and one for which indicators are well suited. The purpose of this paper is to derive, construct and examine the behaviour of such indicators for the recent past and for the present.

In search of indicators of sustainable development

Abstract: 1. Indicators of sustainable development: an overview.- 2. Towards sustainable development indicators.- 3. Note on the correction of national income for environmental losses.- 4. GNP and sustainable income measures: some problems and a way out.- 5. Natural Resource Accounting: State of the art and perspectives for the assessment of trends in sustainable development.- 6. The predictive meaning of sustainability indicators.- 7. The AMOEBA approach as a useful tool for establishing sustainable development?.- 8. Towards sustainability: indicators of environmental quality.- 9. Contours of an integrated environmental index for application in land-use zoning.- Notes on the contributors.- List of workshop participants.

Integrating social, environmental, and economic issues in sustainable agriculture

Abstract: In the past several years, researchers, educators, policymakers, and activists have initiated sustainable agriculture programs and efforts the world over. This development has sometimes been accompanied by a sense that it is time to stop discussing sustainability at a conceptual level and get on with the work of making agriculture sustainable. Our perspective is that it is critical to pursue a comprehensive definition of sustainability in order to set sustainable agriculture priorities and ensure that sustainable agriculture takes a path that does not reproduce problems of conventional agriculture. In this paper we briefly review some popular definitions of sustainable agriculture and find that their focus is primarily on farm-level resource conservation and profitability as the main components of sustainability. Others have challenged this approach for either not examining the social aspects of sustainability or for containing an implicit assumption that working on the environmental, production, and microeconomic aspects of sustainability will automatically take care of its social aspects. We propose an expanded conceptualization of sustainability—one that focuses on the entire food and agriculture system at a global level and includes not only environmental soundness and economic viability, but social equity as well. In this perspective, issues such as poverty and hunger are as central to achieving agricultural sustainability as those of soil erosion and adequate farm returns.

Soil Structure and Sustainability

Abstract: Sustainability of agriculture and natural resources is a popular theme among researchers, financiers and policy makers. This enthusiastic response is partly due to emphasis on technology rather than production, on environmental quality rather than economic profit, and on long-term use of resources rather than their exploitation for short-term gains. Soil structure is a crucial soil property that affects several processes important to soils productive capacity, environmental quality, and agricultural sustainability. Decline in soil structure can set-in-motion the onset of degradative rocesses e.g., compaction, accelerated erosion, water and salt im- Ealance, and soil fertility depletion. Through these processes, detrioration in soil structure has local, regional and global effects on economic, environmental quality and resource sustainability. However, both soil structure and sustainability are often treated as qualitative and subjective concepts. There is a need to develop quantitative measure of these co...

The biodiversity of microorganisms and invertebrates: its role in sustainable agriculture.

Abstract: It is only recently that the implications of declining biodiversity for sustainable agricultural production and environmental protection have been recognized. However, while justifiable concern is expressed at the need to conserve and prevent from extinction the larger flora and fauna of the world, the importance of micro-organisms and invertebrates in the stable functioning of ecosystems has attracted less overt attention. Nevertheless, this subject is now recognized as of major significance for a number of issues, such as maintenance of soil fertility and provision of natural enemies for the biological control of pests and pathogens. This book addresses a number of these key issues and is based on a workshop organized by CAB International in association with the Commission on the Application of Science to Agriculture, Forestry and Aquaculture (CASAFA) of the International Council of Scientific Unions, the Commonwealth Science Council, and the Third World Academy of Sciences. Four main subject areas are covered: the importance of invertebrates and micro-organisms as components of biodiversity; the importance of biodiversity in sustaining soil productivity; the importance of biodiversity to pest occurrence and management; and biotechnology and biodiversity among invertebrates and micro-organisms.

Towards sustainable development indicators

Abstract: The economy and the natural environment interact. The condition of one is of importance to the other. On the one hand, economic activity is based on the continued availability of sufficient material and energy resources and an environment that is sufficiently clean and attractive. Insofar as the economy is based on renewable resources, the proper functioning of natural processes and systems may become an essential precondition for society’s continuity. On the other hand, by discharging pollution and by other features associated with human activities, society is interfering with these environmental processes and systems. In this paper a first attempt is made to arrive at a system of indicators of the condition of the environment in terms of its capacity to sustain economic activity. Sustainability indicators reflect the reproducibility of the way a given society utilizes its environment. Hence, they differ from classical environmental indicators: they do not simply reflect environmental conditions or the pressures on the environment, but they indicate to what degree certain pressures or environmental impacts the earth can deal with in a long-term perspective, without being affected in its basic structures and processes. We refer to this capacity of the environment as ‘ecological viability’. In a sense, therefore, sustainability indicators are normative indicators: they relate actual, ‘objective’ developments to a desirable condition or goal.

Review and appraisal of concept of sustainable food production systems

Abstract: Environmental degradation, competition for resources, increasing food demands, and the integration of agriculture into the international economy threaten the sustainability of many food production systems. Despite these concerns, the concept of sustainable food production systems remains unclear, and recent attempts to appraise sustainability have been hampered by conceptual inconsistencies and the absence of workable definitions. Six perspectives are shown to underpin the concept. Environmental accounting identifies biophysical limits for agriculture. Sustained yield refers to output levels that can be maintained continuously. Carrying capacity defines maximum population levels that can be supported in perpetuity. Production unit viability refers to the capacity of primary producers to remain in agriculture. Product supply and security focuses on the adequacy of food supplies. Equity is concerned with the spatial and temporal distribution of products dervied from resource use. Many studies into sustainable agriculture cover more than one of these perspectives, indicating the concept is complex and embraces issues relating to the biophysical, social, and economic environments. Clarification of the concept would facilitate the development of frameworks and analytical systems for appraising the sustainability of food production systems.

Beyond Interdependence: The Meshing of the World's Economy and the Earth's Ecology

Abstract: Many fine books were written in preparation for the Earth Summit in Rio de Janiero in June 1992. Among the best of them is Beyond Interdependence, prepared under the sponsorship of the trilateral commission and principally authored by Jim MacNeill. The book is solid, factual, and clear in structure and format. As most readers would now expect, a central thesis is the imperative of sustainable development. The authors happily avoid any detailed discussion of the range of alternative meanings of sustainability or sustainable development, but that is no loss since the broader that umbrella term is, the more effective it will be in recruiting an advocacy base. The authors advocate changes that are primarily institutional. Another key point is that environmental issues often arise or are first detected locally and tend to be seen at first as small-scale pollution problems. Another of the authors` interesting conclusions is that the concept of national security needs to be broadened to include environmental degradation, resource depletion, and access to reserves of energy and other raw materials. There are weaknesses in the report, however. It is fundamentally an institutional report to other institutions, and therefore it offers nothing by way of radical solutions. Theymore » are inattentive to the core problem underlying all global economic and ecological issues, and that is population. The authors treat it as almost incidental rather than as core to a troubled future. Nevertheless, these shortcomings are by no means crippling. This outstandingly well-written and illustrated book should inform many people about the broad outlines and in some engaging detail of the emerging crises that we face should we fail to bring the economy and ecology into symbiosis.« less

Development In Practice : Paved with good intentions

Abstract: 1. A project somewhere in Africa 2. Setting the scene 3. Agriculture: change and uncertainty 4. Institutions for managing uncertainty 5. Strengthening the people's hand? 6. Against whose odds? Constructing certainty Giriama style 7. More diversity for more certainty

Maintaining the long-term productivity of Pacific Northwest forest ecosystems

Abstract: Sustainability continues to be a major issue in forest management policy, and the papers presented in this volume summarize how various management practices affect forest health in the diverse Northwest forest regions, providing guidelines for the present and future.

Natural disasters: a framework for research and teaching.

Abstract: Natural disasters are defined in this paper by relating the impact of extreme geophysical events to patterns of human vulnerability. Hazard perception is shown to be a factor that limits the mitigation of risk. The historical development of disaster studies is traced and five different schools of thought are identified. The current International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) is evaluated critically with regard to its potential for unifying the disparate strands of knowledge and its scope as a vehicle for education. A pedagogical framework for disaster studies is presented. Time and space provide valuable unifying factors, while the subject matter can be differentiated according to the continua and dichotomies that it presents. In disaster studies as in other branches of higher education, an ecocentric approach is preferable to a technocentric one, as many of the poorer nations of the world, which are most afflicted by natural catastrophe, will have to rely for mitigation on maintaining their ecological sustainability, instead of depending on sophisticated technology. Valuable insights into the impact of environmental extremes on mankind are gained from the study of disasters as human ecology.

Common Property Resource Management in India

Abstract: This study reviews the state-of-knowledge regarding common property resource (CPR) management in India, based on published and unpublished sources and discussions with researchers in this field in India. CPR usage occurs on lands under a variety of customary and formal tenure arrangements. These lands include panchayat and revenue lands, reserved and unreserved forest lands, and private agricultural land under seasonal fallow. There may be multiple use, for different products or by different groups, or at different times of the year. During the colonial and post independence periods, the uncultivated lands of India which have been used as CPRs have been progressively reduced, as they have been brought under government control or have been privatized. In the last forty years many traditional forms ofCPR management have weakened or collapsed owing to increasing population pressure, greater commercialization, certain public policies, technological change and environmental pressure. The importance of the remaining CPRs in terms of sustainability is basically twofold. First, they fill crucial gaps in the resource and income flows from other resources; providing complementary inputs into agricultural systems often critical to their continued functioning. Second, they are often a major source of support for the poor, who are particularly heavily dependent on CPRs, generally lack access to the resources necessary to develop privatized common land, and benefit considerably from the employment created by CPR management activities. The strong thrust towards bringing use of common resources under private or government control has often been based on a thesis which confuses degradation due to unregulated use under an open access situation for breakdown in CPR management arrangements. This misunderstanding has been compounded by a tendency to overlook reasons why the alternatives of private or state control may themselves not be sustainable or efficient, and the bias that can exist in property legislation in favour of private property. The pressures on remaining CPRs will undoubtedly further erode many existing CPR management practices and institutions. Nevertheless, examination of surviving indigenous regimes, and of promising new ones, has identified a number of features which appear to define conditions for viable and sustainable CPR management in appropriate circumstances. These centre round control and management by the user group, securing the rights of the latter to use of the resource, and defence of those rights against intrusion, and investment in outputs that users value and can manage. It is notable that some recent interventions which have been less successful in inducing sustainable communal management, such as most Social Forestry woodlot programmes, have not been consistent with these conditions.

A diagnostic survey of shifting cultivation in northern Laos : targeting research to improve sustainability and productivity

Abstract: About 25% of Laos' four million people practise shifting cultivation (mainly of rice) on a third of the country's cropped area. Official policy is to eliminate shifting cultivation by the year 2000. Diagnostic surveys of shifting cultivation were conducted in Luang Prabang and Oudomsay Provinces in northern Laos to understand the practice from a farmer's perspective, to observe fields, and to identify and give priority to problems and research to address problems. Weeds, low and possibly declining soil fertility, intensification of the cropping cycle, rats (plus birds, wild pigs), and insects lowered rice yields or reduced system sustainability. The forest ecosystem has been degraded by logging, burning, and rice monocropping; and potentials for environmental rehabilitation through natural succession are minimal. Farmers cannot adopt high labor and cash cost innovations; and improved fallow is needed as an intermediate step prior to crop diversification, adoption of agroforestry technologies, and sedentary agriculture.