Showing papers on "Sustainability published in 2002"

Agricultural sustainability and intensive production practices

Abstract: A doubling in global food demand projected for the next 50 years poses huge challenges for the sustainability both of food production and of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and the services they provide to society. Agriculturalists are the principal managers of global useable lands and will shape, perhaps irreversibly, the surface of the Earth in the coming decades. New incentives and policies for ensuring the sustainability of agriculture and ecosystem services will be crucial if we are to meet the demands of improving yields without compromising environmental integrity or public health.

Beyond the business case for corporate sustainability

Abstract: The article is intended as a contribution to the ongoing conceptual development of corporate sustainability. At the business level sustainability is often equated with eco-efficiency. However, such a reduction misses several important criteria that firms have to satisfy if they want to become truly sustainable. This article discusses how the concept of sustainable development has evolved over the past three decades and particularly how it can be applied to the business level. It then goes on to describe the three types of capital relevant within the concept of corporate sustainability: economic, natural and social capital. From this basis we shall then develop the six criteria managers aiming for corporate sustainability will have to satisfy: eco-efficiency, socio-efficiency, eco-effectiveness, socio-effectiveness, sufficiency and ecological equity. The article ends with a brief outlook towards future research. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment

Towards sustainability in world fisheries

Abstract: Fisheries have rarely been 'sustainable'. Rather, fishing has induced serial depletions, long masked by improved technology, geographic expansion and exploitation of previously spurned species lower in the food web. With global catches declining since the late 1980s, continuation of present trends will lead to supply shortfall, for which aquaculture cannot be expected to compensate, and may well exacerbate. Reducing fishing capacity to appropriate levels will require strong reductions of subsidies. Zoning the oceans into unfished marine reserves and areas with limited levels of fishing effort would allow sustainable fisheries, based on resources embedded in functional, diverse ecosystems.

Road Ecology: Science and Solutions

Abstract: Road ecology is defined as using the science of ecology and landscape ecology to examine, understand, and address the interactions of roads and vehicles with their surrounding environment. This book contains a series of presentations from 14 coauthors, focusing on these four areas: 1) roads, vehicles and transportation planning; 2) roadsides, vegetation, wildlife and mitigation; 3) water, sediment, chemicals aquatic ecosystems and the atmosphere; and, 4) road systems and further perspectives, including road systems linked with the land, four landscapes with major road systems, natural landscapes, road ecology and sustainability. Case studies are provided to illustrate the feasiblilty of designing and building road systems which address both biodiversity and ecology and safe and efficient human mobility.

World Agriculture: Towards 2015/2030: An Fao Perspective

Abstract: This report is FAO's latest assessment of the long-term outlook for the world's food supplies, nutrition and agriculture. It presents the projections and the main messages. The projections cover supply and demand for the major agricultural commodities and sectors, including fisheries and forestry. This analysis forms the basis for a more detailed examination of other factors, such as nutrition and undernourishment, and the implications for international trade. The report also investigates the implications of future supply and demand for the natural resource base and discusses how technology can contribute to more sustainable development. One of the report's main findings is that, if no corrective action is taken, the target set by the World Food Summit in 1996 (that of halving the number of undernourished people by 2015) is not going to be met. Nothing short of a massive effort at improving the overall development performance will free the developing world of its most pressing food insecurity problems. The progress made towards this target depends on many factors, not least of which are political will and the mobilization of additional resources. Past experience underlines the crucial role of agriculture in the development process, particularly where the majority of the population still depends on this sector for employment and income.

Environmental and Natural Resource Economics

Abstract: 1. Visions of the Future. 2. Valuing the Environment: Concepts. 3. Valuing the Environment: Methods. 4. Property Rights, Externalities, and Environmental Problems. 5. Sustainable Development: Defining the Concept. 6. The Population Problem. 7. The Allocation of Depletable and Renewable Resources. 8. Depletable, Non-recyclable Energy Resources: Oil, Gas, Coal and Uranium. 9. Recyclable Resources: Minerals, Paper, Glass, etc. 10. Replenishable but Depletable Resources: Water. 11. Reproducible Private-Property Resources: Agriculture. 12. Storable, Renewable Resources: Forests. 13. Renewable Common-Property Resources: Fisheries and Other Species. 14. Generalized Resource Scarcity. 15. Economics of Pollution Control: An Overview. 16. Stationary-Source Local Air Pollution. 17. Regional and Global Air Pollutants: Acid Rain and Atmospheric Modification. 18. Mobile -Source Air Pollution. 19. Water Pollution. 20. Toxic Substances. 21. Environmental Justice. 22. Development, Poverty, and the Environment. 23. The Quest for Sustainable Development. 24. Visions of the Future Revisited.

Environment, economy and society : fitting them together into sustainable development

Abstract: Sustainable development is a contested concept, with theories shaped by people's and organizations' different worldviews, which in turn influence how issues are formulated and actions proposed. It is usually presented as the intersection between environment, society and economy, which are conceived of as separate although connected entities. We would argue that these are not unified entities: rather they are fractured and multi-layered and can be considered at different spatial levels. The economy is often given priority in policies and the environment is viewed as apart from humans. They are interconnected, with the economy dependent on society and the environment while human existence and society are dependent on, and within the environment. The separation of environment, society and economy often leads to a narrow techno-scientific approach, while issues to do with society that are most likely to challenge the present socio-economic structure are often marginalized, in particular the sustainability of communities and the maintenance of cultural diversity. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment

The Sustainability Balanced Scorecard – linking sustainability management to business strategy

Abstract: The Balanced Scorecard of Kaplan and Norton is a management tool that supports the successful implementation of corporate strategies. It has been discussed and considered widely in both practice and research. By linking operational and non-financial corporate activities with causal chains to the firm's long-term strategy, the Balanced Scorecard supports the alignment and management of all corporate activities according to their strategic relevance. The Balanced Scorecard makes it possible to take into account non-monetary strategic success factors that significantly impact the economic success of a business. The Balanced Scorecard is thus a promising starting-point to also incorporate environmental and social aspects into the main management system of a firm. Sustainability management with the Balanced Scorecard helps to overcome the shortcomings of conventional approaches to environmental and social management systems by integrating the three pillars of sustainability into a single and overarching strategic management tool. After a brief discussion of the different possible forms of a Sustainability Balanced Scorecard the article takes a closer look at the process and steps of formulating a Sustainability Balanced Scorecard for a business unit. Before doing so, the basic conventional approach of the Balanced Scorecard and its suitability for sustainability management will be outlined in brief. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

How Sustainable Agriculture Can Address the Environmental and Human Health Harms of Industrial Agriculture

Abstract: The industrial agriculture system consumes fossil fuel, water, and topsoil at unsustainable rates. It contributes to numerous forms of environmental degradation, including air and water pollution, soil depletion, diminishing biodiversity, and fish die-offs. Meat production contributes disproportionately to these problems, in part because feeding grain to livestock to produce meat—instead of feeding it directly to humans—involves a large energy loss, making animal agriculture more resource intensive than other forms of food production. The proliferation of factory-style animal agriculture creates environmental and public health concerns, including pollution from the high concentration of animal wastes and the extensive use of antibiotics, which may compromise their effectiveness in medical use. At the consumption end, animal fat is implicated in many of the chronic degenerative diseases that afflict industrial and newly industrializing societies, particularly cardiovascular disease and some cancers. In terms of human health, both affluent and poor countries could benefit from policies that more equitably distribute high-protein foods. The pesticides used heavily in industrial agriculture are associated with elevated cancer risks for workers and consumers and are coming under greater scrutiny for their links to endocrine disruption and reproductive dysfunction. In this article we outline the environmental and human health problems associated with current food production practices and discuss how these systems could be made more sustainable. Key words: diet, environment, health, industrial agriculture, sustainability, sustainable agriculture. Environ Health Perspect 110:445‐456 (2002). [Online 20 March 2002] http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2002/110p445-456horrigan/abstract.html

Cities and Climate Change

Abstract: Climate change is one of the most challenging issues of our time. As key sites in the production and management of emissions of greenhouse gases, cities will be crucial for the implementation of international agreements and national policies on climate change. This book provides a critical analysis of the role of cities in addressing climate change and the prospects for urban sustainability. Cities and Climate Change is the first in-depth analysis of the role of cities in addressing climate change. The book argues that key challenges concerning the resources and powers of local government, as well as conflicts between local goals for economic development and climate change mitigation, have restricted the level of local action on climate change. These findings have significant implications for the prospects of mitigating climate change and achieving urban sustainability. This book provides a valuable interdisciplinary analysis of these issues, and will appeal to students and researchers interested in sustainability at local and global scales.

Ecological Climatology: Concepts and Applications

Abstract: The third edition of Gordon Bonan's comprehensive textbook introduces an interdisciplinary framework to understand the interaction between terrestrial ecosystems and climate change. Ideal for advanced undergraduate and graduate students studying ecology, environmental science, atmospheric science, and geography, it reviews basic meteorological, hydrological, and ecological concepts to examine the physical, chemical, and biological processes by which terrestrial ecosystems affect and are affected by climate. This new edition has been thoroughly updated with new science and references. The scope has been expanded beyond its initial focus on energy, water, and carbon to include reactive gases and aerosols in the atmosphere. The new edition emphasizes the Earth as a system, recognizing interconnections among the planet's physical, chemical, biological, and socioeconomic components, and emphasizing global environmental sustainability. Each chapter contains chapter summaries and review questions, and with over 400 illustrations, including many in color, this textbook will once again be an essential student guide.

Experimenting for Sustainable Transport: The Approach of Strategic Niche Management

Abstract: Technological change is a central feature of modern societies and a powerful source for social change. There is an urgent task to direct these new technologies towards sustainability, but society lacks perspectives, instruments and policies to accomplish this. There is no blueprint for a sustainable future, and it is necessary to experiment with alternative paths that seem promising. Various new transport technologies promise to bring sustainability benefits. But as this book shows, important lessons are often overlooked because the experiments are not designed to challenge the basic assumptions about established patterns of transport choices. Learning how to organise the process of innovation implementation is essential if the maximum impact is to be achieved - it is here that strategic niche management offers new perspectives. The book uses a series of eight recent experiments with electric vehicles, carsharing schemes, bicycle pools and fleet management to illustrate the means by which technological change must be closely linked to social change if successful implementation is to take place. The basic divide between proponents of technological fixes and those in favour of behavioural change needs to be bridged, perhaps indicating a third way.

The environmentalism of the poor : a study of ecological conflicts and valuation

Abstract: This text has the explicit intention of helping to establish two emerging fields of study - political ecology and ecological economics - whilst also investigating the relations between them. The book analyses several manifestations of the growing "environmental justice system", and also of "popular environmentalism" and the "environmentalism of the poor", which will be seen in the coming decades as driving forces in the process to achieve an ecologically sustainable society. The author studies in detail many ecological distribution conflicts in history and at present, in urban and rural settings, showing how poor people often favour resource conservation. The environment is thus not so much a luxury of the rich as a necessity of the poor. It concludes with the fundamental questions: who has the right to impose a language of valuation and who has the power to simplify complexity? Joan Martinez-Alier combines the study of ecological conflicts and the study of environmental evaluation in an appraoch that should appeal to a wide cross-section of academics, ecologists and environmentalists.

Meeting ecological and societal needs for freshwater

Abstract: Human society has used freshwater from rivers, lakes, groundwater, and wetlands for many different urban, agricultural, and industrial activities, but in doing so has overlooked its value in supporting ecosystems. Freshwater is vital to human life and societal well-being, and thus its utilization for consumption, irrigation, and transport has long taken precedence over other commodities and services provided by freshwater ecosystems. However, there is growing recognition that functionally intact and biologically complex aquatic ecosystems provide many economically valuable services and long-term benefits to society. The short-term benefits include ecosystem goods and services, such as food supply, flood control, purification of human and industrial wastes, and habitat for plant and animal life—and these are costly, if not impossible, to replace. Long-term benefits include the sustained provision of those goods and services, as well as the adaptive capacity of aquatic ecosystems to respond to future environmental alterations, such as climate change. Thus, maintenance of the processes and properties that support freshwater ecosystem integrity should be included in debates over sustainable water resource allocation. The purpose of this report is to explain how the integrity of freshwater ecosystems depends upon adequate quantity, quality, timing, and temporal variability of water flow. Defining these requirements in a comprehensive but general manner provides a better foundation for their inclusion in current and future debates about allocation of water resources. In this way the needs of freshwater ecosystems can be legitimately recognized and addressed. We also recommend ways in which freshwater ecosystems can be protected, maintained, and restored. Freshwater ecosystem structure and function are tightly linked to the watershed or catchment of which they are a part. Because riverine networks, lakes, wetlands, and their connecting groundwaters, are literally the “sinks” into which landscapes drain, they are greatly influenced by terrestrial processes, including many human uses or modifications of land and water. Freshwater ecosystems, whether lakes, wetlands, or rivers, have specific requirements in terms of quantity, quality, and seasonality of their water supplies. Sustainability normally requires these systems to fluctuate within a natural range of variation. Flow regime, sediment and organic matter inputs, thermal and light characteristics, chemical and nutrient characteristics, and biotic assemblages are fundamental defining attributes of freshwater ecosystems. These attributes impart relatively unique characteristics of productivity and biodiversity to each ecosystem. The natural range of variation in each of these attributes is critical to maintaining the integrity and dynamic potential of aquatic ecosystems; therefore, management should allow for dynamic change. Piecemeal approaches cannot solve the problems confronting freshwater ecosystems. Scientific definitions of the requirements to protect and maintain aquatic ecosystems are necessary but insufficient for establishing the appropriate distribution between societal and ecosystem water needs. For scientific knowledge to be implemented science must be connected to a political agenda for sustainable development. We offer these recommendations as a beginning to redress how water is viewed and managed in the United States: (1) Frame national and regional water management policies to explicitly incorporate freshwater ecosystem needs, particularly those related to naturally variable flow regimes and to the linking of water quality with water quantity; (2) Define water resources to include watersheds, so that freshwaters are viewed within a landscape, or systems context; (3) Increase communication and education across disciplines, especially among engineers, hydrologists, economists, and ecologists to facilitate an integrated view of freshwater resources; (4) Increase restoration efforts, using well-grounded ecological principles as guidelines; (5) Maintain and protect the remaining freshwater ecosystems that have high integrity; and (6) Recognize the dependence of human society on naturally functioning ecosystems.

The principles of sustainability

Abstract: Introduction * Part I: Past * Progress and its Discontents * From Muir to Meadows * Sustainability Emerging * From Rio to Kyoto and Later Disappointments * Part Two: Present * What Does Sustainable Development Mean? * Taking Sustainability into Economics * Putting a Price on the Planet * The Ethics of Sustainability * Part Three: Future * The End of Sustainability? * Index

Walking the Talk: The Business Case for Sustainable Development

Abstract: Ten years on from the Rio Earth Summit, world leaders will gather again in Johannesburg for the World Summit on Sustainable Development in September. As planetary anxieties about globalization, poverty and climate change grow, where does the international business community stand? Are they a barrier to change or an engine for it? One outcome of Rio was Changing Course, the hugely influential book by Swiss industrialist Stephan Schmidheiny, which argued that business needed to be part of the solution to global environmental degradation. Now, Schmidheiny has joined with fellow prime movers in the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD – the key business organization focusing on policy research and development in this crucial area), Chad Holliday, Chairman and CEO of DuPont; and Philip Watts, Chairman of Shell; to spell out the real business case for addressing sustainable development as a key strategic issue. The results are ground-breaking. For the first time, leading industrialists are arguing that not only is sustainable development good for business, the solving of environmental and social problems is essential for future growth. Drawing on a wealth of case studies and personal interviews from business leaders operating around the world, Walking the Talk clearly demonstrates that the vanguard who have operationalized leading-edge environmental and social initiatives are benefiting in a myriad of ways that benefit the bottom line – and the planet. The book argues that the time for rhetoric is over. The business of business has changed. Even more remarkably, the authors insist that a global partnership – between governments, business and civil society – is essential, if accelerating moves towards globalization are to maximize opportunities for all – especially the world's poor. As Chad Holliday recently stated in an address to the United Nations: "Given existing technology and products, for all six billion people on the planet to live like the average American, we would require the equivalent of three planet Earths to provide the material, create the energy and dispose of the waste." Such an option is evidently not available and the book argues that far more eco-efficient and socially equitable modes of development must be pursued in order to allow poorer nations to raise their standards of living. The solution provided by Walking the Talk is to mobilize markets in favour of sustainability, leveraging the power of innovation and global markets for the benefits of everyone – not just the developed world. This means a further liberalization of the market-a move that would be condemned by anti-globalization protestors. Yet, as the authors argue, business cannot succeed in failing societies. When the global market fails poor countries, where most of the world's people live, it will also eventually fail business. Subsidies for rich countries' products and tariffs against poor countries' products do not constitute a "free" market, or one that best serves people or business. Similarly, governments cannot subsidize fossil fuels or water and expect businesses, or ordinary citizens, to use them efficiently. So, a new, fair and equitable market is needed. A market that can work for all. The authors therefore call on protestors against globalization to stop protesting against the market and instead to campaign instead against the perverse policies that impoverish people and their environment. Walking the Talk explores the opportunities and challenges inherent in eco-efficiency (producing more with less), corporate social responsibility, and a transparent, "wired" world where reputations can be irreversibly damaged – or enhanced – in real time. It also devotes a chapter to ways in which corporations can and must "learn to change". It examines the new partnerships needed among companies, governments, and civil society to produce real change, and the ways in which these alliances can work for all concerned. And it argues that consumer choice and consumer information should be encouraged as a positive force for sustainable development. Only what is valued is carefully used and so creating markets for environmental goods and services may be the best way to protect scarce resources. This is especially true in efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change, where business-like approaches, such as the development of carbon trading, offer workable solutions to policy-makers. Whether small, medium or large, all businesses must innovate and change to meet the social and environmental challenges of the coming years. Walking the Talk provides a broad set of proven roadmaps to success as well as real-life inspiration for business to embrace the real challenge – to build a global economy that works for all the world's people.

Towards sustainability in the water sector – The importance of human actors and processes of social learning

Abstract: Current regimes in resource management are often unsustainable as judged by ecological, economic and social criteria. Many technological resource management regimes are inflexible and not built to adapt to changes in environmental, economic or social circumstances. This inflexibility poses problems in a world characterized by fast change. The water sector is currently undergoing major processes of transformation at local, regional and global scales. Today's situation is challenged by uncertainties, e.g., in water demand (diminishing in industrialized countries, rising in developing countries), by worsening water quality, by pressure for cost-efficient solutions, and by fast changing socio-economic boundary conditions. One expects additional uncertainties, due to climate change, such as a shift in the pattern of extreme events. Hence, new strategies and institutional arrangements are required to cope with risk and change in general. When one considers processes of transformation and change, the human dimension is of particular importance. Institutions and rule systems may cause resistance to change but can also enable and facilitate necessary transformation processes. This paper explores conceptual approaches in social learning and adaptive management. It introduces agent-based modelling, and the link between analytical modelling and participatory approaches as promising new developments to explore and foster changes towards sustainability and the required transformations in technological regimes and institutional settings.

Place identification, social cohesion, and environmental sustainability

Abstract: In the study reported in this article the roles of social cohesion, residential satisfaction, and place identification are examined for their effect on place-related social identity and its consequential impact on attitudes to environmental sustainability. Two neighborhoods in Guildford, Surrey, England were selected on the basis of their social histories, housing types, and socioeconomic composition. Ninety residents in each neighborhood were sampled. Research methods included cognitive mapping and a questionnaire survey. A structural equation model was used to analyze the covariances between the different factors. The results show clear differences between the two neighborhoods in terms of residential satisfaction, with only some differences in terms of identification and social cohesion and sustainability. Conclusions are drawn that suggest an important relationship between identity and sustainability behavior that is suggestive for future research.

Sustainable Tourism: An Overview of the Concept and its Position in Relation to Conceptualisations of Tourism

Abstract: Reference to sustainable tourism is now made in most strategic tourism planning documents. Yet, despite its common use, definitional arguments exist over its meaning and subsequent operationalisation. In addition to this, literature on sustainable tourism rarely discusses its development prior to the publication of Our Common Future (World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), 1987) and its relevance to current conceptualisations of tourism. This paper analyses the context within which sustainable tourism was developed and has recently been conceptualised. It does this by assessing the development of sustainable tourism (with an Australian focus) and proposing a model which incorporates the development of sustainable tourism into tourism. The paper argues that sustainable tourism has traditionally given more focus to aspects related to the environment and economic development and that more focus should be given to community involvement.

The globalizing learning economy

Abstract: Introduction: Europe and the Learning Economy PART ONE: EUROPE IN GLOBAL COMPETITION 1. The New ECONOMY: A EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE 2. Europe at the Crossroads: The Challenge from Innovation-Based Growth PART TWO: NEW TRENDS IN FIRM ORGANIZATION, COMPETITION, AND COOPERATION 3. The Production of Technological Knowledge: New Issues in a Learning Economy 4. Universities in the Learning Economy: Balancing Institutional Integrity with Organizational Diversity 5. A New Role for Business Services in Economic Growth PART THREE: THE GLOBALIZING INNOVATION PROCESS 6. The Globalization of Technology and National Policies 7. Mergers, Acquisitions, and Inter-firm Technology Agreements in the Global Learning Economy PART FOUR: NEW CHALLENGES FOR EUROPE: INEQUALITY, SUSTAINABILITY, AND ORGANIZATIONAL INNOVATION 8. The Learning Economy and International Inequality 9. Social Exclusion in the Learning Economy 10. Industrial Innovation and Sustainability: Conflicts and Coherence 11. Organizational Innovation in European Firms: A Critical Overview of the Survey Evidence PART FIVE: INNOVATION POLICY IN THE NEW CONTEXT 12. Innovation Policy: A Systemic Approach 13. The Need for New Perspectives in European Commission Innovation Policy 14. Innovation Policy in the Knowledge-Based Economy: Can Theory Guide Policy Making? 15. Innovation Policy in the Globalizing Learning Economy

Innovations for conservation and development

Abstract: This paper examines attempts to integrate the objectives of biodiversity conservation and social and economic development through a variety of approaches associated with different forms of protected areas and generally labelled as ‘integrated conservation and development’. It examines how the linkages between conservation and development are conceptualized, and the types of policy prescriptions and associated models and practice of integrating conservation and development. It identifies misconceptions about four key aspects that are common in conventional integrated conservation and development approaches. These difficulties involve the conceptualization of community, participation, empowerment and sustainability. Integrated conservation and development projects have often floundered as a result of over-simplification of these factors. It assesses attempts made to overcome these common misconceptions through examining the experiences of two innovative approaches to integrating conservation and development in the Caribbean and in Amazonia. It concludes that fundamental changes are necessary to institutions and management and decision-making strategies to address these issues and to effectively meet conservation and development objectives.

Migration, remittances, livelihood trajectories, and social resilience.

Abstract: We argue that all aspects of demographic change, including migration, impact on the social resilience of individuals and communities, as well as on the sustainability of the underlying resource base. Social resilience is the ability to cope with and adapt to environmental and social change mediated through appropriate institutions. We investigate one aspect of the relationship between demographic change, social resilience, and sustainable development in contemporary coastal Vietnam: the effects of migration and remittances on resource-dependent communities in population source areas. We find, using longitudinal data on livelihood sources, that emigration and remittances have offsetting effects on resilience within an evolving social and political context. Emigration is occurring concurrently with, not driving, the expansion of unsustainable coastal aquaculture. Increasing economic inequality also undermines social resilience. At the same time diversification and increasing income levels are beneficial for resilience.