Applying ecosystem concepts to the planning of industrial areas: a case study of Singapore’s Jurong Island

The application of ecological concepts to the industrial setting has been touched upon by literature across several disciplines. Two emerging ecological planning approaches, landscape ecology and industrial ecology, are applied here to look at alternative ways of planning industrial parks. As an emerging field, landscape ecology provides different viewpoints from the traditional approach of natural conservation, which mainly focuses on the protection of nature. The approach of landscape ecology regards the environment as a land mosaic, a mixture of natural and urban environment, which concerns a manageable human-scale environment across one or two human generations. Industrial ecology, on the other hand, goes beyond the traditional “end of pipe” idea of pollution control and learns from the ecosystem concept. The current paper is an attempt to reconcile these two fields as an integrated approach to the planning of industrial areas. Using a case study of Singapore’s Jurong Island industrial park, two fundamental issues behind the idea of landscape ecology and industrial ecology are raised. If raw materials, energy and by-products are more easily replaced or reused by technology and management, then research on industrial ecology and related knowledge will be crucial for developing natural resource substitution by innovative technology and new ways of environmental management. Where it is difficult to substitute natural resources, the skills of planning and managing natural resources will take priority over other strategies. In this situation, the knowledge of landscape ecology needs to be applied to the prediction, design and evaluation of ecologically optimum resource uses, patterns and processes in the mixture of natural, urban and industrial environment. A new concept, “nurtured landscape”, is proposed for mediating between the natural ecosystem and the urban/industrial environment. The nurtured landscape provides a basis for the development of new ecological technology using landscape to ameliorate the polluting effects of the urban/industrial neighbourhood. The planning of Singapore’s Jurong Island industrial park provides a test of applying the principles of landscape ecology and industrial ecology to the possible transformation of an industrial area.     

基于可持续性的城市总体规划环境影响评价指标体系

城市总体规划（简称“总规”）是实施城市可持续性战略的重要载体,战略环境评价（SEA）是连接抽象的、宏观的可持续发展战略与具体的、可操作的建设项目之间的桥梁,是实施可持续发展战略的政策工具;指标体系是SEA工作的核心工作和评价依据。然而,当前存在城市总体规划环境影响评价（总规环评）指标体系与城市规划内容、城市可持续性脱节,指标体系的设计缺乏理论支撑等问题。本文首先归纳出城市可持续性的一般内涵,然后通过逻辑关系分析、影响评价矩阵的方法,识别总规的可持续性影响,构建了可持续性总规环评指标体系框架,最后以太仓为案例说明框架的应用。     

SAFE—A hierarchical framework for assessing the sustainability of agricultural systems

Sustainable development and the definition of indicators to assess progress towards sustainability have become a high priority in scientific research and on policy agendas. In this paper, we propose a consistent and comprehensive framework of principles, criteria and indicators (PC&I) for sustainability assessment of agricultural systems, referred to as the Sustainability Assessment of Farming and the Environment (SAFE) framework. In addition we formulate consistent and objective approaches for indicator identification and selection. The framework is designed for three spatial levels: the parcel level, the farm level and a higher spatial level that can be the landscape, the region or the state. The SAFE framework is hierarchical as it is composed of principles, criteria, indicators and reference values in a structured way. Principles are related to the multiple functions of the agro-ecosystem, which go clearly beyond the production function alone. The multifunctional character of the agro-ecosystem encompasses the three pillars of sustainability: the environmental, economic and social pillars. Indicators and reference values are the end-products of the framework. They are the operational tools that are used for evaluating the sustainability of the agro-ecosystems. The proposed analytical framework is not intended to find a common solution for sustainability in agriculture as a whole, but to serve as an assessment tool for the identification, the development and the evaluation of agricultural production systems, techniques and policies.     

公共池塘资源可持续管理的理论框架

由于自然科学和社会科学的学科视角和研究方法各异,使得我们对公共池塘资源管理问题的理解不够系统和全面。论文在综述公共池塘资源和社会-生态系统管理理论的基础上,辨析了公共池塘资源和社会-生态系统的概念;从识别影响公共池塘资源可持续管理的变量出发,梳理了社会-生态系统分析框架的演变及其局限性,指出社会-生态系统可持续发展分析框架为地理学、 生态学、 经济学、 自然资源学、 社会学等学科的交流和融合提供了统一的平台,并为资源管理、 政策分析和案例比较分析等的理论和方法提供了新的研究思路。该框架对现阶段我国资源管理政策的制定有重要借鉴意义。     

Thermodynamic analyses on technical framework of clean production

Clean production is studied from thermodynamic perspectives. Based on comparative analyses of industrial processes and thermodynamic systems, mechanisms of clean production are thermodynamically revealed and a guiding theoretical framework for clean production is correspondingly proposed. The framework not only provides a theoretical foundation for clean production technologies, but also offers a possible quantitative way for the operation and assessment of clean production.     

Special issue of the Journal of Cleaner Production, ‘From Material Flow Analysis to Material Flow Management’: strategic sustainability management on a principle level

The process of sustainable development and its goal, sustainability, are difficult to define. Many conflicting interests and preferences are involved. Recently, scientists have attempted a principle-orientated definition of sustainability. Unlike specific, detailed and quantitative thresholds, principles can be general, qualitative, flexible and sufficient to make progress when combined with more detailed and case-specific strategies, approaches, tools and indicators. The Natural Step (TNS) principles have been defined in a consensus process between 10 pioneering sustainability scientists and presented as sustainability principles. We develop criteria for evaluating the TNS principles. The criteria are applied to eco-efficiency (EE) principles that have become, perhaps, the most popular principles in the discourse on sustainability policies and management. EE has also been offered as the general and overall vision and goal for policy and management; increased efficiency in materials and energy use is perceived as desirable. We find that the eco-efficiency principles are not suitable as sustainability principles. The EE principles can be used as practical actions and concrete measures under the overall TNS sustainability principles.     

Concurrency: a system design approach to environmental management and sustainability

The lessons of history indicate that mismanagement of natural resources and the environment often leads to potentially adverse consequences.The increasing interest in economic development,particularly in the developing countries of the world coupled with increasing population pressures and the globalization of economic activity is placing noticeable stresses on the ultimate sustainability of both human and environmental systems.Sustainable development is not a new concept.It has been an area of concern for different elements of society for some time.Yet efforts to understand the implications of sustainable development have not,until recently,been formalized.We have focused singularly on economic development and environmental quality as if they were mutually exclusive.This paper focuses on the concept of concurrency as both a conceptual framework and practicable method of understanding and implementing the ecology and economy of sustainability.     

Applications of the industrial ecology concept in a research project: Technology and Climate Change (CLIMTECH) Research in Finland

This contribution to the Journal of Cleaner Production special issue ‘Applications of Industrial Ecology’ is based upon an extensive literature review, which produced four criteria to characterise research on the concept of industrial ecology (IE). The criteria are (1) material and energy flows, (2) systems improvement, (3) systems adaptation and (4) change management. The criteria were analysed against the six subject areas of the Technology and Climate Change (CLIMTECH) Research Programme in Finland to identify the applications of the concept of industrial ecology. The results of the analysis contribute (a) to the debate on the characteristics of the emerging concept of IE, (b) show IE characteristics of a large Finnish research project in the field of climate change mitigation and (c) invite scholars in the field to study the observed unclear and fuzzy role of the concept of IE in practical research project work. Responses to this article are encouraged for publication in the future issues of Journal of Cleaner Production.     

生态学的过去、现在和未来

现代生态学的发展史尝试性地分为5个阶段:1.生态学的建立时期(1866—1903年)E.Hackel(1866)给生态学建立定义。Schrter(1903)将生态学分为个体生态学和群落生态学。这一期间Warming和Schimper的两本著作影响最大。2.植物生态学和动物生态学平行发展时期(1904—1958年)植物生态学以植物群落学研究为主流,主要有英美学派、法瑞学派、北欧学派和苏联学派。3.生态系统研究时期(1959—1974年)国际生物学计划(1964—1974年)是学术主流,其他生态学研究也有新发展。4.生态科学时期(1975—1983年)生态学已经形成一个生态科学网络,可按5种标准分成数十种生态学。5.新生态学孕育时期(1984至今)生态学的传统概念例如达尔文的竞争理论在受到挑战。新发现和新见解大量出现。     

Re-considering product design: a practical “road-map” for integration of sustainability issues

The proliferation of sustainability assessment principles, strategies, actions, and tools has created confusion about pathways forward for companies. It is unclear how existing approaches are complementary or distinct. How does a company assess current products and materials? How could designers create more sustainable products? What criteria, principles, approaches, and tools should be applied? Why? Is there a practical “road map” to guide product designers and product development managers in integrating sustainability issues into their decision-making processes?This article builds on previous frameworks for understanding the interconnections between various assessment principles, strategies, actions, and tools related to industrial ecology, human and labor rights, and corporate social responsibility [Waage S, Geiser K, Irwin F, Weissman A, Bertolucci M, Fisk P, et al. Fitting together the building blocks for sustainability: a revised model for integrating ecological, social, and financial factors into business decision-making. Journal of Cleaner Production 2005;13(12):1117–206; Robèrt K-H, Schmidt-Bleek B, Aloisi de Larderel J, Basile G, Jansen JL, Kuehr R, et al. Strategic sustainable development—selection, design and synergies of applied tools. Journal of Cleaner Production 2002;10(3):197–214; Robèrt K-H. Tools and concepts for sustainable development, how do they relate to a framework for sustainable development, and to each other? Journal of Cleaner Production 2000;8(3):243–54]. Expanding on past work, this piece suggests a “road map” for application by product designers and product development managers. A four-phase process is offered for integrating systems and sustainability perspectives into product design, manufacturing, and delivery decisions.     

Criteria for the choice of a denuder sampling technique devoted to the measurement of atmospheric nirous and nitric acids

The criteria for the choice of the most appropriate denuder coating and set-up devoted to the measurement of atmospheric gaseous species are discussed and applied ton the problem of nitrous and nitric acid determination in real conditions. The various phenomena which may bias these determinations (instability of nitrate ion, collection of interferent compounds, oxidation of nitrate ion etc.) are exmined. A denuder method for a reliable measurement of nitrous and nitric acids in all en vironmental conditions is described and validated in the field.     

产业生态学的技术方法研究及应用

介绍了产业生态学的兴起,阐述了作为一门交叉学科,产业生态学广泛吸取了其他学科的理论和方法,例如生态学中的系统演化理论、经济学中的投入产出分析方法等,并在这些理论和方法的基础上,形成了自身的理论和方法体系,其中包括物质和能量流分析、生态效率、生产者责任延伸制、产品导向的环境政策等。提出随着这些理论和方法研究的不断完善和深入,产业生态学将广泛用于企业、区域、国家甚至全球层面上,在更广的领域和范围内发挥积极作用。     

Strategy development in small and medium sized enterprises for sustainability and increased value creation

Sustainability strategies create many synergistic effects for SMEs working collaboratively, as well as systemic benefits for the commons. After setting forth the business case for sustainable SMEs, and considering SME sustainability advantages in contrast to MNEs, this paper discusses several different incentives for SMEs to optimize sustainability: (1) becoming valuable sustainable investment targets for larger firms; (2) creating highly competitive networks of sustainable SMEs in market spaces where large enterprises are less successful; (3) becoming highly efficient suppliers in global supply chains through sustainable practices.While several successful models of the sustainable SME are evolving, it may be that networks of SMEs will become essential for addressing the systemic problems that underlie industrial ecology, enterprise resilience, and global supply chain sustainability. SMEs represent the majority of all enterprises, and rapidly evolving communication technologies allow for various routes of network formation.     

Development of a sustainability policy model for promoting cleaner production: a knowledge integration approach

This paper is based upon the understanding that fundamental disciplines of human knowledge such as chemistry, ecology, sociology, geology, economics, engineering or politics, cannot, by themselves, provide the sufficient and necessary solutions to complex problems of sustainability. The paper, therefore, presents an integrated knowledge approach to sustainability policy on industry with the understanding that the essence of such an approach is to enable and support stewardship for building a sustainable society by transcending the conflicts between the paradigm of economics and the paradigm of ecology. This is done by testing the complementarities of three functional modes of knowledge (contextual, technological, and reconciliatory) in actuating the policy science of sustainability. This is based upon an analysis of surveys on CP implementation motives, CP technologies and CP policies. The paper colludes with the finding that even when provided with impressive amounts of data, information and supportive opinion on specific sustainability issues, a society that is not sufficiently cognizant of the necessary knowledge synthesis processes will be unlikely to gain momentum in moving forward in the development, implementation and on-going support of industrial sustainability policy.     

The Importance of Human Ecology at the Threshold of the Next Millennium: How Can Population Growth Be Stopped?

 Ecology is defined as the set of complex interactions between the biotic and abiotic environments. Human ecology concerns principally the population ecology "only" of Homo sapiens, but it also includes all aspects of global ecology because humans are the most important species. Human demography is characterized by a recent decline in mortality and fertility rates. These demographic transitions have largely been completed in industrialized countries, but not in the 140 developing countries. Approximately 100 countries are following the same demographic pattern as industrialized countries, however with a time delay of several generations. China has effectively reduced its population increase by means that would be unacceptable in Western democracies. Some 44 developing countries still show increasing population growth and no detectable demographic transition in birth rate. Thus one part of the world shows limited (and, in the long run, shrinking) population growth, and another continues with a strong increase. All populations are limited in their development by their sustainability by their environment, for example, food and energy resources, and the extent of pollution which the use of these resources produces. It is argued that in the case of human population the limits of sustainability have already been reached with the 6 billion humans alive today, since at least 20% of these suffer from hunger, natural resources are overexploited, and biodiversity is threatened. In the coming 200 years it is more likely that the total population will substantially oscillate rather than approach the predicted 12 billion. The most important goal of human ecology should therefore be to slow population growth as far as possible.     

我国环境保护投资与经济发展及COD排放关联研究

近些年来,我国环保投资一直保持较快增长,但变化波动较大,缺乏长期、稳定的资金来源渠道,尚未形成与经济发展之间稳定的联动机制.从总量上看,尽管环保投资与固定资产投资存在长期均衡关系,但是从增量上看,环保投资并非固定资产投资优先领域.环保投资对COD排放量存在一定影响,但由于投资结构的不合理,环境效益难以有效发挥.主要体现在:一定比重的城市环境基础设施投资与环境治理关系不密切;工业污染源治理投资规模一直偏低,难以发挥规模效应;建设项目“三同时”环保投资环境效益的实现存在较明显的时滞性.本研究基于以上分析,提出构建环保投资增长与经济发展的内生增长机制、优化环保投资结构、规划编制与实施应统筹考虑环境效益滞后因素等政策建议.     

Uncertainty-based quantitative assessment of sustainability for higher education institutions

Evaluation of sustainability in various facets of life is gaining increasing importance. Traditionally, different multi-criteria decision-making methods have been used for sustainability assessment. “Sustainability” can be a qualitative concept, and as such several researchers have attempted fuzzy logic for the quantitative assessment of sustainability. This paper outlines a new evaluation model based on fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making. The model is tested for sustainability assessment of higher education institutions (HEIs). It is based on a driving force–pressure–state–exposure–effect–action (DPSEEA) framework and is called uncertainty-based DPSEEA-Sustainability index Model (uD-SiM). The uD-SiM is a causality-based model in which the sustainability index is an outcome of nonlinear impacts of sustainability indicators in different stages of DPSEEA. The percent contribution of driving forces on the sustainability index of HEI is investigated using sensitivity analysis. The study reveals that education in sustainability and global and local research trends are the major driving forces for achieving sustainability in HEI, followed by financial and economic growth rate, social equity, energy requirements rate, and institutional enhancement, in descending order. The results of uD-SiM were found to be more realistic and rational than our earlier proposed approach, D-SiM.     

基于能值生态足迹分析的宁海县可持续发展潜力评价

应用能值生态足迹模型开展区域可持续发展研究可有效避免传统生态足迹评估方法的不足,更准确地反映地区生态安全状态及可持续发展潜力.以国家“两山”基地——浙江省宁海县为例,利用能值生态足迹模型和生态安全评价模型,通过测算2003—2017年宁海县不同账户/用地类型生态足迹、人均生态足迹盈余/赤字、生态压力指数和生态可持续指数的变化及演变趋势来研究可持续发展潜力变化,旨在为国家“两山”基地生态安全评估和可持续发展提供指导.结果表明:2003—2017年宁海县能源账户人均能值生态足迹变化幅度远大于生物资源账户,各用地类型人均生态足迹占比大小表现为化石能源用地>水域>建设用地>草地>耕地>林地.2003—2017年宁海县人均生态承载力介于2.293~3.571 hm2之间;人均生态足迹介于1.148~4.070 hm2之间,并呈逐渐下降趋势;除2007—2010年外,研究期间其余年份均处于生态盈余状态.生态压力指数和生态可持续指数评估和预测结果表明,宁海县生态系统处于轻度不安全至较安全状态和弱可持续状态,表明近年来宁海县生态状况总体处于安全水平,经济社会发展给当地资源发展带来了一定压力,但生态可持续发展水平不断提升.因此,下一步应坚持生态优先不动摇,建立统一的生态价值核算方法和绿色生态价值考核指标体系;推进地区生态经济政策,促进生态价值的市场化;拓宽“两山”转化路径,提高产业化绿色水平,切实提升宁海县等国家“两山”基地生态环境承载力和可持续发展水平.      

Tools and concepts for sustainable development,how do they relate to a general framework for sustainable development,and to each other?

We present a general framework to plan for sustainability and then relate it to some well-known tools for sustainable development. This framework follows from principles for how a system is constituted (ecological and social principles), and contains principles for a favorable outcome for the system (sustainability), as well as principles for the process to reach this outcome (sustainable development). The principles for sustainability define the favorable outcome and direct problem-solving upstream towards problemsources. A program of activities is then constructed by backcasting from defined outcomes to the current problems. This is followed by “metrics”, i.e. various concepts for measuring and monitoring the activities. Most concepts and tools for sustainable development function as metrics, for instance life cycle assessment (LCA), ecological footprinting (EF), and Factor X. An environmental management system (EMS), like ISO 14001 or EMAS, is an administrative vehicle that should systematically align a firm's specific outcomes, activities and metrics with a general framework for sustainability. From a strategic point of view, metrics should measure alignment of activities with the principles contained in a framework for sustainability. A framework is not an alternative to concepts and tools for metrics. We need them all, because they represent different interrelated levels of strategic planning.