Comparative assessment of sustainable development in South American countries on the basis of the Sustainable Society Index

This study reports an overview of the economic, social and environmental performance of the main South American countries (SAC) as measured by the Sustainable Society Index. This is a well-known composite indicator, composed of 21 indicators, grouped in seven categories, covering environmental, social and economic wellbeing dimensions. Thirteen European countries recently incorporated into the European Union (NEUC) are considered as a reference. The study covers the period 2006–2016. The South American Region features significant natural resources and plays an important role in the global economy. However, there is concern about the long-term sustainability of social and economic development, given the high rate of economic growth based on the production of low added-value primary products. Sustainable development requires reasonable balance between economic, social and environmental performance, as well as a sustained and balanced increase in performance associated with those fundamental dimensions. Moreover, it is important to agree on minimum performance levels for all performance indicators, taking into account particular social, economic and environmental realities. SAC feature a clear imbalance in some categories affecting the economic, social and environmental wellbeing dimensions, showing either stagnation or significant decrease in recent years. It can be concluded that in the light of findings reported here, South American countries are far from being on the pathway towards sustainable development.     

合肥市景观水环境综合评价

以合肥市的景观水体为研究对象,从景观水资源的自然属性和美学属性研究入手,探讨了城市水体的景观、环境和经济效应及美学特征,并在此基础上,应用"专家评估"与"系统调查分析"相结合的评价方法,对主要景观水体的美景度进行了综合评价。结果表明:合肥市内水景中美感度最高的是黑池坝风景区(113.3),其次是银河公园风景区(60.9),再次是雨花塘风景区(46.4),而美景度较差的是杏花公园(-27.5)和南淝河(-4.9)。     

鼎湖山20公顷森林样地单个物种对群落的构建

大型固定监测森林样地已成为研究森林群落组织机制的一个重要平台。群落里个体之间的相互作用对群落的构建有相当重要的作用。以往的研究主要针对于物种之间的相互作用,而用群落里单个物种与其它所有个体之间相互关系来解释群落构建的研究还很少。采用单个物种-面积关系（ISAR）这一指标对鼎湖山20 hm2样地和BCI 50 hm2样地数据分析,来研究不同样地单个物种是如何对森林群落进行构建的。结果显示,与BCI样地和Sinharaja样地不同,鼎湖山样地大树对周围其它个体的作用几乎是中性的;而对于小树（胸径小于10 cm）来说,鼎湖山样地和BCI样地一样,随着尺度的增加＂吸引型＂物种减少,而＂中性＂物种增加。说明了不同的群落在不同的发育阶段,单个物种对群落结构的构建有重要的作用不同,将来的研究应该结合群落其它方面的因素来分析群落内个体之间相互作用,例如从时间尺度的谱系和空间因素去分析。     

The role of the queen in circadian rhythms of honeybees (Apis mellifera L.)

Summary Colonies and smaller social groups of honeybees (Apis mellifera carnica L.) show distinct free-running circadian rhythms similar to that of individual organisms. The workers of a colony synchronize their individual rhythms to one overall group rhythm. Caste plays an important role in this synchronization process. Queens were introduced into worker groups which were entrained to a phase-shifted light/dark cycle. The introduction of the queen caused a shift in the free-running phase under constant dark conditions. Single introduced workers had no effect on the free-running rhythms. This indicates that the queen plays an important role in the synchronization of circadian rhythms of honeybee colonies.     

城市规划中的文化视野：以昆明市为例

城市文化生态建设不仅对城市环境保护起到重要作用，而且可以促进城市经济发在城市规划中应摈弃以环境代价换取经济效益的错误思潮蛤论，生态环境三者有机结合起来，实现城市优美人居环境和良好经济效益的双赢战略，走可持续发展之路。     

The business case for SDGs: an analysis of inclusive business models in emerging economies

In September 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were endorsed by the United Nations and adopted by all 193 Member States. The SDGs integrate the 5P’s: People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, and Partnership and clearly stress the need for all stakeholders to collaborate to create a sustainable world. Most importantly, the SDGs appeal to the central and diverse role that the business sector can play to deliver on the SDGs. This paper provides an analysis of inclusive business (IB) models as market-based solutions to contribute to the achievement of the SDGs and benefit those at the Base of the Pyramid (BoP). We investigate the IB models and their social impact in 20 organizations from emerging economies across five different sectors. The findings should help increase the uptake and scale of quality IB models and practices among the private sector, development communities, and governments to promote inclusive economic growth and social impact.     

Measuring sustainable governance in the European Union

This paper examines the problem of measuring sustainable governance in the European Union (EU-27) through the use of duality and the Slutsky equation. The proposed methodology is based on the application of a three-dimensional optimisation model, where the arguments of the objective (sustainable social welfare) function are economic goods that contribute to sustainable economic growth; environmental goods that provide for sustainable environmental protection; and social goods through which sustainable social development is achieved. The dual problem, formulated through this three-dimensional theoretical model, is solved to find the optimal solution, indicating a certain sustainability level. We suggest that this solution can be used for calculating the value of what we define here as the sustainable governmental policy indicator, which is considered to provide quantitative measurement of government policies on sustainable development within the context of ‘good governance’. Furthermore, it is suggested that the Slutsky equation can be used as a reliable method for long-term monitoring and planning of national as well as international good governance with regard to sustainable development policies. In its empirical part, the paper applies the theoretical model in an analysis of the sustainable development indicators (as set out in the Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS) of the EU) in Bulgaria for the period 2000–2010 and compares them to those of the EU-27.     

The impact of institutional factors on the performance of genuine savings

This study investigates institutional factors affecting the performance of genuine savings (GS), which are often used in assessing sustainable development, and adopts a model of autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity in mean. We pay particular attention to the contribution of institutions to decrease the volatility level of the GS path. The estimation results show that there are two ways in which institutions affect GS performance. First, high quality of institutions enhances the GS level directly. Second, high quality of institutions enhances the GS level via stabilizing the volatility of the GS path. Considering both effects in their totality, institutional improvement plays an important role in realizing a sustainable development path.     

Evolution,variability and sustainable development

SUMMARY

Sustainable development is a global challenge to science and society. In politics and economics the concepts for establishing a sustainable society are numerous, nonetheless necessary interdisciplinary approaches are still marginalised. Trying to foster a deeper communication between biology and social science, an evolutionary perspective on sustainable development is offered. Subsequently, the role of variability and diversity in evolution is highlighted. Hereby, special attention is devoted, among other things, to the links between variability and stability in the long term. Next, selection and variability are emphasised in the cultural context. This is followed by general implications for sustainability. In contrast to strategies aiming at short-term optimisation and economic efficiency, we argue that the conditions and circumstances maintaining variability and momentary sub-optimal alternatives are highly relevant for a socio-economic system that is heading for sustainable development.     

Influence of eco-innovation on Indian manufacturing sector sustainable performance

Manufacturing firms are striving to improve their sustainable performance in order to satisfy multiple stakeholders. Eco-innovation is a promising approach that decreases environmental impact and helps firms to increase their business value. There are several antecedents which help the firms to innovate and improve their triple bottom line performance. Among the antecedents, management and innovative practices are directly related to eco-innovation. It is not well known what practices and innovations help the firms to eco-innovate as well as to improve sustainable performance. Hence, the research objective of this paper is to identify the suitable combination of management and innovative practices that help firms to eco-innovate as well as to achieve overall sustainable performance. The paper develops an eco-innovation conceptual model which relates the management and innovative practices (antecedents) and overall sustainable performance (consequences) of eco-innovation using institutional theory. Using Indian manufacturing sector’s empirical data and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach, this paper determines the effect of eco-innovation’s antecedents and consequences. In the Indian context, this study suggests that the role of management practice is more significant towards eco-innovation than innovative practices. The results reflect practitioners’ view on how to increase innovation rate and to focus more on social aspects. The finding suggests that training on environmental related practices could tackle innovation and social aspects in the Indian manufacturing sector context.     

A sustainability assessment of a high-yield agroecosystem in Huantai County,China

Sustainable agricultural development is a perennial issue for agricultural researchers, government managers, and policy makers worldwide, but especially in developing countries. In China, farms in Shandong Province epitomize modern agriculture and play a vital role in providing food for the burgeoning population. However, Chinese agriculture is being challenged by declining resources and environmental deterioration resulting from modern farming practices. China must establish an efficient agricultural sustainability index (ASI) to evaluate agricultural conditions and offer recommendations for sustainable development. Here, we use Huantai County, Shandong Province to test a regionalscale ASI from social, economic and ecological factors that includes 11 sustainability indicators. To further evaluate the complex agroecosystem, we employed the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and AMOEBA methods to assess agricultural sustainability from 1982 to 2003. The results show that environmental problems, especially groundwater depletion, are limiting regional sustainable development.     

三峡库区小流域土地利用方式对土壤肥力的影响

为探讨三峡库区小流域不同土地利用方式对土壤肥力的影响特征，采用野外调查、取样和室内实验分析相结合的方法，对三峡库区五桥河流域内3种主要土地利用方式(旱地、柑橘园、林地)的土壤理化性状进行对比分析。结果表明，不同土地利用方式对土壤吧力具有较为明显的影响，土壤孔度、渗透率变化由大到小的次序为林地→柑橘园→旱地；土壤有机质和氮、磷、钾养分含量由大到小次序为林地→柑橘园→旱地。这与不同土地利用方式下人类耕作活动、对土地的劳力与经济投入不同密切相关。林地受人为扰动少，因而土壤肥力高；柑橘园、旱地受人类耕作活动影响大，但因柑橘园经济产出效益较高，农户对土地的投入相应较高，使得柑橘园土壤肥力高于旱地土壤。     

Social network effects on the adoption of sustainable natural resource management practices in Ethiopia

Soil loss, nutrient depletion and land degradation contribute to the skimpy performance of smallholder agriculture and pose serious policy challenges in developing countries. Surprisingly, natural resource management practices that enhance sustainability while improving productivity have not been fully adopted despite continuous efforts of promotion. Using data collected from 2901 farm households in the Farmers Innovation Fund (FIF) of the World Bank, this study examines factors delaying adoption of resource management and farming practices from the perspective of social learning and network size. Specifically, the study aims at identifying the extent to which differences in network structure matter in providing opportunities to learn about new ways of sustainable resource management practices using regression analysis. The result confirms that social network size plays a significant role in enhancing adoption of natural resource management practices. Moreover, external sources of information such as extension provision play a crucial role in enhancing adoption of resource management practices. Thus, future endeavours should link extension services to informal networks to enhance adoption of sustainable natural resource management practices.     

河南省农业生态环境分析与生态建设

河南省是一个农业大省,其农业的可持续发展与否,对我国的农业发展有着重要影响。在广泛、深入调查的基础上,分析了河南省农业生态环境存在的主要问题,结合农业生态建设的指导思想及目标,提出了河南省农业生态建设的４大对策。     

Sustainable development and systems thinking: A case study of a heritage city

The concept of sustainable cities is based on a development paradigm that recognizes that cities make an important contribution to social and economic development. System thinking, including hard and soft systems, can be used to provide a new perspective and tools to resolve questions. The 500-year-old heritage city of Udaipur in India, which has traditionally maintained the spirit of living in a sustainable manner, is now seeking sustainable development. This paper attempts to analyse the issues underlying sustainable development of Udaipur by applying CATWOE in order to comprehend the systemic elements of the city from a soft systems perspective.     

珠港澳可持续发展协调度评估

可持续发展协调度是一个综合的概念,文章中主要从资源利用效率、社会环境协调系数、经济环境协调系数和环境治理能力4个方面构置了可持续发展协调度的指标体系,就我国香港、澳门和珠江三角洲9个地级市(广州、深圳、珠海、佛山、东莞、惠州、江门、肇庆和中山)的可持续发展协调度进行评价和对比分析,得出中山和珠海可持续发展协调度最高,肇庆、佛山、江门、惠州、广州、深圳、我国香港的可持续发展协调度较高,我国澳门的可持续发展协调度次之,最不协调的城市是东莞。最后,对东莞和我国澳门存在的问题进行了分析和探讨。     

A sustainability index for small island developing states

This paper proposes a novel approach to measuring the progress of small island developing states (SIDS) towards sustainable development (SD) as set by the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030. Currently, these goals do not provide adequate guidance on how countries might measure their progress towards sustainability. We use these goals and a subset of their targets to develop an index with concrete targets, through the use of pertinent sustainability indicators, that SIDS should aim to achieve a sustainable society. In addition to the three categorical pillars of SD (social, economic and environmental), we included the category Climate Change and Disaster Management (incorporating Disaster Risk Reduction). The basis of our decision is that the UN and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have both recognized the vulnerability of SIDS to both environmental hazards. Our index scores a total 70 individual indicators for the four categories to track the progress of a SIDS towards a sustainable society. Using the Caribbean nation, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, as our SIDS case study, we report the average of the scores for each category to illustrate its progress towards sustainability. Overall Trinidad and Tobago is slowly progressing towards a more sustainably developed society. Our results show that the nation is only moderately successful regarding progress in three traditional pillars of SD, social, economic and environmental. However, Trinidad and Tobago scores poorly in the Climate Change and Disaster Management category and needs to improve in this area especially due to its vulnerability.     

The anxious vole: the impact of group and gender on collective behavior under life-threat

Social animals behave collectively in order to maintain a cohesive group. This collective behavior is often led by a few individuals of specific gender, social rank, or spatial physical location in the group (i.e., perimeter or front). We examined how individual social voles (Microtus socialis) in same-gender compared with mixed-gender groups respond to an owl attack. We found that anxiety level, as measured by the time that each individual spent in less-sheltered sectors (open arms of elevated plus-maze and center of open arena), was affected by both the social context and the gender of the tested individuals. While both female and male voles generally reduced their activity in the open following owl attack, males in mixed-gender groups were exceptional in dichotomizing into those that spent a short period and those that spent a long period in the open arms of the plus-maze. Based on the similar responses of the same-gender groups, we suggest that anxiety is contagious, and based on the lower anxiety level of the mixed-gender groups, we suggest that natural groups that comprise both males and females are better able to cope with life-threat compared with same-gender groups. Finally, we suggest that the differential responses of males in the mixed-gender groups were due to a few males that displayed a low level of anxiety. These males were probably individuals of high social rank, and their response reflects their natural protective role, as previously described in social voles.     

A role for selective contraception of individuals in conservation

Contraception has an established role in managing overabundant populations and preventing undesirable breeding in zoos. We propose that it can also be used strategically and selectively in conservation to increase the genetic and behavioral quality of the animals. In captive breeding programs, it is becoming increasingly important to maximize the retention of genetic diversity by managing the reproductive contribution of each individual and preventing genetically suboptimal breeding through the use of selective contraception. Reproductive suppression of selected individuals in conservation programs has further benefits of allowing animals to be housed as a group in extensive enclosures without interfering with breeding recommendations, which reduces adaptation to captivity and facilitates the expression of wild behaviors and social structures. Before selective contraception can be incorporated into a breeding program, the most suitable method of fertility control must be selected, and this can be influenced by factors such as species life history, age, ease of treatment, potential for reversibility, and desired management outcome for the individual or population. Contraception should then be implemented in the population following a step‐by‐step process. In this way, it can provide crucial, flexible control over breeding to promote the physical and genetic health and sustainability of a conservation dependent species held in captivity. For Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii), black‐flanked rock wallabies (Petrogale lateralis), and burrowing bettongs (Bettongia lesueur), contraception can benefit their conservation by maximizing genetic diversity and behavioral integrity in the captive breeding program, or, in the case of the wallabies and bettongs, by reducing populations to a sustainable size when they become locally overabundant. In these examples, contraceptive duration relative to reproductive life, reversibility, and predictability of the contraceptive agent being used are important to ensure the potential for individuals to reproduce following cessation of contraception, as exemplified by the wallabies when their population crashed and needed females to resume breeding.     

Sustainable tourism development including the enhancement of cultural heritage in the city of Nafpaktos – Western Greece

ABSTRACT

The application of a sustainable tourism management and development framework, including the enhancement of cultural heritage is presented for the city of Nafpaktos (Western Greece) and the surrounding area. Through a qualitative SWOT analysis and a quantitative Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC)–Tourism Carrying Capacity (TCC) framework, an attempt is made to establish thresholds, monitor current conditions, and upgrade tourism activities, with simultaneous development of the tourism-associated economic sectors and the cultural heritage of the city. Activity zones are identified and 18 indicators are selected to describe the environmental/cultural, economic, and social conditions of the area. Reference conditions for each indicator are established either as measured or negotiated thresholds and indicators are accordingly scored to depict the current divergence from reference. The Leopold matrix is used to compare scores and identify restrictions of development. Results reveal high potential for sustainable tourism development of the area, as 9 of 18 indicators received high scores, indicating sustainable conditions, and a variety of underdeveloped tourism endpoints were identified, including the castle of the city, which could potentially support a 90-fold increase in tourism flow. However, restricting factors of development were detected, related to the lack of a tourism management plan, the weak on-site protection of the natural and cultural heritage and the lack of awareness for sustainability among the local people. A strategic plan is finally proposed to provide managers, stakeholders, and the local communities with a guiding framework to upgrade the tourism flow in and around the city within a step-by-step sustainable process.