Potentialities,problems, policies and progress in modelling sustainable development: A dynamic,hierarchical approach

This paper discusses some of the potentials, problems, policies and progress in modelling sustainable development. After briefly describing ten approaches to modelling sustainable development, some of the methodological problems still to be resolved are addressed. It is then suggested that policies to promote sustainable development should operate at six different spatial levels connecting global, multinational, national, regional, local and individual. Attempting to model sustainable development in such a hierarchical manner is exceedingly difficult. One way of modelling sustainable development is to develop the concept of a sustainable corridor, combining ecological, economic and equity considerations in a hierarchical fashion and through space-time. A preliminary dynamic, hierarchical model is described connecting global and national patterns of development. Using global and national data for Scotland, the calibrated model, running under the business-as-usual scenario, shows that current development paths are unsustainable. It is shown that, by implementing a judicious choice of policies, a sustainable corridor for a global and a national system can be achieved. The ways in which this preliminary model can be developed to connect all six hierarchical levels are discussed.     

An integrated sustainability decision-support framework Part I: Problem structuring

One of the main goals in decision-making for sustainable development is to identify and choose the most sustainable option from among different alternatives. This process usually involves a large number of stakeholders with multiple, often conflicting, objectives. Facilitating and resolving such difficult decision situations can be complex, so that a more formal and systematic approach to decision-making may be necessary. This two-part paper proposes an integrated multiple criteria decision-support framework specifically developed to provide systematic, step-by-step guidance to decision-makers. The framework, which is suitable for both corporate and public policy-making in the context of sustainable development, comprises three steps: problem structuring, problem analysis and problem resolution. In this paper, the focus is on problem structuring while Part II concentrates on problem analysis and resolution. Problem structuring includes identification of stakeholders, sustainability issues and indicators relevant for a particular decision problem. Sustainability indicators are used as decision criteria for identifying and choosing the most sustainable option. In the problem analysis step, decision makers articulate their preferences for different decision criteria. A suitable Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) technique, such as multi-objective optimisation, goal programming, value-based and outranking approaches, is then used to model the preferences. These techniques are discussed in Part II, which also gives guidance on the choice of the most appropriate MCDA method. Based on the outcome of preference modelling, which estimates the overall 'value' of each alternative being considered, decision-makers can then choose the 'best' or most sustainable option. Such an integrated decision-support framework is useful for providing structure to the debate, ensuring dialogue among decision-makers and showing trade-offs between conflicting objectives. In this way, it may be possible to create shared understanding about the issues, generate a sense of common purpose, and often, resolve 'difficult' decision problems.     

Methodology for an urban ecological footprint to evaluate sustainable development in China

The ecological footprint (EF) is a method for measuring sustainable development through ecological impact. A methodology is presented for predicting urban ecological footprints. Urban energy use and natural resource consumption were analyzed to calculate an EF based on land type (arable, pasture, forest, fossil energy land, built-up area and water area) and consumption (food, housing, transportation, goods, services and waste). The result was then compared with the local ecological carrying capacity to develop criteria for sustainable ecological footprints. Case studies of four cities in China (Guangzhou, Ningbo, Suzhou and Yangzhou) illustrate the urban EF approach. The time series of EF in a case study of Guangzhou for 1991–2001 was analyzed and the consumption–land-use matrix of urban EF was established. The results show that the cities are ecologically unsustainable, with average ecological conflicts per capita of more than 2 ha. The urban EF method is useful to measure urban sustainable development and provides policy proposals for decision-making. However, the EF method still has limitations and weaknesses.     

Theoretical foundations of learning processes for sustainable development

Social-ecological systems are co-evolving systems. Of particular relevance are here: (1) co-evolution of the environment and governance, (2) co-evolution of technology and governance, and (3) co-evolution of human behaviour and culture. The co-evolutionary perspective has helped to understand the processes which led to the present unsustainable situation. This paper highlights different types of learning processes which occur in co-evolving systems and explores learning processes on the macro-, meso- and micro-levels for moving onto more sustainable paths. While the literature in environmental management, ecological economics or sustainability science often refers to the need for learning processes, the conceptualisation of learning and the link to learning theories is weak. This paper draws on learning theories from psychology, social psychology, education, evolutionary economics and political science and offers a first step toward theoretical foundations of learning processes for sustainable development. An improved understanding of these learning processes will provide important clues for policy recommendations on multiple scales.     

Agricultural heritage in disintegration: Trends of agropastoral transhumance on the southeast Tibetan Plateau

This paper examines agropastoral transhumance in 12 sampled villages on the southeast Tibetan Plateau. By analysing trends in this indigenous livelihood system and examining causes and potential consequences, we conclude that Tibetan agropastoral transhumance is a fragile system extremely vulnerable to external impacts. Within the context of China's rapid development and globalisation, this agricultural heritage is changing rapidly, as is most saliently reflected in herd size and structure, movement patterns, relative economic importance of pastoral activities and the relations between pastoralism and crop cultivation. Immediate causes of changes are local changes in livestock management objectives, land uses and labour availability, which are driven by more fundamental changes of environmental, political, socioeconomic, technological and cultural profiles, from local to global scales. Changes in local livelihood systems can have multifaceted and profound political, socioeconomic, cultural and ecological consequences, in both constructive and destructive terms. Policy-makers and/or project designers must have a holistic perspective so as to integrate multiple objectives of promoting sustainable socioeconomic development, preserving biological and cultural diversities and maintaining the environmentally stable balance of human society, animal population and ecosystem that has existed in the area for centuries.     

Applying DPSIR to sustainable development

The DPSIR framework was devised in the late 1990s as a tool for the reporting and analysis of environmental problems, ranging in scale from global systems to localized watersheds. Since then, international organizations have begun to apply this framework to the evaluation of sustainable development initiatives, to better understand and overcome barriers to sustainability. While this may seem a logical application for an integrated environmental assessment tool, the use of DPSIR in sustainable development will likely perpetuate the least satisfactory outcomes of development. DPSIR cannot address the impact of aggregated, informal responses on the drivers and pressures related to environmental problems and sustainability challenges. This problem is not merely an oversight of the framework, but an issue that emerges within the structure of DPSIR itself through the unexamined, unacknowledged hierarchy of actors that this framework implicitly creates with its typology. Therefore, a DPSIR-centered approach is not a new direction for development within international organizations, but instead, a reproduction of existing inequalities between actors and stakeholders within current approaches.     

中国不同城市群的经济社会与环境可持续发展协调度分析

采用定量为主和定量定性相结合的分析方法,研究了中国不同城市群的经济社会与环境协调度。通过分析发现：第一,中国城市经济社会环境整体协调度不高,绝大部分属于轻度失调类,经济发展是其主要影响因素;第二,协调度呈现出由东部沿海城市向内陆城市递减的梯度变化,而社会与经济的滞后性影响力却呈现出东高西低的现象;第三,协调度呈现＂三高两低＂的城市集聚格局,其中3个协调度高值城市集聚群分别位于珠三角、长三角、环渤海地区;2个协调度低值城市集聚群位于内陆中部地区。     

关于城市气候资源研究

亚热带城市气候资源具有可持续发展意义，本文分析了热带亚热带地区城市气候资源水平，论述了运用城市气候资源消除城市热岛的研究基础。     

A study on vertical greening practice emphasizing ecological benefits in Xiamen City of China

Through the practice of vertical greening, which is an important method for modern city greening, a city’s natural geographic conditions and rich plant resources can be efficiently utilized. Using vertical greening to shape the characteristics of a city is a promising method for sustainable development. Integration of vertical greening with urban characteristics offers huge ecological and cultural benefits. Vertical greening was adopted in China much later than other developed cities in the world and is still in the exploratory stage in most of the cities. As one of the pioneer cities to carry out vertical greening in China, Xiamen has managed to project it as one of the city highlights. In this study, we analyzed the problems that Xiamen City faced during its development and the important role vertical greening has played in the urban landscape. In addition, humanistic and ecological benefits of vertical greening are illustrated through an experimental study.     

Comparing indoor wastewater-fed aquaculture with two conventional wastewater treatment plants using adopted sustainable process indices

Highly aggregating 'Sustainable Process Indices' (SPI) were calculated for an indoor wastewater-fed aquaculture and two conventional wastewater treatment plants to make a direct comparison between the three facilities possible. The goal was to find out which technology would be better suited for use in a sustainable economy. The SPI provides a type of 'ecological footprint' for the three facilities on the basis that, in a sustainable economy, solar energy would be our main energy source and that surface area would become the limiting factor for economic development, because the transformation of solar energy into other forms of energy, products or services requires area. SPI calculations consider the area necessary for the sustainable dissipation of byproducts and wastes of a process into the environment. The SPI thus uses area as its basic unit for comparisons between different technologies, products or services.

Energy consumption, as well as treatment performance (both the quality and quantity of treated effluent), and multi-functionality of facilities were key variables in determining how much area a wastwater treatment plant would need to be embedded sustainably into the environment. The calculated SPIs reveal that the wastewater-fed aquaculture requires the least area to be embedded sustainably into the environment, therefore, it would be better suited for use in a sustainable economy compared to the two conventional wastewater treatment plants.     

四川遂宁现代生态田园城市建设的研究

生态田园城市是现代城市的发展目标,已成为我国城市建设的热点.现代生态田园城市建设的关键在于建立城市生态基础设施系统,为城市可持续发展和营造宜居环境提供生态系统服务.遂宁现代生态田园城市规划将生态基础设施规划、产业发展规划、社会公共服务设施规划"三规合一",营造一个生态安全健康、生产低碳高效、生活安康富裕,社会公平和谐的美丽新城市.     

Strategies for the sustainable development of Lugu Lake region

Lugu Lake region, containing a plateau lake, and the unique matrichal society of the Mosuo, has become one of the most important areas for ecosystem conservation and cultural heritage protection in China. It is essential to pursue sustainable development in Lugu Lake region. However, rapid increases in the tourism industry have had negative influences on society, the economy and the environment of Lugu Lake region. Extensive concerns have been raised by numerous ecologists, economists and social scientists over recent years. Using systems analysis of major societal, economic and environmental problems, this paper advocates goals for realising sustainable development. A double-layer management model has been developed of regional ecosystem services, composed of natural ecosystem management and macro-control of society and the economy, and has been used to analyse the importance and feasibility of ecotourism development in Lugu Lake region. Constructive management measures and development strategies are then proposed to achieve sustainable development in Lugu Lake region.     

The ecological dynamics of low external input agriculture: A case study of hill farming in a developing country

This paper on Low External Input Agriculture (LEIA) has explored how indigenous hill farming systems in a developing country setting of rural Nepal are functioning and which ecological properties of such systems could contribute to the development of Low External Input and Sustainable Agriculture (LEISA). Three cases were studied using direct field observation, group discussion and interviews, and the important practices of LEIA were ranked into eight classes to analyse the ecological sustainability of the hill farming systems. The study shows that the hill farming system is complex, diverse, heavily reliant on local resources and focuses on the renewability of production resources within the farm. All this can greatly contribute to make the system ecologically sustainable. However, demands for increased production put considerable pressure on farmers to apply external inputs which, if in excess, may jeopardise the whole system. A prerequisite for guidance in careful soil management is the strengthening of supportive research aimed at teaching farmers how to use external inputs. This must agree with the principles of sustainable agriculture and take into account the site-specific variations which are characteristic of Nepalese hill farming systems. We defined the term Ecological Dynamics as 'the pattern of changes in structure and/or forces in processes which govern the development of natural and artificial ecosystems'. This definition assists in identification of trends in ecological sustainability. Understanding indigenous farming systems reveals important ecological clues essential for the development of sustainable agriculture.     

城市生态可持续发展指标的进展

建设生态城市是一种国际趋势,也在中国受到关注。为了监测评估城市的生态可持续发展,要有一套科学的指标体系。文章讨论了生态城市的特点;评述了国外的3类指标体系和国内采用世界银行“真实储蓄率”指标在城市一应用研究,提出了建立这类指标的一些原则与方法。     

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。     

Sustainable consumption American style: Nutrition education,active living and financial literacy

The 1992 Earth Summit highlighted the critical role of consumption in affluent nations as a source of global environmental deterioration. While most developed countries have begun over the past decade to grapple with the difficult challenges of reducing household demand for energy and materials, sustainable consumption has yet to attract substantive attention in the United States. There exist, however, several strategic openings that American proponents of more environmentally benign household provisioning could exploit to launch a public dialogue about the environmental implications of contemporary consumption. First, public health professionals have in recent years begun to make significant strides publicizing the nutritional inadequacy of the American diet and the contributory role it plays in elevating incidences of chronic disease. Second, the rapid increase in the rate of obesity in the country is now coming to be understood as a health problem that is attributable to the prevalence of sedentary lifestyles. Finally, there is growing public concern in the United States over the accumulation of unprecedented levels of consumer debt and the epidemic of personal bankruptcies. The intent of this paper is to highlight the need to consider the personal dimensions of everyday life when formulating strategies to foster more sustainable consumption.     

Achieving sustainable rural development in Southern China: the contribution of bamboo forestry

Bamboo forests, due to their special characteristics and ecological functions, play an important role in sustainable forest management and rural development in China. Over the past two decades, China has successfully established millions of hectares of bamboo forest, which has restored fragile ecosystems, provided benefits to local communities, alleviated rural poverty and eased timber shortages. However, there is potential for further improvements to the bamboo forest estate. This paper analyses the current state of bamboo forest resources and management, and the roles of the bamboo forest industry in social development, economic growth and ecosystem protection in China. We examine the main issues related to governance systems, local economic development and traditional management practices. Finally, we suggest some directions for future development.     

Towards sustainability: Objectives,strategies and barriers for cleaner production in China

The paper explores the objectives, strategies and barriers to cleaner production (CP) implementation in China. Successful demonstration projects in China have shown that CP is a strategy for reducing pollution and costs, increasing competitiveness and achieving an integrated balance between economic and environmental benefits. As such, it is an inevitable choice and important contribution to sustainable development. However, it has not progressed enough as a strategy for continuous improvement since its effects are limited to industrial sectors or regions. CP implementation can be assisted by further popularization, policy system improvement, perception and awareness raising and technology innovation. These dimensions are the key tasks and incentives for all levels of government, enterprises and social organizations in moving toward sustainability.     

Evaluating land-use suitability of an industrial city in northeast China

Distribution of industrial land use has a crucial influence on the regional environment. Nanfen is a developing industrial city affiliated with Benxi City, northeastern China. The suitability of industrial land use in Nanfen was evaluated to provide a scientific basis for industrial land-use planning and to minimise negative impacts on the local environment. Multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) within GIS was employed to derive a suitability map. The suitability map was compared with current industrial land use to identify areas for relocation of current industries. A total of 25.7% of the urban area in Nanfen was rated as suitable, 28.1% as somewhat suitable, 37.9% as unsuitable and 8.2% as most unsuitable. About 20.6% of the current industrial land was in suitable areas, 46.5% in somewhat suitable areas and 32.9% in unsuitable areas. We further verified the influence of selected factors on the suitability of industrial land use using a field survey. The results confirmed that industrial land-use relocation in Nanfen is required. This study uses ecological suitability evaluation as a basis for land-use planning and has implications for other industrial cities in northeast China that have similar environmental and ecological problems.     

Sustainable development as freedom

There has been considerable debate about how best to define sustainable development. In this commentary, I argue that Amartya Sen's concept of 'development as freedom' is the appropriate theoretical framework for understanding sustainable development. Environmentalists should consider defining their goal as 'sustainable development as freedom,' the achievement of the greatest possible level of freedom without restricting the access of future generations to these same freedoms. The adoption of this framework has implications for the work of environmental NGOs, which are briefly discussed.