共查询到20条相似文献,搜索用时 62 毫秒
1.
Culture as trigger for sustainability transition in the water domain: the case of the Spanish water policy and the Ebro river basin 总被引:2,自引:2,他引:0
There is a mounting body of literature dealing generally with the dynamics of transitions of human systems towards sustainability
and specifically with the different stages and processes of transitions. However, the question of why transition processes
occur in the first place remains largely unexplained. This paper explores the concept of transition triggers, such as culture
or material resource scarcity, and provides a theoretical framework to explain the emergence of a transition and its relation
to recent developments in Spanish water policy. We adapt the general framework provided by current transition theory and gather
empirical evidence and insights from processes occurring within the Spanish policy context and the Ebro river basin in particular.
Our results show that the sole existence of biophysical limits to water use or development cannot explain the start of a possible
sustainability transition in this domain in Spain. Changes in the existing water policies in the direction of sustainability
were not ignited by people directly affected by water scarcities but by a coalition of sensitive agents, mostly from academia,
NGOs and local constituencies, who managed to articulate new identities, integrate multiple sources of policy relevant knowledge,
and develop new values under the umbrella of the new water culture movement.
相似文献
Akgun IlhanEmail: |
2.
Jung Wk Kim 《Sustainability Science》2006,1(1):107-114
The East Asian economy has been growing fast in recent years, and environmental stresses are building up rapidly. Transboundary air pollution, water shortages, drinking water contamination, freshwater and marine pollution, deforestation, climatic disasters, and other environmental problems are becoming serious threats to the well-being of people in this densely populated region. The ESI (environmental sustainability index) reported by the World Economic Forum in 2005 is a good indicator of the environmental status of the region; most East Asian countries ranked at the bottom. East Asia is not moving toward a sustainable society, and the environment will not sustain the current rate of economic development for long. The traditional culture of East Asia used to be sustainable, so we can learn much from our traditions. Land use should be planned from an ecological point of view so as to best preserve the land’s productivity and stability. There should be definite goals as to where and how much to preserve the three important ecological bases: forests, coastal wetlands and agricultural farms. The forest is the base for the terrestrial ecosystem, including flood control, water resources, and climate; the coastal wetland is the base for the marine ecosystem; farmland is the base for producing food. Within these defined goals, limits should be set on how much land can be utilized for activities like urban development, manufacturing, and recreation. Limits on the pollution load resulting from such activities should be set so as not to irreversibly damage the environment. Economic development should be planned to allow the use of energy and resources only after satisfying these constraints.
相似文献
Jung Wk KimEmail: Phone: +82-2-8805653Fax: +82-2-8876905 |
3.
Working toward sustainable community is a complex task for communities especially given the ambiguous nature of implementing
the concept of sustainable development. However, by working to understand the nature of community capital, administrators
can begin to move beyond bottom line thinking toward a more comprehensive and collective view of community. This paper presents
a theoretical framework that helps municipal decision makers begin collecting information they need to help them build sustainable
and resilient communities.
相似文献
Edith G. CallaghanEmail: |
4.
Ian Calder Ashvin Gosain M. S. Rama Mohan Rao Charles Batchelor M. Snehalatha Emma Bishop 《Environment, Development and Sustainability》2008,10(4):537-557
This paper recommends a revision of watershed development policy in India in relation to the planning of development interventions
involving agricultural intensification and rainwater harvesting following biophysical and societal impact studies carried
out on two watershed development projects in Karnataka. A need for changes in policy has arisen in response to progressive
catchments closure at the basin level and declining volumes of water flowing into village level reservoirs (known locally
as tanks). Flow reductions have occurred largely as a result of increased agricultural intensification over the past 10–15 years.
Field levelling, field bund construction, soil water conservation measures, farm ponds, the increase in areas under horticulture
and forestry and the increased abstraction and use of groundwater for irrigation are all contributing factors to reduced flows.
Planning methodologies and approaches, which may have been appropriate 20 years ago for planning water harvesting within watershed
development projects, are no longer appropriate today. New planning approaches are required which (1) take account of these
changed flow conditions and (2) are also able to take account of externalities, which occur when actions of some affect the
livelihoods of others who have no control or influence over such activities and which (3) contribute to the maintenance of
agreed minimum downstream flows for environmental and other purposes.
相似文献
Ian CalderEmail: |
5.
6.
Refining the ecological footprint 总被引:8,自引:0,他引:8
Ecological footprint measures how much of the biosphere’s annual regenerative capacity is required to renew the natural resources
used by a defined population in a given year. Ecological footprint analysis (EFA) compares the footprint with biocapacity.
When a population’s footprint is greater than biocapacity it is reported to be engaging in ecological overshoot. Recent estimates
show that humanity’s footprint exceeds Earth’s biocapacity by 23%. Despite increasing popularity of EFA, definitional, theoretical,
and methodological issues hinder more widespread scientific acceptance and use in policy settings. Of particular concern is
how EFA is defined and what it actually measures, exclusion of open oceans and less productive lands from biocapacity accounts,
failure to allocate space for other species, use of agricultural productivity potential as the basis for equivalence factors
(EQF), how the global carbon budget is allocated, and failure to capture unsustainable use of aquatic or terrestrial ecosystems.
This article clarifies the definition of EFA and proposes several methodological and theoretical refinements. Our new approach
includes the entire surface of the Earth in biocapacity, allocates space for other species, changes the basis of EQF to net
primary productivity (NPP), reallocates the carbon budget, and reports carbon sequestration biocapacity. We apply the new
approach to footprint accounts for 138 countries and compare our results with output from the standard model. We find humanity’s
global footprint and ecological overshoot to be substantially greater, and suggest the new approach is an important step toward
making EFA a more accurate and meaningful sustainability assessment tool.
相似文献
Jason VenetoulisEmail: |
7.
In this study we perform an ecological analysis of the resources use in the diet of the ribeirinho populations of the Barcelos municipality, Rio Negro, Amazonas, Brazil. Data on food composition, seasonality, and origin
took place during three field trips between 1999 and 2000. Data were gathered based on structured interviews and observations
from a total of 320 meals of 114 randomly selected families and 164 fishing trips. The staple food of the studied populations
is based on fish and manioc, although the food niche amplitude can vary according to the factors such as the access to imported
food items, resources seasonality, and socio-economic conditions. The migration to urban centers along with the changes in
subsistence activities (reduction of small-scale agriculture and specialization in commercial fishing) may result in changes
in the food habits of ribeirinho populations from Rio Negro.
相似文献
Alpina BegossiEmail: |
8.
Gregory Ponthiere 《Environment, Development and Sustainability》2009,11(4):677-694
This paper aims at assessing the extent to which the ecological footprint indicator (EF) can be regarded as an exhibit allowing
an intergenerational trial about the use of natural resources. For that purpose, we examine various criticisms questioning
the relevancy of EF measures for the study of environmental justice between generations. We explore the difficulties raised
by the physical—and highly aggregated—nature of EF measures, as well as problems related to the number, the possible non-existence,
and the tastes of future generations. The extent to which postulates on nature’s regeneration and technological progress affect
the significance of EF studies is also discussed. It is concluded that those criticisms, by identifying various weaknesses
of EF measures for the study of intergenerational justice, point to several crucial refinements of existing EF-based analyses.
相似文献
Gregory PonthiereEmail: |
9.
Wilfred Nyangena 《Environment, Development and Sustainability》2008,10(6):745-767
Soil erosion is a major environmental problem and threat to rural development in Kenya. Numerous attempts to address the problem
have apparently had little success. There are however some districts that have been very successful, notably Machakos. In
this study we search for the factors that determine successful development in soil conservation such as social capital, human
capital and market integration. One of our main results is that social capital measures are significant determinants of investment
in soil conservation. A better understanding of the relevant mechanisms is essential for developing policies targeting improvement
in natural resource management.
相似文献
Wilfred NyangenaEmail: |
10.
Peter J. Marcotullio 《Sustainability Science》2007,2(1):27-54
This article reviews water-related urban environmental conditions in Southeast Asia. It argues that the development of urban
environmental challenges in the region follows a unique pattern compared with those experienced in the now developed world.
The new pattern is defined by the so called time–space telescoping of the development process. The process of time–space telescoping reduces the levels of income at which environmental challenges emerge and forces their appearance in a simultaneous fashion,
as sets of problems. During previous eras, cities experienced sequential environmental transitions. Urban water-related environmental
burdens emerged on local scales and expanded geographically and temporally in impact, with growing levels of affluence. Moreover,
certain environmental challenges appeared later in economic growth because the technologies and practices that induced these
problems emerged at higher levels of income. The article has two main findings. First, except for wealthy urban centers, for
example Singapore, cities in the region are experiencing multi-scaled water burdens simultaneously. Second, low-income and
middle-income cities are experiencing burdens at lower levels of income than did their contemporaries in the north.
相似文献
Peter J. MarcotullioEmail: |
11.
Graciela A. Canziani Rosana M. Ferrati Claudio Rossi Diego Ruiz-Moreno 《Regional Environmental Change》2006,6(4):181-191
The purpose of this work is to assess the impact on the Esteros del Ibera wetland ecosystem caused by the Yacyreta dam, a large hydroelectric power plant on the Parana River, Argentina, in comparison to other factors of environmental change. The project of the dam started around 1970. The power plant began operating in 1994. In 1989, the neighboring Ibera wetland ecosystem showed a substantial increase in the water level for which several different causes were conceivable, including climate change and the dam construction. We analyzed all existing hydrometeorological data and studied other changes that were observed in this ecosystem. A water balance model was used to analyze different scenarios. Increased groundwater inflow, generated since the construction of the dam, appears to be affecting the wetland more than any other factor. The study has implications for the assessment of global and regional consequences of building dams.
相似文献
Graciela A. CanzianiEmail: Phone: +54-2292-447104Fax: +54-2293-446317 |
12.
This report summarizes the results of two studies of electricity supply for Europe (EU), the Middle East (ME) and North Africa
(NA) up to the year 2050. It shows that a transition to competitive, secure and sustainable supply of electricity and water
is possible using renewable energy sources, efficiency gains and fossil fuel backup for balancing power. A strong cooperation
between the EU and MENA for the market introduction of renewable energy and the interconnection of the electricity grids by
high-voltage direct-current transmission are keys to the success and survival of the whole region. However, the necessary
measures will take at least two decades to become effective. Therefore, adequate policy and economic frameworks for their
realization must be introduced immediately. The importance of sustainable energy for the security of freshwater supplies in
MENA is also described.
相似文献
Hans Müller-SteinhagenEmail: |
13.
J. R. Park M. J. Stabler P. J. Jones S. R. Mortimer J. R. Tiffin R. B. Tranter 《Environment, Development and Sustainability》2009,11(4):735-750
The issue of the sustainable development of rural economies in England has recently received considerable attention. This
is because many of the poorest areas in the country are rural, often of high environmental quality, but suffering from high
unemployment and a lack of services and facilities. The rapid decline in agricultural incomes and in-migration of affluent
urban workers since 1990 has exacerbated economic inequality in such areas. A number of factors have the potential to drive
rural development and this paper applies, and considers, the feasibility of a method from the USA for combining economic and
environmental variables in a regional growth model to examine the hypothesis that environmental quality is an important determinant
of sustainable rural development in England. The model output suggests that, although environmental quality does play a role
in sustainable rural development in England there are other, more important, factors driving development. These include business
and communications infra-structure, the degree and opportunities for commuting and underlying employment prospects. The robustness
and limitations of the method for combining economic and environmental variables is discussed in relation to the spatial interrelatedness
of Local Authority Districts in England, and conclusions are drawn about areas for refinement and improvement of the method.
相似文献
J. R. ParkEmail: |
14.
Modern urban life is characterized by the consumption of materials and energy, which are imported from all over the world
and discharge waste that in many cases has a negative impact on ecosystems far from the cities in which they consumed. Indeed,
cities cannot survive without worldwide hinterlands for resources and emissions sequestration. The ecological footprint (EF)
concept provides valuable insights into the human appropriation of resources relative to earth’s carrying capacity, and therefore
it enables us to compare human demands with nature’s supply and provides an indicator of human ecological sustainability.
An attempt was made to calculate the EF of Ra’anana, Israel as a case study, to compare the EF-value with the expected for
ecological sustainability and to emphasize the dependence on overseas ecosystems. Ra’anana, a town of 67,300 inhabitants in
the year 2002, is considered a ‘dormitory town’ with a high quality of life. The EF was calculated using mainly the component
method. The calculated EF for Ra’anana is 4.0 ha/resident which means that the required hinterland, located all over the world,
is nearly 180 times the size of the town. The town’s EF is twice the value expected for sustainability on a global scale.
We draw several scenarios in order to reduce the EF. On a national basis as well as with the town case study, electric energy,
food and waste can be reduced and in turn would have a dramatic impact on the EF.
相似文献
Meidad KissingerEmail: |
15.
William Ascher 《Sustainability Science》2006,1(1):15-22
Given progress in policies for pursuing sustainable development, promoting commitment to thinking and acting more far-sightedly has become the primary strategic challenge. In the face of impatience, selfishness, uncertainty, analytical limitations, and vulnerability, strategies for promoting far-sightedness can be identified by assessing how these obstacles can be overcome. Strategies for creating or rescheduling tangible and deference rewards, realigning performance evaluations, implementing cognitive exercises, framing communications, altering decision-making processes, using self-restraint devices both to resist temptation and to enhance credibility, altering institutions to empower the patient, and stabilizing living conditions are the major categories for identifying and assessing the many strategies which arise out of both ordinary and constitutive policy initiatives.
相似文献
William AscherEmail: Phone: +1-909-6073071Fax: +1-909-6218419 |
16.
The impact of climate change on tourism in Germany,the UK and Ireland: a simulation study 总被引:3,自引:0,他引:3
We downscale the results of a global tourism simulation model at a national resolution to a regional resolution. We use this
to investigate the impact of climate change on the regions of Germany, Ireland and the UK. Because of climate change, tourists
from all three countries would spend more holidays in the home country. In all three countries, climate change would first
reduce the number of international arrivals—as Western European international tourist demand falls—but later increase numbers—as
tourism demand from increasingly rich tropical countries grows. In Ireland and the UK, the regional pattern of demand shifts
is similar to the international one: tourism shifts north. In Germany, the opposite pattern is observed as the continental
interior warms faster than the coast: tourism shifts south.
相似文献
Jacqueline M. HamiltonEmail: |
17.
Accounting for the mismanagement of tropical nearshore fisheries 总被引:2,自引:0,他引:2
The underlying reason for the mismanagement of tropical nearshore fisheries is the implementation of policies and programs
based on Western models and approaches, coupled with an inability and/or unwillingness to consider non-Western alternatives
of empirically proven value. Such attitudes are embedded in donor and development agency behavior, and are demonstrated by
the temperate bias in conventional approaches to fisheries education and management, with a corresponding lack of understanding
of tropical milieux, and in the persistence of various prejudices. Adaptive Management, The Ecosystem Approach, Local Knowledge,
and Protected Areas are discussed from the perspectives of Western models and pre-existing Pacific Island systems as alternative
models. Given the parlous condition of the global environment and resources, the best non-Western pre-existing models and
Western approaches must be blended to provide sustainable solutions.
相似文献
Francis R. HickeyEmail: |
18.
Climate change and coastal vulnerability assessment: scenarios for integrated assessment 总被引:2,自引:1,他引:1
Robert J. Nicholls Poh Poh Wong Virginia Burkett Colin D. Woodroffe John Hay 《Sustainability Science》2008,3(1):89-102
Coastal vulnerability assessments still focus mainly on sea-level rise, with less attention paid to other dimensions of climate
change. The influence of non-climatic environmental change or socio-economic change is even less considered, and is often
completely ignored. Given that the profound coastal changes of the twentieth century are likely to continue through the twenty-first
century, this is a major omission, which may overstate the importance of climate change, and may also miss significant interactions
of climate change with other non-climate drivers. To better support climate and coastal management policy development, more
integrated assessments of climatic change in coastal areas are required, including the significant non-climatic changes. This
paper explores the development of relevant climate and non-climate drivers, with an emphasis on the non-climate drivers. While
these issues are applicable within any scenario framework, our ideas are illustrated using the widely used SRES scenarios,
with both impacts and adaptation being considered. Importantly, scenario development is a process, and the assumptions that
are made about future conditions concerning the coast need to be explicit, transparent and open to scientific debate concerning
their realism and likelihood. These issues are generic across other sectors.
相似文献
Robert J. NichollsEmail: |
19.
Nurun Nahar 《Environment, Development and Sustainability》2009,11(3):571-588
The contamination of groundwater in Bangladesh by arsenic is a widespread and serious environmental problem, affecting mainly
the rural population who rely extensively on groundwater for drinking and cooking. The study conducted survey work in a few
affected villages of the Northwest region in Bangladesh. The household survey gathered information on the respondents (affected
by arsenic) water usage and sources, knowledge of the arsenic problem, changes in the source of water for drinking and cooking,
arsenic mitigation technologies and socio-economic information on the households. The survey work shows that percentage of
male patient is higher than female patient among the same level of household income in each study villages. Prevalence of
arsenicosis is more among poorer sections and it is directly related to the poverty situation of the community. People know
more about the health problems caused by arsenicosis but lack knowledge about mitigation aspects. In one of the study areas,
every year an extra 4% tubewell is getting contaminated by arsenic. Arsenic contamination in groundwater also affects the
environment and the ecology negatively. The NGOs have been found contributing to a knowledge creation process in the village
community as the villagers are showing marked behavioral changes in water-use practice.
相似文献
Nurun NaharEmail: |
20.
Anindita Sarkar Sucharita Sen Animesh Kumar 《Environment, Development and Sustainability》2009,11(4):751-763
There is a general contention among scholars that first, wheat–paddy cropping pattern is largely responsible for declining
ground water table in Punjab and secondly, that the wheat–paddy cropping system is becoming unsustainable over time as the
yield levels of these two major crops are stagnating. However, the existing evidences do not throw adequate insight into the
stage of groundwater depletion during which the wheat–paddy cycle becomes unsustainable. The paper strengthens the existing
empirical base of sustainability status of this cropping cycle in Punjab. A comparison of irrigation systems in terms of both
trends in yield and stability for wheat and paddy has been attempted to arrive at a holistic appraisal of sustainability aspects
of crop specialization in Punjab. It is observed that the canal dependent irrigation system has performed better as compared
to the overexploited groundwater irrigation system in terms of most of the parameters used in the study.
相似文献
Animesh KumarEmail: |