Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article:
Valuing Ground Water. Economic Concepts and Approaches
Factor Four: Doubling Wealth—Halving Resource Use—The New Report to the Club of Rome Ernst von Weizsaecker, Amory B. Lovins, and L. Hunter Lovins
Renewable Energy Strategies for Europe, Volume II: Electricity Systems and Primary Electricity Sources Michael Grubb and Roberto Vigotti
Certification of Forest Products Virgilio Vaiana, Jamison Erwin, Richard Donovan, Chris Elliott and Henry Gholz     

Book reviews

Factor Four: Doubling Wealth, Halving Resource Use. Ernst von Weizacker, Amory Lovins & L. Hunter Lovins, 1997, London, Earthscan, ISBN 1 85383 407 6, £15.99 (hbk)

Local and Global: Management of Cities in the Information Age,. Jordi Borja & Manuel Castells, 1997, London, Earthscan, 277pp. ISBN 1 85383 441 6, £19.95 (pbk)

Wasted: counting the costs of global consumption. Michael Redclift, 1996, Earthscan, London, 173pp. ISBN 1 85383 360 6, £32.50(hbk), 1 85383 355 X, £12.95(pbk)

Eco-feminist Natures: race, gender, feminist theory and political action. Noel Sturgeon, 1997, New York, Routledge, ISBN 0 415 912504, £12.99 (pbk)

Global Warming and Global Politics. Matthew Paterson, 1996, London and New York, Routledge, ISBN 0 415 13871 X, US$85.00, UK£50.00, (hbk) ISBN 0 415 13872 8, US$20.99, UK£12.88, (pbk)

Managing for Local Sustainability: policy, problem-solving, practice and place. Valerie M. Brown (Ed.), 1997, Commonwealth of Australia, 314 pp. ISBN 0642 26464 3, Copies of the report can be obtained from: National Office of Local Government Commonwealth Department of the Environment, Sports and Territories, GPO Box 9834, Canberra ACT 2601. Tel: (06) 289 2222; fax (06) 289 2436.

Local Agenda 21, Local Authorities and Tourism: a United Kingdom perspective. David Leslie & Fiona Muir, 1996, Glasgow, Caledonian University, ISBN 0 948255 52 8, £9.00

Straws in the Wind: medieval urban environmental law — the case of Northern Italy. Ronald E. Zupko & Robert A. Laures, 1996, Boulder, CO, Westview Press, 152 pp. ISBN 0 8133 2972 8, £10.00 (pbk)     

Book Reviews

Books reviewed in this article:
Sabine Kunst, Tanja Kruse and Andrea Burmester (eds.), Sustainable Water and Soil Management
Marcel Jeucken, Sustainable Finance and Banking (The Financial Sector and the Future of the Planet)
John Waterbury, The Nile Basin. National Determinants of Collective Action
Detlef Virchow and Joachim von Braun (eds.), Villages in the Future: Crops, Jobs, and Livelihoods
Jeremy Rifkin, The Hydrogen Economy     

Book reviews

Sustainable Cities and Sustainable Development Sustainable Cities. G. Haughton &; C. Hunter, 1994, Jessica Kingsley/Regional Studies Association, London

Sustainable Cities in Europe. P. Nijkamp &; A. Perrels, 1994, Earthscan, London ISBN 185383, £12.95

Toward Sustainable Development Concepts, Methods and Policy. J. C. J. M. van den Bergh &; J. van der Straaten, 1994, Island Press, Washington, DC, ISBN 1 55963 3492, £30.00

Just Environments: intergenerational, international and interspecies issues. David E. Cooper &; Joy A. Palmer (Eds), 1995, London, Routledge, ISBN 0 415–10336–3, pp. 199, index, £11.99

First Steps: Local Agenda 21 in practice. Stella Whittaker (Ed.), 1995, London, HMSO, 251 pp. ISBN 0 11 701871 6, £29.95

Beyond the Car: essays on the auto culture. Sue Zielinski &; Gordon Laird (Eds), 1995, Toronto, Steel Rail Publishing/Transportation Options, 191 pp. ISBN 0 88791 042 4, pbk, C$ 19.95, US$15.95     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article:
Sustainable Development for a Democratic South Africa Edited by Ken Cole
Economics of Natural Resources, the Environment and Policies E Kula Chapman & Hall, London
Breaking the Logjam: Obstacles to Forest Policy Reform in Indonesia and the United States Charles Victor Barber, Nels C Johnson and Emmy Hafild World Resources Institute, Washington, DC
Responding to Global Warming: The Technology, Economics and Politics of Sustainable Energy Peter Read Zed Books London and New Jersey
Fishing for Truth: A Sociological Analysis of Northern Cod Stock Assessments from 1977–1990 Alan Christopher Finlayson Institute of Social and Economic Research, Newfoundland, Canada     

镇江市农业可持续发展指标体系构建与评价

本文阐述了农业可持续发展的内涵，从社会可持续性、经济可持续性、环境可持续性、资源可持续性与科技政策可持续性5个方面构建了镇江市农业可持续发展指标体系，然后就镇江市1998-2002年5年间农业发展状况作出评价，分析其发展的制约因素，最后在此基础上提出相关的对策和建议。     

Is there a correct way of establishing sustainability indicators? The case of sustainability indicator development on the Island of Guernsey

Abstract

The popularity of sustainability indicators is almost inescapable. From the early pioneers such as the ‘Sustainable Seattle’ project (Atkisson, ‘Developing Indicators of a Sustainable Community: lessons from Sustainable Seattle’, in: D. Satterthwaite (Ed), The Earthscan Reader in Sustainable Cities, London, Earthscan, 1996) to the comprehensive European Union benchmarking launched in 2003 (European Commission, European Common Indicators: towards a local sustainability profile, Milan, Ambiente Italia, 2003), it seems that consensus has been reached about the positive impacts that establishing sustainability indicators can bring. This paper uses the case of developing sustainability indicators on the Island of Guernsey over the last three years to show that Agenda 21's call to activate grassroots action is being realised, but in ways that are neither top-down and modernist in approach nor bottom-up and postmodernist as Agenda 21 advocates. Although best practice literature often suggests that community involvement must be engaged prior to designing sustainability indicators, this paper explores the reasons why this is not always possible. Guernsey's case is used to show how it only became possible to generate interest in the indicator process once they were actually up and running. However, it also shows that once interest was secured by a few relevant stakeholders it became possible to further evolve the indicators in a process that has slowly been attracting more and more of the Island's community.     

Discourses on sustainable forest management and effects of Natura 2000: a case study of Catalonia,NE Spain

This study analyzed discourses influencing the meaning of Sustainable Forest Management in Catalonia (Spain) and the effects of the European Natura 2000 policy on these discourses. It focused on the Montseny area and on the Administration and Practitioner stakeholder groups. Based on literature review and interviews, we found six discourses influencing the meanings of Sustainable Forest Management. Two of these discourses underwent changes due to the effects of Natura 2000 implementation while the others did not, showing the substantial role played by local elements and actors in shaping the discursive framework of Sustainable Forest Management. Based on empirical findings, the study provided conclusions valid at European level: (1) implementing Natura 2000 does not mean revolutionizing local nature conservation systems, but rather adapting them to European requirements; (2) in order to increase local policy impact, the implementation of European environmental policies needs to be backed up by economic compensation of local actors.     

Is there a correct way of establishing sustainability indicators? The case of sustainability indicator development on the Island of Guernsey

The popularity of sustainability indicators is almost inescapable. From the early pioneers such as the 'Sustainable Seattle' project (Atkisson, 'Developing Indicators of a Sustainable Community: lessons from Sustainable Seattle', in: D. Satterthwaite (Ed), The Earthscan Reader in Sustainable Cities, London, Earthscan, 1996) to the comprehensive European Union benchmarking launched in 2003 (European Commission, European Common Indicators: towards a local sustainability profile, Milan, Ambiente Italia, 2003), it seems that consensus has been reached about the positive impacts that establishing sustainability indicators can bring. This paper uses the case of developing sustainability indicators on the Island of Guernsey over the last three years to show that Agenda 21's call to activate grassroots action is being realised, but in ways that are neither top-down and modernist in approach nor bottom-up and postmodernist as Agenda 21 advocates. Although best practice literature often suggests that community involvement must be engaged prior to designing sustainability indicators, this paper explores the reasons why this is not always possible. Guernsey's case is used to show how it only became possible to generate interest in the indicator process once they were actually up and running. However, it also shows that once interest was secured by a few relevant stakeholders it became possible to further evolve the indicators in a process that has slowly been attracting more and more of the Island's community.     

Book reviews

Book reviewed in this article:
Bittersweet Harvests for Global Supermarkets: Challenges in Latin America's Agricultural Export Boom Lori Ann Thrupp, with Gilles Bergeron and William F Waters
View from the Helm: Mineral Industries in Transition Edited by John E Tilton
The Fragile Tropics of Latin America: Sustainable Management of Changing Environments Edited by Toshie Nishizawa and Juha I Uitto     

Book reviews

Sustainable Cities and Sustainable Development Sustainable Cities. G. Haughton & C. Hunter, 1994, Jessica Kingsley/Regional Studies Association, London

Sustainable Cities in Europe. P. Nijkamp & A. Perrels, 1994, Earthscan, London ISBN 185383, £12.95

Toward Sustainable Development Concepts, Methods and Policy. J. C. J. M. van den Bergh & J. van der Straaten, 1994, Island Press, Washington, DC, ISBN 1 55963 3492, £30.00

Just Environments: intergenerational, international and interspecies issues. David E. Cooper & Joy A. Palmer (Eds), 1995, London, Routledge, ISBN 0 415-10336-3, pp. 199, index, £11.99

First Steps: Local Agenda 21 in practice. Stella Whittaker (Ed.), 1995, London, HMSO, 251 pp. ISBN 0 11 701871 6, £29.95

Beyond the Car: essays on the auto culture. Sue Zielinski & Gordon Laird (Eds), 1995, Toronto, Steel Rail Publishing/Transportation Options, 191 pp. ISBN 0 88791 042 4, pbk, C$ 19.95, US$15.95     

Book reviews

Book reviewed in this article:
World Energy Outlook: Looking at Energy Subsidies. Getting Prices Right International Energy Agency
Environmentally Sustainable Economic Development A. Desta
Determining the Value of Non-Marketed Goods: Economic, Psychological, and Policy Relevant Aspects of Contingent Valuation Methods R.J. Kopp, W.W. Pommerehne, N. Schwarz
Controlling Air Pollution in China T. Feng     

Book reviews

Book reviewed in this article:
Managing Water for Peace in the Middle East: Alternative Strategies Masahiro Murakami
The World at the Crossroads: Towards a Sustainable, Equitable and Liveable World Edited by Philip B Smith, Samuel E Okoye, Jaap de Wilde and Priya Deshingkar
The Environment and NAFTA: Understanding and Implementing the New Continental Law Pierre Marc Johnson and Andre Beaulieu
Meeting Needs: NGO Coordination in Practice Jon Bennett     

Reflexivity and developmental constructs: the case of sustainable futures

ABSTRACT

The quest for sustainability signals a departure from industrialist presuppositions about the human capacity to control nature that had hardly been questioned during the modern era. Environmental politics, indeed, entered the public scene with warnings of environmental crisis that disrupted industrialist assumptions and supported a call for a dramatic change in course. As environmental problems became part of an agenda of sustainable development, however, there came a shift from a disruptive politics towards professionalization and a managerial emphasis. A reflexive approach to sustainability needs to reconsider the relevance of politics while also thematizing problems of history and power. The concept of ‘developmental constructs’, which Harold D. Lasswell offered as part of his proposal for a reflexive project of contextual mapping, is advanced here as relevant to that end. Comparing the early interventions of Rachel Carson and Amory Lovins to Lasswell's conception of developmental constructs, the article maintains that such proposals for sustainable futures highlight the importance of a political connection.     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article:
Sustainable development SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: ECONOMICS AND ENVIRONMENT IN THE THIRD WORLD, by David Pearce, Edward Barbier and Anil Markandya
Politics, technology and social choice DIVIDED WE STAND: REDEFINING POLITICS, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIAL CHOICE, by Michiel Schwarz and Michael Thompson
Coping with disaster CHALLENGES OF THE INTERNATIONAL DECADE FOR NATURAL DISASTER REDUCTION (IDNDR)     

Significant developments in sustainable development law and governance: A proposal

This article develops a practical proposal for progress on sustainable development law. It examines the prospects for an international sustainable development law to provide a framework for more effective, coherent governance. Sustainable development law is briefly defined and an analytical framework is provided. Different degrees of integration between economic, social and environmental law are described. Certain principles of international law related to sustainable development are also highlighted. It is argued that these principles may serve to guide law‐makers and jurists where social, economic and environmental law and policy conflict or overlap. Continuing, underlying questions of sustainable development governance are addressed and its global frameworks analysed. The article also focuses on the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, held in Johannesburg in August‐September 2002, and its specific mandate for the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) to take related legal developments into account. The article advances a proposal: that governments, economic, social and environmental intergovernmental organizations and other actors establish a ‘network of inquiry’ with members from relevant groups, including legal and academic organizations, and other expert groups, in order to follow, research, analyse and debate legal developments in a balanced way.     

珠江三角洲的耕地及其持续利用

耕地的持续利用是农业持续发展的前提和基础,是人类经济社会持续发展的根本保证。本文论述了珠江三角洲耕地的现状和经济快速增长所引发的耕地问题,并指出耕地的持续利用需要全社会的共同努力。     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article:
Measuring Sustainable Development: Macroeconomics and the Environment . Giles Atkinson, Richard Dubourg, Kirk Hamilton, Mohan Munasinghe, David Pearce & Carlos Young.
Turning Point: The End of the Growth Paradigm . Robert U. Ayres
World Metal Markets: The United States Strategic Stockpile and Global Market Influence . Patricia E. Perkins
Biodiversity and Tourism: Conflicts on the World's Seacoasts and Strategies for their Solution . Edited by German Federal Agency for Nature-Conservation.     

Book reviews

Book reviewed in this article:
The Impact of Public Policy on Environmental Quality and Health: The Case of Land Use Management and Planning A. El-Ahraf, M. Qayoumi, R. Dowd
Alternative Irrigation: the Promise of Runoff Agriculture C.J. Barrow (Ed.)
Cornerstone of Development: Integrating Environmental, Social and Economic Policies J. Schnurr, S. Holtz (Eds.)
Economics and Environment: Essays on Ecological Economics and Sustainable Development D. Pearce (Ed.)     

Book reviews

Book reviewed in this article:
A Natural History of the Sonoran Desert : Steven J. Phillips and Patricia Wentworth Comus, Editors
Vision for Water and Nature: A World Strategy for Conservation and Sustainable Management of Water Resources in the 21st Century IUCN
Renewable Resources for Electric Power: Prospects and Challenges : Raphael Edinger and Sanjay Kaul
Against the Grain: The Genetic Transformation of Global Agriculture : Marc Lappé and Britt Bailey.
Glen Canyon Dammed: Inventing Lake Powell and the Canyon Country : Jared Farmer
Life out of Bounds: Bioinvasion in a Borderless World : Chris Bright