ASSESSMENT OF ANTHROPOGENIC LOADS ON LANDSCAPES AS A TOOL TO DETERMINE THE POTENTIAL FOR SUSTAINABLE REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT: CASE STUDY FROM AZERBAIJAN

In order to determine the potential for sustainable regional development of the Caspian coastal zone, a study was made for the Khachmaz–Absheron zone of Azerbaijan. An evaluation was performed to assess the anthropogenic load on landscapes. Using the 8-point scale offered by Isachenko [2001, Ecological Geography of Russia, Saint Petersburg University Press, Saint Petersburg] for the indicators of agricultural, industrial, urban and integral anthropogenic loads, we did a preliminary ranking of the provinces in the Khachmaz–Absheron zone of Azerbaijan for the each indicator taken separately. Vital statistics were used as a supplementary indicator of environmental conditions in the region. By comparing the data for provinces with each other and the data on Azerbaijan average, we have classified the provinces into 4 groups according to specific combinations of the indicators. Each group of provinces has distinctive environmental conditions and features for sustainable development. The classification makes it possible to develop certain recommendations for the regional sustainable development. Measures to be implemented within the Azerbaijan State Program on Social and Economic Development of Regions are also discussed. In the Khachmaz province, production of ecologically pure products is highly recommended. Special attention should be given to the development of tourism and recreational institutions in the Khachmaz, Khizi and Devechi provinces. Recommendations for these provinces include further development of industry on the basis of modern safe technologies. The irrigation and drainage networks should be reconstructed. The reconstruction will make it possible to reduce water loss and to increase the productivity of agriculture. In the Absheron province, Baku and Sumgait cities environmental systems are overloaded, and so the works at highly polluting enterprises must be stopped, the enterprises have to be re-equipped (old filters must be changed first of all) or relocated from the area (a decrease of environmental risk should be in the focus of attention). For improving of air quality, green areas should increase. There is a need to reduce urban traffic density and to reconstruct highways. Use of old vehicles must be forbidden or restricted, and transition to environmentally friendly fuel should be supported in every way possible. It is necessary to bring the waste management system and sanitary landfills up to international standards, and to improve the water supply and sewerage systems.     

Rethinking assessment of drought impacts: a systemic approach towards sustainability

Although impacting primarily economic sectors, droughts may also initiate dynamic mechanisms that have socio-environmental consequences on sustainability of the impacted areas. To date, most research has dealt with the economic impacts of droughts, with minimal attention being paid to the dynamics of damaging mechanisms associated with socio-environmental impacts. Using a systemic approach, this paper develops a method of identifying the dynamic structures responsible for the consequences of drought. Considering the impacts of recent droughts in Iran, the paper presents a conceptual model, underpinned by a Limits to Growth archetype to explain how different drought impacts are triggered. Moreover, adopting the Viability Loops concept, a range of strategies and indices are suggested as monitoring tools to sustain socio-economic life in a drought-impacted area. The provinces of Hamadan (with water abundance), and Yazd and Isfahan (with water scarcity) in Iran have been selected to illustrate the proposed methodology. Results show a higher vulnerability to droughts in the water-rich region due to dependence on water abundance as opposed to the water-poor regions, which are well adapted to water scarcity conditions.     

Introducing and Measuring Sustainable Development Initiatives by Local Authorities in Canada and Flanders (Belgium) A Comparative Study

In this paper we examine how Canadian and Flemish municipalities manage and measure sustainable development initiatives. First, we present information on how Canada, Belgium and its Flemish region introduce sustainable development initiatives at the federal and regional levels of government. The introduction at municipal level of impact assessment systems, indicator and monitoring systems, and sustainability reporting systems is discussed in general, followed by a comparison of specific case studies. In Canada, we selected the municipalities of Ottawa, Hamilton-Wentworth and Vancouver and in Flanders, the municipalities of Hasselt, Gent and Leuven. For each case study, we considered the following evaluation criteria: introduction of a long-term vision for a sustainable future; development of goals, targets and indicators; measurement of indicators; involvement and information of the local population; introduction of impact assessment and reporting systems. The discussion section deals with differences in the approach to managing and measuring sustainable development initiatives in Canada and Flanders. This study shows that sustainable development is not yet widely practised at the local level in Canada and Flanders, but Canadian municipalities have more experience with planning processes and vision development, measurement systems and public involvement. The Flemish municipalities were more inclined to go along with international campaigns dealing with local sustainability and take strong sustainable development actions which were not integrated in broader sustainable development policies.     

论世界银行衡量可持续发展的最新指标体系

本文综述了近年来衡量可持续发展的各类指标体系;对世界银行发布的最新体系,进行了全面的评论,并且由此归纳出该体系的五项优点和两项缺陷。尤其对于新指标体系应用“储蓄率”的消长,去动态地监测可持续发展的过程,给予了高度的评价。此外,本文还对有关的国家排序结果做了相应的对比分析。     

大城市应对气候变化的可持续发展研究——以上海为例

在全球气候变化背景下,社会城镇规划与自然气候变化之间的关系越发密切,城镇规划体系需要纳入气候变化的影响并考虑适应气候变化的策略。首先以发达国家及世界著名大城市为参考,对美国、德国和日本在应对气候变化的城镇可持续发展规划方面的成功经验和实践措施分别进行了综述和提炼;然后,以上海为例,对照分析了我国大城市在城镇化过程中面临的气候变化挑战及存在的脆弱性,包括城镇发展规划与气候环境的相容性考虑不够、城镇化过程对气候环境的影响缺乏充分论证、城镇基础设施抵御气象灾害的能力较低、气候变化对城镇人体健康的影响未给予高度关注等;最后,指出了我国大城市应对气候变化的城镇可持续发展思路及重点方向,即充分考虑区域气候容量、大力构建生态绿色通风廊道;深入开展城镇功能布局的气候可行性论证和气象灾害风险评估;加强城市气候变化研究和实验,不断更新城市规划设计参数和标准规范;加大对脆弱人群和外来常住人口生命安全和人体健康监测预警;积极完善城镇化适应气候变化的机制等,以期为城镇发展体系的编制和应用提供参考和借鉴。     

Multiscale Methodological Framework to Derive Criteria and Indicators for Sustainability Evaluation of Peasant Natural Resource Management Systems

Design and implementation of more sustainable natural resource management systems is the current objective of many research institutions, development agencies, NGOs and other stakeholders. But, how to assess whether a system is sustainable? How do we know whether the alternatives designed will increase the sustainability of the system? How to evaluate or assess the sustainability of natural resource management systems?In this paper we present a multiscale methodological framework for sustainability evaluation. The framework is based on a systems approach from which five general attributes of sustainable natural resource management systems are defined based on scale- and discipline-independent properties (productivity, stability, resilience, reliability and adaptability).A general operational strategy to derive ‘site-specific’ criteria and indicators for the attributes at different scales is also presented. This strategy is based on the definition of ‘impact scales’, at which the different stakeholders can or want to design alternatives, as well as the main stakeholders’ objectives and constraints. The application of the multiscale framework is illustrated with a case study in the Purhepecha Region of Michoacán, a peasant mountainous region in the west of Mexico. We used stakeholder consultation to identify the main objectives and constraints as well as to select criteria and indicators. The sets of criteria and indicators suggested for the different scales of analysis of the Purhepecha Region are comprehensive, yet not exhaustive, and represent the main issues related to natural resource management in the region. Further work will be directed towards the quantification of indicators at different scales and their relationships and trade-offs.     

制度创新：依托武汉建设长江中游城市群

经过上千年的发育和发展,我国长江中游流域已形成了规模庞大的、以武汉为中心、经济联系紧密的城市群落的雏形。通过对长江中游城市群内部的分析以及与珠江三角洲、长江三角洲等发达区域的比较,阐明了其经济发展相对滞后 和城市群内部各城市间发展水平参差不齐的深层次制度性障碍,提供了诸如转变政府职能,建立跨行政地界的区域协调机构,城市土地制度改革和促进区域内小城镇发展等一系列以区域整体协调和持续发展为目标的制度创新的基本思路。在此基础上,提出了圈层梯度推进、建设以武汉为中心的长江中游城市群的发展战略。为实现我国东部地区产业向西部转移,推进西部大开发提供了重要的战略支点,从而促进全国经济全面持续快速发展。     

A methodology for assessing urban sustainability: Aalborg commitments baseline review for Riga, Latvia

Both the Aalborg Commitments and the guidance on integrated urban environmental management and sustainable urban transport plans proposed by the EU Thematic Strategy on the Urban Environment foresee a baseline review as the first step in developing integrated urban management plans and systems. A baseline review of urban sustainability undertaken in Riga reveals significant discrepencies between the sustainability criteria of the Aalborg Commitments and the: responsibilities and competencies of the municipal government and administration as defined by statutes; policy goals and measures defined in municipal planning documents; policy goals and measures defined in the Riga Development Plan. To better orient the mandate of the municipality towards sustainable development, municipal statutes should be supplemented to more fully reflect the issues defined by the Aalborg Commitments and should include sustainability as a goal. In order to strengthen the implementation of sustainable development specific policy goals, measures and targets should be formulated for all the Aalborg Commitments issues when revising existing municipal planning documents or developing a municipal sustainable development management plan. An analysis of the European Common Indicators and the State of the Environment in Riga 2001 indicators indicates that they can only partially fulfill a monitoring function for the implementation of the Aalborg Commitments. This highlights a need to better coordinate sustainable development initiatives at the European level. The methodology used for the baseline review in Riga is useful for assessing the status of urban sustainability when preparing integrated urban management plans or systems, but requires testing elsewhere. Readers should send their comments on this paper to BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

基于DPSIR概念模型的农业可持续发展宏观分析

DPSIR概念模型继承了PSR模型的优点，是分析评估环境系统有效工具，本文以DPISR概念模型为指导，系统分析了农业业系统的现状，塑造这一现状的驱动力和压力，探讨了农业对于互不干涉和人类健康的影响，以及实现农业可持续发展的政策响应，目的是建立农业可持续发展的指标体系和实现农业资源的优化配置，本文认为DPSIR概念模型有利于分析复杂系统的因果关系，能有效整合资源开发，环境保护和经济发展。     

Application of the City Blueprint Approach to assess the challenges of water management and governance in Quito (Ecuador)

In this paper, we provide an assessment of the challenges of water, waste and climate change in the city of Quito by performing the City Blueprint Approach consisting of three assessment frameworks: (1) the Trends and Pressure Framework (TPF), (2) the City Blueprint Framework (CBF) and (3) the water Governance Capacity Framework (GCF). The TPF summarizes the main social, environmental and financial aspects that may affect urban water management. The CBF provides a clear overview of sustainable urban water management performance and its bottlenecks in municipalities and regions. The GCF comprises nine governance conditions which each consist of three indicators. The GCF provides insight in the most effective improvements to increase the governance capacity to address the identified urban water challenges. Our results show that poor wastewater treatment and long-term drinking water security are Quito’s main water challenges that may be jeopardized given the city’s rapid urbanization and economic pressure. The GCF analysis reveals that cooperation between stakeholders, implementing capacity and citizens’ awareness are the most important conditions for further development to find adequate solutions for Quito’s long-term drinking water security. We also suggest that more attention should be drawn to the transparency, accountability and participation principles. The results of Quito show that the City Blueprint Approach can serve as an affordable quick-scan to facilitate cities in their strategic planning to reach their sustainable development goals.     

泛长江三角洲地区经济发展与生态环境耦合协调关系分析

以泛长三角地区41个地级市以上的政区为例,运用改进熵值法计算经济发展及生态环境系统的综合得分,并运用耦合协调模型分析1999~2013年两系统的耦合协调度及其演变,最后通过经济发展与生态环境系统得分排名划分4种类型,提出未来泛长江三角洲经济发展分类指导建议。研究结果表明:(1)1999~2013年泛长三角地区经济发展与生态环境的耦合度C∈[0.5,0.8],整体位于磨合阶段;而系统协调度D∈[0.3,0.5],整体属于中度耦合协调;(2)1999~2013年泛长三角经济发展与生态环境系统耦合协调度呈现上升态势,但经济发展与生态环境系统综合评价值仍表现负相关的特征;(3)未来苏南地区、皖江地区、杭甬地区需要进一步调整产业分布结构,提升城市经济发展环境;而苏北地区、皖西地区、浙西南地区需要进一步增加城市经济发展的软、硬实力各种要素的投入,并将城市生态环境优势转化为经济增长优势。     

长江流域城市生态环境问题与跨世纪持续发展战略

综合分析评价了长江流域城市的生态环境态势与问题,城市水环境依然恶化,特别是城市内河道,湖泊水质多污染严重。城市大气污染仍是加重趋向,一些特大城市汽车尾气污染上升,城市酸雨依然严重。城市生态问题沉重,绿地不足,热岛加重,地面沉降,水土流失等。沉重的生态环境赤字已深刻影响到城市经济社会的发展。面对二十一世纪,论证了长江流域城市发展战略,走城市可持续发展之路是唯一战略选择,而建设现代化的山水园林生态城市     

Evaluating knowledge integration and co-production in a 2-year collaborative learning process with smallholder dairy farmer groups

Although knowledge integration and co-production are integral to transdisciplinary approaches to foster sustainable change in social–ecological systems, this type of research is usually not evaluated based on assessments of the learning process. While participants are meant to be central in such approaches, too often, their perspectives are not central to the evaluation. Moreover, there is limited empirical information about how new knowledge is transformed into action. We respond to these knowledge gaps by analyzing (A) farmers’ perspectives on the collaborative learning process and (B) how farmers’ new knowledge can serve as the basis for changed actions. Theoretically, we are guided by second-order cybernetics and have integrated the Control Loop Model with Learning Loops to extend Kirkpatrick (Evaluating training programs: the four levels, 2nd edn. Berrett-Koehler Publisher, San Francisco, 1998) four-level evaluation scheme. We apply this to evaluate a 2-year collaborative learning process with two smallholder dairy farmer groups in Nakuru County, Kenya that aimed to co-develop local sustainable pathways to reduce milk losses. Results showed that farmers learned by (1) implementing corrective actions based on known cause–effect relations (single-loop learning); (2) discovering new cause–effect relations and testing their effect (double-loop learning); and (3) further questioning and changing their aims (triple-loop learning). Highlighting the importance of knowledge integration and co-production, this collaboration between farmers, researchers, and field assistants improved the farmers’ ability to respond, adapt, and intentionally transform their farming system in relation with complex sustainability challenges. Results demonstrate that the potential of our evaluation scheme to better reflect learning and empowerment experienced by actors involved in transdisciplinary research for sustainability.     

Urbanization and sustainability: challenges and strategies for sustainable urban development in Bangladesh

Like other developing countries, urbanization in Bangladesh is a growing phenomenon, which is steady in nature but fretfully affects urban sustainability in the wake of lacking in good governance. Despite urban authorities are concerned about this issue, they often fail to address the problems due to the fact of uncontrollable and unpredictable rural to urban migration, and negligence of urban poor’s sustainable living and access to basic services. Virtually the rural poverty problem has been transposed to urban areas, particularly in Dhaka City, Bangladesh. Inadequacy of infrastructural services, basic amenities and environmental goods; environmental degradation; traffic jam and accidents; violence and socioeconomic insecurity are the major challenges which are created through rapid urbanization. This paper provides a general understanding of urbanization in Bangladesh and tries to embrace related sustainability issues and challenges hindrance to sustainable urban development in Dhaka city. In addition, it presents a brief case study of water supply in Dhaka city which introduces an issue of ‘system hijack’. The paper concludes providing some strategies that might be helpful to the policy makers in formulating development policies for sustainable urban services.     

Research on the Sustainable Utilization of Water Resources of Jinan City

Abstract

The study on the sustainable utilization of water resources of Jinan city is a research hotspot in the urban sustainable development field. How to use a scientific and rational evaluation index system to analyze the sustainable utilization of water resources of Jinan city and then guide the development and utilization of water resources becomes particularly important. Based on the theory of sustainable development this study introduces the method, basic steps and evaluation indexes of the assessment of the development and utilization of water resources. By systemic analyzing the exploitation and utilization standards of water resources and economy and society in Jinan city, the evaluation and index system of sustainable utilization of water resources in Jinan city can be constructed and index weight can be confirmed, and then, the standard of sustainable utilization of water resources in different years can be analyzed comparably. Thus, the deficiency of lack of reflection of coordination extent in water resources development standard, society and economy in traditional evaluation method is settled efficiently. The paper takes the sustainable utilization of water resources of Qingdao City in 2008 as the standard to compare and assess the water resources utilization in Jinan City. The paper also collects data of water resources in Jinan City from 2001 to 2007. The result indicates that evaluation method is of feasibility and it is effective to the implementation of sustainable utilization strategy water resources in Jinan City.     

灰色协调度模型在产业用水系统分析中的应用

揭示产业用水系统的时空动态发展规律，探讨其内部的协调关系，是开展节水型社会建设规划，实现水资源可持续利用的关键。然而，目前对产业用水系统的协调性分析还缺乏较为有效的理论和方法。以往在利用协调度模型进行用水系统有序度研究时，通常采用两段叙述的线性分段函数表示，较不适用于描述产业用水系统内部要素的非线性结构。因此，针对产业用水系统的特性，利用灰关联原理建立有序度函数，以建立更适于用水系统分析的灰色协调度模型。利用该模型对上海市1997~2005年产业用水系统进行实证研究，结果显示：上海市产业用水系统基本有序，发展比较协调，其用水综合效益较大，但距离最优状态尚有潜力可挖；其中，农业用水子系统的发展较为欠缺，在未来用水规划中应予以重视。     

城市可持续发展的综合评价

本文从可持续发展概念出发，建立了城市的发展持续度、发展协调度和发展水平综合评价的指标体系，应用模糊综合评价法和层次分析法，对乌鲁木齐市、新疆、全国城市可持续发展进行了定量评价，并确定了可持续发展目标伍，为城市可持续发展评价理论研究提供了科学依据。     

Evaluation of Urban Sustainability in Specific Sectors in Latvia

In Latvia, the concept of sustainability is only slowly gaining recognition. An analysis of Development Plans prepared by the four largest cities of Latvia indicates that sustainability is presented as one of the guiding principles. However, a comparison of Development Plan policies against the urban sustainability issues reveals a great deal of ambiguity and contradiction.At the municipal level, planners and politicians lack indicators to gauge whether the long-term goals of Development Plans and the principles of sustainable development are being achieved. As a consequence, the broad public is deprived of the opportunity to assess for itself the process of development in relation to Development Plan policies, thus limiting accountability in development decision-making. Relevant statistical data collected on a regular basis are required to create sustainability indicators reflecting sustainability issues, to supplement and replace existing statistical compilations pertaining almost exclusively to economic growth and consumption. Development and utilisation of sustainability indicators can be an effective instrument for promoting the values of sustainable development amongst politicians, planners and the broad public and for enhancing accountability in decision-making.     

我国城市可持续发展对智能运输系统管理规划的需求分析

本文在分析我国城市可持续发展对智能运输系统管理规划的需求的基础上，指出了我国城市交通存在的问题，并根据我国城市的特点，提出了制定城市智能运输系统管理规划的原则和注意事项，并对城市智能运输系统管理规划的总体结构和总体配置，以及实施步骤提出了设想。