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1.
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 |
2.
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: |
3.
Motivation of Japanese companies to take environmental action to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions: an econometric analysis 总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1
To analyze the motivations of Japanese companies to take environmental actions to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions,
we used FY2006 research data and questioned Japanese industries regarding their reduction of GHG emissions. Empirical investigations
revealed that voluntary targets set by industry organizations, government requirements, and advance responses to possible
future regulations can positively influence environmental actions for GHG emission reduction; however, cost reductions and
corporate social responsibility fulfillment cannot.
相似文献
Seiji IkkataiEmail: |
4.
Himayatullah Khan Ehsan Inamullah Khadija Shams 《Environment, Development and Sustainability》2009,11(2):375-392
This study explores the interlinkages among population, environment and poverty and presents empirical evidence in a developing
country like Pakistan. It gives alternative views on population environment linkages. It explains poverty trap, market based
harmony, and dual effect of poverty on the basis of a link between population growth and natural resource degradation. In
addition, the paper also highlights social and political instability through population-poverty-environment spiral. It also
presents empirical evidence on population-environment-poverty nexus in Pakistan. It also compares environmental sustainability
index and human development index for selected Asian countries. The paper also gives scores for different components of environmental
sustainability index for Pakistan and compares these with India. The paper concludes that the causal relationship between
poverty and environment works in both directions, often through changes in GDP and population. Population stress does not
have any significant direct effect on all aspects of environmental status in Pakistan.
相似文献
Himayatullah KhanEmail: |
5.
6.
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: |
7.
This paper is a response to a recent special issue of Regional Environmental Change, “Quantifying vulnerability to drought from different disciplinary perspectives” (vol. 8, number 4, 2008). In this paper,
we examine some of the challenges facing efforts to understand vulnerability to drought through quantification as they are
manifest in some of the articles in this special issue.
相似文献
Edward R. CarrEmail: |
8.
The Kyoto Protocol relies on incentive-based regulations layered underneath a global cap on net emissions of greenhouse gases.
Within the Kyoto Protocol are opportunities and constraints for signatory nations. Of concern to developing nations are the
constraints the Kyoto Protocol could place on future growth. We examine the constraints and the opportunities offered to developing
countries within the Kyoto Protocol. By identifying the potential costs and benefits the Kyoto Protocol has to offer to developing
countries and by examining the incentives each create, we hope to spark serious investigations into ways to minimize the potential
costs of entering the Kyoto Protocol and take full advantage of the potential benefits.
相似文献
Amin SarkarEmail: |
9.
Brad Allenby Cynthia Folsom Murphy David Allen Cliff Davidson 《Sustainability Science》2009,4(1):7-15
Sustainable engineering is a conceptual and practical challenge to all engineering disciplines. Although the profession has
experience with environmental dimensions of engineering activities that in some cases are quite deep, extending the existing
body of practice to sustainable engineering by including social and cultural domains is a significant and non-trivial challenge.
Nonetheless, progress is being made, as a recent study undertaken by the Center for Sustainable Engineering in the United
States demonstrates.
相似文献
Brad AllenbyEmail: |
10.
Educational initiative of Osaka University in sustainability science: mobilizing science and technology towards sustainability 总被引:1,自引:1,他引:0
Michinori Uwasu Helmut Yabar Keishiro Hara Yoshiyuki Shimoda Tatsuyoshi Saijo 《Sustainability Science》2009,4(1):45-53
One of the most important and yet difficult challenges that modern societies face is how to mobilize science and technology
(S&T) to minimize the impact of human activities on the Earth’s life support systems. As the establishment of inter-disciplinary
education programs is necessary to design a unified vision towards understanding the complexity of human nature, the Research
Institute for Sustainability Science (RISS) launched a new program on sustainability science in April 2008. The program expects
to address the issue of how to use knowledge more effectively to understand the dynamic interactions between nature and human
society. This paper first offers an overview of international and Japanese initiatives on sustainability education in which
we highlight the uniqueness of the attempt by the Integrated Research System for Sustainability Science (IR3S). The paper
then introduces the RISS program for sustainability science, addressing the principles and curriculum design of the program.
The paper discusses the main problems and constraints faced when developing the program, such as institutional barriers in
building a curriculum and obtaining cooperation from faculty. To challenge these barriers and limitations, the RISS uses the
program as a platform to disseminate the idea of sustainability science across the university. This attempt helps us to obtain
the continuing cooperation necessary to improve and maintain the program.
相似文献
Michinori UwasuEmail: |
11.
Terrascope is a freshman learning community at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in which teams of students
work to find solutions to large ‘unsolvable’ problems and to communicate about those problems with a wide variety of audiences
in multiple formats. The program strongly promotes students’ autonomy in focusing and structuring their work, and student
projects culminate in public presentations, both to general audiences and to panels of technical specialists. Students who
have completed the program tend to show strong engagement with environmental and sustainability issues, as well as the skills
and experience to work intensively on such issues within multidisciplinary teams. Here, we present the program as a case study,
with some discussion of the factors that are key to its operation.
相似文献
Ari W. EpsteinEmail: |
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.
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: |
14.
Himayatullah Khan 《Environment, Development and Sustainability》2009,11(2):293-305
Using survey-based data approach for modeling the demand for environmental goods/resources, this study estimates income and
price elasticities of demand for improved environmental quality of two National Parks in Northern Pakistan. The study uses
data from two studies. The estimates indicate that improved environmental quality effects can be described as a luxury and
an ordinary and price elastic service. Confidence intervals show however that the classification as a luxury is not statistically
significant. Income elasticities of willingness to pay are estimated for a broad range of environmental services. The study
finds that income and willingness to pay vary directly and significantly. The elasticity estimates, in general, are greater
than zero, but less than unity. The study concludes that environmental improvements are more beneficial to low-income groups
than for high-income groups.
相似文献
Himayatullah KhanEmail: |
15.
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: |
16.
17.
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: |
18.
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: |
19.
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: |
20.
Cornelia E. Nauen 《Environment, Development and Sustainability》2008,10(5):605-622
The paper examines preliminary experiences with international scientific cooperation in fisheries, aquaculture and coastal
zone issues through 90 projects in successive European Research Framework Programmes (FP4–FP6: 1994–2006). FPs had increasingly
ambitious objectives in response to international commitments, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Millennium
Development Goals, the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation and dialogue with partner regions. Sustainable aquatic food production
in the context of respect for ecosystems was a central concern. Engagement with different social actors and attention to investment
in education, people and institutions enabled uptake of research results in education, innovation and some impact. The emphasis
in several recent projects on more integrated analyses and knowledge products in the public domain is an encouraging response
to the growing crisis of aquatic resource systems. It is suggested that significant up-scaling will be required. This might
be done through institutional internalisation and better translation of research results into policy developments supportive
of transitions towards sustainable production systems and ecosystem rehabilitation. Capacity building to use research in novel
ways and other enabling mechanisms need to be put in place to increase societal and environmental benefits of the research.
相似文献
Cornelia E. NauenEmail: |