Nachhaltigkeit in der Pflanzenproduktion

The purpose of part II is to develop and to discuss a methodological approach for the practical implementation of sustainable crop production. In part I the term “sustainable crop production” has been defined and explained. Based on this definition the approach presented here entails several steps starting with the identification of the whole range of crop management measures and the emissions and other releases associated with them. Through an impact pathway assessment these releases are traced from their point of origin, the farm or production level, to their end points, namely agroecosystems and adjacent ecosystems. At the ecosystem level condition-indicators, which describe the condition of the ecosystems affected by agricultural crop production measures, need to be selected. For these condition-indicators threshold values (i.e. maximally tolerable values) have to be determined. These should not be exceeded if irreversible changes in the respective ecosystems and ecosystem compartments are to be avoided. By tracing the maximally tolerable values back along their impact pathway, they are transposed to the level of crop production. At the farm level they prescribe a framework within which agricultural crop production must remain to prevent irreversible changes in the affected ecosystems. The framework consists of production indicators and their respective threshold values (i.e. critical uses of farm inputs), which have to be adhered to in order to ensure sustainable crop production.     

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.     

Sustainable development: the challenge of implementation

This paper focuses on efforts to produce an operational definition of the concept of ‘sustainable development’ as articulated by the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). ‘Sustainability’ has become an increasingly significant environmental issue; the problems in articulating a workable concept will differ among nations and international organizations attempting to define the term. Additionally, the term encompasses the varied fields of ecology, philosophy, and economics; every discipline imparts its own bias. Various definitions are provided and the significance and difficulty of developing an operational definition of Sustainable development is discussed. For example, sustainable development has become a ‘needs'-oriented term, an entitlement that priority should be given to the needs of the world's poor. Some argue that living standards which go beyond the basic minimum are sustainable only if consumption standards everywhere have regard for long-term sustainability. Scientifically, sustainability involves replicability and regeneration through an unforeseeable future. When prices reflect social cost and there are no externalities, optimal choices will be made between present and future consumption. Much of the debate involving sustainability involves deep-rooted fears or phobias, e.g. resource depletion, ‘energy crises’ and ‘timber crises’.     

Beyond strong sustainability

Since the Brundtland Commission's delineation of the term sustainable development in 1987, virtually every country has incorporated the terms sustainability and sustainable development into their planning vocabulary and criteria for decision-making. However, many issues remain unresolved. Broad and sweeping references to sustainability and sustainable development do not necessarily translate into implementable policies to achieve these goals. In particular, unresolved issues include developing an understanding of how one sector of the economy can contribute to the sustainable development of the economy as a whole and the role of ecological resources in sustainable development. Our paper provides an initial conceptual examination of these questions by folding mining and ecological quality into the sustainability discussion. We use the Brazilian Amazon as an application of our sustainable development model.     

Green Toxicology: a strategy for sustainable chemical and material development

Green Toxicology refers to the application of predictive toxicology in the sustainable development and production of new less harmful materials and chemicals, subsequently reducing waste and exposure. Built upon the foundation of “Green Chemistry” and “Green Engineering”, “Green Toxicology” aims to shape future manufacturing processes and safe synthesis of chemicals in terms of environmental and human health impacts. Being an integral part of Green Chemistry, the principles of Green Toxicology amplify the role of health-related aspects for the benefit of consumers and the environment, in addition to being economical for manufacturing companies. Due to the costly development and preparation of new materials and chemicals for market entry, it is no longer practical to ignore the safety and environmental status of new products during product development stages. However, this is only possible if toxicologists and chemists work together early on in the development of materials and chemicals to utilize safe design strategies and innovative in vitro and in silico tools. This paper discusses some of the most relevant aspects, advances and limitations of the emergence of Green Toxicology from the perspective of different industry and research groups. The integration of new testing methods and strategies in product development, testing and regulation stages are presented with examples of the application of in silico, omics and in vitro methods. Other tools for Green Toxicology, including the reduction of animal testing, alternative test methods, and read-across approaches are also discussed.     

Assessing landscape values: a proposal for a multidimensional conceptual model

To evaluate a specific form of resource management, for example, the maintenance of valuable cultural landscapes, the contributions of many different viewpoints must be considered. In this paper, a model for assessing and integrating the different aspects contributing to landscape evaluation is proposed. Some results of its use in landscape assessment in the Madrid region (central Spain) are discussed.The model takes into account five assessment dimensions which are considered to be independent—the ecological, productive, economic, social and cultural evaluative systems and it recognises and assumes conflicts and trade-offs between these components. The inclusion of the production system as an independent assessment dimension is original and is justified because it is the link that connects the ecological and economic systems. Since this dimension acts most directly on the ecosystem, the production system includes the attribute of ecological or strong (in the sense of [For the Common Good, Beacon Press, Boston, 1994]) sustainability.The evaluation method places special emphasis on defining a conceptual framework, and from this defines scenarios in comparison with which particular development models (landscape planning, resources management) can be evaluated. Seven scenarios, coming from a hypothetical, traditional sustainable scenario of resources management, are defined. One of these, the sound sustainable scenario, is defended as the only one viable in the long term, particularly in developing countries.This method was employed to evaluate the agricultural and natural landscape of the Madrid region municipalities. The multivariate approach adopted was based on the selection of indicator sets for each evaluative dimension. The structure of relationships among indicators was then analysed separately for each dimension and values assigned to the municipalities according to their position on the main axes of the multivariate analyses. Each municipality was assigned to one of the seven development scenarios by means of discriminant analysis. The approach’s greatest assets are its flexibility in the selection of the indicators and the efficacy in its monitoring and comparison of the different analysed cases once a rigorous conceptual framework was established.The paper discusses the conditions for the sustainability of the human activities and provides a method for evaluating and comparing scenarios of resources management.     

Ecological Sustainability as a Conservation Concept

Neither the classic resource management concept of maximum sustainable yield nor the concept of sustainable development are useful to contemporary, nonanthropocentric, ecologically informed conservation biology. As an alternative, we advance an ecological definition of sustainability that is in better accord with biological conservation: meeting human needs without compromising the health of ecosystems. In addition to familiar benefit-cost constraints on human economic activity, we urge adding ecologic constraints. Projects are not choice-worthy if they compromise the health of the ecosystems in which human economic systems are embedded. Sustainability, so defined, is proffered as an approach to conservation that would complement wildlands preservation for ecological integrity, not substitute for wildlands preservation.     

Diversity in industrial ecosystems

Within the natural world, diversity refers to the variety and variability among living organisms and the ecological complexes in which they occur. Its complexity is measured in terms of variations at genetic, species and ecosystem levels. It plays a critical role in meeting human needs while maintaining the ecological processes upon which our survival depends. This paper agues that such a natural metaphor should be considered in industrial systems in order to realise sustainable development. This article begins by describing natural biodiversity, emphasising its definition and value, and its maintenance. Next, the paper discusses the rationale and mechanisms for encouraging industrial diversity. The authors suggest that this natural metaphor provides a useful guide on how businesses in an industrial system can evolve towards greater resilience and sustainability.     

Factors influencing the willingness to pay for sustainable tourism: a case of mass tourism destinations

A 17-month research programme focused on development of an Education for Sustainability (EFS) Global Media Network at Ball State University Indiana was recently concluded. The study results include some surprising conclusions related to the contradictions between the benefits of education for global sustainability and the use of technology to facilitate that educational process in achieving a more sustainable world. This article provides an overview of the EFS Network research programme and a discussion of some of the key results and conclusions related to advantages and disadvantages of technology-based learning. The article then addresses the environmental impact of computer technology manufacturing, use, and after-use. Research findings are utilized to illustrate the ecological footprint of computer-based education. The article concludes with a discussion about achieving a balance between the need for global-to-local sustainable education and the environmental impact of technology use for sustainable education.     

Sustainability assessment of entire forest value chains: Integrating stakeholder perspectives and indicators in decision support tools

The optimization of value chains is an important process to promote sustainable development, since value chains are closely linked to the satisfaction of human needs and combine different driving forces for environmental change. This article presents a methodological approach for the participatory development of value-chain wide sustainability indicator sets and their integration into a decision support tool in the specific case study of the chain “construction and refurbishment with wood”. There are numerous indicator sets for sustainable development of forests and sustainable forestry available at different levels, ranging from local, regional and national to global scale assessments. Some efforts were also made to integrate later production stages of forest value chains (such as wood processing) in the assessment scope (e.g. for chain-of-custody certification). However, no indicator set has so far been available covering environmental, social and economic aspects for the entire value chain of building with timber. This gap was closed through applied sustainability research in the project “Holzwende 2020: Sustainable future markets for wood in the building sector”.     

Prioritization of applicable drivers for green supply chain management implementation toward sustainability in Thailand

ABSTRACT

It is essential that the green supply chain management (GSCM) implementation is effectively supported by several strategic drivers for successful implementation and sustainability, especially for the ‘green’ start-ups with a sustainability-driven organizational strategy. This study aims to determine and prioritize the applicable drivers for GSCM implementation of sustainable development strategies in the electronics industry in Thailand. The applicable drivers and their priorities are obtained by applying the fuzzy group decision-making approaches including fuzzy Delphi and fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process, based on Thai experts’ perspectives. In this study, three prominent organizational theories, resource-based view, relational view, and institutional theory, are needed to explain the drivers of sustainability and to develop a hierarchical model for prioritization of the drivers. Finally, based on the findings of this study, several recommendations are made that may help to improve the sustainable development in Thailand through more effective implementation of GSCM.     

Moving towards sustainable development: rhetoric,policy and reality of ecological agriculture in China

Past decades have witnessed the rise of sustainable agriculture movements throughout the world. In parallel with this international trend, ecological agriculture (with essential goals of food security, rural employment, poverty alleviation, natural resource management and environmental protection) has been advocated as a workable approach for the realization of sustainable agriculture in China. Two decades of ecological agricultural development have shown that it not only gained legitimacy at the senior policy level but also became a focus of scientific research in fields such as ecological economics, ecology, and agricultural and environmental sciences. However, this endeavour is hardly known in the West and little attention has been paid so far to examining the broader politico-economic and sociocultural contexts within which it has evolved. This paper attempts to provide a general review of the emerging background, development history, policy initiatives and recent tendencies of ecological agriculture. In addition, the extant problems and potential contributions of this alternative practice to China's sustainable agricultural development are discussed. The purpose of this study is to identify the gap between the policy rhetoric and practical implementation of Chinese ecological agriculture and therefore to facilitate its moving towards sustainable development.     

生态补偿理论研究现状与进展

全球生态环境问题已经引起世界各国的极大关注。生态系统及其服务的可持续性是人类社会可持续发展的决定性约束因素,人类赖以生存与发展的自然环境面临威胁,修复自然生态创伤,实施生态补偿是可持续发展的必然要求。一些生态补偿关键问题成为科学研究热点,如生态系统服务功能的价值核算、生态补偿的对象、标准、途径与方法,以及资源开发和重大工程活动的生态影响评价等。总结了国内外生态补偿相关研究成果,并进行综述,为开展生态补偿研究提供借鉴。     

Dynamic simulation of water depletion in the root zone

The joint effect of the distribution of the soil water potential and of the root mass in the crop root zone upon the water uptake by the crop is represented by a simple equation. This expression is used to join a layered crop canopy model for finding the evapotranspiration, as controlled by stomatal action and the weather, with a hydraulic flow model for the root zone and the underlying soil. The complete model is used for the calculation of the water extraction pattern and the changes, with time, of other plant and soil processes. A simulation of a 20-day drying period is performed, using S/360 CSMP, for a constant diurnal weather pattern, and for a fully developed sorghum crop. The results show that, after a few days of essentially constant water use by the crop, a monotonic decline sets in, that is principally attributable to the decrease in transpiration. For the entire drying period a substantial amount of water - about 30% of the total used - is contributed by upward flow into the root zone from the soil below. The results demonstrate the difficulty of quantitative definition of concepts such as “field capacity”, “wilting percentage”, and “available” or “extractable” water.     

Clustering economic sectors in China on a life cycle basis to achieve environmental sustainability

To improve material efficiency, industrial structure optimization becomes a focal point in Chinese industrial and environmental policies. It is crucial to cluster economic sectors and determine their priority for industrial and environmental policy implementation. Integrating a set of criteria, a hybrid input-output model and the hierarchical cluster analysis, this study clusters China’s economic sectors and determines their priority on a life cycle basis. China’s economic sectors are clustered into three clusters. Industrial structure changes (industrial policy) should encourage the development of sectors in cluster 1 and limit the development of sectors in cluster 2. Technology development and materials recycling (two environmental policies) should mainly focus on sectors in clusters 1 and 2. Future industrial policies in China should limit the development of two sectors named Manufacture of metal products and Extraction of petroleum and natural gas. Instead of limiting some industries by command-and-control, the best policy option is to remedy environmental standards and law enforcement. Enterprises belonging to the identified key sectors from the viewpoint of direct production impacts should be concerned to achieve enterprise sustainability. To achieve sustainable production chains, the identified key sectors from the viewpoint of accumulative production impacts should be concerned. For sustainable consumption, the identified key sectors from the viewpoint of consumption impacts should be concerned to transform consumption styles. Most of environmental pressure can be alleviated not only by technical improvements and material recycling, but also by the development of economic sectors in cluster 1.     

The livestock production system in a village ecosystem in the Rawain Valley,Uttarakhand, Central Himalaya

Animals in the Himalayan region are reared basically to supplement the family income and sustain crop production, and constitute an important component of the rural economy of the region. Given the ecological importance of the livestock production system in terms of intrinsic values as a life support system for local people and a contribution towards sustainable agriculture through its role in the maintenance of soil fertility, the present study was conducted. This paper describes and assesses the current status of livestock production systems, monetary input/output, status of available forest resources, current level of pressure on the livestock production system and recommends strategies for sustainable development of a livestock production system in the Rawain Valley of Central Himalaya.     

Evaluation for sustainable land use in coastal areas: A landscape ecological prospect

Evaluation of sustainability is the core of research on sustainable land use. To a certain extent, traditional social, economic and ecological evaluation for sustainable land use can be regarded as an appraisal on the temporal scale without evaluation of spatial patterns. Landscape ecology can help to realize spatial evaluation for sustainable land use. In this paper, we construct landscape ecological indicators for evaluating sustainable coastal land use from the aspects of landscape productivity, threats and stability, to realize a synthetic temporal-spatial evaluation. These cover the five pillars of sustainable land use, i.e. productivity, security, protection, viability and acceptability. The results of applying landscape ecological evaluation to a case study in Wudi County in China show that land use sustainability is somewhat low and there are great regional differences between its 11 villages. We classified the 11 villages into 5 grades: strong sustainable land use, sustainable land use, weak sustainable land use, weak unsustainable land use, and strong unsustainable land use. Each grade has different land use characteristics and differs in the counter-measures required. But the core countermeasures in all the grades are to improve landscape productivity, to reduce human threats and to optimize landscape patterns.     

Teil VI: Die Ökobilanz der Universität Osnabrück

Within the development of the “Osnabrück Environmental Management Model for Universities,” an environmental audit for the university has been carried out for the first time. It was implemented by way of a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) based on ISO 14 040. Following this, an LCA includes the four steps:goal and scope definition, inventory analysis, impact assessment andinterpretation. The impact assessment phase of the LCA was carried out following the ”UBA-Method” of the German Federal Environmental Agency (UBA) which is based on the method of impact categories described in ISO 14 040 and implemented in the software Umberto^®. The most significant results are that the University contributes “considerably” towards both categories, “Depletion of fossil energy resources” and “Climate change”. The main causes of this are electricity and heat consumption as well as traffic. In order to improve its environmental situation, the university has been recommended to reduce its CO₂ emissions, its consumption of fossil energy resources and its methane emissions.