Transition management as a model for managing processes of co-evolution towards sustainable development

Sustainable development requires changes in socio-technical systems and wider societal change – in beliefs, values and governance that co-evolve with technology changes. In this article we present a practical model for managing processes of co-evolution: transition management. Transition management is a multilevel model of governance which shapes processes of co-evolution using visions, transition experiments and cycles of learning and adaptation. Transition management helps societies to transform themselves in a gradual, reflexive way through guided processes of variation and selection, the outcomes of which are stepping stones for further change. It shows that societies can break free from existing practices and technologies, by engaging in co-evolutionary steering. This is illustrated by the Dutch waste management transition. Perhaps transition management constitutes the third way that policy scientists have been looking for all the time, combining the advantages of incrementalism (based on mutual adaptation) with the advantages of planning (based on long-term objectives).     

Community relations and mining: Core to business but not “core business”

Over the past two decades the global mining industry has witnessed the necessity and emergence of community relations and development (CRD) functions, essentially under the rubric of sustainable development and corporate social responsibility (CSR). These functions provide companies with mechanisms through which to engage and manage their relationships with key stakeholder groups, share development benefits and protect business interests. Despite widespread claims by the industry that companies have adopted CSR as a ‘core competence’, we argue that the industry has yet to incorporate the CRD function as part of ‘core business’ at the level of practice. This article characterises a CRD function and related processes within the context of a large-scale mining operation in West Africa. Findings reflect a more universal trend relating to the function and organisational positioning of CRD practice in the resources sector. The authors argue that functional equity needs to be established if the sustainable development agenda is to have a genuine future within the mining industry.     

Organotin contamination in the Atlantic Ocean off the Iberian Peninsula in relation to shipping

Imposex in female snails, a bioindicator of TBT contamination, and the presence of organotins in snails' tissue and sediments were studied at nine sites off the western Iberian Peninsula. The study was part of a European project (acronym HIC-TBT) co-financed by the EU-LIFE programme, intending to investigate and communicate the impact of organotins from ships in marine ecosystems. Snails and sediments were sampled during two cruises in May/June 1999 and in January 2000 in areas of high, intermediate and low-shipping density. Imposex was found in female snails from several sampling sites, some of which had an imposex incidence of 100%. Differences in sensitivity were found between species; hence comparison of imposex levels between locations where different species were collected was not straightforward. Total organotin concentrations in sediments (sum of butyl and phenyltin compounds) ranged from 21 to 185 ng Sn g(-1) with higher values for most sites sampled in the vicinity of shipping lanes. Organotin concentration in snails' tissue ranged from <5 to 196 ng Sn g(-1), which are similar to those found in snails from other offshore areas contaminated by TBT. Overall, these results give further support to the recent ban on the use of organotin based antifouling paints to all ship size.