A Review of the Elements of Human Well-Being with an Emphasis on the Contribution of Ecosystem Services

Natural ecosystems perform fundamental life-support services upon which human civilization depends. However, many people believe that nature provides these services for free and therefore, they are of little or no value. While we do not pay for them, we pay significantly for their loss in terms of wastewater treatment facilities, moratoriums on greenhouse gases, increased illnesses, reduced soil fertility and losses in those images of nature that contribute to our basic happiness. Little is understood about the well-being benefits of the natural environment and its ecosystem services. The interwoven relationship of ecosystems and human well-being is insufficiently acknowledged in the wider philosophical, social, and economic well-being literature. In this article, we discuss an approach to examine human well-being and the interactions of its four primary elements-basic human needs, economic needs, environmental needs, and subjective well-being-and ecosystem services.     

Tipping Toward Sustainability: Emerging Pathways of Transformation

This article explores the links between agency, institutions, and innovation in navigating shifts and large-scale transformations toward global sustainability. Our central question is whether social and technical innovations can reverse the trends that are challenging critical thresholds and creating tipping points in the earth system, and if not, what conditions are necessary to escape the current lock-in. Large-scale transformations in information technology, nano- and biotechnology, and new energy systems have the potential to significantly improve our lives; but if, in framing them, our globalized society fails to consider the capacity of the biosphere, there is a risk that unsustainable development pathways may be reinforced. Current institutional arrangements, including the lack of incentives for the private sector to innovate for sustainability, and the lags inherent in the path dependent nature of innovation, contribute to lock-in, as does our incapacity to easily grasp the interactions implicit in complex problems, referred to here as the ingenuity gap. Nonetheless, promising social and technical innovations with potential to change unsustainable trajectories need to be nurtured and connected to broad institutional resources and responses. In parallel, institutional entrepreneurs can work to reduce the resilience of dominant institutional systems and position viable shadow alternatives and niche regimes.     

Knowledge Production and Learning for Sustainable Landscapes: Forewords by the Researchers and Stakeholders

This special issue of AMBIO presents a new approach to sustainability science that goes beyond interdisciplinary research. Using coupled natural and human systems, or landscapes, as multiple case studies in Europe’s East and West knowledge production and learning toward transdisciplinary research was applied in Sweden, countries in Central and Eastern Europe, and Russia. First, the research group Forest-Landscape-Society summarizes the research program (2005–2012) behind this special issue of AMBIO and its development to participate in transdisciplinary research. Second, stakeholders at multiple levels provide their views on the new approach presented and reported.     

The Role of Social and Intergenerational Equity in Making Changes in Human Well-Being Sustainable

A sustainable world is one in which human needs are met equitably and without sacrificing the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Human well-being is described by four primary elements—basic human needs, economic needs, environmental needs, and subjective well-being. These elements can interact in a myriad of ways to influence overall well-being. What makes changes in human well-being sustainable for a population or a nation? Two major interactional concepts can push changes in human well-being toward a sustainable state in space and time—social equity and intergenerational equity. The concept of social equity distributes well-being over space, ensuring the fair treatment of all members of society promoting spatial sustainability of a well-being decision. The concept of intergenerational equity distributes well-being through time, ensuring the well-being of present and future generations of a population or nation, promoting temporal sustainability of a well-being decision. The roles of social and intergenerational equity in terms of their influence on human well-being are examined with a focus on more sustainable decision-making.     

Guided group discussion and attitude change: The roles of normative and informational influence

Kurt Lewin and others have showed that group discussion effectively changed attitudes and behaviors compared to individually targeted messages. This study examines the roles of normative and informational social influence in this effect. High school students heard a message about replacing toxic products with nontoxic alternatives; classes were randomly assigned to hear the message delivered as a lecture or via guided group discussion. For female students (N=250 in 26 classes), HLM mediation analyses suggested normative influence predominated: Discussion was more effective than lecture and this effect was fully mediated by students’ perceptions that other students endorsed nontoxics. Content analyses of students’ comments indicated that three kinds of remarks led female students to this perception: (1) sharing knowledge about nontoxics; (2) asking questions about nontoxics; and (3) little praise for toxic products. For male students in separate HLM analyses (N=107 in 19 of the same classes), informational influence was most apparent: Postmeeting attitudes were higher after discussion than lecture, and this effect was partially mediated by cognitive elaboration about the message (but not perceptions others endorsed the message). In addition, males’ quiz grades were higher after discussion, and students’ comments fully mediated the discussion to quiz grades relationship. Results support the importance of hearing others’ promessage comments for changing socially motivated behaviors, although the routes of influence appear to differ for these samples of male and female students.     

Review of sustainability management initiatives within Finnish forest products industry companies—Translating Eu level steering into proactive initiatives

Sustainability has become a major focus area within forest products industry. The European operational environment and national environmental steering in EU member states highlight the importance of sustainable development and the development of associated new management approaches to promote sustainability. This article reviews some key elements of sustainability management, covering examples of both Finnish forest products industry initiatives and public environmental steering at the European level. An assessment is made of the current situation and an outline of a future outlook for sustainability management, with special emphasis on bridging the gap between industry initiatives and environmental steering in the form of legislation, policies and strategies at the EU level.This study applied a hybrid approach comprising a review of EU sustainability initiatives, a policy and legal review and a questionnaire survey of forest industry actors. The results of the future outlook indicate that energy efficiency is perceived to be the most important focus area in addition to e.g. environmental and waste management and recycling. Less than half of the companies aim at applying sustainability management. Life-cycle management is also considered to be important whereas product-based approaches, climate change and local industrial symbiosis receive very little attention. All responding companies aim to integrate the principles of sustainability into their operations and most companies consider that life-cycle thinking, management and assessment are useful for them. Energy efficiency is identified as the most important focus area with energy and materials efficiency seen as the most crucial factors for the achievement of responsible competitive advantage and building of sustainable value-added. The findings indicate that sustainability and life-cycle management are not receiving enough management focus at the moment and neither is the industry receiving enough guidance at either the EU level or via national steering and regulatory frameworks.