Building Sustainable Community-Based Food Programs: Cautionary Tales from The Garden

This essay calls attention to the practical implications that community food organizers can glean from Scott Hamilton Kennedy's documentary, The Garden. More specifically, the authors examine the discursive tensions faced by the South Central Farmers as a way to make sense of their own use of dialog, policy, and health networking to build a community food initiative. The essay concludes by offering a unique metaphor-mycelium-in order to promote sustainable health practices and organize community-based food programs.     

Making a Living from the Sea: Fishery Activities Development and Local Perspective on Sustainability in Bahari Village (Buton island, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia)

This paper provides a holistic and diachronic perspective on fishery development within an Indonesian village community. I present the process of fishery development locally, the regulations relative to different activities as well as the local cultural framework about the marine environment. Based on these elements, I analyse the local perspective on sustainability and identify the ingredients for stimulating the development of alternative fishery activities.     

国家环境可持续能力的评价研究:环境可持续性指数2005

由美国耶鲁大学和哥伦比亚大学合作开发的环境可持续指数（Environmental Sustainability Index，ESI）可用以衡量一个国家或地区能为其后代人保持良好环境状态的能力，也可考虑作为环境决策的基础之一。其研究处在现有环境可持续指标体系研究的国际前沿水平。本文简介了ESI的进展与内涵；阐述了2005ESI的指标设置、方法学及其改进；列举了2005ESI用于146个国家或地区环境可持续性的测试结果及其政策建议，分析了中国得分很低的原因，最后，概要评述了ESI的特点和进一步发展方向。     

Monitoring Change in Vertebrate Abundance: the Living Planet Index

Abstract:  The task of measuring the decline of global biodiversity and instituting changes to halt and reverse this downturn has been taken up in response to the Convention on Biological Diversity's 2010 target. It is an undertaking made more difficult by the complex nature of biodiversity and the consequent difficulty in accurately gauging its depletion. In the Living Planet Index, aggregated population trends among vertebrate species indicate the rate of change in the status of biodiversity, and this index can be used to address the question of whether or not the 2010 target has been achieved. We investigated the use of generalized additive models in aggregating large quantities of population trend data, evaluated potential bias that results from collation of existing trends, and explored the feasibility of disaggregating the data (e.g., geographically, taxonomically, regionally, and by thematic area). Our results show strengths in length and completeness of data, little evidence of bias toward threatened species, and the possibility of disaggregation into meaningful subsets. Limitations of the data set are still apparent, in particular the dominance of bird data and gaps in tropical-species population coverage. Population-trend data complement the longer-term, but more coarse-grained, perspectives gained by evaluating species-level extinction rates. To measure progress toward the 2010 target, indicators must be adapted and strategically supplemented with existing data to generate meaningful indicators in time. Beyond 2010, it is critical a strategy be set out for the future development of indicators that will deal with existing data gaps and that is intricately tied to the goals of future biodiversity targets.     

Informational governance – A systematic literature review of governance for sustainability in the Information Age

The rapid developments in all kinds of new information technologies, information networks and social media are increasingly affecting societies around the world. The so termed Information Age not only influences social relationships, economy and science, but also governance. Against this background and in the specific field of sustainability, informational governance is an emerging concept. It addresses two interrelated processes: (1) new forms of governing through information, and (2) transformative changes in governance institutions due to the new information flows. The aim of this article is to gain more insights into ways in which the Information Age impacts sustainability, and to suggest a research agenda with relevance to the field of informational governance. A systematic literature review resulted in a selection of 39 articles, of which 23 and 16 articles were identified in two-parallel searches. The increased human interconnectedness through e-governance, self-organization, private governing and empowerments are identified as core informational governance trends dealing with sustainability in the Information Age, and essential to future research.     

Guatemala strives for environmental and economic sustainability in the Rio Dulce region

Conditions in Guatemala's Rio Dulce National Park (RDNP) present an immediate decision-making challenge concerning the reversal of current destructive environmental trends, and in establishing policies for restoration, protection, and sustainable use. This article summarises results of environmental assessment activities undertaken at three levels: an environmental impact assessment (EIA) of a proposed industrial forestry activity, an environmental assessment of management options for the Rio Dulce National Park, and water management planning for the Rio Dulce/Lago Izabal watershed. A key result of the EIA was to prohibit construction of a barge terminal within the boundaries of the park because it could set a precedent for future development. Management options for the park focused on establishing land-use controls, dealing with river transport more effectively, and identifying funding mechanisms to implement solutions. At the watershed scale, a strategic approach was recommended to identify priority issues for initiating change toward sustainability in the region.     

Definitions and organizational practice of sustainability in the for-profit sector of Nova Scotia

The term “sustainability” has been a part of local, national, and international environmental discussions for well over a decade. First legitimized by the United Nations in 1987 with the release of the Brundtland Commission and Our Common Future (WCED, 1987), the term “sustainability” is now often used in more mainstream contexts. However, given our continued global ecological decline (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005), the question remains: do decision makers within organizations really have a clear idea of what sustainability is? Further, are they able to communicate that vision in such a way as it can be operationalized within their organizations?Organizations are faced with a high degree of uncertainty when attempting to move towards sustainability. The immense amount of literature and information available about the concept is daunting, especially for harried managers of small businesses who must respond to many competing needs and interests. Although many concepts, frameworks, and tools are available for business executives to use, there have been relatively less attempts to develop a rigorous, applied definition of sustainability that can be clearly understood, implemented, and measured within and across organizations. Given the abundance of concepts, frameworks, and tools, with the corresponding dearth of overarching frameworks, one may wonder what are executives learning from all this literature, and how it is being diffused into strategy, planning, and operations? This study aims to gain insight into executives’ thinking around definitions and the implementation of sustainability practices in Nova Scotia. The findings of this study indicate that there are three key relationships of significance in this area including: type of definition and ease of articulation; type of definition and type of experience; and type of definition, type of experience, and integration of strategic and operational planning.     

Integrating agricultural sustainability into policy planning: A geo-referenced framework based on Rough Set theory

We propose a geo-referenced framework for agricultural sustainability assessment aimed at supporting policy planning. The framework is based on Rough Set theory and (i) integrates the three pillars of sustainability; (ii) proposes an easy measurement of agricultural systems’ ability to resist over time (agricultural resilience); (iii) offers easy-to-read results; and (iv) reduces the gap between researchers’ analytical skills and decision-makers’ needs. In the paper, a part of the framework, we present essential and practical notion of Rough Set theory and a case study based on Lombardy Region (Italy). Finally, some values and lacks of the method are discussed.     

Developing policy integrating sustainability: A case study into aviation

Support for the notion that policy should embrace sustainability is widespread but the actual incorporation of the concept into policy is proving to be difficult. To insert the word into a policy document, accompanied by some marginal changes, is enough to allow policy makers to claim that sustainability has been considered. The novel research reported here has applied sustainability analysis to the case of aviation which is one of the areas of policy where the conflict between environmental and economic objectives is most intense. It was found that sustainable policy options are blocked whilst sustainability is regarded as an add-on to existing policy. The policy stalemate exists because it is neither understood nor accepted that sustainability requires systemic change. The empirical stage of the research comprised 28 stakeholder interviews and identified four categories of action with the potential to break the stalemate in aviation which could be applied also to other areas of policy: long-term strategic planning; facilitation of dialogue between stakeholders; government support for innovation; and educating the public. The study concluded that fundamental change to the process of crafting policy is required if sustainability is to fulfil its potential to reconcile environmental and economic objectives.     

Socioeconomic indicators and the survival of the tropical rainforest of cross river state of Nigeria

An internal household survey of socioeconomic indicators in the Cross River State forest communities showed that basic infrastructural facilities such as clean water supply, adequate waste disposal system, good roads and electricity are grossly inadequate. There is a total absence of modern family planning practices in the communities, and population is projected to increase by 44.8% between 2000 and 2015 and 85.4% between 2000 and 2025. The study revealed that about 65% of the population of the rainforest communities consists of subsistence farmers and power chain operators, and besides the 19% of the Cross River State Tropical High Forestry (THF) already reported to have been lost to agriculture and plantation between 1972 and 1991, about 9% was lost between 1991 and 2000. An additional 25% of the THF will be lost by 2025, leaving only 470600 hectares (4706 km²). With 84.1% of community members having an annual income less than $300, the survival potential of the Cross River State rainforest in the next fifty years is very low, unless an effective forest management programme is encouraged by government in partnership with all stakeholders.