From the ground up: holistic management and grassroots rural adaptation to bovine spongiform encephalopathy across western Canada

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) has been documented in 28 countries and adversely affected farmers and rural communities around the world. Our study examines the impacts of and adaptive responses of producers to BSE in western Canada. Moreover, it explores the role that holistic management (HM), and its combined focus on environmental, social, and economic sustainability, might play in mitigating the effects of BSE. One survey was sent to 835 HM producers and another to 9,740 producers across Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. The disease, and concomitant climate change and low commodity prices, had devastating impacts on both groups. Yet, HM producers were much more optimistic about their ability to adapt to BSE and the future of agriculture than their non-HM counterparts. Social networks, namely HM clubs and the larger HM community, enabled these producers to mitigate the impacts of BSE. Agronomic responses, especially those associated with rotational grazing and increases in on-farm biodiversity were also important. That HM has been such an effective adaptive response to BSE indicates the importance of this and other grassroots responses to rural crises, whether they be associated with zoonotic diseases or indeed environmental change as a whole.     

Fostering sustainability through sourcing from small businesses: public sector perspectives

This article examines the opportunities for fostering sustainable development through public sector sourcing from small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Buying from small businesses can make such contributions in a variety of forms, ranging from a contribution to local economic development through providing innovative green products and services, particularly in the food sector, to helping the public sector organisation to better align its operations with its community. Sourcing from small businesses also has implications for the governance of sourcing processes and can benefit from a partnership approach. Barriers to public sector sourcing from small businesses are discussed and suggestions made on how these can be overcome.     

A dynamic conceptualization of power for sustainability research

This paper takes up the challenge of providing a conceptual power framework to be used in the context of sustainability research. First, challenges of sustainability research are discussed by focusing specifically on recent insights from Integrated Sustainability Assessment (ISA), and on that basis some requirements for concepts to be used in sustainability research are postulated. It is argued that two of the most important aspects of sustainability assessment research are the long-term dynamics of change and an interdisciplinary paradigm. Second, a dynamic power framework is presented that was developed in the context of research on socio-technical sustainability transitions, including the basics of this power framework as well as some empirical illustrations. Third, it is discussed how the presented power framework deals with time, change and long-term dynamics, and how this contributes to the state-of-the-art. Fourth, it is indicated how the power framework integrates interdisciplinary and ‘interparadigmaticatic’ research requirements, and how this contributes to the state-of-the art. In conclusion, the arguments are summarized and some challenges for future research are distilled.     

On sustainability and social welfare

This paper proposes to define sustainability in terms of leaving it possible for future generations to sustain certain defined targets. It is shown that variants of genuine savings and the ecological footprint can then serve as indicators of sustainability. The link between sustainability and intergenerational welfare is examined, and it is shown how to incorporate indicators of sustainability into a social welfare measure, including risk in the analysis.     

卧龙湖湿地生态系统与生态经济可持续发展的能值分析

采用能值理论,评估了卧龙湖湿地多年平均能值投入及其生态服务价值,并分析了卧龙湖湿地生态系统结构功能及系统内外的物质、能量流动特征。结果显示,卧龙湖湿地生态系统的年能值投入为4.94×101 9sej,其中自然资源能值投入为1.75×101 9s ej,经济反馈的能值投入为3.60×1019sej:能值投资率为2.06,能值自给率仅为0.27,且环境负载率较高。此外,卧龙湖湿地生态系统能提供较高的生态系统服务价值,尤其是蒸腾作用,为每年每公顷269万美元,远远高于其他湿地。对研究结果的分析表明,区域经济发展对于卧龙湖湿地的依赖性很强,而目前卧龙湖湿地的环境负载率较高,因此,加强对卧龙湖湿地的保护和恢复,对于促进区域经济的可持续发展具有重要意义。     

On modelling the global copper mining rates,market supply,copper price and the end of copper reserves

The world supply and turnover of copper was modelled using simple empirical estimates and a COPPER systems dynamics model developed for this study. The model combines mining, trade markets, price mechanisms, population dynamics, use in society and waste as well as recycling, into a whole world system. The degree of sustainability and resource time horizon was estimated using four different methods including (1) burn-off rates, (2) peak discovery early warning, (3) Hubbert's production model, and (4) COPPER, a system dynamics model. The ultimately recoverable reserves (URR) have been estimated using different sources that converge around 2800 million tonne, where about 800 million tonne have already been mined, and 2000 million tonne remain. The different methods independently suggest peak copper mine production in the near future. The model was run for a longer period to cover all systems dynamics and delays. The peak production estimates are in a narrow window in time, from 2031 to 2042, with the best model estimate in 2034, or 21 years from the date of writing. In a longer perspective, taking into account price and recycling, the supply of copper to society is estimated to run out sometime after 2400. The outputs from all models put focus on the importance of copper recycling so that society can become more sustainable with respect to copper supply.