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In a context of expansion and development of the tourism sector worldwide, assessing the tourism sustainability performance of regions or countries becomes an important goal of strategic planning as a means to ensure an appropriate balance between present and future opportunities of areas with a tourism-based economy. Due to the multidimensional nature of the sustainability concept and the difficulties encountered in its measurement, composite indicators have increasingly been used as useful tools for the operationalization of sustainability. In this paper the study of tourism sustainability of Spanish regions is addressed by building a composite indicator that uses multicriteria decision techniques for the aggregation and weighting of the simple indicators considered. The developed index allows the representation of both the weak and strong sustainability paradigms, as well as other compromising, midway concepts between those. Moreover, the sustainability performance of the studied regions can be easily compared and a fair ranking of the regions can accordingly be obtained, which can serve as a starting point that stimulates public and private debate and promotes improvement actions to achieve sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the responsible operating space (ROS) framework, a framework that includes both the common governance of the global environmental concerns and the comprehensive management of environmental sustainability. The ROS framework determines environmental objectives regarding the global concerns using a footprint perspective, and defines coherent integrated environmental objectives for the production and consumption processes at different territorial scales. In this case study, we firstly estimated the global ROS, as well as both the consumption-side ROS and the production-side ROS of Spain. Then, the national ROS was transferred to the 17 Spanish regions and was further extended to the 313 municipalities of one of the regions (Galicia). Finally, we transferred the ROS to 163 sectors, as well as to one industrial park and several companies. Our results demonstrate that, even assuming the methodological limitations and scarcity of data, it is already possible to allocate objectives and decentralize the management of global environmental concerns even at municipal and company levels. The role of circular economy under the ROS framework is also discussed on the basis of the potential coexistence of circularity with an unsustainable production-consumption system. • Coherent reduction targets at municipal and company levels can be calculated. • The framework allows integrating circular economy actions at different scales. • Decentralized management of the global environmental concerns is achievable. • The framework boosts the operationalization of environmental sustainability. • The framework can be integrated into a holistic sustainable development plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an eco-integrated methodology for managing the structural uncertainty (EMSU) that is inherent in socio-ecological systems. The methodology incorporates the human factor side by side to economic and environmental aspects and in this way considers the system as complex, reflexive and emergent. Reflexivity implies the existence of structural uncertainty and although this cannot be reduced it needs to be managed for the system to move towards sustainable solutions. Our EMSU methodology combines elements from the eco-integrated approach of Naredo (2003), social multi-criteria evaluation (Munda 2004), the pluralist approach (van Asselt, 2000), and, importantly, Maturana and Varela's “biology of knowledge” (1987). The integration of those approaches into EMSU provides an original approach for the management of structural uncertainty within a strong sustainability paradigm, specifically one that is premised on human consciousness from the perspective of the biology of knowledge. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper proposes a change in the conditions of cross-compliance of CAP payments. Specifically, the eligibility criterion considered is compliance with minimal requirements of long-term economic and agroenvironmental sustainability. To this end, 69 range farms were surveyed in Extremadura (SW Spain). In these farms, sustainability was studied using the MESMIS framework. MESMIS is based on the evaluation of basic attributes of sustainability (adaptability, self-reliance, equity, stability, and productivity) formed from different indicators. The original indicators are then synthesized by means of qualitative, quantitative, or mixed techniques into a single value measuring the sustainability of the system (sustainability index). Alternative scenarios were then defined in which the perception of CAP subsidies was to a greater or lesser extent linked to levels of sustainability. For each of these scenarios, the economic indicators of the farms were compared with those of the baseline (present) situation. The analysis was completed using a logistic model classification to study the relationship between the maximum levels attainable by the economic indicators in terms of the sustainability indices. The results showed that including sustainability as a condition for receiving aid under the CAP can contribute to improving the economic results of traditional extensive farms. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Uncertainties and non-linearities between processes involved in rural dynamics pose a challenge to planners and policymakers. Numerical models minimize the risk of making an inappropriate decision and assist planners with making informed policy decisions. In this paper, we present a quantitative analysis of the social, economic and demographic dimensions of rural dynamics using a system dynamics approach. The resulting model (RUSEM: RUral Socio-Economic Model) consists of four main modules that reproduce the main characteristics of the rural areas, with a focus for the European case. The economic module contains the most important variables in the dynamics of local economies - for example, the provision of key services, the availability of public services, and local economic structure. The social and demographic modules use large age groups to analyse the labour market and population dynamics. The attractiveness module summarises push-pull factors affecting rural migration. The model is used to evaluate thirty-six socio-economic scenarios of rural Spain. The results show that very small villages could be incapable to stop rural decline because the absence of "critical mass" while mid-sized villages require targeted actions to reinforce the positive feedbacks of local economy. RUSEM has two goals: to offer computational support enabling robust decision-making in policy formulation in conditions of deep uncertainty and to integrate the socio-economic dimension into Earth System Models (ESMs) providing a numerical model that can be embedded into ESMs at a relatively cheap computational cost. • RUSEM is a socio-economic model of rural dynamics based on system dynamics theory. • It offers computational support enabling robust decision-making in policy formulation. • It can be embedded into ESMs improving the representation of anthropogenic processes. • Output data showed the existence of 'critical mass' thresholds in small communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]