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Waste sorting in urban villages is a less developed while important issue in waste management and it is of great importance to environmental sustainability. China is now facing challenges of combating waste sorting while little attention has been paid to these challenges in urban villages. This article aims to add to this knowledge by examining how waste sorting has been implemented in urban villages via a case study of Shenzhen, China. A co-production theory perspective is adopted to explore how actors are engaged in the process of waste sorting and what are the results. The findings suggest coproduction approach is neither a top-down nor bottom-up approach. It is a much more complex process that involves intensive interactions between the government and residents. It concludes that the co-production approach to waste sorting exemplified by urban villages' sustainable development has great significance for general environmental management and policy making in the long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semiconductor industry is experiencing a rising demand for environmentally friendly processes with the emphasis on green policies and worldwide environmental sustainability. Nitrogen trifluoride (NF3), the most common plasma chamber cleaning agent gas, poses a significant concern as a potent greenhouse gas since it has global warming potential (GWP), 740 times and 6 times higher than that CO2 and N2O. This study investigated the exhaust gas using quadrupole mass spectroscopy (QMS) and analyzed the change in cleaning speed and the type of exhaust gas through plasma monitoring using optical mass spectroscopy (OES). The objective is to lower the use of the amount of NF3 gas in chamber cleaning process to partially contribute the environmental sustainability in the point of semiconductor manufacturing. When a small amount of N2 was added to NF3 whose ratio of 7:23, the cleaning efficiency reached to 90% compared to NF3 gas alone. Addition of N2 positively affected electron density and temperature to increase the F-radical in remote plasma system. In conclusion, 18% of NF3 usage amount was reduced during the Sio2 deposition chamber cleaning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Biodiversity offsetting' aims to address the residual negative environmental impacts of human development. It's goal is to achieve No Net Loss (NNL), and preferably a Net Gain of biodiversity attributes between development and offset sites. Biodiversity offsetting suffers from a lack of 'proof of concept', as little work has been done to critically test the ecological efficacy of offsetting practices. Offsetting of stream ecological functions was investigated in Aotearoa New Zealand, via review of regulatory documentation for 76 offsets and field assessments of 14 offset sites. Field results indicated some functions, including fish passage connectivity, respond rapidly post-offset enhancement whilst others exhibit recovery lags (such as fish spawning habitat provision). However, most offsets were considered unlikely to achieve NNL due to failures in practice and process. Factors included inadequate consideration for restoration uncertainty, inappropriate monitoring conditions, insufficient data and inequivalent trade-offs. Key linkages between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, particularly regarding floodplain connectivity, were poorly considered in offset implementation. Thus, development may be occurring based on inadequate regulatory processes, and poorly evaluated ecological outcomes. These findings join a growing body of evidence which indicates that, in the context of a global biodiversity crisis, offsetting is not achieving its purpose of NNL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the changing role of the local government's environmental management in Guangzhou, China, through a historical content analysis of archival data. Environmental governance in Guangzhou has followed a government-led, top-down model. The content analysis showed that over the past four decades, the role of Guangzhou's municipal environmental governance has been characterized by transformation -- from passive responses to accelerating and securing economic growth, and finally to active interventions that balance economic growth and ecological protection. The changing role of the Guangzhou government in environmental governance is driven by varied urban political priorities at different historical stages. This article argues that the urban political economy and the national government's commitment to pragmatic, sustainable development shaped the local government's response to environmental problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indirect ecological effects—in which interactions of two species are modified by another species or abiotic factor—are generally considered equal to or greater in magnitude than direct effects. The ecological literature describing indirect effects suffers from redundancy and confusion regarding terminology and quantification, limiting its utility to regulators working to estimate indirect relative to direct effects in assessing environmental risks of development. To evaluate consideration for indirect ecological effects in regulatory practice, we reviewed 24 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documents for proposed US mining projects to compare the treatment of indirect effects in the regulatory versus ecological literature. A clear dichotomy between regulatory and academic definitions of indirect effects suggests that NEPA documents overlook scientifically defined ecological impacts of development. Consequently, for scientific inquiry to be useful to regulators and for regulation of development to comprehensively assess risks, multidisciplinary efforts are urgently needed to bridge the gap between ecological science and environmental management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To analyze the development of environmental sustainability practices at the Federal University of Cariri from the perspective of the UI GreenMetric World University Ranking. Methodology: It is a case study with a mixed approach, of an applied and descriptive nature. The qualitative approach was applied with a survey of the official documents of the HEI related to sustainability and the realization of a focus group with members of the sustainability management coordination. The quantitative approach aimed to measure the institution's degree of sustainability by completing the UI GreenMetric questionnaire. Originality/Relevance: A detailed technical analysis is carried out on the institution's sustainable actions, identifying its weaknesses and potential in its sustainable management, contributing with reflections on the subject and proposing improvements to the practices currently developed. Main Results: It was evidenced that the HEI has already carried out and are in course several actions related to sustainability and that the theme has been strengthened in the organization. However, there is still no fully institutionalized environmental sustainability policy, which still lacks greater involvement on the part of the university's units and servers. Contributions: The main challenges to be overcome were identified, especially with regard to the involvement of the units and servers, as well as the systematization of information and the need for greater incentives for research in the area, and suggestions for improvements were made in order to offer the university alternatives to advance. in the institutionalization of the theme and in the adoption of good environmentally sustainable practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the documentary Resurrección (Eugenio Polgovksy, 2016), which deals with the catastrophic contamination of Jalisco's River Santiago by industrial waste. It discusses the slow violence of environmental poisoning in this region as a form of necropolitics and of wastelanding, and the campaign of collective Un Salto de Vida, who feature prominently in the film, for a clean river. It goes on to explore the heterogenous worlds and uncanny, sensorial aesthetics that characterise the film, arguing that through them, it makes a significant contribution to the search for visual forms through which to represent eco‐catastrophe, and the reconfigured relationship between human and non‐human required to address it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of the research is to develop a set of guidelines for the development of business within the framework of the green industry, in compliance with all current environmental regulations, as applied to the realities of the current economic situation in China. The methodology basis is a combination of system analysis of the key principles of business development within the framework of environmental strategy in China with a comprehensive analysis of green industry concept as a factor limiting the activities of enterprises to avoid environmental pollution. The results obtained in the research indicate the presence of significant results in the interaction of government and business in the framework of mutually beneficial collaboration for the growth of the green industry. Chinese business structures invest in the development of "green" industrial and manufacturing technologies while ensuring the necessary level of environmental protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental strategies in tourism reduce the negative impact of this sector while seeking to achieve positive effects on its competitiveness and differentiation. However, there is still a research gap in the academic literature on the connection between eco-certifications and the prices that clients are willing to pay for this type of service. This paper analyzes guests' willingness to pay for rooms in environmentally friendly hotels in Mexico. The study focuses on three of the states with the largest number of hotel establishments in the country: Quintana Roo, Veracruz, and Jalisco. The differences among the states regarding the willingness of the guests to pay for hotels with eco-certification were evaluated by taking into account the category of the establishment. Hedonic price models were used to evaluate the effect of both eco-certification and different hotel attributes on the price of a room. Information regarding prices was obtained from the Trivago database, and the equations were estimated by taking into account data panel techniques. The results show a significant effect on the willingness to pay for hotels with eco-certifications, with differences among states and categories. The limitation of this research is the time of data collection and the place of application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to establish recommendations for public policy to enhance the National Marine Waste Plan 2021-2030 in Costa Rica. The methodology employed in this research was a combination of expert consultation and discussion, as well as the analysis of secondary information. The findings of the research identified advances, omissions and challenges facing marine solid waste management mentioned, as well as providing possible options for public policy. The research concludes that it is necessary to create the necessary conditions to enhance its implementation considering aspects of measurement, articulation, circular and innovative models, directionality, and opportunities for marine waste management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ecological Economic Zoning (EEZ) is an environmental management tool established in the National Environmental Policy (PNMA) and present in all states of Brazil. Since the 1990s, it has been implemented in Brazil; however, the attempts at implementation and the results obtained so far do not provide evidence of its effectiveness. Thus, this article seeks to understand the implementation of EEZ in Tocantins by analyzing the perceptions of local actors through the Collective Subject Discourse (CSD) method. The conclusion is that EEZ in Tocantins has not been implemented. Among the identified causes, institutional factors such as low administrative capacity, governance, and "political will" associated with the disconfiguration of its normative character prevail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development links environmental, social and economic policies in a coherent framework, thus contributing to the implementation of environmental legislation and policies. The concept of Sustainable Development designates all the forms and methods of socioeconomic development that focus primarily on ensuring a balance between social, economic and ecological aspects and the elements of natural capital. Sustainable development seeks and tries to find a stable theoretical framework for decisionmaking in any situation where there is a human-environment relationship, be it the surrounding, economic or social environment. Although initially sustainable development was intended to be a solution to the ecological crisis determined by the intense industrial exploitation of resources and the continuous degradation of the environment, and therefore primarily sought to preserve the quality of the surrounding environment, nowadays the concept has expanded to the quality of life in its complexity, and under economic and social aspect. The object of sustainable development is now also the concern for justice and equity between states, not only between generations. The energy sector has a major contribution to Romania's development, with a particular influence on economic growth, quality of life and the environment. To meet the long-term expectations of the population, the energy sector must become cleaner, more economically stable and more technologically modern. Romania's energy strategy for 2016-2030 with a time horizon of 2050 represents a national strategic approach that was approved and operates based on Government Decision no. 1069/2007. The main objective of the research is the analysis of Romania's national sustainable development strategy and the objectives aimed at increasing the quality of life. The research methodology used to achieve the above-mentioned objectives includes qualitative methods (meta-analysis of specialized literature) and quantitative methods (econometric methods - regression and correlation analysis, comparative analysis and correspondence analysis). The current focus has shifted to environmental management, which uses a broad combination of coercive and incentive measures to achieve sustainable improvements. This implies the definition of environmental policies in terms of the pursued objectives; the consideration and explicit mention of priorities; more pronounced decentralization, especially in terms of policy implementation; promoting better performance and managerial methods instead of simple emission control measures; adopting cost-effective strategies instead of adopting specific pollution control measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A variety of Inter-State Agreements (ISA) have been developed to establish policies and expectations regarding environmental policy and management. However, governance mechanisms have not been developed to provide for the substantive involvement of Indigenous Nations within States to participate in the development and implementation of these policies. Indigenous knowledge systems, rights, and interests are critical to the development of practical and effective approaches to address complex socio-economic-political issues involved in the sustainable management of effects on the environment. Obstacles and challenges that inhibit the effective engagement of Indigenous Nations are symptomatic of the wider and substantial power imbalances and asymmetries that underlie the relationship with States. Governance of the relationship between Indigenous Nations and States over environmental matters can be improved by: adopting guiding principles to re-invigorate the modalities of collaboration between the Nations and States in mobilizing ISAs; and by establishing a new, permanent governance body, an Intergovernmental Relations Council for the Environment (IRCE) to facilitate and promote formal collaboration in Intra and Inter State-Nation working relationships involving cross-jurisdictional environmental issues involving shared resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm in 1972 both triggered the organization of environmental management in many countries and brought about the formation of an understanding of environmental protection on a national and international scale. Similarly, the Conference has been a starting point in terms of institutionalizing environmental management, creating legislation, and developing environmental policy practice in Turkey. When the institutional structure is examined, a process comes to the fore in which the central government is the main actor in terms of institutional, legal, and representation. Parallel to this, when the environmental protection perspective of the environmental management organization in question is considered, an understanding that prioritizes economic development draws attention. The main argument of this paper is that environmental management has a institutionally centralized, practically developmentalist nature that displays a continuity. In order to illuminate the centralist and developmentalist continuity, this process which started in 1973, is handled over a period of 50 years and changes in the institutional structure of environmental management are discussed. Afterwards, the legal sources that support environmental policies and the institutional structures are discussed, and their positioning on the axis of protection-development is debated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community participation is increasingly embedded into environmental policy with the aim of accelerating transformative change towards sustainable management. A common approach to engaging with communities is through key stakeholders, who are still often selected ad hoc based on their activities. We tested an analytical approach for identifying distinct groups of community preferences as part of a case study to develop a community-led management plan for Blueskin Bay estuary and its catchment. We interviewed 36 community members to elicit their preferences for predefined management objectives following a standardised protocol. Using an agglomerative hierarchical analysis, we determined value-preference clusters for high-level management objectives and more specific objectives. At both levels combined, preference clusters were attributed to some of the commercial interests, such as cockle harvesting, forestry or tourism, which we also identified ad hoc based on their activities in the Blueskin Bay area. However, in addition, cluster analyses revealed five additional preference types: Urban Development Advocates, Cultural Environmentalists, Economic Environmentalists, Integrative Thinkers and those with Diverse Interests. We conclude that cluster analysis more objectively and specifically maps community preferences and, consequently, increases the robustness of collaborative environmental management processes, such as the one underway for Blueskin Bay estuary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper was to identify the application of selected green growth indicators, specifically voluntary environmental policy instruments of in wood-processing enterprises in Slovakia. The mapping of the researched issue was carried out in the form of questionnaire. The evaluation of the questionnaire was performed by the single-proportion hypothesis test. Pearson's Chi-square test was used to verify the representativeness of the examined sample and the consistency of the questionnaire was confirmed using Cronbach's alpha. Based on the achieved results, it can be stated that at least half of the enterprises do not use green procurement and do not label their products with an eco-label. These companies have neither implemented an Environmental Management System nor an Environmental Management and Audit Scheme. The achieved results show that enterprises in the wood-processing industry in Slovakia mostly do not apply green growth indicators voluntary instruments of environmental policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interconnected global environmental and societal risks threaten the health of human and ecological communities. Institutions are avenues through which people can mobilize to respond, but institutional landscapes are fragmented. We focus on the need for institutional change in environmental management and water services to better connect land and water in the United States. Using a historical institutionalist approach and insights from sustainability transitions research, we analyze four diverse examples of connecting land and water occurring across public and private institutions where people are putting innovative perspectives and principles into practice: National Environmental Policy Act, Engineering with Nature®; Water Utilities as Anchor Institutions, and Growing Water Smart. Comparative analysis of these examples focuses on the particular risks these institutions are responding to, how each connects land and water to promote healthy communities, the institutional transformations that are occurring, how problems are being reframed, how leadership and mobilization are driving change, what tools help bridge multiple boundaries, and what new ways of knowing and action strategies are emerging. Our examples focus on transformations within and between institutions in recognition of their importance for driving larger system change. Findings reinforce previous research on the critical role of human agency and boundary spanning in facilitating and steering sustainability transitions. Research Impact Statement: Four U.S. examples of institutional land–water integration reveal the significance of gradual yet transformative change to promote healthy communities and contribute to sustainability transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a demand for scientific knowledge to make informed decisions in environmental policy. This study examines expectations of knowledge use, and how knowledge stemming from systematic reviews (SR) is being used through an analytical framework that distinguishes between instrumental, conceptual and legitimising evaluation use, as well as between process and product use. Empirically, we investigate knowledge generated from six SRs conducted through the Mistra Council for Evidence-based Environmental Management from the perspectives of those carrying out the SR and their targeted stakeholders. Our study reveals ways in which SRs are used and some characteristics that improve and some that hamper their usefulness. While the systematic method and the comprehensiveness of the SRs contribute positively to the usefulness, we found that the SRs produced were simultaneously too focused (lacking multiple perspectives), and too general (providing evidence on the effects of an intervention only at the general level) thereby restricting their usefulness. The time and resources it takes to produce an SR can also affect its usefulness compared to a traditional review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving the global decarbonization goal under global conflicts is becoming more uncertain. Within this context, this article seeks to examine the effects of global environmental management and efforts to achieve this goal. Specifically, it investigates the role of democracy, control of corruption, and civil society participation as mechanisms that moderate the impact of environmental policy and legislation, particularly clean energy policy and climate change legislation (laws and regulations), on carbon emissions in highly polluted countries. The empirical results show that (i) the effects of democracy-clean energy policies and climate change legislation are relatively small in reducing carbon emissions; (ii) the effect of controlling corruption-climate change regulations is strong in reducing emissions, meaning that governments with higher control of corruption are more effective at enacting and executing laws and regulations dealing with environmental challenges which help achieve desirable environmental outcomes; (iii) strong civil society participation helps the execution of clean energy policies and climate change legislation to curb emissions, and (iv) the robustness check also provides strong evidence that higher control of corruption can contribute to the effectiveness of these policies and legislation in reducing carbon emissions. Overall, these findings suggest that the efficiency of well-designed environmental policy and legislation should be supported by a combination of higher civil society participation and greater control of corruption that can efficiently enforce such policies and legislation. • We examine the role of climate policies and legislation (CPL) in meeting net-zero emission. • We focus on the moderating role of democracy, control of corruption, and civil society. • The interaction effects of democracy and CPL on reducing carbon emissions are relatively small. • Corruption control complements climate change regulations for reducing carbon emissions. • Strong civil society participation complements CPL for reducing carbon emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impact of the timing of adaptation on the stability of international environmental agreements (IEAs) for different levels of cooperation. This issue is addressed by solving a three-stage coalition formation game in a Nash-Cournot setting. In the first stage, countries decide non-cooperatively on their participation in an IEA. Then, depending on the timing, countries decide on adaptation and emissions in the second and third stage. The game is solved for three levels of cooperation. Countries can either cooperate on emissions (emission agreement), on adaptation (adaptation agreement), or both actions (complete agreement). When emissions are chosen first, this extension to an emission–adaptation game is a generalization of the pure emission game. However, when adaptation is chosen first, the grand coalition is stable, provided that countries sign a complete agreement. With partial cooperation, stable coalitions are small. The results establish a connection between the strategic role of adaptation, the levels of adaptation of non-signatories and signatories for the different types of agreements and the participation in an IEA. Moreover, the results indicate that the grand coalition is stable even when it significantly enhances net benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the deterioration of the environment, mainly in coastal areas, caused mainly by the excessive actions of economic agents, a critical and descriptive vision is needed on the part of researchers. Within this framework, the environmental issue is present in the National Economic and Social Development Plan until 2030, which calls for economic mechanisms that have a positive impact on the environment. In line with this claim, the priority of creating an economic -financial mechanism for the environmental management of bays is recognized. Consequently, the objective of this paper was to socialize the theoretical references associated with the economic instruments of environmental policy, as well as the economic -financial mechanisms for the environmental management of bays. Theoretical and empirical methods were used for the documentary review and systematization of knowledge. Among the main results, the key role of environmental management was noted, highlighting the importance of establishing the theoretical references associated with economic-financial instruments and mechanisms, their components and structure and contributing to the integration of the economic dimension in environmental management and policy; as well as the use in Cuba of the economic instruments of environmental policy and the influence it has had at present at the national and international level, which allowed providing more effective solutions to the problems of the environment and its preservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high diversity of environmental situations in the Philippines demands that local environments and natural resources be governed in depth, in their specific circumstances, and in each location. No state agency has the ability, mandate, and capacity to do this task more than Local Government Units (LGUs). This study focused on determining the capacity of the Province of Bukidnon to assume bigger roles by analyzing its capacity development (CapDev) agenda for environmental management, the capacity status of the Province, its common and unique CapDev agenda, and its direction of the prioritization of the CapDev agenda. The study utilized the document analysis approach. The result revealed a HIGH CAPACITY status on the part of the Province of Bukidnon in terms of implementing the devolution requirements on environment services and biodiversity protectionrelated services, which means the LGU has evident and developed 60-79% capacity in implementing the devolution requirements. LOW CAPACITY status on the part of Cities means LGU has basic and limited or 20-39% capacity in implementing the devolution requirements. NO CAPACITY status on the part of Municipalities means the LGU has very little to no or 0 - 19% capacity in implementing devolution requirements. Programs, activities, and projects which fall under the pillar of competencies call for prioritization. In the full implementation of the devolution of functions, indicative capacity development priorities in the Province of Bukidnon focus more on the prioritization of capacity development interventions under the capacity pillar on competencies followed by management systems, structure, and enabling policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decision makers often cite data quality as a limitation in environmental management. Value of information approaches evaluate the benefit of new data collection for management outcomes. Pesticide exposure risk assessment for endangered species is one context where data limitations may affect decisions and a value of information type approach could be useful for identifying optimal data quality and resolution. Under the U.S. Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for registering pesticides before they can be sold and regularly reviewing pesticides. Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act requires that the EPA consider potential impacts of pesticides to listed endangered species and critical habitats in this process, and for the Services—U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service—to complete a formal Section 7 consultation if the EPA deems it necessary. The current process is time‐intensive, lacks transparency and confidence among stakeholders, and leaves hundreds of unreviewed pesticides on the market. Increasing the resolution of pesticide usage data could address these concerns by improving estimated overlaps between species ranges and pesticide usage. Thus, we evaluated the relative importance of different resolutions of pesticide usage data for assessing expected carbaryl exposure to endangered plant species endemic to California. We found that spatially explicit, township resolution usage data (~36 mile2) excluded 33% of terrestrial plants (55/168) and 51% their critical habitats (27/53) from requiring a Section 7 consultation, while coarser resolution data excluded none. In contrast, the EPA's biological evaluation for carbaryl only excludes 4% of terrestrial plants (nationally) from requiring formal Section 7 consultation. This suggests high‐resolution data could increase pesticide review efficiency and decrease the amount of time pesticides remain on the market without a formal evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In environmental governance, participatory modes of political decision-making and planning are becoming more prevalent. A rationalist model of governance would assume that instrumental rationales prevail in choosing participatory process designs. Some argue, however, that public policy-makers also follow administrative or governance 'culture'. The concept of participatory governance culture assumes that historically grown institutional traditions, rationales and routines predetermine administrative practice. This paper empirically maps whether differences in participatory approaches can be explained by variation in participatory governance cultures. We study participatory governance in implementing the participatory provisions of three EU environmental directives in German federal states. Results indicate that although statutory requirements play a role in implementation process design, state-specific patterns can be observed. Studying participatory governance cultures seems viable to (1) enrich the theory of participatory planning through greater attention to governance cultures and to (2) offer an explanatory model on variation in implementation processes within one policy field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Recent research on mosquito vector‐borne diseases points to the possibility for a re‐emergence of yellow fever. This study investigated attempts at utilising environmental methods and their efficacy for the control of yellow fever and its main vector, Aedes aegypti. Methods: Potentially eligible studies were searched in Cochrane Library (Reviews and Trials), the Global Index Medicus (encompassing thus the African Index Medicus, the Index Medicus for the Eastern Mediterranean Region, the Index Medicus for the South‐East Asia Region, the Latin America and the Caribbean Literature on Health Sciences and the Western Pacific Region Index Medicus), Google Scholar, PubMed and Science Direct. Results: Of a total number of 172 eligible studies, 20 met the pre‐defined inclusion criteria. Two of them provided quantitative assessment on the efficacy of the described water management and house screening methods with a reduction of cases of 98%, and of a reduction of larvae of 100%, respectively. The remaining 18 studies described or recommended the elimination of breeding sites (through water or waste management, unspecified, or house destruction), the use of screens for houses and the improvement of air circulation without providing any data to evidence control effectiveness. Conclusion: This systematic review provides evidence on the historical use and the perceived effectiveness of environmental management methods for combatting yellow fever. However, these methods would benefit from further investigation via controlled trials to provide data for efficacy, costs, acceptability and feasibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Worldwide, floodplains have been alienated from river channels for flood protection and water resource development, but several recent programs have restored connectivity, generating considerable ecological and , socio-economic benefits. In Australia, under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, water purchased from irrigators is used to restore wetlands. Maximising ecological benefits with limited water requires constraints relaxation, whereby high flow volumes for ecologically effective floods are released from headwater dams and allowed to flood public and private land en route to wetlands downstream, requiring infrastructure works and rights to inundate private land. We examined five focal areas in the Basin Constraints Management Strategy to determine ecosystem services benefits generated by floods on land between dams and target wetlands We found multiple examples where significant co-benefits could be realised but had not been identified. Accordingly, the assessment of costs and benefits was primarily focussed on costs. We categorised ecosystem services for each focal area as of low, medium or high importance andassigned monetary values where possible. Regulating and cultural services, rather than provisioning services, ranked highest across all focus areas, including groundwater recharge, regulation of riparian habitat quality, aesthetic appreciation, recreation and tourism, Indigenous and community values. The business cases seek to maximise costs and thus the transfer of public funds in compensation to landholders. However, there are important public policy considerations of equity, accountability and transparency, including proof of damage prior to compensation, as well as offsetting losses against ecosystem services benefits. We consider that an ecosystem services approach could greatly improve acceptance of constraints relaxation amongst landholders and the development of novel policy options and instruments that can help advance the implementation of the Basin Plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to report an interview of Professor Lúcio José Sobral da Cunha (University of Coimbra) to Professor Jorge Luís de Oliveira Pinto Filho (UFERSA) on the contemporary environmental issue and the role of the University in this debate. For this, the interview was conducted in Coimbra, Portugal during a Post Doctoral Internship of Professor Jorge Pinto Filho under the guidance of Professor Lúcio Cunha. Initially, it addressed the following aspects: environmental and society relations; the environmental crisis; environmental debates; environmental policies and; the dimensions of environmental management and its operationalization. Later, he praised the themes: multidisciplinary research; the role of the university in the 21st century and; emerging university and regional development. Therefore, the interview showed the contemporary environmental issue and the role of the University in this debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest restoration is currently a primary objective in environmental management policies at a global scale, to the extent that impressive initiatives and commitments have been launched to plant billions of trees. However, resources are limited and the success of any restoration effort should be maximized. Thus, restoration programs should seek to guarantee that what is planted today will become an adult tree in the future, a simple fact that, however, usually receives little attention. Here, we advocate for the need to focus restoration efforts on an individual plant level to increase establishment success while reducing negative side effects by using an approach that we term "precision forest restoration" (PFR). The objective of PFR will be to ensure that planted seedlings or sowed seeds will become adult trees with the appropriate landscape configuration to create functional and self‐regulating forest ecosystems while reducing the negative impacts of traditional massive reforestation actions. PFR can take advantage of ecological knowledge together with technologies and methodologies from the landscape scale to the individual‐plant scale, and from the more traditional, low‐tech approaches to the latest high‐tech ones. PFR may be more expensive at the level of individual plants, but will be more cost‐effective in the long term if it allows for the creation of resilient forests able to provide multiple ecosystem services. PFR was not feasible a few years ago due to the high cost and low precision of the available technologies, but it is currently an alternative that might reformulate a wide spectrum of ecosystem restoration activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How did New York City's climate politics change after Hurricane Sandy, and why? Prevailing accounts of extreme weather's impact on climate politics draw on survey data and characterize climate policy in vague terms. However, weather does not do the work of politics; the specifics of climate policy matter. I develop a relational sociological approach focused on mobilized actors, political economy, and event theory. Drawing on interviews and document analysis, I show how senior disaster officials, New York's Mayor Bloomberg and his Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability, community groups and Occupy Sandy activists responded to Hurricane Sandy. Actors maintained outlooks and practices consistent with their position in the city's power relations. This selective continuity shifted New York's climate policy from decarbonization-focused tentative cosmopolitanism to adaptation-focused defensive parochialism. I term this convergent prioritization of adaptation a 'fortress of solitude' social logic. Only subsequent events explain New York's 2019 low-carbon legislation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adaptation to impacts of climate change is a key pillar of climate change policy, and local governments have historically played a major role in the design and implementation of these policies. An array of political, economic, institutional, social, and individual factors influence adaptation policy instrument choice. At the local government level, these choices also reflect inter-governmental dynamics that can constrain or support local efforts. We analyze eight hypothesized drivers of local adaptation policy instrument choice using fractional regression analysis and multilevel modelling. Local governments are pursuing diverse adaptation policy implementation styles that are associated with different levels of internal capacity, local political economies and problem perception. Dependence on national governments, the presence or absence of national adaptation mandates, national decision-making traditions, and national adaptation policy approaches may also influence local policy instrument choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research consistently finds a relatively weak relationship between environmental concern and pro-environmental behavior, as environmentally concerned individuals often fail to act pro-environmentally, both in the private and public spheres. While the strength of the concern–behavior relationship varies considerably across countries, existing research has yet to provide a complete account of these cross-national differences. In this study, we add to previous cross-national research on the concern–behavior relationship by focusing on the quality of government. Using multilevel analysis and data from the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP), we demonstrate that people who are environmentally concerned are more likely to act pro-environmentally (in the public sphere), in countries where government institutions are fair, effective and impartial. We also find that people are generally more likely to engage in pro-environmental behavior in both the private and public sphere in countries where the quality of government is high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Article posits, first, that resilience theory offers important insights into our understanding of wicked problems and, second, that to understand the value of resilience theory to wicked problems, we should start by going back to the context of Rittel's and Webber's 1973 delineation of the ten characteristics of a "wicked problem." Rittel and Webber were in fact among the vanguard of researchers beginning to articulate the realization that social and ecological systems--now social-ecological systems ("SESs")--do not follow the predictable and mechanistic rules of Newtonian physics. As a result, SESs do not yield, at least not over the long term, to engineering-based "solutions" designed to satisfy contemporary priorities and desires. Instead, like resilience theorists, although lacking resilience theory's vocabulary, Rittel and Webber acknowledged that change is the norm for both social and ecological systems and that the realities of complex adaptive social-ecological systems make "once and done" planning and management impossible. In rereading Rittel and Webber almost fifty years later, however, it becomes useful to pull apart the blending of social capriciousness and ecological panarchy that together, for them, added up to "wickedness" in social problem solving. Social capriciousness--the fact that social priorities and desires can both evolve over time and flip in response to political events such as elections--has become the far more accepted component of "wickedness"; few anymore expect social "solutions" to persist indefinitely. However, that same acceptance of continual, often unpredictable, change has not yet translated to the ecological side of wicked problems--which is precisely why resilience theory can help twenty-first-century citizens to formulate more productive approaches to those problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the twenty-first century, our planet is facing a period of rapid and fundamental change resulting from human domination so extensive it is expected to be visible in the geologic record. The accelerating rate of change compounds the global social-ecological challenges already deemed "wicked" due to conflicting goals and scientific uncertainty. Understanding how connected natural and human systems respond to change is essential to understanding the governance required to navigate these modern wicked problems. This Article views change through the lens of complexity and resilience theories to inform the challenges of governance in a world dominated by such massive and relentless disruption. The new theories of governance discussed in this Article have been developed through empirical observation of emerging governance innovation to fill governance gaps that have opened with the increasing complexity of society. Among them, adaptive governance has been described as emerging in environmental governance and described in the resilience literature as a promising means to manage modern wicked problems. Adaptive governance is observed to emerge, and does so, in situations of conflict with high uncertainty in environmental management outcomes. This Article contributes to the development of adaptive governance theory by articulating and situating the role of formal law and government as the facilitator, but not central controller, of adaptive governance. To advance the understanding of adaptive governance, we argue that it can be understood in the broader context of scholarship covering the observed emergence of new governance, the efforts to develop theoretical understandings through decentered theory, and the refinement of constitutional understanding through democratic experimentalism. Synthesis of these three themes in turn informs the role of law and government in working with emergent governance responses to complexity to manage change and wicked problems. This inter- and transdisciplinary exercise reveals that the role of law and government in adaptive governance is to leave space for local innovation and private governance. Law and government must provide the catalyzation, facilitation, steering, and oversight essential for public and private institutions to respond at the rate and complexity of change in large-scale social-ecological systems, and they must do so while advancing good governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India does not have an appropriate policy framework for the ASM sector. For the most part it is neglected, with several artisanal mines and activities even labelled "illegal". The neglect, coupled with criminalization, creates barriers for an effective environmental management strategy. The complex legal framework for mineral ownership, mining and environmental regulation, bring with them another set of challenges. This paper examines in detail the environmental regulatory framework for ASM. I also unpack the assumptions informing the environmental regulatory framework, arguing that they primarily inform the medium and large- scale mining (LSM) sector without being tailor made for the needs of the ASM sector. I argue this in the context of India, attempting to point out the specific challenges for the ASM sector and the possible ways forward in rethinking the framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present article is part of a wider investigation of private environmental management systems, conducted as part of the doctoral research. The perspective of the private sector managers on the role of the voluntary management systems was left unpublished at the time, and for the purposes of publication of these research conclusions, the interviewed managers were kindly asked to review their initial statements. A few minor completions were made, the major conclusions of the study remained, and were synthesised for the purposes of a short and comprehensive first-hand inverstigation of the role of the voluntary environmental management systems as they are perceived and understood by the managers implementing them. The relevance of such an investigation into the rationales for private environmental policies is very high, given the recent prioritization of green investments from the EU recovery funds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientists devote substantial time and resources to research intended to help solve environmental problems. Environmental managers and policymakers must decide how to use the best available research evidence to prioritize actions leading to desired environmental outcomes. Yet decision‐makers can face barriers to using scientific evidence to inform action. They may be unaware of the evidence, lack access to it, not understand it, or view it as irrelevant. These barriers mean a valuable resource (evidence) is underused. We outline a set of practical steps for scientists who want to improve the impact their research has on decision‐making: (a) identify and understand the audience; (b) clarify the need for evidence; (c) gather "just enough" evidence; and (d) share and discuss the evidence. These are guidelines, not a strict recipe for success. But, we believe that regularly following these recommendations should increase the chance of scientific evidence being considered and used in environmental decision‐making. Our goal is for this article to be accessible to anyone, rather than a comprehensive review of the topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study has been developed in two phases; the first was aimed at establishing the basis for the design of an environmental management system whose initial strategy was to observe the responsible performance of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) providing food services on the coast of the municipality of La Libertad. In this phase, the results of the systematic observation of the environment in which these business units perform were presented. A tour from San Diego Beach, through the touristic place (named Malecón), to San Blas Beach, was carried out in order to justify the strategy of how to deal with the environmental issue in tourism and incorporate the foundations of a Preventive Environmental Management System (SGAP) for SMEs under study. This Report corresponds to the Second Phase that complements the Proposal and contains the detail of the components to be added for its implementation. It includes the description of the strategy, the initial actions and the procedures. Such a proposal is based on the presentation of the design and content of the territorial diagnostic research in SMEs. A Continuous Training Course is also justified for the personnel of these establishments. The detailed sequential diagram to be followed for the development of the SGAP is presented, and municipal management as the system's driver is highlighted. In the configuration of the System, the definition of the Local Environmental Policy appears as a fundamental element. For this, the bases and guidelines that formulate it together with the management instruments are presented. In order to operationalize the new trends for quality tourism markets, what must be included in a Manual of Good Environmental Practices is presented. The Proposal constitutes a technical and responsible option for the management of resources for the sustainability of the tourist activity of the municipality, constituting a model to be replicated in other municipal coastal territories of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the global and long-term nature of the cause of environmental protection, the precautionary principle retains its topically, despite the fact that it was originally formulated about five decades ago. Like the majority of principles, this one too stands attractive but is also rather general. The article is an attempt at analysing specifically its practical realization following the example of the GMO environmental policy in the EU and Bulgaria, and their built-in aspects of effectiveness and justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Country Strategy Papers provide comprehensive development and achievement of the 2030 goals, where inclusive growth is a priority for environmental policy and a vector for shaping sustainable European environmental values in society and bringing legislation in line with international standards. The main stages of development of inclusive growth show that only in the conditions of socio-ecological and economic-political inclusion can the state enter the world arena. Renewal and strengthening country positions on inclusion basing is the way of achievement grounded "from below-up" cooperation between authorities, business and society. The development of environmental management, as economic indicator of country prosperity, requires more effective state control, from the process of extracting natural resources for entrepreneurial activities and procedures to conserve resources for future generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across many social–ecological systems, policy makers and scholars increasingly call for science to inform policy. The science–policy interface becomes especially complex as collaborative approaches include multiple stakeholders working together across jurisdictions. Unfortunately little is known about how much and how science is used in collaborative governance for social–ecological systems. This exploratory study examines instrumental, conceptual, and symbolic use of science in a science‐rich collaborative planning case in the Puget Sound, USA. It also examines the influence of science, relative to other factors, in collaborative planning, and what factors affect it. Results from a survey and document analysis indicate the prevalence of conceptual use of science, with relatively little symbolic use. Some factors promoting conceptual and instrumental use discourage symbolic use. Overall, while science is seen as influential in this science‐rich context, its influence is balanced by local stakeholder preferences and contextual information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to calls from previous scholarship for further bottom‐up examination of local government roles in environmental policy, the authors revisit local air agencies to examine two separate phenomena occurring in environmental federalism: one from the top down (second‐order devolution) and one from the bottom up (local activism). Using survey data from local air agencies on devolved authorities to set air quality standards and to enforce federal and/or state standards, the authors identify three different types of local agencies: state administrative subunits (only enforcement authority), fully devolved agencies (authority to both set and enforce standards), and activist agencies (neither authority). Further findings indicate that state administrative subunits and fully devolved agencies are likely functions of second‐order devolution, while activist agencies are likely functions of local activism. Conclusions suggest that both top‐down and bottom‐up approaches to environmental federalism are shaping local government roles in environmental management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay analyzes an important but understudied trend in rural America: the repurposing of agricultural lands and waters for the purposes of environmental conservation and ecological restoration. As shown by ethnographic research in a mostly‐drained agricultural region of the Florida Everglades, which is centered on the proposed buyout of a large agricultural corporation for restoration purposes, this transformation is as much a social and cultural project as it is a political‐economic one. The environmentalization of agriculture is a rural American story that is only beginning to be told. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A European Union (EU) membership perspective is important for Turkey's harmonization with EU standards, which could have positive outcomes especially in the area of smart environmental management. However, as recent political developments suggest, Turkey is losing hope of full EU membership, and is searching for alternatives, such as privileged partnership. Active contributions of city-level good practices are urgently needed. Policy learning is a part of this process, and an emergent result of ever-changing negotiations involving a multiplicity of actors at the multi-level perspective (MLP). The present study investigates the glocal environmental policy of Izmir, via a review of recent governmental environmentally sensitive local innovative practices. The findings reveal that innovative environments that increase learning-by-doing and learning-by-using will become critical for environmental policy learning in Izmir and perhaps beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental licensing is a command-and-control (C&C) instrument used at the state level in Brazil to enforce compliance with legal requirements and environmental standards; however, it does not encourage continuous improvement. The objective of this paper is to propose a methodology that can be used as a licensing and monitoring policy for industrial activities, based on both command and control and economic instruments. Therefore, the development of a matrix to measure the environmental performance of companies is proposed so as to include mandatory compliance requirements, environmental management requirements and continuous improvement indicators. Performance assessment could be used by the environmental agency as a tool to support environmental management policy change by working with environmental incentives for better-performing companies. The results obtained with the matrix will demonstrate exactly what the theory describes: in an environment where the control imposed to the entrepreneur is by the attendance of a legislative standard and not the demonstration of continuous improvement, there is no evolution of the environmental performance over the 3-year period of the companies. Consequently, the inclusion of a tool to assess environmental performance constitutes a requirement for the environmental evolution of the country. • Development of a matrix for the use of environmental management in licensing. • Licensing is an instrument of command and control. • The matrix makes it possible to apply economic instruments. • Improvement environmental performance for enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meta-regression models (MRMs) are commonly used within benefit transfer to estimate willingness to pay for environmental quality improvements. In virtually all benefit transfers of this type, a single regression model is fit to all source points in the metadata, and used to produce out-of-sample predictions for all possible policy-site applications. Despite the advantages of this approach over other types of benefit transfer, the predictive accuracy of these MRMs generally leaves room for improvement. In this paper we propose a locally-weighted regression approach to MRM estimation to enhance the accuracy of benefit transfer predictions in an environmental valuation context. We introduce the concept of locally-weighted meta-regression, provide econometric underpinnings, and discuss the construction of weight functions. We illustrate the use of cross-validation to decide between weight functions, and show how this framework can be applied in an actual benefit transfer setting. For our empirical application on willingness-to-pay for water quality improvements, we find that the proposed approach brings substantial gains in predictive accuracy in a leave-one-out setting, and measurable improvements in predictive efficiency for benefit transfer. • Semi-parametric estimation. • Bayesian modeling and methods. • Improved accuracy and efficiency for benefit transfer. • Water quality changes through environmental policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Protected Natural Areas emerged from politicalenvironmental conservation proposals, however, the diffuse information about their categorization and territorial delimitation forces us to articulate the social aspect to deepen the cultural management of a Natural Protected Area (ANP) included in the center of Mexico. This is a highly industrialized place with one of the highest rates of population growth nationwide. The question is: What is the environmental scope of the participatory models in the management of natural resources in a Natural Protected Area of a water area in the State of Mexico? The different practices and discourses of the current beneficiaries are distinguished. We expect to provide some cultural patterns that support current and future environmental conservation policies, but we also believe that it is imperative to instruct those involved in these ecosystems regarding cultural management prior to environmental management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The achievement of international goals and national commitments related to forest conservation and management, climate change, and sustainable development requires credible, accurate, and reliable monitoring of stocks and changes in forest biomass and carbon. Most prominently, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals in particular require data on biomass to monitor progress. Unprecedented opportunities to provide forest biomass data are created by a series of upcoming space-based missions, many of which provide open data targeted at large areas and better spatial resolution biomass monitoring than has previously been achieved. We assess various policy needs for biomass data and recommend a long-term collaborative effort among forest biomass data producers and users to meet these needs. A gap remains, however, between what can be achieved in the research domain and what is required to support policy making and meet reporting requirements. There is no single biomass dataset that serves all users in terms of definition and type of biomass measurement, geographic area, and uncertainty requirements, and whether there is need for the most recent up-to-date biomass estimate or a long-term biomass trend. The research and user communities should embrace the potential strength of the multitude of upcoming missions in combination to provide for these varying needs and to ensure continuity for long-term data provision which one-off research missions cannot provide. International coordination bodies such as Global Forest Observations Initiative (GFOI), Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS), and Global Observation of Forest Cover and Land Dynamics (GOFC‐GOLD) will be integral in addressing these issues in a way that fulfils these needs in a timely fashion. Further coordination work should particularly look into how space-based data can be better linked with field reference data sources such as forest plot networks, and there is also a need to ensure that reference data cover a range of forest types, management regimes, and disturbance regimes worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Gold mining has for several decades contributed to the socio-economic development of many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, but it has also caused considerable environmental damage and human health concerns in mining communities. However, despite the extensive proliferation of policies and programs aimed at addressing the adverse environmental impact of mining, limited attention has so far been paid to identifying what might constitute environmental policy best practices across Sub-Saharan Africa's gold mining sector. To address this gap, this paper undertakes a systematic literature review of environmental policy measures and considers its broader implications for sustainable development in the context of gold mining in Sub-Saharan Africa. Of the 1,217 papers retrieved from the databases, 22 met the inclusion criteria and are included in evidence synthesis. Based on an in-depth analysis, we find that there are tensions and consensus in the environmental policy literature. However, extant works remain fragmented, uneven, and not systematically integrated. This perhaps might explain the difficulty in trying to develop and institutionalize best practices within the gold mining industry in Sub-Saharan Africa. As a result, we propose an integrated conceptual model that lays a foundation for possible environmental policy best practices within the mining industry in developing countries. The paper concludes by identifying specific theoretical and practical implications of the study and suggests possible avenues for future research. Highlights • Gold mining has contributed to the socio-economic development of many countries. • However, it has also caused considerable environmental damage. • This study explored evidence of environmental policy best practices. • We found that there are tensions and contradictions in the literature. • We propose an integrated conceptual model of environmental policy best practices. • We conclude by considering the theoretical and practical implications of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Maximising opportunities to unlock the potential of national pollution datasets may provide the catalyst to increase transparency of pollution data, foster better communication between government agencies and industry pollutant emitters, and ultimately result in a more effective cleaner production program. In many countries, pollution data is required to be collected and reported under national Pollutant and Transfer Registers (PRTRs), which are becoming established environmental policy tools across the world. This study considers the Australian PRTR experience, by examining data use of its National Pollutant Inventory (NPI). Australian government and industry stakeholders were surveyed (n = 132) about their application of national pollution data, and their views towards potential improvements. The results indicated that government employees and researchers primarily used the inventory to obtain information about pollution, conduct research or to develop and review environmental policies and programs. However it was clear that, due to current limitations with the inventory, its use has not been fully maximised to inform environmental management or for research purposes. Stakeholders called for changes to more robust and nationally consistent emission estimation methods, and increased comprehensiveness, along with a requirement to incorporate international best practice with regards to emission inventories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • A structured approach for determining the relevancy of management objectives. • Central objectives to evaluate the success of Swiss river widenings were identified. • The approach is applicable to a wide range of management domains. • Relevancy analysis supports problem structuring in Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis. Abstract Environmental monitoring covers many different management domains. They range from biodiversity conservation to water protection, natural hazard prevention, impact assessment, resource use, or environmental restoration. The need for clear objectives has long been emphasized in the management literature, but has often received only little attention in monitoring design. This is partly due to the lack of systematic approaches for setting objectives. In this paper, we present a formal approach based on Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA), namely relevancy analysis, to prioritize management objectives. We demonstrate its use for a river restoration monitoring program in Switzerland comprising 35 physical and biological objectives. The relevancy of an objective is based on two main components, the general importance of the objective, and the problem-specific impact range. The general importance of an objective is used to identify the most important management objectives from a hierarchy within the national program (i.e. objectives to be monitored). The impact range is used to understand which management objectives are more important to monitor for different river restoration measures (i.e. sub-selection of the objectives specifically for the restoration measure). The general importance of a management objective was determined based on the frequency an objective is mentioned in selected policy documents, and the legislative power and temporal persistency of each document. The impact ranges were identified from a questionnaire involving 15 Swiss river restoration professionals. Hereby, we assumed that the impact range increases as the anticipated impact of the restoration measure on a specific management objective increases, and as the uncertainty to anticipate this impact increases. For simplicity, we applied the approach only to one restoration measure, namely river widening. Six management objectives scored high in relevancy in terms of both impact range and general importance – channel structure and diversity, structure and diversity of the banks and floodplains, sediment dynamics, longitudinal connectivity, lateral connectivity, and vertical connectivity. Hence, these objectives are both important national objectives for river monitoring (according to the legislation) and are objectives that are potentially highly impacted by a river widening project. We performed sensitivity analyses related to the calculation of the general importance, the impact range, and the relevancy of the objectives. The practice-oriented approach can be transferred to a broad diversity of decision situations where there is a need for systematic evaluation of the importance of objectives. It could be a useful tool for social learning and finding group consensus about the priority of the objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]