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A fashionable field of enquiry - the relationship between expressed attitudes and actual behaviour in the context of sustainable development - is complex (Staats et al. 2004) and difficult to apply in a policy-relevant manner (Aall and Norland 2005). However, recent research indicates that the use of a household diary can be beneficial in helping to quantify household environmental impact, in educating householders about their impact, and in identifying major 'behavioural turning points', where householders may focus efforts to reduce their environmental impact (Hunter et al. 2006). In other words, the use of a diary by householders is a potentially powerful tool in encouraging and facilitating desired behavioural change. This paper reports on the initial findings of an innovative study that assessed the use of a household diary approach as a means of framing and collecting household environmental data and, critically, as an educational vehicle for bringing about behavioural change. Based on the initial findings, it is clear that there is some potential to develop practical policy measures that empower householders by allowing them to better grasp their environmental impact and, consequently, recoup positive implications in terms of financial savings (e.g. reducing the amount of food thrown out) and health benefits (e.g. more walking/cycling). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to convey an image of the way in which sustainable development objectives have been undertaken and pursued by the former Communist bloc countries (Romania and its neighbors), over the last 20 years. The paper draws on studies that compare data from a series of countries and on its underlying project - Romania, towards a sustainable society (May 2008). By comparing the scores for these countries, obtained through a secondary analysis of data, the hypothesis that the situation in these countries is quite homogenous, as they have continued to be undermined by their similar communist past, was confirmed. We believe that these countries have understood the need for sustainable development, but they still lack the means to achieve it, as they are still trying to meet more severe challenges and priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do environmental and social aspects of the built environment interact? This question is studied in an evaluation of 10 multidimensional regeneration projects, i.e. addressing social and environmental issues, of Swedish housing areas from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The evaluation design was inspired by the case study evaluation method, based on rich empirical material consisting of an environmental matrix, statistical data on the housing areas, interviews with tenants and employees, and a smaller mass media study. For the analysis, the multidimensional evaluation tool maintetra was applied, resulting in the identification of two themes: social exclusion and organisational learning. The evaluation points to the need to really link environmental and social aspects to gain long-lasting effects and to attain a comprehensive picture. The results overshadow optimistic confidence in the notion that holistic “environmental refurbishment projects”, even if to some extent addressing social aspects, will directly contribute to sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the factors involved in establishing a legal framework for regulating sustainable development in Central Asia. As most environmental problems are not limited by national boundaries, international cooperation is required. Widespread political support for such cooperation has been expressed at the highest levels of government. Certain areas of Central Asia which face environmental difficulties are specified, including the Aral Sea Basin, Amu Darya rivers and the many regions threatened by desertification.

Even though sustainable development has been broadly debated, the clean development mechanism (CDM) still lacks sophisticated multi-criteria decision methods for identifying, selecting and assessing CDM project activities from this perspective. Bearing in mind the huge number of CDM projects that are beginning to accumulate as the carbon market gains momentum, and the importance for non-Annex I Parties to keep focused on the sustainability objective, this article aims at developing a tool for prioritizing — within a given group, and once a specific list of sustainable development criteria is agreed upon and given — proposed CDM projects from this sustainable development point of view. We reached the following conclusions: (1) it is important to make a conscious choice of an appropriate way to normalize the sustainability performance data of CDM projects; (2) it is important to make a conscious choice of how to aggregate across multiple attributes; (3) in contrast with conventional multi-criteria assessments, which elicit preferences from a stakeholder panel, preference optimization infers from CDM projects' performance data an optimal set of weights that proponents would choose in order to win a competitive selection process. Such preference optimization methods (a) yield sensible results, simulating a range of decision circumstances, (b) avoid conflict and convey impartiality in situations where competing project proponents are likely to clash over objectionable weightings, (c) avoid cognitive overload when the number of CDM projects and/or indicators is overwhelmingly large, and (d) circumvent time-consuming and costly interviews and surveys. From a policy perspective, the multi-criteria assessment described here can be a powerful tool for prioritizing CDM projects (1) when there is a limited amount of grant funding to certain CDM project candidates, and (2) when the decision-making process incorporates the CDM objective of promoting sustainable development, in addition to the objective of helping developed countries to meet part of their reduction obligations as specified in Annex I of the Protocol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UK is reportedly an international leader in the application of environmental policy appraisal (EPA). From the late 1980s until 2004, UK central government sought to produce ex ante assessments of the potential environmental impacts of different policy options. Critics maintain that EPA had a very limited impact on policy-making activities in Whitehall departments. However, the empirical basis for these claims is surprisingly thin. This paper seeks to better understand what facilitated or retarded EPA by looking at its use in Whitehall, with the aim being to draw lessons for the UK's new and more integrated appraisal regime, as well as similar systems in the European Union. The paper finds that the implementation of EPA was both weak and highly sectorised, and that there is an underlying resistance to policy appraisal per se in Whitehall. These weaknesses urgently need to be addressed otherwise new systems of integrated appraisal will not deliver what is expected of them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the by-products of the culture of targets, performance and assessment, is the introduction of uniform methods for the evaluation of the success of policy interventions. Such an approach has been applied to attempts to evaluate regional sustainable development, often with unsatisfactory results. This paper reviews some of the fundamental requirements for the evaluation of regional sustainable development and provides research evidence that indicates the need for procedural and institutional innovation. The evidence in support of innovation reflects the need for assessment procedures and methods to be tailored-to-fit the environmental, social and economic conditions obtaining in an individual region. An additional consideration in analysing the evaluation of regional sustainable development is the extent of socio-political influence over the choice of procedures and methodologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents an analysis of the strategies indicated by the U.K. Sustainable Development Commission report. Introduction of 15 headline indicators as the basis for regularly reviewing progress toward sustainability; Recommendations from the SDC report regarding substantial sustainability policy; Challenges associated with developing comprehensive policies and rethinking the economy; Assessment of police and military forces from a sustainability point of view; Identification of different business sectors that the government should establish long-term goals and timetables for change; Implications from the report that the U.K. government must do better by defining ambitious targets and transparent strategies to approach them.

This article assesses the theoretical "strengths" of the new ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (ATHP), which was initially created to prevent, monitor, and mitigate land and forest fires, and eventually, transboundary haze pollution in the Southeast Asian region. Using Pamela Chasek's "Strength Index," the author graded the contents of the ATHP using the various weighting systems for each of the following 12 indexes: secretariat/commission; reporting; reservation; monitoring; non-compliance; inspection; dispute settlement; amendments, protocols, and annexes; performance standards; liability provisions; financial resources and mechanisms; and adoption of protocol within five years. The ATHP obtained no score in those indexes that could have given its Secretariat the power to monitor or inspect the compliance of the Parties and to mete out punishment to stubborn ones. For this reason, it can be branded as a "blind and toothless paper tiger," although one would have expected the involvement of the United Nations Environment Programme in its drafting to produce better results. Compared to a similar regional environmental accord—its European counterpart, the 1979 Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution—the ATHP appears (in theory) to be stronger, but there are lessons to be learned from Europe's more than 20 years of experience with that convention. In the company of 13 other multilateral environmental accords, the ATHP is among the stragglers. The author suggests various compliance and enforcement strategies or techniques to strengthen the ATHP and implementation-related laws and regulations at the regional, national, and sub-national levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development and ecological modernization are the two theoretical frameworks that underlie environmental policy making in industrialized countries. It is especially the theory of ecological modernization that describes recent changes in environmental policy making and assumes a positive-sum game between the economy and the environment. The article critically reflects upon ecological modernization as a basis for current environmental policy and discourse. It uses experiences of a project on environmental supply chain management to explore the implications of ecological modernization on practical environmental policy outcomes. We conclude that sustainable development and ecological modernization must be viewed as ideological and political concepts, at least as much as they are about the relationship between the economy and environment. Therefore, further analyses of environmental policy making must include issues of power and influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with the opportunity of using the ecological footprint as a tool in elaborating and correcting sustainable development plans and strategies in Romania. The authors briefly present the concept and consider it as one of the most appropriate approach of the balance society - natural ressources supply. As the experience of other countries shows up, the use of the ecological footprint at sub-national level (region, department, big urban area) could be a viable way to avoid the over-exploitation of natural resources. A list of potential advantages coming from the implementation of this tool in Romania, at region or county scale is also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on the United Nations Millennium Project and the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment project (MA) introduced for monitering sustainable development in low-income countries. The former project highlights the centrality of environmental management for poverty reduction and general well-being. Each report emphasizes the unsustainability of current trajectory. The goal of the projects is to develop and to promote practical plans for achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals for ending poverty, eradicating hunger, achieving universal primary education, improving health, and restoring a healthy environment. The MA project examined the consequences of ecosystem change for human well-being and analyzed options for conserving ecosystems. The project found that more coherent and bolder poverty reduction strategies could ease environmental stresses by slowing population growth and enabling the poor to invest long term in theft environment. The world scientific community needs to chart an interdisciplinary strategy for sustainable development research, backed by increased funding.