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The Global Pact for the Environment is a proposal for a legally binding international instrument to bring the existing principles of international environmental law together in order to improve environmental protections and achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Global Pact aims at helping States designing and developing the necessary public policies to better achieve their realization of the Sustainable Development Goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has experienced serious environmental problems along with rapid economic development in recent years. Industrial production is the fundamental cause of Chinese environmental problems, while production is mainly managed and governed by local industrial Parks. Currently, Chinese industrial parks have just begun to think about sustainable development, and the demonstrative parks are designated as eco-industrial parks (EIPs); however, the EIPs' development strategies and targets are still vague and lack scientific guidance. Therefore, an optimal decision making approach can support EIPs to address environment problems and achieve regional economic development. This study provides an integrated approach to assess the multiple impacts of EIP development strategies and propose optimization planning by using a case study in Wuhu EIP. The initially constructed decision-making model systemically integrates the dynamic model of the Environment-Economic-Energy (3Es) system and an input-output model; then, the model is established and simulated using a linear optimization method. An optimal development strategy can be put forward by analysing scenarios for the Wuhu EIP. Based on the findings of this study, there are several substantial opportunities to further relieve energy pressure, improve the environment, and support socioeconomic activities, such as promotion of clean production and subsidies for technological improvements and changing the industrial structure. Additionally, adopting total environmental quantity constraints rather than intensity constraints is an urgent need in EIP planning. This study provides an applicable and feasible decision-making basis for the development of sustainable industrial parks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public participation in environmental impact assessment is recognised as key to sustainable development. However, its role in public projects in China remains limited. The issue of non-participation is explored by focusing on the attitude and capacity of the citizens who experienced the Wuhan-Guangzhou High Speed Railway project through interviews and field surveys in multiple geographical sites along the line. Passive attitudes and low capacity were observed. While some respondents considered participation in government-owned projects unthinkable, most of them were discouraged by the absence of a sense of security and significance. Institutional barriers identified include a lack of participation channels and project information and the absence of transparent and proper processes of handling social impacts. Policy suggestions beyond the regulatory realm to encourage effective public participation are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: China's policymakers are being forced to balance socioeconomic development with the need for environmental protection. In this paper, we have briefly discussed the main characteristics of the environmental problems that China will face in the 21st century and the challenges that must be met in order to develop policies that will support environmental management. As our discussion in this paper shows, the negative effects of China's economic development on its environment will continue to rise for some time, despite strong efforts to reverse the situation. It will also be necessary to change China's resource-intensive mode of economic development, change the economic development philosophy to one in which controlling pollution is as important as economic development, and raise public awareness of the need for environmental protection. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Overall environment has witnessed an intense process of degradation due to both increasing the numbers of population and to resource consumption. The importance of the environment has determined and mobilized the adoption of different sets of measures and means to reduce the negative impact on it, that provide the population awareness and the reducing of pollution. A sustainable development orientation is the best solution that ensures the protection of the environment and the well-being of present and future generations on a global basis, awarding special attention, taking into account that the environment constitutes a vital element of existence and development of any type of activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development and sustainability have been key terms in environmental thought and practice since the time of the Brundtland Report. Because of being firmly situated in the humanist tradition, these terms and their associated approaches have been appealing to social workers tackling environmental concerns. Given the significant and inexorable changes being wrought by global warming and the lack of similitude between Earth prior to anthropogenic warming and the incipient Eaarth introduced by global warming, examining the continued relevance of the terms sustainable development and sustainability is warranted. This chapter explores these terms in the context of climate change and points toward a responsibility approach based on environmental and social justice principles consistent with social work strengths and values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development needs to be tackled at different levels of governance. An important role is put aside for subnational entities (such as provinces, states or regions), because of their often large implementation responsibilities. Sustainable development is to a large extent decided in multilateral organizations, such as the UN, the OECD or the EU. Yet unlike nation-states, subnational governments are not formally bound by international commitments. This article uses the concept of transnational communication as a perspective to examine the extent to which international policy and decision-making resonates at the subnational level. Building on the tradition of policy convergence studies, theoretical and methodological refinements are made to explore how the concept can be applied to sustainable development and to subnational governments. Subsequently, the results are presented of a comparative analysis investigating how international initiatives have triggered and shaped sustainable development policies in Quebec (Canada), North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany) and Flanders (Belgium). The findings suggest that international events play a key role in triggering sustainable development policies at the subnational level, but that their impact on policy content is not uniform. It is also stated that political will is needed for sustainable development initiatives to gain ground and that the presence of a strong identity determines whether or not subnational governments are receptive to international influences. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper reports on the results of a study of the relationship between the nonprofit sector and the pursuit of sustainability in 13 moderate sized US cities with populations between 400,000 and 600,000. Dividing the cities into two groups - those that have been more serious and less serious about adopting and implementing sustainability policies, analysis of a survey of local public officials examines differences in the nonprofit landscape. Analysis shows that the cities that are more serious about sustainability have local public officials who interact more with nonprofit organisations, and are more likely to report the presence of at least one nonprofit group that supports city sustainability policies. Additionally, these reported groups are more likely to be “local”, or homegrown, and to be explicitly dedicated to the environment or sustainability. While far from definitive, the results provide evidence that the nonprofit sector is different in cities with sustainability policies, and suggest that the role of these nonprofit groups in the governance decisions of city leaders warrants more in-depth study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present article is to present and illustrate two different ways of analysing the normativity and discursivity of classroom communication during education for sustainable development (ESD). The two types of analysis can provide important knowledge for discussions of ESD in relation to morals and democracy. Both methods are based on pragmatism and the later works of Wittgenstein. The first approach was developed to examine the relationship between cultural and psychological processes in environmental ethical meaning-making. It draws on the endeavours of sociocultural research and cultural psychology to take the individual into account, or in other words, the intra-personal dimension of meaning-making, which is not usually the case in the analysis of ESD. The second method relates to the normativity of ESD. Dewey refers to the apparently implicit socialisation taking place during education as 'collateral learning'. We refer to the content included in subsidiary forms of learning as companion meaning, which either follows on automatically when teaching knowledge content, or becomes collateral learning when one learns scientific meanings. Such meanings can, for example, be concerned with the nature of knowledge and people's relations to nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

Sustainability has emerged as a new challenge before the entire humanity. The challenge before us is to reduce disparity through capacity building and providing the poor and dispossessed access to the knowledge and resources needed for meaningful life. Sustainability, in a general sense is the capacity to maintain a certain state or process continuous or indefinite. In the context of development, sustainability means progress without compromising with the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Sustainable development is a long-term process, a continuous process and it cannot be achieved in the short turn. For India, the concept of environmental conservation and sustainable development is not a new one. India has taken an active part in global efforts to tackle environmental problems. A number of laws have been constituted by the Indian Government to combat with the increasing environmental problems. No doubt Indian Judiciary is playing active role in implementing the doctrine of sustainable development, but only a handful of people are legally aware of the environmental laws and majority of them are ignorant. Thus only formulating laws will not solve the problems unless the people are made aware of their rights to enjoy and live a wholesome environment. There is a need to mobilize various means and resources. In this progressive effort, one should not forget the important roles of mass-media, N.G.Os, other private bodies, local government and never the least the role of educational institutions. [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]

A discussion is presented of an article by Andrew B. Whitford and Karen Wong, "Political and Social Foundations for Environmental Sustainability," published elsewhere in the same issue. It is noted that the article helps to address the need for social sciences to make greater use of empirical hypothesis testing and quantitative models. However, Whitford and Wong's use of the components of the Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI) as dependent variables is said to be problematic. It is argued that the ESI is not a valid measure of sustainability, and that this detracts from the soundness of Whitford and Wong's conclusions.

This article quantitatively investigates several possible foundations for environmental sustainability, as measured across countries with varying geography, development patterns, social customs, and political arrangements. Two central hypotheses about the roles of democracy and federalism, as well as other hypotheses about economic development, religion, and demographics, are tested. The study provides moderate evidence that sustainability levels depend on democratization, but little evidence that it depends on the presence of federalism. In addition, it is found that the effects of environmental interests, development paths, and religious orientations vary across different measures of sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eco-industrial park (EIP) projects have become more prevalent in China. In order to evaluate the performance of such innovative projects, the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) has set up a new national standard for EIPs, the first of its kind globally. This article examines the applicability and feasibility of the indicator system established in the standard. It first presents the details of this new standard. Then benefits and challenges in the standard's application are analyzed. The analysis shows that the new indicators are eco-efficiency-oriented and do not address the essence of the EIP. In the future, there will be a need to revise this set of indicators by considering the principles of eco-industrial development and local realities in order to ensure that the indicators are indeed used to promote sustainable development of industrial parks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the emergence and transformation of the sustainability discourse in the aftermath of the post-war boom and growth of neoliberalism in Australia. It reflects on the way in which the state of play has evolved in the country. It also assesses whether or not sustainable development is a useful concept for the achievement of ecological sustainability. The way in which the economy-environment problematic was re-conceptualized during the period is analyzed. The article concludes by explaining the influence of the imperatives of capital accumulation on environmental priorities.

The essence of sustainable development is to attain mutual harmony and compromise of three equal values: environment, economy and social society. In order to achieve this goal none of the values should not be made primary over the others and their coexistence should be ensured by proper conditions. Due to the significance of implementation of sustainable development goals various environmental measures are needed which are based not on state enforcement, but on enabling to avoid environmental law violations and encouraging voluntary compliance with the requirements of environmental law. As a consequence, the balance between the environmental, economic and social society goals can be ensured more effectively. The potentially effective measure to ensure compliance with the requirements of environmental law is public disclosure of environmental information and violators of environmental law. The article considers the importance of the concept of public disclosure of environmental information, Lithuanian practice on this issue, and its importance for the purposes of sustainable development. The author also reveals the concept of public disclosure of environmental law violations, analyzes this topic in the context of Lithuania, and its importance for the achievement of sustainable development goals. The mechanism of public disclosure of environmental information enables the society to control legal entities, so that they do not unduly focus solely on their economic goals, thus denying other values to the society. Public disclosure of information on legal entities which have committed environmental law violations and state enforcement measures applied to them encourages legal entities to voluntarily comply with the requirements of environmental law and not to commit environmental law violations. The author concludes that both public disclosure of environmental information and public disclosure of legal entities which have committed environmental law violations and enforcement measures applied to them by the state encourages legal entities to voluntarily abstain from committing environmental law violations and enables to reduce costs of enforcement. If legal entities voluntarily comply with environmental law requirements, the need for control and supervising bureaucracy apparatus decreases and the aims of sustainable development can be achieved more effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) application to city development strategy (CDS) reveals the strategic nature of both instruments and their potential multiplier effect on enhancing synergies for sustainable development. The adequacy of the two strategic tools for a complementary approach to integration towards sustainable development raises an outstanding opportunity to walk the talk in view of enhancing sustainable development. In Vietnam, SEA and CDS are being considered jointly in the context of urban development projects and public administration reform. The main features of the link between SEA and CDS are described in this paper, after introducing the SEA and CDS concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent times, the New Zealand government has publicly strengthened its commitment to combating climate change by adopting a range of strategies, ambitious targets and an emissions trading scheme. Moreover, it has proclaimed an aspiration for New Zealand to become the first 'truly sustainable' country in the world. The article assesses these initiatives and claims against the background of the government's performance with regard to the promotion of sustainable development which, the author argues, has been weak. The measures adopted to combat climate change are largely of a technical and managerial nature and do not address the underlying causes of the wider environmental problematique. Although the policies adopted may help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, they are likely to fall short of the reductions required. Furthermore, on their own, they will not set New Zealand on the path to become a 'truly sustainable' country; following that path is an increasingly difficult task given a globalised economy and the continuing dominance of the belief that infinite economic growth is both desirable and possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article introduces the concept of ecosystem services for a broad scientific readership in South Africa and contends that its attendant research offers a theme for the engagement of a diverse range of scientific disciplines and stakeholders in the development of sustainability science. It then provides an overview of published ecosystem service studies that have dealt with the country, revealing that there were large gaps in the information on these services. Research shows that human activities are contributing to a decline in the quantity and quality of these services. If the potential of research on ecosystem services are to be realized, more direct interaction and development of an interdisciplinary understanding between the different domains of science are required .

This article examines the effect of development assistance programs on Local Agenda 21 (LA21) programs in three municipalities of Thailand. First, the article examines institutional changes in Thailand geared toward decentralization. Second, the article analyzes the effect based on the frameworks of Noda and Ouchi for the level of participation. The results indicate that participation was a top-down participation of local residents who presumed some benefits from the municipality in exchange for their attendance in meetings. Third, the article evaluates the effect in terms of project efficiency. The results show that municipalities conducted most of the actions declared in their LA21 but the sustainability of these actions is questionable. It is contended that LA21 has its limitations as a planning guide for sustainable cities in developing countries. An assistance program should be designed that helps the government of a developing country to institutionalize meaningful involvement for a participatory environmental policy formation. [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.

This article discusses new forms of governance for environmental protection and sustainable development for the 21st Century. According to the authors, the power of the state is shrinking as budget cuts and globalization erode its influence. The state is being supplanted by international hybrid arrangements which emphasize co-management, public, private and social partnerships, markets and communities. These partnerships are active in management of forests, fisheries and water resources. They argue that incentives such as payments for ecosystem services and carbon emissions trading result in voluntary cooperation and greater stakeholder participation.

The article presents the author's view concerning the issue relative to nuclear energy and environmental sustainability. He claims that the need to reassert the paradigm shift in addressing the increasing demands for energy is significant to obtain energy security. He discusses that the topics of sustainability should be included in the nuclear industry's guidelines. He denotes that achieving sustainability require policies that support conserving and recycling the use of renewable energy and resources. Moreover, he emphasizes that proper evaluation depicting the environmental, health and economic impacts of nuclear energy should be determined.

The authors examine the role of integrated appraisal as a tool for promoting sustainable development and good governance, and the potential tensions that may exist between these two objectives. Drawing upon experience in the United Kingdom, it is argued that an undue emphasis on governance issues may compromise the rigour of integrated-appraisal methodologies and result in a loss of focus upon sustainability concerns, particularly those related to environmental matters. This framework of ideas is explored further with reference to the development of an integrated Appraisal Toolkit for the North West region of England. Ways in which integrated appraisal can retain its place within the suite of environmental assessment tools as a way of supporting more sustainable patterns of development, and at the same time contributing to good governance, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the legal regime present in the Arctic regions to address socio-economic and environmental concerns. According to the author, The Arctic Council which includes representatives of indigenous organization developed from the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy as a regional forum to address sustainable development issues. It is a voluntary body consisting of the eight Arctic States with limited power to make non-binding decisions. The author reviews the threats and challenges facing the Arctic and discusses the consequences of stakeholder positions. He suggests options for possible improvements in the legal regime.

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 difficulties of achieving sustainable development reflect several internal tensions in the three-pillar approach: The adoption of economic development as a separate pillar from social development challenges the view that the purpose of one is to achieve the other; economic valuation of the environment removes the distinction between environmental and economic goals; and no distinction is drawn between the development of developing countries and the development of developed ones. These tensions are shown to be symptomatic of difficult issues being avoided. A closer examination revives doubts about whether the conservation of the global commons and the development of developing countries can both be achieved without major changes in economic structures and governance systems, nationally as well as globally. It is concluded that the development of more appropriate systems requires imaginative research in every discipline of the social sciences, with a vital role for cooperation between American and Chinese institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We discuss and elaborate upon the theory of cross-national ecological unequal exchange. Drawing upon world-systems theoretical propositions, ecological unequal exchange refers to the increasingly disproportionate utilization of ecological systems and externalization of negative environmental costs by core industrialized countries and, consequentially, declining utilization opportunities and imposition of exogenous environmental burdens within the periphery. We provide a descriptive overview of theoretical and empirical efforts to date examining this issue. Ecological unequal exchange provides a framework for conceptualizing how the socioeconomic metabolism or material throughput of core countries may negatively impact more marginalized countries in the global economy. It focuses attention upon the global uneven flow of energy, natural resources, and waste products of industrial activity. Further, the recognition of the distributional processes of ecological unequal exchange is relevant to considerations of both the socioeconomic and environmental imperatives underlying the pursuit of sustainable development, as it contributes to underdevelopment within the periphery of the world-system. We conclude by highlighting the interconnections between uneven natural resource flows, global environmental change, and the challenge of broad-based sustainable development. [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]

Many of Canada's ex-urban and rural areas face a daunting array of sustainability challenges. In developing effective sustainability strategies, these areas must rely heavily upon local resources and capacities and existing social capital. Part of the solution for these areas may lie in multi-stakeholder collaborative approaches built on sustainability principles and strategies. These include the engagement and mobilization of civil society networks; the cultivation of strategic partnerships among key stakeholders in civil society, the private sector and government; and long-term local programmes of research, education and advocacy that are supportive of sustainability. This article describes and analyses a Canadian case study—Dufferin County, part of the Headwaters Country region in southern Ontario—in which a multi-stakeholder, civil society based approach to fostering sustainability is currently unfolding. The ideological and theoretical underpinnings of the initiative are explored, key process-oriented and substantive challenges to the approach are analysed and action research strategies are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is now commonplace to assert that actions toward sustainable development require a mix of scientific, economic, social and political knowledge, and judgments. The role of research-based knowledge in this complex setting is ambiguous and diverse, and it is undergoing rapid change both in theory and in practice. We review conventional views of the linkages between research-bared knowledge and action, and the early response to concerns that these links could and should be improved, through efforts at translation and transfer. We then examine the range of critiques that challenge those conventional views by highlighting different aspects of the relationships between science and society, focusing on the implications for action toward sustainable development. We then review the theories and strategies that have emerged in the attempt to improve the linkages between research-bared knowledge and action in the context of sustainability across four broad categories: participation, integration, learning, and negotiation. These form a hierarchy with respect to how deeply they engage with the various critiques. We propose that the relationships between research-based knowledge and action can be better understood as arenas of shared responsibility, embedded within larger systems of power and knowledge that evolve and change over time. The unique contribution of research-bared knowledge needs to be understood in relation to actual or potential contributions from other forms of knowledge. We conclude with questions that may offer useful orientation to assessing or designing research-action arenas for sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The election of George W. Bush as U.S. president in 2000, as measured by the Iowa Electronic Market (IEM), was associated with an increase of 3% in the share price of firms that were being sued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This is equal to approximately $100 billion of shareholder value. This finding is robust to a number of different specifications, controlling for other litigation, case law, and industry, and is not found in an otherwise similar sample of companies without litigation outstanding. It is suggested that the enforcement of environmental law is dependent on political pressure. [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]

In the quest for sustainable development, numerous examples of 'best practice' have been created and circulated in national and international arenas. Yet despite the vast array of examples, demonstration projects, case studies, and the like, little is known about the ways in which best practices are produced and used, and their role in processes of policymaking. Focusing on best practice for urban sustainability, the author argues that, rather than conceptualising its role and impact in terms of policy transfer or lesson drawing, the creation, dissemination, and use of best practice can be better understood as a discursive process, in which not only is new knowledge created about a policy problem, but the nature and interpretation of the policy problem itself are challenged and reframed. Drawing on insights from concepts of governmentality, the author argues that best practices are at once a political rationality and a governmental technology through which the policy problem of urban sustainability is framed and defined. Illustrations of the practice of best practice show how contradictions emerge between claims for general applicability and the need for policy actors to understand the contingencies of the process of urban sustainability, in order to enrol it for their own struggles over sustainability. The local stickiness of best practices points to the very real struggles that the rationalities of urban sustainability have in competing with other governmentalities which seek to shape urban futures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agenda 21 requires that countries adopt ‘national sustainable development strategies’ (NSDS), and this has been emphasized in several international commitments. Ghana has contributed to the methodology for peer review of such national strategies, as well as to guidelines designed by OECD and the United Nations for the NSDS process. Ghana has also adopted mechanisms to manage its own development planning in a sustainable manner. This article highlights various types of frameworks for sustainable development currently operating in Ghana, and considers to what extent they conform to NSDS principles. The article concludes that Ghana has made progress in several ways, but faces some of the same challenges as other countries in adhering to sustainability principles. The article offers recommendations as to how Ghana can achieve sustainable development. The article is an independent assessment by the author, who has also formulated most of the recommendations, except where otherwise indicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many different approaches for national sustainable development strategies (NSDS) have been proposed since 1992, with some components common to all. A country's national strategy should be designed to help mainstream environmental concerns into policy. More broadly, it should coordinate local policy with global concerns, as well as integrate scientific knowledge into policy and development planning. The peer review mechanism for national strategies was piloted by France, and also involved representatives of countries from the North and the South as well as stakeholders. The peer review process allows countries to share their experience and information, and can assist them in identifying their own path to sustainable development. The business community can also contribute to sustainable development through provision of local and global public goods. Another input to sustainable development could come from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and its Guidance Standard on Social Responsibility (ISO 26000), as a coordinating mechanism between voluntary initiatives and binding obligations (such as international conventions). ISO standards and guidelines should therefore be integrated with national sustainable development strategies and local Agenda 21 frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UK reviewed its National Sustainable Development Strategy during 2003 and 2004, and produced a new strategy — the third for the UK — in March 2005. Having established that the main weakness of the previous strategy was in its delivery, the review and the resulting new strategy set out to put a much stronger emphasis on delivery mechanisms. In support of this, the process included more participative ways for those involved in delivering to contribute their views and ideas, including web-based dialogue, participative events and seminars, and community level discussions. The key points for the success of the project were the involvement of stakeholders; project management of the process; a marketing and communications strategy; cross-departmental governance; and involvement of an external challenge function (fulfilled in the UK by the Sustainable Development Commission). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to domestic development challenges and calls from the international community for countries to develop and begin the implementation of national sustainable development strategies by 2005, the Government of Saint Lucia initiated a project named Integrated Planning for Sustainable National Development in 2002. Under this initiative, it was intended to articulate a vision for the country's development and use this as the basis for identifying a set of development imperatives through a process that will superimpose identified national development goals and targets on the international sustainable development agenda to arrive at a national strategy and plan for sustainable development. The plan also called for institutional and structural adjustments to move the country away from current sectoral-based development planning to an environment of dialogue, cooperation and collaboration among development partners in the articulation of development policies, plans and projects. The initiative did not evolve as planned mainly due to inadequate political and financial support and the inability of key institutions to see the bigger picture this initiative tried to paint for the nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, it was agreed that all countries should develop a national sustainable develop-ment strategy (NSDS) as a key component of implementing the goals of Agenda 21. Progress has been limited. Few countries have established a formal strategy, and many of the strategies that exist have been only partially implemented. This article proposes an approach that addresses the need to improve existing strategic planning mechanisms. The approach is based on a periodic assessment of existing systems, to evaluate the extent to which they incorporate NSDS principles, and identify areas to be strengthened. The article describes an assessment methodology, presents examples of its use, and discusses ways in which current approaches to NSDS may be complemented by continual review and improvement of existing planning processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering its specific economic, social, environmental and political features, the status and evolution of the Mediterranean have always been of great interest to its countries and concerned partners. From the protection of the sea against pollution, the interest was progressively expanded to land based development and its impacts on environment, to coastal management and finally to sustainable development with the establishment of the Mediterranean Commission on Sustainable Development (MCSD). Cumulated knowledge, coupled with political support and commitment to a common vision, has prepared the ground for the preparation of a regional strategy for sustainable development. Its preparatory process, coordinated by the MCSD Secretariat, has been very interactive, involving various stakeholders. The strategy, adopted in 2005, has raised awareness and induced the preparation of national sustainable development strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

National sustainable development strategies (NSDSs) play a vital role in pursuing sustainable development (SD) at the country level. These strategies help in clarifying priorities and in focusing efforts to more effectively address relevant SD issues. Since its establishment in 1992, the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development has urged its members to formulate and implement their respective NSDS. The Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21 (1997) provided a more aggressive push to this advocacy by setting 2002 as the deadline for the formulation of NSDS while the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (2002) targeted 2005 as the year by which all countries should have started implementing such strategies. Many countries have heeded this call, albeit the strategies have taken a variety of forms: some took the route of formulating National Agenda 21s (as in the Philippine case), while others built on existing national environmental action plans, poverty strategies, sustainability plans, so-called green plans, policy statements, or legal frameworks. The UN/DESA crafted some guidelines for NSDS formulation but, and rightly so, countries are given freedom of choice as to the scope, substance and form best suited to their own unique circumstances. As varied as the formats of these strategies turned out, so too were the processes that were adopted in their formulation. All these elements could reflect varying degrees of understanding and differing perspectives about the nature of sustainable development and how the concept could be made operational. Consequently, such an understanding could ultimately define a country's success in mainstreaming and achieving sustainable development. In this connection, it would be worthwhile examining how an NSDS has actually played out its role in the national pursuit of sustainable development. Are there creative insights, lessons or guidelines that can be drawn from practical, countrywide experience in NSDS formulation and implementation? What are the emerging challenges and problematic areas in using an NSDS as an instrument for integrating sustainable development in mainstream decision-making? Are there nascent considerations that could be useful in developing design parameters for NSDS? This paper explores the foregoing questions in the Philippine context, given its decade-long experience in implementing its NSDS, the Philippine Agenda 21 (PA 21). In so doing, it hopes to distill potentially valuable perspectives that can inform UNCSD and country-level efforts at crafting, refining and mainstreaming national strategies for sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the links between biodiversity and sustainable human development, on the one hand, and the globally agreed Millennium Development Goals. In particular, it focuses on the important role and contribution that biodiversity and the 1992 United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity can make to ongoing efforts and processes to reduce poverty, hunger, disease and environmental degradation worldwide. Damage to ecosystems, species and habitats, and the loss of biodiversity can and will have a serious impact on human health and development. The future of human development will be closely affected by individual choices and political decisions in industrialized countries. Governments, international financial institutions, the private sector, intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations need to take action to meet their global responsibilities regarding biodiversity conservation, poverty reduction and sustainable development, and their responsibilities to present and future generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper outlines a new method for determining ecological prices/transformities in complicated ecological–economic systems where non-equilibrium prices are likely to be prevalent. That is, an eigenvalue–eigenvector mathematical solution method for solving an overdetermined, homogeneous system of simultaneous linear equations is proposed and tested. Previous mathematical approaches to the problem of ecological pricing are reviewed before proceeding with an explanation of the new solution method for the determination of ecological prices. The proposed method seeks to avoid the need to make a number of untenable assumptions used in previous methods—e.g., the assumption that there necessarily needs to be an equal number of processes and quantities in the ecological–economic system. The paper also provides practical advice and an algorithm for solving the ecological pricing problem. For example, advice on how to overcome the problem of ill-conditioned matrices which are sometimes encountered. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The goal of sustainability is to have levels of resource use and waste assimilation sufficient to maintain a good quality of life for citizens, yet be within environmental carrying capacities. In countries with ageing populations, consumption is constrained by the lower incomes of retired people, and therefore, prospects exist for reductions in resource use and pollutant outputs. The extent of this effect is investigated in this study. This paper uses a new approach to quantify, by age cohort, patterns of resource use and residual generation in New Zealand. These use patterns are then projected to 2051 to see what happens as the population ages. Results indicate that resource use and waste production decline as more people enter the 65+ age group. Gains, however, are diminished by the smaller percentage of young people who have the lowest per capita requirements. Projected growth in population numbers swamp any reductions from ageing effects, even when allowances have been made for future technical change. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]