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This article examines the Scottish experience of integrating sustainable development as a cross cutting theme in the European Union's Structural Funds programmes between 2000 and 2006: an approach known as mainstreaming. It explains how the theme has been integrated into the current Scottish programmes and draws on findings from these programmes' mid-term evaluations to provisionally assess the impact of the mainstreaming agenda. The paper argues that the Scottish approach to integrating the sustainable development theme is based on securing mainstreaming performance rather than more narrowly defined mainstreaming conformance. It goes on to identify and discuss factors that explain this approach. Finally, the article considers the evolving European regional policy context and suggests how sustainable development may be further embedded as the guiding principle for European regional policy programmes between 2007 and 2013. © Crown copyright 2005. Reproduced with the permission of Her Majesty's Stationary Office, Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development and the Water Framework Directive demand stakeholder engagement and more specifically, public participation if they are to be successful. Indeed, signatories to the Aarhus Convention adopt a rights-based approach and guarantee rights of access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters. This paper explores the justification and need to involve the public in the decision-making process. It discusses the issues involved, the approach and technologies that can support and facilitate the participation process and the benefits that can flow from such involvement. It draws on practical experience gained from a long-term mapping and consultation project carried out for the Countryside Agency. Key points of interest and learning from the consultation process are discussed and recommendations are given for future public participation exercises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ireland's economy has undergone enormous change over the past decade, with rapid development accompanied by increasing pressures upon the natural environment. One element of this process has been the development of an ‘enterprise culture’ within Ireland. In this paper, we argue that Ireland is uniquely advantaged to build upon this enterprise culture, and to develop a ‘sustainable enterprise culture’ that is more consistent with the principles of sustainable development. Indeed, we see this as a unique opportunity to further the development of Ireland in an economically, ecologically and socially sustainable manner. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development, although a widely used phrase and idea, has many different meanings and therefore provokes many different responses. In broad terms, the concept of sustainable development is an attempt to combine growing concerns about a range of environmental issues with socio-economic issues. To aid understanding of these different policies this paper presents a classification and mapping of different trends of thought on sustainable development, their political and policy frameworks and their attitudes towards change and means of change. Sustainable development has the potential to address fundamental challenges for humanity, now and into the future. However, to do this, it needs more clarity of meaning, concentrating on sustainable livelihoods and well-being rather than well-having, and long term environmental sustainability, which requires a strong basis in principles that link the social and environmental to human equity. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under global conditions that threaten the viability of rural economies and the farm sector, Italian legislation supports both through agritourism, a form of rural tourism conceived to diversify and complement the economic activities of individual farms. In theory, agritourism is a sustainable strategy: in its stated objectives, it promotes the conservation of a broadly conceived rural environment through its socioeconomic development. Building upon recent calls for assessments of sustainability that are relative to local environments, this paper analyses the relationship between the assumptions of a political scheme that attempts to sustain the rural environment and the perceptions and practices of those who live in that environment. Data collected in two different sites of southern Tuscany through participant observation and in-depth interviews show that different structural conditions and differing cultural values make agritourism responsive to the wants and needs of just one segment of the local farming population. In advocating rural development strategies that take into account pre-existing socioeconomic inequalities and varieties in farmers' environmental worldviews, this case study challenges the efficacy of global paradigms and emphasizes the role of empirical research in devising sustainable policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although industrial economies depend on natural resources to fulfil fundamental societal needs and to improve quality of life, increasing exploitation of these resources is exerting increasing pressure on our planet's ecological integrity. This paper, focusing on construction minerals, establishes a mass balance framework for the chosen case study – the North West of England – and uses the results to examine the implications for the sustainability of the region. The authors contend that a better understanding of the regional flow of materials, and the impact of human activity on surrounding ecosystems, will help to underpin informed decision-making. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Company experience is that environmental constraints are throttling business progress. Pressures from legislation, insurance, finance and stakeholders, who all demand evidence of environmental excellence, are ever increasing. At the same time, the economic system is driving business in a predominantly unsustainable direction. In view of this dilemma, the need for a practical methodology enabling the full implementation of sustainable development into business cannot be overstated. Central to all this is a clear definition of what sustainable development means for industry in practice; how sustainable processing can be applied from first principles and the adoption of total sustainability as the ultimate goal. This paper aims to clarify the important issues involved in practical sustainable development and to assemble the elements of a practical methodology or toolkit, for the attainment of total sustainability in business. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development is based on the integration of four dimensions: the economic, the environmental, the social and the institutional. For the economic dimension in particular, growth has been considered an essential element of sustainable development. This paper discusses the relationship of social, environmental and institutional sustainability objectives to economic growth and derives social and environmental criteria for growth to be sustainable. One of the most sophisticated sustainability studies developed for Germany is introduced, demonstrating the need and the possibility to reconcile economic, social, environmental and institutional objectives. Integrated politics taking into account all four dimensions when drafting policy plans are a necessary precondition for this behalf. Based on two sustainability scenarios with a different emphasis (growth, integration) five core action zones for policy making are identified. The criteria derived can be used as yardsticks assessing policy proposals at an early stage regarding their impact on key sustainability objectives. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Human Development Index (HDI) introduced by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 1990 has helped facilitate widespread debate amongst development researchers, practitioners and policy makers. The HDI is an aggregate index, calculated on an annual basis by the UNDP and published in its Human Development Reports, comprising measures of three components deemed by them to be central to development: (i) income (the gross domestic product per capita), (ii) education (adult literacy rate) and (iii) health (life expectancy at birth). The results of calculating the HDI are typically presented as country/regional league tables, and provide a quick means for policy makers and others to judge performance. Perhaps partly because of the relative simplicity of the index, the HDI has managed to achieve a level of acceptance and use amongst politicians and policy makers that has yet to emerge with any indicator of sustainability. Indeed, despite its existence for 11 years, including nine years after the Rio Earth Summit, the HDI has not even been modified to take on board wider issues of sustainability. This paper will critically examine the potential for ‘greening’ the HDI so as to include environmental and resource-consumption dimensions. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Companies now recognise the need to identify and address the concerns of their stakeholders to ensure their decisions and business activities are more socially acceptable. However, despite stakeholder participation being widely accepted in the public sector and used to a limited extent within some business management processes, there is no accepted understanding of what stakeholder participation actually constitutes and certainly no systematic method for its application within companies and company decision-making. In order to support the development of such a method, stakeholder participation must first be defined in the ‘company’ context. Drawing from previous typologies of participation outlined in the literature, particularly relating to the public sector, this paper proposes a typology of stakeholder participation for companies, with particular relevance to environmental issues. It also outlines the needs and problems associated with developing a method of stakeholder participation for use in company decision-making. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Bedu have lived for centuries in harmony with the environment in the Middle Eastern desert known as the Badia region. However, during the 20th century their environment was fragmented and divided to form parts of Jordan, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. This process restricted their movements and increased the pressure on the environment. In addition, economic growth and urbanization have also had an impact on their way of life. As a consequence, the Jordan Badia Research and Development Programme (BRDP) was established, during 1992, to improve the Bedu's quality of life and to ensure sustainable development and environmental protection in the Badia. This paper reviews the BRDP strategy as well as the deliverables thus far in terms of benefits to local communities, facilities, pioneered projects, main research outcomes and current research priorities. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, it is argued that the view of the economic sphere as a closed system cannot appropriately deal with the issue of sustainable development. Evolutionary economics is then presented as a fruitful alternative to apprehend the interactions between the economic, the human and the natural spheres. This emerging field offers both a firm theoretical basis (based upon recent developments in physics, biology, dynamic systems theory and the sciences of complexity) and practical, pragmatic answers to the implementation of a sustainable path of development. This is further illustrated with the presentation of the evolutionary logic of a multi-level common regime. Such a regime could be an institutional counterpart of social and environmental dynamics. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need to reconcile social and environmental goals for sustainable development still poses problems for policy makers in the richer parts of the world. Using the examples of domestic water and energy, this paper argues that the problems are reflected, and often magnified, in developing countries. They arise largely from conflicts between the short-term need to alleviate poverty and longer-term objectives for environmental sustainability. The dual nature of water and energy as both social and economic goods raises questions about the most appropriate forms of provision and allocation of the utilities. It is in no one's long-term interest for developing countries to repeat the environmentally damaging mistakes of the industrialized world. But an equitable distribution of the short-term costs attached to a more environmentally responsible use of resources demands new ways of thinking about global social justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the policy need for indicators of 'sustainable development', and the impetus behind recent moves to establish official indicators. The range of indicators available from current economic theory is then examined. These measures may be divided into those based on flows and those based on stocks. Flow-based measures are essentially attempts to adjust Net National Product to transform it into an indicator of sustainability. Stock-based measures revolve around the concept of the natural and man-made capital stocks. We also consider the idea of Safe Minimum Standards as a sustainability indicator. The paper concludes that no currently-available single measure of sustainability is likely to be adequate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduces a series of articles related to sustainable development.

While sustainable development is recognized as an essential requirement for achieving economic goals without degrading the environment, major problems arise in defining methods for formulating and implementing sustainable strategic actions at the macro-level, including islands. Bearing in mind this limitation, this research paper will attempt to present a strategic planning methodology for drawing up strategic issues for tourism development from the point of view of sustainability, which is particularly appropriate to islands. The authors first review existing literature on sustainable development with a view to defining a conceptual approach to sustainability and identifying particular areas for sustainable tourism development in the island context. A methodology for formulating strategic issues for sustainable tourism development in Gran Canaria is then drawn up. Sociocultural aspects, the environment and the economy, with particular emphasis on tourism, are examined in order to identify major strategic issues for sustainable development in Gran Canaria. Copyright Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, many companies have responded publicly to pressure to improve their environmental performance. The paradigm within which these responses have been made, however, appears to be confused. This paper proposes the role that companies are best able to play in the societal progression towards sustainable development. We argue that the concept of sustainable development may only be properly applied at the global level; it follows that a ‘sustainably developed’ company or industry sector is not a practical objective. Nevertheless, the contribution which business can make within a sustainable development framework is recognized as being of the highest importance. We suggest that the nature of this contribution pivots around a distinction between environmental soundness (which concerns the interaction between the environment and economics) and sustainability (which adds a broad social element to the environmental and economic, and requires the consideration of time horizons). It is proposed that companies are well positioned to pursue effective environmentally sound corporate strategies. It is also argued that such strategies offer great potential to advance social justice, as environmental improvements are often disproportionately beneficial to poorer groups in society. In contrast, arguments are presented against companies attempting to move beyond environmental soundness to address those broad social elements demanded by sustainable development. A broad allocation of those responsibilities inherent in sustainable development to societal institutions is presented, placing the suggested role of business into context. In advocating the adoption of corporate strategies based on environmental soundness we do not seek to derogate the concept of sustainable development; we do aim to stem the apparent continuing erosion of its fundamental tenets and to identify responsibilities that are appropriate to business. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the world to move towards a more sustainable future greater understanding is required about the links between society, reality, business activity, the environment, technology and sustainable development (Welford, 199816). Technological development of the Internet offers the potential, if appropriately utilized, to be an enabler of a more sustainable future. On-line communications, via the Internet, is driving the evolution of cyber based communities in both domestic and commercial environments. Such changes in international communications are clearly at a relatively early stage of development, which raises many issues of fundamental interest but also concern. Security and control are issues of prime importance to all existing and future participants in cyberspace, due to the direct implications on both freedom and order. The Internet has evolved from a small specialist controlled environment, including both scientists and academic members, to on-line activity that is currently viewed by many as anarchic in nature. The more recent rise of the World Wide Web (WWW), driven by corporate acceptance and adoption, appears to be pushing towards formalization of both the Internet infrastructure and also applications. In exploring the role of on-line communities for sustainable development the paper addresses fundamental issues of importance. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study corroborates the importance of United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG‐7), intended to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable energy for all, and SDG‐8, designed to promote decent work and sustainable economic growth. This article is motivated by the highlighted SDGs and empirically explores the long‐run and causality relationship between energy consumption, urbanization, trade openness, and economic growth for annual frequency data from 1965 to 2021 for the case of Mexico. To this end, we leverage the use of fully modified ordinary least squares, dynamic ordinary least squares, and canonical regression estimation methods, while for the direction of causality, the gradual shift and wavelet coherence methods are used. According to the Autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL), the bounds test traces a long‐run relationship between the outlined variables over the sampled period. Empirical evidence validates the energy‐induced growth hypothesis. This result resonates with the causality analysis, where energy consumption drives economic growth one way in Mexico. This suggests that Mexico cannot embark on energy‐conservative policies, as such actions will hurt economic progress. In addition, unidirectional causality is seen between urbanization, trade openness, and economic growth. These findings have far‐reaching implications for economic growth and macroeconomic indicators in Mexico. More insights are highlighted in the concluding section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the mounting risks posed by climate change, innovation and mitigation of pollution have emerged as key drivers of sustainable growth and the environment. This research aims to explore the effect of economic complexity and financial risk on the load capacity factor. The research employed a series of second‐generation techniques such as a method of moment quantile regression and Dumitrescu Hurlin panel causality covering the period between 1990 and 2018. The findings provided convincing evidence of cointegration. The long‐run analysis showed that renewable energy use, economic complexity and financial risk contribute to ecological quality. However, non‐renewable energy and economic progress threaten ecological quality by lessening the load capacity factor. The research revealed causality from financial risk, economic growth, disintegrated energy and economic complexity to load capacity factor. Lastly, a policy framework is proposed based on the study findings to accomplish the sustainable development goals (SDGs) 7, 13 and 17. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Venezuela is among the several countries of the world endowed with natural resources such as oil rent and others. The influence of these resources, which can be felt in both economic and environmental development, is capable of impacting sustainable development goals of any country rich in them. Considering the global climate goals, it is essential to investigate the impact of natural resource rent on its sustainable development goals. We applied Venezuelan country‐specific data of 1972–2014 for an insightful study of the country's sustainable development amidst high resource rent with regard to both economic and environmental performance. The principles of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) and pollution haven and halo hypothesis (PHH) were considered to ascertain the pattern and effect of the economic growth and foreign direct investment (FDI) on Venezuelan environmental performance. Different methods such as the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) dynamics and bounds, structural break, and Granger causality test were applied for an accurate estimation and insightful analysis. From the ARDL estimations, we found an N‐shaped Kuznets curve, which counters the U‐shaped Kuznets, for the case of Venezuela. Both natural resources and FDI are found to impact positively on the environment, and this confirmed the pollution halo hypothesis for Venezuela. Fossil fuel energy source is found to impact negatively Venezuela's environment with positive relationship between energy use and CO2. From the Granger causality finding, a unidirectional Granger causality is found to transmit from FDI to environment, while bidirectional Granger causality is found to transmit between economic growth and environment. With the findings from both analyses, especially from the vector error correction model (VECM) Granger causality, a nexus is established among economic growth, environment, and FDI, which confirmed the pollution halo hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic development process is accompanied by energy consumption and environmental pollution, difficulties which must be overcome to realize sustainable development. A system dynamics model is constructed to simulate the pattern characteristics of an innovation‐driven coupling system scenario for economic development, energy consumption and environmental pollution in the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Then, the impulse response relationship between technological progress and economic, energy and environmental system indexes is further explored by using a vector autoregression (VAR) model. The results show that (1) the model is suitable for predictive analysis. (2) Adjusting the model parameters shows that the innovation‐driven development mode is the optimal sustainable development mode of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. (3) VAR model analysis shows that technological progress has a significant long‐term positive impact on the economic development system index, and the growth of primary industry is the most significant. Technological progress has a significant long‐term inhibition effect on energy consumption and environmental pollution system indicators, among which the inhibition effect on wastewater discharge and power consumption is the strongest. Finally, suggestions are proposed to increase investment in agricultural technology, smart countryside, and wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable practices can be initiated or encouraged by governmental regulation and economic incentives. A major element to promote sustainability will be, however, the exploration and organization of discursive processes between and among different actors. Many analysts agree that sustainability will remain a highly desirable, but unrealistic option for development, if people do not feel a degree of ownership and identity with the goal of sustainability for their own life and a preference for its policy implications. Inviting the public to be part of the decision-making process from the beginning improves the likelihood that the resulting decision will be accepted. Participatory processes are needed that combine technical expertise, rational decision making, and public values and preferences. To accomplish such an integration, negotiation, mediation, and arbitration are potential solutions. Many different procedures and forms of mediation have been proposed and some tested. One major attempt of the authors has been the organization of round-table discourses among a wide variety of stakeholders to develop environmental policy goals or to design local and regional waste management plans. These discourses are based on the assumption that each participant can contribute to the common good if the setting of the discourse encourages the generation of shared values and discourages strategic reasoning. The emphasis of the paper will be on the model of cooperative discourse and first applications in Germany, Switzerland and the United States. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Sociologia Ruralis is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The issue of sustainability, its definition and measurement, is crucial to current debates in development policy and aid reform. But while all donors demand it few define it in operational terms. This poses serious methodological challenges for evaluators since there are no accepted and uncontested indicators of institutional sustainability. They therefore resort to using quantitative measures such as the calculation of a ‘sustainability rate’. This paper examines different views of institutional sustainability and identifies some of their shortcomings from the standpoint of programme evaluation. Institutional sustainability is seen as a capacity rather than a financial issue. It then suggests the need for qualitative indicators of sustainability and argues that the institution's capacity to learn—as reflected in the relative importance accorded to action and reflection, the way in which the institution deals with ‘discordant information’, and its capacity to conduct and use evaluations—is a key aspect of sustainability. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global Environmental Change is central to the debate on the relationship between environmental degradation and economic development. This paper examines the agreements signed at the Earth Summit held in Rio in 1992 and highlights some implications for developing countries. The interim mechanism for resource transfer under the Conventions is the Global Environmental Facility, but it appears that transfers on a scale necessary to bring about sustainable development as envisaged by Agenda 21 cannot be made through this mechanism alone. It is argued here that other mechanisms to promote development, such as debt relief, should not be ignored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recently adopted global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are intended to catalyse implementation of sustainable development. Their success or failure will rely heavily upon national implementation. However, the SDGs represent a broad, integrated and complex agenda that will be very challenging for countries to implement. Over the past decade, scenario analysis has emerged as a method that is particularly well suited to sustainable development and has seen a rapid expansion in national development planning practice. It will be an invaluable tool for governments in formulating their national SDG strategies. However, despite its increased application, there is limited guidance available on the use of scenario modelling in national development planning. By undertaking a review of the recent best practice literature as well as 22 contemporary scenario modelling case studies, this paper draws out lessons learned and proposes an iterative framework for ex ante scenario modelling to support national SDG planning. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyze the implications of endogenous fertility choices on both economic and environmental performances in a stylized AK-type growth model. Differently from what traditionally assumed in the growth and environment literature, we allow pollution to be not only a by-product of productive activities by firms but also a result of households' behavior, as suggested by the celebrated IPAT equation. We show that along the balanced growth path equilibrium, economic growth may be non-monotonically related to the population growth rate as agents care for the environment; moreover, demographic policies can be used both to achieve win-win outcomes (simultaneously fostering economic growth and improving environmental quality) and to stabilize the otherwise non-monotonic economic and population growth relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The central motivation to restore ecosystems at a planetary scale has been to reverse degradation and provide multiple environmental benefits, but key global players like governments may be more interested in social outcomes from undertaking restoration, such as job creation. Assessing the job opportunities stemming from ongoing restoration programmes can leverage additional investments for their implementation and support their long‐term maintenance.Here, we aimed to understand and quantify current and potential ecosystem restoration jobs in Brazil, based on a widely distributed online survey performed in 2020 and led by the main restoration networks in the country. We explored the structure, job distribution and outputs of the national restoration supply chain.At the beginning of 2020, 4713 temporary and 3510 permanent jobs were created, nearly 60% of which were generated by organizations specialized in restoration, mainly from the non‐profit (48%) and private (37%) sectors.Restoration jobs were concentrated in organizations working in one (58%) or two (28%) biomes, and the vast majority were in the Atlantic Forest (85%). Similarly, most restoration jobs were concentrated in the southeast region (61%), with one‐third in the state of São Paulo. This geographical distribution was more strongly associated with the states' GDP than with the legal deficit of native vegetation area.Nearly 20% of the restoration jobs were terminated during the COVID‐19 pandemic in 2020.We estimate that restoration activities can generate 0.42 jobs per hectare undergoing restoration, which could potentially create 1.0–2.5 million direct jobs through the implementation of Brazil's target of restoring 12 million hectares.We conclude by reinforcing the value of ecosystem restoration in promoting economic development and job creation, which can be crucial to promote countries' effective engagement in the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. We also highlight the critical role of grassroots organizations to maximize restoration opportunities for socioeconomic development during the post‐pandemic economic recovery. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduces a series of articles related to sustainable development.

This paper attempts to explore dynamical behavior and mathematical properties of the three‐dimensional fractional‐order energy‐saving and emission‐reduction system. Theoretically, the conditions of local stability of fractional‐order system's equilibrium points are obtained. Numerical investigations on the dynamics of this system are carried out, and the existence of the asymptotically stable attractor is found. Combined with the fractional‐order subsystem, we discuss the relationship between energy‐saving and emission‐reduction and economic growth, and carbon emissions and economic growth. Furthermore, we discretize the fractional‐order system and give necessary and sufficient conditions of its stabilization. It is shown that the stability of the discretization system is impacted by the system's fractional parameter. Numerical simulations show the richer dynamical behavior of the fractional‐order system and verify the theoretical results. Recommendations for Resource Managers The impact of carbon emissions on economic growth is one of the main reasons for energy‐saving and emission‐reduction.Control measures on people's low‐carbon life through government intervention are required to protect the natural environment.New energy‐saving and emission‐reduction technologies should be implemented to achieve sustainable social and economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need to reduce environmental degradation has led to the identification of several factors influencing environmental degradation, with the inflows of foreign direct investments (FDI) touted as a key factor. However, findings produced from the existing studies on FDI‐environmental degradation nexus are far from being conclusive, leaving policymakers under quandary regarding the precise effect of FDI on environmental degradation. We contribute to the FDI‐environmental degradation nexus debate by examining how economic development and globalization thresholds influences the role of FDI in environmental degradation in industrialized countries over the 1991–2016 period. We invoke a recently developed fixed effect panel threshold model estimation procedure that does not impose a prior functional form of the threshold. We find that FDI inflows mitigate environmental degradation when countries' levels of economic development and globalization are below the estimated thresholds. However, above the thresholds, higher FDI inflows significantly degrade the environment. Thus, unbridled economic development and globalization do not permit FDI to reduce environmental degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This paper analyses how the world's largest corporations communicate about sustainability and sustainable development in their non-financial reports. It investigates the concept use, definitions and attempts at operationalization, and the rationales that corporations give to engage with them. It is concluded that the corporations typically opt to treat sustainability and sustainable development as given and unproblematic instead of addressing the fundamental problems of today's practice or the dilemmas of the concepts. The most striking finding, however, is that so many of the corporations no longer argue that they are on a 'journey' towards sustainability, but that they have already integrated sustainability principles and that they have worked like this for years. Such arguments arguably inhibit the change in business models that many commentators call for. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Rapid transformations offer new challenges for rural regions to invent new pathways for development. For many, an obvious choice is to set out on the path towards economic growth and to compete with other regions for global, mobile capital and labor. There is however an increasing awareness that in the long run regions should anticipate a more sustainable development based on regional qualities. Across Europe new and fascinating forms of shared, value-driven leadership for such sustainable regional development can be observed. This leadership cannot be explained with traditional leadership models derived from management and business literature. In this paper a new leadership model is developed that is both empirically and theoretically informed. The model is shaped along two axes: an 'individual-collective' and an 'inner-outer' axis. Four leadership dimensions are discerned and described: 'the X-factor' (personal qualities, feelings, motives and values), 'vital space' (stimulating favorable behavior by flexible roles and building vital coalitions), 'shared leadership'(working across organizational boundaries) and 'bricolage' (connecting networks in institutional arrangements). We have applied this model in eight cases of rural regional development in the Netherlands. The cases show that sustainable regional development benefits from shared leadership where collective values, feelings, trust, commitment and energy form the basis for mobilizing private and public actors around a joint agenda in regional networks. Leaders can in this sense contribute to new regional agendas and the exploration of new pathways to sustainability. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT I construct a model of a growing economy with pollution. The analysis of the model shows that the interactions between capital accumulation, endogenous lifetime and environmental quality determine both the long-run growth rate and the pattern of convergence (i.e., monotonic or cyclical) towards the balanced growth path. I argue that such interactions can provide a possible explanatory factor behind the, empirically observed, negative correlation between growth and volatility. Furthermore, the model may capture the observed pattern whereby economic growth and mortality rates appear to be negatively related in the long run, but positively related in the short run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Journal of Urban & Regional Research is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Recent studies confirm that financial support for innovative entrepreneurial firms is important for sustainable productivity growth in China and for a rebalanced global economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article retests the separability of China's rural households in light of growing doubt about the sustainability of high economic growth in China. If a household's production decisions are 'separable' from the household's consumption decisions, generally this suggests there is no surplus labor. Many scholars aver that China's surplus rural labor has spurred rapid economic growth, but concerns have arisen as to whether China still has surplus labor available. We investigate this issue using rural household panel data from 1993 to 2009 The regression results confirm that households in rural China have progressed from being non-separable to separable. The estimation results for both the entire country and regions reject the separability hypothesis before 2004 but fail to reject the hypothesis after 2004 (with the exception of the central region). These results suggest that China's surplus labor supply is dwindling, especially in the eastern and the western regions. The sustainability of China's high economic growth is questionable in the absence of a large reservoir of surplus rural labor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic growth and development, along with expanding population, place a continuing pressure on our basic necessities in a world with depleting natural resources, overharvested ecosystems, and volatile commodity markets. These factors pose a range of competing demands relating to: economic and population growth and demographic changes; food, energy and resources security; ecological regime shifts; and climate change mitigation and adaptation. Key indicators of the processes that underlie these competing demands point to continuing food insecurity in low-income countries, exploitation of ecosystems, and depletion of natural resources. This emphasises the need for productivity improvements combined with innovation in institutional and governance structures to help foster global sustainability and ensure food security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper constructs a two-country (Home and Foreign) general-equilibrium model of Schumpeterian growth without scale effects. The scale effects property is removed by introducing a distinct specification in the knowledge production function which generates semi-endogenous growth. In this model of semi-endogenous growth, an increase in the rate of population growth rate raises Home's relative wage and lowers its range of goods exported to Foreign. An increase in the size of innovations increases Home's relative wage but with an ambiguous effect on its comparative advantage. The model generates a unique steady-state equilibrium in which there is complete specialization in both goods and R&D production within each country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent empirical studies reveal that effectiveness of aid on growth is ambiguous. The authors consider aid proliferation—excess aid investment relative to recurrent cost—as a potential cause that undermines aid effectiveness, because aid projects can only produce sustainable benefits when sufficient recurrent costs are disbursed. They consider the donor's budget support as a device to supplement the shortage of the recipient's recurrent cost and to alleviate the misallocation of inputs. However, when donors have self-interested preferences for the success of their own projects over those conducted by others, they provide insufficient budget support relative to aid, which results in aid proliferation. Moreover, aid proliferation is shown to be worsened by the presence of more donors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses several reports published in the issue including one on the development of sustainability indicators and another on the use of indicators for sustainable development.

Research evidence and pleas that humans are undermining their own survival on a robust and unforgiving planet seem to be falling on deaf ears. The drive for economic and military security remains more powerful than the evidence that both of these objectives are being undermined by environmental damage, social disruption, unjust treatment and forced migration. Yet the signs are growing that environmentally and socially sound futures may be vital prerequisites for economic and military stability. So, at the heart of multi-nationalism, sustainable development is beginning to be recognized as a crucial element in reliable international agreements. The consequence of all this is that environmental science has become highly political, and geographers need to recognize and work within an expanding political process. Examples of new forms of governing via sustainability science for sustainable futures are offered in the latter part of the paper, especially at local government level. The antagonistic pressures of established power and economic hegemony are never far away. Indeed, the confirmation of these established patterns of power still pervades the politics of environmental science. But it is possible that these antagonistic political frameworks are beginning to be transcended by the more influential aspects of sustainability partnerships incorporating new arrangements between government, private capital and civil associations. These partnerships will not be easy to create, for they criss-cross boundaries of familiarity and rules of operation. But geographers can play a critical role in helping to shape them and assess the best circumstances for ensuring their success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a previous essay (Part 1), we examined the economic arguments for development policies that placed certain groups at the vanguard of development policy, making note of the place of the poor in these arguments. In this essay (Part 2), we look at the case for making the poor the central focus of development policy, following the principle in Catholic social thought of the "preferential option for the poor." That principle recommends evaluation of policies and outcomes first and foremost on how they affect the poor. In looking at the U.N. development agenda, from the first development decade to the millennium development goals and sustainable development goals, we can see a tension between economic growth and eradication of poverty. Over time, a shift in focus has occurred towards placing the poor at the center of development policy. By focusing on the poor and poverty eradication, development policy becomes more about human flourishing, which, ironically, produces higher levels of growth in developing countries. It does, however, lower the growth rate of developed countries, as it reduces their privileged position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing awareness of the health implications of environmental change in developing areas demands ongoing evaluation of the composition and context of unique human and environmental systems. The relationship between the ecology of emergent and resurgent infectious disease and land degradation is an uncertain aspect of environmental influences on human health that varies in different development contexts. An approach for examining a dynamic health and environment nexus is suggested based on combining ideas about health ecology with notions of sustainable development. The rationale is derived from the experience of research on changing diarrhoeal disease endemicity and epidemicity in central Mozambique, recent moves towards poverty reduction through food and livelihood security in Zambézia province, and the development of a geographic health information system to control malaria. Themes include analysing the influence of land degradation on incidence of infectious diseases, situating human health in land-based notions of sustainable development, and communality between environmental health care and land-based poverty reduction policies. The paper emphasizes that environmental health surveillance and care must be responsive to changing health ecologies in varying development landscapes and that common policy directives should be sought in avoiding both human ill-health and land degradation. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The propositions implicit in the Washington Consensus can be stated as follows: development is assimilated to limitless economic growth; the goal of social progress is reduced to a mere "trickle-down" effect; the widest possible engagement in international trade is seen as the fundamental prerequisite for development; the role of the state is subordinate to that of the market; in short, there exists, or so it is maintained, one single model of rational development. This paper is devoted to a preliminary discussion of the first of the above principles. It seeks first to show the extent to which growth is indeed the centre-piece of development strategies, setting out the arguments traditionally advanced in favour of its pre-eminence, with its concomitant requirement for limitless expansion of commodity output. However, growth on this scale clearly seems not to be sustainable in the longer term -- hence the need to rethink where economic growth fits into long-term development aims and strategies and to take fuller account of the arguments, of an economic, social, and ecological nature, being put forward against this view of growth as limitless. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an overview of the Eighth Annual Greening of Industry Conference, Sustainability: Ways of Knowing/Ways of Acting. Held in Chapel Hill, NC (USA), 14–17 November 1999, the conference featured diverse visions of sustainability and a range of views on which societal actors should play leading roles in setting the sustainability agenda. The conference revealed a dichotomy between corporate and public visions of sustainability: who should define the agenda, who should lead the transition and the degree of change needed to achieve a sustainable society. Presenters at the conference highlighted innovative sustainability actions of corporations, the challenges and successes of collaborative approaches, and the shift in the NGO tactics towards the corporate role in defining the sustainability agenda. A challenge for future Network conferences is how to catalyse fruitful links and mergers among various visions of sustainable development and the leading agents of change. To that end, a research agenda is proposed. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate the effects of renewable energy on GDP and sustainable development. The data of Economic Cooperation and Development Organization (OECD) countries covering the period of 1990–2015 are included in the analysis. In this study, GDP and adjusted net savings (ANS) are used as indicators of sustainable development. ANS calculation is closely related to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and the concept of sustainable development. According to IV (two‐stage least square—2SLS) and two‐stage general method of moments IV (2SLS) estimates, renewable energy positively affects ANS per capita. However, non‐renewable energy negatively affects ANS per capita. Therefore, renewable energy causes an increase in sustainable development, while non‐renewable energy causes a decrease. As a result, OECD countries are recommended to prefer renewable energy rather than non‐renewable energy. OECD countries should make the necessary arrangements for the growth and development of the renewable energy sector and implement them quickly. Preferring renewable energy is extremely important to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Informed by the SUNS about what was at stake, Martin wrote his own book on the trade negotiations: I The Uruguay Round and Third World Sovereignty i (Khor, 1990). In a postscript added after the 2001 ministerial meeting of the WTO in Qatar, Martin argues that in spite of the promise of a "Development Round" made in Doha 'there is an imperative for reform in the decision-making processes and procedures of the WTO' (Khor, 2002: 189). Keywords: Trade; General; Sustainable development; Globalization; Sovereignty; United Nations; WTO; Civil Society EN Trade General Sustainable development Globalization Sovereignty United Nations WTO Civil Society 1009 1021 13 08/18/21 20210701 NES 210701 INTRODUCTION I first met Martin Khor in November 1984 in Penang, Malaysia, during a conference at which some 200 intellectuals and activists from around the world had met to discuss the theme "Third World: Development or Crisis". TWN was initially a mechanism for Southern authors to exchange their research and reach out to the press, but as more and more requests started to come from abroad, CAP's leader and Martin's mentor, Mohamed Idris, decided to support the dedication of Martin's time to TWN, initially part-time and then full-time from 1990 on. [Extracted from the article]

Social capital as well as natural capital must be incorporated into sustainable development. This is especially vital in mineral-driven economies because the government has a key role in substituting produced and social capital for the depleting natural capital (the ore). A typology of political states captures key facets of social capital at the national level: it shows that mineral economies, like most resource-rich countries, tend to engender political states that are prone to government failure. One consequence is that local communities (which often lack social capital) must bargain directly with multinational mining firms which, for their part, must internalize many welfare functions. Although local groups can use environmental issues to extract higher rents, this has heightened dependence on the depleting mineral asset and is not sustainable. A social audit can help promote sustainable development by creating a consensus-building transparency for deploying the mineral rents. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]