Search

The purpose of this paper is to report on the use of the soft systems methodology (SSM) to enhance the role of the higher education institution (HEI) stakeholder's action networks in achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs). We review the literature on sustainable development in HEIs, in particular the role of stakeholder networks for the implementation of SDGs in HEI. We outline some of the features of SSM as an approach to help make sense of this complexity. CATWOE analysis, a conceptual SSM tool, is applied to a stakeholder's network hosted by a Brazilian university with the purpose of achieving the SDGs as part of the community projects (HEI external engagement). Findings of the systemic application suggest that the use of some elements of SSM helps clarify and make sense of the role of the stakeholders and assists in formalising action networks to achieve SDGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the historic development of the Brazilian sugarcane ethanol sector and the largely successful attempt to create a sustainable, renewable fuel for the transport sector. The policy that resulted from this process is an example of meeting the need for sustainable transport through the consideration of location-specific characteristics and appropriate policy. The paper then questions the current and expected trajectory of the sugarcane ethanol sector with the focus on one key question: can sustainability be exported? In this analysis, the paper identifies new threats to the sustainability of Brazilian sugarcane ethanol and potential 'opportunity costs' incurred in further development and internationalization of the sector. The paper concludes that exporting sugarcane ethanol may bring unanticipated deleterious consequences, which in turn means that both policy and theory need to be more precise about how sustainable transport is defined and bounded by time and space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioethanol production in Brazil gained momentum in the 1970s and 1980s as an energy security and energy sufficiency measure due to the well‐known world oil crisis. However, the increase in bioethanol production and consumption in the past couple of decades has been backed by the country's efforts and measures to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the transport sector. Brazil is the second largest producer of biofuels, and its production continues to increase because of the commitments made in the Paris Agreement in 2015. This study reviews several key policies designed to develop Brazilian bioethanol production and to protect the environment. It is argued that many of these policies do not consider land use change or encourage land protection to achieve sustainable land use and agricultural production. Thus, this work aims to understand the importance and impacts of public policies in expanding sugarcane in Brazil in the past 34 years, with regard to land use and native vegetation. The discussion in this paper addresses the inadequacy of current policies to avoid direct and indirect land use change caused by sugarcane expansion, despite incentives such as 17 Sustainable Development Goals from the United Nations and certification schemes. The data presented indicate an indirect effect caused by the expansion of sugarcane over pasture areas, which leads to further clearing of natural vegetation to establish new pasture areas. Ultimately, this study addresses the importance of zero deforestation in Brazil, regardless of the crop that causes the conversion. Without conjoint efforts by all sectors of the economy to curtail deforestation, the sustainability of producing biofuels is not guaranteed, as the emissions caused by deforestation will not be offset by the lower GHG emissions obtained by using ethanol as a transport fuel. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As BRICS advances into its second decade of existence, it transitions from a multilateral alignment to bilateral arrangements among the five members. This 'bi‐lateralization' of BRICS expands the 'menu' of the BRICS 'multilateralism à la carte' by allowing members to limit cooperation when their interests diverge and to benefit from collective action through BRICS when their interests converge. This paper argues that, from the standpoint of countries like Brazil, the India–China border dispute and broader competition in the Indo‐Pacific demonstrate the 'bi‐lateralization' of intra‐BRICS relations as they thwart the development of a common narrative on issues like global health, security and trade. Contrarily, the bi‐lateralization of BRICS also gives members more flexibility as they manage various domestic and international challenges, which is crucial for the grouping's survival. The experience of the BRICS‐led New Development Bank (NDB) illustrates how the five countries can still cooperate as a coalition in pursuit of common objectives such as sustainable development and infrastructure. The lack of robust mechanisms to realize these objectives, however, raises questions about NDB's capacity to help BRICS to cooperate more like a community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper identifies opportunities from targeted and integrated sanitation action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This is contextualised to the case of Brazil through a systematic approach applied to the sanitation sector that considers the range of infrastructure, management services and people involved in different phases of the service chain, from municipal wastewater containment to safe disposal or re‐use. Articulating the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sanitation, this study analyses their links with each of the 169 SDG targets. We demonstrate that 87 targets across 16 goals require action in Brazil's sanitation sector to achieve the SDGs. Furthermore, we identify synergies between sanitation and 124 targets in four domains: basic services for resilience building, equity and empowerment, pollution reduction and waste reuse and economic well‐being. Key results include the need for Brazil to invest in closed‐loop systems that valorise waste as a resource and the need to multiply efforts in the integrated provision of basic services in low‐income areas most affected by the lack of access to adequate sanitation. The links identified are supported by the compiled evidence of published research. The analysis of linkages through this structured approach aims to highlight opportunities for strategic governance action to support policy harmonisation and partnerships across Brazil's sanitation sector and beyond. With this research, we show that establishing linkages among the SDGs provides an adaptable framework that can support policy‐makers and practitioners seeking to deliver on the 2030 Agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides information about the University of São Paulo (USP) Recicla program which is financed by the university and is coordinated through the Executive Coordinator of University Cooperation and Special Activities in Sao Paulo, Brazil. In addition to promoting the minimization and appropriate disposal of waste, the program encourages environmental sustainability and seeks to improve the community's overall quality of life. The program aims to promote the formation of environmental ideals that can help meet the challenge of constructing a sustainable society.

This paper is based on a qualitative study that explored the views of a group of staff from Brazilian organizations that profess to be 'sustainable', on barriers to sustainability. The main barriers identified in the study were lack of clarity in the concept, resistance to change, lack of systems thinking, political factors, inability to ensure sustainable behaviours among suppliers, and the consumer culture of global capitalism. In investigating perceptions of barriers to sustainability by managers of business companies, this paper contributes to a better understanding of how the tensions between the growth imperatives of an emerging economy and calls for sustainable practices are played out at organizational level. The paper also identifies a number of relevant themes for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between 2013 and 2017, we carried out nine field missions in the Lago Grande de Curuai floodplain, located in Pará state – North of Brazil – to collect samples for monitoring surface water quality. This site separated from the river by a narrow bank is composed of a network of channels and shallow lakes, a morphology shared by the floodplains of the lower Amazon. A multiparameter probe was used in situ to measure electrical conductivity, temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, turbidity, depth and a Secchi disk to estimate transparency. Water grab samples were analysed for suspended material, alkalinity, humic acid, phosphorus, nitrogen, carbon and chlorophyll. Sampling stations were distributed over the seven larger lakes in the floodplain and sampled at different periods of the hydrological cycle. The number of samples varied with the floodplain water level, with a minimum of 25 samples for each field visit. This data set is a collection of water quality data to assist in the limnological or biogeochemical studies of surface waters in Amazonian floodplain lakes, and the product of successive French‐Brazilian projects: (1) the Clim‐FABIAM 'Climate changes and Floodplain lake biodiversity in the Amazon Basin: how to cope and help the ecological and economic sustainability' funded by the French Foundation for biodiversity research (FRB), (2) the project Bloom‐ALERT –'Environmental sensitivity and population health vulnerability to cyanobacteria in the Amazon: towards shared indicators' funded by the French‐Brazilian research program GUYAMAZON 2014, and the project (3) 'Ecossistemas das várzeas e biodiversidade: Impactos das mudanças ambientais e climáticas considerando cenários de desenvolvimento sustentáveis' (Project number 490634/2013‐3) funded by the Brazilian National scientific Research Council CNPq. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special Policy Arena marks the fifth anniversary of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June 1992. It coincides with the UN General Assembly Special Session in June 1997 which will review progress on Sustainable Development and the implementation of Agenda 21, the blueprint for development agreed at Rio. Three papers here give different perspectives on the issues which have emerged since the Earth Summit and on the process of implementation of two of the international agreements signed at Rio, the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). This introductory paper reviews and appraises UNCED and outlines some of the developments since 1992. It highlights issues of equity and of the apparent inability of the international order to make significant impact in the environmental sphere, issues which are discussed in more detail in the subsequent contributions.© 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an exploratory comparative assessment of the institutional pressures influencing corporate social responsibility ( CSR) in a developed country, UK, vs. a developing country, Brazil, based on a survey of different actors. Information on sustainability concerns, organizational strategies and mechanisms of pressure was collected through interviews with environmental regulatory agencies, financial institutions, media and non-governmental organizations. Our results confirm that the more advanced awareness and CSR responsiveness in the UK is a consequence of a predominance of coercive and normative forces on the organizational field. The institutional forces tend to build a Brazilian organizational field that is relational based and risk intensive. The findings lend support to the view that CSR responses are unlikely to be easily transformed into uniform standardized practices across the globe. This paper contributes to a collective understanding of the organizational field and a common template for CSR in the context of developed and developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concern for sustainable development reached its greatest form of expression in what is known as the Brundtland Report; however, it was the Rio de Janeiro Conference of 1992 that created the foundations, through agreements such as Agenda 21. Though the success of Agenda 21 depends fundamentally on central governments, local administrations can play a decisive role, which is why European cities have taken on a serious commitment to enforce it by way of the Aalborg Charter. This paper evaluates the advancements by European municipalities in implementing Local Agenda 21, by identifying their determinant factors. The results show that productive and organizational aspects are key factors, regardless of their origin. Likewise, it has been verified that the factors of promotion instigated by supramunicipal bodies of the public administration are extremely effective, whereas political factors are of little relevance. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares environmental policymaking in two Brazilian cities, Rio de Janeiro and Cubatão. It examines the formation of state-society synergistic interactions in the public policymaking process and their effect on long term sustainability of social mobilization. It concludes that whereas social capital can be constructed in the context of policymaking, it is critically dependent on a concerted effort from both state and society actors to build trust in their daily interactions. The Cubatão and Carioca River cases show that state-society synergy had little effect on the ability of the policy coalitions formed for pollution clean up to sustain themselves over time. Instead, there are indications that rather than a constraint, the flexible and informal nature of such coalitions may have been a critical factor in their ability to carry out policy successfully. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable consumption has been recognized since the 1990s; however, advances in the studies have been modest and have not yielded significant breakthroughs. The urgent need to adopt sustainable consumption has been emphasized by consumers, practitioners, and researchers, but despite efforts by social and government agencies, progress in relation to adoption remains insufficient. The multivariate nature of sustainable consumption is one reason for this insufficient progress. Previously developed literature‐based instruments have been univariate or limited in their dimensions and inadequate for measuring the phenomena they purport to measure. Hence, in this study, we develop a measurement scale to address this gap. The scale encompasses dimensions relevant to contemporary society and is informed by prior research and primary data. Data were collected through in‐depth interviews with sustainability specialists, a nominal group technique with engaged consumers, a survey of 255 students, and a survey of 808 consumers from diverse regions of Brazil, all resulting in a heterogeneous sample. The final data analysis included an exploratory factor analysis and a confirmatory factor analysis, which resulted in a final model that comprised eight dimensions: activism, personal sacrifice, communitarianism, environmental concern, healthy food, perceived consumer effectiveness, search for information, and social concern. Of these dimensions, personal sacrifice, environmental concern, and social concern are the archetypes of the present generation. The variables of these dimensions have not been accounted for in previous scales, making our new scale more comprehensive and contributing to a better understanding of sustainable consumption. This new comprehensive scale will aid future studies in sustainable consumption, contributing to a better understanding of this construct. We expect that this scale will help improve the monitoring of the progress made in sustainable behavior and the assessment of management practices of sustainable consumption. Future studies should be carried out to validate the dimensions in different cultural contexts. [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]

In 2018, the production of hydrogen from fossil fuel feedstocks for industrial use emitted around 830 million tons of carbon dioxide. The development of green hydrogen production from renewable energy is a promising solution to decrease the carbon footprint caused by hydrogen production. Herein, the impact of the variability of the power output simulated from a single‐point irradiance measurement on levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) calculations is studied. The analysis is carried out using 7 month of 1 min power and plane‐of‐array irradiance historical data from a 36 MWp photovoltaic (PV) plant located in Brazil. LCOHs calculated using historical power production will be compared with LCOHs calculated using power production simulated by two different methods. The difference between the two methods lies in the extent to which the variability of the power output of the PV plant is considered. The focus is set on off‐grid electrolyzers directly powered by PV solar plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first two decades of the 21st century had a significant increase in e-waste generation. While improper recycling technologies applied to this type of waste pose severe risks to the environment and human health, several e-waste management legislation has been recently enforced worldwide, reaching 78 countries and covering 71% of the global population. In common, most of them aim to recycle minerals and plastic from the disposed waste of electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) to reinsert them in the industry, promoting the so-called circular economy. From the comparative case study of countries that integrate the world-system in different social and economic conditions –the United Kingdom (as core or developed country), Brazil (as semi-periphery or emergent country), and Ghana (as periphery or developing country) –, this article aims to understand to what extent the national legislation on e-waste management in these territories align with the Sustainable Development Goals 3, 6, 8, 11, 12, 14, and 15. This research has an exploratory approach and is methodologically structured as a controlled comparison of most different cases. Results reveal that selected legislation has different levels of alignment with SDG, ranging from generic mentions of social-environmental topics to description of legal instruments to be enforced regarding environmental preservation, improvement of population's life quality, and changes in the unsustainable production, consumption, and disposal patterns. The article also seeks to contribute to the geographical debate by establishing the relation between e-waste legislation and SDG, considering the territorial particularities of the case studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Brazilian açaí industry reached national and international prominence in the last few years. Its final product, mainly frozen pulp, became popular worldwide, accounting for a high market share, including exports. Nevertheless, the solid by‐products arising from the processing are not always discarded in an environmentally suitable manner. This review presents a scientometric analysis of açaí research in the last 27 years (1993 to 2019), applying a longitudinal bibliometric study. Through data analysis, it can be observed that Brazil and the USA are the countries that mostly contributed to the development of açaí research. Although Brazil has more publications, the USA presents more articles in partnership with 21 countries. The results also showed that few documents addressed renewable energy recovery with the following technologies: combustion, pyrolysis, supercritical water hydrolysis, and anaerobic digestion. Further analysis of the anaerobic digestion of the totality of açaí seeds generated in Brazil indicated that, theoretically, the electric energy from biogas burning could supply the whole frozen pulp industry requirement with an additional surplus for sales to the grid. Hence, electricity replacement contributes to greenhouse gas mitigation. The assessment of the potential electric energy generation illustrates how technological integration can be an innovative way to rethink the açaí production chain using a circular economy concept. Moreover, the technological advances could stimulate sustainable agro‐industrial intensification in areas such as the Legal Amazon, considered a hotspot for climate change mitigation. © 2021 Society of Industrial Chemistry and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of American Anthropologist 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.)

There is a growing trend of seeking to move toward sustainable development and because of this, together with the increasingly watchful eye of society, companies are increasingly taking note of this new niche in the stock market. Thus, fund managers and investors see a need to align profits with environmental, social and economic variables in business management as well as corporate governance. The Brazilian Corporate Sustainability Index (Índice de Sustentabilidade Empresarial—ISE) was created in 2005 by the São Paulo Stock Exchange, currently known as B3, which is the result of the merger between the BM&FBovespa and CETIP, and has this nomenclature in reference to the initial letters of Brasil, Bolsa, Balcão. The ISE aims to identify a company's commitment to sustainability and thereby guide the capital and credit market, highlighting companies that incorporate social and environmental risks into the organization, seeking to positively influence the image of the companies involved. The aim of this research was to verify the superior economic and financial performance of the Brazilian companies that are included in the ISE portfolio in relation to the other companies that constitute the Ibovespa, between the years of 2014 and 2018. As a result, a neutral relationship between financial performance and sustainable development was identified, which is consistent with the results of previous studies referenced and addressed in this research. The findings of this study provide an important contribution to the existing research on sustainability in financial markets, since few scientific articles that investigate, using indicators and statistical treatment, the Brazilian sustainability market, are available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The income and pollution relationship is widely debated in the literature, but income alone cannot control emissions, and that requires environmental regulation measures. Even though weak environmental regulations may offset market failures caused by negative externality of pollution, investigation of their role in the control of environmental pollution is of prime importance. To better understand the role of environmental regulations in carbon emissions mitigation, this study takes a step to offers a new perspective on the role of environmental regulations in pollution reduction for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. To this end, the study employs panel data econometric tools for data spanning from 1995 to 2016. Besides, the study conducts fully modified ordinary least squares estimator to get country‐wise results. Empirical results confirm the positive role of environmental regulations in carbon emission mitigation, and the current environmental control measures are successful in achieving pollution reduction targets in the sample countries. Environmental regulations help in establishing the inverted U‐shaped relationship between income and pollution. Climate change mitigation in BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) countries is not associated with economic development only but driven by effective environmental regulations as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses how a gendered perspective on community‐based tourism (CBT) contributes to the realisation of identity and sovereignty of quilombos. It examines the potential sustainability of CBT coupled with agro‐ecological practices within the context of gendered identity politics. Drawing from in‐depth ethnographic and archival research conducted between February and July 2015 at Campinho da Independência (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), the article discusses how female leaders integrate sustainable agro‐ecological practices and CBT with environmental education in what they call 'ethno‐ecological tourism'. This approach to CBT strengthens a proudly defiant version of Afro‐Brazilian ethnic identity vis‐à‐vis the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Participatory action research (PAR) in rural Amazon communities in protected areas (PA) should be a requisite element of community psychology (CP) in Northern Brazil, because it allies investigation with action strategies appropriate to the specificities and problems of those rural communities. In this context, this article intends to promote reflection about PAR carried out in the communities of Auati‐Paraná Extractive Reserve, a federal PA of sustainable use in the western Amazon rainforest, and to highlight elements to community psychologists to solve issues faced by those rural Amazon communities. The PAR's aim was to help in the implementation of a sustainable development marquetry project that uses fallen wood resources and to monitor its psycho‐social‐environmental impact. We present and discuss the PAR's trajectory and its critical points for a CP approach in an Amazon PA context: group work, articulations, disagreements, and political negotiations between partners that permeate the PA's management and environmental governance in Amazon, despite the unexpected outcome of the marquetry project. We emphasize the critical engagement, committed praxis, and political role of CP in PA contexts, necessary for CP in Northern Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Initial progress in the implementation of social responsibility initiatives [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An often overlooked issue in the discussion of sustainable development is that of municipal solid waste management. Yet solid waste management is pervasive in all sustainable development objectives: its management, or lack thereof, can have major implications for the health of the environment, economy and society. This article argues the need for a governance dimension in the sustainability model, taking into account implementation strategies, monitoring and institutional controls. This focus heavily relies on integrated public-private partnerships and deliberative democracy approaches in order to achieve sustainability within the solid waste management sector. In this article, national and local policies in Brazil are analysed, primarily focusing on the inclusion of informal waste collection into municipal solid waste management schemes. The city of Curitiba, in the state of Paraná, which is world-renowned for its innovative sustainable development policies, is used to frame and illustrate the case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to tackle poverty and hunger in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) there is a strong case for a focus of effort on improving rainfed agricultural systems. The challenge is to deliver a transformation of agricultural productivity in such systems without adverse impacts on environmental goods and services. We examine the growing advocacy of ‘conservation agriculture’ (CA) as the desired approach and assess the evidence to support the assertion that it can deliver sustainable agricultural development in SSA. We examine in particular the evidence which derives from experience with ‘zero tillage sustainable agriculture’ in Brazil. We ask the question, is there a case for a paradigm shift in land husbandry? The case for a paradigm shift hangs on the premise that conventional practice promotes land degradation, while adoption of CA practice delivers a range of benefits through promoting soil ecosystem health. The guiding principle is to promote biological tillage through minimizing mechanical soil disturbance and maintaining permanent organic soil cover. We examine evidence of benefits in the context of the wider debate on low-external-input technology. We conclude that CA does not overcome constraints on low-external-input systems and will deliver the productivity gains that are required to achieve food security and poverty targets only if farmers have access to fertilizers and herbicides. We conclude also that widespread adoption of the new paradigm amongst millions of small farmers in order to achieve the ‘doubly green revolution’ in SSA is subject to the familiar constraints of knowledge transfer and success will depend upon creating innovation networks. Further, we conclude that amongst small-scale farmers partial adoption will be the norm and it is not clear that this will deliver soil health benefits claimed for full adoption of the new paradigm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study which examines two hypothesis about how the chemical industry in Brazil is preparing for the sustainability challenge. The first hypothesis is that a firm's strategic planning process is an important factor in defining its posture to sustainable development. The second hypothesis is that when companies have more mature behavior towards sustainable development, they experience a positive impact on their economic, social and environmental results.

This article examines the relationship between increased metal mining and sustainable development in the eastern section of the Amazonian state of Pará in Brazil. Since the early 1980s, mining has grown rapidly in Pará and local mining operations have become global leaders in the production of iron, manganese, bauxite, aluminum, gold, copper and — in the near future — nickel. To stay in tune with global standards, these companies have committed themselves to the principles of sustainability and have obtained certification for both social and environmental aspects of their activities. The article looks into whether such certification is linked to sustainable development of the relatively poor regions where these companies operate. The main findings are that: (1) there is a visible association between certification and improved performance by the companies, but not with the development of nearby areas; and (2) social-environmental certification processes place more emphasis on ecological variables than on social ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study on sustainable development. Crises addressed by the Rio Conference on Environment and Development; Erosion of livelihoods through industrial agriculture; Jobs and nature protection through renewables. INSETS: Vendors of the Earth;The Double Face of the Kyoto Protocol;Contraction and Convergence;Fairness, Not Sacrifice

The article provides an overview of the June 16-July 15, 2012 issue of the "Africa Research Bulletin." One of the articles featured is the positive economic growth of 6.4 percent in West Africa in 2011. Other topics discussed are the highlights of the United Nations (UN) Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, challenge for Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi to revive the country's economy and Kenya's cancellation of its plans to import crude oil from Iran.