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Copyright of Studia Ecologiae et Bioethicae is the property of Uniwerystet Kardynala Stefana Wyznskiege w Warzawie 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 adoption in 2018 of the Escazú Agreement by the countries of the Latin American and Caribbean region marks the second regional legal instrument aimed at the implementation of Principle 10 of the 1992 Rio Declaration, joining the Aarhus Convention of the pan-European region. The international community has settled upon the regional level as the appropriate means for implementing standards related to access to information, public participation, and access to justice in environmental matters. The appropriateness of the regional level is demonstrated by the differences and innovations found in the Escazú Agreement, in its scope and definitions, background principles, burden of proof and protections of environmental defenders and vulnerable populations. Yet, the regional approach also entails risks, as demonstrated by the limitation of the scope of rights for nationals of the country where specific activities are planned or occurring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focusing on the domestic policy network around the Blue Amazon paradigm, this article challenges the frequently presented argument of Brazil as a key player in global environmental governance. In doing so, it applies a policy network approach to study the institutional framework that structures the country's engagement in relation to the Antarctica and the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) negotiation agendas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Jurídica (0103-3506) is the property of Revista Juridica 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.)

Quantitative measures have become a cornerstone in social knowledge formation and policy-making. They have also been criticized as forms of epistemic authority that close off debate, serve elite interests, and empower states and markets over the people. Such concerns are well-founded. This article, however, argues that a participatory and epistemically chastened approach to measurement development and dissemination can make the world legible without falling into depoliticizing assertions of undemocratic authority. Through a critical reading of the history, theory, and methodology of the indicator and indexing movement, the article argues that statistics can serve as a democratic pedagogy that empowers citizens to understand and transform large and complex political realities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Forestry Review is the property of Commonwealth Forestry Association 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.)

Barcelona'92 developed an urban regeneration of abandoned areas introducing some environmental measures. At the same time, ecological issues gained global social and political awareness. One month before the Games of the XXV Olympiad, the Earth Summit in Rio decreed conclusions that were adopted by the International Olympic Committee in the following years. However, the 1992 Summer Olympics already implemented some ecological awakening initiatives, before Olympism officially decreed its third green dimension. Therefore, Barcelona'92 proved that ecological matters could be communicated at the Olympics, something influenced by the international impact of the Earth Summit. Such influence motivated communication projects like the exhibition 'Beloved Earth' during the Games, pedagogical activities at the Youth Camp, the Earth Pledge mural in the Olympic Village and the planting of a number of trees equivalent to the amount of paper consumed. The implementation of these initiatives paved the way for a later integration of an eco-friendly corporate image within the Olympic Movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on ocean governance which was enunciated in Chapter 17 of Agenda 21, adopted by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. It mentions functioning of ecosystems to human welfare and has a role in the contexts of wide-range decision-making, such as ecosystem-based management (ebm). It also mentions problems regarding ethics and equity in decision making processes in Brazil and stakeholders should be involved in formulating and implementing policies.

Eco-labels present a promising policy tool in the effort to achieve sustainable consumption. Many questions remain, however, about the extent to which eco-labels can contribute to sustainability efforts and how to maximize their effectiveness. This Article deploys research from evolutionary psychology, behavioral law and economics, and norm theory to offer specific insights for the design and implementation of eco-labels to enhance their influence on sustainable consumer choice. Notably, this research suggests possibilities for ecolabels to shape or expand consumer preferences for green goods, and thereby enhance eco-label influence on consumer behavior by extending it beyond eco-minded consumers. We suggest that public exposure of the label (so that people see it) and the exposure of the purchasing behavior (so that other people can see that you have bought the product) are key elements to the success of eco-labels--the social context around product purchasing may be as important as the ecolabel itself. We recommend that behavioral insights be used to improve eco-labeling as traditionally understood by incorporating knowledge about behavioral tendencies into label design so as to allow for more accurate matching of consumers' preexisting environmental preferences to eco-labeled goods, and develop next-generation ecolabeling policy with the potential to significantly expand the market for eco-labeled goods. Specifically, 1) Eco-labels could be purposefully designed and implemented to attract consumers motivated by social norms; 2) Eco-labels could appeal to a wider range of abstract norm alternate more broadly or locally accepted and strong abstract that are stronger and/or more broadly accepted or locally-salient; and 3) Ecolabels could highlight private, near and near-term benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective We ask whether framing U.N. actions in terms of institutional origins or multilateral support has differential effects on attitudes toward environmental sustainability policy. Methods A survey experiment exposed individuals to different descriptions of U.N. Agenda 21, a 1992 sustainable development policy document. Results Individuals who learned about Agenda 21 in terms of the international consensus behind the document at its inception were significantly more likely to support it and find it important. Conservative individuals who learned Agenda 21 was a U.N. document were significantly less likely to believe it was important and to want the federal government to incentivize implementation. Conclusions Framing U.N. action in terms of international consensus may be a gateway toward building support among Americans in general. Framing U.N. action in terms of the institution behind the action has little effect on opinion, except in some instances when it turns conservatives against said action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This analysis relates the global environmental imperative of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) to the policies and regulatory approaches underlying flood risk management in England. Specifically, the discussion engages with selected points of debate between the House of Commons, Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee and the Government, arising from the Committee's 2016 Report on Future Flood Prevention. The Committee and the Government took markedly different positions on the 'new governance model' for flood risk management (proposed by the Committee) and the potential for greater use of 'natural flood management'. This debate is reviewed and contrasted with the positions that might have been reached by applying IWRM to these issues. The opinion offered is that the neglect of water integration is a matter of concern. It is proposed that there should be a duty to have regard to IWRM in water policy and decision-making, and a review of the highly fragmented state of water legislation to identify the scope that exists for greater integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work was based on analyses of the following three issues: the detailed clauses of Agenda 21, a comparison of international rating systems, and the impact of the local context of Oman. The platform of Agenda 21 of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development is used to verify and test various international rating systems and study their common concerns as well as how each of them prioritizes certain categories relevant to the local context of Oman. A study is conducted on the following constraints of the built environment of Oman: water, energy, materials and construction, sustainable sites, indoor environmental quality, waste management, and integrated development. The study concludes with a proposal of framework of an environmental rating system with a hierarchy of three levels, including categories, indicators, and parameters. It is to be named the Oman Building Environmental Certification (OMBEC), and it will be a pilot rating system for present-day homes. The study is intended to develop other rating systems in the future to address more building types, such as schools, healthcare and office buildings, and neighborhood development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than 20 years after the Earth Summit of 1992, which introduced important social and ecological principles for policy-making and institutionalised participation, citizens are still largely excluded from decision-making processes that affect them. The internet was expected to change the balance of power in global politics. It has provided a platform for the presentation of alternative discourses and facilitated the organisation of social movements that clamour for a voice in global decision-making. The recent phenomenon of digital mobilisation has enthused the media, politicians, scholars and internet users alike. Could this be global democracy in the making? This article takes a critical look at the current dynamics of online participation, in particular the recent trend of online mass mobilisation, and will analyse the discourse, claims and practices of the web’s largest movement, Avaaz, in an attempt to assess the democratic quality of an organisation that insists it is “people-powered” and “member-driven”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: While almost all life cycle assessment (LCA) studies published so far are based on generic vehicles, type approval energy consumption as well as emission data, and application scenarios related to standardized laboratory-based driving cycles, this projects aims at quantifying the LCA based on a real-world vehicle composition and energy consumption data measured before and after the electric conversion of a mini class car. Furthermore, consequences of a second life of a vehicle's glider on the environmental impact were investigated. Methods: After having driven 100,000 km, a Smart was converted from combustion to electric in a laboratory project. The inventory was developed grounded upon materials data from laboratory measurements during the conversion process as well as on real-world energy consumption data prior and after the conversion. Three base models are compared in this life cycle impact assessment: a conventional new Smart (combustion engine), a new electric Smart, and a Smart converted from combustion engine to electric. Together with two sensitivity analyses (four different electricity mixes as well as urban vs. mixed driving conditions) and two EOL treatments, 36 scenarios have been quantified. The inventory is based on Ecoinvent database v 2.2 as a background system and includes raw material extraction. Results and discussion: In urban use, the modeled battery electric vehicle has a favorable environmental impact compared to the ICEV even when charged with the German electricity mix of the year 2013. The advantage in summed up endpoints of the converted Smart is 23 % vs. the new electric Smart on average for the mixed driving conditions and 26 % for the urban driving conditions, respectively. Over a variety of impact categories, electricity consumption during battery cell production in China as well as impacts due to microelectronic components dominated the life cycle. Results for 18 midpoint categories, endpoints for damages to human health, to resource quality and to ecosystem quality as well as the Single score endpoints are reported. Conclusions: This investigation points out that real-world treatments in inventory development can more specifically outline the environmental advantages of the electric car. The electric conversion of a used combustion engine vehicle can save an additional 16 % (CO-eq) and 19 % (single score endpoints) of the environmental impact over a lifetime, respectively, when compared with the new BEV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cuba embraced integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) after the Earth Summit, 1992. A series of legal and institutional arrangements rapidly emerged, creating a more solid framework for ICZM in the Caribbean island. Nonetheless, although nearly 48% of Cuba jurisdictional area is ocean, the scope of most ICZM initiatives in the country has been limited to coastal terrestrial issues. Thus, recognition for the inclusion of the marine component of the coastal zone in the national policies and legislation for ocean and coastal management is needed. This paper discusses a number of policy and legal shortcomings that constrain integration and success in ICZM initiatives. Such limitations coupled with opportunities arising from the current political and economic context in the island put the realization of successful ICZM at risk. Overall, the development of a new and comprehensive policy that supports integrated coastal and ocean management in Cuba is critical for: i) addressing the gaps and limitations of the national ICZM approach; and ii) addressing the imminent challenges and opportunities that the new Cuban economic model may represent to the national governance of ICZM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers insight to the outcome principles of United Nations (U.N.) environmental conferences. Topics discussed include analysis of soft law principles of the international law; an account of evolution of international environmental law and governance; and an account of various conference of the U.N. such as Conference on the Human Environment, Rio Conference, and Conferences on the Standardization of Geographical Names.

Oceans were a key theme of the Rio+20 Conference in 2012 and the importance of conservation and sustainable use of the oceans was reinforced by the UN member states. This paper examines Australia’s policy capacity to develop and implement oceans policies in the context of its history of responses to key commitments to international forums, such as United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development and the World Summit on Sustainable Development. Our analysis highlights that governments such as Australia are now consciously making policies in oceans governance that they know they have the capacity to deliver. We conclude that Australian oceans governance has been constrained by this tendency towards focusing on relatively ‘safe’ areas of policy development, and that deeper more radical engagement is needed in order to build policy capacity so that Australia again becomes globally recognised as a leading nation in policy innovation in oceans governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article states in 1996, after 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, an Urban agenda was set to give sustainable boost to human settlement known as HABITAT II, in July 2016 HABITAT III will be to renew political commitment for urban development and also address poverty.

The Brundtland Commission Report, 1987 defined sustainable development as 'development, which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs'. The Earth Summit, 1992 put the concept of sustainable development on national policy agendas. Since Rio, there have been extensive efforts to operationalize sustainable development by governments, international organizations, local authorities, business, citizen groups and individuals. Agenda 21 provides for balancing economic and social needs with the capacity of the earth's resources and ecosystems and action plan to address the hard realities of extreme poverty, social inequity, and environmental degradation. The Constitution of India, 1950 incorporated legal basis of sustainable development in India under directives to protect and improve the environment and safeguard the forests and wildlife. The pillars of sustainable development are embedded in the fundamental rights to ensure environmental justice as normative ideals. The paper outlines evolutionary trends and contemporary advancement in sustainability law in innovative ways in the emerging challenges to environment and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of as developed by the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) is traced from antecedent concepts of ‘integrated reporting’ and earlier voluntary corporate reporting initiatives. The paper uses actor network theory and its conceptions of detour, affordance and laboratory to examine the development of while still controversial and where meanings remained open and malleable to the inscription of interests from a wide coalition of actors. The programme of action is interpreted through interviews with key individuals, official documents, publications and integrated reports circulated by the IIRC. The analysis highlights the imperatives of private standard setters and indicates how integrated reporting corporate governance regulation in South Africa provided a laboratory prototype for reshaping the UK ‘Connected Reporting’ initiative into the IIRC framework. The analysis reveals important detours and the associated affordances made during the development of : (a) the repositioning of in the corporate reporting infrastructure to ensure that it did not usurp the pre-existing frameworks of supporting actors; and (b) the specification of providers of financial capital as the intended reporting audience to ensure that it could meet the interests of those actors seeking a solution for more entity-specific, communicative, ‘de-cluttered’ corporate reporting. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Since the Convention on Biological Diversity was agreed upon at the Rio Earth Summit, global Protected Area (PA) coverage has increased whereas commensurable financial commitments to manage PAs have not. Here, we question whether biodiversity offsets should act as a complementary funding mechanism where funding for PAs is inadequate. Based on the additionality concept that underpins offsetting, biodiversity offsets set in PAs could be considered as not additional since PAs are already protected by legal or other means, and in theory should be adequately financed and managed. In practice however, many PAs are under increasing threat due to a lack of sufficient funding for staffing, infrastructure and other basic operational necessities, which renders their management ineffective, resulting in further loss of biodiversity. In such cases, we argue that additionality from a financial perspective can be demonstrated, opening up the opportunity for offset financing to provide enhanced protection of PAs. Even so, the use of offsets for PA financing is not straightforward due to the introduction of new risks to existing challenges that offsets face in general. We address four key challenges and highlight three advantages of using offset finance for improving PA management. We end by questioning whether the use of offset finance can deliver high quality biodiversity offsets through existing PAs, and what this might mean for biodiversity conservation more broadly. We infer that this mechanism has the potential to boost financing for conservation and help governments meet some of their national and international biodiversity conservation commitments, including realisation of Aichi Target 11. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the issue of Earth Summit held at Rio de Janeiro for reduction of green house gas emission & commitment from developing nations to do so according to their capacity. Investor community helps to reduce carbon emission at faster pace. Socially responsible investing (SRI) & Environmental, Social & Governance investment (ESG) plays struggling role to minimise greenhouse emission.

After the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED, Rio, 1992), theories and concepts of Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) have been further developed and thus have promoted the implementation of ICM worldwide. As a major maritime country, China attaches great importance to ocean governance and started its implementation of ICM in 1994 when China joined the GEF/UNDP/IMO Regional Programme for the Prevention and Management of Marine Pollution in the East Asian Seas for the first time. In the last two decades or so, while implementing and scaling up ICM in cooperation with the Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA), the authors found that the local government-based ICM with active participation of all stakeholders is a suitable integrated coastal management approach for China. This is actually an adaptive ICM with Chinese characteristics—integrated coastal governance (ICG). In this paper, the authors illustrate the characteristics of ICM implemented in China with a positive analysis of the practice of ICM in Quanzhou, Fujian Province. To break down the barriers among sectors in the implementation of ICM, the municipal government established a special leading group (ad-hoc committee) to exercise the centralized leadership of the Government for leading the implementation. Though there was not significant participation of NGOs in the implementation of ICM, the broad public participation under the leadership of the local government laid the groundwork for the success. Finally, this paper gives a discussion on possibilities for further improvement of China's ocean governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This introduction notes the contributions of various authors to the first issue of theJournal of Global Ethics2015Forumand briefly explains the United Nations process through which the sustainable development goals have been formulated up to the receipt by the General Assembly, in August 2014, of theReport of the Open Working Group of the General Assembly on Sustainable Development Goals(UN A/68/970). The goals are identified as a confluence of distinct streams of UN work attended to variously by policy experts and political figures in the past several decades. Sources include, most obviously, the Millennium Declaration of 2000 and the Millennium Development Goals, but also the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, the Human Development Reports of 1990 forward, and the 1987 Brundtland Report. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- This paper aims to present an overview of the design and implementation of a curriculum review undertaken at Plymouth University, UK, to gauge the incidence and status of sustainability in degree programmes across the curriculum. The paper outlines the methodological approach taken, reviews findings and summarises the effects and limitations of the exercise. Design/methodology/approach -- Rather than creating a criteria-based auditing tool, which might have been interpreted by academics as top-down evaluation of practice, emphasis was placed on self-evaluation of how the degree programmes were implementing sustainability in a number of broad areas, such as curriculum content, pedagogical approaches and student engagement. A review tool was created and distributed to all undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes in the four campus-based faculties in the university. In particular, the review was designed to contribute the institutional annual submissions to the Learning in Future Environments index. Findings -- The paper discusses findings in some key areas relating to curriculum content, pedagogical approaches, partnerships and student engagement. Some of the obstacles and limitations identified by programme leaders in implementing education for sustainable development are discussed and areas of future consideration are included. Originality/value -- The review contributes to the limited national and international examples available of institution-wide curriculum reviews in the arena of education for sustainable development. The discussion of the problems, benefits and implications will be of value to other higher education institutions considering undertaking their own curriculum review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the concept of diakonia in relation to climate change, sustainability, and sustainable development. Topics include the "Limits to Growth" report by the Club of Rome, the global development of the ecumenical movement, and the effects of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions on the environment. It also discusses the adoption of Agenda 21 at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) also known as the Earth Summit.

Copyright of Electrotehnica, Electronica, Automatica is the property of ICPE SA (Editura Electra) 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 article focuses on the influence of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) on the development of domestic environmental policy and multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs). Topics discussed include the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in 1972 (the Stockholm Conference), the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1976.

With the development of marine economy in coastal provinces and cities, there comes a series of environmental problems. Marine regional management, as a completely new marine management mode, transforms traditional management mode and can protect marine ecosystem. Thus, the marine regional management is feasible and applicable in China. This paper firstly discussed connotation and development of the marine regional management in China and pointed that the marine regional management is integrated management of a certain marine region. Next, it summarized characteristics of the marine regional management at current stage, for example, land-based pollution of trans-geographic system and marine management under regional government cooperative mechanism. Finally, it came up with recommendations including combining theory and practice of the marine regional management, and establishing marine regional management system as soon as possible, to realize benign interaction and sustainable development of marine economy and ecological environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops an environment input-output (EIO) model to calculate embedded carbon footprints (ECF) from a consumption perspective, based on which an analysis is conducted on the trends and spatial distribution of urban households' ECF in China. The results demonstrate that energy efficiency improvements might not definitely result in a reduction of China's ECF, which is consistent with the Jevons paradox. Survival-oriented emissions account for over 35% of China's ECF, but the percentage is declining gradually. Although development-oriented emissions only take up 15% of the total ECF, the recent years has witnessed a dramatic increase of the percentage. These findings indicate the broad scope of China's ECF. Furthermore, a significant discrepancy on the spatial distribution of ECF is observed and is attributed to the diversity of economic development stages, consumptive policies, and consumption patterns among regions. Finally, relevant policy implications are derived and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, 1992, sustainability has become a key concept for the political and academic discussion of a common vision for the future development of a world-society. The authors of the following article focus on sustainability as a holistic principle in six different dimensions: ecological as the base of the system of all living beings, economic, political, social and pedagogic as areas of human acting, and a spiritual-ethical dimension as a fundamental attitude. The fundamental insights are based on the Earth Charter, which was elaborated with contributions from Paulo Freire (2000, p. 66-67) and Moacir Gadotti (2010, p.13-27). The article was written in a German academic context and aims to inspire interdisciplinary discussion from an international perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since Agenda 21, drawn up after the UN Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the merger of environmentalism and development has been pitched as a ‘win–win’ scenario often coined as ‘conservation-as-development’. By integrating local populations in the environmental projects ‘conservation-as-development’ claim to overcome negative aspects of the nature–culture divide. Using the arguments forwarded by Cortes-Vazquez, Turner, Semedi and Howell in this issue, the article critically discusses the development of these environmentalist efforts, exemplified by the UNESCO Biosphere reserves and the UN-REDD, to suggest that the natureculture divide keep cropping up in new constellations despite the official rhetoric. It is suggested that a solution is to be found in a serious, ethnographic approach that pays attention to the new social networks and material flows that tie local and global worlds together through these forms of environmentalist practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was signed up in the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Earth Summit, which was held in Rio de Janerio, Brazil in 1992 with the main aim of stabilizing the level of the human-induced greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which cause global warming and climate change, to ensure a sustainable world. The Kyoto Protocol was created under the UNFCCC in 1977 to limit and reduce the collective emissions of greenhouse gases of the industrialized countries. Global climate change caused by global warming is not an issue that can be solved easily by the countries on their own. The Kyoto Protocol, which was regulated to struggle against this issue of the whole planet, predicts three "flexibility mechanism": Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), Joint Implementation (JI) and Emissions Trading (ET). In this study, carbon markets which have been occurred with the implementation of flexibility mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol, will be examined with the Turkey's situation in the protocol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International environmental agreements require negotiation and cooperation among countries. This paper attempts to analyze the presence and nature of inter-country interactions in the process of ratifying such agreements. We develop a theoretical argument based on the notions of strategic substitutability and strategic complementarity and study the interactions among three different peer types: geographic neighbors, trading partners and green investment projects partners (in our case, clean development mechanism projects partners). We test for the presence of interactions by taking into account a temporal dimension, which constitutes a methodological contribution. To this end, we introduce spatially lagged endogenous variables into a parametric survival model and apply the proposed framework to the Kyoto Protocol ratification process. Our data sample covers 164 countries for the period 1998 to 2009. We find evidence that, while countries' ratification decisions are basically strategic substitutes, they become strategic complements once we focus on the ratification decisions of specific peers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities have become crucial actors for the global governance of climate change. Their increased activity in this field is reflected by the rising number of adoptions of local climate strategies in an original sample of 274 European cities from 1992 to 2009. Using event history analysis, I find that this spread is promoted by transnational municipal networks (TMNs) successfully deploying strategies for governance by diffusion, their impact exceeding that of most alternative explanatory factors cited in the literature. Given their capacity to foster the spread of climate policy innovations among cities, TMNs can thus be expected to play a decisive role in a climate governance system that is becoming increasingly fragmented, polycentric, and transnational. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problems that climate change present stray from the traditional paradigm of global justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The local was institutionalised as a key scale for environmental action at the Earth Summit, and remains salient in discourse, policy, and action. However, given both real changes and geographical insights into the politics of scale in the past twenty years, we suggest it is time to (re)consider this focus. We assess local sustainability through the lens of scalar politics, arguing for the need to consider what challenges particular scale frames foreground and which they silence. We focus on three changes which have occurred in the last twenty years--the growing salience of the Global South, shifts from environmentalism to sustainability, and new governance patterns--and reflect on the significance of these changes for local sustainability. We suggest the local frame occludes questions of international responsibility and justice, and that the changes since Rio require that we reconsider the scalar frame of local sustainability. We conclude by questioning who benefits from the local frame, and when, where, and for whom a focus on local sustainability may be relevant and ethical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability of innovation--both technical and social--to stretch and redefine 'limits to growth' was recognised at Stockholm in 1972, and has been a key feature in debates through to Rio+20 in 2012. Compared with previous major moments of global reflection about human and planetary futures--Stockholm, Rio in 1992, Johannesburg in 2002--we now have a better understanding of how innovation interacts with social, technological, and ecological systems to contribute to transitions at multiple levels. What can this improved understanding offer in terms of governance approaches that might enhance the interaction between local initiatives and global sustainability objectives post-Rio+20? The global political agenda over the last two decades has largely focused on creating economic and regulatory incentives to drive more sustainable industrial development patterns within and between nation-states--resulting most notably in the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. At the other end of the spectrum, 'Local Agenda 21', launched at the first Rio summit, envisaged a community-led response to sustainable development challenges locally. This paper discusses the successes and challenges of globally linked local action through a number of illustrative examples, reflecting on how these have contributed to Rio 1992's original objectives. In doing so, we will draw upon innovation studies and development studies to highlight three key issues in a hybrid politics of innovation for sustainability that links global and local: first, the direction in which innovation and development proceed; second, the distribution of the costs, benefits, and risks associated with such changes; third, the diversity of approaches and forms of innovation that contribute to global transitions to sustainability. Drawing on this analysis, we will also reflect on Rio+20, including the extent to which hybrid innovation politics is already emerging, whether this was reflected in the formal Rio+20 outcomes, and what this suggests for the future of international sustainable development summits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Electronic Turkish Studies is the property of Electronic Turkish Studies 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.)

With acceleration of economic globalization, ecological problem becomes increasingly prominent, and forestry and forest issues become world concerns. Since 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, sustainable operation of forest becomes a subject of times, and hot issues, such as climate change, value assessment of forest resource, biomass energy of forestry, combating illegal timber and international forest problems, gradually become world concerns. This paper sum up these hot issues, analyzes background and current situations of forestry development, and discusses basic development trends of global forestry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Given that prioritization of programmes is a key concern in Local Agenda 21 processes, the aim of this paper is to explore how the Analytic Network Process (ANP) can provide greater consistency and legitimacy to prioritization of local action plans. Through the analysis of an experience in the municipality of Benetusser in Spain, the study shows how ANP, by modelling reality as a network of multiple and mutual interrelations, embraces complexity and translates it into a set of operational questionnaires that help participants to reflect on their preferences and think deeply on the real implications of programmes for sustainable development. In the case study, citizens, technical staff and politicians of Benetusser carried out the prioritization process by defining a set of criteria and assessing the programmes in an interrelated way. The experience shows that the ANP procedure not only allows prioritization to be dealt with in an organized and systematic way, but also enables reflective thinking on sustainable development and the role of Local Agenda 21 itself. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Occidente atraviesa por una de sus peores crisis económicas, pero los gobiernos se ocupan del equilibrio macroeconómico sin abordar la desconexión entre economía y medio ambiente, ni los componentes sociales del desarrollo. La degradación ecológica planetaria y su impacto en el bienestar requieren un enfoque sostenible. Aunque ha habido avances desde la Conferencia de las Naciones Unidas sobre el Medio Ambiente y el Desarrollo de 1992, aún no se ha adoptado una vía de desarrollo que contemple el funcionamiento de los ecosistemas o las persistentes desigualdades sociales y de género. Las economistas feministas han elaborado propuestas teóricas y metodológicas tendientes a reconocer el valor del trabajo doméstico, que podrían fortalecerse mediante una perspectiva ecológica. Asimismo, el desarrollo sostenible podría incorporar la perspectiva de género y la ética del cuidado cuya conexión se examina aquí, explorándose las sinergias entre género y medio ambiente y delineando un enfoque integrador sobre la sostenibilidad. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable forestry is considered as one of the most important focal points for sustainable development, as it is part of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio in 1992 which followed the completion of “Our Common Future.” To this end, many studies have been carried out on implementing of sustainable forestry at the global level. Geographically, Turkey can be seen as part of Pan-European and Near East sustainable forestry initiatives. Forest organizations have carried out many studies to implement the decisions made with these initiatives in line with their own needs in forest management. While conducting studies in the framework of the National Forestry Program prepared within this context, people have been confronted with various problems due to insufficient infrastructure and implementation difficulties. This article provides information on sustainable forestry leading to observations and suggestions relevant for Turkey. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]