Pub Date : 2022-04-05DOI: 10.12924/cis2022.10010001
Christopher J. Orr, Katie Kish
We are pleased to introduce the third special issue in Challenges in Sustainability entitled Sustainability transformations: Emerging pathways toward safe and just futures for people and the planet. This special issue emerged in partnership with the Canadian Society for Ecological Economics (CANSEE) in the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 crisis has led to many calls for recovery, to rebuild, and to build back better to address the climate crisis. But the pandemic has exposed vulnerabilities and tensions inherent in established political and economic systems. Existing vulnerabilities and inequalities have exacerbated challenges for health and wellbeing, threatened community livelihoods, and empeded efforts to achieve ecological stability and integrity. Moreover, tensions have revealed how deeply interconnected social, economic, and environmental dimensions of wellbeing are. Simply rebuilding to pursue the previous path is neither tenable nor desirable. Instead, the current context provides an opportunity to pivot towards safe and just futures for people and the planet. This urgent task demands courage, creativity, and experimentation. What groups, initiatives, and visions have been seeded or are emerging from the cracks created by the pandemic? What features of our systems must be reimagined and what relationships must be renegotiated? And what solutions are capable of catalyzing action that supports this reorientation? CANSEE supports emerging and established sustainability scholars and ecological economists in understanding and analyzing sustainability challenges from a perspective that is deeply critical of the status quo. Ecological economists have long emphasized the limits of attempting to address the climate crisis within an outdated growthoriented economic framework that prioritizes increasing economic activity at the expense of attending to quality and ecological integrity. Thus, ecological economists have important contributions to make in understanding and supporting sustainability transformations towards just, regenerative, and ecological economies. This special issue engages with sustainability challenges from an ecological economics perspective in the context of recent vulnerabilities, inequalities, injustices, and systemic tensions. Papers in this special issue use the lens, critiques, and tools of ecological economics to engage with problems at the intersection of ecological and social challenges. These contributions focus on multiple levels from the community to international scales to inform effective, inclusive, and transformative solutions. They are solution-oriented in that they apply ecological economics thinking to explore concrete problems that impact human and ecological wellbeing. An important contribution of this special issue is realworld application through knowledge transfer. Recognizing that solutions are inherently complex and systemic, they implicate diverse actors from governments, NGOs, Indi
{"title":"Sustainability Transformations: Emerging Pathways Toward Safe and Just Futures for People and the Planet","authors":"Christopher J. Orr, Katie Kish","doi":"10.12924/cis2022.10010001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12924/cis2022.10010001","url":null,"abstract":"We are pleased to introduce the third special issue in Challenges in Sustainability entitled Sustainability transformations: Emerging pathways toward safe and just futures for people and the planet. This special issue emerged in partnership with the Canadian Society for Ecological Economics (CANSEE) in the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 crisis has led to many calls for recovery, to rebuild, and to build back better to address the climate crisis. But the pandemic has exposed vulnerabilities and tensions inherent in established political and economic systems. Existing vulnerabilities and inequalities have exacerbated challenges for health and wellbeing, threatened community livelihoods, and empeded efforts to achieve ecological stability and integrity. Moreover, tensions have revealed how deeply interconnected social, economic, and environmental dimensions of wellbeing are. Simply rebuilding to pursue the previous path is neither tenable nor desirable. Instead, the current context provides an opportunity to pivot towards safe and just futures for people and the planet. This urgent task demands courage, creativity, and experimentation. What groups, initiatives, and visions have been seeded or are emerging from the cracks created by the pandemic? What features of our systems must be reimagined and what relationships must be renegotiated? And what solutions are capable of catalyzing action that supports this reorientation? CANSEE supports emerging and established sustainability scholars and ecological economists in understanding and analyzing sustainability challenges from a perspective that is deeply critical of the status quo. Ecological economists have long emphasized the limits of attempting to address the climate crisis within an outdated growthoriented economic framework that prioritizes increasing economic activity at the expense of attending to quality and ecological integrity. Thus, ecological economists have important contributions to make in understanding and supporting sustainability transformations towards just, regenerative, and ecological economies. This special issue engages with sustainability challenges from an ecological economics perspective in the context of recent vulnerabilities, inequalities, injustices, and systemic tensions. Papers in this special issue use the lens, critiques, and tools of ecological economics to engage with problems at the intersection of ecological and social challenges. These contributions focus on multiple levels from the community to international scales to inform effective, inclusive, and transformative solutions. They are solution-oriented in that they apply ecological economics thinking to explore concrete problems that impact human and ecological wellbeing. An important contribution of this special issue is realworld application through knowledge transfer. Recognizing that solutions are inherently complex and systemic, they implicate diverse actors from governments, NGOs, Indi","PeriodicalId":9944,"journal":{"name":"Challenges in Sustainability","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2022-04-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46185620","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-10-29DOI: 10.12924/cis2021.09010045
E. Nti, C. Wongnaa, Nana Sampson E. Edusah, D. Awunyo-Vitor, Vasco Baffour Kyei
Revenue mobilization is critical for community-managed water systems to overcome financial constraints and to achieve financial sustainability. Using data from beneficiaries of a community managed water supply system in Ghana, we employed descriptive statistics, chi-square, perception index and document review of the system’s financial reports to assess beneficiaries’ views and perception on revenue mobilization for operations and maintenance, system expansion as well as sustainability of the project. The results showed that revenue mobilization for sustainability of operations and maintenance is significantly influenced by water connection type and religion while marital status, age and income of beneficiaries determine sustainability of the project’s expansion. The findings further revealed a significant relationship between sustainability of replacement of the project’s accessories and water connection type as well as gender, marital status, age and income of beneficiaries. The average perception index of 3.2 showed that beneficiaries perceived revenue mobilization as very good for replacing the water system’s accessories. Revenue mobilization is able to support the water system’s expansion to help meet the increasing water demands. In addition, with an average perception index of 3.6, the beneficiaries’ perception was that revenue was enough to fund operations and maintenance. Furthermore, the document review of the system’s financial reports confirmed beneficiaries’ perception of sufficiency of revenue for operations and maintenance. Finally, we found weaknesses in revenue mobilization with over 40% of bills in arrears, mostly from private users. To build resilience to the financial challenge with enhanced innovations, the study recommends the institution of effective debt recovery strategies such as the provision of pre-paid metering for private users, similar to the public standpipe pay-as-you-fetch system as well as the introduction of smart tap technology for public standpipes in community-managed water supply systems.
{"title":"Towards Financial Sustainability: Beneficiaries’ Perception and Performance of Community Water Supply Services in Ghana","authors":"E. Nti, C. Wongnaa, Nana Sampson E. Edusah, D. Awunyo-Vitor, Vasco Baffour Kyei","doi":"10.12924/cis2021.09010045","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12924/cis2021.09010045","url":null,"abstract":"Revenue mobilization is critical for community-managed water systems to overcome financial constraints and to achieve financial sustainability. Using data from beneficiaries of a community managed water supply system in Ghana, we employed descriptive statistics, chi-square, perception index and document review of the system’s financial reports to assess beneficiaries’ views and perception on revenue mobilization for operations and maintenance, system expansion as well as sustainability of the project. The results showed that revenue mobilization for sustainability of operations and maintenance is significantly influenced by water connection type and religion while marital status, age and income of beneficiaries determine sustainability of the project’s expansion. The findings further revealed a significant relationship between sustainability of replacement of the project’s accessories and water connection type as well as gender, marital status, age and income of beneficiaries. The average perception index of 3.2 showed that beneficiaries perceived revenue mobilization as very good for replacing the water system’s accessories. Revenue mobilization is able to support the water system’s expansion to help meet the increasing water demands. In addition, with an average perception index of 3.6, the beneficiaries’ perception was that revenue was enough to fund operations and maintenance. Furthermore, the document review of the system’s financial reports confirmed beneficiaries’ perception of sufficiency of revenue for operations and maintenance. Finally, we found weaknesses in revenue mobilization with over 40% of bills in arrears, mostly from private users. To build resilience to the financial challenge with enhanced innovations, the study recommends the institution of effective debt recovery strategies such as the provision of pre-paid metering for private users, similar to the public standpipe pay-as-you-fetch system as well as the introduction of smart tap technology for public standpipes in community-managed water supply systems.","PeriodicalId":9944,"journal":{"name":"Challenges in Sustainability","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2021-10-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44584065","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-09-14DOI: 10.12924/cis2021.09010028
Bjoke Carron, B. Muys, J. Orshoven, Hans Leinfelder
In recent decades, the concept of Ecosystem Services (ES) has generated a paradigm shift in the perspective of human society on nature and has had an important awareness-raising role concerning the importance of ecosystems. However, the concept has not been capable to stop the loss of biodiversity and nature in order to meet the societal challenges of ES provision, especially in urbanized territories. From the reviewed literature, it is obvious that implementing the ES concept within spatial design and planning processes poses several difficulties. In this context we state that a more comprehensive approach is needed of which the ES concept is part. To move to genuine landscape change and a shift in land use and land stewardship, we argue that a landscape design approach can play a significant activating role. The goal of this paper is to underpin this assumption from a theoretical and methodological point of view. The paper first gives an overview of the difficulties that the field of ES science and practice is facing when implementing the ES concept in landscape design and planning processes. Then a landscape design approach is presented as an alternative approach and a possible way forward for genuine landscape change to meet the societal demand for ES.
{"title":"Landscape Design to Meet the Societal Demand for Ecosystem Services: A Perspective","authors":"Bjoke Carron, B. Muys, J. Orshoven, Hans Leinfelder","doi":"10.12924/cis2021.09010028","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12924/cis2021.09010028","url":null,"abstract":"In recent decades, the concept of Ecosystem Services (ES) has generated a paradigm shift in the perspective of human society on nature and has had an important awareness-raising role concerning the importance of ecosystems. However, the concept has not been capable to stop the loss of biodiversity and nature in order to meet the societal challenges of ES provision, especially in urbanized territories. From the reviewed literature, it is obvious that implementing the ES concept within spatial design and planning processes poses several difficulties. In this context we state that a more comprehensive approach is needed of which the ES concept is part. To move to genuine landscape change and a shift in land use and land stewardship, we argue that a landscape design approach can play a significant activating role. The goal of this paper is to underpin this assumption from a theoretical and methodological point of view. The paper first gives an overview of the difficulties that the field of ES science and practice is facing when implementing the ES concept in landscape design and planning processes. Then a landscape design approach is presented as an alternative approach and a possible way forward for genuine landscape change to meet the societal demand for ES.","PeriodicalId":9944,"journal":{"name":"Challenges in Sustainability","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2021-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49343516","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-05-26DOI: 10.12924/CIS2021.09010016
Esmat Heydari, M. Solhi, L. Janani, M. Farzadkia
Waste management and promotion of source separation by the public requires identification of the determinants of waste separation behavior, raising awareness, and reinforcing such behaviors. The present study aimed to determine the status of source separation behavior and identify the barriers, benefits, and factors affecting this behavior in Iran. This is a descriptive-analytic cross-sectional study conducted on 300 women selected through stratified sampling. The questionnaire applied included three sections. The validity and reliability of the self-made questionnaire were confirmed. In this study, descriptive statistics including the percentage, frequency, mean and standard deviation were used to describe the data, while chi-square and Fisher exact tests were applied to analyze the data. Logistic regression test was also used to determine the predictors of waste separation behavior. Only 17.7% of the respondents separated the wastes regularly. The age, level of education, benefits (OR = 6.746; 95% CI = 2.534–17.959), structural barriers (OR = 12.734; 95% CI = 3.516–46.119), motivation (OR = 9.613; 95% C I= 3.356–27.536), awareness (OR = 3.917; 95% CI = 3.351–11.356), and social norms (OR = 2.905; 95% CI = 1.030–8.191) were the determinants of source separation behavior. Considering the low participation rate in waste separation, efforts required to enhance such behavior need proper policy-making, training programs, and infrastructure to encourage the individuals to participate actively in waste separation. Educational interventions and campaigns are recommended to be designed to raise awareness and empower people.
废物管理和促进公众的源头分类需要确定废物分类行为的决定因素，提高认识，并加强这种行为。本研究旨在确定伊朗源分离行为的现状，并确定影响该行为的障碍、益处和因素。这是一项通过分层抽样对300名妇女进行的描述性分析横断面研究。所采用的问卷包括三个部分。验证了自制问卷的效度和信度。本研究采用百分比、频率、均值、标准差等描述性统计对数据进行描述，采用卡方检验和Fisher精确检验对数据进行分析。采用Logistic回归检验确定垃圾分类行为的预测因素。只有17.7%的回答者定期进行废物分类。年龄、受教育程度、福利(OR = 6.746;95% CI = 2.534-17.959)，结构性障碍(OR = 12.734;95% CI = 3.516-46.119)，动机(OR = 9.613;95% ci = 3.356-27.536)，意识(OR = 3.917;95% CI = 3.351-11.356)和社会规范(OR = 2.905;95% CI = 1.030-8.191)是源分离行为的决定因素。考虑到废物分类参与率低，提高这种行为所需的努力需要适当的政策制定、培训计划和基础设施，以鼓励个人积极参与废物分类。建议采取教育干预措施和开展教育运动，以提高认识和增强人民的权能。
{"title":"Determinants of Sustainability in Recycling of Municipal Solid Waste: Application of Community-Based Social Marketing (CBSM)","authors":"Esmat Heydari, M. Solhi, L. Janani, M. Farzadkia","doi":"10.12924/CIS2021.09010016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12924/CIS2021.09010016","url":null,"abstract":"Waste management and promotion of source separation by the public requires identification of the determinants of waste separation behavior, raising awareness, and reinforcing such behaviors. The present study aimed to determine the status of source separation behavior and identify the barriers, benefits, and factors affecting this behavior in Iran. This is a descriptive-analytic cross-sectional study conducted on 300 women selected through stratified sampling. The questionnaire applied included three sections. The validity and reliability of the self-made questionnaire were confirmed. In this study, descriptive statistics including the percentage, frequency, mean and standard deviation were used to describe the data, while chi-square and Fisher exact tests were applied to analyze the data. Logistic regression test was also used to determine the predictors of waste separation behavior. Only 17.7% of the respondents separated the wastes regularly. The age, level of education, benefits (OR = 6.746; 95% CI = 2.534–17.959), structural barriers (OR = 12.734; 95% CI = 3.516–46.119), motivation (OR = 9.613; 95% C I= 3.356–27.536), awareness (OR = 3.917; 95% CI = 3.351–11.356), and social norms (OR = 2.905; 95% CI = 1.030–8.191) were the determinants of source separation behavior. Considering the low participation rate in waste separation, efforts required to enhance such behavior need proper policy-making, training programs, and infrastructure to encourage the individuals to participate actively in waste separation. Educational interventions and campaigns are recommended to be designed to raise awareness and empower people.","PeriodicalId":9944,"journal":{"name":"Challenges in Sustainability","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2021-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46368591","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-02-24DOI: 10.12924/CIS2021.09010001
C. G. Kaua, T. Thenya, J. Mutheu
Climate variability is variation of climate elements from the longterm mean state on all spatiotemporal scales. Climate variability affects microfinance institutions directly and indirectly through physical and transition risks. However, no studies have analyzed the effects of climate variability in relation to informal microfinance institutions. The study, therefore, aimed to analyze the effects of climate variability in relation to informal microfinance institutions. It used a descriptive study design and multi-stage sampling design. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis, descriptive analysis, and Kendall’s tau-b correlation analysis. The study found a positive trend in climate variability (τ b = 0.174, α>0.05). Local people are highly vulnerable to climate variability as confirmed by 98.7% of the respondents who observed that climate variability affects their livelihoods. This vulnerability stems from the effect of climate variability on access to capital assets and livelihood strategies. Vulnerability to climate variability has a significant negative effect on loan repayment performance, loan access and sustainability, and hence on informal microfinance performance (τ b = - 0.109**, P <0.01). Nevertheless, climate variability increases participation in informal microfinance institutions as shown by the positive relationship with the number of people who joined informal microfinance institutions (τ b = 0.239**, P <0.01) and the number formed per year (τ b = 0.137, P <0.01) from 1981 to 2018. This is because informal microfinance institutions help vulnerable households in building resilience to climate variability as observed by 80.8% of the respondents.. The characteristics of informal microfinance institutions have positive or negative relationships with vulnerability to climate variability. These relationships are and could be further leveraged upon to address effects of climate variability on informal microfinance institutions. Detailed contextual analysis of informal microfinance institutions in the nexus of climate variability is thus imperative to inform actions aimed at cushioning the groups and their members against the impacts.
气候变率是气候要素在所有时空尺度上从长期平均状态的变化。气候变化通过物理风险和过渡风险直接或间接地影响小额信贷机构。然而，没有研究分析了气候变化对非正式小额信贷机构的影响。因此，本研究旨在分析气候变化对非正式小额信贷机构的影响。采用描述性研究设计和多阶段抽样设计。数据分析采用专题分析、描述性分析和Kendall 's tau-b相关分析。研究发现气候变率呈正趋势(τ b = 0.174， α>0.05)。98.7%的受访者认为气候变率影响了他们的生计，这证实了当地人极易受到气候变率的影响。这种脆弱性源于气候变化对获取资本资产和生计战略的影响。气候变率脆弱性对贷款偿还绩效、贷款获取和可持续性产生显著的负面影响，从而对非正式小额信贷绩效产生显著影响(τ b = - 0.109**， P <0.01)。然而，气候变率增加了非正式小额信贷机构的参与，这与1981年至2018年加入非正式小额信贷机构的人数(τ b = 0.239**， P <0.01)和每年成立的人数(τ b = 0.137, P <0.01)呈正相关。这是因为80.8%的受访者指出，非正式小额信贷机构帮助脆弱家庭建立抵御气候变化的能力。非正式小额信贷机构的特征与易受气候变率影响的程度存在正相关或负相关关系。这些关系可以进一步加以利用，以解决气候变化对非正式小额信贷机构的影响。因此，必须对非正式小额信贷机构与气候变化的关系进行详细的背景分析，以便为旨在减轻这些群体及其成员的影响的行动提供信息。
{"title":"Analyzing Effects Of Climate Variability In The Nexus Of Informal Microfinance Institutions: A Case Study Of Tharaka South Subcounty, Kenya","authors":"C. G. Kaua, T. Thenya, J. Mutheu","doi":"10.12924/CIS2021.09010001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12924/CIS2021.09010001","url":null,"abstract":"Climate variability is variation of climate elements from the longterm mean state on all spatiotemporal scales. Climate variability affects microfinance institutions directly and indirectly through physical and transition risks. However, no studies have analyzed the effects of climate variability in relation to informal microfinance institutions. The study, therefore, aimed to analyze the effects of climate variability in relation to informal microfinance institutions. It used a descriptive study design and multi-stage sampling design. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis, descriptive analysis, and Kendall’s tau-b correlation analysis. The study found a positive trend in climate variability (τ b = 0.174, α>0.05). Local people are highly vulnerable to climate variability as confirmed by 98.7% of the respondents who observed that climate variability affects their livelihoods. This vulnerability stems from the effect of climate variability on access to capital assets and livelihood strategies. Vulnerability to climate variability has a significant negative effect on loan repayment performance, loan access and sustainability, and hence on informal microfinance performance (τ b = - 0.109**, P <0.01). Nevertheless, climate variability increases participation in informal microfinance institutions as shown by the positive relationship with the number of people who joined informal microfinance institutions (τ b = 0.239**, P <0.01) and the number formed per year (τ b = 0.137, P <0.01) from 1981 to 2018. This is because informal microfinance institutions help vulnerable households in building resilience to climate variability as observed by 80.8% of the respondents.. The characteristics of informal microfinance institutions have positive or negative relationships with vulnerability to climate variability. These relationships are and could be further leveraged upon to address effects of climate variability on informal microfinance institutions. Detailed contextual analysis of informal microfinance institutions in the nexus of climate variability is thus imperative to inform actions aimed at cushioning the groups and their members against the impacts.","PeriodicalId":9944,"journal":{"name":"Challenges in Sustainability","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2021-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43702464","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-10-19DOI: 10.12924/cis2020.08010030
Oliver Gerald Schrot, Hannah Krimm, T. Schinko
Human influences on Earth's natural systems are accelerating, with anthropogenic climate and global change posing existential risks for mankind. To overcome the policy implementation gap in practice both collective and transformative actions for sustainability involving science, policy and society are urgently needed. In the realms of science, this relates to taking inter-and transdisciplinary research approaches to foster exchange and co-designing policy options between researcher, decision-makers and other societal stakeholders; however, such collaboration is often limited by time, funding and complexity constrains. This paper recognises that particularly early career climate change and sustainability researchers are exposed to both the claim for and practical challenges of inter- and transdisciplinarity . For a first qualitative investigation of Austrian early career researchers’ preparedness for conducting participatory research with societal stakeholders, this study examines perspectives of twelve early career researchers participating in a young scientists' workshop. Using a pre-post survey and analysing data by content, our findings indicate that workshop participants have to manage stakeholder processes directly after graduation and, due to a lack of methodological training, only use a small fraction of existing social science methods and participatory settings for stakeholder collaboration. To support other early career researchers and future students in Austria in developing strong inter-and transdisciplinary research skills, we highlight the added-value of integrating hands-on workshops with societal stakeholders, regular exchange of lessons learned and transdisciplinary lectures into university education. Offering more practice-oriented transdisciplinary learning activities during undergraduate education, like excursions and mini-projects in which students can develop and train participatory methods together with stakeholders under guidance, is believed to be a fruitful strategy in this context.
{"title":"Enabling Early Career Sustainability Researchers to Conduct Transdisciplinary Research: Insights from Austria","authors":"Oliver Gerald Schrot, Hannah Krimm, T. Schinko","doi":"10.12924/cis2020.08010030","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12924/cis2020.08010030","url":null,"abstract":"Human influences on Earth's natural systems are accelerating, with anthropogenic climate and global change posing existential risks for mankind. To overcome the policy implementation gap in practice both collective and transformative actions for sustainability involving science, policy and society are urgently needed. In the realms of science, this relates to taking inter-and transdisciplinary research approaches to foster exchange and co-designing policy options between researcher, decision-makers and other societal stakeholders; however, such collaboration is often limited by time, funding and complexity constrains. This paper recognises that particularly early career climate change and sustainability researchers are exposed to both the claim for and practical challenges of inter- and transdisciplinarity . For a first qualitative investigation of Austrian early career researchers’ preparedness for conducting participatory research with societal stakeholders, this study examines perspectives of twelve early career researchers participating in a young scientists' workshop. Using a pre-post survey and analysing data by content, our findings indicate that workshop participants have to manage stakeholder processes directly after graduation and, due to a lack of methodological training, only use a small fraction of existing social science methods and participatory settings for stakeholder collaboration. To support other early career researchers and future students in Austria in developing strong inter-and transdisciplinary research skills, we highlight the added-value of integrating hands-on workshops with societal stakeholders, regular exchange of lessons learned and transdisciplinary lectures into university education. Offering more practice-oriented transdisciplinary learning activities during undergraduate education, like excursions and mini-projects in which students can develop and train participatory methods together with stakeholders under guidance, is believed to be a fruitful strategy in this context.","PeriodicalId":9944,"journal":{"name":"Challenges in Sustainability","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2020-10-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45123269","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-04-10DOI: 10.12924/cis2020.08010017
Roland Ebel
Today, agroecology is more than a science; it is a movement that advocates for a sustainable redesign of the global food system. Some of its acknowledged protagonists plead for a redesign based on the support of and for small-scale farming because small farms are considered more sustainable than large farms. The present review explores the arguments that leading agroecologists use for justifying their preference for small (frequently peasant) farms. In this review, small farms are defined as possessing a mean agricultural area of maximum two hectares, being family-owned, emphasizing outdoor production, and annually producing at least two different crops or livestock. Peasant farms are defined as subsistent small farms in developing countries. The review includes an overview of the current state of small farms and their most severe challenges. Agroecological publications of the last thirty years were scanned for arguments that sustain the hypothesis that small farms are more sustainable. It was found that there are no studies that directly compare the sustainability of farms based on their size. Instead, most studies cited to confirm the sustainability of small farms compare farms that differ in terms of both, size and farm management. Hence, it is likely that the reason for the advanced sustainability of small farms is their management, not their size. The assertion that small farms are a priori more sustainable than large ones is not supportable. Misleading use of the term “small farms” may impede the efforts of agroecology to stimulate sustainable food production.
{"title":"Are Small Farms Sustainable by Nature?—Review of an Ongoing Misunderstanding in Agroecology","authors":"Roland Ebel","doi":"10.12924/cis2020.08010017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12924/cis2020.08010017","url":null,"abstract":"Today, agroecology is more than a science; it is a movement that advocates for a sustainable redesign of the global food system. Some of its acknowledged protagonists plead for a redesign based on the support of and for small-scale farming because small farms are considered more sustainable than large farms. The present review explores the arguments that leading agroecologists use for justifying their preference for small (frequently peasant) farms. In this review, small farms are defined as possessing a mean agricultural area of maximum two hectares, being family-owned, emphasizing outdoor production, and annually producing at least two different crops or livestock. Peasant farms are defined as subsistent small farms in developing countries. The review includes an overview of the current state of small farms and their most severe challenges. Agroecological publications of the last thirty years were scanned for arguments that sustain the hypothesis that small farms are more sustainable. It was found that there are no studies that directly compare the sustainability of farms based on their size. Instead, most studies cited to confirm the sustainability of small farms compare farms that differ in terms of both, size and farm management. Hence, it is likely that the reason for the advanced sustainability of small farms is their management, not their size. The assertion that small farms are a priori more sustainable than large ones is not supportable. Misleading use of the term “small farms” may impede the efforts of agroecology to stimulate sustainable food production.","PeriodicalId":9944,"journal":{"name":"Challenges in Sustainability","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2020-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48895932","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-04-08DOI: 10.12924/cis2020.08010001
Todd L. Cherry, H. Sæle
Solar power or photovoltaic (PV) systems have emerged as a leading low-carbon energy technology worldwide, but the deployment of residential PV systems in Norway has lagged behind other Scandinavian countries. Therefore, the Norwegian market provides an opportunity to gain insights on the demand factors that determine residential PV adoption. This paper presents results from a stated-preference survey designed to elicit household knowledge, preferences and willingness to pay for residential PV systems. Results suggest that meaningful growth in residential PV capacity depends greater knowledge among households, continued advances in technology, clarity with the grid tariff and stronger support systems. A review of recent experiences in the field corroborates the important role of effective regulatory structures and support programs.
{"title":"Residential Photovoltaic Systems in Norway: Household Knowledge, Preferences and Willingness to Pay","authors":"Todd L. Cherry, H. Sæle","doi":"10.12924/cis2020.08010001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12924/cis2020.08010001","url":null,"abstract":"Solar power or photovoltaic (PV) systems have emerged as a leading low-carbon energy technology worldwide, but the deployment of residential PV systems in Norway has lagged behind other Scandinavian countries. Therefore, the Norwegian market provides an opportunity to gain insights on the demand factors that determine residential PV adoption. This paper presents results from a stated-preference survey designed to elicit household knowledge, preferences and willingness to pay for residential PV systems. Results suggest that meaningful growth in residential PV capacity depends greater knowledge among households, continued advances in technology, clarity with the grid tariff and stronger support systems. A review of recent experiences in the field corroborates the important role of effective regulatory structures and support programs.","PeriodicalId":9944,"journal":{"name":"Challenges in Sustainability","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2020-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44396098","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-09-03DOI: 10.12924/cis2019.07010030
B. Zwaan, F. D. Longa, Helena de Boer, F. X. Johnson, O. Johnson, M. V. Klaveren, J. Mastop, M. Ogeya, Mariëlle Rietkerk, K. Straver, H. Wanjiru
This article reports evidence for substantial public support for the large-scale deployment of three renewable energy options in Kenya: Wind, solar PV, and geothermal energy. With these renewable technologies, the government of Kenya could make a large contribution to reaching its national commitment under the Paris Agreement. Prices, infrastructural needs, and land-use requirements importantly contribute to shaping public opinion about these renewable energy alternatives, in different ways and directions for wind, PV, and geothermal energy. While overall the evaluation of these technologies is positive, public authorities should be wary of the possible inconveniences and drawbacks associated with them. Anticipating and, where possible, mitigating these shortcomings in national climate and energy development plans could preclude some of them becoming possible hindrances for broad-scale adoption of wind, PV, and geothermal energy. Furthering quantitative public acceptance studies, like the one presented here based on (semi-)expert elicitation and information-choice questionnaires, can assist in Kenya fully reaching its national climate and energy ambitions. More generally, we argue that the establishment of affordable, clean, and secure energy systems, as well as the mitigation of global climate change, can benefit from stakeholder engagement and public survey analysis like the one performed in our study—in developing countries as much as in the developed part of the world.
{"title":"An Expert Elicitation of Public Acceptance of Renewable Energy in Kenya","authors":"B. Zwaan, F. D. Longa, Helena de Boer, F. X. Johnson, O. Johnson, M. V. Klaveren, J. Mastop, M. Ogeya, Mariëlle Rietkerk, K. Straver, H. Wanjiru","doi":"10.12924/cis2019.07010030","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12924/cis2019.07010030","url":null,"abstract":"This article reports evidence for substantial public support for the large-scale deployment of three renewable energy options in Kenya: Wind, solar PV, and geothermal energy. With these renewable technologies, the government of Kenya could make a large contribution to reaching its national commitment under the Paris Agreement. Prices, infrastructural needs, and land-use requirements importantly contribute to shaping public opinion about these renewable energy alternatives, in different ways and directions for wind, PV, and geothermal energy. While overall the evaluation of these technologies is positive, public authorities should be wary of the possible inconveniences and drawbacks associated with them. Anticipating and, where possible, mitigating these shortcomings in national climate and energy development plans could preclude some of them becoming possible hindrances for broad-scale adoption of wind, PV, and geothermal energy. Furthering quantitative public acceptance studies, like the one presented here based on (semi-)expert elicitation and information-choice questionnaires, can assist in Kenya fully reaching its national climate and energy ambitions. More generally, we argue that the establishment of affordable, clean, and secure energy systems, as well as the mitigation of global climate change, can benefit from stakeholder engagement and public survey analysis like the one performed in our study—in developing countries as much as in the developed part of the world.","PeriodicalId":9944,"journal":{"name":"Challenges in Sustainability","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2019-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44064049","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-05-03DOI: 10.12924/CIS2019.07010007
L. Rekow
This paper summarizes the critical importance of the Cerrado savannah biome in Brazil and examines key ways in which large-scale agriculture, in particular large-scale soy farming, threatens water security and increases socio-ecological stress. It connects agribusiness expansion to the globalized meat industry by defining how complex economic relationships result in deforestation on a massive scale. It describes how this radical change in land cover has led to changes in rainfall patterns that are associated with extended drought periods and analyzes how these critical water shortages jeopardize socio-economic health beyond the immediate region. Further, it explicates how intensified transgenic soy farming and other pesticide-heavy crop production contributes to rising public health crises associated with carcinogen-contaminated water and food sources. Lastly, it identifies emerging trends that suggest how agribusiness corporations and governments may be legally ascribed moral responsibilities for maintaining socio-ecological health of the biome . The paper aims to contribute to a better understanding of the human dimensions of environmental issues and their impacts and reframe conservation social science discourse in regard to protection of land and water resources in the region.
{"title":"Socio-Ecological Implications of Soy in the Brazilian Cerrado","authors":"L. Rekow","doi":"10.12924/CIS2019.07010007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12924/CIS2019.07010007","url":null,"abstract":"This paper summarizes the critical importance of the Cerrado savannah biome in Brazil and examines key ways in which large-scale agriculture, in particular large-scale soy farming, threatens water security and increases socio-ecological stress. It connects agribusiness expansion to the globalized meat industry by defining how complex economic relationships result in deforestation on a massive scale. It describes how this radical change in land cover has led to changes in rainfall patterns that are associated with extended drought periods and analyzes how these critical water shortages jeopardize socio-economic health beyond the immediate region. Further, it explicates how intensified transgenic soy farming and other pesticide-heavy crop production contributes to rising public health crises associated with carcinogen-contaminated water and food sources. Lastly, it identifies emerging trends that suggest how agribusiness corporations and governments may be legally ascribed moral responsibilities for maintaining socio-ecological health of the biome . The paper aims to contribute to a better understanding of the human dimensions of environmental issues and their impacts and reframe conservation social science discourse in regard to protection of land and water resources in the region.","PeriodicalId":9944,"journal":{"name":"Challenges in Sustainability","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2019-05-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43549320","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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