Abstract
Sustainable use of natural resources seems necessary to maintain functions and services of eco- and social systems in the long run. Efforts in policy and science for sustainable development have shown the splintering of local, national and global strategies. Sustainability becomes contingent and insecure with the actors´ conflicting knowledge, interests and aims, and seems even impossible through the “rebound”-effect. To make short and long term requirements of sustainability coherent requires critical, comparative and theoretical analysis of the problems met. For this purpose important concepts and theories are discussed in this review of recent interdisciplinary literature about resource management.
Highlights
Sustainable use of natural resources seems necessary to maintain functions and services of eco- and social systems in the long run
The question guiding the review can be formulated as follows: What kinds of knowledge, which concepts, theories, methods and research results are adequate to analyse and solve the multiple problems in the process called sustainable development? In the review priority is given to scientific publications on the environment and resource use after the turn of the millennium, when the global debate in science and policy had resulted in a mainstream approach of social, economic and Sustainability 2009, 1 environmental sustainability
The focus is laid on publications that contribute to theoretical reflection and synthesis of knowledge, but no systematic overview of the research about sustainability is intended
Summary
“Sustainable futures are ones in which the basic means of human livelihood get easier, human opportunities become richer, and natures diversity is more sustained—and in the rich parts of the world.” 1. In the review priority is given to scientific publications on the environment and resource use after the turn of the millennium, when the global debate in science and policy had resulted in a mainstream approach of social, economic and Sustainability 2009, 1 environmental sustainability. The differentiation between social, economic and environmental sustainability is not a more exact definition, only a heuristic device to support interdisciplinary and pluralistic approaches to deal better with complexity of systems and problems. In searching for the future of sustainable development conceptual templates seem more helpful than new definitions 7 They bring classifications of more specific concepts that allow interdisciplinary, contextualized and problem focused analyses to dealing with the challenges of sustainable development that are to a large degree insufficiently reflected knowledge problems
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