Environmental Management Paradigms Research Articles

Environmental efficiency in greenhouse tomato production using soilless farming technology

The environmental efficiency of agricultural production and the relationship between management type and monetary value of achieving environmental efficiency are important parameters to assess the competitiveness of farms. The objectives of the study were to (i) estimate the environmental efficiency of greenhouse tomato farms, (ii) explore the determinants of the environmental efficiency level of greenhouse tomato farms, and (iii) calculate the monetary value of providing less greenhouse gas emission (GHG) and effective waste management in greenhouse tomato farms. The research data were obtained from 42 professional and 55 semi-professional greenhouse farms producing tomatoes using soilless farming technology in Turkey by using questionnaires. The environmental impact of tomato production was assessed using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The environmental efficiency was estimated by using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), and the Tobit model was used to elicit the determinants of environmental efficiency. The results showed that 1.72 kg CO2-equivalents of GHG were emitted for 1 kg fresh tomatoes from the cradle to the farm gate, and 1753.1 tons of organic waste were generated. The average environmental efficiency score of the greenhouse farms was 0.86, while the score was higher for professional farms and glass greenhouses. The results also revealed that the monetary value of GHG reduction and composting of all organic wastes in the greenhouse tomato farms were 1037.14 and 5700 US dollars, respectively. The values were higher for the professional greenhouse farms and glass greenhouses. The variables of education level of farmers, the size of glass greenhouses, net income, waste recycling investment, environmental knowledge level of farmers, and presence of green production practices positively affected the environmental efficiency. The findings suggest that awareness, extension, and training activities should be organized to reduce the farm-level negative impact of environmental inefficiency. Shifting from a static cost impact paradigm to a dynamic environmental management paradigm in greenhouse tomato farms may improve environmental efficiency, especially in semi-professional farms, and increase the competitive power of greenhouse farms.

The modern paradigm of rational environmental use as a trend of environmental legal regulation

The main aim of the article is to review modern concepts of the legal principle of rational nature management. To fulfil that aim, a descriptive-analytical and data-gathering methods are utilized. The principle of rational environmental management should be considered as a modern paradigm of environmental and legal regulation. The article substantiates that this paradigm includes doctrinal views on the legal support of rational use of natural resources, state environmental policy, a set of existing legal norms on rational use of natural resources, legal relations on the use of natural resources, and a developed ecological culture. The authors concluded that the central core and an obvious trend in the environmental management paradigm is the idea of the best available technologies.

An integrated approach of Ecological Footprint (EF) and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) in human ecology: A base for planning toward sustainability.

Environmental challenges to natural resources have been attributed to human behavior and traditional agricultural production techniques. Natural resource degradation in agriculture has always been a prime concern in agro ecological research and sustainability analysis. There are many techniques for assessing environmental performance; one of which, ecological footprint (EF), assesses human pressure on the environment and natural resources. The main purpose of this study was calculation of ecological indices including biocapacity (BC) and EF of rural areas of Fars province of Iran. The study was accomplished using survey and structured interviews consisting of three main questionnaires in two different steps. Different agricultural stakeholders, including farmers (for the first step) as well as the policymakers, extension managers and authorities (for the second step) were interviewed. Based on multi-stage stratified random sampling, 50 villages and 423 farmers were selected. Face validity and reliability of the questionnaires were assessed by a panel of specialists as well as conducting a pilot study, respectively. The paradigmatic perspectives of agricultural policy makers and managers (22 individuals) were also analyzed using another specific questionnaire by Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Findings revealed that most of the studied villages faced a critical environmental condition due to the results of ecological indicator which was calculated in the study. According to the four main components of human ecology (POET model) including Population, Organization, Environment and Technology, village groups that differed in terms of sustainability level also showed significantly differences due to population, social participation, use of green technologies and attitude towards diverse environmental management paradigms. The causal model also revealed that population, green technology, social participation and attitude toward frontier economics, which were in accordance with the elements of human ecology model, were the main factors affecting the ecological index. Finally, AHP results determined the dominant economic perspectives of agricultural authorities. A paradigm shift toward the comprehensive paradigm of eco-development plus consideration of the results of the ecological indicator calculation as the base of agricultural planning at the local level were recommended.

Care, not incarceration: exploring the carcerality of fisheries enforcement and potential decolonial futures in Hawaiʻi

Current U.S. environmental management paradigms default to enforcement mechanisms that feed into the prison industrial complex, such as fines and jailing. To avoid contributing to and reinforcing mass incarceration and militarism, environmental management systems need to be transformed towards non-carceral forms. Additionally, working towards Indigenous sovereignty and decolonization, requires the strengthening of Indigenous relations with and governance over the land under the respective paradigms of Indigenous communities. This paper uses Hawaiʻi state fisheries law and programmatic efforts to address a central question: What is the extent and nature of carceral norms within conventional environmental management systems and how do they affect management outcomes? The study examines the current fisheries enforcement scheme in Hawaiʻi, tracing the embedded logic of carcerality, the degree to which ultimate sources of harm are addressed, and the concentration of governing powers. The results highlight how current fisheries enforcement is insufficient in caring for the seascape and, through its carceral approach, contributes to social injustices, particularly for Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians). Additionally, this paper demonstrates how current efforts in Hawaiʻi – Community-Based Subsistence Fisheries Areas (CBSFAs), the ʻAha Moku system, and the Makai Watch Program – attempt to empower communities, but ultimately keep enforcement powers centralized within the State, thus perpetuating dependency on the criminal justice system. This study ends with a discussion on how future decarceral environmental governance systems could be designed to center Hawaiian relations & paradigms, particularly by prioritizing the values of re-education, rematriation, and restoration.

The field of knowledge of the environmental management paradigm

The environmental management paradigm facilitates organisations' adaptation and flexibility using ethical and bioethical criteria for the management of physical, chemical, and biological processes and their interactions with humanity not to mention their environmental impact. Traditional management is insufficient to meet the demands of uncertainty and unpredictability, as well as the complexity of environmental impacts. The environmental paradigm integrates the social and the natural but it does not offer methods and tools to develop a practical solution for environmental problems to move towards sustainable development.

Indicadores PER y sostenibilidad en la normativa sobre bosques cultivados en Argentina

This paper is focused on the regulation and institutional development contrasts of planted forests at Northeast, Northwest and New Cuyo regions in Argentina, taking into consideration «traditional» and «extended» environmental sustainability principle parameters. It is important to add that this principle was highly exceeded by other environmental management paradigms, but they are not suitable to be applied to implanted forests regulations in Argentina. Also, it refers to the contribution provided by legal international instruments and regional regulations. One of the most original approaches of this research is that PER indicators (Pressure, Condition and Response) were applied and adjusted to the legal arena. Finally we can state that planted forests regulations focuses on a limited horizon of production maximization, highlighting economic and forests commercial activties.

THE FIELD OF KNOWLEDGE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PARADIGM

The environmental management paradigm facilitates organisations' adaptation and flexibility using ethical and bioethical criteria for the management of physical, chemical, and biological processes and their interactions with humanity not to mention their environmental impact. Traditional management is insufficient to meet the demands of uncertainty and unpredictability, as well as the complexity of environmental impacts. The environmental paradigm integrates the social and the natural but it does not offer methods and tools to develop a practical solution for environmental problems to move towards sustainable development.

Beyond rhetoric: navigating the conceptual tangle towards effective implementation of the ecosystem approach to oceans management

The ecosystem approach is widely considered the best paradigm for environmental management and oceans management. With such ample endorsement, one could expect that the concept has an unambiguous definition and that its implications for management are clear. That is not the case. The concept has provoked an extensive academic and practical debate over the last 30 years. Early work focused on debates about the concept of the ecosystem approach, its guiding principles, and consistent use of terminology. As those questions were progressively clarified, the work has focused on its implementation. This paper provides a three-part literature review of these developments. The first part analyzes the current understanding of the ecosystem approach, its consensual elements or principles, the differing terminology coined in the literature, and three sources of persisting confusion around the concept. The paper addresses in particular one of those sources of confusion: the goal of the ecosystem approach. The second part focuses on implementation frameworks and strategies, with particular focus on objective-based and adaptive management frameworks and the pivotal role of ecosystem indicators in understanding, assessing, and managing ecosystems. The third part reviews the recognition of ecosystems and the ecosystem approach in international law, including an analysis of nonbinding instruments, treaty law (with particular reference to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the 1995 United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement, and the Convention on Biological Diversity), and the practical regional implementation of the ecosystem approach to fisheries and oceans management. The literature review demonstrates that, despite some persisting differing interpretations, the ecosystem approach has moved from the theory of aspirational discourse to the practice of implementation. It has proven successful in enhancing the understanding of ecosystems’ structure, function, and dynamics; increasing awareness of environmental problems; and developing policy and research agendas and priorities. However, the jury is still out in relation to its capacity to influence human behavior through direct management actions. Many factors concur to this limitation, but two stand out: the inadequacy of traditional regulatory frameworks and institutional arrangements to capture the complexity, uncertainty, and variability of ecosystems; and the reluctance of the international community to embrace a global, comprehensive, and substantive international obligation that effectively protects the ecological systems on which life on Earth depends.

Editorial: collaborative environmental management and modelling

After several decades of rapid technological advancement and economic growth, levels of pollution and environmental degradation are rising all over the world. Unilateral response on the part of one single country would hardly be effective. Collaborations in pollution abatement, R&D in technology development, emissions reduction, and subsidization for technology transfer offer the best promise to assist the development of an effective means to halt the accelerating trend of environmental deterioration. International cooperative agreements have to be negotiated to deal with the global environmental problem. In these negotiations, intraand inter-generational cost sharing, compensation for technology transfer, gains distribution, and sustainability are among the important issues to be resolved and pose an ensemble of problems that are best addressed through strategic modelling. Applications of operations research methodologies—such as optimization techniques, control theory, and interactive strategic analysis—are crucial to the development of collaborative environmental management paradigms and the formulation of viable solutions. This special volume of the Annals of Operations Research contains a collection of frontier research papers on operations research techniques and practicable solutions in environmental modeling and collaborative management. In the paper of Finus et al., the stability of self-enforcing climate agreements under a sequential coalition formation process of heterogeneous and farsighted players is studied. In particular, players can make proposals that are either accepted or countered by alternative

Regional Air Quality Management in China: A Case Study in the Pearl River Delta

The current jurisdiction-based environmental management paradigm is deficient to address China's growing regional air pollution problems. Based on the foreign management experiences, the “1+N” regional air quality management mode with Chinese characteristics is proposed, which combines the bottom-up and top-down management features among superior and local governments, to cope with the regional air pollution. Several crucial principles are discussed accordingly. In the case study in Pearl River Delta (PRD) region, the PRD Regional Air Quality Management Committee and the Center of Regional Atmospheric Science are carefully designed and are now serving as decision-making body and scientific support agency, respectively. The encouraging practice in the PRD region yields important hints for China's regional air pollution control policy making.

<i>Prosopis</i> L. Invasion in the South-Western Region of Botswana: The Perceptions of Rural Communities and Management Options

This study was aimed to determine the extent to which Prosopis species had invaded four settlements (Bokspits, Rappelspan, Vaalhoek and Struizendam) located in the Kgalagadi Desert south west of Botswana, investigate the perceptions of the communities about the existence of the species in their environment and assess possible control options for the spread of Prosopis plants in the area. Prosopis plants were sampled in 42 quadrats of 625 m2 along a 70 km Prosopis invasion gradient from Struizendam to Rappelspan. Using the Global Positioning System (GPS), the locations of all quadrats were established. The distribution map of Prosopis plants was produced using ArcGIS 9.2 (ESRI Inc.). Questionnaire survey and focused group discussions were used to collect data on the perceptions of rural communities about the species. A total of 342 respondents comprising 139 males and 203 females were interviewed, and four focussed group discussions were conducted. The results indicated that the invasion of Prosopis species was prominent in and around settlements suggesting that anthropogenic activities had a significant role in the spread of Prosopis plants in the area. The perceptions of rural communities about Prosopis plants appeared to be moulded by the impacts of the plants on their livelihoods as well as their micro-economic status. The respondents (71.30%) expressed the view that the invasion of Prosopis species negatively affected the livelihoods of the communities in the study area. They identified eradication as the preferred method of controlling the spread of Prosopis plants. On the contrary, this study recommended the integrated environmental management paradigm as the best options for the control of the spread of Prosopis plants in the area.

Challenges to science and society in the sustainable management and use of water: investigating the role of social learning

Abstract Water catchments are characterised by connectedness, complexity, uncertainty, conflict, multiple stakeholders and thus, multiple perspectives. Catchments are thus unknowable in objective terms although this understanding does not currently form the dominant paradigm for environmental management and policy development. In situations of this type it is no longer possible to rely only on scientific knowledge for management and policy prescriptions. “Social learning”, which is built on different paradigmatic and epistemological assumptions, offers managers and policy makers alternative and complementary possibilities. Social learning is central to non-coercion. It is gaining recognition as a potential governance or coordination mechanism in complex natural resource situations such as the fulfilment of the European Water Framework Directive, but its underlying assumptions and successful conduct need to be much better understood. SLIM (social learning for the integrated management and sustainable use of water at catchment scale), a European Union, Fifth Framework project assembled a multidisciplinary group of researchers to research social learning in catchments of different type, scale, and socio-economic situation. Social tools and methods were developed from this research which also employed a novel approach to project management. In this introductory paper the rationale for the project, the project design intentions and realisations, and the case for researching social learning in contexts such as water catchments are described. Some challenges presented by a social learning approach for science (as a form of practice) and society in the sustainable management and use of water are raised.

Corporate Environmental Paradigms in Shift: Learning During the Course of Action at UPM–Kymmene

Contrary to the popular conception in the corporate environmental management literature that corporations must learn new ecocentric paradigms before they can be expected to produce environmentally sound performance, the present results suggest that cognitive–level environmental learning in organizations does not inevitably precede behaviour change. Rather, at least partially, such learning is likely to occur in the course of action. The article also proposes that external pressure can set motion, but it alone does not lead to an environmental paradigm shift. In order to undergo such a shift, organizations will have to learn a meaning of their own to support new, more environmentally sound forms of activity.The present study examines empirically how two companies have learnt to incorporate environmental considerations into their managerial paradigms. It adopts a perspective according to which learning is portrayed as a process in which changes are brought about in the collective beliefs that the organization members hold about the relationship of their business to the natural environment (i.e. environmental management paradigm). Applying the grounded theory approach, the article identifies phases of environmental learning starting from the recognition or rejection of weak signals in ‘pockets’ of the organization, continuing through the gaining of new knowledge and experience towards ‘competition’ between old and new assumptions about the business–environment relationship, and finally proceeding to potential frame–break.

Putting Industrial Ecology into Place Evolving Roles for Planners

Industrial ecology is an evocative metaphor that has evolved into a new paradigm for environmental management. It locates human activity in a larger, environmental context and uses the natural world as a model for organizing industrial activities. To date the concepts of place and jurisdiction have been missing from industrial ecology, even though many important environmental decisions are made within local political boundaries. Planners are uniquely equipped to advance this field because they (a) study locally-open systems such as economies, and (b) link big-picture ideas to incremental decisions. In return, industrial ecology offers planners an integrative framework for describing, explaining, and solving environmental problems.

Local Government and Environmental Quality

This article describes results from an assessment of the status of local environmental protection mechanisms in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, an area typical of many in the Great Lakes region that is experiencing settlement sprawl and declining or stabilizing population and that has a history of industrial pollution. The study was motivated by recent trends infederal and state requirements, shifts in environmental management paradigms, and changing environmental priorities that portend an increasing local role and require local governments to address increasingly sophisticated environmental problems. The study found that local governments operate in a fragmented institutional environment, rarely access technical or resource assistance programs, and seldom use planning and management strategies to enhance or maintain environmental quality. How well local governments can respond to change depends in part on their current environmental management system and their access to and use of technical assistance. Key to these factors is the role of state government, and several changes in state policies are recommended.

SHIFTING ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PARADIGMS IN TWO FINNISH PAPER FACILITIES: A BROADER VIEW OF INSTITUTIONAL THEORY

Environmental management paradigm shifts are examined in two organizations, a packaging company and a printing paper firm, both of which belong to a Finnish paper corporation. The article looks at how new rules for the social construction of the business–natural environment relationship evolve in a business enterprise when its institutional context changes. The environmental issues with respect to the environmental management paradigm shift studied concern recycling and forest management. Both companies were able to respond to changes in their institutional context, but the change processes differed substantially. Important elements of shifting environmental management paradigms included the external impetus for change, the role of change agents, the influence of the identities of different professional groups on change, and phases in unlearning and relearning. In the packaging firm the results indicate a shift from a traditional management paradigm to an environment-related management. In the paper company, a shift from large-scale Scandinavian forestry to small-scale forest management is ongoing.

SHIFTING ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PARADIGMS IN TWO FINNISH PAPER FACILITIES: A BROADER VIEW OF INSTITUTIONAL THEORY

Environmental management paradigm shifts are examined in two organizations, a packaging company and a printing paper firm, both of which belong to a Finnish paper corporation. The article looks at how new rules for the social construction of the business–natural environment relationship evolve in a business enterprise when its institutional context changes. The environmental issues with respect to the environmental management paradigm shift studied concern recycling and forest management. Both companies were able to respond to changes in their institutional context, but the change processes differed substantially. Important elements of shifting environmental management paradigms included the external impetus for change, the role of change agents, the influence of the identities of different professional groups on change, and phases in unlearning and relearning. In the packaging firm the results indicate a shift from a traditional management paradigm to an environment-related management. In the paper company, a shift from large-scale Scandinavian forestry to small-scale forest management is ongoing.

Limits to Anthropocentrism: Toward an Ecocentric Organization Paradigm?

This article examines the historically constituted dimensions of anthropocentrism, tracing the emergence of linear perspective, a camera theory of knowledge, and the human-nature dualism. These epistemological conventions are socially reproduced in organization science and management practice in their more contemporary anthropocentric forms: a disembodied form of technological knowing conjoined with an egocentric organizational orientation. Following this critique, the paradigmatic differences between anthropocentric and ecocentric approaches for dealing with issues related to the natural environment are discussed in what is referred to respectively as the environmental management and ecocentric responsibility paradigms. Our analysis suggests that corporate environmentalism and so-called “greening-business” approaches are grounded in the environmental management paradigm. It is argued that environmental management approaches are incommensurable with the ecocentric responsibility paradigm. The tensions bet...

Shifting Environmental Management Paradigms in Business Enterprises

Shifting Environmental Management Paradigms in Business Enterprises

A Paradigm for Environmental Management Decision‐Making

The Bulletin of the Ecological Society of AmericaVolume 74, Issue 4 p. 381-382 CommentaryFree Access A Paradigm for Environmental Management Decision-Making First published: 01 December 1993 https://doi.org/10.2307/20167793AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume74, Issue41 December 1993Pages 381-382 RelatedInformation