Quest For Sustainable Development Research Articles

Agroecology in Mexico: Linking environmental and indigenous struggles

There are few places where the hegemony of industrial agriculture is more complete than in contemporary Mexico. The forces arrayed against sustainable agriculture in such a context are formidable; yet this study chronicles an encouraging agroecology movement in indigenous regions of rural Mexico. Mexico's sustainable agriculture movement is emerging at a surprising nexus, in new linkages between indigenous resistance and modern environmentalism. These alliances center on a shared interest in the preservation and defense of traditional ecological knowledge. The resulting fusion of traditional and scientific knowledge undergirds creative experimentation in agroecology, discussed here as an essential component in a larger, although more difficult, quest for sustainable development.

The urban water system — A future swedish perspective

It is argued, that the use of water can no longer be regarded as an almost free commodity. The idea to assess and value the environmental impact of the water use represents a true change of paradigm. The key issue is that any future wastewater treatment system has to be evaluated according to a quantitative criterion. This has to consider: •hygienic aspects: we believe that nobody will accept a lower hygienic standard than today. •environmental impact: the wastewater impact on the environment has steadily increased the need for better treatment. We need to be prepared for changes in the society by having a readiness manifested as continuing dynamic research environment in this area. Too often the knowledge build-up has been re-active instead of pro-active. •economising resources: wastewater treatment looks and probably should look quite different in densely populated urban areas and in rural areas. Considering resource handling one has to consider already invested capital costs, land use, water re-use, organic and nutrient use and re-use, as well as overall use of energy. •user aspects: technical functionality, economy and liability in different aspects require profound consideration. A sustainable wastewater treatment has to adapt to a local environment and the total resource demand has to be calculated, including a direct environmental impact on receiving waters, air and soil as well as energy consumption and nutrient recycling. Thus, there is an apparent need for. •quantitative performance index: the quest for sustainable development has to be based on objective reasons as well as subjective ones. An integrated performance index is part of a necessary decision making model for the design and operation of wastewater treatment systems. In this index, it is evident that a trade-off should be made between the pursued quality of the process outputs (liquid, solids, gas) and the associated efforts (investments, operation) required to achieve this considering the inputs (wastewater). In order to make this trade-off, however, a common framework is needed to quantitatively compare the different objectives. A metric to judge the sustainability of different options will facilitate a fruitful dialogue between e.g. politicians, ecologists, engineers and economists. Only a truly interdisciplinary approach can help to solve the challenges ahead. (Less)

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article:Cristovam Buarque, The End of Economics? Ethics and the Disorder of Progress.Gautam Mathur, Economic Justice in a Free Society.Gerry Rodgers, Charles Gore and José B. Figueiredo (eds), Social Exclusion: Rhetoric, Reality, Responses.G. P. Chapman and M. Thompson (eds), Water and the Quest for Sustainable Development in the Ganges Valley.Krishna Bharadwaj, Accumulation, Exchange and Development: Essays on the Indian Economy.Willem van Schendel, Reviving a Rural Industry. Silk Producers and Officials in India and Bangladesh 1880s to 1980s.Jennifer A. Widner (ed.), Economic Change and Political Liberalization in Sub‐Saharan Africa.Adebayo Adedeji (ed.), Africa Within the World: Beyond Dispossession and Dependence.Jomo K. S. (ed.), Industrialising Malaysia: Policy, Performance, Prospects.K. Saradamoni (ed.), Finding the Household: Conceptual and Methodological Issues.Md Anisur Rahman, People's Self‐Development: Perspectives on Participatory Action Research. A Journey through Experience.Michael Painter and William H. Durham (eds), The Social Causes of Environmental Destruction in Latin America.Ilja A. Luciak, The Sandinista Legacy: Lessons from a Political Economy in Transition.Overseas Development Administration, A Guide to Social Analysis for Projects in Developing Countries.Heng‐Kang Sang, Project Evaluation. Techniques and Practices for Developing Countries.Charles Stewart Goodwin, The Third World Century.

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: United States Development Assistance Policy: The Domestic Politics of Foreign Economic Aid. By Vernon W. Ruttan Growing Out of the Plan: Chinese Economic Reform 1978–1993. By Barry Naughton The Rise and Fall of Development Theory. By Colin Leys Non‐Governmental Organizations and Rural Poverty Alleviation. By Roger C. Riddell and Mark Robinson, with John De Coninck, Ann Muir and Sarah White The North, the South and the Environment: Ecological Constraints and the Global Economy. Edited by V. Bhaskar and Andrew Glyn Industrialisation and Agricultural Surplus: A Comparative Study of Economic Development in Asia. By Massoud Karshenas Regional Trading Arrangements Among Developing Countries: The ASEAN Example. By Dean A. DeRosa Africa Now: People, Policies, Institutions. Edited by Stephen Ellis Dimensions of Development with Emphasis on Africa. Edited by Tekeste Negash and Lars Rudebeck The Underdevelopment of Development: Essays in Honor of Andre Gunder Frank. Edited by Sing C. Chew and Robert A. Denemark Promoting Development: Effective Global Institutions for the Twenty‐first Century. Edited by Jo Marie Griesgraber and Bernhard G. Gunter Asian Economies in Transition: Reforming Centrally Planned Economies. By Richard Pomfret The Response: GATT and Global Free Trade. By Sir James Goldsmith Environmental Valuation: New Perspectives. Edited by K. G. Willis and J. T. Corkindale Full House: Reassessing the Earth's Population Carrying Capacity. By Lester R. Brown and Hal Kane Exchange Rate Parity for Trade and Development: Theory, Tests, and Case Studies. By Pan A. Yotopoulos IMF Programmes in Developing Countries: Design and Impact. By Tony Killick. Development Policy Studies series IMF Lending to Developing Countries: Issues and Evidence. By Graham Bird. Development Policy Studies series Economic Reforms and Poverty Alleviation in India. Edited by C. H. Hanumantha Rao and Hans Linnemann Moving to the Market: The World Bank in Transition. By Richard W. Richardson and Jonas A. Haralz Water and the Quest for Sustainable Development in the Ganges Valley. Edited by G. P. Chapman and M. Thompson The New Institutional Economics and Third World Development. Edited by John Harriss, Janet Hunter and Colin M. Lewis The New Struggle for Democracy in Africa. By John Wiseman Democratization in South Africa: The Elusive Social Contract. By Timothy D. Sisk Money‐Go‐Rounds: The Importance of Rotating Savings and Credit Associations for Women. Edited by Shirley Ardener and Sandra Berman Global Change, Regional Response: The New International Context of Development. Edited by Barbara Stallings

Water and the Quest for Sustainable Development in the Ganges Valley

Part 1 Introduction: The Ganges and Brahmaputra Basins, Graham P. Chapman, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London Policy-making in the Face of Uncertainty - the Himalayas as Unknowns, Michael Thompson, The Musgrave Institute, London. Part 2 Upstream and highland and lowland interaction: Terrace irrigation of mountainous hillslopes in the Middle Hills of Nepal - Stability or instability, Kegang Wu and John B. Thornes, Kings College London Assessing the impact of anthropogenic land-use change in the Himalayas, Bruno Messerli and Thomas Hofer, University of Bern Nepal's water resources - the potential for exploitation in the Upper Ganges Catchment, KB Sajjadur Rasheed, University of Dhaka Disputed facts: a countervailing view from the hills, Michael Thompson. Part 3 Midstream: The Ganga Plains, Graham P. Chapman Water quality in the River Ganges, VK. Kumra, Banaras Hindu University Whose Concept of participation? State-society dynamics in the cleaning of the Ganga at Varanasi, Sarah Ahmed, Institute of Rural Management, Gujarat. Part 4 Downstream: Environmental myth as international politics - the problems of the Bengal Delta, Graham P. Chapman The Human Response to environmental dynamics in Bangladesh, Shahnaz Huq-Hussain, University of Dhaka. Part 5 Conclusions.

Water and the quest for sustainable development in the Ganges Valley

Water and the quest for sustainable development in the Ganges Valley

Environmental management in Greece and the challenge of sustainable development

Environmental management is linked to decisions concerning sustainable development which peripheral countries would find quite challenging, given their development priorities and their demands for a restricted share in the burden of global environmental protection. This paper examines the Greek experience with the growing awareness of environmental problems in that country and in the light of current efforts to attain economic convergence with its northern European partners. The focus is on the analysis of the role of the political institutional system in sustainable development, embracing the government, the parliament and the political parties, the courts, and the local authorities. In addition, the role of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) is also summarized. The quest for sustainable development holds both positive and negative effects for Greece, and despite development priorities, there are some workable options available to follow a pathway of transition.

South Africa's integrated environmental management policy at the crossroads of conservation and development

Sustainable development, as formulated in the 1980 World Conservation Strategy and subsequent elaborations, is being advocated in South Africa by the state through development of an integrated environmental management policy. This policy, however, does not adequately reflect the principles of sustainable development and therefore it cannot provide appropriate guidelines for the practice of integrated environmental management Accordingly, it may be said that South Africa has reached a crossroads in its quest for sustainable development.

Ignoring Limits to Growth

In 1968, 30 scientists, educators, economists, industrialists, and government officials from 10 countries met at the Academia dei Lincei in Rome to discuss the present and future predicament of mankind. The first project of the Club of Rome examined the consequences of unchecked growth. A computer model developed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology seemed to confirm that existing growth patterns could not be sustained. There were absolute physical limits which, if ignored, would lead to sudden collapse and to global catastrophe within a hundred years. These results were published as the book The Limits to Growth (1972). A reexamination of this project is discussed. It is concluded that the world has generally been following the patterns of growth forecast and that the implicit warning about continued growth has largely been ignored in the quest for sustainable development.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

The mediterranean sea and the quest for sustainable development

Abstract The author addresses the evolution of environmental cooperation in the Mediterranean region by surveying the Mediterranean Action Plan framework and recent initiatives by UN specialized and funding agencies promoting sustainable development. The author notes that an initial concern with marine pollution in the 1970s led to greater attention to integrated planning of development of coastal and marine areas since the 1980s. In concluding, the author draws attention to growing complexity, the limits of regionalism, the continuing lack of popular constituencies for regional arrangements, and problems of implementation.