Pursuing Sustainability: A Guide to the Science and Practice - Hardcover

Matson, Pamela; Clark, William C.; Andersson, Krister

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0691157618 ISBN 13: 9780691157610

Verlag: Princeton University Press, 2016

Inhaltsangabe

"Sustainability is a global imperative and a scientific challenge like no other. This concise guide provides students and practitioners with a strategic framework for linking knowledge with action in the pursuit of sustainable development, and serves as an invaluable companion to more narrowly focused courses dealing with sustainability in particular sectors such as energy, food, water, and housing, or in particular regions of the world. Written by leading experts, Pursuing Sustainability shows how moreinclusive and interdisciplinary approaches and systems perspectives can help you achieve your sustainability objectives. It stresses the need for understanding how capital assets are linked to sustainability goals through the complex adaptive dynamics ofsocial-environmental systems, how committed people can use governance processes to alter those dynamics, and how successful interventions can be shaped through collaborations among researchers and practitioners on the ground. The ideal textbook for undergraduate and graduate students and an invaluable resource for anyone working in this fast-growing field, Pursuing Sustainability also features case studies, a glossary, and suggestions for further reading. Provides a strategic framework for linking knowledge with action Draws on the latest cutting-edge science and practices. Serves as the ideal companion text to more narrowly focused courses. Utilizes interdisciplinary approaches and systems perspectives. Illustrates concepts with a core set of case studies used throughout the book. Written by world authorities on sustainability. An online illustration package is available to professors"

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Pamela Matson is dean of the School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences and the Goldman Professor of Environmental Studies at Stanford University. William C. Clark is the Harvey Brooks Professor of International Science, Public Policy, and Human Development at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. Krister Andersson is professor of political science at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

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"If we are to make peace with nature, the effort will have to come from us all. This very moving book is the finest introduction to the subject I have seen. It does not avoid technicalities, but can be read with equal benefit by the young and the old with no prior knowledge of the complexities we face."--Sir Partha Dasgupta, Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus of Economics, University of Cambridge

"Sustainability can seem like a faraway, nebulous dream. Through a clear framework, iconic case studies, and a beautiful, accessible style, Pursuing Sustainability brings this dream to life. A must-read for anyone concerned about the future health of our planet."--Gretchen C. Daily, cofounder of the Natural Capital Project and author of The Power of Trees

"Finally, a beautiful small book bringing together the thinking and practice behind sustainability science in an easily accessible and comprehensive manner, making it clear that this critical field of study for humanity provides an overarching framework for many different areas and competencies dealing with the sustainability challenge. Strongly recommended."--Carl Folke, founder of the Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, and director of the Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

"This is a beautiful, lucid, and desperately needed book about the sustainability challenge. The authors accomplish a mission impossible: providing deep analyses of complex adaptive social-environmental systems while using simple terms and compelling metaphors to expose the crucial steps we need to take for long-term inclusive well-being. A must-read for practitioners and scholars alike."--Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, founder and director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research

"This excellent book provides an accessible framework for understanding sustainability, which is particularly timely as we reach a turning point in global efforts. Crucially, it emphasizes a holistic approach to address the interconnected nature of sustainability issues. The book is a very useful resource not only for scholars and practitioners of sustainability, but also as a compass to guide experts in other disciplines."--Kazuhiko Takeuchi, editor-in-chief of the journal Sustainability Science and senior vice-rector of United Nations University

"Pursuing Sustainability by Matson, Clark, and Andersson is that all too rare book able to convey deepest insights in simplest words. Written to engage, inform, and provoke, it is simultaneously a call to think and act. It will find enduring appeal among students and researchers, casual readers and experts; I predict no collection on sustainability will be complete without this foundational work."--Arun Agrawal, School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan

"It is an enormous challenge to relay to students the complexity of sustainable development while providing them with skills and ways of thinking that can be applied concretely. This succinct and accessible primer provides the essential tools, methods, and approaches they need."--Ruth DeFries, author of The Big Ratchet: How Humanity Thrives in the Face of Natural Crisis

"A useful, compelling synthesis of a range of ideas."--Kai N. Lee, coauthor of Humans in the Landscape: An Introduction to Environmental Studies

"The authors provide an accessible introduction to sustainability for a broad audience, including students, practitioners, policymakers, and business leaders. They blend clearly written descriptions of key concepts with illustrations from case studies and cover a wide range of topics. They make the case for why sustainability matters, and show how readers can contribute to solving sustainability challenges."--Kimberly Nicholas, Lund University in Sweden

"Written by esteemed experts and colleagues at the Arizona State University Board of Directors for Sustainability, this book leads the way to understanding how re-focusing sustainability challenges through the lens of innovation and collaboration can transform research and knowledge into action that can change the world."--Michael M. Crow, President, Arizona State University

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Pursuing Sustainability

A Guide to the Science and Practice

By Pamela Matson, William C. Clark, Krister Andersson

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS

Copyright © 2016 Princeton University Press
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-691-15761-0

Contents

Preface, vii, 
Acknowledgments, ix, 
CHAPTER 1 Pursuing Sustainability: An Introduction, 1, 
CHAPTER 2 A Framework for Sustainability Analysis: Linking Ultimate Goals with Their Underlying Determinants, 14, 
CHAPTER 3 Dynamics of Social-Environmental Systems, 52, 
CHAPTER 4 Governance in Social-Environmental Systems, 83, 
CHAPTER 5 Linking Knowledge with Action, 105, 
CHAPTER 6 Next Steps: Contributing to a Sustainability Transition, 129, 
Appendix A Case Studies in Sustainability, 143, 
Appendix B Glossary of Terms, Acronyms, and Additional Resources, 187, 
Notes, 211, 
Index, 225, 

CHAPTER 1

Pursuing Sustainability: An Introduction

Sustainability is a term we hear all around us. Corporations brand themselves as sustainable and attempt to build sustainability goals, measures, and metrics into their business plans and supply chains. State and local governments set sustainability targets and pursue them, installing efficiency standards and practices, encouraging the use of public transportation systems, and incentivizing citizens to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Universities compete for sustainability awards that recognize efforts ranging from improving energy and water use efficiency to curricular offerings. Researchers focus their attention on the development of new knowledge and technologies to promote sustainability. Consumers consider sustainability concerns as they buy organic, or buy certified sustainable seafood or wood products. Citizens strive to reduce their environmental footprints on the planet out of a sense of responsibility to their children and grandchildren.

Sustainable development, likewise, is a widely used term. It frequently appears in high-level discussions of the United Nations, the World Bank, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as CARE and WWF and is a fundamental objective of the European Union and of many nations rich and poor. The World Business Council for Sustainable Development counts many leading global companies among its members. These and similar organizations invest in efforts to help countries, companies, and communities "develop" not just in the near term but for the long-term benefit of people.

While the terms sustainability and sustainable development are often used by different communities of people, the vast majority of these uses have something very important in common: a realization that our ability to prosper now and in the future requires increased attention not just to economic and social progress but also to conserving Earth's life support systems: the fundamental environmental processes and natural resources on which our hopes for prosperity depend. Because of that commonality, we use the terms interchangeably. We believe that the take-home messages of this book are important for both.

THE EVOLUTION OF SUSTAINABILITY THINKING

Sustainability is an old idea. Societies for centuries have recognized the importance of demanding no more of the environment than it can supply over the long term. This recognition is evident in long-standing ideas about fallowing fields and conserving game and protecting water sources. The concept of sustainable development in its modern form, however, was most famously articulated by the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) in 1987. As Gro Brundtland, the commission chairwoman, wrote at the time: "Environment is where we live; and development is what we all do in attempting to improve our lot within that abode. The two are inseparable." The commission argued that sustainable development "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." And its carefully documented report left little room for doubt (among those willing to confront the evidence) that a transition toward sustainable development would have to arrest and reverse the increasingly global and accelerating degradation of Earth's environment and natural resources.

Since the Brundtland Commission's call for global action the UN has reinforced the urgency of a sustainability transition through numerous conferences and agreements. Over many years and several iterations, the international community has developed consensus on a wide-ranging set of sustainable-development goals, and in pursuit of those goals, numerous efforts at the global, national, and local levels have been launched. They aim to reduce hunger and poverty; improve access to health care, family planning, and education; increase agricultural production while reducing environmental degradation; and halt the degradation of Earth's life support systems. Today, thousands of governmental and non-governmental organizations, private firms, and individuals all over the world have adopted the idea of sustainability and have started to allocate attention and resources to sustainable development programs. Corporations have developed metrics to track the economic, social, and environmental impacts of their actions. Cities around the world have created and joined associations designed to share best practices and encourage progress. Regional and national efforts are to be found in every part of the world. Scholarly organizations such as the world's national science and engineering academies and numerous professional scientific associations have also engaged in the effort. And international consortia such as the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the Science and Technology Alliance for Global Sustainability have built cross-sectoral communities of actors from private and public organizations to chart strategies for progress toward sustainability goals. (We provide in appendix B a short list of the Internet resources we have found most useful for keeping abreast of rapidly changing initiatives around the world that are pursuing sustainability.)

As a result of these many initiatives, people's vision of sustainable development has been rapidly evolving. It has matured from simple relationships that see human prosperity primarily in terms of economic growth, to a focus on human needs as called for by the Brundtland Commission, to the ever more encompassing and nuanced views centered on social well-being being advanced today (see chapter 2).

A benefit of this expanding framing of sustainability has been the creation of an ever-broader "tent" under which the multiple constituencies of scholarship, advocacy, and action are now working to promote sustainable development. This inclusiveness, however, creates an increasing risk of losing sight of the sustainability forest for its many individual trees and the concomitant temptation for everyone engaged to fall back into activities focused on individual disciplines or sectors. Progress toward sustainability requires commitment to such details — to the individual trees of our global system as well as the particular contexts in which they must be nurtured if they are to contribute to sustainable development. But progress also requires a broader perspective on how the parts of the forest depend on one another, interact, and co-evolve. We have tried to provide one such perspective with this book.

SCIENCE FOR SUSTAINABILITY

Meeting the challenges of sustainable development requires...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Princeton University Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2016
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0691157618
• ISBN 13: 9780691157610
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 248
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar