read more ]]> http://ejournal.nbii.org/archives/vol5iss2/TOC.html Mon, 25 Jan 2010 08:00:00 EST
This issue begins with an Editorial from Nicholas Gray (Trinity College, University of Dublin, Ireland) entitled, Using charcoal to fix the price of carbon emissions.

The articles include:
Investigation into the sustainability of organic aquaculture of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua)
Benjamin Birt, Lynda D. Rodwell, & Jonathan P. Richards (University of Plymouth, United Kingdom)

Ecosystem services and agricultural land use practices: a case study of the Chittagong Hill tracts of Bangladesh
Golam Rasul (International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Nepal)

Leveraging opportunities for campus sustainability: a case study of water resources
Kristan Cockerill & Jana Carp (Appalachian State University, USA)

The issue also contains the Community Essays:
Sustainable development of the Amazon forest: a fine line between conservation and exploitation?
Christopher Reyer (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany)

Planning for landscape multifunctionality
Paul Selman (University of Sheffield, United Kingdom)

and a Book Review Perspectives:
The Shadows of Consumption: Consequences for the Global Environment by Peter Dauvergne>

The Spring 2010 Issue in Progress is also available to view. ]]> http://ejournal.nbii.org/about/ssppblog.html Wed, 16 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST Transportation and Development in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area

The symposium will comprise contributions by planners, officials, and activists working to address the transportation and development challenges of the region.

Potential contributors are invited to submit a 400-500 word abstract by February 1, 2010. Abstracts should be sent to the editorial office of Sustainability: Science, Practice, & Policy at ejournal@csa.com. Preliminary expressions of interest and other questions should be directed to Ethan Goffman at ethan.goffman@proquest.com]]> http://ejournal.nbii.org/about/ssppblog.html Fri, 11 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST Guest Editor: Magnus Boström (Södertörn University) The Missing Pillar? Bolstering the Social Dimension in Sustainability Projects

This Call for Papers seeks to identify contributions that document such projects and to assemble them in a special journal issue that advances our understanding of the conditions, challenges, and opportunities that become manifest when the social dimension of sustainability receives assertive and unambiguous emphasis. The social pillar of sustainable development includes both procedural aspects such as the role of democratic representation, participation, and deliberation and substantive aspects that center on improving standards, policies, and planning instruments. These latter aspects may relate to the spatial distribution of environmental goods (and bads), inter- and intragenerational justice, quality of life, cultural diversity, working conditions, and gender issues.

Potential contributors are invited to submit a 500-word abstract by March 1, 2010. Abstracts should be sent to the editorial office of Sustainability: Science, Practice, & Policy at ejournal@csa.com. Preliminary expressions of interest and other questions should be directed to Magnus Boström at magnus.bostrom@sh.se]]> http://ejournal.nbii.org/archives/vol5iss2/editorial.gray.html Wed, 02 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST Author: Nicholas Gray (Trinity College, University of Dublin, Ireland)
"Using charcoal as a model is probably as close as we can come at present to developing a realistic cost for offsetting CO₂ emissions. Of course, carbon taxation needs an equitable basis for calculation and, unlike the current offset costs that are based largely on what the voluntary market can sustain, fixed emission charges per weight may well be the incentive required to achieve elusive GHG reduction targets."]]> http://ejournal.nbii.org/archives/vol5iss2/communityessay.pselman.html Mon, 30 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST Author: Paul Selman (University of Sheffield, United Kingdom) Author's Personal Statement:
The term “multifunctional landscapes” has been greeted with suspicion in some quarters as unnecessary jargon for which there are simpler and better-known alternatives, such as multiple use. This community essay explores the meanings associated with landscape multifunctionality and concludes that it is, in fact, a useful term that reflects important new ideas. In particular, it can help to promote landscapes that cross urban-rural divides, are more sustainable, and are planned and implemented in an integrated way.]]> http://ejournal.nbii.org/archives/vol5iss2/0904-017.cockerill.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST Authors: Kristan Cockerill & Jana Carp (Appalachian State University, USA) Abstract:
Institutions of higher education are well situated globally for transformation toward sustainability. The case of the Water Resources Planning Committee (WRPC) at Appalachian State University in North Carolina, United States offers insight into how educational institutions might identify and leverage transformative opportunities. The article suggests that a “window of opportunity” can open when diverse actor-groups share a common interest or goal and when individuals are able to “bridge” the groups as a way to create synergy. Once together, these groups can collaborate by sharing knowledge and resources. They do not avoid conflict, but rather constructively use organizational tensions and cultivate flexibility to further common goals. This case study focuses on interrelationships among a public university’s teaching and research missions and its place within a broader community as it transforms toward sustainably managing campus-water resources. ]]> http://ejournal.nbii.org/archives/vol5iss2/book.dauvergne.html Mon, 19 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST Foye Hatton (University of East Anglia, United Kingdom);
Alina M. Szmant (University of North Carolina, Wilmington, USA);
Rejoinder from the Author: Peter Dauvergne (University of British Columbia, Canada) ]]> http://ejournal.nbii.org/archives/vol5iss2/0805-014.rasul.html Tue, 15 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST Author: Golam Rasul (International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Nepal) Abstract:
Land degradation due to inappropriate agricultural activities, as well as the environmental and social effects associated with these practices, is accelerating in many developing regions of the world. This trend underlines the importance of measuring environmental costs and benefits to improve policy making with respect to land use and agriculture. Using nonmarket valuation techniques, this article estimates the value of environmental services associated with four agricultural land-use systems in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh and compares their relative profitability from private and social perspectives. The financial analysis reveals that annual cash crops are the most profitable short-term land use and agroforestry is the least profitable, with horticulture and farm forestry providing benefits intermediate between these two systems. However, the relatively larger returns from annual cash cropping lead to higher environmental costs such as soil erosion, forfeited carbon sequestration, and biodiversity loss. When the environmental costs are taken into account, annual cash crops appear to be the most costly land-use system, with agroforestry and farm forestry becoming more profitable. The findings demonstrate the tradeoffs and synergies between relatively more environmentally sustainable and harmful land-use practices. Financial incentives to encourage more prudent agricultural activities are needed to transform tradeoffs into synergies. This article examines different financial incentive mechanisms—including payments for environmental services—and makes several policy recommendations. ]]> http://ejournal.nbii.org/archives/vol5iss2/0812-038.birt.html Mon, 7 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST Authors: Benjamin Birt, Lynda D. Rodwell, & Jonathan P. Richards (University of Plymouth, United Kingdom) Abstract:
Wild stocks of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) are low. With fisheries in decline, continued demand for cod has led to a fledgling aquaculture industry and current forecasts call for rapid growth. However, critics blame aquaculture of carnivorous species for further depleting fish stocks and for its wider effects on the marine environment. We examine the activities of Johnson Seafarms, a sea-cage organic cod farming facility in the Shetland Islands, to investigate whether “organic” cod farming can be environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable. Data were collected via public questionnaires and interviews with aquaculture experts. The results show that, before it closed in 2008, Johnson Seafarms was addressing the environmental concerns traditionally associated with aquaculture of carnivorous species and that economic viability is possible as a market exists for organically farmed cod at prices higher than for wild fish. We conclude that organic cod farming, as was practiced in the Shetland Islands, is sustainable on that scale. While the industry has room for measured expansion, overexpansion would increase pressure on natural systems, undermining environmental and, ultimately, social and economic sustainability. Producers and regulators should consider alternative techniques, including land-based or integrated aquaculture systems. Any development should be accompanied by further research regarding the industry’s sustainability. ]]> http://ejournal.nbii.org/archives/vol5iss2/communityessay.reyer.html Tue, 1 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST Author: Christopher Reyer (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany) Author's Personal Statement:
This essay constitutes a piece of boundary work between science and policy. It illustrates the conflicts, but also the opportunities, that natural resource management encounters in the twenty-first century. I have tried to provide a widely accessible document that argues why a more holistic approach to conservation and natural resource management is imperative. Inspired by the concept of “Integrated Forest Management,” I conceived the basics for an “Integrated Sustainable Development” strategy. I have approached the vast topic of “sustainable development in the Amazon” without complicated methodology because I want to present the problem in its inherent complexity and any other manner would largely exceed the length of an essay. A future scientific challenge is to deepen the analysis of why an integrated approach to conservation and ecosystem management is more likely to succeed than a segregative approach. Ultimately, the more political task, however, is to promote dialogue between the manifold and important stakeholder groups in the Amazon to a point where social, ecological, and economic realities are combined and provide a portfolio of sustainable development options. ]]> http://ejournal.nbii.org/archives/vol5iss1/0811-034.alessa.html Tue, 14 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST Author: Leith Sharp (Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Extension School, USA) http://ejournal.nbii.org/archives/vol5iss1/editorial.sharp.html Mon, 6 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST Author: Lilian Alessa, Andrew Kliskey, & Mark Altaweel (University of Alaska Anchorage, USA) http://ejournal.nbii.org/archives/vol5iss1/communityessay.mjcrabbe.html Mon, 13 Apr 2009 08:00:00 EST Authors: M. James Crabbe, Edwin Martinez, Christina Garcia, Juan Chub, Leonardo Castro, & Jason Guy (University of Bedfordshire, United Kingdom) http://ejournal.nbii.org/archives/vol5iss1/book.nordhaus.html Mon, 06 Apr 2009 08:00:00 EST Reviewers: Brent S. Steel (Oregon State University, USA); Debra J. Davidson (University of Alberta, Canada); Berton Lee Lamb (United States Geological Survey, USA) http://ejournal.nbii.org/archives/vol5iss1/0803-011.newman.html Fri, 03 Apr 2009 08:00:00 EST Authors: Lenore Newman & Ann Dale (Royal Roads University, Canada) http://ejournal.nbii.org/archives/vol5iss1/0801-003.hesterberg.html Wed, 01 Apr 2009 08:00:00 EST Authors: Thomas Hesterberg, William Bunn, & Charles Lapin (Navistar, Inc., USA) http://ejournal.nbii.org/archives/vol5iss1/book.polimeni.html Wed, 18 Mar 2009 08:00:00 EST Reviewers: Diana Bauer (United States Environmental Protection Agency, USA); Kathryn Papp (National Council for Science and the Environment, USA); Rejoinder by John Polimeni, Kozo Mayumi, Mario Giampietro & Blake Alcott