Developing Sustainability Indicators and Indices

Morse, Stephen

doi:10.1002/sd.1575

Cited by 41 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 44 publications

(53 reference statements)

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“…These feedback loops are important for not staying on the fixed course, but rather being able to learn, change and, consequently, adapt [61]. First of all, feedback supports the evolutionary process of development of the sustainability indicators by discontinuing the usage of rarely used/communicated indicators and fostering the creation of new ones where needed [62]. Secondly, social feedback is crucial for pro-sustainable consumption behavior change, not to become "an exception from everyday life" [63,64].…”

Section: Implementation Of Sustainable Tourismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implementation of Sustainable Tourism in the German Alps: A Case Study

Paunović

Jovanović

2017

Sustainability

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Abstract:What are the processes behind efforts for more sustainable mountain destinations in the German Alps and what are the views of different tourism stakeholders on these processes? The research deals both with threats pushing the agenda of sustainable development (such as climate change and depletion of resources), indicators of sustainable tourism (to measure the scope of change), as well as cross-border cooperation and stakeholder engagement in the German Alps. The data was collected through 30 interviews with individuals dealing with tourism development and sustainable tourism development in the German Alps. The findings suggest that a holistic approach and collection and dissemination of data and knowledge on sustainability are the basis for developing sustainable mountain tourism. Implementation and monitoring should focus on specific flagship sustainable tourism products, as well as on a destination in a broader sense and the sustainable tourism market. Three themes emerged as important for implementation of sustainable tourism in the German Alps: indicators of sustainable tourism, cross-border cooperation and stakeholder engagement.

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Section: Implementation Of Sustainable Tourismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implementation of Sustainable Tourism in the German Alps: A Case Study

Paunović

Jovanović

2017

Sustainability

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“…We use the term ''case'' for the system that is of interest. As sustainability is a complex issue, we do not expect to (just) get one real number for an estimate of the current level of sustainability, although we want to mention that there are (comprehensive) LCA scores (Friedrich et al 2007), resilience or adaptive capacity scores (National Research Council 2015;Scholz 2017a;Scholz et al 2012), and sustainability indices (Böhringer and Jochem 2007;Mori and Christodoulou 2012;Morse 2015) as quantitative parameters (see Fig. 11).…”

Section: Model Validity Of the Regression-based Lens Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing complexity: from visual perception to sustainable transitions—contributions of Brunswik’s Theory of Probabilistic Functionalism

Scholz

2017

Environ Syst Decis

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Coping with the multitude of information, relationships, and dynamics of the biotic and abiotic environment is a fundamental prerequisite for the survival of any organismic system. This paper discusses what contribution the Theory of Probabilistic Functionalism (TPF) of Egon Brunswik (1903Brunswik ( -1955, which was originally developed for visual perception (including certain cognitive processes) and later for judgment, may provide today. The present paper elaborates that the principles of TPF go beyond the common weighting and regression analysisbased model of information processing that has been associated with the Brunswikian Lens Model. We argue that Brunswik's TPF rather provides basic principles of how organisms interact with complex environmental systems when processing cues (instead of information) and thus are able to produce evolutionarily stable representations of and judgments about the environment. TPF was formulated with no references to physiological processes. The present paper aims to demonstrate how well these principles correspond with current biophysical and neurophysiological findings, models, and simulations of sensation. We then discuss in what ways planning groups may be seen as organisms and how groups resemble and differ from (biological) organisms on the level of the individual and below. Based on this, we suggest how the principles of TPF can be used to describe planning groups' activities when constructing planning variants or scenarios for sustainable transitioning. We illustrate the ways in which (under ideal constraints that may be provided in ideal transdisciplinary processes) planning groups follow principles such as vicarious mediation. Here, we reflect on the ways decision theoretic tools (such as Formative Scenario Analysis and Multi-Attribute Decision Analysis) can serve to construct robust (i.e., ''evolutionarily stable'') orientations for the future. It is difficult to validate big theories such as TPF. Thus, special attention is paid to the question of how strategies of validation (according to normal scientific principles) for different principles and TPF as such can be developed. We conclude that (in the context of sustainable transitioning) TPF can be utilized from a descriptive, prescriptive, and normative perspective. All three perspectives call for different strategies of validation.

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“…Development indicators may be used to: (i) diagnose a particular development situation; (ii) make development-related predictions, and (iii) evaluate progress of a system toward predefined development targets [2,11]. Development indicators can also be used to encourage development activities, decisions, or policy reforms [11,14,32]. One development goal may have several indicators, tailored to the stage of development and the context in which the development is taking place [2].…”

Section: Goals and Indicators Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Interest in development measures other than economic growth (such as environmental quality or social equity) was low until the late 1980s, when sustainable development (SD) finally emerged as a new development paradigm [1,[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. As a result, cross-sectoral development projects and sustainability assessment frameworks began to proliferate after the 1990s [11,15,16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Critical Review of the Millennium Project in Nepal

Vaidya

Mayer

2016

Sustainability

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"Our Common Future" harmonized development policies around a new sustainable development (SD) paradigm, and experts also emphasize the importance of a democratic and equitable approach to define and achieve sustainable development. However, SD targets and indicators are often defined by a suite of experts or a few stakeholder groups, far removed from on-the-ground conditions. The most common expert-led development framework, the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), promoted one set of targets and indicators for all developing countries. While progress towards these targets was routinely reported at the national scale, these targets may not reflect context-specific sustainable development. We evaluated the relevance and comprehensiveness of MDG 7 (environmental sustainability) for Nepal. Although Nepal has met most of the MDG 7 (e.g., forest cover, protected areas coverage, water and sanitation), on closer inspection these indicators do not provide adequate context for ensuring that these targets provide the intended levels of development. Simple forest cover and protected area indicators belie the dearth of ecological conservation on the ground, and water and sanitation indicators do not reflect the inequality of access based on poverty and regions. While the Millennium Development Goals align with broad sustainability concerns in Nepal, these indicators do not reveal its true development conditions.

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Developing Sustainability Indicators and Indices

Cited by 41 publications

References 44 publications

Implementation of Sustainable Tourism in the German Alps: A Case Study

Implementation of Sustainable Tourism in the German Alps: A Case Study

Managing complexity: from visual perception to sustainable transitions—contributions of Brunswik’s Theory of Probabilistic Functionalism

Critical Review of the Millennium Project in Nepal

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