IE WP 01/03 Technology transfer and sustainable development in emerging economies

This paper aims to show how the process of diffusion of 'clean technologies' confronts a variety of forces at the macro level that create systematic, technological and institutional barriers to their adoption. There is abundant literature on the role of technology transfer in the development of emerging economies, but this perspective is clearly new. What needs to be borne in mind is the possibility that the transferred dominant technology may be subject to a techno- institutional lock-in at its source that does not allow the diffusion of environmentally superior alternative technologies.Developing economies; sustainable development; technology transfer; techno-institutional lock-in

Commercialisation of Sustainable Energy Technologies

Commercialization efforts to diffuse sustainable energy technologies (SETs) need to be sustainable in terms of replication, spread and longevity, and should promote goal of sustainable development. Limited success of diffusion through government driven pathways illustrates the need for market-based approaches to SET commercialization. This paper presents a detailed treatment of the pre-requisites for adopting a private sector driven business model approach for successful diffusion of SETs. This is expected to integrate the processes of market transformation and entrepreneurship development with innovative regulatory, marketing, financing, incentive and intermediary mechanisms. Further, it envisages a public-private partnership driven-mechanism as a framework for diffusion leading to technology commercialization.Commercialisation, Energy, Financing, technology, Sustainable

The Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries: Issues, Terminology, Principles, Institutional Foundations, Implementation and Outlook

Ecosystems are complex and dynamic natural units that produce goods and services beyond those of benefit to fisheries. Because fisheries have a direct impact on the ecosystem, which is also impacted by other human activities, they need to be managed in an ecosystem context. The meaning of the terms 'ecosystem management', 'ecosystem based management', 'ecosystem approach to fisheries'(EAF), etc., are still not universally defined and progressively evolving. The justification of EAF is evident in the characteristics of an exploited ecosystem and the impacts resulting from fisheries and other activities. The rich set of international agreements of relevance to EAF contains a large number of principles and conceptual objectives. Both provide a fundamental guidance and a significant challenge for the implementation of EAF. The available international instruments also provide the institutional foundations for EAF. The FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries is particularly important in this respect and contains provisions for practically all aspects of the approach. One major difficulty in defining EAF lies precisely in turning the available concepts and principles into operational objectives from which an EAF management plan would more easily be developed. The paper discusses these together with the types of action needed to achieve them. Experience in EAF implementation is still limited but some issues are already apparent, e.g. in added complexity, insufficient capacity, slow implementation, need for a pragmatic approach, etc. It is argued, in conclusion, that the future of EAF and fisheries depends on the way in which the two fundamental concepts of fisheries management and ecosystem management, and their respective stakeholders, will join efforts or collide

IWMI Strategic plan 2009-2013: water for a food-secure world

Strategy planning / Research institutes / Institutional development / Research priorities / Water resource management / Water governance

The Future of Social Marketing

{Excerpt} Social marketing is the use of marketing principles and techniques to effect behavioral change. It is a concept, process, and application for understanding who people are, what they desire, and then organizing the creation, communication, and delivery of products and services to meet their desires as well as the needs of society, and solve serious social problems. Organizations have never had such powerful information and communication technologies with which to interact with clients, audiences, and partners; explore, find, capture, store, analyze, present, use, and exchange information dataand information about them; and tailor products and services accordingly. Along with that, never before have end users expected to interface so closely with organizations and with one another to define and shape what they need. In its highest form, marketing is now considered a social process, composed of human behavior patterns concerned with exchange of resources or values.It is no longer a mere function used to increase business profits

A quantitative study of Maltese primary school teachers and their perceptions towards education for sustainable development

The study aims to explore Maltese primary school teachers’ perceptions towards Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). The research focused on 3-6 years old Maltese educators’ level of ESD awareness and knowledge, their attitudes towards ESD, and their willingness to adopt ESD within the classroom setting. Primary teachers’ ESD methodological skills were investigated as were issues that hinder ESD adoption as a regular teaching tool. The quantitative research involved the collection and analysis of 271 questionnaires. This data was plotted on graphs and analysed through Statistic Package for Social Science (SPSS) statistical tests. The findings show that in general, junior years’ primary school teachers show interest in implementing ESD and exhibit a positive attitude towards the area. However, it was noted that the participants’ level of awareness and knowledge of the various ESD concepts are rather low or unclear. Notwithstanding, many educators integrate ESD values and skills in their teaching methodology unconsciously. Several obstacles are shown to impede educators in their attempt to integrate ESD to its full potential. The main findings from the research were used to construct a model that visually illustrates the relationships between the variables and drafts a list of recommendations.peer-reviewe

The Increasing Multifunctionality of Agricultural Raw Materials: Three Dilemmas for Innovation and Adoption

Bio-economy, industry convergence, renewables, disruptive innovation, multifunctionality, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Demand and Price Analysis, Q10, Q27, Q42, Q47,

Improved resource efficiency and cascading utilisation of renewable materials

In light of various environmental problems and challenges concerning resource allocation, the utilisation of renewable resources is increasingly important for the efficient use of raw materials. Therefore, cascading utilisation (i.e., the multiple material utilisations of renewable resources prior to their conversion into energy) and approaches that aim to further increase resource efficiency (e.g., the utilisation of by-products) can be considered guiding principles. This paper therefore introduces the Special Volume “Improved Resource Efficiency and Cascading Utilisation of Renewable Materials”. Because both research aspects, resource efficiency and cascading utilisation, belong to several disciplines, the Special Volume adopts an interdisciplinary perspective and presents 16 articles, which can be divided into four subjects: Innovative Materials based on Renewable Resources and their Impact on Sustainability and Resource Efficiency, Quantitative Models for the Integrated Optimisation of Production and Distribution in Networks for Renewable Resources, Information Technology-based Collaboration in Value Generating Networks for Renewable Resources, and Consumer Behaviour towards Eco-friendly Products. The interdisciplinary perspective allows a comprehensive overview of current research on resource efficiency, which is supplemented with 15 book reviews showing the extent to which textbooks of selected disciplines already refer to resource efficiency. This introductory article highlights the relevance of the four subjects, presents summaries of all papers, and discusses future research directions. The overall contribution of the Special Volume is that it bridges the resource efficiency research of selected disciplines and that it presents several approaches for more environmentally sound production and consumption

Models in evolutionary economics and environmental policy: Towards an evolutionary environmental economics

In this paper we review evolutionary economic modelling in relation to environmental policy. We discuss three areas in which evolutionary economic models have a particularly high added value for environmental policy-making: the double externality problem, technological transitions and consumer demand. We explore the possibilities to apply evolutionary economic models in environmental policy assessment, including the opportunities for making policy-making endogenous to environmental innovation. We end with a critical discussion of the challenges that remain.