Natural capital and the sustainability of rural communities

In a controversial article in Nature, Costanza et al. (1997) estimated the monetary value of the world's 'ecosystem services and natural capital' to have an average annual value of $33 trillion. Irrespective of the validity of the calculations,l the importance of the article resides in the fact that it drew widespread attention to the immense material value of the natural environment; indeed, the estimate is far greater than the sum of all the world's gross national products. From around that time, the notion of 'natural capital' has gained substantial currency, particularly in the context of discussions about sustainability. According to Berkes and Folke (1993; see also Pretty, 1999; van del' Perk & de Groot, 2000), natural capital has three components: • the non-renewable resources that are extracted from ecosystems • renewable resources, which are produced and maintained by ecosystem processes • environmental services - such as the climate, soil formation, nutrient cycling, waste assimilation - the products of ecosystem functioning For rural commodity producers, the perennially difficult act of balance is to at once draw upon natural capital and ecosystem services, while at the same time being good stewards of the environment, thereby ensuring that their farms are sustainable - ecologically and economically. In many cases, this balance has simply not been achieved and the result has been environmental degradation. This ultimately has implications for the sustainability of individual farms, but also for the rural communties of which they are a part

'Tarra', Victoria

The region named 'Tarra' in this case study encapsulates many of the challenges faced by Australian rural towns and districts: it has experienced the combined effects of service cuts, agricultural restructuring and falling commodity prices, drought and livestock disease, local\ud government amalgamation, and declining population. On the other side of the ledger, it presents a rich and varied environment, supports a range of economic activities, and is the site of a community redevelopment initiative, the' Alberton Project', which is regarded as the model for a State-wide community-capacity building project

Policy and management options for the mitigation of environmental change

[Extract] Mitigation involves the development and implementation of new or improved technologies to reduce the extent of humaninduced environmental change. Awareness of the detrimental environmental effects of human activity and the consequent need for mitigation has increased progressively since the 1960s. Rachel Carson's seminal publication Silent Spring highlighted the need to minimise the adverse environmental effects of human activity noting that 'the rapidity of change and the speed with which new situations are created follow the impetuous and needless pace of man rather than the deliberate pace of nature' (Carson, 1962: 6)

`Multifunctionality': trade protectionism or a new way forward?

The concept of `multifunctionality' has developed partly in response to the threat which trade liberalisation presents to European agriculture. In this paper we outline different approaches to multifunctionality and consider whether, and to what extent, the concept may be applied more widely outside its home of origin in Western Europe, and specifically whether it is relevant to liberalised agricultural economies, such as Australia. The focus is on government agricultural and rural policies which contribute to the maintenance or enhancement of the multifunctional characteristics of agri-culture and other land uses. We suggest that, despite differences in views of the importance of farming and rural areas, a convergence is appearing between Australia and European countries in the development of policies aimed at the promotion of multiple outcomes from agriculture

Conceptualizing a "sustainability business model"

According to one perspective, organizations will only be sustainable if the dominant neoclassical model of the firm is transformed, rather than supplemented, by social and environmental priorities. This article seeks to develop a "sustainability business model" (SBM)—a model where sustainability concepts shape the driving force of the firm and its decision making. The SBM is drawn from two case studies of organizations considered to be leaders in operationalizing sustainability and is informed by the ecological modernization perspective of sustainability. The analysis reveals that organizations adopting a SBM must develop internal structural and cultural capabilities to achieve firm-level sustainability and collaborate with key stakeholders to achieve sustainability for the system that an organization is part of

Environment and human security

Our conceptions of the relationship between humans and the environment fundamentally shape the way people use, interact with and respond to nature. Since the Enlightenment, the dominant Western conception of this relationship has been One of sharp division between human societies and the natural environment. Human systems, such as economics and politics, have been viewed as separate and distinct from the natural environment, and social constructions of the human/environment relationship have stressed the rightness and capacity of human beings to gain mastery over nature (Hargrove, 1989; Pepper, 1996). O'Riordan (1976) described this as technocentricism. With the growing awareness of global environmental degradation, there have been criticisms of these dominant ideas and efforts to rethink the human society/environment relationship. Much of this rethinking has involved the many and contested notions of 'sustainable development' (Barnett, 2001; Robinson, 2004). While consensual definitions remain elusive (Cocklin, 1995), discourses of sustainable development have shared, amongst other things, a greater recognition and understanding of the interdependence of human societies and the natural environment. Complementary, but lesser known discourses that have emerged are concerned with the nexus between environment and security. This chapter explores these latter discourses, providing background to the environment and security debate and outlining the various perspectives that have emerged. Given that concepts of 'sustainable development' remain dominant in much of environmental discourse, we ask the question: What can the viewing of environmental issues through the lens of 'security' contribute to our understanding of the relationship between human societies and the natural environment

Cooperative, community-spirited and commercial: social sustainability at Bendigo Bank

Using a case study approach, this article examines how an Australian bank supports and invests in social sustainability using a community development approach. Bendigo Bank's community engagement model (CEM) is consistent with a stakeholder perspective of the firm. The CEM is a hybrid model drawing on commercial principles, such as the for-profit shareholder-ownership structure, and community development values, such as trust, loyalty, integrity, volunteerism, cooperation and community spirit. The CEM contributes to community development by retaining local capital through a revenue-share arrangement, which is used to invest in further community enhancement initiatives. The success of Bendigo Bank's CEM indicates that the 'collaborative commerce' model could be used as a design guideline for other organizations seeking to improve their social sustainability