Socio-metabolic Transitions in Developing Asia

A possible sustainability transition in developing Asia needs to complement the ongoing transition from an agrarian to an industrial socio-ecological regime. As is known from other world regions, an agrarian-industrial transition involves a major increase in material and energy flows (corresponding to a 2-4 fold increase in the demand for raw materials and energy). The socio-metabolic profile of the South-East Asian region still shows relatively low material and energy consumption per capita, suggesting that major growth may follow. Infrastructures that are closely bound-up in bulk material flows (transport, energy and food sectors) will be critical to future developments. The paper illustrates the challenge and potential solutions from a number of case studies.socio-ecological regime, metabolic profile, industrial transformation, developing Asia, sustainability transition

Weibliche Moral und Öffentlichkeit: (Kommentar)

Dieser Beitrag setzt sich mit der These auseinander, daß es keine weibliche Moral gibt, und was als solche erscheint, nur erlerntes Rollenverhalten sei. Zunächst werden historische Bedingungen thematisiert, unter denen Frauen ihr Verhältnis zur Moral gelernt haben. Für unsere Zeit wird eine Fragmentierung der traditionellen Kontrolle des Privaten festgestellt, die neue Entwicklungsperspektiven für die Frauen eröffnet. Durch die neue Öffentlichkeit für Privates wird das Modernisierungsprojekt der Aufklärung weitergeführt: als Ausrottung der Reste der alten Gesellschaft - in der Organisation des Alltags und in den Personen selbst. Die Schlußfolgerung lautet: Soweit es um Moral, um normative Steuerung geht, gibt es keine weibliche Moral, und zwar desto weniger, als traditionelles weibliches Rollenverhalten abnimmt. Soweit es aber um außermoralische, nicht-normative Modi der Verständigung, Konfliktregelung und Verhaltenssteuerung geht, sind die Frauen um eine Nasenlänge voraus. (GF

Conceptualizing, observing and influencing socio-ecological transitions

This article creates a meeting ground between two distinct and fairly elaborate research traditions dealing with social “transitions”: the Dutch societal transitions management approach, and the Viennese sociometabolic transitions approach. Sharing a similar understanding of sustainability transitions—namely as major transformational changes of system characteristics—and a background epistemology of complex systems, autopoeisis, and evolutionary mechanisms, they address the subject from different angles: one approach asks how transformative changes happen and what they look like, and the other approach tries answer the question of how to bring them about. The Viennese approach is almost exclusively analytical and deals with a macro (“landscape”) level of human history with a time scale of decades to centuries; the Dutch approach is based on intervention experiences and deals with a shorter time frame (decades) of micro–meso–macro levels of industrial societies. From both their respective angles, they contribute to some of the key questions of sustainability research, namely: how can a transformative change toward sustainability be distinguished from other types of social change? By which mechanisms can obstacles, path dependencies, and adverse interests be overcome? And what are the key persistent problems that call for such a transition

Chapitre 1 - Les transitions socio-métaboliques globales

La plupart des recherches socio-écologiques de long terme analysent les interrelations dynamiques entre écosystèmes et sociétés dans des contextes très localisés. Pourtant, les changements technologiques et le développement économique au niveau global ont des impacts significatifs sur les interactions nature-société ayant lieu dans des contextes régionaux spécifiques. Il est donc fondamental de comprendre comm..

Ester Boserup’s Legacy on Sustainability

Arising from a scientific conference marking the 100th anniversary of her birth, this book honors the life and work of the social scientist and diplomat Ester Boserup, who blazed new trails in her interdisciplinary approach to development and sustainability. The contents are organized in three sections reflecting important focal points of Boserup’s own work: Long-Term Socio-Ecological Change; Agriculture, Land Use, and Development; and Gender, Population, and Economy. The diversity of the contributions to this book highlights the continuing impact of Ester Boserup’s work on scientific research today, and its likely influence on research for years to come

Transforming the Greek Island of samothraki into a UNESCO biosphere reserve: An experience in transdisciplinarity

This research explored the feasibility of transforming the island of Samothraki. Greece, into a UNESCO biosphere reserve. The goal was to assess whether this would help to foster a sustainable socio-economic development and to preserve the unique natural and cultural heritage of the island. In recent years the number of seasonal residents and tourists on the island has been growing substantially, and so, too, have the demands upon facili ties and infrastructures. The number of livestock, primarily goats and sheep, has increased exponentially, enhanced by the agricultu ral policies of the EU. Overgrazing, in combination with the steepness of terrain, has led to severe soil erosion, even within the existing Natura 2000 conserva tion area. Such conditions made it apparent that a new develop ment model was needed, and an initiative was started to create a biosphere reserve. In a transdisciplinary process, the scientists gradually transferred ownership of this vision to local stakeholders. A biophysical and socio-economic assess ment showed that a biosphere reserve would be appropriate and be welcomed by the majority of stakeholders. The community council recently endorsed an application to UNESCO.Austrian Academy of Scienc

The role of science in sustainability transitions: Citizen science, transformative research, and experiences from Samothraki island, Greece

We highlight the importance of island research that aims to achieve sustainability transitions. All too often, developmental priorities are largely defined by economic policy imperatives, and island research either ignores or masks such normative connotations. This article reports on ten years of transdisciplinary socioecological research on the Greek island of Samothraki. We sequentially: (i) introduce socioecological thinking and the conceptual framework of social ecology, and show how this is operationalised and applied on this case study, and (ii) highlight the importance of a transdisciplinary research approach, in promoting island sustainability. We conclude with a plea for more transformative research and citizen research in the direction of sustainability within island studies.Austrian Science Fund (FWF) projects: Susaki (P27951-G7) and CiSciSusaki (F15TCS00022). Preparatory feasibility studies have been financed by the Austrian MAB National Committee