The ethical dimension in the national strategy for sustainable development

Many countries have drawn up a strategy for sustainable development in the aftermath of the 1992 United National Conference on Economic and Development the governments of almost all nations committed themselves to adopt such a strategy so as to “build upon and harmonise the various sectoral, economic, social and environmental policies and plans that are operating in the country”. The basic goals of this strategy were “to ensure socially responsible economic development while protecting the resource base and the environment for the benefit of future generations. It should be developed through the widest possible participation. It should be based on a thorough assessment of the current situation and initiatives.”.peer-reviewe

Analytical tools for environmental management : geographical information systems

The issues pertaining to environmental management can be tackled from different perspectives, ranging from policymaking, through impact assessments to decision making exercises. Each sector can be taken as a research topic in isolation, however the main fulcrum of the process revolves around the data-management processes aimed at setting-up and maintaining information resources structures. Not exclusively anchored to the environmental management disciplines, this process nonetheless finds broad scope in this field particularly due to availability of specialized tools and user-friendly environments. This paper reviews the data management process, gives an overview of the basic data definitions, looks at the tools available and delves into the spatial scenario. The main topic of discussion revolves around Geographical Information technologies and issues related therein. Data models are investigated with particular reference to the components of spatial analysis and how datasets in any sector can be analysed through a robust querying facility. The final section looks at innovations in the area and posits examples related to the final product, that of data dissemination. Case studies on urban development, coastal inundation and air quality data interpolation are reviewed.peer-reviewe