Typifying conservation practitioners’ views on the role of education

Education is an established tool to enhance human-environment relationships, despite the lack of empirical evidence to support its use. We used theories of change to unpack assumptions about the role of education in conservation. We interviewed practitioners from 15 conservation organizations in Madagascar to typify implicit pathways of change and assess whether emerging pathways echo theoretical advances. Five pathways were drivers of change: increasing knowledge, changing emotional connection and changing traditional cultural practices, fostering leaders, diversifying outcomes, and influencing community and society. These pathways reflect existing sociopsychological theories on learning and behavioral change. Most interviewees' organizations had a predominant pathway that was often combined with elements from other pathways. Most pathways lacked culturally grounded approaches. Our research reveals assumptions about the role of education in conservation and indicates that organizations had different ideas of how change happens. The diversity of practices reflects the complexity of factors that influence behavior. Whether this diversity is driven by local sociocultural context, interaction with other conservation approaches, or contingencies remains unclear. Yet, typifying the pathways of change and reflecting on them is the first step towards comprehensive evaluation of when and which pathways and interactions to promote.Peer reviewe

Universities responding to the call for sustainability : A typology of sustainability centres

Universities worldwide are experiencing a growing trend to respond to the need for sustainability. Sustainability centres are one key aspect in the sustainability transitions of universities. Until currently, these centres have been relatively neglected by research. This exploratory study makes a solid contribution to the scholarship and understanding of the various means by which universities are responding to the societal challenge of sustainability by analysing a sample of 44 sustainability centres across the world to increase understanding of the characteristics and roles of these centres in contributing to sustainability. Furthermore, the study identifies four types of centres differing in their goals, objects, scope and scale of research, knowledge production and outreach activities. The typology of the centres can be applied for example when new centres are established or when centres identify or redefine their profiles. The authors suggest further research concerning sustainability centres, given their central role as nodes of sustainability research, education and co-creation in sustainability transformation. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Analyzing REDD+ as an experiment of transformative climate governance : Insights from Indonesia

Analyzing REDD plus as an experiment of transformative climate governance: Insights from IndonesiaThis paper contributes to an emerging body of literature on policy experimentation and governance transformation processes. We use the example of REDD+ as consisting of policy experiments in an emerging domestic policy domain to understand obstacles to transformations in forest and climate governance. We ask two interlinked questions: to what extent did the establishment of the REDD + Agency challenge 'business as usual' in Indonesia's forest and climate policy arena?; and what does this mean for a transformation away from policies and governance that enable deforestation and forest degradation? We draw on the transformation literature to better understand the role of REDD+ to achieve a transformative shift in climate governance. As an experiment of transformative climate governance, the study of REDD + provides important insights for other forest or climate programs. Our analysis shows that the REDD + Agency was successful in some extend in introducing an alternative governance mechanism and in shaking the governance structures but we also note that some of the key actors thought that greater ownership was achieved when the REDD+ Agency was dissolved and the mandate was returned to the ministries. We conclude that policy experimenting is a process, and while the creation of novel policies and their experimentation is important, also their assimilation may lead to new opportunities.Peer reviewe

Transition towards Circular Economy in the Food System

Growing population and increased demand for food, inefficient resource use and food distribution, environmental impacts, and high rates of food wasted at all stages of the food system are all calling for transition towards more sustainable practices. In this article we apply the concept of circular economy to the case of a sustainable food system. Furthermore, we explore the transition towards a circular food system through the lens of socio-technical transition theory towards sustainability. We discuss challenges and potential solutions for the production stage (focusing on nutrient flow), the consumption stage (focusing on meat consumption), and food waste and surplus management and prevention.Peer reviewe

Kestävyystieteen muutosteoriat

Peer reviewe

PATH2030 – An Evaluation of Finland’s Sustainable Development Policy

The PATH2030 project has produced an evaluation of Finland’s sustainable development policy and formulated concrete recommendations for the future. The evaluation is based on multidisciplinary meth-ods and broad and diverse material in the form of indicators, documents, and expert views gathered through surveys, interviews and workshops. The evaluation focused particularly on the time after the 2030 Agenda entered into force in 2016. No country has yet presented a credible plan for how to reach the goals of the 2030 Agenda. Finland has various national targets and programmes that point in the right direction, but the policy could be more transformative and coherent. Finland’s sustainable development policy has succeeded in being inclusive, which shows that sustainable development has become a broadly accepted aim in society. Reaching the 2030 goals requires, however, many system-level changes and the mediation of conflicts of interest. The evaluation shows that sustainable development policy should focus on climate change, environmental questions, consumption and increasing inequality. It is recommended that sustainable development should become the basis of future Government Programmes, that a roadmap for how to reach the goals should be created and that, for example, the indicators and the Expert Panel on Sustainable Development should be revised. Appendix 1-13 PATH2030: Detailed descriptions of the evaluations and documentation of data collection (separate document, in Finnish) Appendix 14 PATH2030: The 2030 Agenda, foreign policy and human rights (separate document, in Finnish)This publication is part of the implementation of the Government Plan for Analysis, Assessment and Research (tietokayttoon.fi). The content is the responsibility of the producers of the information and does not necessarily represent the view of the Government

Transformation in governance towards resilient food systems

The dynamics of systemic societal transformations are not well understood, and the extent to which such transformations can be governed is contested. This research paper is the result of a joint effort among a small group of researchers to identify pathways for transformation towards sustainable food systems, which are resilient towards shocks and towards climate change in particular. Using empirical studies, both transformations in governance systems and governance of transformations were investigated. These cases served as a preliminary analysis to identify some of the trends and patterns that warrant further investigation. Not surprisingly, transformational change in food systems is often triggered by a shock to the system, or by increasing pressure to that system. But that alone is not enough to bring about a transformation. A number of preconditions and conditions need to be present including sufficient ‘wealth’ or economic and social capital in the system with resources that can be mobilized, and sufficient flexibility in the institutional context to allow innovation to emerge and gain strength. A particular area of interest that appears to stimulate transformations is collective action, which often involves collaboration across geographical scales and interest groups. The outcomes of transformations are complex and typically multifaceted, and can take years to emerge. However, broadly speaking, the cases explored demonstrate that governance is central to food system transformation both in terms of pre-conditions and provoking processes as well as in the outcomes of the transformation itself. Food system transformations in general appear to entail fundamental shifts in social relations and institutions – in other words, the governance of the food system