scholarly journals Apples for Oranges: Disparities in Offset Legislation and Policy among Jurisdictions and its Implications for Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development in Australia

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 172
Author(s):  
Linda Abdo ◽  
Sandy Griffin ◽  
Annabeth Kemp
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Agenda 21 ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
International Obligation ◽  
Biodiversity Offsets ◽  
International Obligations ◽  
Development Goals

As a signatory to Agenda 21, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (including the Sustainable Development Goals) and the Convention on Biological Diversity, Australia has an international obligation to ensure sustainable development. Biodiversity offsets are one tool used by Australian regulators to allow development to continue, whilst ensuring international obligations for sustainable development are met. In this study, legislation, policy and published guidelines for the Australian Commonwealth, states and territories were analysed to determine if the application of biodiversity offsets was consistent with the principles of sustainable development (environmentally, socially, economically) and if the allowance of biodiversity offsets in different jurisdictions created gaps in biodiversity and environmental protection across Australia. Regulation of biodiversity offsets was found to be inconsistent between the Commonwealth and the states and territories, with most jurisdictions having less than 50% similarity. This inconsistency in offset policy and legislation between jurisdictions could lead to loss of biodiversity. Additionally, jurisdictions did not adequately consider the social and economic aspects of sustainability in relation to biodiversity offsets, meaning that, through the allowance of biodiversity offsets, Australia may not be meeting their international obligations related to sustainable development. Further legislative development for biodiversity offsets is required in Australia to improve environmental protection and to adequately consider all aspects of sustainability. The Council of Australian Governments is a mechanism that could be used to ensure all jurisdictions consider the aspects of sustainability consistently in relation to biodiversity offsets.

Sustainable Development, Ocean Governance and Marine Protected Areas

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-141
Author(s):  
David Freestone
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Ocean Governance ◽  
National Jurisdiction ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Aichi Biodiversity Targets

By 2020, at least ten percent of the global oceans should be subject to area-based protection according to the target agreed by the parties to the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity in 2010 (Aichi Biodiversity Targets) and reiterated in 2015 Sustainable Development Goal 14.5. This paper looks at the Sustainable Development Goals and the evolution of the concept of Sustainable Development, distinguishing it from international environmental law. Then it looks at the way in which the goals relate to ocean governance and the current lacunae in the system established by the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention and the negotiations within the UN to address the issue of the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in area beyond national jurisdiction. In particular, it looks at the sectoral approaches to area-based protection in areas beyond national jurisdiction, where currently iucn reports that only 1.18% is protected.

Learning to Innovate

2020 ◽  
pp. 23-35
Author(s):  
Casey Stevens
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Governance System ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Aichi Biodiversity Targets ◽  
Taking Action ◽  
Biodiversity Governance

What is the likelihood of science and technology progress for biodiversity from the sustainable development goals? This chapter argues that it is higher than it may seem as a result of scientific developments ready for wide application and a structure of biodiversity governance able to spread innovation. The chapter initially argues that there are three potential fields for innovation under the specific targets of the sustainable development goals: integration of biodiversity with other spheres, ecosystem-based management, and remote sensing. Next, it argues that innovation is likely because the biodiversity governance system has developed localized centers for developing innovation with a system for transferring those findings across scales. It focuses specifically on the importance of the National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans developed under the Convention on Biological Diversity, the expert systems developed at the international level, and the ability of international organizations to implement innovative approaches to biodiversity governance. The conclusion is that there is a high potential for innovation, but that taking action after the Aichi biodiversity targets end in 2020 will be key.

Is existing scientific knowledge sufficient to provide the basis for reliable monitoring of achieving land degradation neutrality?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Grainger
Keyword(s):  
Land Degradation ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Forest Degradation ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Land Restoration ◽  
Degraded Land ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Dry Areas ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Environmental Concepts

<p>A goal of Land Degradation Neutrality by the year 2030 was agreed by the Rio+20 conference in 2012, and subsequently included in the Sustainable Development Goals. It dilutes earlier goals of unrestricted control of desertification, for example, by proposing that the rate of land degradation should be reduced and the rate of restoration of degraded land increased so they offset each other by 2030. As with many environmental concepts that have emerged in recent decades, Land Degradation Neutrality was proposed in the political arena, and scientific study is only now starting to evolve. Yet distinct positions are already forming within the scientific community, for example, on the feasibility of monitoring land degradation neutrality in dry areas when there are no reliable estimates for the rate of desertification, and on what constitutes land restoration in dry areas. Land degradation neutrality is also yet to be put in the wider context of environmental degradation as a whole, e.g. how does it relate to the forest degradation component of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) mechanism of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and to degradation of biodiversity which the Convention on Biological Diversity is seeking to reduce. This session will allow scientists working in the field of land degradation neutrality to share their perspectives in this emerging field.</p>

scholarly journals Environmental Protection and Social Entrepreneurship Activities: The Vision of the Young People

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Oana-Cristina Modoi ◽  
Andreea Vescan
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Young People ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Social Entrepreneurship ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Quality Information ◽  
Social Entrepreneurs ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Development Goals

The involvement of the young people in adopting sustainable behaviors and their possible activities as social entrepreneurs is important, in terms of the future adults who will make decisions on sustainable economic development. The objective of the study is to find out what are drivers, barriers and practices in the vision of young people and adolescents in Romania, in terms of social entrepreneurship. The study took place online and aimed to facilitate access to quality information related to the integration of the sustainable development principles in daily behaviors of young people, their willingness to become involved in social entrepreneurship activities. As a working methodology, a questionnaire is applied to adolescents and young people, before and after the seminars they participate, in which they are asked about how they see their involvement in some activities of the environmental protection and in social entrepreneurship activities or in what way they want to contribute to the achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and which sustainability goals they would choose first.

Sustainability

2018 ◽  
pp. 82-102
Author(s):  
John S. Dryzek ◽  
Jonathan Pickering
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Social Values ◽  
Critical Examination ◽  
Earth System ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
Development Goals

The idea of sustainability has dominated global environmental affairs for several decades, though sustainable development has nowhere been achieved in practice. Established conceptions of sustainable development asserting that growth, justice, and environmental protection can be mutually reinforcing now need to be rethought under the more challenging circumstances of the Anthropocene. Sustainability needs to become more reflexive: more open to a range of understandings about its own essence, more ecologically grounded, more dynamic in its responsiveness to changing social and Earth system conditions, more far-sighted in anticipating future problems (such as state shifts in the Earth system), and more effectively integrated with other social values (such as justice and democracy). These requirements are demonstrated by a critical examination of one of the largest global efforts to advance sustainability and associated values: the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations in 2015.

scholarly journals The Balanced Obligation and the Basis for Compliance in International Law: Reflections on the Question of International Obligation

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Prehi Botchway
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Environmental Agreements ◽  
Multilateral Environmental Agreements ◽  
International Treaty ◽  
Effective Implementation ◽  
International Obligation ◽  
International Obligations ◽  
Zero Sum

In this essay, we use the implementation of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) in developing countries (specifically, the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Ghana) to illustrate why and how States can implement international agreements and for that matter comply with international law without necessarily compromising on equally implementing effective policies to meet their domestic responsibility, particularly when such MEAs may be deemed by some as instruments that curtail the enjoyment of benefits from a State’s natural resources and endowments. The essay examines the nexus between compliance with international law (international obligation) and meeting domestic responsibility (particularly when the international treaty or agreement to be complied with seems to have some negative implications for the domestic population or State policy). Do States always have an incentive to comply with and execute their international obligations? Should the need for or argument against an international agreement or treaty necessarily lead to its abandonment by States? Can States effectively balance the execution of international obligation with meeting domestic responsibility? Should the effective implementation of a State’s international obligation be regarded as a zero sum for the State’s domestic responsibility? What should be the basis for compliance in international law? These are some of the few questions that this essay seeks to address.

scholarly journals Analysis of the Local Agenda 21 in Madrid Compared with Other Global Actions in Sustainable Development

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (19) ◽  
pp. 3685 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose Manuel Diaz-Sarachaga
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Action Plans ◽  
Agenda 21 ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Institutional Economic ◽  
Local Agenda 21 ◽  
Development Goals

Over the last two decades, numerous towns have been involved in the Local Agenda 21 program in Spain, which is founded on social participation. In the wake of this initiative, the recent promotion of the new Spanish Urban Agenda by the national government seeks to implement the 2030 Agenda in municipalities nationwide. This research aims to examine the Local Agenda 21 process by using Madrid as a case study to determine the lessons learned to enable the effective application of the new Spanish Urban Agenda. A total of 3712 activities included in the action plans of the 21 districts of Madrid were analyzed to identify linkages with the Sustainable Development Goals and the targets of Sustainable Development Goal # 11 (“Sustainable cities and communities”). Methodologies used were solely oriented to develop an ad hoc Local Agenda 21 plan for each district, hindering the comparison of schemes and findings. Social, institutional, economic, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development were not equally considered by the plans, being the first two aspects the most predominant. Social engagement hardly reached 0.44% of the registered population. The contribution of all action plans to the sustainable development of Madrid was not assessed due to the absence of indicators in the program.

scholarly journals Understanding of Sustainability and Education for Sustainable Development among Pre-Service Biology Teachers

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (17) ◽  
pp. 6892
Author(s):  
Petra Bezeljak ◽  
Martin Scheuch ◽  
Gregor Torkar
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Transformative Education ◽  
Social Dimensions ◽  
Agenda 21 ◽  
Biology Teachers ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Teacher Students ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The University

Sustainable development (SD) is one of the global and central aims of today’s politics. As stated in Agenda 21, education must play an essential role in achieving a sustainable society. The present research is focused on Slovenian and Austrian biology teacher students’ understanding of SD and education for sustainable development (ESD). The research was carried out at the University of Ljubljana and the University of Vienna. Altogether, 60 Slovenian and 60 Austrian pre-service biology teachers participated in the questionnaire-based study. Pre-service biology teachers answered a set of Likert-type and open survey questions. Less than half of the pre-service biology teachers from Slovenia and Austria had a good understanding of the environmental aspects of SD, but they lack understanding of the interconnections between the environmental, economic and social dimensions related to SD. They describe and connect ESD with environmental education and environmental awareness. Students from both countries know some pedagogical principles of ESD, such as active learning and transformative education. Analysis with the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in focus showed that only some of them were mentioned by the teacher students. The results of the research contribute to the evaluation and development of curriculum for middle and high school biology teachers.

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