A new method for assessing the sustainability of land-use systems (I)

Identifying the relevant issues

verfasst von

Christof Walter, Hartmut Stützel

Abstract

Definitions of sustainability abound. However, they tend to be abstract and thus open to diverging interpretations. Conversely, scientists need concrete guidance to develop quantitative measures of the sustainability of agricultural systems, such as sustainability indicators. Bridging this gap between what policy provides and what scientists need involves strong normative elements. Many publications on sustainable agriculture suggest bridging the gap through participatory stakeholder processes. However, participatory stakeholder involvement is not always practicable, due to the high cost and time required. In addition, the outcome of such processes can lack transparency and validity to outsiders. In this paper (the first of a series of two, [Walter, C. and Stützel, H., 2009-this issue. A new method for assessing the sustainability of land-use systems (II): Evaluating impact indicators. Ecological Economics]), we introduce an alternative method for concretising sustainability within a given context. It is based on a systematic inventory of potential issues through a structured literature review, and then uses a simple and transparent criterion to decide which of these potential issues is actually relevant within the given context. This approach yields a set of concrete issues against which to test the impact of agricultural production systems. It also makes transparent the normative and descriptive elements of the process, which helps to control value-driven biases. We demonstrate the practical applicability of this approach by testing it for an agricultural area in Northwest Germany.

Organisationseinheit(en)

Abteilung Systemmodellierung Gemüsebau

Externe Organisation(en)

Unilever

Typ

Artikel

Journal

Ecological economics

Band

68

Seiten

1275-1287

Anzahl der Seiten

13

ISSN

0921-8009

Publikationsdatum

20.01.2009

Publikationsstatus

Elektronisch veröffentlicht (E-Pub)

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Umweltwissenschaften (insg.), Volkswirtschaftslehre und Ökonometrie

Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung

SDG 2 – Kein Hunger, SDG 7 – Erschwingliche und saubere Energie, SDG 12 – Verantwortungsvoller Konsum und Produktion, SDG 15 – Lebensraum Land

Elektronische Version(en)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2008.11.016 (Zugang: Geschlossen)