Description
Book SynopsisDecision-makers increasingly seek to design environmental and development policies that will support sustainable development. Thus, practical tools to help formulate sustainable development policies and clear methods to assess their acceptability and effectiveness are urgently needed. This book contributes to meeting these needs by presenting both analytical and empirical aspects of decision-making processes.
The authors explore the methods for integrating environmental and social sciences to support participatory policy design, implementation and assessment of sustainable development policies. These methods are applied, richly illustrated and discussed with reference to several case studies from various regions of the world. Although each chapter has a distinct focus, they all contribute to a clearer understanding of how sustainable development is perceived and assessed by society. The book is interdisciplinary, emphasising how the integration of a wide set of disciplines and stakeholder perspectives into the policy-making process can help to improve the perception of sustainable development policies. The authors argue that there should be greater transparency in the processes of modelling and integrated assessment in order to increase the meaningful participation of all stakeholders involved in the decision-making process.
By deliberately avoiding technical jargon, this book will appeal to a broad audience including environmental, resource and development economists. It will also be of interest to anyone with a scientific or policy perspective in the measurement and assessment of sustainable development.
Trade Review'The complexity and uncertainty of sustainable development decision-making process make this book quite vital to scholars, researchers and practitioners of development. The holistic approach of addressing environmental issues gives a better perspective of what, why and how environmental problems can be addressed so as to provide benefits to the society. This book is a welcome addition to the literature on a participatory approach which seeks out a consensus in ensuring the maximization of inputs from concerned parties.' -- Valentine U. James, Fayetteville State University, US
'A multidisciplinary compilation bringing together 12 studies from around the world. Each chapter emphasises the necessity for integrated assessment and evaluation of environmental and development strategies when designing sustainable development policies. A concise, well referenced book exploring the challenges faced in the decision making process.' -- Friends of the Earth
Table of ContentsContents: Preface Introduction Part I: Methodological Issues Towards Integrative Analysis Part II: Participatory Frameworks Part III: Perspectives in Ecological Economic Modelling Index
