Sustainability Transformations, Social Transitions and Environmental Accountabilities

Description

This book draws upon diverse approaches and understandings of sustainability transformations, social transitions and environmental accountabilities. It presents case studies that highlight real-world consequences of changing ideas about how best to achieve effective and durable sustainability transformations and examines how environmental accountabilities and social transitions influence sustainability transformations. Each chapter provides insights regarding how new knowledge and perspectives matter for whether, when, and how people, governments, corporations and international organisations seek and pursue solutions to social-ecological challenges and sustainability dilemmas. It pays sustained attention to whether and how understandings and applications of accountability can improve international sustainability transformations. The chapters presented in this book consider some pressing questions concerning social transitions and environmental accountabilities: how can they contribute to sustainability transformations, how do they influence the scalability of sustainability transformations, and, how can such sustainability transformations become durable? Acknowledgements Funding Support Acknowledgements Contents Notes on Contributors List of Figures List of Tables List of Boxes 1 Sustainability Transformations, Social Transitions and Environmental Accountabilities: Past and Present Entanglements 2 Evaluating Transformation Means Transforming Evaluation Transforming Evaluation Five Overarching Evaluation Transformations From Project Thinking to Systems Thinking From Theory of Change to Theory of Transformation From Closed-System Linear Thinking to Open-System Complexity Understandings From Evaluation Silos to Cross-Silos Integration From Evaluation Independence and Neutrality to Skin in the Game Five Principles For Evaluation Agility An Ethical Framework for Transformational Evaluation Equity Sustainability Interdependence of Equity and Sustainability Utilisation-Focused Evaluation Conclusion Evaluation and Evaluators as Part of the Transformation Process References 3 The Net-Negative Ethic: Rationalisation and National Carbon Footprint Programs Introduction Theoretical Frameworks and Methods National Carbon Programs Costa Rica France Italy Japan New Zealand South Korea Sweden Thailand UK Discussion Conclusion Future Research References 4 Nature, Democracy, and Sustainable Urban Transformations Sustainability Transformations, Governance, and Democracy Nature-Based Solutions: More Democratic, More Innovative? NBS and Sustainability More Democratic? More Innovative? ‘Re-Naturing’ Cities with NBS Knowledge, Context, and Inclusion Innovation, Efficiency, and Scale Co-Production and Accountability Reorientation and Examination New Content, or just New Packaging? Urban Challenges and Ecological Scales Leveraging the Potential of NBS References 5 Sustainability Transformations and Environmental Accountability References 6 Accountable Solar Energy Transitions in Financially Constrained Contexts Introduction An Accounting of Environmental Accountabilities During just Transitions An Analysis of Solar Rollout in Two Financially Constrained Contexts Rajasthan Portugal Accountable Solar Energy Transitions in Financially Constrained Contexts References 7 Overcoming Segregation Problematics for Environmentally Accountable and Transformative Policy in a Changing Climate: The Case of Australia’s EPBC Act Introduction Environmental Accountability for Biodiversity Conservation in a Changing Climate Examining the EPBC Act Design and Operation of the EPBC Act The EPBC Act and Environmental Accountabilities Three Problematics Between Human and Ecological Cultures Between Science, and Policy and Practice Between Sectoral Scopes of Policy Steps Towards Overcoming Problematics for Environmental Accountability References 8 Accountable Environmental Outcomes: Bridging Disciplinary Traditions on Collaborative Governance, Coproduction, and Comanagement for Organising Just and Effective Sustainability Transformations Introduction: Governance, Collaboration, Accountability, and Sustainability Coproduction and Comanagement—Defining, Differentiating, and Relinking Concepts Coproduction: Descriptive and Normative Understandings Collaborative Knowledge Production: Science in Service of Society Comanagement: Extending from Coproduction into Implementing Collaborative Governance Comanagement and Coproduction Methods Case Descriptions Kayan Mentarang National Park (KMNP), East Kalimantan, Indonesia Kutai National Park (KNP), East Kalimantan, Indonesia White Mountains Stewardship Project (WMSP), Arizona, USA Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI), Arizona, USA Results Discussion Conclusion References 9 Navigating Local Pathways to Sustainability Through Environmental Stewardship: A Case Study in East Gippsland, Australia Introduction Background Enabling Sustainability Transformations What Role for Environmental Stewardship? What Role(s) of Researchers? Case Study: Enabling Local Action and Stewardship in a Rural Coastal Community Contextual Setting Living Bung Yarnda Experiments in Mobilising Local Action and Place-Based Knowledge Preparation and Network-Building Co-creating Shared Understandings Generating and Harnessing Place-Based Knowledge Working Across Boundaries Reflections on Enabling Local Sustainability Transformations Understanding Existing Socio-Ecological Relations Making Pathways for Action Visible Leadership, Humility and Adaptability Conclusion References 10 Tackling the Environmental and Climate Footprint of Food Systems: How “Transformative” Is the EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy? Introduction to the EU Farm to Fork Strategy Exceptionalism and Post-exceptionalism in EU Agricultural Policy The Effects of Incrementalism: Can F2F Transform the EU Agri-Food Sector? Conclusions: Imagining the Future of the EU Agri-Food Sector for Both Farmers and the Environment References 11 Just Transitions in the Context of Urgent Climate Action Introduction Can Transitions Be ‘Just’? The Global Agenda and Socio-Ecological sustainability—A Place for Smart Specialisation? Transition and Smart Specialisation in Gippsland Smart Specialisation, Just Transitions and the Sustainability Agenda References 12 Sustainability Transformations, Social Transitions and Environmental Accountabilities: Emerging Opportunities Reference Index