Sustainable Development In Science Policy Making

This study focuses on German science policy for research cooperation with developing countries and emerging economies in sustainability research. Based on interviews with policy makers and researchers, it scrutinizes the actors, processes and contents of science policy in Germany.

Of all the books written about the problems of sustainable development and environmental protection, Sustainable Development: Science, Ethics, and Public Policy is one of the first to examine the role of science, economics and law, and ethics as generally applied to decision making on sustainable development, particularly in respect to the recommendations contained in Agenda 21. Specifically, the book examines the role, capabilities, and certain strengths and weaknesses of these disciplines and their ethical implications in the context of sustainable development problems. Such an analysis is necessary to determine whether sustainable development problems create important new challenges and problems for government so that, where appropriate, new tools or approaches may be designed to overcome limitations or take advantage of the strengths of current scientific, economic and legal capabilities. Audience: Environmental professionals, whether academic, governmental or industrial, or in the private consultancy sector. Also suitable as an upper level text or reference.

This pathbreaking book contributes to the discourse of evidence-based policy-making. It does so by combining the two issues of policy evaluation and sustainable development linking both to the policy-cycle. It covers contributions: · examining the perception of sustainability problems, which analyse the relationship between sustainability and assessment; · highlighting the role of evaluation and impact assessment studies during policy formulation; · looking at policy implementation by examining sustainability and impact assessment systems in different application areas; · addressing policy reformulation presenting monitoring and quality improvement schemes; · discussing quality of sustainability evaluations studies. Providing theoretic insights, reflections and case studies, this novel study will prove essential to postgraduate students, practitioners, policymakers and researchers in the area of sustainable development, policy-making and evaluation.

This title describes the concept of adaptive policymaking and presents seven tools for developing such policies. Based on hundreds of interviews with people impacted by policy and research of over a dozen policy case studies, this book serves as a pragmatic guide for policymakers by elaborating on these seven tools.

New knowledge, created in international cooperation, is essential for global sustainability. Set against this background, this study focuses on German science policy for research cooperation with developing countries and emerging economies in sustainability research. Based on interviews with policy makers and researchers, the book scrutinizes the actors, processes and contents of science policy in Germany. The author argues that science policy mainly aims at German economic benefits and technology development. This, however, negatively influences global sustainability. To counter existing path dependencies, the author provides recommendations for sustainability-oriented scientific practice and science policy.

This textbook provides a comprehensive compilation of conceptual perspectives, methodological approaches and empirical insights of inter- and transdisciplinary sustainability science. Written by an international team of authors from leading sustainability institutions, the textbook covers key perspectives and topics of the scientific discourse on sustainable development. More than two decades after conceptualizing sustainability as societal guiding vision and regulative idea the necessity of concretizing and realizing sustainability in societal praxis is bigger than ever. Sharply improved individual and societal sustainable decision-making and action is necessary for a better future of humankind and the planet. On that account problem- and solution-oriented perspectives and competencies are crucial. The different chapters assemble an encompassing view of essential foundations and specific areas of research and action in sustainability science and practice. The textbook aims at fostering the further establishment of sustainability science in higher education and to enable the next generation of sustainability experts to tackle the challenging and exciting topic of sustainable development.

In the international effort to advance human health, welfare, and development while better managing and conserving the environment and natural resources, there is a clear and growing recognition of the role of scientific and technical knowledge in global governance. This has created an urgent need for the United Nations to equip itself with the capability to bring scientific knowledge to inform international decision making. Given the complexity and diversity of United Nations programs, organs, and mandates, this report focuses on the main functions of the United Nations that affect international governance in the fields related to sustainable development, with reference to the taxonomy of the key United Nations organs in which these functions are undertaken. Efforts have been made to ensure that the major categories of United Nations organs have been covered and therefore the results of the review are representative of the functioning of the United Nations system.

This book highlights the importance of the subnational level of governance in relation to sustainable development, exploring how subnational governments have taken up the challenge to design sustainable development policies and their involvement in international decision-making on sustainable development.