Use of Farmers’ Indicators to Evaluate the Sustainability of Cropping Systems on Sloping Land in Yunnan Province, China

Diversity in the biophysical and socio-economic attributes of agricultural systems makes them uniquely niche based. Farmers are expert in local biophysical and socio-economic situations and can contribute in developing pragmatic indicators of agro-environmental development. During evaluation of an agricultural research project in Yunnan, China, local farmers were capable of evaluating the effects of modified technologies on existing cropping systems and discussed their attitudes to the interventions using their own indicators. Farmers＇ response can be grouped into seven major aspects： i） effects on income, ii） effects on production resources, iii） effects on crop management, iv） existing local knowledge about the technology, v） availability of inputs, vi） access to information, and vii） socio-economic conditions of farming households. Farmers concluded that environmental conditions in the experimental catchment in comparison to an adjacent untreated catchment were better in terms of soil and water losses, vegetation cover and natural resources, infrastructures and catchment management, use of environmentally-friendly technologies, and crop productivity. Success in soil and water conservation programmes depends on the efforts of the farmers and other local users and their greater involvement helps to identify more pragmatic indicators. Furthermore, it increases ownership of the programme, enhances interactions with the project scientists, increases farmers＇ awareness of ago-environmental problems and their possible consequences. These development will enable scientists to develop better targeted interventions and increase the likelihood of adoption of tested technologies by local communities. The use of paired adjacent catchments improved evaluation activities and is proposed as good practice for future catchment improvement programmes.

Green Infrastructure Practice and a Sustainability Key Performance Indicators Framework for Neighbourhood-Level Construction of Sponge City Programme

In recent years, the Sponge City program (SCP) of China, as a sustainable stormwater management approach, has been strengthened as a national strategic level program. The Green Infrastructure (GI), due to its multi-objective and multi-benefits, has been adopted as an important measure of this new nationwide initiative. However, there is a lack of a comprehensive quantitative evaluation system for neighbourhood scale SCP. Hence, in the process of GI plan optimization, selection of implementation methods to balance its multi-benefits has become one of the key obstacles in the practice of SCP. To support robust decision making on multi-objective GI planning and comprehensive assessment, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) has been used as a structural and systematic technique. In addition, a set of sustainability key performance indicators (KPIs) including requisite dimensions is the foundation for neighbourhood scale sustainability. Hence, AHP-based evaluation system including selection, weighting and ranking of the KPIs, is defined as a key performance indicator framework (KPIF), which is still in need for further development. Taking the GI planning for the Liangnong, Siming Lake sponge node restoration as an example, this paper develops KPIF with a comprehensive evaluation system for high-quality “Sponge Node” transitional construction. This KPIF consists of three basic criteria: “Environmental Performance”, “Economic and Adaptability Performance”, and “Social-cultural Performance and Wellbeing Performance”. In addition, 15 weighted KPIs are concluded and amongst them, the followings were relatively high: weight of the ATRCR, the promotion of biodiversity, the construction cost saving, the maintenance cost saving, and the level of recreational and wellbeing improvements for all people. In addition, the developed KPIF provides a reference for similar program’s decision-making, not only for the Jiangnan area of China, but also for quantitatively comprehensive evaluations of SCP in other regions.

Analysis and Design of Agricultural Sustainability Indicators System

The development and characteristic of agricultural sustainability indicators system （Sis）, at home and abroad, was reviewed. It was pointed out that the existing domestic methods of sustainability evaluation can not be accepted by foreign scholars, and their scientific basis is inadequate. The experience and shortcomings of the previous studies on the indicators selection and evaluation methods were analyzed, also with the significance for practice. Finally, a new SIs for agriculture development evaluation was proposed, together with the corresponding calculation and evaluation methods. The farmer development index indicator was proposed to embody the viewpoint that the development of people is the ultimate aim; the dynamic weight calculation method was designed to reflect the various significance of the different indicators when their values were changing; and new indicators integrate methods were also explored.

Sustainability Reporting Based on GRI Indicators

Every company wants to make a profit in the short run but doesn’t think about the long run.The environment and human resources are used by the companies but eventually,they will react in a repugnant way.The environment is being polluted every day and it is a threat to human life as well as the world.To assess the impact of activities being done by the companies,a non-governmental organization was established in Boston called Global Reporting Initiative(GRI)in 1997.GRI(Global Reporting Initiative)established a sustainability reporting framework that provides a systematic guideline for the sake of companies to disclose their performance on the environmental,economic,and social degree of sustainability.This study will find out how responsible multinational(listed and non-listed)companies(MNC)in the case of sustainability reporting when they are consistently doing business in the environment of Bangladesh.This study was analyzed based on GRI(Global Reporting Initiative)guidelines towards their reporting on sustainability.A quantitative score from 0 to 3 was given for each of 84 performance indicators(9,30,and 45 exhibitors for environmental,economic,and social dimensions respectively)of the GRI 3 guidelines based on sustainability reporting.This study reports that tidings on the economic degree are better compared to environmental and social dimensions.Much deviation is reported in environmental and social dimensions,but less deviation is reported in economic dimensions by the selected companies as the sample.Overall,the reporting practices of Nestle Bangladesh Ltd are better than other selected companies.

Indicators and tools for assessing sustainability impacts of the forest bioeconomy

The sustainable use of renewable resources has become an important issue worldwide in the move towards a less fossil-fuel-intensive future.Mainstream method for fulfilling this aim is to increase the share of renewable energy and materials to substitute fossil fuels and to become fully independent from fossil fuels over the long-term.However, the environmental sustainability of this endeavor has been questioned.In addition,economic and social sustainability issues are also much debated topics in this particular context.Forest resources are often thought to contribute partially to achieving a so-called ＂carbon-neutral society＂.In this review, we discuss sustainability issues of using forest biomass.We present several sustainability indicators for ecological,economic and social dimensions and discuss the issues in applying them in sustainability impact assessments（SIAs）.We also present a number of tools and methods previously used in conducting SIAs.We approach our study from the perspective of the Finnish forestry; in addition, various aspects regarding the application of SIAs in a broader context are also presented.One of the key conclusions of the study is that although sufficient data are available to measure many indicators accurately, the impacts may be very difficult to assess（e.g.impact of greenhouse gases on biodiversity） for conducting a holistic SIA.Furthermore, some indicators, such as ＂biodiversity＂, are difficult to quantify in the first place.Therefore, a mix of different methods, such as Multi-criteria Assessment, Life-cycle Assessment or Cost-Benefit Analysis, as well as different approaches（e.g.thresholds and strong/weak sustainability） are needed in aggregating the results of the impacts.SIAs are important in supporting and improving the acceptability of decision-making, but a certain degree of uncertainty will always have to be tolerated.

Indicators and Influence Factors for Sustainability Assessment of Inclusive Smart Innovation Clusters

A new manufacturing and business infrastructure industrial ecosystem model with the state-of-the art core infrastructure and smart applications in the form of inclusive smart innovation cluster is seen as a powerful tool to drive industrial symbiosis, economic, social and inclusive development. Essentially an integrated eco-industrial park, these clusters demonstrate applications of industrial ecology principles among the occupant units, besides promoting sustainable societies from economic, environmental and social perspectives. The holistic planning and development of these clusters from economic, environmental and social sustainability considerations or alternatively, the sustainability assessment of these clusters is highly complex. The research reported upon forms part of a larger study that aims to develop an integrated decision support system for sustainability assessment of inclusive smart innovation cluster. The paper discusses the conceptual model of the cluster and the need to establish context specific key indicators and influence factors from economic, environmental and social sustainability considerations. The paper proposes a structured methodology for development of key indicators and influence factors. The paper concludes by identifying a set of 184 key indicators and influence factors for comprehensive sustainability assessment of inclusive smart innovation cluster.

Identification of Sustainability Indicators and Evaluation of Transportation Corridors during Construction Using Fuzzy VIKOR Method

Sustainability is popularly defined as meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Social, economic and environmental parameters are most commonly accepted as the three pillars of sustainability. In this paper, various sustainability indicators have been identified during the construction stage for elevated transportation corridors and thereafter classified under various categories. Using fuzzy VIKOR technique, sustainability evaluation of transportation corridors is made on two selected project sites of two different government organizations using various identified sustainability indicators, i.e., a 3.2-km long elevated road project under construction from Vikaspuri to Meerabagh in West Delhi by PWD （Public Works Department） and the metro rail elevated corridor （part） from Punjabi Bagh to Mayapuri as a part of Phase 3, Line 7 by DMRC （Delhi Metro Rail Corporation）. The study is made at both sites in the midst of the construction period and it is identified that during the construction stage, the sustainability of these transportation corridors is just not limited to three pillars, but in actuality, it is much beyond that. From the study, it is inferred that the metro rail elevated corridor is a more sustainable corridor, in the context of the identified sustainability indicators.

Measuring the agricultural sustainability of India:An application of Pressure-State-Response(PSR)model

Analyzing agricultural sustainability is essential for designing and assessing rural development initiatives.However,accurately measuring agricultural sustainability is complicated since it involves so many different factors.This study provides a new suite of quantitative indicators for assessing agricultural sustainability at regional and district levels,involving environmental sustainability,social security,and economic security.Combining the PressureState-Response(PSR)model and indicator approach,this study creates a composite agricultural sustainability index for the 14 mainstream agro-climatic regions of India.The results of this study show that the Trans-Gengatic Plain Region(TGPR)ranks first in agricultural sustainability among India's 14 mainstream agro-climatic regions,while the Eastern Himalayan Region(EHR)ranks last.Higher livestock ownership,cropping intensity,per capita income,irrigation intensity,share of institutional credit,food grain productivity,crop diversification,awareness of minimum support price,knowledge sharing with fellow farmers,and young and working population,as well as better transportation facilities and membership of agricultural credit societies are influencing indicators responsible for higher agricultural sustainability in TGPR compared with EHR.Although,the scores of environmental sustainability indicators of EHR are quite good,its scores of social and economic security indicators are fairly low,putting it at the bottom of the rank of agricultural sustainability index among the 14 mainstream agroclimatic regions in India.This demonstrates the need of understanding agricultural sustainability in relation to social and economic dimensions.In a nation as diverse and complicated as India,it is the social structure that determines the health of the economy and environment.Last but not least,the sustainability assessment methodology may be used in a variety of India's agro-climatic regions.

The Barometer of Sustainability as a Monitoring Tool of the Sustainable Development Process in Ribeirao Preto, Brazil

The aim is to present and discuss the level of sustainability of Ribeirao Preto, Brazil based on Sustainability Indicators using the Barometer of Sustainability. The Barometer of Sustainability is a method of two-dimensional analysis which assesses the wellbeing in human and ecological dimensions of an equitable and systematic system, not leaving the data overlap, not masking the results and finding in a Wellbeing Index. The results showed that Ribeir^o Preto is on intermediate level in relation to sustainable development with better performance in human dimensions. The themes of Soil and Biodiversity were considered unsustainable in the analysis of findings. This reveals that the city presents a greater concern with the socio-economic issues at the expense of environmental issues.

Contribution for a Better Understanding of the Technological Sustainability in Electrical Energy Production through Photovoltaic Cells

The conversion of solar energyinto electricity reveals a huge importance in the production of＂clean＂ energy, mainly when applied to decentralized production systems （micro-generation）. However, there is the need to develop and optimize these processes in order to turn it more sustainable in economic and technological scoops. The main purpose of this work is to study the solar energy conversion into electricity through photovoltaic cells, characterizing the process efficiencies. This study intends to evaluate the energetic and exergetic efficiencies defining them as indicators in the formulation ofa sustainability index. All the procedures are in a theoretical scope with an illustrative example in the end of this work.

On the indicator of weak sustainability

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Environmental Sustainability: A 30-Year Progress Assessment in Portugal

Sustainable development is a common goal for all countries since the concept was adopted at the 1992 Rio Conference. European Union (EU) became a world leader in most of indicators despite successive enlargement of country members with newcomers often facing basic environmental problems. In 1986, Portugal became a member of the European Economic Community (EEC), and immediately began to reflect its environmental policies. Over the last 30 years, the support of EU funds and the implementation of environmental public policies in Portugal, have been essential for the country’s sustainable development. As a result, Portugal’s standards started to be closer to those of the EU and, in some cases even exceeded it. The present article addresses, for the first time, a long series of 30 years (1987-2017), in a retrospective analysis of a set of indicators, in order to characterize the evolution of Portugal’s environmental sustainability, its relationship to the national public policies, and in the context of the EU. The progress of the indicators towards specific environmental sustainability targets is also evaluated. Moreover, a set of key indicators that also evaluate the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development are identified. The results show that the evolution of Portugal’s environmental sustainability in the last 30 years was remarkable. The water standards, air quality, urban waste, and energy sectors showed high improvement. However, the evolution in the sectors such as land use, and environmental risks, particularly forest fires, were negative. On the other hand, for some indicators, such as renewable energies or bathing water quality, Portugal performed better than the EU-28. Environmental performance shows the positive influence of EU environment policies and structural support, changing dramatically the quality of the environment in Portugal, from a negative situation to a success case study in a generation period.

Socio-Economic Metabolism and Sustainability at a Watershed

This research relates to the change in land use and land cover and to socio-economic metabolism, which constitute two approaches to interdisciplinary research on the society-nature relationship. The study focuses on relationships between the spatial pattern of land use, as exhibited through changes in Human Appropriation of Net Primary Productivity percentage (HANPP%), and socio- economic indicators (such as social exclusion/inclusion, income autonomy, human development, social equity and quality of life) of census sectors of a watershed. The analysis seeks to identify the existence of ecological and economic conflicts as a means of diagnosing the sustainability condition of the mid-upper Mogi Guaçu River watershed in 2009. The spatial pattern of land use of the watershed in 2009 indicates that ecosystems and natural habitats had already been reduced to a fraction of their original sizes and that a significant portion of their primary productivity had been appropriated. The predominance of anthropogenic agricultural activities in the watershed was the main cause of the increase in the HANPP%. Lower HANPP% values are associated with census sectors in regions with legally protected conservation areas;higher values are associated with census sectors involved in anthropogenic agricultural and non-agricultural activities. A positive significant correlation was observed between HANPP% and social exclusion/inclusion, income autonomy and human development indicators, with values above the Basic Social Inclusion Standard, indicating lower trophic availability. With the exception of the quality of life indicator, lower (0.75 to 0.25) and higher (-0.75 to -0.25) social exclusion values were observed in rural and urban census sectors. The environmental sustainability of the middle Mogi Guaçu River watershed has been compromised in terms of the amount of biomass available to the trophic community. However, socio-economic indicators demonstrate an improved quality of life for the populations of the census sectors of the middle Mogi Guaçu River watershed.

Urban ecological sustainability assessment of the human-made system and natural system based on emergy and GIS approach

Due to the complexity of sustainable urban research,the environmental sustainability was assessed.Taking the sponge city as an example,the case study was conducted based on the integrated geographic information system(GIS)and emergy methods.The results demonstrate that the emergy of agricultural crops,major industrial products,comprehensive energy products,imports and exports,waste products and increased natural system emergy are the decisive factors for the sustainability assessment.Agricultural crops are the primary contributor,which accounts for 48.9%of the total emergy amount.Urban solid waste has a self-evident superiority in the waste products emergy proportion.Surface water and vegetal biomass emergy possess the pivotal consequences,far higher than soil organic matter.The sewage treatment stations(0.11%)play a small role in the sustainability assessment of the sponge city.The emergy sustainability index is 0.02181,which indicates poor environmental sustainability.According to the study results,increasing renewable energy input proportion and adopting the vegetal biomass of high unit emergy values(UEVs)can improve the sustainability level.

Sustainability Evaluation of Mangrove Forest Management System of Tagbanua Tribe in Bgy. Manalo, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Philippines

Community-based forest management agreement in the country is a needed instrument in attaining sustainability of mangrove management.Sadly,there is no assurance that the system implemented in the mangrove forest management is sustainable.So,evaluating the mangrove management sustainability of the local tribe is a viable avenue for the appropriate management.In this study,the sustainability of the mangrove management system of the Tagbanua tribe in Bgy.Manalo,Puerto Princesa City,Palawan was evaluated.The study utilized various criteria with relevant indicators of sustainable mangrove forest management in assessing the mangrove forest management system.Focused group discussions were conducted to identify the relevant sustainable mangrove forest management C&I and verifiers.Each indicator was rated using the formulated verifiers in the form of the rating scale.Through household interviews,FGD,KII,mangrove assessment,and secondary data analysis,this study also used a mathematical model on the Sustainability Index for Individual Criteria(SIIC)to evaluate the scores for individual criteria and the Overall Sustainability Index(OSI)of the community.As a result,there are a total of seven relevant criteria,and 35 relevant indicators for Mangrove Management in Barangay Manalo.Based on the individual rating of seven criteria,the overall rating of the sustainable mangrove management system is 1.80,which implies a fairly sustainable mangrove management system.Also,the computed overall sustainability index is 0.26,which is fairly or moderately sustainable.Each criterion has strengths and weaknesses and needs to be improved to have a highly sustainable mangrove management system.

Is the German Energy System Sustainable？ An Analysis Based on the UNCSD Theme-Based Approach of Sustainability

Sustainable development is a crucial element for the future of the world and a keystone of the international agenda. The Index of Sustainable Development （ISD） calculates the degree to which sustainable development has been achieved. ISD starts by （1） measuring the individual indicators of a sustainability strategy; （2） then measures the subordinate themes or pillars, which contain these indicators; （3） and finally measures the total system, consisting of the sum of the themes. The ISD provides quantified information for each of these levels for the public and political decision makers. The ISD is used to analyze as an example the sustainability of the German Energy sector, based on the targets the German Government set in its 2002 sustainability strategy.

A new hybrid decision support tool for evaluating the sustainability of mining projects

The integration of sustainable development challenges and opportunities into the decision making process during the design and/or implementation of multi-disciplinary mining projects is generally not supported by decision support systems(DSS). A new hybrid decision support tool, which features an integrated assessment of sustainable development issues as they apply to mining projects, is hereby proposed. The proposed DSS framework, named ‘‘Acropolis DSS", can be used to assist involved stakeholders in critical decisions, especially when addressing issues such as stakeholder participation, transparency,and trade-offs. The proposed DSS is based on a multi-criteria decision analysis combined with the multi-attribute utility theory.

Indicators of global sustainable sourcing as a set covering problem:an integrated approach to sustainability

Sustainability describes a broad set of themes centered on current human uses of the planet’s resources.The multiple uses and users of the term have led to a proliferation of salient issues and associated indicators.We present a new method to systematically link these issues and indicators under two conceptual frameworks of sustainability in order to enable quantitative analyses.We demonstrate this approach with a specific use case focused on the global sourcing of agricultural products.We use the optimization software Marxan in a novel way to develop minimum sets of indicators that provide maximum coverage of sustainability issues.Minimum covering sets were identified and accumulation curves were developed to measure the contribution of each indicator in each set to overall issues coverage.While greater detail in the assessment of each indicator would likely provide more effective sets of indicators,those that were generated provide optimism that this approach can bring better focus to sustainability assessments.

Characteristics of soil quality attributes under different agroecosystems and its implications for agriculture in the Choke Mountain watershed in Ethiopia

Awareness of how soil properties vary over agroecosystems(AES) is essential for understanding soil potentials and improving site-specific agricultural management strategies for a sustainable ecosystem. This study examined the characteristics of soil quality attributes and implications for agriculture in the Choke Mountain watershed in Ethiopia. Forty-seven composite soil samples(0–20 cm deep) were collected from lowland and valley fragmented(AES 1),midland plain with black soil(AES 2), midland plain with brown soil(AES 3),sloppy midland land(AES 4), and hilly and mountainous highlands(AES 5).Ten of 15 soil quality properties were significant(P < 0.05 or 0.01), including silt, exchangeable bases, cation exchange capacity, percent base saturation,p H, organic matter, total nitrogen and available phosphorous(P) across the five AES. However, all properties were variable with coefficients of variation from 7%(total porosity) to 169%(available P) across the AES. Although AES 2and 3 are affected by waterlogging and acidity, these two have better prospects for agriculture, but AES 1, 4, and 5 are unsuitable for agriculture because of soil erosion. Therefore, appropriate and applicable soil management strategies, particularly lime application and organic fertilizer, are fundamental to reversing soil acidity and improving soil fertility.

INTERCROPPING:FEED MORE PEOPLE AND BUILD MORE SUSTAINABLE AGROECOSYSTEMS

Intercropping is a traditional farming system that increases crop diversity to strengthen agroecosystem functions while decreasing chemical inputs and minimizing negative environmental effects of crop production.Intercropping is currently considerable interest because of its importance in sustainable agriculture.Here,we synthesize the factors that make intercropping a sustainable means of food production by integrating biodiversity of natural ecosystems and crop diversity.In addition to well-known yield increases,intercropping can also increase yield stability over the long term and increase systemic resistance to plant diseases,pests and other unfavorable factors(e.g.,nutrient deficiencies).The efficient use of resources can save mineral fertilizer inputs,reduce environmental pollution risks and greenhouse gas emissions caused by agriculture,thus mitigating global climate change.Intercropping potentially increases above-and belowground biodiversity of various taxa at field scale,consequently it enhances ecosystem services.Complementarity and selection effects allow a better understanding the mechanisms behind enhanced ecosystem functioning.The development of mechanization is essential for largescale application of intercropping.Agroecosystem multifunctionality and soil health should be priority topics in future research on intercropping.