5th Global Conference
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Conference Programme, Abstracts and Papers
Monday 3rd July - Thursday 6th
July 2006
Mansfield College, Oxford
Session 9: Indicators, Factors and Assessment
Chair: Derek Bell
Action Research on Sustainable Development Indicators:
Stakeholder Participation and Indicator Selection
Paul
Kearney
Centre for Environmental
Research, Department of Chemical and Environmental Sciences, University
of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
The complexity of sustainable development means that it is often difficult to evaluate sustainability and to communicate the concept of sustainability effectively to the public. One possible method to reduce complexity, and incorporate public opinion, while maintaining scientific objectivity, is public participation in the development of sustainable development indicators. The aim of this study was to create, and demonstrate the effectiveness of a method for effective stakeholder participation in the development of indicators of sustainable development. The method should not only incorporate public opinion in the development of indicators but also increase public awareness on the complex issues of sustainable development. The Q-method of discourse analysis is being used to identify and collate the opinions of members of the public on the issues surrounding sustainable development. The Q-method works on the basis that there are a finite number of discourses that cover any topic. Statements on the discourses surrounding sustainable development were collected during 11 focus group meetings with members of the public from a range of stakeholders groups. The statements collected during the meetings were then analysed and distilled down to 40 statements that covered the full spectrum of opinions expressed during the meetings. The next phase of this research involves 40 members of the public carrying out Q-sorts where they rank these 40 statements from –4 to +4. Using PCQwin software, which utilises factor analysis for the analysis of discourses, 3-4 ‘ideal’ Q-sorts will be identified from the 40 Q-sorts collected. These ‘ideal’ Q-sorts will represent the spectrum of opinions that are likely to be held by members of the public in the study area. Through a combination of ‘public opinion’ with ‘expert opinion’ and using the DPSIR framework for indicator development, indicators of sustainable development can then be developed that are relevant to the public while maintaining scientific objectivity.
Factor Analysis of Factors Influencing on Adoption
of Sustainable Agriculture Among Wheat Farmers of LORESTAN Province.
Farhad
Lashgarara
Islamic Azad University, Science & Research Branch, Tehran, Iran
The purpose of this paper is to investigate and identify the factors that influence on adoption of sustainable agriculture among wheat farmers of Lorestan province in Iran. This research was kind of descriptive-correlation.. The population of this study includes 862 wheat farmers. Sampling method is random stratified that there is selected a sample by 140 individuals. The research tool was questionnaire The data of research are analyzed by SPSS/13 software into two descriptive and analysis sections. In order to validity of research insrument, designed questionnare was given to some scholars of Teheran University and some of the agricultural extension specialists,that after necessary correction and changing some questions, questionnare validity is approved. For testing research realibity,30 questionnares were fulfillment by wheat farmers and Cronbach Alfa was calculated (α /0= 81) that it was an adequate reliability coefficient. The results showed that adoption of sustainable agriculture among wheat farmers of Lorestan province was in relatively low level and there were positive and significant relationship among variables such as education, social participations, access to market, rate of using mass media, participation into extension classes, knowledge and attitude about sustainable agriculture with adoption of sustainable agriculture .The results of factor analysis also showed that about 79 percent variance of adoption of sustainable agriculture is determined based on five factors, namely farming-economic factors, characteristics of innovation, individuals’ characteristics, communication channels and educational participation.
A Critical Review of the Adequacy of Environmental
Impact Assessment Reports - Evidence from Pakistan
Obaidullah
Nadeem and Rizwan Hameed
Department of City & Regional Planning, University
of Engineering & Technology, Lahore-Pakistan
The preparation of good-quality Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports contribute to enhancing overall effectiveness of EIA. This component of the EIA process becomes more important in situation where public participation is weak and there is lack of expertise on the part of the competent authority. In Pakistan, EIA became mandatory for every project likely to cause adverse environmental impacts from July 1994. The competent authority also formulated guidelines for preparation and review of EIA reports in 1997. However, EIA is yet to prove as a successful decision support tool to help in environmental protection. One of the several reasons of this ineffectiveness is the generally poor quality of EIA reports. This paper critically reviews EIA reports of some randomly selected projects. Interviews of EIA consultants and concerned government officials have also been conducted to underpin the root causes of poor quality of EIA reports. The analysis reveals several inadequacies particularly in areas relating to identification, evaluation and mitigation of key impacts and consideration of alternatives. The paper identifies some opportunities and suggests measures for improving the quality of EIA reports and hence making EIA an effective tool to achieve sustainability.