New Report: ‘Water Security and the Global Water Agenda: A UN-Water Analytical Brief’

Bigas, H. (2013). Water Security and the Global Water Agenda: A UN-Water Analytical Brief. United Nations University - Institute for Water, Environment & Health. 

Foreword: It is fitting that the topic of water security, through the launch of this Analytical Brief, figures among the many celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of World Water Day on 22 March 2013 and the 2013 International Year of Water Cooperation. In recent years, the issue of water security has been gaining traction in the global political agenda and earning attention from national governments at the highest level, in particular for its links to peace and national security, but also for its implications for development issues.

Several recent events and discussions have highlighted these links between water security and international peace; most notably, the High-Level Roundtable Discussion on Water, Peace and Security jointly hosted by the United States, the European Union and UN-Water that took place during the 67th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 20121. As highlighted by then U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, water security is key for ensuring peace and security, but also for human development. Secretary Clinton highlighted that water security offers opportunities: for cooperation, collaboration, and for addressing challenges in a multi-disciplinary and cross-sectoral way in order to reduce risks for potential conflicts and manage continued sustainable development and growth.

With this Analytical Brief, UN-Water aims to provide a starting point for discussion on the range of issues that collectively fall under the umbrella of water security, identifying the challenges that lay ahead, the necessity of relating water security to policy development, and offering possible options for responding to these challenges. It underlines the important role that cooperation will play in addressing water security challenges, including collaboration between different stakeholders and across all levels, from local to international. The collaborative nature of UN-Water Members and Partners on the Analytical Brief sets an example for cooperation across the UN System for addressing the shared challenges of water security.

The production of this Analytical Brief on water security is timely as the international community prepares for a post-2015 development world through the development of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To this end, this Analytical Brief provides an important input into the discussion on the possible inclusion of an SDG on water, a process to which UN-Water is actively contributing.

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New Article: ‘Translating disaster resilience into spatial planning practice in South Africa: Challenges and champions’

Van Niekerk, W. (2013). Translating disaster resilience into spatial planning practice in South Africa: Challenges and champions.  Jàmbá: Journal of Disaster Risk Studies. 5 (1): 1-6.

Abstract: It is highly likely that hazards and extreme climatic events will occur more frequently in the future and will become more severe – increasing the vulnerability and risk of millions of poor urbanites in developing countries. Disaster resilience aims to reduce disaster losses by equipping cities to withstand, absorb, adapt to or recover from external shocks. This paper questions whether disaster resilience is likely to be taken up in spatial planning practices in South Africa, given its immediate developmental priorities and challenges. In South Africa, issues of development take precedence over issues of sustainability, environmental management and disaster reduction. This is illustrated by the priority given to ‘servicing’ settlements compared to the opportunities offered by ‘transforming’ spaces through post-apartheid spatial planning. The City of Durban’s quest in adapting to climate change demonstrates hypothetically that if disaster resilience were to be presented as an issue distinct from what urban planners are already doing, then planners would see it as insignificant as compared to addressing the many developmental backlogs and challenges. If, however, it is regarded as a means to secure a city’s development path whilst simultaneously addressing sustainability, then disaster resilience is more likely to be translated into spatial planning practices in South Africa.

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Table of Contents Alert: Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions 6

See below for some of the articles that were published in the latest volume of Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions

Sustainability for wellbeing
Timothy O’Riordan
Abstract: I consider the record of failure of the current arrangements of capitalism to deliver sustainability: the failure to anticipate tipping points; the over-optimism of business to deliver sustainability; the immorality of markets; and the increasing loss of public trust in democracy. I consider how to resurrect the meaning and definition of sustainability for the emerging age of human wellbeing and betterment. It is possible that the manner in which our governing institutions function actually contributes to the acceleration and intensity of critical thresholds. I discuss the relationship between international, national and local levels of governing to bring about a transition in the coming decade. I review the conditions to promote citizenship opportunities for otherwise unemployed young people and consider the prospects for the success of such initiatives at the local level. These are not perfectly connected solutions: but they are relevant ingredients for any transition to sustainability.

Economic crisis, long waves and the sustainability transition: An African perspective
Mark Swilling
Abstract: To make sense of the global crisis and a possible transition, many re-interpret the past as a set of successive long-term development cycles that could repeat in future. At the same time environmental pressures have resulted in the notion of a green economy. It is argued that the current global economic crisis simultaneously marks the end of the post-WWII long-term development cycle, the mid-point of the information age and  potentially the start of a new era of sustainable development. It must be recognised that only certain futures are being imagined with Africa’s options largely ignored. As African growth rates rise as demand for its resources increase, it is necessary to question whether Africa is appropriately positioned to take advantage of the next long-term development. The new discourse of ‘resource nationalism’ is promising, but only if governance modalities can be found that can transcend the resource curse.

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New Article: ‘Ecosystem services management: an integrated approach’

Wang, S et al. (2013). Ecosystem services management: an integrated approach. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. DOI: 10.1016/j.cosust.2013.01.003. 

Abstract: Attracting professionals from diverse disciplines, the ecosystem services conceptual framework with integrative character strives to provide a solution to the drastic decline of the natural resources of our planet. Nonetheless, losses of ecosystem services accelerate more rapidly than ever. As humans interact with nature, increasing their global presence in both scale and intensity, the need for a new macroeconomic world emerges. This world should be based on an integration of nature and society (nature-societal) or society and ecosystems (socio-ecosystem), which will facilitate the transition toward sustainable ecosystem services management. Achieving this new macroeconomic economic paradigm would require redesigning a new thought process that embraces ecosystem services as precious goods, rather than unlimited and free, unappreciated resources. Market and government are not sufficient for this new macro-economics, in which ecosystem services are its main content. We suggest an integrated set of market, government, and human values to manage ecosystem services, as traditional, narrow, economic, political and scientific solutions alone do not adequately address the sustainable use of natural ecosystems. Culture, created from human values which, to a certain extent, can be influenced or directed, has the capacity to influence the interactions between nature, social and economic systems. The ancient Chinese philosophy of ‘unity of man with nature’ provides principles which can guide and develop human values into a new, positive force with the potential to harmoniously manage sustainable ecosystem services.

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New Article: ‘Common and Conflicting Interests in the Engagements between Conservation Organizations and Corporations’

Robinson, J.G. (2012). Common and Conflicting Interests in the Engagements between Conservation Organizations and Corporations. Conservation Biology 26 (6): 967-977.

Abstract: The conservation community increasingly views the corporate sector as a positive force for conservation. Collaborations between corporations and nongovernmental conservation organizations (NGOs) seek to mitigate the negative effects of corporate activities and augment positive conservation outcomes. I reviewed the establishment of corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies by corporations; the emerging focus on environmental practices and sustainability; and the history of engagement between corporations and nongovernmental organizations. I considered the ethical and reputation vulnerabilities of these collaborations, which depend especially on the financial nature of the relationship and reviewed how CSR approaches have influenced corporate practices. I concluded that whereas CSR practices can act to mitigate negative environmental impact, to date they have had limited positive effect on biodiversity conservation.

Available for download with subscription here.

New Article: ‘Women and fisheries: Contribution to food security and local economies’

Harper, S. et al. (2013). Women and fisheries: Contribution to food security and local economies. Marine Policy, 39: 56-63.

Abstract: The substantial role of women in fisheries is overlooked in management and policy. Fortunately, it is gaining recognition despite a lack of quantitative data describing the scale of participation and contribution. This work summarizes existing knowledge on women’s participation in marine fisheries globally, and estimates their contribution in the Pacific.

New Article: ‘Welcome to the Anthropocene: Rio+20 and the Meaning of Sustainable Development’

Abstract: From June 20 to 22, 2012, 45,000 participants from governments, the private sector, nongovernmental organizations, and major groups met in Rio De Janeiro for the “Rio+20” United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. The outcome document titled “The Future We Want” alludes to a grand vision for addressing global challenges in the framework of sustainable development: economic, social, and environmental. But the 53-page long document only reiterates promises made elsewhere. It fails to lay out a coherent roadmap forward, much less to define binding targets with specific deadlines. The declaration, however, does reflect a changing political reality in international negotiations. Developing countries are playing a much more assertive role in pushing poverty eradication as the overarching priority than at any time before. Rio+20 furthermore presents a snapshot of the divers interests and voices that shape the discourse on sustainable development, 20 years after the original 1992 Rio Conference launched the debate.

Full Citation: Clémençon, R. (2012). Welcome to the Anthropocene: Rio+20 and the Meaning of Sustainable Development. Journal of Environment & Development, 21 (3): 311-338 (Available for download with subscription at: http://jed.sagepub.com/content/21/3/311.abstract

Editorial by David Sattherthwaite: ‘Why is community action needed for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation?’

Extract:  When disasters happen, the speed and effectiveness of response depends very heavily on local organizations that represent the needs  of those most impacted and most vulnerable. As the paper by Jorgelina Hardoy, Gustavo Pandiella and Luz Stella Velásquez Barrero notes, it is atthe local or neighbourhood level that disasters happen, lives and livelihoods are lost, houses and infrastructure damaged or destroyed, and health and education compromised. It is also at the local level that many of the disaster risks can be addressed before disasters occur. Much of the responsibility for disaster risk reduction falls to local governments and much of the death and destruction from disasters shows up the failings of local government. The success of post-disaster actions is also to a large extent determined by pre-disaster planning and awareness and readiness within local government and civil society organizations. In this way, community action and partnerships with local government are central not just to minimizing risk but also in responding to impact and shaping recovery in ways that can strengthen local livelihoods and quality of life.

Full Citation: Sattherthwaite, D. (2011). Why is community action needed for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation? Environment & Urbanization, 23 (2): 339-349 (Full article available with subscription at: http://eau.sagepub.com/content/current).

‘Cities and Climate Change: Responding to an Urgent Agenda’

Cities and Climate Change: Responding to an Urgent Agenda published by Urbanization and Global Environmental Change: An IHDP Core Project draws on the work of the 5th Urban Research Symposium that made an  important contribution to the growing body of knowledge and practice in the area of cities and climate change.

The links between cities and climate change were the subject of the 5th Urban Research Symposium held in Marseille in June 2009. Under the main theme, Cities and Climate Change—Responding to an Urgent Agenda, the symposium aimed to advance the state of knowledge on cities and climate change from an applied research perspective. Attended by more than 700 people from more than 70 countries, the symposium featured eight teams of commissioned researchers and approximately 200 research papers selected from more than 500 initial proposals.

‘Addressing Grand Challenges for Global Sustainability: Monitoring, Forecasting, and Governance of Urban Systems’

This sixth issue of UGEC Viewpoints highlights how the dimension of urbanization and global change fits into the envisaged objectives and scientific agenda of the new ICSU-supported Earth System Sustainability Initiative (ESSI). The five Grand Challenges posed by ESSI (forecasting, observing, confining, responding, and innovating) are areas to which UGEC project researchers and practitioners are increasingly turning their attention and this current issue showcases several examples. In particular, we include articles that are representative of the work occurring within the UGEC network, address three of the five major challenges posed by the ESSI, and apply them to urban systems.