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Environmental Governance for Sustainable Development

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sustainability and Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 September 2023) | Viewed by 48903

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Silvestre García de Jalón

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Guest Editor

Department of Agricultural Economics, Statistics and Business Management, Technical University of Madrid (UPM), 28040 Madrid, Spain
Interests: agroforestry; agricultural and forest economics; environmental governance; ecological modelling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Environmental governance is an essential determinant of sustainable development. At the local, state, and global scale, environmental governance focuses on the management of political, social, and economic activities linked to the use of natural resources and the environment. It relies on adequate decision making processes, effective institutions, policies, laws, standards, and norms. Thus, it is crucial to develop ecological, economic, and social approaches at different spatiotemporal scales in order to promote a sustainable use of natural resources and the environment as well as increasing the delivery of ecosystem services and maintaining adequate and fair profitability.

This Special Issue welcomes studies that consider ecological, social, economic, or interdisciplinary perspectives of environmental governance and sustainable development in forest, agriculture, agroforestry, and urban land uses, at any spatial scale (individual, farm, city, regional, or global scale). In particular, this Special Issue will include papers that examine one or more of the following general themes for providing a better understanding of environmental governance issues, such as soil deterioration, climate change, biodiversity, water, air quality, ozone layer, nuclear risk, transgenic organisms, precautionary principle, and socioenvironmental conflicts; the main drivers of environmental degradation, such as economic growth, consumption, destruction of biodiversity, population growth, pollution, and destructive agricultural practices that lead to land degradation; and the impacts and consequences of main environmental governance agreements such as the Rio Conventions and Multilateral Environmental Agreements.

Dr. Silvestre García de Jalón
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

environmental governance
sustainable development
political ecology
public goods
biodiversity
climate change
water
agreement
environmental policy

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 2636 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Environmental Participatory Governance (EPG) Model for the Ecological Transition: The Case of the Basilicata Region

by Simona Loperte

Sustainability 2024, 16(2), 674; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su16020674 - 12 Jan 2024

Viewed by 654

Abstract

In the current poly-crisis scenario, in which we face the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and unstable geopolitical conditions, a just ecological transition increasingly plays a pivotal role in determining our visions for the future. Communities must be adequately prepared and made protagonists in order to ethically orient and support this transition. This article shows an experience from the Basilicata region (southern Italy) that is intended to engage the community in the just ecological transition process. To that end, an Environmental Participatory Governance model was implemented, exploiting both the synod of the churches for existing community networks and scientific expertise to support multi-actor knowledge integration and learning. The developed model allowed us to obtain an in-depth knowledge of the main players who carry out environmental education, the strengths and weaknesses of their environmental strategies, and the synergy among them. Bottom–up outcomes, in terms of perceived environmental risks and suggested priority actions, represent a challenge for stakeholders, but confronting these has led to significant alignment of visions for the implementation of a shared action plan. The most significant result of this work is the learnings concerning the implementation of a participatory experience, which should be replicable at different scales and for any environmental problem. Such an experience allows for the possibility of forming consolidated networks, which make environmental governance more effective at the regional level. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Governance for Sustainable Development)

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12 pages, 812 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Water Impacts and Effluent Quality Regulations of Canadian Mining

by Zauresh Atakhanova

Sustainability 2023, 15(22), 16086; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su152216086 - 18 Nov 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1175

Abstract

Energy transition relies on the scaling up of mineral production and may lead to increased pressure on water resources due to the intensity of water use in mining. The status of Canada as a major mineral producer and a country with effective environmental regulations prompted our study of the water impacts of Canadian mining. In 2002, the Canadian government introduced effluent quality regulations that targeted metal mining companies. By analyzing regional and sectoral data, we find that such regulations were important for mitigating both the water quality and water quantity impacts of metal mining. Despite increasing output, metal mining reduced its contribution to total mining withdrawals and discharge from 85% in the pre-regulation period to 62–65% in the post-regulation period. In the absence of such regulations, non-metallic mineral mining and, in particular, coal mining, increased their pressure on water resources. Finally, we find that since 2002, over 90% of regulated operations have met effluent quality standards. However, we document increased flows of discharge to mine tailings, a development which requires further analysis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Governance for Sustainable Development)

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22 pages, 2272 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Innovative City Construction and Urban Environmental Performance: Empirical Evidence from China

by Jun Gao, Ning Xu and Ju Zhou

Sustainability 2023, 15(12), 9336; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su15129336 - 09 Jun 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1050

Abstract

Environmental performance is a key issue that relates to the sustainable development of the economy and the environment. Innovation-driven approaches are fundamental in improving environmental performance; however, innovation activities come with uncertainties and require supportive policies from the government. This study utilizes the implementation of the Innovation City Pilot (ICP) policy in China as a quasi-natural experiment. It employs a progressive Difference-in-Differences (DID) model using panel data from 283 Chinese cities during the period of 2005–2019 to evaluate the impact of the ICP policy on Urban Environmental Performance (UEP) and its underlying mechanisms. The empirical results indicate that (1) the ICP policy significantly promotes the improvement of UEP and robustness analyses further support this conclusion; (2) compared to cities in the central and western regions, resource-dependent cities, and higher administrative level cities, the ICP policy is more beneficial for enhancing UEP in eastern, non-resource-dependent, and lower administrative level cities; (3) mechanism tests suggest that the ICP policy facilitates UEP improvement by leveraging technological innovation, upgrading industrial structure, and optimizing resource allocation; (4) the ICP policy not only benefits the UEP enhancement in local cities but also promotes UEP improvement in neighboring cities through spatial spillover effects. This study provides evidence and insights from China, contributing to the global implementation of innovation-driven development strategies for sustainable urban economic and environmental development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Governance for Sustainable Development)

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24 pages, 2857 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Environmental Contract: A Collaborative Tool to Improve the Multilevel Governance of European MPAs

by Serena Muccitelli, Carolina Pozzi, Romina D’Ascanio and Stefano Magaudda

Sustainability 2023, 15(10), 8174; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su15108174 - 17 May 2023

Viewed by 951

Abstract

The main challenges faced by Europe for 2030 concern the achievement of 30% of protected marine surfaces, the improvement of connections between marine protected areas (MPAs), and especially, their more efficient management. The governance of MPAs is therefore called upon to strengthen its objectives, becoming part of a wider network of actors in dialogue with economic counterparts, addressing manifold interference and impacts, and ultimately strengthening biodiversity protection. This work explores the local dimension of MPAs’ governance through the opportunities offered by the Interreg MED TUNE UP project “Promoting multilevel governance for tuning up biodiversity protection in marine areas” (2019–2022), which commits to enhancing the effectiveness of MPAs in the Mediterranean, through the implementation of Environmental Contracts. Based on this experience, a two-fold analysis of multiple case studies has been developed, considering both the local and the European scale of regulations and governance chains. The results show that the MPA Contract is an effective tool to improve the governance of European MPAs and thus tackle the local responses to EU and national protection policies through a process of vertical and horizontal subsidiarity. The need for an interinstitutional dialogue to address the establishment of effective environmental governance and the enforcement of regulations affecting marine areas has been highlighted. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Governance for Sustainable Development)

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20 pages, 640 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Towards a Theory of Local Energy Transition

by Hansjörg Drewello

Sustainability 2022, 14(18), 11119; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su141811119 - 06 Sep 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3678

Abstract

The intended transition to a low-carbon energy system presents a systemic challenge for every country. The focus of this article is on local energy transition, a decentralized approach in which local municipalities will play a key role. The main question in this article is which determinants support the process towards local energy transition. Therefore, an analytic framework is presented. The three-levels-model is a holistic approach which focuses on determinants considering local context, a macro, and a micro framework. It highlights the dependency of the process from the local context and a sound national transition policy. The model summarizes the complex interrelationships of local energy transition and will enable local communities, networks, and citizens to successfully engage in an energy transition process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Governance for Sustainable Development)

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17 pages, 416 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Digital Finance, Environmental Regulation, and Green Technology Innovation: An Empirical Study of 278 Cities in China

by Yiqun Hu, Xiong Dai and Li Zhao

Sustainability 2022, 14(14), 8652; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14148652 - 15 Jul 2022

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 2962

Abstract

Digital finance provides a premises guarantee for green technology innovation, and effective environmental regulation helps to achieve green and sustainable development. This article selects Chinese urban panel data from 2011 to 2019 to explore the impact mechanism of the influence of digital finance and environmental regulation on the innovation capacity of green science and technology. It is found that extensive financing channels and the strong information-matching ability of digital finance have a significant promoting effect on local green science and technology innovation. Moreover, government environmental regulation not only facilitates the development of green technology innovation locally and in nearby regions, but also strengthens the utility of digital finance in driving green science and technology innovation. Further research found that the influence of digital finance and environmental regulation on the ability of green science and technology innovation has regional heterogeneity, and only digital finance in Central China can promote green science and technology innovation in both local and adjacent areas. Therefore, the government should continue to promote the development of digital finance, optimize environmental regulations by increasing environmental protection subsidies and creating a green innovation environment, and further stimulate willingness to innovate green technologies. At the same time, it is also important to note the coordinated development and governance with neighboring regional governments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Governance for Sustainable Development)

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28 pages, 2472 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Environmental Regulation, Digital Financial Inclusion, and Environmental Pollution: An Empirical Study Based on the Spatial Spillover Effect and Panel Threshold Effect

by Fenfen Shi, Rijia Ding, Heqing Li and Suli Hao

Sustainability 2022, 14(11), 6869; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14116869 - 04 Jun 2022

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 2607

Abstract

Environmental regulation is a crucial tool for controlling environmental pollution. Digital finance is essential for the development of green finance. The relationship between environmental regulation and digital finance concerning environmental pollution is an issue worth exploring. This paper uses the spatial econometric model and the panel threshold model to empirically analyze the impact of environmental regulation and digital financial inclusion on environmental pollution using panel data from 30 Chinese provinces between 2011 and 2019. It mainly discusses the independent impact and synergy of environmental regulation and digital inclusive finance on environmental pollution. The research results show that the improvement of the intensity of environmental regulation and the development level of digital-inclusive finance can effectively alleviate the problem of environmental pollution. Moreover, environmental regulation and digital inclusive finance can coordinately control environmental pollution. A panel threshold analysis shows that as the intensity of environmental regulation increases, digital financial inclusion will reflect the function of environmental governance. Similarly, with the development of digital financial inclusion, environmental regulation has shown a significant inhibitory effect on environmental pollution. The results of a heterogeneity analysis show that the intensity of environmental regulation in the eastern region has a significant inhibitory effect on environmental pollution. Digital financial inclusion in the central region shows a strong environmental governance function. The intersection of environmental regulation and digital financial inclusion has shown a significant synergistic governance effect in the eastern region. Therefore, the government gives full play to the functions of environmental regulation and digital inclusive finance environmental governance to achieve coordinated governance of environmental pollution. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Governance for Sustainable Development)

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18 pages, 882 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact of Public Transportation on Carbon Emissions—From the Perspective of Energy Consumption

by Qin-Lei Jing, Han-Zhen Liu, Wei-Qing Yu and Xu He

Sustainability 2022, 14(10), 6248; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14106248 - 20 May 2022

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 11783

Abstract

Background: Transportation has become the second-largest source of global carbon emissions. Promoting low-carbon development by means of public transport and green travel and analyzing the mechanism and path of the carbon emissions reduction effect of public transport have become key to reducing carbon emissions in the transportation field and achieving “carbon peak and carbon neutrality”. Methods: The data from 30 provinces (2010–2019) were extracted from China Emission Accounts and Datasets (CEADs), China Energy Statistical Yearbook, China Statistical Yearbook, and China Automobile Statistical Yearbook. The two-way fixed-effect model was used to explore the carbon emissions reduction effect of public transport development level. The mediating-effect model was used to verify the transmission role of energy consumption in the carbon emissions reduction effect of public transport development level. Results: The study suggests that the public transport development level and CO₂ emissions are negatively correlated, showing an “Inverted U-shaped” curve relationship. Energy consumption is the transmission path of the carbon emissions reduction effect of public transport development level. The public transport development level adjusts the energy consumption structure through the traffic substitution effect, energy input optimization effect, and industrial structure optimization effect and then acts on carbon emissions. Moreover, the contribution rate of energy consumption is about 4.22%. In addition, regional heterogeneity is present in the transmission path of the carbon emissions reduction effect of public transport development level based on energy consumption. The carbon emissions reduction effect of public transport development level is more significant in the central and western regions than the eastern and northeast regions of China. Conclusion: The transmission mechanism of energy consumption in the carbon emissions reduction effect of public transport is worthy of attention. To promote low-carbon and circular development in the transportation sector, it is urgent to accelerate the green upgrading of transportation infrastructure, promote the low-carbon transformation of energy production and consumption, promote carbon emissions reduction in public transport, and strengthen the linkage regulation between effective government and an effective market. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Governance for Sustainable Development)

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28 pages, 5612 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Climate Change Risk and Vulnerabilities Analysis in Trieste SECAP

by Marco Manzan, Giovanni Bacaro, Andrea Nardini, Giulia Casagrande, Amedeo Pezzi, Francesco Petruzzellis, Enrico Tordoni and Giorgio Fontolan

Sustainability 2022, 14(10), 5973; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14105973 - 14 May 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2639

Abstract

Climate change is affecting more and more local communities, which are now facing different hazards; in answer to this threat, specific actions at the local level should be taken. The Covenant of Mayors (CoM) is an initiative that tries to involve municipalities and communities in developing SECAPs, i.e., plans for sustainable energy and climate with the aim to develop adaptation and mitigation measures. In order to identify and evaluate hazards, the CoM developed a template relative to the current risk level and expected changes in the future. This paper develops a methodology to fill the template using a data driven approach instead of a heuristic one. The methodology was applied to the city of Trieste in northeast Italy and uses local weather station data and projections obtained from GCM-RCM models. Data were manipulated using different approaches for current risk levels and the Mann–Kendall test is proposed as a method to identify the future evolution of hazard intensity and frequency. The results showed that the developed approach could help municipalities in developing their SECAPs and in identifying the present and future evolution of hazards. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Governance for Sustainable Development)

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20 pages, 1218 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Oil Palm Governance: Challenges of Sustainability Policy in Indonesia

by Eka Intan Kumala Putri, Arya Hadi Dharmawan, Otto Hospes, Bayu Eka Yulian, Rizka Amalia, Dyah Ita Mardiyaningsih, Rilus A. Kinseng, Fredian Tonny, Eusebius Pantja Pramudya, Faris Rahmadian and Diah Y. Suradiredja

Sustainability 2022, 14(3), 1820; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14031820 - 05 Feb 2022

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 7004

Abstract

Nowadays, Indonesian palm oil faces agrarian, environmental, and social issues and has been subject to sharp criticism from the international community for many years. To answer this problem, the Indonesian government implemented a strategy through certification which ensured the achievement of sustainability standards, especially on the upstream side of the palm oil supply chain. The implementation of Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) was an ultimate instrument that applied in particular to smallholders oriented towards managing land legal issues, plantation business licenses, plant seeds, and environmental management and to farmer organizations at the local level. However, this process faced quite complex challenges in the form of structural barriers that are very constraining. This study revealed the occurrence of the phenomenon of hollow governance when regulations are absent or collide with each other. The study also revealed institutional power and multi-level governance that made the governance process ineffective or counterproductive. With a qualitative approach to research conducted in three important palm oil provinces of Indonesia, this article aims to look at the issues of oil palm governance a bit more comprehensively. The study conceptualized what was referred to as low-functioning governance to describe how weak the institutions, organizations, actors, and resources are that support ISPO implementation, especially at the regional and local levels. This paper suggests improving and strengthening the ISPO oil palm governance if Indonesian palm oil companies and smallholders want to gain better credibility on sustainability abroad. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Governance for Sustainable Development)

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Other

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37 pages, 4910 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceSystematic Review

Progress by Research to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in the EU: A Systematic Literature Review

by Matteo Trane, Luisa Marelli, Alice Siragusa, Riccardo Pollo and Patrizia Lombardi

Sustainability 2023, 15(9), 7055; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su15097055 - 23 Apr 2023

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 10893

Abstract

Scientific research has been acknowledged to play a pivotal role in achieving the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda. Vice-versa, since its adoption, the 2030 Agenda has been reinvigorating the academic production on sustainable development. This study provides a systematic literature review of the most used and newly developed approaches by academic research to support the achievement of the SDGs in the EU. The results are presented by descriptive, bibliometric, and content analysis. The descriptive analysis highlights a rising interest of scholars in operationalizing the 2030 Agenda, with a growing interest at the urban level. A text-mining tool was employed to scan the most investigated SDGs in the selected papers. Major interest by scholars is devoted to environmental concerns (especially linked to SDG 13, 7, 6, 12, and 15), while social issues (e.g., SDG 4, 5, and 10) still deserve more research. The bibliometric analysis unveiled poor intra-cluster connections, highlighting the need for more transdisciplinary research. The most recurrent research fields on the SDGs in the EU are governance, circular economy, ecosystem services, urban localization, and decision making. We advise future studies to focus on gaps highlighted and adopt a system perspective, boosting Policy Coherence across governance levels and scales of implementation by looking at trade-offs and assessing context-specific priorities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Governance for Sustainable Development)

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