© 2003 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journals/geb

LIBRARY LETTERS

Global Ecology & Biogeography

(2003)

12

, 175–176

Blackwell Publishing Ltd.Oxford, UKGEBGlobal Ecology and Biogeography1466-822XBlackwell Publishing Ltd., 2003March 2003122

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REVIEWING INDICATORS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Moffatt, I., Hanley, N. and Wilson, MD (2001).

Measuringand modelling sustainable development.

The ParthenonPublishing Group, New York, USA. xiii + 305 pp, figs,tables, line diagrams, halftones, index. Paperback: PriceUS$49.95. ISBN 1-84214-008-6.

Since the publishing of the Brundtland Report (WCED, 1987)the concept of ‘sustainable development’ has become increas-ingly popular in scientific and public debates. The growth inimportance of the concept of ‘sustainable development’ wasfuelled by the United Nations Conference on Environmentand Development, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 (also knownas the ‘Earth Summit’) where five international agreements weremade, which covered every aspect of sustainable develop-ment (Grubb

et al

., 1993; Johnson & Handl, 1993). One ofthese, Agenda 21, and in particular the last chapter (Chapter40: Information for decision making), forms the subject ofthis timely book. Chapter 40 encourages the developmentand use of indicators of sustainable development, whichdescribe the state of the economy, society and environment.

This volume, by Moffatt, Hanley & Wilson, is basedlargely on the results of research by the authors intosustainable development in Scotland, supported by theEconomic and Social Research Council’s (ESRC) GlobalEnvironmental Change Programme (GEC). The aim is topresent and critically review some of the indicators ofsustainable development developed so far and to point outobjectively the strengths and weaknesses of models usedin modelling sustainable development. The authors alsoattempt to synthesize all the work done so far on the meas-uring of sustainable development, from a socio-economicpoint of view, in such a way as to provide a coherent textand at the same to advance the field. On both counts, Ithink that the authors have succeeded remarkably well.This review is not exhaustive but indicates the breadth ofdifferent approaches that have been developed, and that arestill being developed, to contribute to our understanding ofthe processes that make development sustainable.

The book consists of 12 chapters, which could beclassified into four parts. The first two chapters (Chapters 1–2) examine the ideas underpinning the concept of ‘sus-tainable development’ and put the discussion into contextby examining some aspects of the Scottish environment.The next five chapters (Chapters 3–7) present examples ofenvironmental indicators, economic and socio-politicalmeasures of sustainable development. The following fourchapters (Chapters 8–11) draw our attention to the ways

in which it is possible to model patterns of sustainabledevelopment, as applied in the Scottish context. The final,forward-looking chapter (Chapter 12) brings together all theconclusions drawn from the previous chapters. Each chapterpresents a wealth of information, ideas and data, and all areworth reading. The chapters are thorough and comprehensiveand the structure followed in the book provides a coherent andeasy-to-follow organization. The chapters are interconnectedin such a way that the text leads you from one chapter toanother in an almost uninterrupted way. The book succeedsin provoking thought and in allowing the reader to build uprelevant knowledge. However, in some cases, a more extendedknowledge of economic theory is assumed, which hindersone’s ability to dip into the text.

A recurring theme throughout the book is the need tointegrate economics and ecology into a coherent system, inorder to solve the problem of finding suitable economics toaddress the relationships between ecosystems and economicsystems. The authors are advocating the return to such amodified form of economics — ecological economics — as away to deal with the human use of resources in a sustainablemanner. In doing so, they state their personal opinions, butalways make it clear when they are doing this. To me, this helpsmake the book authoritative and convincing. Further, the bookis based on the view that there has been a growing recognitionamongst the public that economic growth may have someundesirable consequences on the environment and society. Theresponse to these perceptions has been the turning of manygovernments towards sustainable development. Within thiscontext, the authors present, in a very informative way, thecurrent state of knowledge regarding various measures ofsustainable development that have been proposed and usedby governments to achieve more-sustainable growth.

Another strength of this book is that, throughout thetext, all the discussions and ideas presented are lively,healthy and productive and they do not fail to underlinethe fact that considerable progress has been made so far;but also that much further research is required to answera range of pressing questions concerning the developmentand use of indicators and models of sustainable develop-ment. It would have been helpful if Chapter 8 had dealtwith the environmental aspects of sustainable developmentin more depth. But, given the complex and multidisciplinarynature of the concept of sustainability, this is understandable.

In conclusion, this book is a timely and very useful additionto the literature, and one that everyone with an interest insustainable development should read. It brings into clearfocus the questions, methodologies and controversies thatare currently driving discussion about the concept of

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Library Letters

© 2003 Blackwell Publishing Ltd,

Global Ecology & Biogeography

,

12

, 175–176

sustainable development. It is a valuable reference for thescholars, teachers and students who deal with the complexand multidisciplinary concept of sustainability, and who havea stake in understanding how development can be mademore sustainable.

Konstantinos N. Baginetas

School of Geography, University of Nottingham, UK

References

Grubb, M., Koch, M., Thomson, K., Munson, A. & Sullivan, F.(1993)

The Earth Summit Agreements. A Guide and Assessment

.Energy and Environmental Programme. The Royal Institute ofInternational Affairs. Earthscan, London.

Johnson, S.P. & Handl, G., eds (1993)

The Earth Summit. TheUnited Nations Conference on Environment and Development

(UNCED).

Graham and Trotman, London.

WCED (1987)

Our Common Future

. World Commission on theEnvironment and Development, Oxford.

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ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT: A THOUGHT-PROVOKING READ

Handmer, J.W., Norton, T.W. & Dovers, S.R. (eds) (2001)

Ecology, uncertainty and policy: managing ecosystems forsustainability

. Pearson Education Limited, Harlow, Essex.xv + 320 pp, figs, tables, index. Paperback: Price £26.99.ISBN 0130-16121-7.

Environmental management is a relatively young academicdiscipline that draws on both the physical and the socialsciences — on one hand it has elements of ecology, chemis-try and physical geography, and on the other economics,politics and policy analysis. It is perhaps because of itsmultidisciplinary nature that environmental managementhas lacked a strong theoretical framework or apparatus.Handmer, Norton and Dovers’ book provides a useful andthought-provoking effort to redress this.

The first two chapters of the book, by Dovers, Nortonand Handmer (1) and Norton (2) address theoretical issuesrelating to uncertainty (scientific, practical, legal, etc.).These are followed by a series of case studies looking atuncertainty in the context of environmental management.The penultimate chapter (by Walker) is an excellent over-view of how science might be (mis)used in the politicalprocess, and the book concludes with a neat summationand synthesis of the wide range of issues raised in previouschapters. In what Handmer

et al

. (p. 299) refer to as ‘… thedominance of the science and the literature by a few northern-hemisphere countries …’ it is refreshing (especially to anAntipodean) to see a global selection of case studies, withexamples from Australia, New Zealand, Europe, the UK andNorth America all represented. Equally, it is good to see awide range of systems and problems considered. The case

studies range from those that might be expected in such avolume (e.g. global climate change — Boehmer-Christansen,and the management and assessment of marine fisheries —Rayfuse and Wilder) to those that are rather more novel inthis context (e.g. managing the fire regime in SE Australia— Williams). Likewise, the authors are drawn from a broadcross-section of the environmental management community,encompassing university academics, government and NGOscientists and industry representatives amongst others.

The book is structured around the issue of uncertainty,whether it be scientific, legal or practical, and how bestenvironmental management and sustainable developmentmight proceed in this context. In particular the ‘precautionaryprinciple’ is explored and used as a framework to examinethe various case studies. The book is not about how to doenvironmental management from a practical perspective,although it does identify some potential solutions to theissues of uncertainty; instead it invites the reader to thinkmore carefully about how ecology and the sciences mightbest contribute to management and policy formulation. Assuch it is a thought-provoking read. It asks some difficultquestions — would having perfect knowledge of the envi-ronment actually change environmental policy? Is sustain-ability somewhat at odds with a democratic political system?— which perhaps are not considered by environmental sci-entists as often as they might be. I do not completely agreewith all that the book says. In places it is implied that thefact that ecologists do not always agree about ecology hashindered the implementation of ecological science in envi-ronmental policy — I would argue that the problem is asmuch with how ecologists have (or have not) engaged withthe public and the environment debate. It is interesting thatcurrently both the British Ecological Society (BES) and theEcological Society of Australia (ESA) are exploring thepublic face and perception of ecology and how it might beimproved. I was also surprised that scale was not mentionedmore. Surely, a problem facing the integration of ecologicalscience into a broader management context is a mismatchbetween the scales much ecological research occurs at (fine)and the scales at which environmental management frequentlytakes places (regional to global). Nevertheless, these are onlyminor quibbles with what is otherwise a most interestingbook. The diversity of approaches and case studies certainlystrengthens the book and its message. It is well edited and,despite the range of material covered, it comes across as acohesive and integrated whole. It would make an appropriatebook for postgraduate students, from a range of disciplinessuch as environmental science, resource management orpolicy studies, and for those involved in research or practicein environmental management.

George Perry

Department of Geography, King’s College London, UK