https://openjournals.maastrichtuniversity.nl/SustainabilityStudies <p>The Green Office is a student-driven and staff-supported university department that is responsible for managing Maastricht University’s sustainability portfolio. Green Office initiates and coordinates sustainability projects at Maastricht University by empowering students and staff members.</p> en-US stefania.barzeva@maastrichtuniversity.nl (Stefania Barzeva) p.verberne@maastrichtuniversity.nl (Peter Verberne) Tue, 18 Jul 2017 10:21:39 +0000 OJS 3.3.0.11 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 60 https://openjournals.maastrichtuniversity.nl/SustainabilityStudies/article/view/504 The aim of this report is to assess the resilience of Maastricht as a multi-level, dynamic, social-ecological system by following the ‘Workbook for Practitioners’ by the Resilience Alliance (2010). A description of the system outlines historical events that had impacts on the landscape, such as urban expansion and the mining of limestone. The evaluation concludes that Maastricht finds itself at a point in a dynamic adaptive cycle of events where citizens’ awareness of nature and global environmental issues led to reconsiderations of ecological values and the reorganisation of the city according to these values. The assessment applauds the adaptive governance approach of the city and the current implementation of various ‘greening projects’. However, issues regarding possible lack of system resilience are criticised. Among others, recommendations are given related to increasing species diversity within and surrounding the urban area of Maastricht. Elise Droste Copyright (c) 2017 Maastricht University Journal of Sustainability Studies https://openjournals.maastrichtuniversity.nl/SustainabilityStudies/article/view/504 Sat, 01 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0000 https://openjournals.maastrichtuniversity.nl/SustainabilityStudies/article/view/505 As the quest for sustainability reaches the larger public, the sector of tourism also becomes subject to demands of sustainability. Where the notion of sustainability is effectively integrated, it results in ecotourism and community based development. Ecotourism is mainly linked with environmental sustainability, while community based development provides sustainability of culture and local livelihoods. This paper argues that the ultimate form of sustainable tourism is community based ecotourism, which combines both developments. The guidelines on Sustainable Development from the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (1992) are used to explain how a more sustainable form of tourism can be reached, and why it is believed community based ecotourism is the only possibility to achieve sustainable activity. While the goal of sustainable development requires more promotion in large parts of the world, community based ecotourism could be an effective way to apply theoretical values in practice, thereby improving the preservation of both culture and nature. Freya Tilleman, Manon Marcharis Copyright (c) 2017 Maastricht University Journal of Sustainability Studies https://openjournals.maastrichtuniversity.nl/SustainabilityStudies/article/view/505 Sat, 01 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0000 https://openjournals.maastrichtuniversity.nl/SustainabilityStudies/article/view/506 In the 21st century, public policy actors are increasingly confronted with environmental questions that, as for now, have been solved through actions of state-control. This paper studies the theories and practicality of free market environmentalism and its fundamental difference with current regulatory systems. The research focuses on the conceptualisation of property rights by different economists and philosophers and seeks to illustrate how policies relying on a consistent defence of property rights or the absence of state actors altogether could indeed be beneficial. Bill Wirtz Copyright (c) 2017 Maastricht University Journal of Sustainability Studies https://openjournals.maastrichtuniversity.nl/SustainabilityStudies/article/view/506 Sat, 01 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0000 https://openjournals.maastrichtuniversity.nl/SustainabilityStudies/article/view/507 Debates about new free-trade agreements provide various societal actors with opportunities to communicate their visions of sustainable futures. This paper analyses the development of US environmental groups’ imaginaries of sustainability from discussions around the North American Free Trade Agreement in the 1990s to current debates about the Transpacific Partnership. Using a qualitative Science and Technology studies approach, it examines statements, ‘fact sheets’, and reports published by environmental groups for (changing) patterns of mutually held visions of desirable futures in these two, isolated free-trade debates. The paper concludes that while argumentative continuity can be detected in the imagining of sustainability as an inclusive democratic concept, claims made against TPP increasingly focused on exclusively national concerns, the intrinsic value of nature, and the compatibility of economic growth with environmental protection. David Maull Copyright (c) 2017 Maastricht University Journal of Sustainability Studies https://openjournals.maastrichtuniversity.nl/SustainabilityStudies/article/view/507 Sat, 01 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0000 https://openjournals.maastrichtuniversity.nl/SustainabilityStudies/article/view/508 Scientific evidence demonstrates that anthropogenic climate change is an urgent global problem with tremendous destructive capacity. Decades of multilateral negotiations have yielded limited success to date, but other responses are available. One such alternative is climate change litigation. Particularly interesting are recent public interest lawsuits, first in the Netherlands, and then in Pakistan, which have sought to hold the State responsible for climate change. This paper seeks to demystify the past, present, and future of climate change public interest litigation by placing it in a historical perspective, looking at contemporary developments, and assessing the potential of this technique for encouraging social change on a global scale. Olivier van Geel Copyright (c) 2017 Maastricht University Journal of Sustainability Studies https://openjournals.maastrichtuniversity.nl/SustainabilityStudies/article/view/508 Sat, 01 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0000 https://openjournals.maastrichtuniversity.nl/SustainabilityStudies/article/view/509 Ethical consumerism describes a more conscious way of consumption embracing products which are produced in a fair and/or environmentally positive manner. This paper investigates this growing market by explaining which emotions are evoked by these ethical products. It is argued that the psychological fundament for purchasing green products is “feeling good”, “feeling moral” and “feeling powerful”. First, “feeling good” embraces positive emotions and effects on one’s own health and well- being. Secondly, “feeling moral” describes evoked feelings of morality and altruistic concerns about human, animal, and environmental welfare. Thirdly, “feeling powerful” focuses on ethical consumerism as means to increase one’s own power and social status. Each of these emotions is analyzed by psychological theories and a practical example. At the end of the paper, the effect of the negative emotions such as fear and anger, and the possibility to combine various emotional strategies are discussed. Margit Hain Copyright (c) 2017 Maastricht University Journal of Sustainability Studies https://openjournals.maastrichtuniversity.nl/SustainabilityStudies/article/view/509 Sat, 01 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0000 https://openjournals.maastrichtuniversity.nl/SustainabilityStudies/article/view/510 Across cultures and countries, people have different understandings of what health entails, so improving the health of the elderly would also mean improving different health factors. Universal health as a notion is an illusionary idea, because it is context-dependent. Countries face different issues with elderly populations, and so they have different objectives for their healthcare systems. Even when elderly populations have similar problems, the social, political and cultural differences between countries make the implementation of universal health measures impossible. Countries’ healthcare systems are already different due to the different circumstances, and so healthy ageing should be promoted in a more localised fashion. Healthcare systems are not efficient in addressing local issues when the different understandings of health are not respected. For a healthcare system to work to its full potential, measures have to be adapted to local needs, local values, and local priorities. Healthy ageing might be a universal problem, but it has no universal solution. Freya Tilleman Copyright (c) 2017 Maastricht University Journal of Sustainability Studies https://openjournals.maastrichtuniversity.nl/SustainabilityStudies/article/view/510 Sat, 01 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0000 https://openjournals.maastrichtuniversity.nl/SustainabilityStudies/article/view/511 This paper examines the transition to renewable energy within the context of a nation-state using Australia as case study. Both the Australian government and independent energy agencies have the potential to drive the transition as forerunner, with societal support. After determining currently ongoing initiatives, a framework is established for carrying out a hypothetical Integrated Sustainability Assessment. Both the theoretical framework and practical guide to implementation are presented in several stages: Stakeholder Analysis, Public Consultation, Modelling, Stakeholder Conference, Scenario analysis and lastly Monitoring and Evaluation. Finally, insights from the case study are translated into a synthesis of ideas for promoting country level renewable energy transitions. Yağmur Masmas Copyright (c) 2017 Maastricht University Journal of Sustainability Studies https://openjournals.maastrichtuniversity.nl/SustainabilityStudies/article/view/511 Sat, 01 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0000