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The paper discusses the potential direct and indirect impacts of the unfolding technoeconomic revolution upon ecosystems of Latin America. The results of simulation models of current trends suggest widespread ecological degradation associated with existing land use. A more sustainable development path, however, is ecologically and technologically possible. (DSE)

This article gives a perspective about the prospects for sustainable growth in Latin American development policies. It looks at what changes are necessary addressing the ecological situation in relation to the cultural, social and natural foundation for adoption and renewal of natural resources

Ponencia presentada en el Seminario Internacional "El medio ambiente entre la politica y la economia : contribuciones latinoamericanas y europeas", organizada por la Fundacion Konrad Adenauer, a traves de CIEDLA, en Mendoza, del 26 al 28 de abril de 1988. El analisis se concentra en los grandes ambientes regionales naturales, como los bosques humedos tropicales, los desiertos y las grandes cuencas hidricas, y en las tierras transformadas por el hombre

Many aspects of the physical environment are affected by economic growth & development. This necessitates an understanding of environmental systems & their relation to the level & pace of economic activity. A simple mathematical model of environment is set forth to illustrate the above relationship. The self-regenerating capacity & the extinction threshold are incorporated into the model to help measure the effects of the state of development & its rate of growth in terms of extraction, consumption, & beneficial input. Alternative relations defining the extinction threshold, carrying capacity, & basic growth rate of the environmental system are allowed. Consideration is given to the effect of development on the environment & the reverse-feedback effect of the environment on development. The risk of catastrophe can be reduced by increasing feedbacks from the environment to development & by reducing the societal time lag of responses to environmental degradation. 5 Tables. Modified HA.

A conceptual, interdisciplinary, systematic framework integrating social & natural scientific issues is developed for consideration of: relationships among poverty, environment, & sustainable development; poverty alleviation efforts; & links between local & global changes. In the light of new elements in the history of mankind, current global poverty is differentiated from historical poverty. The connection between environmental degradation & poverty is discussed; two complementary sources of environmental deterioration are unsustainable development & impoverishment. Five widespread megaprocesses favoring social & ecological impoverishment are described. Ecological degradation leading to social & ecological impoverishment is frequent even in development projects, both in the Third World & in the advanced countries, but differs in its social impact. It is concluded that, despite favorable trends in some social & economic indicators, global impoverishment of socioecological systems is becoming an increasing social & ecological threat at the planetary level, requiring deep changes in the world development pattern. 1 Figure, 3 Photographs. Modified AA

The article addresses the need, posed by the challenges of sustainable development & the changing context at the beginning of the 21st century, for changes in the method & practice of science. The major challenges for a "sustainability science" arise from increasing complexity at the ontological, epistemological, & political levels, calling for an integrated science going far beyond an interdisciplinary style of research. The requirement is for the development, adoption, & dissemination of a truly complex-systems scientific research model. Complex socio-ecological systems share a number of fundamental properties that require changes in scientific methods, criteria of truth & quality, & conceptual frameworks. These properties include nonlinearity, plurality of perspectives, emergence of properties, self-organization, multiplicity of scales, & irreducible uncertainty. Some implications of the analysis are pointed out, in the form of practical recommendations. The authors argue for the involvement of both natural & social scientists in the investigation of the necessary steps to develop a sustainability science. 1 Table, 26 References. Adapted from the source document.

This paper distills core lessons about how researchers (scientists, engineers, planners, etc.) interested in promoting sustainable development can increase the likelihood of producing usable knowledge. We draw the lessons from both practical experience in diverse contexts around the world and from scholarly advances in understanding the relationships between science and society. Many of these lessons will be familiar to those with experience in crafting knowledge to support action for sustainable development. However, few are included in the formal training of researchers. As a result, when scientists and engineers first venture out of the laboratory or library with the goal of linking their knowledge with action, the outcome has often been ineffectiveness and disillusionment. We therefore articulate here a core set of lessons that we believe should become part of the basic training for researchers interested in crafting usable knowledge for sustainable development. These lessons entail at least four things researchers should know, and four things they should do. The knowing lessons involve understanding the coproduction relationships through which knowledge making and decision making shape one another in social–environmental systems. We highlight the lessons that emerge from examining those coproduction relationships through the ICAP lens, viewing them from the perspectives of Innovation systems, Complex systems, Adaptive systems, and Political systems. The doing lessons involve improving the capacity of the research community to put its understanding of coproduction into practice. We highlight steps through which researchers can help build capacities for stakeholder collaboration, social learning, knowledge governance, and researcher training.

This paper distills core lessons about how researchers (scientists, engineers, planners, etc.) interested in promoting sustainable development can increase the likelihood of producing usable knowledge. We draw the lessons from both practical experience in diverse contexts around the world and from scholarly advances in understanding the relationships between science and society. Many of these lessons will be familiar to those with experience in crafting knowledge to support action for sustainable development. However, few are included in the formal training of researchers. As a result, when scientists and engineers first venture out of the laboratory or library with the goal of linking their knowledge with action, the outcome has often been ineffectiveness and disillusionment. We therefore articulate here a core set of lessons that we believe should become part of the basic training for researchers interested in crafting usable knowledge for sustainable development. These lessons entail at least four things researchers should know, and four things they should do. The knowing lessons involve understanding the coproduction relationships through which knowledge making and decision making shape one another in social-environmental systems. We highlight the lessons that emerge from examining those coproduction relationships through the ICAP lens, viewing them from the perspectives of Innovation systems, Complex systems, Adaptive systems, and Political systems. The doing lessons involve improving the capacity of the research community to put its understanding of coproduction into practice. We highlight steps through which researchers can help build capacities for stakeholder collaboration, social learning, knowledge governance, and researcher training. ; This work was supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Program Office, National Science Foundation Award SES-0621004; the Italian Ministry for Environment, Land, and Sea through its support of the Sustainability Science Program at Harvard University; and the International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, support to research on climate and water by the Unit for Social and Environmental Research at Chiang Mai University.

Le monde actuel comporte plusieurs indices qui inclinent au pessimisme en ce qui concerne son avenir. Ces indices nous montrent un monde menacé par la pauvreté, l'exclusion, la faim et les maladies. Le modèle du monde latino-américain, élaboré par la fondation Bariloche de 1972 à 1975 et publié il y a déjà plus de 30 ans, indiquait une avenue possible vers un monde meilleur, plus équitable, favorisant la pleine participation des individus et une consommation éclairée. Ce modèle se voulait la réponse d'un groupe de penseurs au message contenu dans le modèle proposé au MIT Halte à la croissance