The authors present a method for systemically comparing alternative institutional arrangements for the development of rural infrastructure.

. . . this book makes an interesting and worthwhile contribution to the ever-expanding body of literature on sustainable development and therefore is to be recommended. Karen Scott, Journal of Environmental Law . . . this is an essential text for the study of sustainability and institutional change, an invaluable professional development text for the practitioner, and a text to ponder slowly in all its complexities for an academic study of sustainability. Kate Crowley, Australian Journal of Environmental Management Does the road to sustainable development run through institutional reform or, better yet, institutional learning? In this well-argued book, Robin Connor and Stephen Dovers draw on a range of case studies to demonstrate the critical role that institutions play in determining the course of human environment relations. Oran R. Young, University of California, Santa Barbara, US Connor and Dovers correctly argue that achieving sustainability is a long-term process. In this context, they analyze broad institutional innovations toward sustainability to date from Europe to New Zealand, from sustainability councils to property rights to suggest how the historical process might be improved and accelerated. This is among the most constructive efforts I have read. Richard B. Norgaard, University of California, Berkeley, US It is clear that the transition to ecologically sustainable patterns of development requires significant institutional change, yet we face a paradox. Although institutions are the primary means of driving reform, they are themselves a root cause of unsustainable development and a barrier to positive change. This volume moves beyond the current debate by advancing our understanding of the nature of institutional change, the features of more appropriate institutional settings, and the manner in which change can be enabled. Institutional Change for Sustainable Development presents a flexible, accessible, yet robust conceptual framework for comprehending institutional dimensions of sustainability, emphasising the complexity of institutional systems, and highlighting the interdependence between policy learning and institutional change. This framework is applied and developed through the analysis of five significant arenas of institutional and policy change: environmental policy in the EU; New Zealand s landmark Resource Management Act; strategic environmental assessment; emerging National Councils for Sustainable Development; and transformative property rights instruments. From these explorations, key principles for institutional change are identified, including the institutional accommodation of a sustainability discourse, the interdependence of normative and institutional change; reiteration and learning; integration in policy and practice; subsidiarity; and legal change. Institutional Change for Sustainable Development will be of interest to researchers, policymakers and practitioners concerned with sustainability, resource management and environmental policy.

This publication presents an overview of the concepts and definitions of environment and sustainable development, showing the importance of environment and natural resources for the economies of developing countries. It provides basic knowledge and analytical tools related to environment/economy interactions and how these should be taken into account in decision-making at decentralized, or subnational, level. It reviews the role of government and the instruments at its disposal, in addition to regulatory instruments, to create a context in which environmental issues are analysed and addressed.

Although the idea of sustainable development is by now well established, discussions of how to progress from concept to reality often become mired in the complexities of global politics and offer few concrete solutions. While achieving sustainable development will undoubtedly require changes at the global level, the authors of this book emphasize that patterns of sustainable development must be built from the bottom up. They focus on methods for movement toward sustainability that can occur at the grassroots level. This book presents an integrated series of essays on the policies for sustainable development from one of the leading policy research institutes for environmental and developmental issues. It concentrates on the developing world and looks at the specific sectors to which policies must be applied. Beginning with a discussion of what constitutes sustainable development, it goes on to examine the institutional measures needed to mobilize human resources for change and the economic policies for sustainable natural-resource management. It then considers the policies needed in agriculture, urban development, industry, forests, drylands, energy use, finance, population, and consumption. The book ends with a discussion of the potential for financing new policy initiatives and the pressing need to reduce population growth and profligate consumption. Throughout, it demonstrates how those directly involved are best suited to manage their environments and resources. Policies for sustainable development depend upon the experience and resourcefulness of local people and require that they control their own futures.

Economic progress requires institutions with the ability to make effective use of the human and financial resources available. In developing countries, however, government agencies, public enterprises, and other public and private organizations often lack that ability. The author illustrates the importance of institutional performance in economic development and explores ways to increase the effectiveness of such institutions. Firmly grounded on contemporary theories, the book indicates that many of the commonly accepted principles of management and organization need to be modified, and new approaches developed. It describes various measures that managers and governments can adopt to improve performance in individual enterprises, sectors of the economy, and the country as a whole. He discusses in depth the managerial approach used in the training and visit system of agricultural extension. Ways of balancing economic, technical, and institutional factors in program design and reducing the complexity of projects are also considered. The author examines the reasons usually cited for their successes and failures. He then introduces two alternative factors that seem to offer better explanations of the patterns of institutional development. The first is specificity; the second factor is competition, which in addition to the traditional economic concept includes various pressures that can serve as surrogates for competition in the absence of a competitive market.