This paper has developed a conceptual framework derived from the growth within natural limits ide... more This paper has developed a conceptual framework derived from the growth within natural limits ideology with which it analyses the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The findings indicate that: for a sustainable development approach to work, it requires integration of different theoretical approaches and knowledge tracks – conceptually drawing from economics, social sciences and Earth sciences, and that it is still not a fully matured science. Applying such an integrated frame shows that the social domain is explicitly evident in the SDGs’ with a high degree of ambition and clarity. However, the economic and ecological domains require further sharpness and do not clearly subscribe to the fundamentals of biophysical limits. The paper also concludes that developing countries, like the countries of South Asia, have an advantage in that they still operate within their biocapacity limits, and should look to plot a different path to the West, and address social, economic and environment issues simultaneously.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), with its advanced technology, is creating new work option... more The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), with its advanced technology, is creating new work options but also threatening job losses and job polarisation. The effects of the 4IR will impact the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially in achieving sustainable economic growth and decent work for all (SDG 8). This study used a qualitative approach complemented by secondary quantitative data. A multi-dimensional, SDG-based, sustainable-labour lens was used to form the conceptual framework that explored how automation impacts labour, particularly low-skilled workers operating within the global value chain (GVC) in the apparel industry in Sri Lanka. The study found that automation so far, in this context, has not led to major displacement of low-skilled workers, but has narrowed the range of jobs while favouring high-skilled jobs. It also showed that the apparel sector uses GVCs to access technology and investment to gain economic benefits aligned with SDG 8. The GVCs forged synerg...
Coordinating Lead Authors: Nigel Sizer, Stephen Bass, James Mayers Lead Authors: Mike Arnold, Lou... more Coordinating Lead Authors: Nigel Sizer, Stephen Bass, James Mayers Lead Authors: Mike Arnold, Louise Auckland, Brian Belcher, Neil Bird, Bruce Campbell, Jim Carle, David Cleary, Simon Counsell, Thomas Enters, Karin Fernando, Ted Gullison, John Hudson, Bob Kellison, Tage Klingberg, Carlton N. Owen, Neil Sampson, Sonja Vermeulen, Eva Wollenberg, Sheona Shackleton, David Edmunds Contributing Authors: Patrick Durst, D.P. Dykstra, Thomas Holmes, Ian Hunter, Wulf Killmann, Ben S. Malayang III, Francis E. Putz, Patricia Shanley Review Editors: Cherla Sastry, Marian de los Angeles
textabstractWhile Fairtrade offers incremental benefits to Sri Lankan tea plantation workers, the... more textabstractWhile Fairtrade offers incremental benefits to Sri Lankan tea plantation workers, they are put place in estates that have high standards in the first place. This then begs the question on if a voluntary process can reach workers who are more disadvantaged. Additionally, in order to go further on the ambitions of the certification to create better environment for establishing a living wage for example will require greater efforts and engagement.
The experiences of researchers at the Industrial Technology Institute, and the Centre for Poverty... more The experiences of researchers at the Industrial Technology Institute, and the Centre for Poverty Analysis, Colombo, Sri Lanka, are drawn on to provide reflections on moving agricultural technologies from laboratory trials to farms in the global South. The challenges and potentials for a hexanal-based Enhanced Freshness Formulation spray and a wrap made from banana fibre (using waste products) are discussed, demonstrating that in generating innovative technologies for sustainable agricultural development, agricultural researchers must think beyond laboratory viability and successful field testing to adaptability in the real world for a range of agriculture stakeholders, and be open to considering the potentials of unexpected, spin-off technologies.
Environment and Climate Change: Increasing Resilience of Agriculture Communities by Karin Fernand... more Environment and Climate Change: Increasing Resilience of Agriculture Communities by Karin Fernando and Amila Balasuriya The links between the environment, agriculture and the poor are set within the conceptual framework that looks at the links between environmental wellbeing and human wellbeing. Within the framework, human wellbeing is defined as being made up of several components including basic needs, security, and choices that are dependent on the environment’s ecosystem services to provide a range of goods such as food, and land, and services such as water and nutrient cycling, recreational value etc. The present scenario is that the continuous extraction of goods and services is degrading the environment and therefore threatening the ability of the natural system to provide the goods and services necessary to sustain human wellbeing conditions. The relationship between ecosystem services and human wellbeing is also more complex due to social, economic and political factors suc...
... Overall in terms of composition of travelers, the last few years have seen a change from trad... more ... Overall in terms of composition of travelers, the last few years have seen a change from traditional Western European ... Sri Lanka's tourist attractions show a regional breakdown: the south coast for its beaches, the central hills for its scenery and cool climate, the north ...
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) present two challenges for integrated planning and imple... more The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) present two challenges for integrated planning and implementation at the national level. One is that policies and plans need to identify and accommodate interconnectivities amongst the SDGs. Second is the need to balance the three dimensions: economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection. This paper uses network analysis to explore interconnectivity and balance of the Sri Lankan policies or plans in relation to SDG 7, that advocates clean energy security. The findings suggest that the selected policies or plans are not only clearly linked to SDG 7, but also shows strong connectivity to SDG 1 (poverty), 10 (inequality), 11 (cities) and 12 (sustainable consumption and production) as well as other SDGs. This emphasises the need to recognise sectoral cross links for an integrated plan. In terms of balance there is a skew towards the environmental dimension over the economic and social dimensions. There are also conflicts between ...
This paper has developed a conceptual framework derived from the growth within natural limits ide... more This paper has developed a conceptual framework derived from the growth within natural limits ideology with which it analyses the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The findings indicate that: for a sustainable development approach to work, it requires integration of different theoretical approaches and knowledge tracks – conceptually drawing from economics, social sciences and Earth sciences, and that it is still not a fully matured science. Applying such an integrated frame shows that the social domain is explicitly evident in the SDGs’ with a high degree of ambition and clarity. However, the economic and ecological domains require further sharpness and do not clearly subscribe to the fundamentals of biophysical limits. The paper also concludes that developing countries, like the countries of South Asia, have an advantage in that they still operate within their biocapacity limits, and should look to plot a different path to the West, and address social, economic and environment issues simultaneously.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), with its advanced technology, is creating new work option... more The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), with its advanced technology, is creating new work options but also threatening job losses and job polarisation. The effects of the 4IR will impact the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially in achieving sustainable economic growth and decent work for all (SDG 8). This study used a qualitative approach complemented by secondary quantitative data. A multi-dimensional, SDG-based, sustainable-labour lens was used to form the conceptual framework that explored how automation impacts labour, particularly low-skilled workers operating within the global value chain (GVC) in the apparel industry in Sri Lanka. The study found that automation so far, in this context, has not led to major displacement of low-skilled workers, but has narrowed the range of jobs while favouring high-skilled jobs. It also showed that the apparel sector uses GVCs to access technology and investment to gain economic benefits aligned with SDG 8. The GVCs forged synerg...
Coordinating Lead Authors: Nigel Sizer, Stephen Bass, James Mayers Lead Authors: Mike Arnold, Lou... more Coordinating Lead Authors: Nigel Sizer, Stephen Bass, James Mayers Lead Authors: Mike Arnold, Louise Auckland, Brian Belcher, Neil Bird, Bruce Campbell, Jim Carle, David Cleary, Simon Counsell, Thomas Enters, Karin Fernando, Ted Gullison, John Hudson, Bob Kellison, Tage Klingberg, Carlton N. Owen, Neil Sampson, Sonja Vermeulen, Eva Wollenberg, Sheona Shackleton, David Edmunds Contributing Authors: Patrick Durst, D.P. Dykstra, Thomas Holmes, Ian Hunter, Wulf Killmann, Ben S. Malayang III, Francis E. Putz, Patricia Shanley Review Editors: Cherla Sastry, Marian de los Angeles
textabstractWhile Fairtrade offers incremental benefits to Sri Lankan tea plantation workers, the... more textabstractWhile Fairtrade offers incremental benefits to Sri Lankan tea plantation workers, they are put place in estates that have high standards in the first place. This then begs the question on if a voluntary process can reach workers who are more disadvantaged. Additionally, in order to go further on the ambitions of the certification to create better environment for establishing a living wage for example will require greater efforts and engagement.
The experiences of researchers at the Industrial Technology Institute, and the Centre for Poverty... more The experiences of researchers at the Industrial Technology Institute, and the Centre for Poverty Analysis, Colombo, Sri Lanka, are drawn on to provide reflections on moving agricultural technologies from laboratory trials to farms in the global South. The challenges and potentials for a hexanal-based Enhanced Freshness Formulation spray and a wrap made from banana fibre (using waste products) are discussed, demonstrating that in generating innovative technologies for sustainable agricultural development, agricultural researchers must think beyond laboratory viability and successful field testing to adaptability in the real world for a range of agriculture stakeholders, and be open to considering the potentials of unexpected, spin-off technologies.
Environment and Climate Change: Increasing Resilience of Agriculture Communities by Karin Fernand... more Environment and Climate Change: Increasing Resilience of Agriculture Communities by Karin Fernando and Amila Balasuriya The links between the environment, agriculture and the poor are set within the conceptual framework that looks at the links between environmental wellbeing and human wellbeing. Within the framework, human wellbeing is defined as being made up of several components including basic needs, security, and choices that are dependent on the environment’s ecosystem services to provide a range of goods such as food, and land, and services such as water and nutrient cycling, recreational value etc. The present scenario is that the continuous extraction of goods and services is degrading the environment and therefore threatening the ability of the natural system to provide the goods and services necessary to sustain human wellbeing conditions. The relationship between ecosystem services and human wellbeing is also more complex due to social, economic and political factors suc...
... Overall in terms of composition of travelers, the last few years have seen a change from trad... more ... Overall in terms of composition of travelers, the last few years have seen a change from traditional Western European ... Sri Lanka's tourist attractions show a regional breakdown: the south coast for its beaches, the central hills for its scenery and cool climate, the north ...
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) present two challenges for integrated planning and imple... more The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) present two challenges for integrated planning and implementation at the national level. One is that policies and plans need to identify and accommodate interconnectivities amongst the SDGs. Second is the need to balance the three dimensions: economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection. This paper uses network analysis to explore interconnectivity and balance of the Sri Lankan policies or plans in relation to SDG 7, that advocates clean energy security. The findings suggest that the selected policies or plans are not only clearly linked to SDG 7, but also shows strong connectivity to SDG 1 (poverty), 10 (inequality), 11 (cities) and 12 (sustainable consumption and production) as well as other SDGs. This emphasises the need to recognise sectoral cross links for an integrated plan. In terms of balance there is a skew towards the environmental dimension over the economic and social dimensions. There are also conflicts between ...
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