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Environmental Policy for Sustainability
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Environmental Policy for Sustainability

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2018) | Viewed by 36555

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Julia Martínez-Fernández

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Fundación Nueva Cultura del Agua / Sustainability Observatory of Murcia Region, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
Interests: socio-ecological systems; sustainable water management; water indicators
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Miguel Angel Esteve-Selma

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Ecology and Hydrology, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
Interests: environmental sustainability; science-policy interface for sustainability; biodiversity conservation and management; effects of climate change on Mediterranean biodiversity; ecology and management of Mediterranean wetlands
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The present Special Issue will focus on environmental policies and how and they can improve overall sustainability at different scales, from global to local. Environmental policies, explicitly conceived to address different environmental problems, are generally considered a way to advance sustainability. However, relationships between environmental policies and sustainability goals have also evolved, as have related frameworks, methods, practical experiences, and open challenges. One key aspect of such an evolution has been the increasing need for an integrated approach over many different aspects. The aim of this Special issue is to present an up-to-date overview on these issues, including conceptual, methodological, and case-based perspectives. Covered topics include theoretical aspects of environmental policies, sustainability, and resilience; advanced methodologies and tools to better define, select, and implement environmental policies aiming at improving sustainability in real contexts; the role of scale of environmental policies in relation to sustainability goals; inter and trans-disciplinary approaches for sustainability; multi-scale challenges for sustainability under global change; the science–policy interface and participatory governance in the design, analysis, and implementation of environmental policies for sustainability. Papers on conceptual and methodological issues, as well as practical examples and real case analyses are welcome.

Papers selected for this Special Issue are subject to a rigorous peer-review procedure with the aim of rapid and wide dissemination of research results, developments, and applications.

Dr. Julia Martínez-Fernández
Dr. Miguel Angel-Esteve Selma
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Sustainability under global change
  • Science-policy interface
  • Science for sustainability
  • Inter-disciplinary approaches for sustainability
  • Methods and tools for environmental policy
  • Sustainability indicators
  • Socio-ecological systems and models
  • Participatory assessment of environmental policies

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 951 KiB  
Article
Determining Recycling Fees and Subsidies in China’s WEEE Disposal Fund with Formal and Informal Sectors
by Huihui Liu, Xiaolin Wu, Desheng Dou, Xu Tang and G. Keong Leong
Sustainability 2018, 10(9), 2979; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10092979 - 21 Aug 2018
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 3755
Abstract
At present, most of China’s waste electrical and electronic equipment (hereafter referred to as WEEE) flow into the informal recycling sector, which has no official disassembly certification. To regulate the WEEE recycling industry, the policy of the WEEE disposal fund has been implemented [...] Read more.
At present, most of China’s waste electrical and electronic equipment (hereafter referred to as WEEE) flow into the informal recycling sector, which has no official disassembly certification. To regulate the WEEE recycling industry, the policy of the WEEE disposal fund has been implemented to levy recycling fees from producers and subsidize the formal recycling sector. This paper aims to solve the challenging problem of how to optimize recycling fees and subsidies. We first study the competition between the formal and informal sectors, and construct the game models of the dismantling and refurbishing processes. Based on the equilibrium outcomes, we then examine the impact of the disposal fund on producers, as well as the formal and informal recycling sectors. With the goal of maximizing social welfare and maintaining a balanced budget for the disposal fund, we study the optimal recycling fee levied on producers and the corresponding subsidy provided to the formal sector. Social welfare is a function of producer and formal-recycler profits, consumer surplus, and the negative externality caused by informal dismantling and refurbishing, such as environmental pollution and safety problems. Results show that the use of subsidy can increase the acquisition quantity of used products in the formal sector, but the increase will slow down with higher subsidy. If the recycling fee that producers are charged is small, social welfare will be improved. In addition, as the fee is increased, social welfare will rise first and then fall. As such, any excessive increase in recycling fees should be avoided. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Policy for Sustainability)
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30 pages, 1469 KiB  
Article
Sensitivity Analysis in Socio-Ecological Models as a Tool in Environmental Policy for Sustainability
by Isabel Banos-Gonzalez, Julia Martínez-Fernández, Miguel-Ángel Esteve-Selma and Patricia Esteve-Guirao
Sustainability 2018, 10(8), 2928; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10082928 - 17 Aug 2018
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 5538
Abstract
The assessment of environmental policies and sustainability in socio-ecological systems (SES) should be tackled from a holistic perspective, using methodologies such as dynamic system models. However, the integral assessment of SES generally suffers from high levels of uncertainty. In this work, the potential [...] Read more.
The assessment of environmental policies and sustainability in socio-ecological systems (SES) should be tackled from a holistic perspective, using methodologies such as dynamic system models. However, the integral assessment of SES generally suffers from high levels of uncertainty. In this work, the potential of sensitivity analysis (SA) to assess uncertainty and its implications in SES models, specifically in the Fuerteventura sustainability model, has been explored. An extensive SA was applied in different stages of model development and application. The different SA techniques applied allowed, besides a detailed assessment of robustness, the identification of leverage points and their application to define environmental policies and management measures intended to improve sustainability. The results suggest that measures based on leverage points identified by the SA in the model are more effective than others proposed so far by different agents. Furthermore, the assessment of uncertainty of measures thought to contribute to sustainability shows that, when uncertainty ranges are considered, the thresholds of some sustainability indicators might be exceeded, whereas mean values would not. Therefore, the surpassing of some sustainability thresholds might go unnoticed if uncertainties are not considered in the policy analysis. This work shows SA to be a powerful tool that provides important insights to policy makers and end users, with regard to improving environmental policies for sustainability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Policy for Sustainability)
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17 pages, 574 KiB  
Article
Effects on Willingness to Pay for Marine Conservation: Evidence from Zhejiang Province, China
by Bing Yu, Yuying Cai, Laiqun Jin and Bisheng Du
Sustainability 2018, 10(7), 2298; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10072298 - 3 Jul 2018
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 4816
Abstract
The willingness to pay (WTP) for marine conservation is an important basis for the design of market-based marine protection strategies and sustainable marine environment development. Whether the individual was willing to pay and how much they would prefer to pay may be affected [...] Read more.
The willingness to pay (WTP) for marine conservation is an important basis for the design of market-based marine protection strategies and sustainable marine environment development. Whether the individual was willing to pay and how much they would prefer to pay may be affected separately by different factors. Thus, we investigated the probability of paying for marine conservation and the payment amount to obtain evidence regarding the factors that influence the preferences of stakeholders. We considered two marine protected areas in Zhejiang Province, China, where we combined contingent valuation with logit and tobit models to measure the differences in the WTP for marine conservation between tourists and residents. The results showed that most respondents were willing to pay for marine conservation, but they were affected by different factors. The average amounts that the respondents were willing to pay were 216.20 CNY ($34.3) and 172.43 CNY ($27.4) in the Nanji Islands MPA and Putuo Islands MPA, respectively. The probability of respondents’ WTP was closely related to their individual environmental awareness, whereas the payment amount was influenced mainly by personal income. Thus, our results suggest that increasing human environmental cognition and developing differential payment schemes for the marine environment among stakeholders may promote sustainable marine protection development and management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Policy for Sustainability)
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9 pages, 6450 KiB  
Article
Exploring the Relationship between Prior Knowledge on Rain Gardens and Supports for Adopting Rain Gardens Using a Structural Equation Model
by Suyeon Kim, Sang-Woo Lee, Jongwon Lee and Kyungjin An
Sustainability 2018, 10(5), 1500; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10051500 - 9 May 2018
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3656
Abstract
The objective of this study was to determine the effect of prior knowledge and visual evaluation on supports for rain garden installations. To achieve this objective, a survey was conducted to obtain prior knowledge of rain gardens, rain garden implementation support ratings, and [...] Read more.
The objective of this study was to determine the effect of prior knowledge and visual evaluation on supports for rain garden installations. To achieve this objective, a survey was conducted to obtain prior knowledge of rain gardens, rain garden implementation support ratings, and visual evaluation of rain gardens in 100 visitors of three rain garden sites. Results of the analysis revealed that users’ visual evaluation of rain gardens played a role as a moderator in the relationship between prior knowledge and support for rain garden installations. In other words, education and publicity of rain gardens alone cannot increase support for rain gardens. However, if rain gardens are visually evaluated positively, the effects of education and publicity of rain gardens can be expected. Therefore, to successfully apply a rain garden policy in the future, basic consideration should be given to aesthetics in order to meet visitors’ visual expectations prior to education and publicity of rain gardens. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Policy for Sustainability)
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21 pages, 475 KiB  
Article
A Comparative Study of the Role of China and India in Sustainable Textile Competition in the U.S. Market under Green Trade Barriers
by Junqian Xu, Yong Liu and Liling Yang
Sustainability 2018, 10(5), 1348; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10051348 - 26 Apr 2018
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 10575
Abstract
The United States is the most important textile import market in the world, and one of the most important export targets of developing countries. In view of its ecological environment and consumer health, the United States has put forward increasingly harsh environmental protection [...] Read more.
The United States is the most important textile import market in the world, and one of the most important export targets of developing countries. In view of its ecological environment and consumer health, the United States has put forward increasingly harsh environmental protection systems and standards for imported textile products, and its environmental trade barriers have been steadily strengthened. China’s textile exports increased substantially after joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2000; at present, the textile imports of the United States from China and India reach in total more than one third of all their imports. China and India both have comparative advantages in the import trade of textile raw materials and clothing in the United States (U.S.). On the basis of the United Nation ComTrade Rev. 3, this paper studies the role of China and India in the United States textile market, including calculating the trade competitiveness index, revealing the competitive advantages of China and India, and investigating the impact of both Chinese and Indian textiles on United States imports from the rest of the world across three main textile sectors in the period 2000–2016, especially in the context of green trade barriers. We find that the relative textile import prices, the ecological standard of China’s textile production re-edited Oeko-Tex Standard 100 in 2008 and export tax policy, and the competitive advantages of China and India had varied impacts on relative U.S. textile imports across related sectors under green environmental trade barriers. These findings recognize China’s competitiveness in international trading, and also provide suggestions regarding China’s competitiveness and sustainable development in the U.S. market. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Policy for Sustainability)
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11 pages, 14758 KiB  
Article
Sustainable Lighting Policies: The Contribution of Advertisement and Decorative Lighting to Local Light Pollution in Seoul, South Korea
by Jack Ngarambe and Gon Kim
Sustainability 2018, 10(4), 1007; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10041007 - 29 Mar 2018
Cited by 32 | Viewed by 7530
Abstract
We carried out field measurements to determine the contribution of advertisement and decorative lighting to local light pollution in Seoul. We used the lighting limits set by the “Light Pollution Prevention Act”, which regulates light pollution, as measuring criteria. Our results show that [...] Read more.
We carried out field measurements to determine the contribution of advertisement and decorative lighting to local light pollution in Seoul. We used the lighting limits set by the “Light Pollution Prevention Act”, which regulates light pollution, as measuring criteria. Our results show that both advertisement and decorative lighting are significant contributors to local light pollution in Seoul. Thirty percent of advertisement lighting measured in our study areas exceeded the legal limits. Moreover, we found that certain types of advertisement lighting are more likely to cause light pollution than the others. In addition, 73% of the decorative lighting found in our sample areas exceeded the legal limits. Based on our findings, we suggest that local light pollution policies establish a curfew time when all advertisement and decorative lighting must be completely turned off. Such an approach is essential in reducing lighting levels in outdoor environments. Furthermore, it lessens the burden on law enforcement personnel, who otherwise must ensure that advertisement and decorative lighting levels are kept within the legal limits. In light of the ongoing debate over the role of lighting in public well-being and the sustainability of cities, the present study provides a discussion on the status and management policy of light pollution caused by advertisement and decorative lighting. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Policy for Sustainability)
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