Implementing Sustainable Development: From Global Policy to Local Action

Despite all the talk of sustainability, there has not been enough action to halt or reverse the impacts of climate change. Decades after the Rio Earth Summit and despite the many policies and commitments to move toward sustainable development, there continues to be a serious implementation gap. Implementing Sustainable Development focuses on the challenges of turning international commitments and policy promises into local action. Through global examples and cases, the authors examine not only the core principles, but also successful and failed efforts to address the social, environmental, and economic dimensions of sustainable development. They systematically guide readers through the technical, legal, economic, administrative, political, ethical, and cultural feasibility of putting sustainable development solutions in place. Based on broad research, Claudia María Vargas and Phillip J. Cooper offer a practical and useful approach to identifying and addressing policy implementation challenges—what works, what doesn’t, and why. Features of this thoroughly revised second edition include: Dozens of case studies from the throughout the world An overview of the UN Sustainable Development Goals Action-oriented solutions to the challenges of sustainable development Careful consideration of local and indigenous knowledge Key issues of equity, equality, and the importance of community involvement

Table of Contents:
Preface Acknowledgments Abbreviations and Acronyms Chapter 1. The Foundations of Sustainable Development What is Sustainable Development Really? What Sustainable Development is Not Sustainable Development in Public Policy: The Implementation Gap Making Sense of it All: The Feasibility Framework as a Way to Understand and Advance Sustainable Development Implementation So Why Has Sustainable Development Today Gone Beyond Necessary and Has Become Urgent? Our Common Future: The Commission’s Warnings Are Today’s Critical Problems Climate Change: Exhibit-A for the Necessity of Sustainable Development Conclusion Chapter 2. The Principles of Sustainable Development: Global Common Commitments Key Concepts, Connections, and Distinctions: The Foundations of Sustainable Development Implementation A Transformation in Development Policy The Growing Significance of Environment The Growing Role of Markets Linking Social Development with Economic and Environmental Concerns The International Dialog on Sustainable Development From the Brundtland Commission to Rio to Copenhagen The Copenhagen Social Summit—Re-emphasizing the Three Key Elements of Sustainable Development Getting from Copenhagen to the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 The Sustainable Development Goals 2030 and the Paris Accords: Commitments to Evaluate Progress The Challenge of Implementation Amidst a Turbulent Political Environment Working with Both the Principles of Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 Sustainable Development Goals: A Necessary but Not Sufficient Approach The Declared Principles of Sustainable Development: A Useful Framework for Implementation That Can Work Well with the Agenda 2030 goals Declared Principles of Sustainable Development The Change Principle The Environmental Protection Principle The Principle of Balance and Integration The Principle of Human-Centered Development A Right to Development, but with an Obligation of Mutual Respect The Intergenerational and Intragenerational Equity Principle The Equality Principle The Decentralization Principle The Partnership Principle The Transparency and Accountability Principle The Family Principle The Livable Community Principle The Education Principle The Health and Wellness Principle The Poverty Eradication Principle The Culture Sensitivity Principle The Scope, Scale, and Wealth Principle The Market Principle The Rule of Law Principle The Principles and the Goals: Both Necessary, Neither is Sufficient Alone Conclusion Chapter 3. Questions of Technical Feasibility: Do We Know How to Do It? Two Very Different Technical Feasibility Positions The Namosi Copper Mine—The Effort to Use Mineral Resources for Development in Fiji Civano, Tucson, Arizona: A Sustainable Community in a Desert Environment The Context of Sustainable Development Choices The State of Development Ecosystem Characteristics The Temporal Dimension The Challenges of Finding Technical Responses Understanding the Problem: Not Always as Easy as it May Seem The Question of Appropriate Technologies Sources of Appropriate Technical Solutions Diffusion of Appropriate Technologies: From Knowledge to Action What is Good Science in Support of Policy Action? What Is Success? Problems of Assessment and Measurement in Sustainable Development Conclusion Chapter 4. Legal Feasibility: Building Infrastructure to Meet Mandates, from Supranational to Local Legal Feasibility Challenges on Two Ends of the United States Washington State Oil Tanker Regulation in the Puget Sound Sustainable Development Challenges in Ambos Nogales The Context and the Issues Context Counts: Questions of Diversity, Conflict, and Convergence Basic Issues in Legal Feasibility The International Dimension National Obligations Subnational Issues: State (or Provincial) and Local Authority and Limits Contracts, Agreements, and Other Governance Relationships: Intergovernmental and Cross Sector Relationships, Including Tribal Governments Conclusion Chapter 5. Fiscal Feasibility: Resources to Get from Paper to Action Financial Challenges and Creativity in Sustainable Development: Lockland, Ohio and the Great Green Wall of Africa Lockland, Ohio: Finding the Green for Brownfields Redevelopment Memorandum of Agreement Project Partners and Programs Remediation of Property Property Ownership Redevelopment of the Site Tax Base Enhancement Making Real A Sustainable Development Dream on a Colossal Scale: The Great Green Wall of Africa One Size Does Not Fit All: Context and Fiscal Feasibility Financing Sustainable Development: Thinking Seriously About Resources for Sustainable Development Implementation Where Will the Money Come From? Sources and Types of Support The Local Level: No Time to Wait for the World! Market Dynamics and Fiscal Support International Financial Support The Parameters of Foreign Direct Investment Various types of Support from Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) The Tools and Their Strengths and Challenges Tax Funded Efforts, Local NGOs, and Even Contributions Intergovernmental Agreements and other Forms of Collaboration Loans and Grants at the Local, National, and ODA at the International Level NGO Support and the Surprises that Can Come with It FDI at the International Level, the Role of Business, and the Marketplace in Local or National Sustainable Development Work Budgeting for Sustainable Development: The Expenditure Side of the Ledger First, Recall that Sustainable Development Often Requires “Assembled Budgets” Second, Issues of Priority and Process Third, Special Funds, Fees, and Taxes and Problems for Sustainable Development Rather than Strong Foundations for Implementation Incentives and Subsidies: Dangers but also Needs Fourth, Looking Beyond the Short-Term to a Sustainable Development Perspective Microfinance: Sustainable Finance for the Poor Special Challenges for Indigenous Communities Conclusion Chapter 6. Administrative Feasibility: Good Intentions, Intelligence, and Money Are Not Enough Water Crises in Walkerton, Ontario Canada and Flint, Michigan Walkerton, Ontario: Deaths from a Total System Failure Singapore: The Botanical Gardens and Beyond The Botanical Gardens of Singapore and Administrative Discretion Embracing the Concept of a Biophilic City through Strong Governance with a Commitment to Implementation The Context and Administrative Action Administrative Feasibility in Larger Cities as Compared to Rural Areas is Different Administrative Action in Rural Communities Changed by New Residential and Work Patterns Administrative Complexities in Small Island States Administrative Action in A Time of Pervasive Anti-Government Politics and Ideology Modern Governance and the Need to Redevelop the State and Its Institutions Where to Put the Work of Sustainable Development Administration Where to Place Sustainable Development Divisions: Four Models Governance in Sustainable Development: Intergovernmental Relations and the Coordination Challenge Coordination Challenges: Pulling the Disparate Pieces Together Key Factors Shaping the Coordination Challenge in Sustainable Development Implementation Network Management: The Creation and Operation of Virtual Organizations Major Differences in Network Management in Private, Public, and Nonprofit Organizations What is a Network Anyway? Network Management in Implementing Sustainable Development Parallel Systems Management: A Response to Contemporary Realities Conclusion Chapter 7. Political Feasibility: The Will to Act and the Power to Get It Done Curitiba, Brazil: A Sustainable Development Leader Under Unlikely Circumstances A Dynamic, Growing, Integrated Approach to Social Development A Dynamic Approach to Protect the Environment that Integrates Social Development Economic development Never Stands Alone but Looks to Inclusion and other Social Development Issues Political Will at Work: Persistent, Pervasive, and Forward Looking Always Looking Towards a Sustainable Future for Curitibanos Water Collection and Conservation: Multiple Efforts A Prompt, Integrated, and Innovative Responses to the Global Pandemic, COVID-19 Political Feasibility in Challenging Times: “PlanClima” to Mitigate Climate Change Innovation Incubators: The Vale do Pinhão Urban Ecosystem Lessons on Political Feasibility from Curitiba: “Co-Responsibility” Vancouver, Washington: Another Improbable Success Story in a Very Different Context Context Counts: “All Politics is Local” and “Two Weeks is a Political Generation” The Temporal Dimension of Political Feasibility A Focus on the Community and Local Context to Enhance Political Feasibility The Politics of Sustainable Development Maintaining a Focus on Integrating All Three Elements of Sustainable Development Maximizing the Potential of Policy Communities Avoiding the Silos Problem in Sustainable Development Implementation Political Feasibility in Implementation: Different Challenges from Policy Design and Adoption Political Will and Political Stability: Critical Core Features of Political Feasibility Political Will: Action, Ongoing Effort, and the Readiness to Make Difficult Choices Political Stability: Not a Lack of Debate or Political Competition but a Solid Foundation for Action Sustainable Development Politics and Intergovernmental Relations Intergovernmental Relations in the International Context IGR Within Nations Political Culture as a Key Component in the Mix that Makes Up Intergovernmental Relations Beyond Competition to Cooperation at the Local-Government Level Leaving the Ego at the Door to Overcome Tensions Growing Your Own Capacity and Keeping It by Sharing Public Participation and Political Feasibility Not One Kind of Involvement but a Spectrum of Participation Why Does It Matter? Participation as an Active Element in Sustainable Development Barriers to Participation: The Obvious and the Less Visible Dangers and Cautions: Not Always as Obvious as Red Octagon or Yellow Triangle Signs Foundations for Enhanced Participation: Challenge of Listening and Educating The Politics of NGOs: Complex Relationships with Essential Partners Mustering Collaboration Among the Overwhelming Numbers of NGOs Competition between International and Local NGOs in Advancing Sustainable Development Management Differences between Government Agencies and NGOs The Complexity of Coalitions Conclusion Chapter 8. Ethical Feasibility: Values That Matter on the Ground Michigan Center for the Environment and Children’s Health A Network of Centers to Address Children’s Environmental Health The Michigan Center for the Environment and Children’s Health (MCECH) Targeting Asthma Lok Jumbish, Jaipur, India: Education That Includes Girls Through Community Engagement School Mapping: Engaging and Getting to Know the Community An Empowering Teaching Approach through Iterative Teacher Training Engaging Traditionally Disenfranchised Women in the LJ Movement Serving Traditionally Excluded Groups Nonformal Education to Accommodate Girls with Special Circumstances Inclusion of Children with Disabilities Reaching Out to Engage and Provide Accommodations for Children with Particular Challenges Rajasthan’s Equity Efforts in the 21st Century: Beyond Literacy to Meet Future Needs Context Counts: Development Challenges in Very Different Settings The Case of Detroit and Ethical Feasibility in a Large City Special Challenges in Rural Areas Whether in Rajasthan, India or Walkerton, Ontario Canada Sustainable Development Ethics and the Commission Commitments Corruption and Perverse Incentives Law and Ethics as Related but Different Issues Corruption, Whatever Else It May Be Called Weighs Heaviest on the Poor Exclusion and Discrimination: The Need to Move to Inclusion and More The Ongoing Need to Address Discrimination Against Women Poverty and Exclusion: Unseen and Too Often Out of Mind Exclusion Also Means a Lack of a Voice in Key Decisions or Serious Consideration of Impacts by the Decisions of Others Exclusion by Age: Issues of Children and the Elderly Exclusion of Persons with Disabilities Indigenous Peoples: Long Excluded, but Now Teaching the Rest of Us Internalizing the Excluded: Areas of Inclusive Action Promoting Food Security and Nutrition While Promoting Equity Environmental and Climate Justice: More Than Simply Stopping Bad Development Sustainable Development and Environmental Equity Sustainable Development and Climate Justice Climate Justice Challenges: Massive Flooding in Pakistan Climate Justice and Children: Intergenerational Impacts of Unsustainable Behavior Protecting Vulnerable Workers: Lessons from Climate Change and COVID-19 Politics and Problematic Policy Responses to Environmental Justice and Climate Justice Negotiating Cultures and “Ethical Discontinuities” Conclusion Chapter 9. Cultural Feasibility: One Size Does Not Fit All Chimney Rock, California: A Case of Culture as Casualty of Development Ganados del Valle, New Mexico: Culture as an Asset Enterprises Spun Off from Ganados del Valle Ganados del Valle in More Recent Times Context Counts, But Too Often We Do Not Recognize It Culture as an Asset for Sustainable Development Tribal Co-Management Agreements with Federal and State Governments: Active Engagement with Indigenous Culture as an Asset in Contemporary Policy Action Chief Seattle Club: Culture as an Asset in Serving Native-American/Alaska Natives Integrating Indigenous Food Systems with Modern Knowledge for Erga Omnes, to Benefit All Culture as Casualty: Adverse Impacts from Unsustainable Development Culture under Pressure: The Case of Fiji Stress, Loss, and Cultural Collisions Indigenous Cultural Regeneration and Survival The Makah Tribe: Cultural Revival and Regeneration Challenged Challenges in Culturally Sensitive Sustainable Development Implementation Organizational Culture: The Other Kind of Culture Taking Cultural Feasibility Seriously: Diébédo Francis Kéré, Burkina Faso, and a Legacy of Ancient Knowledge Conclusion Chapter 10. Ideas That Matter and Actions That Matter Even More The Principles of Sustainable Development: Serious Commitments to Guide Action The Feasibility Framework in Action The Urgency of Implementing Sustainable Development to Address the Climate Crisis Lessons Along the Way Context Counts, So Why Do We So Often Forget that Reality? Nimble, Multi-functional, Infrastructure and Institutions Effective Intergovernmental and Cross-Sectoral Collaboration at the Core: So Obvious, but So Often Neglected Genuine Community Engagement: From Trust to Collaborative Action The Ubiquitous Role of Education Indigenous Knowledge as a Guide to Protecting the Global Commons The Centrality of Integrating all Three Pillars of Sustainable Development Index About the Authors

About the Author :
Claudia María Vargas is Affiliated Professor of Public Administration and Senior Fellow in the Mark O. Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University. Her publications include Implementing Sustainable Development: From Global Policy to Local Action; Sustainable Development in Crisis Conditions: Challenges of War, Terrorism, and Civil Disorder, Caring for Children with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities and their Families: An Innovative Approach to Interdisciplinary Practice (Co-Ed.), Implementing Sustainable Development Administration: Experiences in Sustainable Development Administration (Co-Ed.), "Community Development and Micro-Enterprises: Fostering Sustainable Development," "Sustainable Development Education: Averting or Mitigating Cultural Collision," and "Women in Sustainable Development: Empowerment through Partnerships for Healthy Living." Phillip J. Cooper is Douglas and Candace Morgan Professor of Local Government at the Mark O. Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University. He is a Senior Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and was the first recipient of the Charles Levine Award for Excellence in Public Administration, given by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration and the American Society for Public Administration. His books include: Implementing Sustainable Development: From Global Policy to Local Action; Sustainable Development in Crisis Conditions: Challenges of War, Terrorism, and Civil Disorder, Policy Tools in Policy Design, Civil Rights in Public Service, By Order of the President: The Use and Abuse of Executive Direct Action, Second Edition, Governing By Contract, and Public Law and Public Administration, now in its fifth edition. In addition, the authors have worked together on sustainable development research for more than three decades, serving as consultants to the United Nations, the World Bank, and a number of countries in the process. They have facilitated international programs on sustainable development implementation or were lead presenters for conferences in several regions of the world, involving participants from many countries. This book brings together the work from those research efforts and practical experiences.

Review :
A thoughtful and comprehensive text on perhaps the most important global subject of the 21st century, Implementing Sustainable Development is a welcome addition to the sustainability conversation. The scope of the authors’ approach offers a practical and accessible avenue for readers to consider the challenges—and possibilities—of achieving sustainable development. In Implementing Sustainable Development, Vargas and Cooper provide a rare glimpse at real-life case examples from around the world that elucidate the complexities and the global-to-local interconnectedness of creating a more sustainable planet. This book expertly examines the history of sustainable development by linking the scales of impact from the international level at the UN to local cities around the world through field work with key stakeholders. Significantly, Vargas and Cooper give a voice to the voiceless and marginalized, hence demonstrating the need for all to be engaged in creating a more sustainable world. Weaving sustainable development through various disciplines from policy, finance, and international relations, the authors underline collaboration and interdisciplinarity as key drivers of sustainable development. This book is as useful in a classroom as it would be for a workshop among decision makers in the public and private realms. It is a hopeful, empirically-rich portrayal of a more balanced approach toward a sustainable future.