Ecological Economics and Sustainable Development

• Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting 2003: Produced by the United Nations Statistics Division
  
• Biodiversity Economics:
  
• The Economic Value of Biodiversity: Article by David Pierce and Dominic Moran for the World Conservation Union.
  
• Economics, Trade Policy, and CITES (Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species):
  
• Economic Impact of Tourism Visitation at National Parks in the U.S.: This is the original report by Ya-Yen Sun at Michigan State University. Also see Estimating National Park Visitor Spending and Economic Impacts - The MGM2 Model
  
• The Economic Costs Due to the Introduction of Non-Native Species into the United States:
  
• Arcata's Own Center for Environmental Economic Development (CEED):
  
• Ecotourism Explorer: Nice site maintained by the International Ecotourism Society that contains interesting material including research reports and economic studies of ecotourism. Particularly relevant to researchers is their research site (click here).
  
• SD Gateway: "Integrates the on-line information developed by members of the Sustainable Development Communications Network. In addition to over 1,200 documents available in SD Topics, they provide services such as a calendar of events, a job bank, the Sustainability Web Ring, a roster of mailing lists (listservs) and news sites dealing with sustainable development."
  
• International Society for Ecological Economics (ISEE): Ecological economics is a new field of study that attempts to integrate the study of ecological systems with that of economic systems. Topics include Sustainability, Natural Resource Valuation, System Accounting, Ecological and Economic Modeling, Institutions for Sustainable Governance, and Education.
  
• International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD):
  
• Second Nature's Comprehensive Links to Sustainability-Related Course Websites: The site you are on right now is listed there, as well as many others.
  
• Minnesota Sustainable Communities Network:
• United Nations Human Development Report: An excellent and up-to-date source of information and statistics on various measures of human development, including gender comparisons, education, food security, resource use imbalances, environmental degradation, energy use, poverty, economic performance, and sustainable livelihoods.
  
• Economic Performance and Environmental Quality Information Base: Contains a comprehensive data base showing indicators of aggregate economic activity matched with data on a wide variety of environmental quality indicators, and links to sites around the world giving information about all types of pollution policies (including economic instruments) in use.

• Economic Assessment of the Ecosystem: A part of the Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project, produced by the University of California and the California Resources Agency. An interesting report. This document is in the Portable Document Format (PDF). If you need the viewer for this, Download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader and follow the installation instructions.
  
  
• Ecosystem Valuation Website: "The site contains descriptions and illustrations of specific valuation methods and explains how they can be used. One section deals with monetary (dollar-based) valuation methods and another deals with non-monetary (relative) valuation methods. There are also links to other useful websites and to data sources. The site was prepared under a cooperative agreement between US Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service, US Department of Commerce, NOAA-Sea Grant Office, and University of Maryland, Center for Environmental Science."
  
• The State of the Nation's Ecosystems: Report from the Heinz Center for Science, Economics, and the Environment (thanks Suzzette for this link!)
  
• The Economic Value of the Ecosystem Services Provided by Urban Forests: Produced by the organization American Forests.
  
• The Value of the World's Ecosystem Services and Natural Capital: Seminal article by Robert Costanza and his colleagues, published in the journal Nature in May 1997.
  
• On-Line Seminar on Sustainable Economics: Sponsored by the group Communication for a Sustainable Future, one can find archived essays and also participate in on-line discussion.
  
• Alternatives: Alternatives is one of the largest free online libraries for social change. It is a great source of a wide variety of information. A good way to start is to click on the "library" button and search the alphabetical list for your topic.
  
• Willapa Bay Alliance: "The mission of The Willapa Alliance is to enhance the productivity and health of the Willapa's unique watershed by building community capacity to steward the ecosystem and to create sustainable economic opportunity."
  
• Global Footprint Network: See the 2004 update of the ecological footprint of nations biocapacity analysis.
  
• Ecological Footprint (EF) Website: Interested in indicators of strong-form sustainability? Check out the following website maintained by Mathis Wackernagel and colleagues.
  
• Ecological Footprint: A comprehensive site provided by the group Redefining Progress.
  
• The Economics of Biodiversity:
  
• The Economics of Biodiversity--A Bibliography:
  
• Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW):
  
• IISD Compendium: The Online Compendium is the most current and up to date collection of Sustainable Development Indicator initiatives. It is a collaborative effort of Environment Canada, the World Bank, Redefining Progress and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).
  
• Genuine Progress Indicator:
  
• UN Social Indicators: Lots of good international country data on a wide variety of social, demographic, and economic variables.
  
• FoE Sustainable Societies Website: Produced by Friends of the Earth, this site contains information on sustainability programs and indicators for various countries.
  
• Robert Putnam's Concept of Social Capital: "How can dilemmas of collective action (losses due to failures to cooperate) be overcome, short of creating some Hobbesian Leviathan? Social scientists in several disciplines have recently suggested a novel diagnosis of this problem, a diagnosis resting on the concept of social capital. By analogy with notions of physical capital and human capital--tools and training that enhance individual productivity--"social capital" refers to features of social organization, such as networks, norms, and trust, that facilitate coordination and cooperation for mutual benefit. Social capital enhances the benefits of investment in physical and human capital."
  
• The Strange Disappearance of Civic America, by Robert D. Putnam: From the American Prospect Winter 1996.
  
• EPN's Civil Society Website: Read about trends in social capital, and the role of civil society in constraining the excesses of liberalized global trade.
  
• World Resource Institute's Center for International Development and Environment:
  
• PopNet: "PopNet is a resource for population information. With PopNet, you can search the most comprehensive directory of population-related web sites available--by topic or keyword, by organization, or through PopNet's clickable world map. PopNet presents information on population topics such as Demographic Statistics, Economics, Education, Environment, Gender, Policy and Reproductive Health. Its resources include web sites produced by Government and International Organizations, Non-governmental Organizations, University Centers, and Associations and Listserves. PopNet is produced and maintained by the Population Reference Bureau with funding assistance from the US Agency for International Development (USAID)"
  
• Conservation-Based Development Website: "A cooperative effort between the Ford Foundation and Pyramid Communications. This site explores the emerging field of conservation-based development which promotes a balanced approach to economic and community development that is based on the long-term maintenance of environmental integrity. CBD builds on the work of environmental and community groups in their struggle to address socio-economic, political and environmental challenges posed by our constantly growing and changing society."
  
• Case Studies in Conservation-Based Development:
  
• Applegate Watershed Group: "The Applegate Partnership is a community based project involving industry, conservation groups, natural resource agencies, and residents cooperating to encourage and facilitate the use of naural resource principles that promote ecosystem, health and diversity. Through community involvement and education, this partnership supports management of all land within the watershed in a manner that sustains natural resources and that will, in turn, contribute to economic and community well being within the Applegate Valley."
  
• Chronicle of Community: "Explores emerging and changing ideas of community in the western United States. By "community" we mean the interdependence of people living in a particular place, the efforts they make to pursue common goals despite diverse individual values, and the ways in which they are able to build upon their relationships with one another to seek the best long-term uses of the land that sustains them.... we hope to map the region's progress toward creating communities based on tolerance, mutuality, respect for nature, and equity."
  
• Multinational Monitor: Internet journal devoted to uncovering the problems associated with liberalized international trade, transnational corporations, and the failures of the IMF and World Bank.
  
• OXFAM Sept 03 Study on Reform of the WTO, titled Running into the Sand: PDF document that provides a thoughtful critique of WTO and trade, particularly agricultural tariffs and trade, and how they affect people in low-income countries.
  
• Summary of World Bank Lending Projects:
  
• Left Business Observer: Read Doug Henwood's unique perspectives on globalization, capitalism, and other topics.
  
• Global Development and Environment (GDAE) Institute at Tufts University: This site contains material on Development Economics & Environment, Energy Policy Economics, and research papers on topics such as "Are Environmental Kuznets Curves Misleading Us?" and "Alternatives to Gross National Product: A Critical Survey."
  
• Sustainable Communities Network: "Imagine what a safe, livable, healthy community might look like. Around the country citizens are coming together to create a vision of what their community might be and to develop steps toward making these visions come true. Alternatively called "healthy", " livable" or sustainable communities, these efforts are integrative, inclusive and participatory. In many communities --large and small, rural and urban -- issues are being addressed in an interconnected manner. They are demonstrating how innovative strategies can produce communities that are more environmentally sound, economically prosperous, and socially equitable."
  
• Ecotrust: "The mission of Ecotrust is to support the emergence of a conservation economy in the coastal temperate rain forest region of North America, which stretches from Northern California to SE Alaska."
  
• 14 Principles of a Conservation Economy: Divided into Environment, Economy, and Equity, these principles are described in concept, and with examples provided for how Ecotrust brings them to life in practice.
  
• $mart Growth Network: Development that serves economy, community, and environment. Arcata has recently joined. A part of the Sustainable Communities Network, "the $mart Growth Network is a growing coalition of developers, planners, government officials, lending institutions, community development organizations, architects, environmentalists and community activists all stakeholders in the development process. By building coalitions and partnerships, developing information and analytical tools and programs and establishing dialogues among development stakeholders, the Smart Growth Network hopes to encourage more environmentally and fiscally responsible land use, growth and development."
  
• The Center for Sustainable Communities: From the Cascadia Community and Environment Institute, University of Washington.
  
• Minnesotans for an Energy-Efficient Economy's 'Sustainable Minnesota' Website: Find out about Minnesota's experiment with ecological tax reform!
  
• Sprawlwatch: The Sprawl Watch Clearinghouse is a resource center which provides information, advice, and referrals on issues related to sprawl and smart growth. The Clearinghouse helps advocates, grassroots organizations, public officials, developers, architects, planners, policymakers and others revitalize existing communities and reduce urban sprawl.
  
• Sprawl-Busters: How to keep the big-box stores out of your community.
  
• Rocky Mountain Institute: Information on the economics of alternative energy and more sustainable economic development.
  
• Sustainable Living Network: "An informal affiliation of people in the United States and around the world who seek to deepen their understanding and practice of sustainable living. "
  
• Center for a New American Dream: Focusing on sustainable production and consumption, "the Center for a New American Dream is a private, not-for-profit organization dedicated to reducing and shifting North American consumption while fostering opportunities for people to lead more secure and fulfilling lives. The organization helps individuals, communities, and businesses establish sustainable practices that will ensure a healthy planet for future generations."
  
• Center for a Sustainable Future: "The Center for a Sustainable Future is designed as a private institution with the goal of bringing together scientists, engineers, and economists to address long-range technological issues arising from the need to achieve sustainable development. Our focus will be on Hawaii, the tropical Pacific and the Pacific Rim."
  
• The New Economics Foundation: "The New Economics Foundation (NEF), founded in 1986, exists to 'build a just and sustainable economy with ideas and actions that put people and the environment first'. NEF challenges those who insist that there is no alternative. NEF promotes practical and creative approaches for a just and sustainable economy."
  
• Rural Economic Policy Program of the Aspen Institute:
  
• GDAE Internet Links: Lots of interesting links to left-of-center material on economics, environment, and development.
  
• The Center for Sustainable Design: Managing eco-design; sustainable product development and design; design aspects of environmental communications; journal of sustainable design.
  
• WTO Symposium of NGOs on Strengthening Complementarities between Trade, Environment and Sustainable Development:
  
• EDF Sustainable Community Kit:
  
• Northwest Policy Center: Dedicated to improving public strategies which foster the vitality of Northwest communities, the economic well-being of the region's people, and the health of the natural environment.
  
• Yahoo Environment and Development Links:
  
• Arcata's Own Marsh Commons Intentional Community: A rare example of a locally self-governed common-pool resource in the U.S. that combines private and common property. The founders of the Marsh Commons have applied a variety of different sustainability principles, including reused building materials and democratic self-governance.
  
• Humboldt Bay Community Currency Project: A LETS project by Paul Dillon. Includes links to other community currency projects.
  
• Dialog: Is State/Local Government Competition for Attracting Development Destructive?
  
• Commentary on the Multinational Agreement on Investment: Interesting site maintained by the group Communication for a Sustainable Future, which includes discussion of the issue of the sustainability impacts of foreign-direct investment by multinational corporations. The MAI was proposed by the OECD in Paris (as of Sept 97).
  
• Multinational Agreement on Investment: Comprehensive anti-MAI site.
  
• Bibliography on the Conservation of Biological Diversity--Biological, Ecological, Economic, and Policy Issues: A very large bibliography!
  
• United Nations Development Programme:
  
• United Nations Environment Programme:
  
• E. F. Schumacher Institute: Web page devoted to the continuing efforts inspired by Schumacher's path-breaking work Small is Beautiful
  
• Misc. Material on Alternative/Appropriate Tech
  
• Ecological Tax Reform:
  
• Bibliography on the Economics of Biodiversity:
  
• Global Futures Foundation: A nice home page on sustainability, linking scientists at the Rocky Mountain Institute with industry and academics.
  
• EPA's Community-Based Environmental Protection Webpage: A webpage devoted to community-based environmental protection and sustainability.
  
• Tietenberg's Sustainable Development Webpage: A nice, comprehensive site that contains an extensive bibliography on sustainable development and on tradable permits.
  
• Communication for a Sustainable Future: This nice site allows you to join a discussion list, read archived material, and provides Internet links.
  
• Trade and Sustainable Development Webpage: Investigate the linkages between international trade and sustainable development.
  
• Environment, Ecology, and Sustainable Development Webpage:
  
• UN Commission on Sustainable Development:
  
• Earthpledge Weblinks:
  
• President's Council on Sustainable Development: Check out what they are doing back east at the White House.
  
• Sustainable Development: A home page index that includes access to the home pages of Communication for a Sustainable Future (CSF) and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), among others.
  
• The World Bank: Find out what the World Bank is up to.
  
• The World Bank's World Development Report: Extensive and comprehensive, each year's report usually focuses on a set of topics.
  
• International Monetary Fund: You can access many of their publications, such as World Economic Outlook, off of their website.
  
• World Bank's Development Education Project: "Bringing sustainable development into the (grade school) classroom." Learning modules for school kids, from your friends at the World Bank.
  
• The Virtual Library on Microcredit:
  
• National Centre for Sustainability: Centred out of Victoria, BC, Canada, the focus here is on deep sustainability, and on a critique of neo-liberal "sustainable development" approaches.
  
• CCAT: Humboldt State's own Campus Center for Appropriate Technology has a homepage which describes their programs and provides links to related internet information sources such as the Alternative Fuels Data Center, the American Solar Energy Society, the Sustainable Energy Technology Centre, among others.
  
• Should the US Impose Limits on Incredibly Stupid &%$#?: From the funny folk at The Onion. Note that this article contains language that some may find offensive.