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The National Library of Greece (NLG) was founded in 1832 and since 1903 it had been housed at the Vallianeio building, a landmark in the center of Athens. With a history of nearly two centuries and significant collections, the library moved its headquarters to its new building at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in 2018. This transfer marks its transition to a new era, a restart for the library and an opportunity for upgrades, improvements and expansion of its services, redefinition of its role and connection to society. In this context, the conservation department contributed greatly to this program, to the successful transfer of collections and paved the way for its upgraded role at its new facilities.

This paper reflects on the transition program and part of the projects executed, in terms of expectations and the new reality, under the scope of conservation of collections'. With a critical view, the authors present the Conservation Department's contribution during relocation and the transition's aftermath on the reality of their everyday professional routine.

Conservators' role emerged during this transition. Lessons learned, new challenges, opportunities and growth in conservation actions, improved communication with departmental liaisons; and targeted communication with the public and end users.

The NLG designed and undertook a broad and complicated transition program under a collaborative scheme between the public and private sectors. Time, budget and human resource limitations did not allow for in-depth documentation and research on the collection status prior to transfer.

The transition of the NLG was a multidimensional program with short and long-term outcomes. The project design and on time and budget execution provided a new set of standards and services for the library and re-established its connections with the public. As such, this case study can contribute to a better understanding and management of actions and expectations in related large-scale projects.

In Europe, as in other developed regions of the world, formal protected areas (PA) are, almost by definition, conservation islands within a wider landscape of intensive farming, towns, industry and transport links. The recognised need for “more, bigger, better and joined” implies the need for complementary approaches. The purpose of this paper is to examine some innovative funding and delivery mechanisms in the UK and their strengths – and weaknesses – compared to the formal system of PA.

Building on recent research undertaken for the UK Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) the HLF landscape partnership (LP) programme is described and related to other area-based approaches including the Wildlife Trust’s Living Landscapes, the Futurescapes programme of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the UK government’s Nature Improvement Areas (NIA).

LPs represent an increasingly important vehicle for securing conservation of the natural and cultural heritage alongside the formal system of designated PA. Their reliance upon local initiative, community engagement and multi-agency participation presents significant advantages. The strength of the LP approach is that it is “bottom up” and in some ways opportunistic.

Non-tax funding of innovative approaches to landscape governance presents significant opportunity for natural and cultural heritage conservation, particularly in their capacity to mobilise local enthusiasm and support. However, it fits also with neo-liberal approaches which seek to transfer to the “third sector” responsibilities previously the province of local and national government.

This paper is one of a very limited number of studies of developed-country LPs. It widens the concept of “PA” beyond formal IUCN categories and indicates the potential for innovations in funding and governance.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the feasibility of adopting a market‐based land use model, Transfer of Development Rights (TDR), which is very popular in America and other countries as a positive land use control mechanism for conservation, in an evolving socialist land economy, namely China.

This paper utilizes a case study approach, supplemented by a cost‐benefit model, to estimate the feasibility of establishing a TDR model in Chongqing, China.

From the analysis, it is found that a market‐based land use mechanism can serve to maximize the benefits of all parties and can balance the interests between development pressures and conservation needs. However, this is based on a number of conditions, including: that a well‐developed legal framework should be set up, to clearly delineate property rights; that a good and enforceable planning system should be in place; and that a mature land market mechanism should be developed that allows open market prices to be realized in the trading of development rights.

This case study is based on a hypothetical situation of one case. More data are needed to support the argument in the future.

Conservation is a major concern for the local governments in China, given the recent high speed economic growth. A model that can balance development pressure, while allowing the market to compensate fully for the infringement of property rights in the process of urban regeneration, is worthy of the authority's attention in future policy formulation.

This paper shows that the society as a whole can strike a balance between the need for economic development and conservation of historic sites, provided some conditions can be met.

This paper fulfills an identified need to study the establishment of a market‐based land use model in the conservation policy of land in China.

For more than three decades, researchers have been searching for evidence of corporate economic, social and environmental sustainability, the holy grail of corporate success in a socially and environmentally conscious world of the future. The vast majority of entities that researchers have investigated have focussed on the primary goal of profit maximisation, with only vaguely articulated (if any) social and environmental targets. Very little research has been undertaken to expose the inner workings of organisations that are striving primarily to improve environmental outcomes within a commercial setting. The purpose of this paper is to expose the inside details of an organisation that tried but failed, and highlights the role of power and politics in its demise.

The “processual” or “contextualist” (Burns, 2000, p. 568) methodology adopted in this investigation has facilitated the interpretation and understanding of complex inter-relationships existing amongst key management personnel. The method steps undertaken included observation and documentation of organisational strategic and operational decision-making practices over a period of 22 months and the examination and analysis of over 800 documents prepared either by or about the organisation.

Examining the inter-relationships of power and politics amongst key players during a period of significant change revealed an intense struggle for corporate survival between two management groups: the original “environmentalist” managers who prepared the entity for listing on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX); and, the introduced “economic rationalist” managers who guided it through the post listing phase. A failure to effectively transition the power held over resources, decision-making and meanings from the old to the new managers proved to significantly challenge the organisation and possibly contributed to its ultimate demise. Some important lessons were highlighted, particularly the need to develop and establish shared understandings. It is suggested that for a business to move closer to being sustainable, rather than allowing one of the existing paradigms to dominate, a new business model needs to emerge.

The practical implementation of conservation activities on a large commercial scale is a controversial notion. The investigation of this unique case through a period of significant change represents an important experiment in the quest for sustainability and reveals valuable lessons that may guide other organisations that follow in its wake.

The purpose of this paper is to develop an integrated management structure for the identification and evaluation of Palestine’s heritage, although the unending Israeli occupation poses a huge, multi-faceted constraint. Necessarily, the approach chosen considers aptly the local culture, values, dynamics and context, assimilating the significance of a broader range of different, diverse historical and cultural resources with a variety of meanings, tangible and otherwise, across various sections of the population.

A multi-technique strategy emphasized the combination of between-technique triangulation in the implementation to enhance and improve substantially the related internal legitimacy of the investigation. A thorough exploration was executed via field investigation survey, meetings with the local communities and conservation questionnaires. Equally useful was the second method employed to gain valuable information on the transformation of conservation activities in highly diverse geological and cultural cases in the USA, France and Egypt.

This research consequently produced a much needed, important approach for the recognition, assessment and administration of Palestine’s ancient cultural assets with respect to native culture, standards, non-static aspects and boundaries.

The study assists the authorities and decision makers in developing mechanisms for the management of the cultural heritage that would stop the expansion of Israeli settlements as a form of non-violent resistance.

The paper seeks to deal with vernacular roofing practices within the North York Moors National Park.

Initially the paper carries out a literature review of the geography and geology of the area and identifies what makes it physically unique. The paper then examines the development of various roofing materials, including thatch, stone slates and pantiles with case studies of old practice and modern methods from around the Park.

Roofing styles are simplistic and have steered away from the intricate in favour of the indigenous or readily available. The paper demonstrates the much‐regionalised nature of the roofing materials and recognises this as one of the special cultural features worthy of conservation.

The results are limited to the North York Moors National Park but the approach taken could be extended to other conservation areas.

The results of the research will benefit those involved in the conservation of vernacular buildings in the North York Moors National Park.

The paper calls for additional guidance for roofers and specifiers on traditional vernacular techniques and for existing funding under the Environmental Stewardship Scheme to be extended to include rural communities in National Parks.

The contradiction and conflict between grassland conservation and economic development are prominent in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP) with its fragile environment and ecosystem. How to promote sustainable grazing in the plateau without hurting the economic welfare of local residents is a key challenge facing the Chinese government. This study explores the potential of market-based grassland conservation policies by evaluating consumer preferences and valuations for forage–livestock balance certification labeled yak products.

This study adopts a choice experiment with four attributes of yak meat, including forage–livestock balance certification, feeding type, age at slaughter and price. A sample size of 2,999 respondents from Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Guangzhou and Chengdu was collected by a professional online survey company.

The result reveals that urban Chinese consumers are willing to pay highest price premiums for forage–livestock balance certified yak meat, followed by grass-fed claim labeled meat. Consumers on average place negative valuations for grain-fed claims, meat from yak slaughtered above 2 and 4 years old. Heterogeneous analysis indicates that individuals who are female, younger, married, and better educated, and with above median income, Tibet travel or yak consumption experience, are more receptive to the forage–livestock balance certification.

It is the first study to explore demand-driven mechanisms for grassland conservation by focusing on consumer valuation for the forage–livestock balance certification.

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), set specific targets for halting biodiversity loss, including the need to establish 10 per cent of coastal/marine areas conserved through, among other things, well‐connected systems of protected areas by 2020. The reality is that whereas nearly 15 per cent of land is protected, just over 1 per cent of marine space is similarly protected. The challenge is to reach “a global representative system” of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), recognizing that countries need to establish cooperative mechanisms at ecoregion level. The purpose of this paper is to address the options and trends for countries to develop transboundary cooperation through MPAs.

The authors address several case studies, focusing on political, governance and financing frameworks.

The main findings revealed that countries use MoU, MoA or Joint Declaration supported on international conventions as the WHC, Ramsar Convention and CMS. Governance models seem to include political/management/technical levels, with political decisions translated into action plans carried out by joint committees, supported by national institutions and scientific/technical boards. Also the involvement of civil society in management is a growing driving force. Financing transboundary MPAs is going through an evolutionary process, from an exclusive binomial national budgets/UNEP‐GEF to a wider financial net through ecotourism income and private donors.

The different solutions found point out myriad possibilities where transboundary cooperation is envisaged. States can benefit from the experiences already acquired to jointly achieve the target of protecting 10 per cent of the marine environment by 2020.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the current nature and content of biodiversity reporting practices adopted by English local councils. By adopting a multi-theoretical framework that relies on economic and social theories such as agency, stakeholder, legitimacy and institutional theories, this study also aims to investigate the factors that explain the extent of biodiversity disclosure provided by local councils.

This study uses a self-constructed disclosure index to analyse the biodiversity-related information published in the official websites of 351 English local councils. A multivariate analysis was conducted to analyse the association between local councils’ characteristics and biodiversity disclosure.

This study shows that the information disclosed on local biodiversity is limited and does not allow the interested stakeholders to get a comprehensive picture of the current status of local biodiversity. It also provides evidence that the level of biodiversity disclosure is significantly associated with the level of local council’s population, the presence of councillors from environmentally oriented parties and environmental non-governmental organisations operating in the local council area, poor biodiversity management practices and local councils’ visibility.

This study is one of the few accounting studies that provides a comprehensive analysis of biodiversity disclosure by analysing its nature and content and investigating the factors associated with such disclosure. It extends agency, stakeholder, institutional and legitimacy theories, by showing that local councils use voluntary disclosures to satisfy the informational needs of the main stakeholders and to assure that their strategies and practices conform to the values and expectations of the community they represent.