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A systems perspective of waste management allows an integrated approach not only to the five basic functional elements of waste management itself (generation, reduction, collection, recycling, disposal), but to the problems arising at the interfaces with the management of energy, nature conservation, environmental protection, economic factors like unemployment and productivity, etc. This monograph separately describes present practices and the problems to be solved in each of the functional areas of waste management and at the important interfaces. Strategies for more efficient control are then proposed from a systems perspective. Systematic and objective means of solving problems become possible leading to optimal management and a positive contribution to economic development, not least through resource conservation. India is the particular context within which waste generation and management are discussed. In considering waste disposal techniques, special attention is given to sewage and radioactive wastes.

In the last decade the importance of natural resources for a sustainable agricultural development has been increasingly discussed on international fora and conferences. Only recently the erosion of genetic resources and its consequences for the global welfare in general and for agricultural production in particular were introduced into the public discussion. But since the 1930s systematical survey, collection, and conservation of plant genetic resources have been under way. Today, the conservation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA) is a complex international and national system. While the political discussion is focusing around the issue of “fair and equitable sharing” of benefits derived from the use of PGRFA, an intensive analysis of the costs of conservation activities has been neglected. This paper identifies the actors in the conservation of PGRFA, analyses the costs which arise by conserving PGRFA on the private, national and global level, and will assess the losers and winners in a theoretical concept.

Local support is fundamental in natural resources management (NRM). However, recent studies indicate that NRM in protected areas in developing countries is often faced with local resistance due to its impacts on livelihoods. The purpose of this paper is to examine local attitudes – positive and negative responses – towards NRM in protected areas and implications of NRM benefits on local support for conservation of protected areas.

A quantitative research method was used for this study. Structured questionnaire survey was administered to 310 respondents across four case study communities – Abrafo, Mesomagor, Adadientem and Nuamakrom – around the Kakum Conservation Area (KCA), Ghana. χ2 test and logistic regression were used to analyse the data with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software.

Findings showed positive attitudes towards NRM in protected areas (85.9 per cent) and high support for conservation of KCA (86.5 per cent). Respondents recognised the importance of the KCA in managing natural resources especially forest and water resources. Positive attitudes towards conservation of KCA were largely influenced by receipt of socio-economic benefits from the KCA, in terms of employment, income and involvement in KCA management. However, those excluded from socio-economic benefits from the KCA also expressed positive attitudes towards conservation, suggesting that support for NRM transcends socio-economic benefits. On the other hand, local people recognised the challenges associated with NRM in protected areas such as increased farm raids by wildlife, loss of access to timber and non-timber forest products.

This paper has revealed that although socio-economic benefits from NRM in protected areas influence local people’s support for conservation, local knowledge of the environmental benefits is equally important. The depth of local knowledge of NRM in the KCA is dependent on educational status and level of involvement of respondents in the KCA in terms of employment, and the effectiveness of educational campaigns by the park officials. Therefore, in the absence of clear development programmes from government and park officials to educate and involve local people in NRM, it appears the conservation objective upon which NRM in protected areas are designed may not be realised.

Colleges and universities that are interested in reducing their environmental impacts are faced with the difficulties of providing incentives for sustainable behavior and attempting to quantify the gains that policies would provide. In this paper, we use a case study to demonstrate the benefits as well as the difficulties encountered with one type of incentive program, a revolving loan fund. During the five‐year tenure of the case study fund, the program yielded a 34 percent return on conservation investments, with associated decreases in resource usage, ambient air emissions, and water consumption. Using a past damage function study, we estimate that the reduced emissions result in over US$100,000 of avoided environmental externalities per year. Although the economic returns and environmental benefits were significant, participation declined rapidly after the initial rollout of the program and relatively non‐technical conservation measures were generally the focus of projects. Through surveys of both participating and non‐participating facility directors, we determined that lack of knowledge of effective conservation measures and limitations in staff availability were the key barriers preventing more extensive participation. Increased flow of information, through such actions as frequent facility director correspondence and independent energy audits of facilities, would be likely to encourage sustainable resource consumption in future applications of revolving loan funds and other campus greening efforts.

Introduction Summary: Archaeological heritages are very important attractions and are highly promoted as a tourism product. Due to the negative consequences of high visitor flows and lack of management, the conservation and development of archaeological heritages raises concerns for destinations aiming at sustainable archaeological heritage management.

Purpose: This study provides an extensive literature review for archaeological heritage management to emphasise the importance of bringing heritage sites to tourism in a sustainable way, Also aims to provide a guideline for destinations suffering the archeological heritage management issues or for developing tourism destination to prevent themselves suffering from the same issues. Accordingly, the literature review is divided into three sections: the role and impacts of tourism on archaeological heritage; sustainable tourism development; and planning are mentioned in the first section. Then, planning for preservation and conservation activities for archaeological heritage and international heritage protection and conservation programmes are mentioned in the second section. Finally, the literature provides the content of tourism planning and policy for sustainable archaeological heritages.

Findings: Tourism uses archaeological assets to attract tourists and tourism damages archaeological sites when there is high demand, lack of information and control. But, in general, the relationship between tourism and archaeological heritage is strongly interlinked and need each other. And without the community and stakeholder’s involvement, archeological heritage management will not be successfully achieved.

Originality/Value: Tourism authorities and archaeologists should work together and develop practical ideas for archaeological heritage. Highly promoted and demanded archaeological heritage resources cannot be part of sustainable tourism development without serious conservation and conservation efforts or minimal/inappropriate recoveries due to government lack of care and supervision, so these valuable treasures are doomed to irreversible damage.

The quest for alternative approaches to tourism has introduced ecotourism. However, in many instances, ecotourism becomes “green washing” process where revenue generation becomes prominent and protection of environmental assets is kept aside. The present article attempts to examine the impact of ecotourism policy on conservation in Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary (BKWS), Odisha, India.

Using social exchange theory (SET), the article examines whether ecotourism reduces the dependency of the local communities on natural resources and also the impact of ecotourism on conservation of biodiversity in BKWS.

The study using a mixed method approach finds that ecotourism in BKWS is able to provide economic benefits to the villagers. The economic benefits from diversified employment opportunities are able to motivate locals to conserve biodiversity. However, the socio-cultural impact is hardly experienced by the villagers.

By examining the linkage of conservation with community development in a diverse society like India, the paper finds the linkage of conservation with development. The paper has also widened the existing ecotourism literature of India and Odisha. The study adopted SET so as to get a comprehensive understanding at the ground level, forming the basis for future research and further conceptual development.

The results of the study will help policy makers to develop an effective conservation strategy by integrating tourism, conservation and sustainable development of the locals so as to make ecotourism a successful approach in BKWS.

For a growing ecotourism site like BKWS, the current study is the first to assess impact of ecotourism on conservation and local people.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of narratives in biodiversity reports as a mechanism to raise the awareness of biodiversity’s importance. By classifying biodiversity narratives into 14 categories of biodiversity values this paper investigates whether the explanations for biodiversity conservation used by UK local councils are line with shallow, intermediate or deep philosophies.

This study used content analysis to examine the disclosures on biodiversity’s importance in the biodiversity action plans published by UK local councils. The narratives were first identified and then allocated into 14 categories of biodiversity value. Then, they were ascribed to either shallow (resource conservation, human welfare ecology and preservationism), intermediate (environmental stewardship and moral extensionism) or deep philosophies.

UK local councils explained biodiversity’s importance mainly in terms of its instrumental value, in line with shallow philosophies such as human welfare ecology and resource conservation. UK local councils sought to raise awareness of biodiversity’ importance by highlighting values that are important for the stakeholders that are able to contribute towards biodiversity conservation such as landowners, residents, visitors, business and industries. The authors also found that local councils’ biodiversity strategies were strongly influenced by 2010, the International Year of Biodiversity.

This paper is one of the few accounting studies that engages with the literature on environmental ethics to investigate biodiversity. In line with stakeholder theory, it indicates that explanations on biodiversity’s importance based on anthropocentric philosophies are considered more effective in informing those stakeholders whose behaviour needs to be changed to improve biodiversity conservation.

Examines the history of US conservation police agencies and notes how changes in social values and recreational activities have increased the demands for the protection of wildlife and other natural resources. This has led to the creation of departments of natural resources (DNRs). DNRs have placed an increasingly heavier burden on conservation police departments and have demanded a wider range of tasks and responsibilities of them. These more general policing tasks have, in turn, cast the formerly law enforcement‐oriented conservation police into a more generalist police‐like posture.

The global market failure problem of international biodiversity loss can be mitigated through the use of trade interventions or by the creation of new international markets and institutions for the global environmental benefits generated by the biodiversity conserved by host countries. However, it may be difficult to reach a mutually agreed “trade for nature” deal when the biodiversity in the host country is threatened mainly by habitat conversion. On the other hand, if the threat is from over‐exploitation, unilateral trade interventions by the recipient countries are also likely. Although there may be strong incentives for the latter countries to negotiate an international biodiversity agreement, if such incentives exist, then these countries may act unilaterally to compensate host countries for their conservation efforts. Rich countries therefore need convincing that they are likely to gain from reducing global biodiversity loss.

The study aims to investigate the differences among urban and rural consumers in terms of their energy and water sustainable consumption behaviour levels and drivers and also empirically blueprint conceptual frameworks highlighting urban and rural consumer drivers to consume sustainably.

This research follows an exploratory design using a qualitative approach; 14 in-depth interviews followed by one focus group were conducted with urban consumers; on the other hand, 18 in-depth interviews followed by one focus group were conducted with rural consumers.

The findings show that no differences exist among urban and rural consumers in terms of both their sustainable consumption levels and their drivers to consume sustainably; such findings were encapsulated in the form of one conceptual framework pertinent to both urban and rural consumers; it has the following relevant factors: consumers’ attitudes toward conservation, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, self-preference, public media influence, perceived economic value and perceived moral obligation to be relevant antecedents of conservation behaviour, which – in turn – drives sustainable purchase behaviours with the moderating effect of socio-demographic variables.

This paper contributes to extant literature as it provides evidence for the drivers of sustainable consumption behaviours of urban versus rural consumers in emerging countries; it also tentatively answers the question of whether the socio-demographic variables infer a difference in consumers’ sustainable consumption; finally, it studies sustainable consumption from a novel perspective with a focus on the relationship between its two pillars.