Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
6.8
3.3
Journals
Sustainability
Special Issues
Sustainability Governance: International Frameworks and Local Contributions with Special Consideration...
sustainability-logo
Submit to Sustainability Review for Sustainability Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

► Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser
share announcement

Sustainability Governance: International Frameworks and Local Contributions with Special Consideration of Mountain Areas

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainability in Geographic Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2022) | Viewed by 27920

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Harald Pechlaner

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Head of Center, Center of Advances Studies, Eurac Research, Italy
Chair in Tourism, Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Germany
Interests: sustainable development; tourism and culture; interdisciplinary analysis and policy
Dr. Stefan Schneiderbauer

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Co-Head of GLOMOS Programme, Global Mountain Safeguard Research (GLOMOS), Institute for Environment and Human Security, United Nations University, Germany
Interests: climate and disaster risk management; social vulnerability and community resilience; sustainable development in mountain regions
Dr. Paola Fontanella Pisa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Programme Associate GLOMOS, Institute for Environment and Human Security, United Nations University, Germany
Interests: cultural and natural heritage; disaster memory and risk perception; social vulnerability and community resilience
Dr. Felix Windegger

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Eurac Research, Center for Advanced Studies, 39100 Bolzano, Italy
Interests: economics and social sciences; socio-ecological economics and policy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue aims at addressing sustainability governance at the crossroads between international frameworks and local contributions, particularly in mountainous regions, focusing on the topics of tourism and natural resource management. The Special Issue reflects the guiding theme of the 1st edition of the Global Mountain Sustainability Forum (GMS Forum), which will take place on October 5–6, 2020, in Sesto/Sexten, Italy. This initiative has been advanced by Eurac Research’s Center for Advanced Studies in collaboration with the United Nations University Institute for Environmental and Human Security (UNU-EHS), and within the framework of their joint Global Mountain Safeguard Research (GLOMOS) programme. This newly established conference series is designed to address challenges concerning sustainability in mountain regions. Mountains are the world’s “water towers”, providing multiple ecosystem services benefitting the livelihoods of communities that inhabit them as well as the adjacent communities. However, mountains are as important as they are susceptible to changing dynamics, and the impact of these changes will determine the future of ecosystem services to both highland and lowland communities. With the purpose of coping with the adverse effects of climate change, in combination with current economic and social changes, it is important to investigate solutions for sustainable governance of mountain areas.  

We welcome contributions from various disciplines, theoretical and empirical oriented research papers, using quantitative or qualitative methods. In this Special Issue, we aim at covering key issues in sustainability governance in mountain regions. Particularly welcomed are topics including (but not limited to):

  • Global developments and critical issues in sustainability, such as climate change, overtourism, demographic change, energy transition, or the COVID-19 pandemic;
  • Natural resources and sustainability, such as integrated catchment management, climate resilience, or supply and demand issues between highlands and lowlands;
  • Tourism and sustainability in mountain areas, such as tourism activities, assessing developments in tourism against sustainability objectives, societal transformation processes related to tourism or cultural sustainability;
  • Sustainable governance and its potentials and limitations,g., successful management of natural resources within the context of competing users, disaster risk reduction within the context of changing climate conditions and increasing touristic activities, sustainable management of natural resources in protected areas, or local empowerment and participation.

The papers submitted and selected for this Special Issue should not have been previously published nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere, and will be subjected to a double-blind peer review process. An article processing charge will apply to articles accepted for publication, though online and on-site participants of the GMS Forum 2020 are entitled to a 50% discount.

For further information, please visit https://gms-forum.eurac.edu/.

Prof. Dr. Harald Pechlaner
Dr. Stefan Schneiderbauer
Dr. Paola Fontanella Pisa
Dr. Felix Windegger
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 governance and its potentials and limitations
  • Sustainability management
  • Mountain areas
  • Resilience
  • Natural resources
  • Protected areas
  • Sustainable Development Goals
  • Sustainable Development Agenda
  • Societal transformation
  • Sustainable development
  • Climate change
  • Overtourism
  • Demographic change
  • Energy transition
  • COVID-19 pandemic
  • Natural resources and sustainability
  • Integrated catchment management
  • Climate resilience
  • Supply and demand issues between highlands and lowlands
  • Tourism and sustainability in mountain areas
  • Societal transformation processes related to tourism
  • Cultural sustainability
  • Successful management of natural resources within the context of competing users
  • Disaster risk reduction within the context of changing climate conditions and increasing touristic activities
  • Sustainable management of natural resources in protected areas
  • Local empowerment and participation

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

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

Published Papers (6 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

13 pages, 267 KiB  
Article
Cultural Sustainability from the Local Perspective: The Example of Transhumance in South Tyrol
by Linda Ghirardello, Maximilian Walder, Michael de Rachewiltz and Greta Erschbamer
Sustainability 2022, 14(15), 9052; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159052 - 23 Jul 2022
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3694
Abstract
This paper seeks to contribute to a better understanding of cultural sustainability in mountain regions by offering perspectives for sustainable governance at the intersection of intangible cultural heritage preservation and local tourism development. For this purpose, the influence of tourism on intangible cultural [...] Read more.
This paper seeks to contribute to a better understanding of cultural sustainability in mountain regions by offering perspectives for sustainable governance at the intersection of intangible cultural heritage preservation and local tourism development. For this purpose, the influence of tourism on intangible cultural heritage was studied in the context of the practice of transhumance, an ancient form of pastoralism. This paper focuses on the case of South Tyrol, Italy, a touristically highly developed region where cross-border transhumance was granted intangible cultural heritage status by UNESCO in 2019. Adopting a qualitative approach, 13 interviews were conducted with cattle and sheep farmers, cultural practitioners, and experts as well as tourism representatives. Highlighting the benefits of including culture in the discussion about sustainability, the paper seeks to inform local governance measures for enhanced cultural heritage preservation and sustainable tourism. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability Governance: International Frameworks and Local Contributions with Special Consideration of Mountain Areas)
23 pages, 954 KiB  
Article
The Integration of Local Actors in Policy Implementation: The Case of Organic Farming in Costa Rica
by Mirjam Gruber
Sustainability 2022, 14(12), 7265; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14127265 - 14 Jun 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2476
Abstract
Like other countries of the world, Costa Rica faced the challenge of dealing with a variety of trade-offs when implementing sustainability goals in agriculture. Very often, economic promotion is in conflict with goals regarding human and environmental health protection. Organic farming practices could [...] Read more.
Like other countries of the world, Costa Rica faced the challenge of dealing with a variety of trade-offs when implementing sustainability goals in agriculture. Very often, economic promotion is in conflict with goals regarding human and environmental health protection. Organic farming practices could provide strategies to overcome some of these trade-offs. However, in Costa Rica, the majority of farmers still relies on conventional farm practices. In this paper, I investigate the potential for a sustainable transformation in Costa Rica’s agriculture by focusing on organic farming policies. I shed light on the role local actors and organizations play in this process compared to other actor types. I argue that local actors are “the agents of change” in these processes, as these are the target groups of organic farming policies and are the ones who are asked to change their farm practices. Based on survey data and network analysis, I was able to illustrate how differently integrated local actors are compared to other actor types in Costa Rica’s implementation of organic farming policies. Local actors show interest and willingness to further participate in land-use implementation processes when institutional barriers are alleviated, and further promotion instruments are available. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability Governance: International Frameworks and Local Contributions with Special Consideration of Mountain Areas)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 455 KiB  
Article
The Relevance of Intangible Cultural Heritage and Traditional Languages for the Tourism Experience: The Case of Ladin in South Tyrol
by Serena Lonardi and Yvonne Unterpertinger
Sustainability 2022, 14(5), 2729; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052729 - 25 Feb 2022
Cited by 28 | Viewed by 7020
Abstract
Cultural tourists have become increasingly interested in intangible cultural heritage and in minority, peripheral areas. This paper will focus on the ICH of minority communities, with a closer look at minority languages, considering the Ladin communities of South Tyrol (Italy). This study uses [...] Read more.
Cultural tourists have become increasingly interested in intangible cultural heritage and in minority, peripheral areas. This paper will focus on the ICH of minority communities, with a closer look at minority languages, considering the Ladin communities of South Tyrol (Italy). This study uses a qualitative methodology—16 semi-structured interviews with German- and Italian-speaking tourists in Val Pusteria, with a video presenting a real-life situation in Ladin. It reveals that, although culture is not the main motivation to travel to South Tyrol, tourists are fascinated by tangible and intangible aspects of the South Tyrolean culture, such as the architecture, traditional lifestyle, events, practices, dresses, and the language. What is particularly interesting is the role that cultural sustainability plays for the region: the successful maintenance of traditions, including the traditional languages—dialect and Ladin—are mentioned with affection. Tourism practitioners in Val Pusteria and the neighboring Ladin valleys should consider experiences in and with the Ladin language as fun and interesting for tourists but should also provide interpretational and educational support. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability Governance: International Frameworks and Local Contributions with Special Consideration of Mountain Areas)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

24 pages, 870 KiB  
Article
Will COVID-19 Boost Sustainable Tourism: Wishful Thinking or Reality?
by Verena Tauber and Thomas Bausch
Sustainability 2022, 14(3), 1686; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031686 - 1 Feb 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3919
Abstract
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, scholars have presented publications discussing a shift of tourism towards a higher level of sustainability. Many argue that in 2020, people were not able to travel as usual and therefore could discover the added value of [...] Read more.
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, scholars have presented publications discussing a shift of tourism towards a higher level of sustainability. Many argue that in 2020, people were not able to travel as usual and therefore could discover the added value of a sustainable vacation through new experiences in new, often domestic destinations. Using a quantitative online panel-based study in five European countries and the USA, we looked for evidence supporting such arguments. We analyzed demographics, the observed change in destination choice, and important criteria when selecting a different destination, including potential effects of the pandemic on traveling. We uncovered possible impacts of the 2020 vacation experience on future traveling and looked at both travel push factors and social values of non-travelers and travelers for explanation. Overall, we could not find any evident signals for the pandemic to be a trigger for more sustainable traveling, nor a long-term change in future demand. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability Governance: International Frameworks and Local Contributions with Special Consideration of Mountain Areas)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 5083 KiB  
Article
Transformation of Nature Protection Institutions in the North Caucasus: From a State Monopoly of Governance to Multi-Actor Management
by Alexey Gunya, Alexey Lysenko, Izolda Lysenko and Ludmila Mitrofanenko
Sustainability 2021, 13(21), 12145; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132112145 - 3 Nov 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2350
Abstract
The paper analyzes the state and dynamics of key actors and institutions that regulate the use of resources within the protected areas of the North Caucasus, using the examples of the Teberda Biosphere Reserve and the Elbrus National Park. The network of protected [...] Read more.
The paper analyzes the state and dynamics of key actors and institutions that regulate the use of resources within the protected areas of the North Caucasus, using the examples of the Teberda Biosphere Reserve and the Elbrus National Park. The network of protected areas created in the North Caucasus during the Soviet period relied on government support, and the participation of the local population in nature conservation was very limited. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the demonopolization of state land laws, new actors emerged, such as the local population and business. This has led to an exacerbation of the conflict between the tasks of nature conservation and the interests of business and local communities. The introduction of market mechanisms and the commercialization of the tourism sector threaten the state of protected natural areas (PAs) and require effective ways of land matters regulation. The paper analyzes the question of whether the PA system created in the Soviet era should continue to be exclusively the privilege of the state using a centralized approach to management? The contradictions in legislation and conflicts of nature management have cast doubt on the effectiveness of the system of environmental institutions inherited from the Soviet period. One of the solutions could be the actualization of environmental legislation, bringing it in line with civil and land regulations, as well as the wide involvement of the local communities and the public in the evaluation of economic and legal projects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability Governance: International Frameworks and Local Contributions with Special Consideration of Mountain Areas)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

22 pages, 3406 KiB  
Article
Scrutinising Multidimensional Challenges in the Maloti-Drakensberg (Lesotho/South Africa)
by Jess L. Delves, V. Ralph Clark, Stefan Schneiderbauer, Nigel P. Barker, Jörg Szarzynski, Stefano Tondini, João de Deus Vidal and Andrea Membretti
Sustainability 2021, 13(15), 8511; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13158511 - 30 Jul 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 6546
Abstract
The Maloti-Drakensberg (MD) is the largest and highest-elevation mountain system in southern Africa. Covering 40,000 km2 and reaching 3500 m, the MD provides a range of ecosystem services (ES) to the entire southern African region—benefitting diverse users and extending well beyond the [...] Read more.
The Maloti-Drakensberg (MD) is the largest and highest-elevation mountain system in southern Africa. Covering 40,000 km2 and reaching 3500 m, the MD provides a range of ecosystem services (ES) to the entire southern African region—benefitting diverse users and extending well beyond the mountains. Rapid socioecological change threatens the provision of ES and presents multidimensional challenges to sustainable development. However, the continued land degradation and persisting socioeconomic problems indicate that development policy has not been effective in tackling these issues. In this paper, a multidisciplinary literature review forms the basis of a discussion which takes an ES framing to scrutinise the multidimensional social, political, economic and cultural issues in the study area. Three critical management systems are presented, and their associated ES are discussed, namely, water transfer, rangelands and conservation and tourism. In particular, the diversity of ES uses and values in the MD is considered. The results reveal the main drivers of continued unsustainable development and highlight important information gaps. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability Governance: International Frameworks and Local Contributions with Special Consideration of Mountain Areas)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-6
Back to TopTop