Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
The challenge of sustainability assessment
As part of the research process, researchers conducted sustainability assessments of the case
studies. This was necessary to assess whether the transition processes identified were
leading towards greater sustainability in agriculture. Within the project as a whole,
sustainability was identified as a process rather than an end result and one that is best
assessed at regional level, reflecting the resources and needs of the region in question.
Regional sustainability of agriculture was, thus, conceptualized as a quality of the regional
farming system that emerges from processes of adaptation by members of the agricultural
production and consumption network who respond to the changing needs and preferences
of consumers and citizens. Sustainability assessments were conducted at regional level, in
collaboration with the NSPGs.
Within the transition literature, sustainability assessment (SA) is perceived as a
participatory, cyclical and transformative process, contributing to a clear understanding of
context-specific sustainability problems and to the identification of desired ways of
achieving solutions. The technique of
integrated sustainability assessment
also plays an
important role in transition theories, as a constituent part of the integration of different
research disciplines with each other and with stakeholders' knowledge (Weaver and
Rotmans, 2006). In such a participatory process, social learning and non-linear knowledge
production are the focal points, while sustainability is perceived as a normative orientation
(Rotmans and Loorbach, 2010). Through the active involvement of stakeholders, SA aims
to achieve:
A shared perception of sustainability problems;
The development of a vision for a sustainable future;
The pursuit of possible solutions; and
Learning about key relationships and ways of reframing problems and solutions.
By definition, a transition is about structural change of a regime to a more sustainable
future. The need for a more concrete account of sustainability assessment is seen in
different aspects of an emerging transition study, such as how a niche is more sustainable
than the incumbent regime; how the various scenarios are assessed in terms of
sustainability; and what learning aspects emerge from the SA of a transition.
European countries, regions and initiatives usually have different sustainability
priorities. This variability calls for flexibility to be systematically incorporated into the
assessment process. A common methodology must be adaptable to incorporate the wide
range of economic, social, environmental, administrative and cultural circumstances found
across Europe (Knickel
et al.
, 2009) and allow for a context-dependent selection and/or
adaptation of indicators.
However, there is still a high level of criticism over the attempt to create an 'objective'
sustainability assessment using elaborate indicator systems. The meticulous nature of the
process tends to obscure the fact that any sustainability assessment is a series of trade-offs
from both within and across the sustainability dimensions. It is the society, and not the
experts, who should decide on the trade-offs. The latter approach, however, attributes more
weight to the issue of representation in participatory procedures.
Based on the above arguments, a procedure for SA in emerging transitions was
developed. Through a consultation process between researchers and stakeholders, the main
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