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Governance for sustainability: knowledge integration and multi-actor dimensions in risk management

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  • Sustainability science: bridging the gap between science and society
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Abstract

Sustainability has many dimensions, including various aspects of environmental, social and economic sustainability. This paper proposes an analytical framework of risk-related governance for sustainability, based on literature review, focusing on two dimensions—knowledge integration and multi-actor governance. Knowledge integration necessitates wider coverage of predicted and anticipated risks and information on those risks. Multi-actor governance necessitates mechanisms that enable cooperation among actors. The relevance of this analytical framework is then checked using concrete cases of governance for reducing emission from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+), and the possible case of governance for sustainable phosphorus management.

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Notes

  1. For a formal definition and the relationship between risk and resilience see Scholz et al. (2011).

  2. Writing of this section was supported by P. Krütli, M. Stauffacher, F.S. Brand, R. Cors and Q.B. Le.

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Correspondence to Hideaki Shiroyama.

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Handled by Kensuke Fukushi, The University of Tokyo, Japan.

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Shiroyama, H., Yarime, M., Matsuo, M. et al. Governance for sustainability: knowledge integration and multi-actor dimensions in risk management. Sustain Sci 7 (Suppl 1), 45–55 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-011-0155-z

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