Title: Perceptions and risks in the search for a sustainable world: a model-based approach

Authors: Bert J.M. de Vries

Addresses: National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), PO Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands

Abstract: The concept of sustainable development is becoming more and more common in environmental, policy and business circles. Yet it is difficult to operationalise, and when operationalised, it often reflects a narrow disciplinary and/or thematic background and value spectrum. In this paper, we present an integrated assessment model, TARGETS, with which some aspects of the long-term dynamics of the global system are explored. In this exploration, we introduce explicitly uncertainties stemming from different positions viz-a-viz large controversies by implementing divergent cultural perspectives. The results give an indication of the risks involved in adhering to certain combinations of worldviews and management/policy styles.

Keywords: cultural perspectives; global modelling; integrated assessment.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSD.2001.001560

International Journal of Sustainable Development, 2001 Vol.4 No.4, pp.434-453

Published online: 04 Jul 2003 *

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