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In this paper, we rely on the gold price boom cycle from 2002-2012 to examine whether illegal and informal gold mining can improve the livelihoods of the local population. Our analysis is indicative of a strong positive impact on household income and expenditures. However, we do not observe improvements in long-term aspects of living standards, such as housing quality or asset ownership.

Paper long abstract:

In recent decades, illegal and informal gold mining has become, at the expense of substantial environmental degradation, an important economic activity in southeast Peru. Not much is known, however, about how the living standards of the local population are affected by this activity. In this paper, we rely on the gold price boom cycle from 2002-2012 to examine whether illegal and informal gold mining can improve the livelihoods of the local population. Using geospatial data on land degradation due to illegal and informal mining in Madre de Dios, we identify households in districts that have experienced substantial land degradation from these sectors and compare them with households in districts that haven’t. Our analysis is indicative of a strong positive impact on household income and expenditures, with increases close to 32 and 50 percent, respectively. However, we observe that these gains have not yielded improvements in long-term aspects of living standards, such as housing quality or asset ownership. Our results are robust to changes in the classification of households affected by illegal and informal mining, alternative specifications, and changes in the baseline and endline settings.

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Drawing on longitudinal studies and experiments, particularly in the Northwestern-Himalayas region, the paper establishes a link between innovation, commitment, and capabilities within value chains. It underscores the importance of fostering innovation and commitment to innovation to strengthen value chains and mitigate the effects of crises.

Paper long abstract:

In today's globalized era, we've become interconnected nodes of value webs within a vast network of value chains. Food cultivated in one corner of the globe finds its way to tables in distant lands. Climate fluctuations triggered by various factors worldwide have far-reaching impacts. Conflicts between nations can disrupt shipping lanes that span the entire planet. Semiconductor manufacturing in one nation ripples through the automotive sector across continents. The intricate web linking disparate regions is undeniable, firmly established, and widely recognized.

Based on longitudinal observations and analyses conducted by the authors across various research studies (including contributions to preceding HDCA conferences), this paper offers a comprehensive overview of diverse forms of crises. It examines these crises from multiple perspectives, including their policy implications, effects, socioeconomic repercussions in the aftermath, longitudinal impacts on affected populations, and differential effects on various income groups with distinct opportunities and capabilities (Nussbaum & Sen, 1993; Alkire, 2005; Robeyns, 2006).

While conducting these experiments and corroborating the findings with existing literature, it became evident that there is a notable absence of discussion on a crucial element and link that is essential for aiding communities and societies in navigating through turbulent times. The discovered connection between innovation, commitment, capabilities, and value chains, as revealed through the experiments, holds significant promise for addressing crises. Recognizing this as a research gap, the paper outlines the following research questions:

RQ1: How innovation is improving capabilities of value chain partners in times of crisis?

RQ2: What are the forms of commitment for driving innovation?

This paper seeks to contribute to the capability approach literature by highlighting how a commitment to innovation within value chains enhances the capabilities of the partners involved. While existing literature extensively discusses the connection between innovation and crises, and the role of innovation in aiding individuals, businesses, and societies during turbulent times, this paper expands upon this discourse by underscoring the significance of innovation in enhancing the capabilities of value chain partners and the importance of commitment in driving these innovations forward. Drawing on self-conducted experiments in the Northwestern-Himalayas (Sengar et al., 2020; Sengar et al., 2022; Dwivedi et al., 2022), this paper establishes the correlation between innovation, commitment, capabilities, and value chains.

The picture this paper extends is a part of several solutions which have been worked upon by the authors and their associated researchers identifying the problems associated with different crises as well as presenting the solutions to such problems. This process of identification of problems and finding solutions has been longitudinal in nature and several experiments have been conducted. These experiments involved socio-cultural-economic understanding of the people concerned along with the requirement of infusion of technology and technological interventions. Quite a few of these experiments have been set in physical form and commercial and economic viability of these experiments along with the positive effect they have brought in has been recorded and has become a part of the reports which are now being implemented by the government agencies at a larger level.

All the experiments, the associated learning and the relationship of all the learning with different kinds of crises observed and faced benchmarked against the philosophy of ‘capability’ and ‘capability approach’ contributed in developing an understanding that if there is commitment towards innovation and developing the capabilities of the entire value chains then a concentricity (Ryman & Roach, 2016) associated with specific parts of the value chain with respect to initiating innovation evolves, which may traverse throughout and strengthen every member with capability development in due course of process which may also develop an immunity for crises as and when they come.

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Does changing our behavior to be more sustainable make us worse-off? In this paper I provide a conceptual capabilitarian account of "at least as well-off-ness" and how, and under what circumstances, this is compatible with (drastic) changes to high-emitting behavior. I show how unsustainable means can be substituted for sustainable ones and how this need not lead to a capability-loss

Paper long abstract:

Reducing greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions quickly enough likely requires people, especially the global upper-, and middle-classes, to change their high-emitting lifestyles. Such changes are often framed as a sacrifice or loss – justified to safeguard the planets habitability, but a loss, nonetheless. By using the capability approach (CA) to evaluate people’s losses and gains, I provide a conceptual account of GHG-reducing lifestyle changes which can leave people just as, if not better-off. I call this goal of reducing emissions while leaving people at least as well-off: ‘sustainable prosperity’.

My paper provides a capabilitarian account of how sustainable prosperity can be conceptualized and under what conditions it is, and is not, possible. I firstly show how it can be robustly defined within the CA, secondly, employ a variation of Sen’s (1985) early formal account of the CA to demonstrate how it is possible since GHG-intensive means can be substituted while preserving (or enhancing) someone’s capabilities. I lastly, show that sustainable prosperity looses most of its strength if we evaluate well-off-ness in terms of ‘general’ capabilities (e.g., being mobile), and I provide an account for why private valuations for ‘specific’ capabilities such as “cooking with natural gas,” or “driving a gas-guzzling car” need not undermine sustainable prosperity.

I firstly show that within the CA, sustainable prosperity – leaving people at least as well-off, while reducing emissions - can take two primary forms*. Either ‘at least as well-off’ is conceptualized on people’s total capability-set. I call this ‘Compensatory Prosperity’ since it allows for the losses of some capabilities to be offset by gains in other. For example, someone might loose capabilities realized by (frequent) long-distance travel, but she could still be at least as well-off, if gains in other valuable capabilities can compensate for the loss. Throughout the paper I use someone switching from an SUV to a bicycle, as an illustration of the framework. Here we can imagine, that even if cycling is worse in allowing one to be mobile, the health benefits might compensate for such losses.

However, ‘Compensatory Prosperity’ requires us to have a (partial) valuation ranking of capabilities – we would, for example, need to know the value of ‘mobility’ viz-a-viz ‘health’. Though not an insurmountable problem I mostly focus on a more stringent, conception of sustainable prosperity ‘Non-Compensatory Prosperity’ where each individual capability (being well-nourished, mobile, well-sheltered, etc.) remains at least as valuable as before. In the SUV-bicycle example we might say that under certain conditions (e.g., for fit cyclists in dense bike-friendly cities) a bicycle might be as good, or better at promoting the capability of ‘being mobile’ than a gas-guzzling SUV.

Both conceptions of sustainable prosperity, but especially the ‘non-compensatory’ kind heavily rely on the possibility of substituting unsustainable means, while sustaining capabilities. This means/ends distinction is what makes the CA a powerful tool for conceptualizing sustainable behaviour and despite being a very plausible claim, so far there has not been any systematic account of substitution within the CA (cf. Robeyns, 2017; Wood & Roelich, 2019). To show how it is conceptually possible I use a modified version of Sen’s (1985) formal capability-framework which relies on: resources (or entitlements), commodity-command, commodity-characteristics, conversion factors, and a conversion function. I show that GHG-emissions should be thought of as a quasi-resource used when one employs some commodity (e.g., a gas-guzzling SUV) and show how commodities that require fewer GHGs can act as substitutes.

Some substitute commodities (e.g., more energy-efficient appliances) can easily be substituted without leading to capability-losses – provided, that is, command over these new commodities did not cost more resources (e.g., money). However, most sustainable commodities – electric vs. gas-stoves, vegan vs. meat-based diets, bicycles vs. SUVs – will have different characteristics than their emission-intensive alternatives. We thus require an account of how such different characteristics can be accommodated without leading to a loss in capabilities. To briefly sketch it here we can say that such as substitution, e.g., of a gas-guzzling SUV for a bicycle might not make someone any less ‘mobile’ (or compromise other capabilities) despite the differing characteristics if we:

(i) alter relevant conversion factors that are mailable to accommodate the new characteristics (build cycling paths, change minor norms)

(ii) expand or change the set of commodities one can command to make up for losses in some characteristics (electric-, or cargo-bicycles, having access to both bicycles and public transport), or

(iii) a coordinated combination of (i) and (ii).

It is under these circumstances that sustainable prosperity (in the more stringent non-compensation condition) is theoretically possible.

The above two sections of the paper show under what circumstances someone could, say, substitute an SUV for a bicycle, and in what way she might thus be said to be as well-off, if not better. However, this account hinges on the assumption that we evaluate her in terms of the capabilities with a general description such as ‘being mobile’. More ‘specific capabilities’, say “driving a Ford-150 at 130km/h” have less ‘multiple realizability’ (Nussbaum, 2001), which means that, prima facie, fewer commodities could act as suitable substitutes. Some people clearly value such specific capabilities if losses in such specific capabilities ‘counts’ it would heavily limit the extent of sustainable prosperity. I firstly defend that people can reasonably value specific capabilities and why this is a problem for CA-scholars, since the standard justifications in the literature for favouring general, as opposed to specific capabilities seem not to apply to the cases relevant to sustainable prosperity. I secondly provide a Scanlonian public reason argument to show how we can still acknowledge people’s private losses of some specific capabilities they value, while at the same time being able to say that, at least from a public or third-person perspective, they have not been made worse-off.

*The paper considers a potential third option: if capabilities, not functionings are valued, voluntarily abstaining from emitting-behaviours technically fulfills the conditions of sustainable prosperity. To save space and because it raises both practical and philosophical problems I omitted this option from the abstract.

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Paper short abstract:

Sen uses the Buddhist Sutta Nipata text as an example of his notion of the "obligations of power, which has clear appeal in framing a capabilities-based approach to sustainability. By examining Sen's Buddhist source, this paper will explore how both approaches can be deployed in a meaningful, agency-focused understanding of power and responsibility for the welfare of all the Earth’s inhabitants.

Paper long abstract:

In the ninth chapter of The Idea of Justice, Amartya Sen (2009) introduces the notion of the “obligations of power” by referencing a Buddhist text, the Sutta Nipata. According to Sen, “Buddha argues that we have responsibility to animals precisely because of the asymmetry between us, not because of any symmetry that takes us to the need for cooperation” (204). Sen goes on to argue that this “obligation of power” can serve as “an important basis for impartial reasons, going well beyond the motivation of mutual benefits” (207) in domains such as human rights. Such an obligation has clear appeal in framing a capabilities-based approach to environmental sustainability and questions about human treatment of non-human animals. Unlike Nussbaum (2023), whose recent work aims to extend the applicability of the capabilities approach to non-humans, beyond merely those that are “like us” (complex, intelligent, social mammals) but instead to “all those capable of significant striving” (118), it does not require notions of boundaries and thresholds between those organisms whose striving is significant (animals?) and those who fail to reach significance (plants? bacteria? fungi?). Rather, it merely requires an acknowledgement of asymmetric power between humans and the rest of the living world. However, a closer examination of Sen’s source text reveals that the Buddhist understanding of these obligations might go even further than Sen. The Karaniya Metta Sutta, the section of the Sutta Nipata that Sen most likely drew upon for this section (his footnotes merely reference the larger scripture), exhorts its audience to not a mere understanding of asymmetric power and resulting obligation but rather, to “cultivate a boundless heart towards all beings.” Rather than merely being an obligation of the powerful, in the Buddhist context, these seems to be a universal maxim, directly not merely at the weaker, but rather, “Whatever beings there be: feeble or strong; tall, stout, or medium; short, small, or large…” By examining the deeper Buddhist understanding of Sen’s source text, this paper will explore how both approaches can be deployed in a meaningful, agency-focused understanding of power—what we can do and how those actions affect living beings—in order to cultivate a mindset of responsibility for the welfare of all the Earth’s inhabitants.

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Paper short abstract:

The paper deals with the increase in knowledge inequality due to climate crisis. The loss of certain ecological knowledge and increasing emphasis on "scientific" knowledge is being questioned.

Paper long abstract:

The crisis that our world is facing today is varied and multi-layered. But one problem that all humans and non-humans on Earth face is the climate change crisis and global warming. Power structures play a significant role in determining who is impacted by this crisis – as new and innovative ways to deal with the climate crisis are proposed daily. This paper will trace the history of some of the ecological knowledge that holds significance in the present. I argue that the TEKs hold more relevance now than ever before – not only because of climate change but also because of the tendency to filter knowledge that the present powerholders portray. Selective knowledge has been a danger to the world. Knowledge is filtered in alignment with the power relation to maintain the status quo. I argue that this also holds true for knowledge regarding the climate crisis. The paper is based on secondary literature and aims at developing a position of decentralized knowledge – and democratization of knowledge. It draws from theories of the sociology of knowledge. The paper concludes that to overcome the crisis that the entire world is faced with, we must take local knowledge systems like traditional ecological knowledge into account.

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Water is a complex element. Its impact on the living processes goes far beyond this objective understanding. However, do the practice-level subjectivities get captured in the policy process? This paper targets this policy invisibility of the water-associated subjectivities where everyday water stories are shaped and reshaped around fixed societal structures

Paper long abstract:

Water forms the basis for sustaining livelihoods, enables everyday life, and transcends numerous socio-cultural privileges, identities, and environments with its presence and absence. However, the water policy formulations have failed to capture the inherent subjectivities associated with water practices at the ground level. The Rajasthan water policy resembles a similar feature. And most importantly, it misses out the central actors who are integrated with water in their daily livelihoods - women. The association of women with water sustains and produces the everyday living processes in households and communities. The exercise of situated agency by women and the resulting water practices forms the base of the dynamic water governance process. Rajasthan, being a water deficient state suffering from acute water scarcity, women bear the added burden of procuring water amidst great difficulty. Thus, women in Rajasthan are not only skilled managers of water but also are responsible for instilling behaviours of water conservation.

However, the water policies and programmes present a different reality. Not only women have been rendered invisible in the water policy and governance designs but water itself has been identified as a gender-neutral resource. Even when they are explicitly and occasionally included in the water policy documents, they end up becoming tokenistic in practice. The Rajasthan state water policy document recognizes women only as users of water. This paper targets this policy- practice gap through an ethnographic study of the five villages in the Sanganer Tehsil of Rajasthan and locates the phenomenon within larger debates around gender, social exclusion, water governance and development. Further, it traces the differing perceptions of the policy aspect where water is understood as a quantity to be collected and supplied throughout the state. In our field study, we observed that majority of the government officials and technical personnel of the state water board, understood water to be primarily a resource that needs to be technically regulated, stored, purified and managed throughout the state. The socio-ecological and cultural aspects were secondary to them, if not insignificant. We also documented an overtly gender-neutral and technical orientation among the government officials which partly explained their apathy towards the intended gender mainstreaming of the water policies of Rajasthan. While the practice realities revolve around women managing water with their intrinsic practices of management and conservation in the society.

With the increasing focus on community-based solutions under the International Programme for Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), Rajasthan’s water policy aims to transition into a participatory model of water governance with a particular focus on gender mainstreaming. However, the transitions in policy are yet to be translated at the every-day practice level. At the community level also, it was observed that women were indifferent towards their own significance as care givers at the household level in general, and as water users and managers in particular. Looking at the situated agency and the consequent formal and informal power dynamics with regard to the water practices seems to be the key to highlight the disconnect between the intended policies and their actual practice. This disconnect further exacerbates the tokenism of women in both the formal and informal domains. We argue that mapping the social embeddedness of water within the formal and informal practices addresses the gap between the water policy and its practice.

Water policies and programmes are a significant tool of water governance as they define principles and processes which can be implemented through decision making requirements by law. They also evolve and influence water practices on ground as they have a direct bearing upon them. The parity between the water policy and water practices is essential for the promotion of capabilities and well-being of communities in general and women in particular.

The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 aims to ensure the availability and management of clean water and sanitation to every individual, thereby, advocating the indispensable position of water resources. The establishment of a global target in the form of SDG 6 actually links this natural resource with the larger developmental agenda. Thus, it is extremely essential to take steps to target the widening gap between policy and practice which will ultimately make the development process more effective, inclusive and sustainable.

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Using novel long-term district-level panel data (1961-2011) in India, this study investigates the effect of climate change and changing patterns of cultivated land use on household size through the channels of fertility and migration. Results show household size has negative relation with climatic alterations and positive relation with cultivated land share. Several robustness checks are applied.

Paper long abstract:

Household is the basic unit of analysis for most of the socio-economic studies. In the demographic context household is the unit for study it three main components i.e., fertility, mortality and migration. On the other hand, changing patterns of climate in the last 50 to 70 years raised concerns not only in the field of physical sciences but social sciences as well. Major climate change and demographic studies to date focused on mortality and morbidity, and some studies on migration. Studies of climate change and fertility are also limited. This study is an attempt to capture all these three components together within an umbrella of household size. Household size can increase through low mortality and high fertility with low levels of outmigration, and it decreases with declining fertility and increasing outmigration. In the Indian context, this study examines the role of climate change and cultivated land use on changing average household size through the channels of fertility and migration.

The conceptual framework of the study states alterations in temperature and precipitation could increase migration due to degradation in agriculture and increasing morbidity. Having a higher share of agricultural or cultivated land could increase household size by engaging people in agriculture and higher labour demand in farms. A decrease in agricultural land use and the introduction of modern farm machinery can reduce labour demand and induce out-migration while lowering fertility, which eventually splits households and decreases the average size. Thus, with climate change there is a negative relation of household size and with agricultural land use there is a positive relation.

The study uses novel district-level panel data spanning from 1961 to 2011 in India. Major sources of data are the Census of India and Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare publications. Climatic Data has been taken from TerraClimate. The base year of study is 1961 and districts created after 1961 merged with their parent districts to create an unchanged boundary throughout the study period. I have used the Fixed Effect Panel Data Regression model to understand the within-district changes in household size through climate change and agricultural change. For the robustness of the results, I have used Panel Instrumental Regression, Spatial Panel Analysis and Path Analysis using Structural Equation Modeling.

India’s average household size has increased from 1961 (with a steady decline in mortality since the 1940s) to 1981 and started declining since then. Temperature has a steady increase throughout the period but precipitation alters. The most important note on precipitation is that the amount of precipitation increased but the number of days decreased. The cultivated land in India also increased till the 1990s and then started a slow decline. Results show that an increase in temperature and precipitation leads to a decrease in household size after controlling for all the socio-economic factors along with fertility and migration. On the other hand, cultivated land has a positive impact on household size. It can be said that the average household size transitions in tandem with the cultivated land share in India. In the pre-1980s era, an expansion of cultivated land due to population pressure and the absence of modern farm technology positively influences household size by stimulating fertility through increased labour demand and restraining migration by engaging the population in agriculture. However, since the 1980s, agricultural modernization has led to reduced labour demand and cultivated land share, resulting in decreased fertility and induced out-migration, leading to the fragmentation of households. Though with climate the relationship of household size is found negative throughout the study period. It is because alternations in climate especially precipitation hinder agriculture in seasons which causes farmers to migrate for jobs and food. Extreme conditions like frequent floods or drought years also increase the mobility of agricultural households. Migration of all household members is not possible and practicable. Migration of working-age household members especially males leads to the bifurcation of households and decreases the average size. Increased population pressure on land also plays an important role in reducing household size, though agriculture was found the major factor determined by climatic conditions, cultivated land use in district and agricultural modernization.

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Paper short abstract:

While technology is deeply embedded in social structures, this aspect is often minimised in engineering education yet necessary for preparing engineers to address systemic issues and seek sustainable solutions. This paper studies changes to an engineering design course seeking development of sociotechnical awareness and contextualising proposed solutions.

Paper long abstract:

The technological innovations brought on by engineering work has significant impact on a community or nation’s social relations as well as the mode of dealing with the natural environment. The role of technology is therefore deeply embedded in social structures and can lead to both capability expansion as well as capability deprivation of individuals. Crises particularly highlight this relation. Ongoing environmental crises often seek technological solutions to change interactions with the environment while in conflict-affected areas, resilient forms of communication are often critical. Such interactions between technology, the environment, and a community are complex and require a critical view of technology’s role often opposed to a purely positivist view of technology often embedded within engineering culture. The UN Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG) offer an important road map to deliver on a commitment to help the world’s most vulnerable in the midst of such converging crises. However, developing technology that will positively impact vulnerable communities requires that engineers are adequately prepared to address systemic issues. How then might the capabilities approach help us to prepare engineers to understand and propose solutions for complex, sociotechnical problems?

Seeking to support broad student capability growth necessary for addressing such challenges, this paper focuses on changes to a 3rd-year engineering design course that has developed over five years. In the course, students collectively choose a UNSDG to explore and use a variety of representational tools to support their understanding of its societal relevance. These tools are informed by interviews and research articles. From a capabilitarian perspective, we seek a balance course between structure and student agency to bring intentional development of a broad set of student capabilities beyond merely producing a working technical product that includes Ability to choose a meaningful project; opportunity to connect engineering with society; and ability to contribute meaningfully to sustainability. Central to this is understanding the role of technology within a specific context. At the end of the course, students present a minimum viable product, or prototype implementation of a technical solution, that demonstrates their understanding of the contextualised problem and technology’s role.

In the first two offerings of this course (Fall 2021, Spring 2022), students struggled to understand the social aspects of design despite asking students to conduct interviews and draw systems maps. Subsequent offerings included more time for structured research of the social system and more class time in developing the systems map with a corresponding reduction in time on producing a product. The deliverables for this course are individual ePortfolio reflection assignments and group final reports. We investigate the results of these changes, comparing ePortfolios & reports from earlier courses with the most recent iterations.

In our analysis, we utilised inductive “In Vivo” coding methods to elicit what students had learned from the assignment in their own words. Assignments were coded by a team of three researchers using consensus coding techniques to reduce intercoder bias (Stemler 2019; Harry, Sturges, and Klingner 2005). From these codes, we categorised the first pass codes into Pattern Codes (Saldana 2013) identifying emergent themes. We were able to classify student learning into a few major categories: Social Context Drives Decision-Making, Understands Sociotechnical Context, Experienced Personal Growth, Developed Professional Skills, and Lack of Engagement. In comparing the portfolios between cohorts, we noticed significant improvement in the first two coding categories as a result of the increased time allocation to developing systems maps.

Core to the capabilities approach is freedom to enact functionings that one values. However, at present the narrow focus on engineering science particularly within engineering curricula in North America can act as a structural barrier that impedes capability development of students who have interest in societal problems or non-corporate engineering work. Understanding a larger context and listening to a variety of viewpoints to understand technology’s role is essential. This paper suggests that more student agency and sociotechnical exploration within engineering programs helps develop engineers to have the societal impact they may desire. This insight is key to attaining the broad development goals the UNSDG necessitate for significant societal impact.

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This study aims to identify analytical categories and theoretical approaches to understand the plural challenges of sustainable development, using a literature review focusing on Sen and Nussbaum to outline the capabilities approach, and Georgescu-Roegen to discuss ecology and economics. It proposes structured pluralism to integrate these contributions for economically addressing the environment.

Paper long abstract:

The debate on environmental issues gained significant momentum during the mid-20th century. The proliferation of production, globalization, and increased exchange of goods and services led to an expanded use of raw materials, thereby elevating the risk of environmental degradation. Presently, this debate has permeated large global organizations, underscoring the universally pervasive nature of the environmental challenge.

The emergence of ecological economics, spurred by the need to understand environmental issues comprehensively, represents a transdisciplinary approach aimed at elucidating the complex interplay between ecology and economics. Spearheaded by the International Society for Ecological Economics (ISEE) and the journal Ecological Economics, this field seeks to establish a methodological foundation to guide research. In the inaugural edition of the journal, Nogaard's article "Methodological Pluralism" argues against a complete rejection of positivist epistemology within ecological economics, acknowledging its continued influence despite inherent limitations.

The adoption of methodological pluralism also served as a means of inclusivity, inviting researchers from diverse backgrounds to engage in the nascent ecological and economic discourse.

Understanding the challenges associated with environmental issues requires exploration of the intricate connections between ecological and economic aspects, as well as ethical and moral dimensions. In this regard, the diversity of information sources and the values underpinning humanity's relationship with nature and the future align this article with the capabilities approach, initially formulated by Amartya Sen (2010) and Martha Nussbaum (2001).

According to the capabilities approach, the preservation of natural resources becomes an intrinsic goal. This perspective posits that the protection of species and the environment should be the product of social values, individual free choices regarding available opportunities, and a legacy for future generations. However, for such decisions to be truly voluntary, environmental challenges must be examined through a multifaceted lens, encompassing economic, environmental, cultural, ethical, moral, and other dimensions.

The aforementioned issue underscores the imperative of addressing environmental issues with a plurality of perspectives, utilizing diverse dimensions, a range of information sources, and a variety of methodologies. In this context, this article poses the following inquiry as its central investigation: What analytical categories and theoretical frameworks can enrich the assessment of the environmental issue from a pluralistic standpoint?

To address this query comprehensively, the article employs literature review as the primary research and reflection procedure. To describe the main categories of the capabilities approach, Sen and Nussbaum are the primary references, introducing concepts such as functionings, resources, agents, and means and ends in themselves. It is through these authors that we can analyze the importance of ethical and informational pluralism for the construction of methodological pluralism.

To describe the concerns of ecological economics regarding the interaction between the economic and natural environment, the author uses Georgescu-Roegen, who introduces thermodynamic concepts into economic science and presents the limitations of environmental discourse before the introduction of the concept.

Lastly, to identify how structured pluralism, considered a methodological proposal, could be used to converge all these contributions, we will rely on Caldwell's concept of pluralism and Sheila Dow's structured pluralism, passing through concepts of pluralism applied to ecological economics by Nogaard.

According to the analysis of this research, sustainable development encompasses various dimensions, including its organic and inorganic aspects, which undergo a series of transformations from its raw state through production and ultimately to consumption. Any intervention within this environment reverberates as a direct influence on the entire interconnected production milieu, encompassing facets that pertain to the natural, cultural, institutional, and more.

Regrettably, these causative actions do not manifest in isolation; rather, they result from a complex interplay of cultures that have been ingrained and institutionalized within society for decades. This extends beyond mere production methods and encompasses aspects related to information, ethics, and morals.

The capabilities approach treats these issues as conversion factors, social processes, and contexts that contribute not only to the shaping of values but also to commitments concerning the future. Consequently, the resolution of these challenges necessitates a multi-faceted approach that takes into account various dimensions, including economic, social, cultural, political, and global considerations.

Georgescu-Roegen, in his adoption of thermodynamic principles for economics, challenged the established mechanistic paradigm in environmental economics, deviating from the mainstream and traditional views. Through ecological economics, he pioneered a revolutionary and innovative field fraught with significant challenges.

In an attempt to instigate the necessary changes within the field as introduced by Georgescu, Nogaard authored the initial article outlining the methodology applicable to ecological economics. Subsequently, limited discussion or debate ensued regarding methodology. Nogaard's articulation of methodological pluralism remains the primary reference in the field, despite his own reservations and criticisms. Within this landscape, schisms emerged within the field, with some advocating for uncritical and unstructured pluralism, while others championed a critical and structured pluralism.

As discussed in this overview, it becomes evident that ecological economics, in its quest to carve out a distinctive niche grounded in its foundational principles, must disengage from premises that have already been addressed and transcended. Neoclassical assumptions that run counter to the field's essence are a case in point. This initial analysis calls into question the uncritical pluralism still espoused by many within the field.

In contrast, critical and structured pluralism, to be formulated successfully, relies on the establishment of ontological, epistemological, and methodological foundations that can support a structured approach capable of addressing the complexity inherent in human, biological, natural systems, and more. This methodological framework can draw from critical realism as presented by Bhaskar and can be further structured through the lens of the capabilities approach articulated by Sen and Nussbaum. This structural framework emphasizes pluralism in its methodological, ethical, and informational dimensions, positioning it within a critical perspective that takes into account the representation of the subject matter, whether it is quantifiable or not.

Consequently, we conclude that the environmental issue is multidimensional, affects various aspects of life, and requires different sources of information. Methodological pluralism thus presents the only possible and viable option for us to advance the debate through the complexity and scope of the object itself.

Keywords: Ecological economics, sustainable development, capabilities approach, methodological pluralism.

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Paper short abstract:

University has a crucial role in advancing the SDGs. This paper discusses the use of PAR in developing Education for Sustainable Development module at Satya Terra Bhinneka University, Indonesia. PAR was chosen because it is rooted in collaboration and empowerment, embodies a transformative methodology that engages stakeholders in identifying and addressing issues pertinent to their community.

Paper long abstract:

The launching of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has started a global commitment to reshape education in addressing the challenges of sustainable development. ESD is a holistic education which integrate critical issues (such as the climate change), in a learner-cantered way which enable learners to explore and take action in transforming themselves and the society (UNESCO Global Action Programme on ESD, 2018). This transformational education seeks to empower individuals and communities to actively engage in creating a sustainable future.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Strategy for ESD stated that it aims to encourage its member states to “develop and incorporate ESD into their formal education systems, in all relevant subjects, and in non-formal and informal education. This will equip people with knowledge of and skills in sustainable development ... and increasing their opportunities for acting for a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature and with concern for social values, gender equity and cultural diversity” (United Nations, 2005). The life skills needed for these ESD were closely linked to the notion of capability.

The Capability Approach provides a normative framework cantered on human flourishing and freedom (Sen, 1999). Applied to sustainable education, it emphasises the importance of nurturing individuals' capabilities to understand, adapt to, and mitigate the challenges of sustainable development and calls for educational systems that empower learners with critical thinking skills, ethical values, and agency to enact positive environmental change. Hoffmann (2005) argues that the capability is being part of the underlying principles for ESD, while Hart (2018) suggested that the educational processes may contribute significantly towards the development of individual capabilities and sustainable development more broadly.

Higher education institutions (HEIs) have a crucial role to play in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). McCowan (2019, p.220) suggested five modalities of the universities in Sustainable Development which are: (1) education, (2) knowledge production, (3) public debate, (4) service provision, and (5) embodiment. Nussey et al. (2023) studies shows that there is extensive evidence that higher education institutions are taking action in relation to the climate emergency across the five modalities. However, the efforts to address climate change seem sporadic and are not translated equally across universities’ faculties. ESD modules are frequently available only in specific study programme which has a strong environment link (such as forestry management) and hardly offer in others (such as informatics). Furthermore, the ESD curriculum concentrate on improving students' comprehension of the subject, with less effort put into expanding the audience for the discussion (Harjatanaya et al, 2022).

This paper discusses the use of PAR in developing the ESD module curriculum at Satya Terra Bhinneka University in Indonesia. The ESD module is compulsory for all students to take regardless their study programme. PAR was the method chosen to develop the module because it is rooted in collaboration and empowerment, embodies a transformative methodology that engages stakeholders in identifying and addressing issues pertinent to their community. PAR transcends traditional research paradigms by positioning participants as co-researchers, empowering them to shape the research process and co-create knowledge. In this project, 16 lecturers and 3 academic staff volunteered to be participants in developing the ESD curriculum. The 16 lectures came from 6 different study programme offered by the university, which are (1) forestry management, (2) agribusiness, (3) entrepreneurship, (4) digital business, (5) midwifery, and (6) informatics. The academic staff was from different divisions; (1) HR team, (2) Finances team, and (3) media and communication team.

In implementation the PAR, we were guided by the five steps and ten principles for developing a PAR process (Climate-U, 2021). We also take into consideration that the ESD curriculum should engage with three conversion factors (personal, social and environmental) and allows for agency (UNESCO, 2018, p. 55-56) to be practised among the lecturers and admin staff. We also refer to Frediani’s “participatory capabilities”, which is a framework that highlights “people’s choices, abilities and opportunities to engage in a process of participation that is driven by a goal of deepening democratic practices as well as individual/collective critical awareness” (Frediani, 2015, p.10). This view is further developed in the participatory research capability cube developed by Boni and Frediani (2020, p.478) which emphasis its multidimensional perspective: (1) the expansion of the capabilities and agency of co-researchers; (2) the transformative characteristics of the knowledge produced; and (3) the democratic processes that PAR could enable both during and beyond the research process (Boni and Frediani, 2020, p.478). Throughout the process, we were also mindful of Ki Hajar Dewantara (Indonesia’s father of national education)’s education philosophy. His philosophy is cantered on the notion of human flourishing by creating a holistic development process which empower learners to contribute to the society guided by local knowledge and awareness of local surroundings.

Taking all these into consideration, during the curriculum development process, all participants went through three tier process: (1) exploration, (2) initiation, and (3) creation. In the exploration process participants were given the freedom to explore as much information as they could. The were facilitated to attend seminars, have access to various literature, government documents, and other sources of information. They also conducted regular discussion. In the initiation process, they identify 27 local stakeholders ranging from government representatives, NGOs, practitioners, other academics, as well as members of public. They conducted focus group discussions (FGDs) and interviews with these stakeholders. They also engaged with the wider public in social media. In the creation stage, they analysed the data and create lesson plans and materials based on the information that they have gathered. The whole process embodies McCowan’s five modalities of the universities in Sustainable Development.

The outcome of the project has shown (1) an increased understanding of sustainability issues and the need for multidisciplinary approaches involving various stakeholders, (2) a shift in attitudes amongst lecturers where they became a more active agent, and (3) the importance of building a holistic ecosystem within the university, beyond the ESD curriculum, to ensure the principles and values of sustainability are embedded and experienced.