On 18-20 April 2010, the 10th edition of the yearly conference on „Current Issues of Sustainable Development – Governance and Institutional Change” was organised at the Faculty of Economics of Opole University. The project was supported by the Waterpraxis Project, and co-organised by Selcuk University (Turkey), Hochschule Zittau-Goerlitz (Germany), Internationales Hochschulinstitut (Zittau, Germany), FH Goettingen (Germany), University of Groningen (The Netherlands) and INYRSS (Lithuania). Participants came from Turkey, Romania, Italy, Ukraine, Denmark, The Netherlands and Poland. While the discussions at the conference were very lively, and presentations of high quality, the Turkish delegation could not fly into Poland due to the Iceland volcano eruption. Therefore, the scientific committee decided that within the framework of the conference, from 18-20 May 2010 a special Opole University – Selçuk University will be held in Opole.
Sustainability issues have become so common in many fields of socio-, political- and economic life, that it is often forgotten that it requires new approaches, and a change in rules guiding human activity, ways of thinking and governance structures. In particular the globalising environmental problems, but also increasing inequalities and poverty on a global scale and the instability of unregulated global financial markets show the need for institutional change and changing governance structures. While there exists the need to understand the interactions in institutional change between socio-economic systems, technology and ecosystems, there is a great need to research local governance’s capability to direct its sustainable development in a world which seems to become more and more governed by different strong stakeholders who are individually more and more difficult to identify. As institutional environments and structures of governance vary depending on the country or region, different approaches to achieving sustainable development may be required. The general aims of the conference were to discuss and analyse:
Institutions, Governance, and Sustainable Development in Transition Countries.
The challenge of global governance in the face of climate change and global poverty. Can Europe become sustainable without global sustainability?
Local governance’s capability to achieve sustainable development.
o Eco-efficiency and sustainable praxis to improve quality and management of
the river basin in the Baltic Region.
o Technology transfer and eco-efficiency for sustainable energy projects.
o Corporate Social Responsibility and the problem of climate change and energy efficiency.
Paradigms and the sustainability research agenda. Should research on eco-efficiency and eco-development, when social inequalities increase on a global scale? Do we need to focus on research eco-efficiency and environmental management strengthening the emphasis on increasing output and consumption, or a change in people’s mental models?
Presented papers, after positive review, are considered for publication in “Economic and Environmental Studies,” “Transitions,” “Management of Environmental Quality,” an international monograph on “Sustainable Business Development and Markets in East-Central Europe” or “International Journal of Research Trends in Social Sciences (IJORTISS).”
