Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Two sustainability epistemologies in the marketization of a natural resource

Säwe, Filippa LU and Hultman, Johan LU (2018) In Environmental Policy and Governance 28(1). p.28-38
Abstract
The normative implications of sustainable development mean that different understandings of how sustainability should be achieved will either facilitate or put at risk different values associated with economic, environmental and social aspects of sustainability. By a qualitative analysis of Swedish fishery legislation documents, we analyse and outline the consequences of two different and competing sustainability epistemologies: a top-down system understanding and a bottom-up experiential understanding. To define these two epistemologies, the case study adopts discourse analysis on one fishery law and one fishery regulation proposal, and the remittance answers to these documents. We demonstrate how a top-down system approach shapes social... (More)
The normative implications of sustainable development mean that different understandings of how sustainability should be achieved will either facilitate or put at risk different values associated with economic, environmental and social aspects of sustainability. By a qualitative analysis of Swedish fishery legislation documents, we analyse and outline the consequences of two different and competing sustainability epistemologies: a top-down system understanding and a bottom-up experiential understanding. To define these two epistemologies, the case study adopts discourse analysis on one fishery law and one fishery regulation proposal, and the remittance answers to these documents. We demonstrate how a top-down system approach shapes social reality according to its own logic of efficiency, and that pre-defined principles of economic optimization prevail over social experience and continuity. We conclude that qualitative analysis holds promise to expand the understanding of the premises and consequences of alternative environmental governance trajectories due to its ability to uncover social constructions of meaning. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Sustainability epistemologies, Environmental governance, Sustainability science, Qualitative discourse analysis, Fisheries regulation
in
Environmental Policy and Governance
volume
28
issue
1
pages
28 - 38
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • scopus:85031117516
ISSN
1756-932X
DOI
10.1002/eet.1784
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
af22de68-6ec4-4ab6-9732-c6b1f072f8fc
date added to LUP
2017-09-06 09:45:42
date last changed
2022-09-22 23:35:39
@article{af22de68-6ec4-4ab6-9732-c6b1f072f8fc,
  abstract     = {{The normative implications of sustainable development mean that different understandings of how sustainability should be achieved will either facilitate or put at risk different values associated with economic, environmental and social aspects of sustainability. By a qualitative analysis of Swedish fishery legislation documents, we analyse and outline the consequences of two different and competing sustainability epistemologies: a top-down system understanding and a bottom-up experiential understanding. To define these two epistemologies, the case study adopts discourse analysis on one fishery law and one fishery regulation proposal, and the remittance answers to these documents. We demonstrate how a top-down system approach shapes social reality according to its own logic of efficiency, and that pre-defined principles of economic optimization prevail over social experience and continuity. We conclude that qualitative analysis holds promise to expand the understanding of the premises and consequences of alternative environmental governance trajectories due to its ability to uncover social constructions of meaning.}},
  author       = {{Säwe, Filippa and Hultman, Johan}},
  issn         = {{1756-932X}},
  keywords     = {{Sustainability epistemologies; Environmental governance; Sustainability science; Qualitative discourse analysis; Fisheries regulation}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{28--38}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Environmental Policy and Governance}},
  title        = {{Two sustainability epistemologies in the marketization of a natural resource}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/eet.1784}},
  doi          = {{10.1002/eet.1784}},
  volume       = {{28}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}