ABSTRACT

Over the past decade, the attempts to promote and operationalize the emerging field of ‘sustainability science’ have intensified. This has incorporated interdisciplinary social science and has gained variable impetus both from natural, physical and social scientists. At the same time, the steady environmentalization of social science has accorded more centrality to operationalizing sustainability concepts, such as ‘carrying capacity’, ecological footprints, sustainable environmental assessment techniques, intergenerational equity and deliberative and participatory processes.