Drought related problems are a major stress source on the livelihood of communities in several areas of the world. Due to inefficient water resources management people leave their traditional habitat in search for security in larger agglomerations. This creates a big stress on the carrying capacity of urban centers and leaves deserted rural areas incapacitated. Setting Sustainable Development Goals as targets to reach, using Resilience Thinking to provide for resilience, adaptability and transformability, and planning for Integrated Water Resources Management can be a solution to reduce this outmigration. Rajasthan is a state in India where communities have been surviving with very little available water for ages. Contemporaneous implementations in parts of Rajasthan fulfill the framework set for this study. After identifying a promising SES in terms of drought resilience a field investigation was conducted for adequate assessment and model of resilient SES was reverse engineered from the findings. Reading thru this document one can explore the uniqueness of Rajasthan water governance from pasts long gone and to the current date. In the end of the study strategic adaptive planning recommendations can be found for creating a similar SES.

With their accession to the EU the Visegrad countries subscribed to the fundamental objective of the Union under the Lisbon Treaty - sustainable development. They have undergone substantial reforms, brought their policies into compliance with EU standards and regulations. Nevertheless, a lot of work should still be done in the Visegrad Four in order integrate sustainable development approach into all of the fields of political activity and reorganize their decision-making models according to the new challenges. This study constitutes an analysis of the Visegrad states' performance in ensuring sustainable governance in the period 2005-2010. The research is based on the two editions of Sustainable Governance Indicators, developed by the Bertelsmann Stiftung, and published in 2009 (period of review: January 2005 - March 2007) and in 2011 (period of review: May 2008 - April 2010). In order to assess sustainability of the four Visegrad democracies the study provides a comprehensive comparative analysis of these states' performance and retraces the dynamics of their progress/regress in terms of ensuring sustainability. It also explores the main tendencies of the Visegrad region's development regardless of particular country, identifies the main strengths and weaknesses of the region in terms of...

Sustainable development (SD) as a concept and principle aims to find solutions to balance the needs of people worldwide with the resources and limits of the Earth’s ecosystems. Given their social responsibility in educating future generations, higher education institutions (HEIs) are increasingly expected to foster SD. This results in an emerging body of literature addressing the implementation efforts of HEIs in their core competencies of research and education, but also within their institutional structures and support functions. Against this backdrop, two major renowned European HEIs, the Universities of Goettingen (Germany) and Uppsala (Sweden), have also committed to driving sustainability. This exploratory case study therefore critically examines the universities’ path toward becoming more sustainable, contributing to an area of research that is still limited. Using qualitative tools like content analysis, different data in three main areas are analyzed to assess the status quo of measures to drive sustainability: institutional framework and governance, campus operations, and student initiatives. The research yields mixed results. While both universities are doing advanced work in some areas, improvement is possible and needed in many others. Uppsala University appears to have a more strategic approach to promoting SD overall, however, the university’s efforts currently appear to be leveling off. At the University of Goettingen, on the other hand, the issue has not yet been systematically addressed, making the achievement of the HEI’s climate targets and timely improvement unlikely if the current practice is maintained. In addition, the study reveals that the documentation and presentation of concrete measures and agendas at both universities could be enhanced, as the availability, accessibility and timeliness of the necessary data is often lacking. While different recommendations can be made for the two universities, the thesis concludes that university leadership should address sustainability more effectively through a strategic approach and the continuous involvement of various stakeholder groups should be envisioned.