Sustainability Indicators of Iran’s Developmental Plans: Application of the Sustainability Compass Theory

Sustainability

Karim Naderi Mahdei²  Mehrdad Pouya²  Fatemeh Taheri¹  Hossein Azadi³  Steven Van Passel³ 

[1] Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, Khuzestan Ramin Agricultural and Natural Resources University, Mollasani 63417, Iran; E-Mail:;Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan 65174, Iran; E-Mails:;Centre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Agoralaan Building D, Diepenbeek 3590, Belgium; E-Mail:

关键词: sustainable development;    sustainability assessment;    development theory;    content analysis;   

DOI  :  10.3390/su71114647

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The main purpose of this study was to analyze Iran’s developmental plans in order to examine and compare their direction and conformity with the sustainable development theory via the compass of sustainability. The approach involves a content analysis used in line with qualitative research methodologies. The results indicated that, in the first developmental plans, there was no direct reference to sustainable development. In the second to fifth plans, the main focus was on the social, environmental, and economic dimensions of development; which were common elements seen in the policies of all the plans. An analysis of the fourth plan revealed that expressions related to sustainable development appeared more frequently, indicating a stronger emphasis on sustainable development by decision-makers.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.