Citation
Ahmed, A. (2014), "New multi-disciplinary approaches and methodologies for sustainable development", World Journal of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, Vol. 11 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/WJSTSD-03-2014-0002
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
New multi-disciplinary approaches and methodologies for sustainable development
Article Type: Editorial From: World Journal of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, Volume 11, Issue 1.
We are pleased to publish this special issue of WJSTSD entitled “New multi-disciplinary approaches and methodologies for sustainable development.”
The special issue includes selection of the best papers (both focus and source) presented during the 11th International Conference of World Association for Sustainable Development (WASD), held in September 2013, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in London, UK – under the theme “10 years of sustainable development: new multi-disciplinary approaches and methodologies.”
Debates on the meaning and measurement of sustainable development (SD) are older than the WASD and many other organizations. Today, more so than ever before, the international community is confronted with many challenges on its path to sustained growth and development in the twenty-first century. Globalization brings us into contact with one another, but it also strengthens profound divisions in terms of our capacity to achieve sustainable economic development. And although the Brundtland Report is “only” 25 years old and it is almost 45 years since the UN Stockholm Conference on “the Human Environment.”
The Brundtland report (1987) defined “sustainable development” as development that meets the needs of the present without comprising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. So, do we know what SD is after more than four decades? There is nothing new in the concept of sustainability as such; it is the political and economic context that is of paramount importance. The idea of SD encapsulates the reduction of vulnerability, poverty and welfare issues, social justice, and environmental protection, as well as economic growth and equitable distribution of its gains. It is in this respect SD has been received as being innovatory and as challenging conventional wisdom. Therefore, SD must always involve some consumption of exhaustible resources alongside continuing technical progress and increasing substitution of other assets.
More than several hundred definitions of SD and numerous sets of proposed indicators and measurements have been counted by WASD and other organizations over the last many years.
This special issue focusses on the question what do policy makers actually need to know for policy formation? What exactly we are trying to sustain, how much of it and how to value it; the underlying boundlessness of the concept of SD and whether “decoupling” or the “green elasticity of growth” has anything to offer policy makers. In doing so, the special issue adopts a holistic approach to critically examine the inter-relationship between the natural, the governmental, the economic and the social dimensions of our world and how science and technology can contribute to solutions. It is therefore essential that research and policy development fully takes account of the differing perspectives of SD and make explicit the particular perspective(s) that they are taking. No single definition necessarily fully captures the concept, but by being clear about our meaning of the concept and the underlying assumptions, we can progress our understanding of our common future challenges and their relationships to SD.
This volume provides certain insight into the SD concept, which is of great importance in terms of the future of this planet. At the same time, our aim has been to highlight some of the contradictions which are apparent in the concepts of globalization and SD. To this end, the selected papers attempt to demonstrate clearly such challenges and outline possible solutions and recommendations.
The special issue emphasizes the fact that the responsibility for achieving SD is a global one, resting both with the more developed and the less developed nations, if not in equal measure. Therefore, we must think globally but act locally. We must also ensure that we pass on to our children at least as much environmental wealth as we inherited ourselves. Moreover, it is hoped that the outcomes of this special issue will help develop a framework for the analysis of the role of academic and research institutions in achieving SD and help policy makers to constructs an “ideal role” for universities and research institutions in DCs and outlines how performance can be evaluated in pursuit of the goals of SD.
We would like to congratulate the authors for their valuable contributions and it is hoped that the ensemble of papers presented in this special issue will help to stimulate debate amongst scholars, researchers and policy makers that will ultimately lead to a more integrated and multi-disciplinary approach to policy design. We are especially grateful to all reviewers for graciously offering their invaluable comments, suggestions and criticisms which greatly enhanced the quality of this issue of WJSTSD.
Finally we hope you find this special issue of the journal to be interesting and thought provoking and look forward to receiving your valuable submission and comments so we can continue to serve your needs to the very best of our ability.
Allam Ahmed