Until now, activities dealt with issues related to the economy, the environment and the society. Usually, when we find in the discussion all these three elements, we rush to assume that it is about sustainability. However, putting these elements together in the discussion will not magically move us to a more sustainable world.
The most common official definition of Sustainability refers to the interconnectedness between the Economic, the Societal and the Ecological spheres. In specific, we may say that our activities are sustainable when we reach to economic efficiency, environmental resilience and social equity at the same time. It is important to keep in mind the dynamic and spatial parameter, in a sense that we also secure inter-generational and global justice. Hence, these forms of actions should satisfy the human needs on a global scale, as well as the needs of the future generations (intra- & inter-generational). By this way, our system - as has been socially defined and constructed - can sustain itself.
A critical point that could be made here is “why only human needs” and “what about the other species of the planet”.
Based on how humans see themselves in the world and in comparison with the other species, different academics, scientists and other intellectuals and theorists have tried over the years to define explicitly what sustainability is as a term. That was not an easy task to do. Until now, literature speaks about different schools of economic thought that are either more technocratic or more eco-centric (R. Turner 1993). Anyone can find extensive literature related to such information, but for the purpose of this module, we choose to present briefly the following schools of thought:
I. Very Weak Sustainability (Solow, Hartwick & Olewiler, Neoclassical Economics): Perfect substitution between the different types of capital (natural, financial, technological etc.)
II. Weak Sustainability (D. Pearce, E. Barbier, A. Markandya & R. Turner, School of London): Introducing the notion of critical natural capital. Debating the level of substitutions between the different types of capital.
III. Strong Sustainability (Constanza, Ecological Economics): Critics to Economic Valuation of Natural Resources
VI. Very Strong Sustainability (Herman Daly, Steady-State Economics): Ethical questions on population restrictions, System of income redistribution, maximum and minimum income
Of course, there are other strategies and political movements suggesting different views about sustainability. One of them includes actions towards sustainable degrowth, claiming that economic growth is inconsistent with what we have previously defined as intra and inter-generational sustainability. This is due to biophysical limits and social conflicts that emerge while policies are focusing on reaching the objective of economic growth. More information, you may find at Degrowth and Research & Degrowth.
Activity 5.1 Sustainability Exhibition
Activity 5.2 Level of Country Sustainability
This project tries to follow a more advanced level of analysis based on the theory of Food, Water and Energy NEXUS that denotes the complexity of things. According to the theory:
· We have a problem in terms of sustainability and we need an integrated management plan to identify solutions;
· Science alone cannot handle this properly due to the fact that we tend to use over-simplified models to explain the world;
· Finally, we do not have adequate institutions of governance to create and implement policies. Remember the complexity in decision-making and the interest contradictions.
We have come to the conclusion that we need to examine our society under a “metabolic analysis” microscope beyond the simplified analysis of economic growth and the materials economy that is constructed on the basis of Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) and expresses relations into monetary values without adequately, considering social and environmental constrains.
Resilience & Sustainability
Under the Sustainable and Transformative Education for Participation in Democratic Life project, participants of the Job Shadowing activities explored a series of sustainable experiences in Ghana, Kenya, Vietnam, Peru, Greece and Spain.
One important element of the cases they visited was that, people from the community facing difficulties, managed to overcome them by finding alternative solutions beyond the mainstream socio-economic system. People from different communities in Greece, Spain, Ghana, Vietnam, Kenya and Peru managed to be more resilient based on sustainable practices and collaboration, beyond the scope of economic growth.
In addition to the generated activities developed based on the participant’s experiences, we have included activities developed by the participants of the Training Course in Malaga, Spain on Sustainability and Community Building. Most of these activities have been already incorporated either as thematic content or methods. For this reason, we developed a sub-set of activities of the participants addressing the issues of resilience and sustainability.
Activity 5.3 Inner Sustainability and Nature
Environmental Sustainability and Local Community: Activity 5.4 Eco Karaoke Festival in Vietnam
Activity 5.5 Youth Participation: Plastic Waste
Upcycling and Recycling: Activity 5.6 Forum Theater for Plastic Pollution
Social Inclusion, Migration and Sustainability: Activity 5.7 Art Therapy for Social Inclusion and Social Sustainability
Sustainable Farming: Activity 5.8 Smart Farming Workshop
Activity 5.9 Healthy Lifestyles
Sustainable Use and Fair Distribution of Natural Resources: Activity 5.10 Distribution of Natural Resources
Ecotourism and Agriculture: Activity 5.11 Permaculture and Natural Farming
Activity 5.12 Advocate for Sustainability
Activity 5.13 Active Citizen
References
Turner, R. Kerry. "Sustainability: principles and practice." Sustainable Environmental Economics and Management; Principles and Practice (1993): 3-36.
The most common official definition of Sustainability refers to the interconnectedness between the Economic, the Societal and the Ecological spheres. In specific, we may say that our activities are sustainable when we reach to economic efficiency, environmental resilience and social equity at the same time. It is important to keep in mind the dynamic and spatial parameter, in a sense that we also secure inter-generational and global justice. Hence, these forms of actions should satisfy the human needs on a global scale, as well as the needs of the future generations (intra- & inter-generational). By this way, our system - as has been socially defined and constructed - can sustain itself.
A critical point that could be made here is “why only human needs” and “what about the other species of the planet”.
Based on how humans see themselves in the world and in comparison with the other species, different academics, scientists and other intellectuals and theorists have tried over the years to define explicitly what sustainability is as a term. That was not an easy task to do. Until now, literature speaks about different schools of economic thought that are either more technocratic or more eco-centric (R. Turner 1993). Anyone can find extensive literature related to such information, but for the purpose of this module, we choose to present briefly the following schools of thought:
I. Very Weak Sustainability (Solow, Hartwick & Olewiler, Neoclassical Economics): Perfect substitution between the different types of capital (natural, financial, technological etc.)
II. Weak Sustainability (D. Pearce, E. Barbier, A. Markandya & R. Turner, School of London): Introducing the notion of critical natural capital. Debating the level of substitutions between the different types of capital.
III. Strong Sustainability (Constanza, Ecological Economics): Critics to Economic Valuation of Natural Resources
VI. Very Strong Sustainability (Herman Daly, Steady-State Economics): Ethical questions on population restrictions, System of income redistribution, maximum and minimum income
Of course, there are other strategies and political movements suggesting different views about sustainability. One of them includes actions towards sustainable degrowth, claiming that economic growth is inconsistent with what we have previously defined as intra and inter-generational sustainability. This is due to biophysical limits and social conflicts that emerge while policies are focusing on reaching the objective of economic growth. More information, you may find at Degrowth and Research & Degrowth.
Activity 5.1 Sustainability Exhibition
Activity 5.2 Level of Country Sustainability
This project tries to follow a more advanced level of analysis based on the theory of Food, Water and Energy NEXUS that denotes the complexity of things. According to the theory:
· We have a problem in terms of sustainability and we need an integrated management plan to identify solutions;
· Science alone cannot handle this properly due to the fact that we tend to use over-simplified models to explain the world;
· Finally, we do not have adequate institutions of governance to create and implement policies. Remember the complexity in decision-making and the interest contradictions.
We have come to the conclusion that we need to examine our society under a “metabolic analysis” microscope beyond the simplified analysis of economic growth and the materials economy that is constructed on the basis of Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) and expresses relations into monetary values without adequately, considering social and environmental constrains.
Resilience & Sustainability
Under the Sustainable and Transformative Education for Participation in Democratic Life project, participants of the Job Shadowing activities explored a series of sustainable experiences in Ghana, Kenya, Vietnam, Peru, Greece and Spain.
One important element of the cases they visited was that, people from the community facing difficulties, managed to overcome them by finding alternative solutions beyond the mainstream socio-economic system. People from different communities in Greece, Spain, Ghana, Vietnam, Kenya and Peru managed to be more resilient based on sustainable practices and collaboration, beyond the scope of economic growth.
In addition to the generated activities developed based on the participant’s experiences, we have included activities developed by the participants of the Training Course in Malaga, Spain on Sustainability and Community Building. Most of these activities have been already incorporated either as thematic content or methods. For this reason, we developed a sub-set of activities of the participants addressing the issues of resilience and sustainability.
Activity 5.3 Inner Sustainability and Nature
Environmental Sustainability and Local Community: Activity 5.4 Eco Karaoke Festival in Vietnam
Activity 5.5 Youth Participation: Plastic Waste
Upcycling and Recycling: Activity 5.6 Forum Theater for Plastic Pollution
Social Inclusion, Migration and Sustainability: Activity 5.7 Art Therapy for Social Inclusion and Social Sustainability
Sustainable Farming: Activity 5.8 Smart Farming Workshop
Activity 5.9 Healthy Lifestyles
Sustainable Use and Fair Distribution of Natural Resources: Activity 5.10 Distribution of Natural Resources
Ecotourism and Agriculture: Activity 5.11 Permaculture and Natural Farming
Activity 5.12 Advocate for Sustainability
Activity 5.13 Active Citizen
References
Turner, R. Kerry. "Sustainability: principles and practice." Sustainable Environmental Economics and Management; Principles and Practice (1993): 3-36.
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only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.