Sustainable development in higher education

Introduction As top members of the food chain, humans often do not stop to think about how their actions will affect other living species that coexist in the world with them?how often do we think twice about getting into our cars to go to work? The reality is, however, that everything we do has consequences, unintended or not, on processes that maintain the Earth's systems. The effects of modern economic systems have put extensive pressure on the environment and society, both for this and future generations.

Sustainable Development (SD) may offer the solution of pursuing development while ensuring the preservation of economic, environmental and social aspects for present and future generations. One could ask, why focus in Sustainable Development in Higher Education (SIDE)? Why not focus on companies or governments? One of the reasons for this is that we believe that universities are the places where the entrepreneurs and decision-makers for the social, political and economic sectors are created, formed and shaped.

Universities have, for centuries, been the places where young people have attended to received education and to main knowledge through the university life experience. Universities present a very interesting environment, where enthusiastic young people get in touch with knowledgeable and experienced individuals. This thesis wishes to highlight the importance of universities as increasingly important organizations that catalyst change. Because university molds and inculcates minds of students hence this is a way of promoting Sustainable Development in the society.

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The incorporation must be performed in all five aspects of the university system: 1. Education, 2. Research, 3. Operation, 4. Community outreach, and 5. Assessment and reporting. However, at the same time there are attitudinal, procedural and financial difficulties or barriers that are often present that slow down or block the implementation process. These barriers are, 1. Resistance based upon lack of information, 2. Resistance based upon psychological and emotional reaction towards change, 3. Resistance to change due to disciplinary standards.

Universities are very important agents of change in modern societies, but they are only part of the whole system of education, in which it is imperative that Sustainable Development must play an increasing role. The reason why we stick to this study is to give importance in sustaining the development of our resources. We choose to focus on the higher education because "Higher education institutions bear a profound, moral responsibility to increase the awareness, knowledge, skills, and values needed to create a Just and sustainable future.

Higher education often plays a critical but often overlooked role in making this vision a reality. It prepares most of the professionals who develop, lead, manage, teach, work in, and influence societies' institutions. " Thus, Higher Education has a critical and imaginable role in developing the principles, qualities and awareness not only needed to perpetuate the sustainable development philosophy, but to improve upon its delivery. 2 Statements of the Problems I nee research Stetsons uses to gulled tins tenses research were: want Is ten importance of integrating Sustainable Development in Higher Education? Ђ What programs were done to address SD on Higher Education? What are the barriers of change and what are proven and effective ways of overcoming those obstacles to widespread implementation of Sustainable Development in Higher Education? . 3. Significance of the Study The importance of this study is to give insights and vision to universities about sustainable development. Overcoming the global ecological and social crisis requires a new ideology of life and modern innovative approaches to education leading to a new cultural and ecological world outlook.

Sustainable developments' imperative should become paramount in training students and specialists, particularly those specialized in the field of political science, economy, environment and agriculture. This is the only way to reduce the harmful influence of society on the environment and to protect and preserve a biosphere for future generations. Universities are important in this regard developing relevant skills among the leaders and citizens of tomorrow - campus sustainability is an important avenue for raising awareness about sustainability.

These are the significance of this particular thesis. Throughout the centuries, universities and their faculty members have served as educators of the majority of entrepreneurs and decision-makers, hence the current need to incorporate SD into the higher education system so as to ensure that present and future generations of 'students' will be provided holistic insights and values to help hem help their societies make the transition from unsustainable to sustainable societies. This study is conducted on a higher education specifically Negroes Oriental State University, its students and its faculty. Limitations There are several limitations in the process of writing this thesis; one of the most important ones was the difficulty of reaching some of the university leaders due to an overload in our work schedules. One example of this was the unsuccessful attempts to have an interview with the Supervisor of the entire NORMS system. We wished to have been able to interview more individuals from this university presented and also o have interviewed academic leaders from this universities, but time did not allow it. Deletion AT leers Imperative- essential or important Change barriers- condition or difficulties that arises in universities while incorporating Sustainable Development Inculcate- infusing SD in universities Sustainable society- a society able to be used without being completely used up or destroyed System- the society of nations, independent but interrelated elements comprising a unified whole Social cohesion- the state of cohering or sticking together socially in existing and future society Social inclusion- being included in existing and true society Shibboleth- often used but little explained Brink- the limit beyond which environmental and social problems caused by uncontrolled economic growth, a new concept was coined: Sustainable Development (SD). Technocratic- a so called definition of sustainable development that pertains to highly skilled elite group Dominant species- it specifically defines to humans which is more powerful than other species 6 Related Literatures The needs of the world today are real and immediate, yet it's necessary to develop ways to meet these needs that do not disregard the future. Sustainable development remotes the idea that social, environmental, and economic progresses are all attainable within the limits of our earth's natural resources.

Sustainable development approaches everything in the world as being connected through space, time and quality of life. This chapter will discuss related writings about Sustainable Development. 6. 1 Roding Logan Ross' Related Literature "Prime Minister H. Grog [sic] Borderland. At the "Sir Peter Scott Lecture," in Bristol, 8 October, 1986: The World Commission does not believe that a dismal scenario of mounting destruction of national global potential for development - indeed, of earth's opacity to support life is an inescapable destiny. The problems are planetary - but they are not insoluble. I believe that history will record that in this crisis the two greatest resources, land and people, will redeem the promise of development.

If we take care of nature, nature will take care of us. Conservation has truly [come] of age when it acknowledges that if we want to save part of the system, we have to save the system itself. This is the essence of what we call sustainable development. There are many dimensions to sustainability. First it requires the elimination of poverty and deprivation. Second, it requires the conservation and enhancement of the resources base which alone can ensure that the elimination of poverty is permanent. Third, it requires a broadening of the concept of development so that it covers not only economic growth, but also social and cultural development.

Fourth, and most important, it requires unification of economics and ecology in decision-making at all levels. " f R. Goodling and G. Aledo. Neoclassical Economics and Principles of Sustainable Development" Ecological Modeling. Volvo. 38, 1987: Sustainable development is defined "as a pattern of social and structured economic ramifications (I. E. Development) which optimizes the economic and societal benefits available in the present, without Jeopardizing the likely potential for similar benefits in the future. A primary goal of sustainable development is to achieve a reasonable (however defined) and equitably distributed level of economic well-being that can be perpetuated continually for many human generations.

Sustainable development implies using renewable natural resources in a manner which does not laminate or agree teem, or toneless Almonds tenet zestfulness Tort Torture generations... Sustainable development further implies using non-renewable (exhaustible) mineral resources in a manner which does not unnecessarily preclude easy access to them by future generations... Sustainable development also implies depleting non-renewable energy resources at a slow enough rate so as to ensure the high probability of an orderly society transition to renewable energy sources f John Puzzle. "Economic Analysis of Sustainable Growth and Sustainable Development. " World Bank Environment Department, Working Paper No. 15. Washington D. C.

May, 1989: Our standard definition of sustainable development will be non-declining per pita utility - because of its self-evident appeal as a criterion for inter-generational equity. F Mustang Total. Sustainable Development - Constraints and Opportunities. London: Buttonholer. 1987: Sustainable development has become an article of faith, a shibboleth: often used but little explained. Does it amount to a strategy? Does it apply only to renewable resources? What does the term actually mean? In broad terms the concept of sustainable development encompasses: 1. Help for the very poor because they are left with no option other than to destroy their environment; 2.

The idea of self-reliant development, within natural resource ministrations; 3. The idea of cost-effective development using differing economic criteria to the traditional approach; that is to say development should not degrade environmental quality, nor should it reduce productivity in the long run; 4. The great issues of health control, appropriate technologies, food self-reliance, clean water and shelter for all; 5. The notion that people-centered initiatives are needed; human beings, in other words, are the resources in the concept. " (Morocco, 1997) 6. 2 Foreign Universities Integrating SD Calder and Glutton (2003) present some examples of the actions taken by efferent universities towards SD.

One of them is the example of Holland, where in 1995, student groups formed the Dutch National Environmental Student Platform that promoted sustainable campus and a reform in the curricula; in 1998 it changed into the present "Dutch Network for Higher Education and Sustainable Development", which has project that include: Disciplinary reviews; Interdisciplinary study projects; North/South collaborations; Auditing Instruments for Sustainability in Higher Education (AISHA) Consultancy; Higher Education for Sustainable Development (HESS) master's programs; University operations; Biannual awards. One specific example in Holland is the case of Delft University of Technology (DOT), where in 1996 a committee was created to implement SD in the engineering curricula.

The committee reached an action plan with the following points: "The design of an elementary course 'Technology in Sustainable Development' for all students of the DOT; Intertwining [sic] of SD in all regular disciplinary courses, in a way corresponding to the nature of each specific course; Develop of possibility to graduate in a SD specialization within the framework of each faculty. (Mulled, 1996) It can be seen that this specific effort taken by the DUTY focuses only on the curricula, one of the five dimensions; this is not to say that this is the only program of DUTY towards SD, It Is Just to remark an example. Another example Is ten one taken Day ten University of Michigan (2000): "Sustainable University of Michigan" initiative, which divides its implementation strategies into a. Guiding principles, b. Education and Research, c. Administrative, and d. Physical operations.

Some of the specific efforts of each category are: Guiding principles: o Adoption of sustainability mission statement; Establishment of sustainability coordinator or committee; Education and research: o Encourage incorporation of sustainability issues into curricula; Administrative: o Minimization of purchase of organic food and food low in the food chain for dining services; o Shift to 100% "green" cleaning materials; Physical operations: o Establishment of life-cycle costing and full- cost accounting; o Development of long-term independence from non-renewable energy sources for facilities operation. In the United Kingdom there is the United Kingdom's Higher Education Partnership for Sustainability (HEAPS) that began in 2001. With objective to "... Accelerate the building of a sustainable way of life by taking a positive solutions-oriented approach, and it priorities partnership work with decision-makers in business, government, higher education, and professional bodies. (Calder &Clugston, 2003) Another example is the University of Costa Rica which initiated n 1995 the Institutional Program of Sustainability and Peace (PRINCIPALS) with the purpose of promoting environmental education, rehabilitation of the wilderness areas and reduction of air and water pollution on campus, surrounding communities and the country. (Calder Glutton, 2003) 7 Presentations of Data 7. 1 Birth of the Concepts and Approaches of Sustainable Development The term ћsustainable development" became prominent after the ROI Earth Summit in 1992 which prioritize global environmental discussions and improved upon the initial framework introduced at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, Stockholm in 1972. The resulting ROI Declaration on Environment and Development, however, advocated the role of education in preventing ecological degradation (Cleveland &Kubiszewski, 2007).

There are many definitions of the term ћsustainable placement", but the most widely accepted is the one used in the publication ћOur Common Future", sometimes referred to as the Borderland definition: "Development which meets the needs of the current generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs" (JINN, 1989). This definition has the advantage of describing a future that all countries could engage with, but the disadvantage of vagueness and conceivability. Furthermore, as the definition is not instructive, a universal model of sustainability and sustainable development application has not yet been developed.

In order to implement sustainable development, it became necessary to develop the ideas further in terms of defining what sustainable means and the relevance of development and distinguishing it from environmental education. For this report, sustainability is understood as the end state and sustainable development is understood as the process of getting there. / 1 1 sustainable Development On the brink of these environmental and social problems caused by uncontrolled economic growth, a new concept was coined: Sustainable Development (SD). 7. 1. 2 The concept of 'sustainable development' The word sounds somewhat technocratic. Sustainable development' looks like the brainchild of some multi-national commission. A formula of compromise achieved in the midnight hour of a tiring negotiation- marathon.

It has, some critics say, the smell and flexibility of plastics and feels like something thoroughly artificial. Once you trace its conceptual history back to the roots, however, an aura begins to shimmer around the word: 'Sustainability gradually gains the quality of something timeless and precious. As a matter of fact, 'sustainable development' entered the global stage during the 1992 'Earth Summit' in ROI De Jeanine. The United Nations presented it as their strategic concept for shaping - and indeed saving - the future of the 'blue planet'. It promised to become the key-word for describing a new balance between the use and the preservation of nature's potentials and resources.

The Borderland Commission, which paved the way to the ROI summit, had defined it in 1987 as "a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. " The formation of this concept can be traced further back. In 1980, the 'International Union for the Conservation of Nature', n association of nation states, environmental agencies and Nags together with UNEVEN, the environmental programmer of the United Nations, and the World Wildlife Fund, a non-governmental organization, published their World Conservation Strategy. Under the patronage of the UN-General Secretary, this declaration was simultaneously presented in 34 capital cities around the world. Its title: "Living resource conservation for sustainable development".

A few years before, in 1974, the term 'sustainable' had become a central issue in a document of another international organization. At a world conference in Bucharest on 'Science and Technology for Human Development', the ecumenical World Council of Churches' (WAC) discussed a new socio-ethical guideline. Partisans of a theology of liberation, 'swords-to- ploughshares'-pacifists and ecologically-minded advocates of a spirituality of creation combined their forces and replaced the old WAC-formula "responsible society' by the new term "Just and sustainable society'. Using the biblical term 'husbanding, the conference stated "that the future will require a husbanding of resources and a reduction of expectations of global economic growth.

It demanded the transition to a global welfare society, based on 'sustainability within the next generation. The merit to have introduced the term 'sustainable' into political language, however, belongs to the Club of Rome. In March 1972, this globally operating think-tank published the epoch-making report on the 'Limits to Growth', written by a group of scientists, led by Dennis and Donnelly Meadows of the 'Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Describing the desirable "state of global equilibrium", the authors used the word 'sustainable': "We are searching for a model output that represents a world system hat is: 1 . Sustainable without sudden and uncontrolled collapse; and 2. Palpable of satisfying the basic material requirements of all people. " / 1 3 A modern concept Walt peep analytical roots Linking the verb 'sustain' with the suffix '-able' and coupling it with 'development' was certainly a semantic innovation. The source and blueprint for the new term, however, was a concept, which had deep roots. Those lay in the professional terminology of forestry. 'Sustainability is a semantic modification, extension and transfer of the term 'sustained yield'. This had been the doctrine and, indeed, the 'holy grail' of foresters al over the world for more or less two centuries. The essence of 'sustained yield forestry was described for example by William A.

Udder, a leading American expert on forestry: "To fulfill our obligations to our descendants and to stabilize our communities, each generation should sustain its resources at a high level and hand them along undiminished. The sustained yield of timber is an aspect of man's most fundamental need: to sustain life itself. " 6. A fine anticipation of the Borderland- formula. The English term 'sustained yield', used since the middle of the 19th century, as a fairly literal translation of the German word 'nonchalant. In its original version, the concept made its debut in print in a book published in 1713, more than 250 years before the Borderland-Report.

The 'Chlorofluorocarbons', the earliest comprehensive handbook of forestry, was written by the German nobleman Hans Carl von Scarlatti (1645 - 1714). The author deals with the question, how to achieve such conservation and cultivation of timber, "dadџcounterintelligence's¤indigene undo nacho- tendentiousness", (that there would be a continuous, steady and sustained use). Scarlatti was head of the 'K¶microprogramming' (Royal mining office) in the silver mining and metallurgy district of the 'Register' in the Kingdom of Saxony. As such he was the supreme authority in one of the oldest, most prosperous and technically advanced mining areas of Europe.

The problem which he tackled in the 400 pages of his book had been troubling economists and statesmen throughout Europe for quite some time: a predicted shortage of timber, the key resource of the time. The sudden realization that this resource was getting scarce was probably something like the 17th century equivalent to the 'peak oil' discussion t the beginning of the 21st century. A network of experts from different European countries communicated, cooperated and acted in various directions in order to find adequate solutions. The concept of sustainability was the result of a long common quest. Scarlatti had two important sources and models: A folio-sized book published in 1664 in London: John Evelyn 'Sylvan', and Jean Baptists Collector's 'Ordnance' of 1669, concerning the royal forests of France. 7. 1. The History of Sustainable Development in the United Nations 1972 In 1972, the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm brought the industrialized and developing nations together to delineate the 'rights' of the human family to a healthy and productive environment. A series of such meetings followed, e. G. On the rights of people to adequate food, to sound housing, to safe water, to access to means of family planning. The recognition to revivalist humanity's connection with Nature, led to the creation of global institutions within the UN system. 1980 In 1980, the International Union for the Conservation of Natural Resources (CNN) published the World Conservation Strategy (WAS) which provided a precursor to the concept AT sustainable development.

I nee strategy ease EAI art Tanat conservation AT nature cannot be achieved without development to alleviate poverty and misery of hundreds of millions of people and stressed the interdependence of conservation and development in which development depends on caring for the Earth. Unless the fertility and productivity of the planet are safeguarded, the human future is at risk. 1982 Ten years later, at the 48th plenary of the General Assembly in 1982, the WAS initiative culminated with the approval of the World Charter for Nature. The Charter stated that "mankind is a part of nature and life depends on the uninterrupted injunction of natural systems". 1983 In 1983, the World Commission on Environment and Development (WEEK) was created and, by 1984, it was constituted as an independent body by the United Nations General Assembly. WEEK was asked to formulate 'A global agenda for change'.

In 1987, in its report Our Common Future, the WEEK advanced the understanding of global interdependence and the relationship between economics and the environment previously introduced by the WAS. The report wove together social, economic, cultural and environmental issues and global solutions. It reaffirmed that "the environment does not exist as a sphere separate from human actions, ambitions, and needs, and therefore it should not be considered in isolation from human concerns. The environment is where we all live; and development is what we all do in attempting to improve our lot within that abode. The two are inseparable. " 1992 In June 1992, the first UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCLE) was held in ROI De Jeanine and adopted an agenda for environment and development in the 21st Century.

Agenda 21: A Programmer of Action for Sustainable Development contains the ROI Declaration on Environment and Development, which recognizes ACH nation's right to pursue social and economic progress and assigned to States the responsibility of adopting a model of sustainable development; and, the Statement of Forest Principles. Agreements were also reached on the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Framework Convention on Climate Change. UNCLE for the first time embroiled the Major Groups and legitimated their participation in the sustainable development process. This participation has remained a constant until today. For the first time also, the lifestyle of the current civilization was addressed in Principle 8 of the ROI Declaration.

The urgency of a deep change in consumption and production patterns was expressly and broadly acknowledged by State leaders. Agenda 21 further reaffirmed that sustainable development was delimited by the integration of the economic, social and environmental pillars. The spirit of the conference was captured by the expression "Harmony with Nature", brought into the fore with the first principle of the ROI Declaration: "Human beings are at the center of concerns for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature". 1993 In 1993, UNCLE instituted the Commission on Sustainable Development (SD) to follow-up on the implementation of Agenda 21. 997 In June Assembly locate Its Tiny special session ( design a "Programmer for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21 2002 In 2002, ten years after the ROI Declaration, a follow-up conference, the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WOWS) was convened in Johannesburg to renew the global commitment to sustainable development. The conference agreed on the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation POOP) and further tasked the SD to follow-up on the implementation of sustainable development. 2009 On 24th December 2009 the UN General Assembly adopted a Resolution (ARIES/ 64/236) agreeing to hold the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNUSED) in 2012 - also referred to as 'ROI+20' or 'ROI 20'. The Conference seeks three objectives: securing renewed political commitment to sustainable development, assessing the progress and implementation gaps in meeting already agreed commitments, and addressing new and emerging challenges.

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