United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

In response to the growing need to cope with very large water challenges, the role of intergovernmental organisations and the regional partnerships they facilitate have become increasingly crucial to achieve water security, particularly in Asia and the Pacific, which is highly vulnerable to water insecurity and climate change. This chapter introduces the role of intergovernmental and scientific regional partnerships and collaborative mechanisms for water security and sustainability from the perspective of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP). It takes stock of the IHP through a brief review of the programme’s history and a cross-section of current activities and trends observed in Asia and the Pacific. In this way, a trajectory is traced from the programme’s beginnings as an effort focused on the consolidation of hydrology as a scientific discipline into a broad platform designed to deliver “science for society” in pursuit of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. Finally, the chapter discusses how the emergence of the extended IHP network, known as the UNESCO Water Family, has played a role in ensuring the continued growth in scope and reach of the IHP during a period of financial constraints and has provided an indication of a more diverse, complex, and decentralized delivery mechanism that likely plays a key role in IHP’s future.

This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the state of the water, energy, and food (WEF) nexus in East and Southeast Asia. In Sect. 1.1, a brief overview of the region is presented, and the concept of the WEF nexus is introduced. In Sect. 1.2, the objectives and outline of each section of this book are introduced. In Sect. 1.3, the key drivers and challenges that have shaped the region’s trajectory are reviewed in detail, focusing on economic growth, environmental pollution, and sustainable development. In particular, the relations between the commonalities/connections in the region and WEF nexus security are explored in detail, and the geopolitical aspects are discussed to describe how the region is unique and critically important in the global context. Notably, the uniqueness of the region discussed throughout this chapter and its strong linkages with WEF nexus security offer a rationale for a regional approach in addressing WEF nexus issues in East and Southeast Asia.

In this chapter, the water security status in East and Southeast Asia is investigated by examining some important dimensions associated with water issues. First, the water availability and water use pattern are reviewed and the socioeconomic implication of water resources is analysed in the region. Next, the concept of “water security” and several frameworks that assess, rank, and compare the national water security status of East and Southeast Asian countries are reviewed. This chapter also reviews the progress of SDG 6 in the region and major regional challenges in relation to water security issues, including access to clean water and sanitation, water shortages, water quality, environmental water flow, water-related disasters, and transboundary water. Finally, the chapter ends by presenting good practices in the region towards regional water security.

This article offers insights into the evolving awareness of the role of intangible cultural heritage in addressing contemporary and planetary challenges. It focuses on the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (hereinafter ‘the Convention’), a landmark UNESCO international standard-setting instrument that celebrated its twentieth anniversary in 2023. It starts with examining the link between safeguarding intangible cultural heritage and sustainable development in the text of the Convention and then highlights key achievements and milestones, that underscore the role of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage for sustainable development and the wellbeing of the communities, groups and individuals that create, practice and transmit their living heritage. It concludes by outlining future directions for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage for sustainable development and peace, drawing on reflections undertaken during the twentieth anniversary year of the Convention.

Marine spatial planning (MSP) is one of the most important tools for ensuring sustainable use of marine areas. Although MSP is a well‐established method, its adoption in rapidly developing countries is a challenge. One of the main concerns is data adequacy, as the MSP process typically requires a large amount of spatial data on human activities, biodiversity, and socio‐ecological interactions within the planning area. Drawing from an institutional cooperation project in Zanzibar, Tanzania, we share our experience and demonstrate how to fill in socio‐ecological data gaps to support the development of MSP in areas with limited data availability. We developed a rapid and cost‐effective system for collecting biological data, which, together with remote sensing and place‐based participatory mapping, helped formulate the first pilot ecologically informed MSP for Zanzibar. By sharing our results and experiences, we aim to provide best practices, lessons learned, and recommendations for future projects with a similar ecological setting and socio‐economic context.

Transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) is a widely utilized surgical procedure for the treatment of degenerative lumbar spinal conditions, including lumbar disc herniations, spinal stenosis, and spondylolisthesis. One such rare and underreported complication is vision loss following spinal surgery. Postoperative vision loss (POVL) is an extremely uncommon complication, occurring in approximately 0.002% to 0.2% of all non-ocular surgeries, including spinal procedures. We presented a 70-year-old male with complaints of left-sided cruralgia, lumbar radicular pain (sciatica-type L5), and right-sided weakness who underwent L4-S1 TLIF and who reported complete vision loss in his left eye, accompanied by persistent tearing from the affected eye whenever he attempted to focus his vision. The patient’s vision in the left eye, which had been stable and functional prior to surgery, was permanently affected by the intraoperative complication. At the three-month follow-up, ophthalmological assessments confirmed that the optic nerve damage was irreversible, and the patient's vision in the left eye remained completely blurred. Postoperative vision loss (POVL) is a rare but devastating complication associated with various types of surgeries, including spinal procedures like transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF). The present case of a 70-year-old patient developing permanent vision loss in his left eye due to glaucoma decompensation after TLIF underscores the importance of proper intraoperative positioning, especially in patients with pre-existing ocular conditions.

The article focuses on adapting generalized depth preference and flow velocity characteristics from Brown trout (Salmo trutta morpha fario) to the Minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus). The results obtained were used to model habitat suitability with 1D and 2D models. Since 1995, research on assessing aquatic habitat quality has been ongoing on 77 mountain streams in Slovakia. This assessment employs a System of Environmental Flow Analysis (SEFA), which is based on the Instream Flow Incremental Methodology (IFIM). In most sections, Brown trout occurred in representative numbers. Brown trout habitat preferences were derived and generalized, and represented by suitability curves. Minnows were present in sufficient numbers for the derivation of suitability curves only on some streams, making direct generalization from the measured data unrepresentative. The measurement results showed that Minnow has similar depth and flow rate preferences to Brown trout. Therefore, it can be assumed that it is possible to adapt the generalised suitability curves from Brown trout to Minnow. This expansion enabled us to broaden the assessment of habitat quality using the SEFA model to mountain streams that are dominated by Minnows and where there is insufficient Brown trout presence. Verification of parameter adaptation from Brown trout to Minnow was conducted in 11 sections of mountain streams. We discuss the performance of habitat quality modeling, concerning the fundamental hydraulic characteristics of streams, using both 1D and 2D models. The results of the 2D modeling are presented for a sub-mountain stream.

Wallenberg syndrome, also known as lateral medullary syndrome, is a rare condition affecting the vertebrobasilar circulation, causing symptoms such as vertigo, nystagmus, dysarthria, and hemifacial weakness. Typically linked to ischemic strokes, it can also arise from vertebrobasilar aneurysms. In rare cases, subclavian steal syndrome (SSS), involving retrograde flow in the vertebral artery due to subclavian stenosis, complicates the picture, as observed in this case of a 66-year-old woman with both conditions and a vertebrobasilar aneurysm. This study was conducted at the Neurosurgery Department of Centro Médico Nacional 20 de Noviembre, Mexico City. The patient, a 66-year-old woman with hypertension and chronic smoking, presented with vertigo, diplopia, and quadriparesis. Imaging revealed a vertebrobasilar aneurysm and SSS. Despite recommendations for further invasive studies, the patient declined angiography and therapeutic interventions, opting for voluntary discharge without treatment. This case underscores the rare association of Wallenberg syndrome with a vertebrobasilar aneurysm and SSS. Hemodynamic stress from retrograde vertebral artery flow likely contributed to aneurysm formation. Advanced imaging is vital for diagnosis, and while the patient refused treatment, multidisciplinary management, including future innovations such as three-dimensional printing and endovascular techniques, holds promise for improving outcomes in such complex cases.

The current United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030; hereafter, the Decade) offers a unique opportunity and framework to globally advance ocean science and policy. Achieving meaningful progress within the Decade requires collaboration and coordination across Decade Actions (Programs, Projects, and Centres). This coordination is particularly important for the deep ocean, which remains critically under‐sampled compared to other ecosystems. Despite the limited sampling, the deep ocean accounts for over 95% of Earth's habitable space, plays a crucial role in regulating the carbon cycle and global temperatures, and supports diverse ecosystems. To collectively advance deep‐ocean science, we gathered representatives from 20 Decade Actions that focus at least partially on the deep ocean. We identified five broad themes that aim to advance deep‐ocean science in alignment with the Decade's overarching 10 Challenges: natural capital and the blue economy, biodiversity, deep‐ocean observing, best practices in data sharing, and capacity building. Within each theme, we propose concrete objectives (termed Cohesive Asks) and milestones (Targets) for the deep‐ocean community. Developing these Cohesive Asks and Targets reflects a commitment to better coordination across deep‐ocean Decade Actions. We aim to build bridges across deep‐ocean disciplines, which encompass natural science, ocean observing, policy, and capacity development.

As climate change and disasters increasingly threaten education systems globally, there is an urgent need for improved governance from the local school level to international frameworks to enhance resilience across this vital sector. UNESCO, the leading UN agency on education, science, and culture, plays an active role in supporting governments, educational institutions, and communities in reducing risks and adapting to intensifying geo-hazards and climate-exacerbated hazards such as earthquakes, floods, landslides, and wildfires that endanger school infrastructure and disrupt learning. Key strategies focus on protecting school facilities, learners, and education personnel while also building longer-term resilience through strengthened climate change adaptation and mitigation policies, implementation of disaster preparedness programs, and promotion of sustainable environmental practices within the education process. Central to its approach, UNESCO engages in multi-stakeholder collaboration, involving education officials, school administrators, teachers, parents, communities, and crucially, learners themselves. By engaging all education stakeholders in a transformative process and actively collaborating with partners, UNESCO is working toward achieving these agendas at a global level through initiatives aimed at promoting disaster risk reduction and education. This collaborative effort aims to transform teaching and learning methods to equip future generations with the skills to navigate escalating risks and build a more sustainable and equitable future. UNESCO collaborates closely with partners to advance risk governance and climate education, including the Global Alliance for Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience in the Education Sector (GADRRRES) and the Greening Education Partnership (GEP), launched in 2022 in the aftermath of the United Nations Transforming Education Summit. Furthermore, UNESCO has developed and implemented various projects and activities to advance climate disaster risk reduction and education, focusing on providing quality education to all, from schoolchildren to professionals in the field, to strengthen their capacity in the built environment.

To fill the gap in the literature on entrepreneurial learning plans and activities conducted by technical education and vocational training (TVET) institutions, this study covers three main issues, namely: (1) The analysis of the stages of entrepreneurial learning of TVET institutions in the Asia-Pacific based on the Entrepreneurial Learning guide published by the UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre for TVET; (2) The transferability of entrepreneurship initiatives documented as UNESCO-UNEVOC’s innovative and promising practices; (3) Recommendations on scaling up or replication of the entrepreneurship initiatives to improve entrepreneurial education in TVET institutions. A survey consisting of a quantitative scale and open-ended questions on the components that build an entrepreneurial learning ecosystem in a school was disseminated to TVET institutions in the Asia-Pacific countries. The result shows that participating TVET institutions in the countries have recognized the importance of entrepreneurial learning and have implemented it in various ways. The entrepreneurial learning components at their institutions are currently positioned in different stages. To analyse the transferability of the entrepreneurship best practices, the author merges the micro and macro components of the entrepreneurial learning ecosystem with the stages of entrepreneurial learning components. The author argues that TVET institutions that are already at the advanced level in their entrepreneurial learning components, will be the ones that are most ready to replicate the innovative and promising practices. By providing recommendations on scaling up or replicating entrepreneurship initiatives to improve entrepreneurial education in TVET institutions, this study contributes to the under-researched literature on entrepreneurial learning in TVET and the recent body of knowledge on green, social, and digital entrepreneurship.

Urban agriculture can contribute to sustainable development. However, a holistic investigation is lacking to comprehend its positive and negative impacts on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our systematic analysis of around 1,450 relevant publications on urban agriculture, screened from 76,000 records, fills this gap. We map and analyze the text in the literature for each SDG target and its associated positive or negative sentiments. Here, we report our results highlighting that urban agriculture is linked to all SDGs, with 142 and 136 targets having positive and negative sentiments. The mapped positive sentiments are around double the negative ones. We identify six leveraging opportunities urban agriculture provides for sustainable transformation with four hurdles to be resolved. Urban agriculture does not inherently contribute to sustainability. Its impacts rely on the adoption of specific practices. Realizing urban agriculture’s social, economic, and environmental functions to accelerate SDG progress requires tackling the hurdles.

The reciprocal relationship between education and health is well-established, emphasizing the need for integrating health, nutrition, and well-being components into educational sector planning. Despite widespread acknowledgment of this need, countries lack concrete measures to achieve this integration. We examine challenges that countries have faced and the progress they have made in integrating these components into education sector plans and review the extent to which existing educational planning guidelines and tools address health and well-being. The review reveals a significant underrepresentation of health, well-being, and related themes in existing educational planning frameworks. Recent tools and frameworks developed to support a more holistic approach to education have not yet been widely adopted in standard education sector planning processes. The implementation of such approaches remains inconsistent, with significant barriers including limited cross-sectoral collaboration, lack of capacity, and insufficient funding, among others. Addressing these gaps requires improved guidance, technical support, and a multisectoral approach to education planning that includes health, nutrition, and well-being as fundamental components of foundational learning, supported by political commitment, capacity, and adequate financing.

Background Catastrophic health expenditures condensed the vital concern of households struggling with notable financial burdens emanating from elevated out-of-pocket healthcare expenditures. In this regard, this study investigated the nature and magnitude of inpatient healthcare expenditure in India. It also explored the incidence and determinants of inpatient catastrophic health expenditure. Methodology The study used the micro-level data collected in the 75th Round of the National Sample Survey on 93 925 households in India. Descriptive statistics were used to examine the nature, magnitude and incidence of inpatient healthcare expenditure. The heteroscedastic probit model was applied to explore the determinants of inpatient catastrophic healthcare expenditure. Results The major part of inpatient healthcare expenditure was composed of bed charges and expenditure on medicines. Moreover, results suggested that Indian households spent 11% of their monthly consumption expenditure on inpatient healthcare and 28% of households were grappling with the complexity of financial burden due to elevated inpatient healthcare. Further, the study explored that bigger households and households having no latrine facilities and no proper waste disposal plans were more vulnerable to facing financial burdens in inpatient healthcare activity. Finally, the result of this study also ensure that households having toilets and safe drinking water facilities reduce the chance of facing catastrophic inpatient health expenditures. Conclusions A significant portion of monthly consumption expenditure was spent on inpatient healthcare of households in India. It was also conveyed that inpatient healthcare expenditure was a severe burden for almost one fourth of households in India. Finally, it also clarified the influence of socio-economic conditions and sanitation status of households as having a strong bearing on their inpatient healthcare.