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Rethinking Development: As if the Planet and its People Really Mattered
... As discussed in Fien et al. (2009), there are a number of perspectives regarding how sustainable development should be defined. In an attempt to bridge the different perspectives, Fien et al. (2009) provide two principles that can be used to think about sustainable development. ...
... As discussed in Fien et al. (2009), there are a number of perspectives regarding how sustainable development should be defined. In an attempt to bridge the different perspectives, Fien et al. (2009) provide two principles that can be used to think about sustainable development. First, is the promotion of understanding of the environmental problems, their origin in the growth models that assume unending resources (which in fact do have finite limitations), and the need for businesses to transition to sustainable growth models. ...
... They argue that we must adopt a systems view, and avoid seeing ourselves as apart from naturea view which in the past has resulted in people thinking of the environment as something which can be manipulated and used to produce desired results. Rather, they argue, humans are inextricably connected with the environment, are constantly affected by the environment, and cause impact on the environment (Fien et al., 2009). The authors therefore, argue that a key undertaking by HRD professionals is to ensure an increasing number of people (employees, employers, and other stakeholders) understand how connected humans are to their environment, and that a transition is enabled regarding how businesses operate. ...
This article reviews the literature about "Green Human Resource Development (GHRD), and discusses how human resource development (HRD) which focuses on sustainability can provide business advantages including increased employee attraction, retention, motivation, and productivity. Examples of organizational initiatives that enable and support sustainable operations are discussed from an HRD perspective, including: green supply chain management, transdisciplinary engineering, industrial symbiosis, and creating shared values. This article argues that HRD professionals have a key role to play in enabling and supporting organizations which choose to adopt GHRD, and that doing so can provide advantages to organizations.
... Sustainable developments, which refer to inter-and intragenerational equity and therefore the balance of the three dimensions of sustainability -ecology, economy and social-and whose definitions are mostly rooted in the Brundtland Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development of 1987 (Hauff 2015;Fien et al 2009), ...
... Green growth requires economic development to reduce environmental and poverty-related problems, but does not change existing systems and development directions, but strengthens technocracy (ibid.). Whereas a "fundamental reduction" of the current demand for energy and resources, according to Orr, could be achieved through the renewal of a civic culture and the emergence of an educated and competent citizenry that understands global interrelationships (Orr 1992in: Fien et al 2009. Mention should also be made here of the concept of "regenerative development", which stands for a practical and visionary further development of the concept of sustainable development (Gabel 2015), and which Orr outlines as follows on the basis of the envisaged economic form: ...
... Stockmann / Silvestrini 2013;Mahmood 2009;Nuscheler 2012;Boehm 1997;Haan 2006;Diehl 1997;Overwien 1997. 33 Some theses on opportunities, related to the challenges (see Table 3: Challenges and opportunities for Vocational training cooperation for sustainable development in the context of Uganda; Uganda, related to the challenges), for the engagement of international NGOs in VET cooperation, according to the outlined framework and effective for a strongly sustainable (Hauff 2015: 67ff;Fien et al. 2009: 26), regenerative development (Orr 1992in: Fien et al 2009Gabel 2015; 0rr 2016: VIII) (cf. chapter 2) with a focus on coaching and training, change management, network management and policy advice (Zwahlen/SDC 2004in: Langthaler 2004: ...
This Thesis explores international vocational training cooperation for sustainable development, while having its focus on the framework conditions in Uganda and potentials for cooperation with NGOs. Using a multi-methodical approach, several strands of scientific literature -related to education, vocational training, development cooperation, evaluation and vocational training measures in the global South, primarily Africa- are purposefully brought together. An analysis scheme for framework conditions for Education for Sustainable Development is roughly developed. On a basis of document analysis and expert interviews, the analysis scheme is illustrated by a Case Study (project cooperation of the German NGO Welthungerhilfe and YES Uganda).
With a focus on the Ugandan framework conditions, clearly emerging opportunities for vocational training cooperation for sustainable development are found within the organized Ugandan NGO landscape and in holistic approaches to education and skills development. Challenges involve population growth, the nature of development (and therefore of training needs) as well as various dependencies. With regards to the Case Study -in the context of the agricultural state with an informal sector- it is noted, that the possibilities of holistic approaches for skills development are strongly used, to create autonomy and independence of the beneficiaries.
... It's a place, a living thing made up of sky, of clouds, of rivers, of trees, of the wind, of the sand, and of the Spirit that has created all those things; the Spirit that has planted my own spirit there, my own country . . . It belongs to me; I belong to the land; I rest in it; I come from it (cited in (Fien, Goldney, and Murphy 2009). For people linked with the Malaysian landscapes discussed in this book, the traditional and spiritual practices of many Bornean people are reflected through animistic beliefs associated with both wild and domesticated plants and animals (Garay 2006). ...
... They form a set a rules called adat that touch every aspect of individual and social life, including religious aspects. ' Fien et al. (Fien, Goldney, and Murphy 2009) provide an equivalent outline of Australian Aboriginal links to the land through Indigenous knowledge: ...
... Honouring Indigenous knowledge and shifting socio-cultural boundaries through processes of reconciliation (Gellman 2008) would rebuild trust and capacity. According to Dodson (Dodson 2000), 'Reconciliation involves beneficial resolution of our status as the first peoples of this country and restitution for the way our inheritance as owners and custodians of the land have been taken from us.' By drawing on this collective wisdom defined through peace it would become possible to transform people's relationships with nature, as well as the domination across generations, communities and between genders (Fien, Goldney, and Murphy 2009). Security, if framed as peace, is a notion that does not differentiate between the environment and people. ...
Biodiversity expresses the most explicit and direct relationship that people have with nature. Biodiversity forms a means of sustenance and inspiration and is a key way in which people understand the state of their environment. The state of biodiversity is also a way in which to assess the impacts of human activity on the world around them.
Two of twenty-five really important places for biodiversity around the world are home for authors in this book. Of all vascular plants, as many as 44% are within these global biodiversity ‘hotspots’. Of all vertebrate animals, 35% are found in these global hotspots. These twenty-five hotspots amount to only 1.4% of the land surface of the Earth (Myers et al. 2000). Two of these hotspots, the Sundaland in South-East Asia and the high rainfall Mediterranean climate hotspot in south-western Australia provide the practical context for these authors. People working in biodiversity hold a range of interests and philosophical positions and through this book the authors share new ways of valuing and caring for biodiversity in all landscapes.
... Additionally, they present students with situations where they must make decisions and "suffer" the consequences. Thus, simulation-based games enable a student-centered learning format by making students responsible for their own learning [35]. ...
... In this field, the environment continues to be a source of resources (albeit limited) and a lever for growth, where new sectors and sub-sectors emerge as niches for new employment, new technologies (clean, green technologies) and greater respect for the environment. The underlying concept lies in the efficiency of resources, the mitigation of environmental impact and the positioning of a green market that responds to the needs of companies and individuals (Fien, Goldney and Murphy, 2009). ...
It is a technical report that has been led and coordinated by the European Expert Network on Economics of Education (EENEE). This network is a knowledge provider funded by the Erasmus+ Programme and coordinated by PPMI.
... Additionally, they present students with situations where they must make decisions and "suffer" the consequences. Thus, simulation-based games enable a student-centered learning format by making students responsible for their own learning [35]. ...
A growing body of academic research and educational institutions are recognizing the need to incorporate sustainability learning into fundamental engineering courses. Furthermore, the recent COVID-19 global pandemic has created a sudden need to augment traditional lecture-based teaching with effective web-based learning platforms. In light of these challenges the engineering education community needs to place a greater focus on designing and testing interactive, information technology-based tools for sustainability learning. To this end, our paper presents the design and implementation of Økoengineer: a web-based game platform that supports guided discovery-based learning of sustainability concepts in engineering curricula. Økoengineer is designed to familiarize engineering students with sustainability concepts and provide them with an understanding of how sustainability can be considered in the engineering design process. Therefore, Økoengineer hosts a collection of open-ended design tasks in multiple engineering disciplines. Students can solve these tasks iteratively and receive guidance through a combination of pre-recorded lectures on sustainability concepts and discussions with domain experts. Økoengineer also aims to increase students’ learning outcomes through the use of gamified elements, including high-score leaderboards, formative feedback & peer discussions, and rewarding achievements through virtual collectible badges. The Økoengineer platform is architected for scalability and allows course instructors to easily add new learning materials and design tasks.
... The concepts of TVET for All and Decent Work for All were carefully explored in the International handbook of education for the changing world of work: Bridging academic and vocational learning (Hollander & Mar, 2009;Poschen, 2009). TVET for All and TVET for Sustainable Development were explained in more detail in Work, learning and sustainable development (Anderson, 2009a(Anderson, , 2009bFien, Goldney, & Murphy, 2009;Fien & Maclean, 2009;Gough, 2009;Hughes, 2009;Karmel, 2009 ...
This paper analyses how Spanish Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are implementing “internationalization at home” strategies through the introduction of Asian studies degrees to help undergraduate students to be ready to work in a globalized world. The selection of Asia as specialization reflects its relevance for HEIs, as the most influential geopolitical area in the context of the current economic and cultural globalization. Specifically, this study identifies the undergraduate Asian degrees developed by Spanish HEIs, in what ways they are interculturally oriented, and how the intercultural orientation was incorporated into the degrees. It is possible to identify in the programs a process of the incremental acquisition of intercultural competence, following these phases: general knowledge moves to socio-linguistic and instrumental knowledge, which then becomes intercultural self-awareness. This paper concludes that to implement successfully their strategies at home and, simultaneously, to embrace the increasing societal demand for enhanced intercultural skilled professionals, a higher level of intercultural awareness is needed in Asian studies degrees at Spanish HEIs. The paper ends with some recommendations for educational policy-makers.
... In some ways the SDGs' vision for transformation does chime with an older tradition of an integrated sustainable development approach (Fien et al., 2009a), which focuses on human, community and intergenerational development; that keeps us within/moves us back towards planetary boundaries (Holland 2008;Rockström et al., 2009); that reduces poverty and inequality; that promotes individual and community wellbeing; and builds agency, solidarity and subsidiarity. In the words of Raworth, Wykes and Bass, such development is "green and just", built on four principles: reduction of poverty and/or deprivation equality of opportunities or capabilities fairness of process limited disparity of outcomes (Raworth et al., 2014: 8). ...
There have been recent calls to transform VET and to transform development. This double call leads us to ask: how can skills development best support development that is sustainable for individuals, communities and the planet, whilst promoting social justice and poverty reduction? In considering this question we critique the idea of green skills for the green economy as being inadequate for achieving a transformed and transformative VET that shifts the target from economic growth to the well-being of individuals, and that enables vocational education to play a role in challenging and transforming society and work. Rather, we argue that we must see human development and sustainable development as inseparable, and plan and evaluate VET for its contribution to these. Such an approach must be grounded in a view of work, and hence skills for work, that is decent, life-enhancing, solidaristic, environmentally-sensitive and intergenerationally-aware. It must confront the reality that much current VET is complicit in preparing people for work that lacks some or all of these characteristics. It must be concerned with poverty, inequality and injustice and contribute to their eradication. It must be supportive of individuals’ agency, whilst also reflecting a careful reading of the structures that too often constrain them. In doing all this it must minimise the costs and risks of any transformation for the poor and seek to lock them into better individual and collective lives, not out of them. Finally, it must transform skills, work and the world in ways that are truly sustainable of the people of today but also those who are to inhabit the earth tomorrow.
This Thesis explores international vocational training cooperation for sustainable development, while having its focus on the framework conditions in Uganda and potentials for cooperation with NGOs. Using a multi-methodical approach, several strands of scientific literature -related to education, vocational training, development cooperation, evaluation and vocational training measures in the global South, primarily Africa- are purposefully brought together. An analysis scheme for framework conditions for Education for Sustainable Development is roughly developed. On a basis of document analysis and expert interviews, the analysis scheme is illustrated by a Case Study (project cooperation of the German NGO Welthungerhilfe and YES Uganda).
With a focus on the Ugandan framework conditions, clearly emerging opportunities for vocational training cooperation for sustainable development are found within the organized Ugandan NGO landscape and in holistic approaches to education and skills development. Challenges involve population growth, the nature of development (and therefore of training needs) as well as various dependencies. With regards to the Case Study -in the context of the agricultural state with an informal sector- it is noted, that the possibilities of holistic approaches for skills development are strongly used, to create autonomy and independence of the beneficiaries.
This study analyses how one Victorian regional TAFE Institute is working towards understanding and contributing to skill formation for the green economy. While we already know that the provision of vocational education and training in regional areas contributes to regional innovation and development (Kilpatrick, Johns and Rosenblatt, 2000; Gelade and Fox, 2008; Kearns, Bowman and Garlick, 2008; TAFE Directors Australia, 2011), this research provides a case study of how this is occurring with regard to the development of green skills. The study presents the perceptions and understandings of participants drawn from four different cohorts. These cohorts are: (1) key players in the community/industry representatives; (2) TAFE managers; (3) TAFE teachers; and (4) TAFE students. The study found that work and jobs are changing to become more sustainable though investment in large scale alternative energy generation while often lauded had failed to reach fruition. Likewise, VET training programs are also changing with teachers and students contributing to the complex arrangements around the supply and demand for green skills. The teachers at this regional TAFE who participated in the study reported that they were well supported in accessing and participating in relevant sustainability-related professional development. Finally, numerous examples were evident throughout the study of how the work performed by staff at this TAFE institute was contributing towards regional and community development.
The planetary phase of history has begun, but the future shape of global society remains profoundly uncertain. Though perhaps improbable, a shift toward a planetary civilization of enriched lives, human solidarity, and environmental sustainability is still possible. This treatise examines the historic roots of this fateful crossroads, analyzes alternative scenarios that can emerge from contemporary forces and contradictions, and points to strategies and choices for advancing a Great Transition. It synthesizes the insights of the Global Scenario Group, convened in 1995 by the Tellus Institute and Stockholm Environment Institute to explore the requirements for a sustainable and desirable future.
Published in 1989, Blueprint for a Green Economy presented, for the first time, practical policy measures for 'greening' modern economies and putting them on a path to sustainable development. This new book, written by two of the Blueprint for a Green Economy authors, revisits and updates its main messages by asking, first, what has been achieved in the past twenty years, and second, what more needs to be done to generate a truly 'green economy' in the twenty-first century?
Explains the processes or forces operating to produce 1) the spatial distribution of resource availability, development, and consumption, 2) the distribution of these resources between nations, interest and social groups, and individuals, and 3) the allocation of resource products and services over time. Assesses how far the allocation of resources satisfies public policy objections. Analyses policy measures to correct perceived deficiencies in current resource allocations. Considers how policies are formed, who forms them, and to whose advantage they operate. -A.F.Pitty
HOW IS THE ECONOMY related to its environment, the ecosystem? The economy, in its physical dimensions, is a subsystem of the earth ecosystem. The ecosystem is finite, nongrowing, and closed. A "closed" system is one in which matter neither enters nor exits but in which energy does enter and exit. In the earth ecosystem solar energy enters and exits, and it is this throughput of energy that powers the material biogeochemical cycles on which life depends. Within this earth ecosystem the economy exists as an open subsystem. This means that both matter and energy enter from the larger system, and that both matter and energy exit back to the larger system. All physical processes of life and production are maintained by this metabolic flow-through (throughput) of matter-energy from and back to the environment. The economy lives off the environment in the same way that an animal does-by taking in useful (low-entropy) raw material and energy, and giving back waste (high-entropy) material and energy. The rest of the ecosystem, the part that is not within the economic subsystem (in other words, natural capital), absorbs the emitted wastes and, through biogeochemical cycles powered by the sun, reconstitutes much of the waste into reusable raw materials (see fig. la). As the economic subsystem expands in its physical dimensions it assimilates into itself a larger and larger proportion of the total matter-energy of the earth ecosystem. More and more of total life
Sequel to The limits to growth this book presents a renewed and refined version of the 1972 assessment and warnings. Better data, improved modelling and 20 yr of hindsight lead the authors to conclude that many resource and pollution flows are now no longer approaching the limits. Adopting a systems viewpoint and using the World3 model it is shown that mankind has a choice, and must make it soon. The choice is between allowing development to continue as it is and suffer global collapse, or take action to secure a sustainable future. The authors stress a sustainable future is technically and economically feasible, if growth in material consumption and population are eased down and there is a drastic increase in the efficiency of use of materials and energy. Chapters consider: overshoot; exponential growth; the limits (sources and sinks); dynamics of growth in a finite world; back from beyond the limits (the ozone story); technology, markets, and overshoot; transitions to a sustainable system; overshoot but not collapse. -C.J.Barrow
The ruined cities, temples, and statues of history's great, vanished societies (Easter Island, Anasazi, the Lowland Maya, Angkor Wat, Great Zimbabwe and many more) are the birthplace of endless romantic mysteries. But these disappearances offer more than idle conjecture: the social collapses were due in part to the types of environmental problems that beset us today.
Yet many societies facing similar problems do not collapse. What makes certain societies especially vulnerable? Why didn't their leaders perceive and solve their environmental problems? What can we learn from their fates, and what can we do differently today to help us avoid their fates?
"Technology is not the answer to the population problem. Rather, what is needed is 'mutual coercion mutually agreed upon'--everyone voluntarily giving up the freedom to breed without limit. If we all have an equal right to many 'commons' provided by nature and by the activities of modern governments, then by breeding freely we behave as do herders sharing a common pasture. Each herder acts rationally by adding yet one more beast to his/her herd, because each gains all the profit from that addition, while bearing only a fraction of its costs in overgrazing, which are shared by all the users. The logic of the system compels all herders to increase their herds without limit, with the 'tragic,' i.e. 'inevitable,' 'inescapable' result: ruin the commons. Appealing to individual conscience to exercise restraint in the use of social-welfare or natural commons is likewise self-defeating: the conscientious will restrict use (reproduction), the heedless will continue using (reproducing), and gradually but inevitably the selfish will out-compete the responsible. Temperance can be best accomplished through administrative law, and a 'great challenge...is to invent the corrective feedbacks..to keep custodians honest.'"
Gaia, the name of the Greek earth goddess which has been applied by the author to his hypothetical cybernetic atmospheric modulatory system, appears to be the only tenable solution to several difficulties inherent in an examination of the chemistry of the earth's atmosphere from the standpoint of classical equilibrium chemistry. The author argues that lif itself has modified the atmosphere and its cyclical processes so that conditions did, and do, not depart significantly from optima. This optimization process is presumably still operating and forces a reappraisal of the concern of some environmentalists over such problems as air pollution, to the neglect of potentially more serious tamperings with Gaian mechanisms, for example increasing the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere. - Nick Pinder
Development of sustainability concepts in Australia
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