Track 1a: Sustainable Development Science: fundamental concepts

Track Chairs:

Peter Schlosser. Earth Institute, Columbia University, USA.

Cecilia Haskins. NTNU, Department for Production and Quality Management. Norway.

Contacts: schlosser@ldeo.columbia.edu; cecilia.haskins@ntnu.no

Goals and objectives of the track

Sustainable Development has received a facelift with the ratification by the UN of an updated set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Addressing each of these goals will require a multidisciplinary approach with environmental, technological, political, social, economic and institutional aspects.

Sustainable Development Science is a relatively new academic discipline that considers the interactions between natural and social systems, and their impact on global sustainability. This track will explore definitions, concepts, indicators and implications of sustainable development from and inter- and transdisciplinary perspective; long term change towards sustainable societies, and appropriate methods, such as stakeholder communications, scenarios, forecasting and backcasting.

Contributions from sustainability science should provide an improved knowledge base for decision-making, thus helping to advance sustainability goals relevant, amongst others, to water, food, energy, climate, health, habitation, mobility, biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Scientific disciplines contributing to sustainability science include:

  • Biology, biodiversity research, ecosystem analysis;
  • Chemistry, toxicity analysis, atmospheric chemistry;
  • Ecological economics, economy-environment interaction;
  • Environmental sciences, cause-effect networks;
  • Evolutionary economics, sustainable economic structures;
  • Physics and meteorology;
  • Political sciences, institutional analysis, governance;
  • Psychology, individual preferences and behaviour change;
  • Socio-economics, driving forces and incentive structures;
  • Sociology, attitudes, behavioural patterns.

However, contributions for this track will not be disciplinary papers dealing with issues relevant to sustainable development, but will address the interactions among humans, their technologies, and the environment from an interdisciplinary perspective. They will consider the cross-disciplinary question of how science and innovation must be developed to be applied to meet human needs while preserving the life support systems of the planet, the institutional conditions for and the practical challenges of this application. Sustainability science is an active pursuit by the scientific community as evidenced by the increasing focus in education and the proliferation of courses and degree programs in sustainability, sustainable development, and sustainability science.

You may submit your abstract by visiting the Ex Ordo abstract submission system (you will be required to setup an account first): http://isdrs2016.exordo.com/

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