scholarly journals Environmental Education in Environmental Engineering: Analysis of the Situation in Colombia and Latin America

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (18) ◽  
pp. 7239
Author(s):  
Pedro Mauricio Acosta Castellanos ◽  
Araceli Queiruga-Dios ◽  
Ascensión Hernández Encinas ◽  
Libia Cristina Acosta

Environmental education (EE) has become the only tool for environmental sustainability in training processes in Colombia, for basic cycles in primary and secondary, as well as university education. EE tends to transform human actions in nature, based on multidisciplinary knowledge that supports decision-making. Its goal is to generate a change in social behavior in order to achieve the recovery, conservation, and preservation of the environment. In Colombia, education for sustainable development (ESD) is embedded in EE. These educational models (EE and ESD) seek to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs), which generally seek the economic and social well-being of nations, both for current and future generations. Environmental engineering is a relatively new degree course in Colombia and Latin America since it appeared in the mid-nineties, and it must involve EE within its curriculum. Students are trained in this trend. This research intends to demonstrate, through a curricular review of the environmental engineering curricula and also surveying students from this degree, the level of inclusion of EE in Latin America. Strengths are identified in the curricula, such as the strong presence of EE in disciplinary subjects and opportunities for improvement based on the needs of the students. The situation in South America is also included in this study.

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-38
Author(s):  
Ahmet Atalay

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are grouped under three main titles; economic development, environmental sustainability, and improvement of social well-being. Environmental sustainability is one of the most important components of sustainable development goals because it is obvious that without a sustainable environment, economic and social development goals will be abandoned. While the unplanned use of the environment and natural resources threatens environmental sustainability, it can be said that one of the most important actors in this process is sports. Mass production and consumption, facility establishment, and increase in organizations in sports accelerate environmental and natural destruction. The sustainability of sports is directly proportional to environmental sustainability. Therefore, reduction of the sports-induced negative environmental impacts will make great contributions to environmental sustainability. In this way, it will be possible to transfer both the natural environment and sports to future generations. This study was limited to environmental sustainability, which is one of the three main titles set for sustainable development goals and the effects of sports on environmental sustainability were evaluated in the light of available literature. Again, regarding the existing literature, suggestions were developed to reduce the negative environmental impacts of sports.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 251-256
Author(s):  
Alina Rădoiu

AbstractThe theory of sustainable development shows an international dynamic evolution and more and more countries develop socio-economic development methods and techniques, whose main objective is to ensure a balance between economic, social and environmental aspects. Romania is working to ensure a sustainable future, implementing various strategies that aim to transform our society into a truly sustainable and modern one. The analysis of sustainable development indicators can be a solid basis for periodic monitoring progress in achieving the strategic sustainable development goals. The present paper aims to analyze the steps that Romania takes in this process of transforming the economy into a sustainable one and its challenges according to the trends of sustainable development indicators. From the economic point of view, for Romania the economic growth does not have to be a purpose itself, because the economy must work for people and the planet. Therefore, sustainable development and the well-being of citizens must be at the center of the actions, and to achieve these goals the great challenge of our country is the combination of dimensions such as environmental sustainability, increased productivity, equity and macroeconomic stability. The long-term economic challenges related to climate change, digitization and demographic developments must be addressed through a growth model, which will allow to maintain economic competitiveness and achieve the goal of climate neutrality.


2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 59-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Costanza ◽  
Lorenzo Fioramonti ◽  
Ida Kubiszewski

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
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The Development Effectiveness Overview (DEO) is an annual report produced by the IDB Group to share the results and impact of its work in Latin America and the Caribbean. It showcases the IDB Group's contributions towards the development of its 26 borrowing member countries in the region and the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as progress against key institutional metrics in its Corporate Results Framework.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 2485 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafaela Hillerbrand

This paper reflects on criticisms raised in the literature on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These have been criticized as creating a dichotomy between the environment and human beings that fails to address the multiple interconnections between the two. This paper focuses on SDG7—“affordable and clean energy”—and suggests that there is in fact a tripartite distinction between the environment, human beings and technology underlying the SDGs. This distinction, we argue, does not adequately represent the multiple interconnections among the various SDGs and hampers their implementation. We contend that the formulation of SDG7 produces a circular definition of sustainability, a difficulty that is currently resolved at the level of the targets and indicators in a way that regards energy technologies primarily as artifacts. By contrast, the literature on ethical aspects of energy systems largely agrees that energy is a paradigmatic example of a sociotechnical system. We contend that, by not considering this sociotechnical nature, the SDGs run the risk of implicitly defending a certain variant of technological optimism and determinism. We argue that this is disadvantageous to the environment, human well-being and technological development. In line with recent critical evaluations of the SDGs, we argue that these (and other) shortcomings can be addressed by better connecting the SDGs to human well-being. Building on recent literature that expands the scope of the Capability Approach as an alternative measure of well-being so as to include considerations of sustainability, we articulate a framework that allows us to elucidate this connection and thus to take advantage of synergies between human well-being and the environment. On the basis of the Capability Approach, we argue that equating sustainable energy with renewable energy—as is done in the transition from SDG7’s goal to its targets—is indefensible because, as part of the overarching energy systems, energy technologies cannot be classified as simply right or wrong. Rather, the indicators and targets within a framework focused on sustainability need to be (more) context sensitive, meaning that, among other things, they may vary by country and with the available technology.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca R. Hernandez ◽  
Sarah M. Jordaan ◽  
Ben Kaldunski ◽  
Naresh Kumar

Energy development improves quality of life for humans, but also incurs environmental consequences. A global energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy may mitigate climate change but may also undermine the capacity to achieve some or all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this study, we use an innovation systems approach to construct a comprehensive roadmap for solar and wind energy to anticipate and improve impacts of a transition to a low carbon future in a manner ensuring climate goals and SDGs are mutually reinforcing. Our multidisciplinary approach began with an assessment of public investments in renewable energy followed by a 2-day research prioritization workshop. Fifty-eight expert workshop participants identified six research themes that proactively address the environmental sustainability of renewable energy. Next, we identified linkages between the six research themes and all 17 SDGs. Finally, we conducted a scientiometric analysis to analyze the research maturity of these themes. The results of these efforts elucidated the limits of existing knowledge of renewable energy-SDG interactions, informing the development of a research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RD3) roadmap to a renewable energy future aligned with both climate goals and SDGs. The RD3 roadmap has been designed to systematically develop solutions for diverse actors and organizations. Overall, our findings confer a broad vision for a sustainable transition to renewables to minimize unintended environmental consequences while supporting interoperability among actors particularly poised to influence its magnitude and direction.


2021 ◽  
Vol 295 ◽  
pp. 05003
Author(s):  
Konstantin Maltsev ◽  
Larisa Binkovskaya ◽  
Anni Maltseva

The relevance of linking the concept of sustainable development and the security discourse reveals the possibility of believing that education is a prerequisite for ensuring that “sustainable development” goals become a reality. The university has a twofold task: first, to produce knowledge that meets the demands of our time, i.e. technical knowledge, and second, to form human capital, to train specialists capable of the practical application of instrumental knowledge. The initial orientation of the concept of “sustainable development” towards a global perspective: the representation of reality in an economic paradigm, i.e., totally determined by the “logic of capital”, “monocausal economic logic”, determines the criteria by which the quality of human capital, its price, and efficiency of production of a standardized product are evaluated, the production of which is undertaken by the university-corporation that has replaced the classical “university of reason”, whose ontic foundations - the “Hegelian science”, the romantic “education of humanity” - are no longer valid in what is called modernity. The article demonstrates how modernity, constituted concerning a certain self-representation of the New European subject and presented in the liberal economic paradigm, predetermines both the goal-setting in determined by its representation of the development and the content and methods of the reform of the university. It is concluded that “sustainable development”, “security” and “university-corporation” are essentially connected with the representation of reality in the liberal version of the economic paradigm.


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