World Sustainability Series

We have entered a new era where business, technologies, communities, and even pandemic deceases cross borders with unprecedented speed and intensity. 2030 Agenda and 17 SDGs reflect the global community's high expectations of finally reversing the destruction of our natural and social habits, and achieving a more balanced and equitable pathways toward well-being of all. However, despite the initial efforts, the world is not on track to achieving the most of the 169 targets that comprise the goals. It is evident that we have a system problem, so we need a system solution. Authors presented a hierarchical system consisting of two-level management systems: first level—unsustainability reduction systems and second level—control system for transformations toward sustainability. The book clearly shows that implementation of systems for unsustainability reduction and for transformations toward sustainability is possible, and that sufficient knowledge is available to get started. It is designed for researchers, practitioners, and politicians.

This book reviews empirical and theoretical research on sustainable development in the context of leisure management for communities. Although leading research centers are pursuing interdisciplinary research on leisure in the context of sustainable development, there are still few papers that holistically address the current challenges in this area. In addition, demographic changes have made the promotion of a healthy lifestyle essential. Doing so requires responsible behavior on the part of various stakeholders in this market.

This book fills an important gap in the literature and gathers contributions from an interdisciplinary and international team of authors, whose fields of expertise include human geography, management, intersections of sustainability and leisure, behavioral psychology and tourism.

This book is a truly interdisciplinary publication, useful to scholars, social movements, practitioners and members of governmental agencies and private companies, undertaking research and/or executing projects focusing on social responsibility and sustainability from across the world.Sustainable development has become a matter of central concern to both public institutions and enterprises.  Indeed, for many companies, a due emphasis to environmental issues is not only positive from the point of view of environmental gains, but also to the image of the business. Often, but not always, this is reflected in the preparation of  formal strategies and programmes, which entail their institutional strategies and visions. The wide area of social responsibility, often known as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), entails elements of social equality and environmental accountability,  and eco-efficiency. Due to their complexity, the interrelations between  social responsibility and sustainable development need to be better understood. There is also a real need to showcase successful examples of how public institutions and companies are handling their sustainability challenges. It is against this background that this book has been produced.

In order to yield the expected benefits, sustainability initiatives need to be undertaken by means of a close cooperation between universities on the one hand, and societal partners on the others. The principle of co-creation and co-execution of sustainability initiatives increases the value for all by mutual learning, and the sharing of expertise and resources. But pursuing sustainability initiatives with a community and societal involvement is not simple. There is a perceived need for a better understanding of how universities can interact with society, in order to support the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. 

This book is an attempt to address this need, by a novel approach which focuses on current potentials and challenges, across a wide range of fields and expertise. The book focuses on how the theory and practice of sustainable development interact and shows the need for a continuation of the dialogue among sustainability academics and practitioners, so as to address the issues, matters and problems at hand. The spectrum of themes addressed on this book also entails how environmental values and ethics are applied and the relationship between social, biological and cultural diversity. It also includes a broad disciplinary approach to sustainability, including education, research and case studies, and the links with human–environment relations in a sustainable development context.

This book gathers and disseminates opinions, viewpoints, studies, forecasts, and practical projects which illustrate the various pathways sustainability research and practice may follow in the future, as the  world recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic and prepares itself to the possibilities of having to cope with similar crisis, a product of the Inter-University  Sustainable Development Research Programme (IUSDRP) https://www.haw-hamburg.de/en/ftz-nk/programmes/iusdrp.html  and the European School  of Sustainability Science and Research (ESSSR) https://esssr.eu/. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to severe human suffering, and to substantial damages to economies around the globe, affecting both rich countries and developing ones. The aftermath of the epidemic is also expected to be felt for sometime. This will also include a wide range of impacts in the ways sustainable development is perceived, and how the principles of sustainability are practised.
There is now a pressing need to generate new literature on the connections between COVID-19 and sustainability. This is so for two main reasons. Firstly, the world crisis triggered by COVID-19 has severely damaged the world economy, worsening poverty, causing hardships, and endangering livelihoods. Together, these impacts may negatively influence the implementation of sustainable development as a whole, and of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in particular. These potential and expected impacts need to be better understood and quantified, hence providing a support basis for future recovery efforts. Secondly, the shutdown caused by COVID-19 has also been having a severe impact on teaching and research, especially –but  not only – on matters related to sustainability. This may also open new opportunities (e.g. less travel, more Internet-based learning), which should be explored further, especially in the case of future pandemics, a scenario which cannot be excluded.
The book meets these perceived needs. 

This book gives a special emphasis to state-of-the-art descriptions of approaches, methods, initiatives, and projects from universities, stakeholders, organizations, and civil society across the world, regarding cross-cutting issues in sustainable development.
There is a perceived need for mobilizing the various stakeholders when attempting to promote sustainability in higher education and to promote best practices, which may inspire further initiatives. But despite this need, there are a few publications handling this matter in a coherent way. In order to meet the pressing need for publications which may document and disseminate examples of best practice on sustainable development at university level, the “Handbook of Best Practices in Sustainable Development at University Level” is being published.

This book is produced by the European School of Sustainability Science and Research (ESSSR), through the Inter-University Sustainable Development Research Programme (IUSDRP) and contains inputs from authors across all geographical regions.

The book also discusses examples of initiatives coordinated by universities but involving civil society, the private sector, and public sector (including local, national, and intergovernmental bodies). In particular, it describes practical experiences, partnerships, networks, and training schemes for building capacity aimed at fostering the cause of sustainable development at institutions of higher education.

Thanks to its design and the contributions by experts from various areas, it provides a welcome contribution to the literature on sustainable development, and it may inspire further works in this field.

This book serves the purpose of documenting and promoting African experiences on sustainable development, which encompasses both, formal and non-formal education. Sustainable development is very important to Africa, but there is a paucity of publication which documents and promotes experiences from African countries.  Due to their complexity, the interrelations between social, economic and political factors related to sustainable development, especially at universities, need to be better understood. There is also a real need to showcase successful examples of how African institutions are handling their sustainability challenges. 
It is against this background that this book has been produced. It is a truly interdisciplinary publication, useful to scholars, social movements, practitioners and members of governmental agencies and private companies, undertaking research and/or executing projects focusing on sustainability from across Africa. 
As African nations strive to pursue the UN Sustainable Development Goals, it is imperative to cater for the information needs seen across the continent and foster the dissemination of experiences and case studies, which may support both, on-going and future efforts. The scope of the book is deliberately kept wide, and we are looking for contributions across the spectrum of sustainable development from business and economics, to arts and fashion, administration, environment, languages and media studies. 

This book describes initiatives and concrete examples on sustainable food production worldwide. In the current world scenario, where nations all over the world are struggling to accomplish the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and to ensure sustainable patterns for all, this book provides a contribution towards a more comprehensive and interdisciplinary understanding of the cross-cutting issues related to Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security. This interdisciplinary book supports the efforts to engage a commitment from all fields of science, to work together to provide knowledge that could help to address SDG2 (No hunger) and lead to the promotion of quality of life, by means of a more sustainable food production, and improved food security. 

This book includes contributions from scientists and representatives from government and non-governmental organisations working in the field of land management and use and on management of fires. The book is truly interdisciplinary and has both a research and application-oriented dimension. The list of topics includes sustainability and water management; sustainability and biodiversity conservation;  the future sustainability of nature-based industries such as agriculture, mining, tourism, fisheries and forestry; sustainability, people and livelihoods; sustainability and landscapes planning; sustainability and land use planning; handling and managing forest fires. The papers are innovative and cross-cutting, and many have practice-based experiences. Also, this book, prepared by the Inter-University Sustainable Development Research Programme (IUSDRP) and the World Sustainable Development Research and Transfer Centre (WSD-RTC), reiterates the need to promote a sustainable use of land resources today.

This book highlights the vital necessity for combining sustainable development processes from different areas, with applications in areas such as science, education and production sectors. These sectors have previously been separated by linguistic and technological barriers. Breaking down these barriers will allow an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary flow of information, leading to greater efficiency, and towards a more real resilient and sustainable economy development. This book fills in the gap in respect of publications addressing aspects of innovation and sustainable development and focuses on a range of areas, such as I. Gradual transition to innovative development; II. Continuity of technology in education, science and industry; III. Convergency directions, interdisciplinary relations in scientific research; IV. Digital technologies for sustainable development; V. Global trends and regional aspects of innovation and traditions in environmental management; VI. International legal regulations and environmental and economic relations among business communities. The publication fosters the global efforts towards taking better advantage of the many opportunities which innovation in specific areas may offer.

This book states that whilst academic research has long been grounded on the idea of western or scientific epistemologies, this often does not capture the uniqueness of Indigenous contexts, and particularly as it relates to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs were announced in 2015, accompanied by 17 goals and 169 targets. These goals are the means through which Agenda 2030 for sustainable development is to be pursued and realised over the next 15 years, and the contributions of Indigenous peoples are essential to achieving these goals.
Indigenous peoples can be found in practically every region of the world, living on ancestral homelands in major cities, rainforests, mountain regions, desert plains, the arctic, and small Pacific Islands. Their languages, knowledges, and values are rooted in the landscapes and natural resources within their territories.

However, many Indigenous peoples are now minorities within their homelands and globally, and there is a dearth of research based on Indigenous epistemologies and methodologies. Furthermore, academic research on Indigenous peoples is typically based on western lenses. Thus, the paucity of Indigenous methodologies within mainstream research discourses present challenges for implementing practical research designs and interpretations that can address epistemological distinctiveness within Indigenous communities.

There is therefore the need to articulate, as well as bring to the nexus of research aimed at fostering sustainable development, a decolonising perspective in research design and practice.

This is what this book wants to achieve. The contributions critically reflect on Indigenous approaches to research design and implementation, towards achieving the sustainable development goals, as well as the associated challenges and opportunities. The contributions also advanced knowledge, theory, and practice of Indigenous methodologies for sustainable development.

This book aims to give a contribution to a more comprehensive and interdisciplinary understanding of the cross-cutting issues on energy, environment and health research topics in the current world scenario, where nations all over the world are struggling to accomplish the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and to ensure sustainable patterns for all. This interdisciplinary implies a commitment between all fields of science, working together to provide knowledge that could result in the promotion of quality of life. At the present, it is evident that not all people benefit from sustainable policies and practices and the communication between health, energy, environmental and social problems is undeniable. A call for different views could be a pathway attracting universities, stakeholders, organizations and civil society to deeply discuss how one solution does not fit all societies. Few publications are coherently handling this matter. This book is expected to fill this gap and to develop an interest in a larger audience working in general sustainable development and cross-cutting issues. This book is produced by the European School of Sustainability Science and Research (ESSSR). 

This book focuses on 'educating the sustainability leaders of the future' and will contribute to the further development of this fast-growing field. As the title suggests, it presents practical experiences related to education, research and extension, the so-called third mission, whereby universities conduct outreach to society as a whole (e.g. to local communities, organisations, industry, and other groups) with the aim of documenting such experiences and making them available to a wide audience.
 
This book is produced by the European School of Sustainability Science and Research (ESSSR), through the Inter-University Sustainable Development Research Programme (IUSDRP) and contains inputs from authors from across all geographical regions.
 
It gives a special emphasis to the participation of future generations on sustainability efforts. The book also discusses examples of initiatives coordinated by universities but involving civil society, the private sector, and public sector (including local, national, and intergovernmental bodies). In particular, it describes practical experiences, partnerships, networks, and training schemes for building capacity aimed at fostering the cause of sustainable development at institutions of higher education. 
 
Thanks to its design and the contributions by experts from various areas, it provides a welcome contribution to the literature on sustainable development, and it inspires further works in this field.

Sustainability is now a widely spread concept, and much progress has been achieved since the 1970s, when it started to be widely discussed. At present, many international organizations and scientists are active in implementing sustainable development as a whole and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in particular. Nevertheless, the main research agenda is being led by some countries, providing a good opportunity for other nations and regions which have not yet been so active, to bring their viewpoints to the global discussion. One of these regions is Latin America.

a) to provide research institutions, universities, NGOs, government agencies, and enterprises from the region with an opportunity to present their works in the field of sustainability and

Last but not least, a further aim of the book is to present methodological approaches and experiences deriving from case studies and projects, which aim to show how sustainability may be enhanced in practice.