scholarly journals Development of an Interdisciplinary Master of Forestry Program Focused on Forest Management in a Changing Climate

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 632
Author(s):  
Helge Walentowski ◽  
Bettina Kietz ◽  
Jürgen Horsch ◽  
Thomas Linkugel ◽  
Wolfgang Viöl

Concerted efforts are required to achieve the essential UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda. This concept paper is focused on the development of a new Master of Forestry (MF) degree program at our University of Applied Sciences (UAS). With this move, we want to outline how capacity building and valuable synergy effects can be obtained from close cooperation in teaching and research, in order to educate our scientifically trained and practice-oriented forestry students in applying new management responses to natural disturbance impacts and sustainable use of terrestrial natural resources for forest resource-dependent communities. Specifically, we show how the emergent issues of global warming and the associated increased vulnerability of temperate deciduous forests can be tackled. Actions to overcome knowledge transfer barriers will provide sound solutions for SDG 4 (quality education), SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy), SDG 12 (responsible consumption and production), SDG 13 (climate action), SDG 15 (life on land), and SDG 17 (partnerships to achieve the goal). Focusing on the Global Sustainable Development Goals can trigger intra and inter-faculty processes of cooperation, exchange programs, and optimized interfaces of previously separated disciplines that complement each other perfectly to form a knowledge hub.

2021 ◽  
Vol 79 ◽  
pp. 139-166
Author(s):  
Tadeusz Kęsoń ◽  
Paweł Gromek

Sustainable development goals constitute the main measures of risk-oriented sustainable development. The article presents the results of a literature study on the relationship between these objectives and universal security, which indeed refers to the most important utilitarian values. In the second part, attention is drawn to seven goals: ‘accessible and clean energy’, ‘economic growth and decent work’, ‘innovation, industry, infrastructure’, ‘less inequality’, ‘sustainable cities and communities’, ‘responsible consumption and production’, and ‘climate action’. As a result of the review of the Web of Science® Data Collection database, 46 articles were selected to serve as a basis for a literature survey. In the second part of the presentation of obtained research results, we proved that issues related to general survival and social development indirectly shape universal security in sustainable development, especially in the contexts of threats to human life and health, their social nature, promptness in responding to threats, and characteristics of threats. All identified relationships can be used to improve the link between universal security and sustainable development, increasing the potential to protect core utilitarian values in light of contemporary global development strategies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 3359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Miguel Fonseca ◽  
José Pedro Domingues ◽  
Alina Mihaela Dima

Sustainable development addresses humanity’s aspiration for a better life while observing the limitations imposed by nature. In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly approved the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with the aim to foster the organizational operationalization and integration of sustainability and, therefore, to address the current and forthcoming stakeholder needs and ensure a better and sustainable future for all, balancing the economic, social, and environmental development. However, it is not entirely clear which are the mutual relationships among the 17 SDGs and this study aims to tackle this research gap. The results of the correlation confirm that Poverty elimination (SDG1) and Good health and well-being (SDG3) have synergetic relationships with most of the other goals. SDG7 (Affordable and clean energy) has significant relationships with other SDGs (e.g., SDG1 (No poverty), SDG2 (Zero hunger), SDG3 (Good health and well-being), SDG8 (Decent work and economic growth), SDG13 (Climate action)). However, there is a moderate negative correlation with SDG12 (Responsible consumption and production), which emphasizes the need to improve energy efficiency, increase the share of clean and renewable energies and improve sustainable consumption patterns worldwide. There is also confirmation that SDG12 (Responsible consumption and production) is the goal strongly associated with trade-offs. To sum up, this research suggests that change towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals offers many opportunities for reinforcing rather than inhibiting itself. However, some SDGs show no significant correlation with other SDGs (e.g., SDG13 (Climate action) and SDG17 (Partnerships for the goals), which highlights the need for future research.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Isaac Akomea-Frimpong ◽  
Xiaohua Jin ◽  
Robert Osei-Kyei ◽  
Augustine Senanu Kukah

PurposeThe contribution of the public–private partnership (PPP) model towards the achievement of the United Nation (UN)'s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been widely acknowledged. However, limited studies have shed light on the connection between PPPs and the achievement of these coveted goals in Ghana. In this study, the authors aimed at analysing and synthesising the existing literature on the use of PPP to achieve sustainability in infrastructure projects in the country.Design/methodology/approachA three-step approach was used to retrieve and review 60 selected articles aided by content analysis.FindingsThe analysis showed that all existing relevant publications on the application of the PPP model to attain UN’s SDGs in the country are organised around dominant themes, such as poverty alleviation, urban development, waste management and risk management. However, the review revealed little studies exist on pertinent issues relating to PPPs and sustainable development goals, such as climate action, critical resilience, sustainable finance and clean energy.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the study is limited to 60 articles in Ghana, the results reveal pertinent gaps for further research studies to achieve sustainable infrastructural development in Ghana and other countries.Practical implicationsHolistically, the outcome of this study will serve as a guide to project managers to understand essential issues on attaining sustainability on public projects.Originality/valueThis article contributes to the literature and practice on the significance of PPP in mainstreaming UN's SDGs in public infrastructure projects.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3280
Author(s):  
Sebastjan Lazar ◽  
Dorota Klimecka-Tatar ◽  
Matevz Obrecht

Sustainable development, logistics, and supply chain are being combined into three increasingly connected and topical global research areas. Therefore, this paper’s novelty identifies and defines the priorities of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and sustainable development dimensions in supply-chain- and logistics-management-related studies in the last decade. Knowing logistics and supply chain sustainability focus and orientation is valuable information for researchers and managers to adapt and mitigate their business logistics according to the forecasted trends. The paper provides a systematic and comprehensive review of the literature and is based on 116 scientific papers published between 2010 and 2020 in 73 international journals in the Scopus and Web of Science databases. The study defines focus with integrating environmental, social, and economic sustainability for logistics- and supply-chain-related studies. It emphasizes primary and secondary links of investigated studies with 17 United Nations sustainable development goals. The bibliometric analysis also examined keyword relations. One of the main contributions is that economic sustainability was identified as the most represented one-dimensional sustainability focus. It was revealed that supply chain studies integrated all three sustainability dimensions more frequently (50.60%) than logistics studies, which were equally related to studying two- or three-dimensions of sustainability (39.39%). The most significant findings are also that studies were identified to be oriented primarily towards “responsible consumption and production”, “industry, innovation, and infrastructure” and “affordable and clean energy” and secondary especially on “sustainable cities and communities”.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hendro Wicaksono

The sustainable development goals are a set of 17 interlinked objectives set by United Nations General Assembly to achieve a better and sustainable future by 2030. The goals include Affordable and Clean Energy, Industry Innovation and Infrastructure, Sustainable Cities and Communities, and Responsible Consumption and Production. Currently, the industry sector is also transforming to a new paradigm called industry 4.0, which emphasizes the digitalization, interconnection, and intelligence in the frame of the internet of things, services, and people. Technological innovation, which requires interdisciplinary collaborations, is the key for industry and society to play active roles in both contributing to sustainable development goals and industry 4.0 context. The talk will discuss collaborative innovation involving universities, research organizations, large enterprises, SMEs and the government on both strategical and operative levels. It will present the strategy of triple helix innovation model and some collaboration research innovation projects that implement the model. The projects concentrate on the applications of data management and engineering methodologies such as knowledge graphs and machine learning in manufacturing, construction, and smart cities.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 242-247
Author(s):  
I. V. Djekic

This paper presents an overview of the meat supply chain in the perspective of main UN sustainable development goals (SDGs). To perform this overview, meat supply chain was presented with five main stakeholders (livestock farmers, slaughterhouses, meat processors, retailers and consumers). As this chain is specific, four SDGs have been revealed as most important, as follows: SDG6 — Clean water and sanitation; SDG7 — Affordable and clean energy; SDG12 — Sustainable consumption and production; SDG13 — Climate action. Discussion and literature review was performed for each of the four UN SDGs. In addition, other UN SDGs of interest for this supply chain have been briefly presented.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 9112
Author(s):  
Wenmei Fei ◽  
Alex Opoku ◽  
Kofi Agyekum ◽  
James Anthony Oppon ◽  
Vian Ahmed ◽  
...  

In 2015, the United Nations (UN) adopted the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development, which set out 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 169 targets and 231 unique indicators as a significant initiative towards socio-economic development. The SDGs provide the construction industry with a new lens through which global needs and desires can be translated into business solutions. This paper explores the role of the construction industry in achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. The paper uses an explanatory sequential design with an initial quantitative instrument phase, followed by a qualitative data collection phase. Following a comparative review of the literature on the 17 SDGs, a questionnaire was designed and administered among 130 respondents, and 105 responses were received. These data were then validated through semi-structured interviews with 16 sustainable construction experts. Data obtained from the semi-structured validation interviews were analysed through side-by-side comparisons of the qualitative data with the quantitative data. The findings show that the construction industry has a critical role in achieving almost all the 17 SDGs. The roles were, however, prevalent in 10 key SDGs, namely: sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11); climate action (SDG 13); clean water and sanitation (SDG 6); responsible consumption and production (SDG 12); industry, innovation and infrastructure (SDG 9); life on land (biodiversity) (SDG 15); gender equality (SDG 5); good health and well-being (SDG 3); affordable and clean energy (SDG 7); decent work and economic growth (SDG 8). The study confirmed the role played by the construction industry in achieving these SDGs. The findings from this study provide further insights into the ever-increasing state-of-the-art regarding the construction industry’s role in achieving Sustainable Development Goals.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 842
Author(s):  
Ayodele Asekomeh ◽  
Obindah Gershon ◽  
Smith I. Azubuike

Dundee City has been successful in installing green infrastructure for charging electric vehicles (EVs). This intervention matches the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of affordable clean energy (SDG 7), sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11) and climate action (SDG 13) of the United Nations General Assembly Agenda 2030 (Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development). Local authorities can align interventions with SDGs according to needs. The purpose of this paper is to consider whether Dundee’s EV strategy represents the most viable and equitable intervention that could be adopted given the city’s context. We adopt a positive review and value argumentation approach to determine the extent to which the strategy satisfies the criteria of “level of urgency”, “systemic impact” and “policy gaps”, which have been employed in the extant literature as the basis for a multi-criteria analysis (MCA). We eclectically review elements of the strategy against the city’s peculiar physical and socio-economic environment, as well as argue their fit against these criteria. We interpret these criteria based on the complementarity and benefits of the strategy from the lenses of SDG 7, SDG 11 and SDG 13. Additionally, we consider the alignment of the EV strategy with the other SDGs. The criteria also allow us to evaluate the strategy based on the localisation principles of equity, acceptability and affordability of the intervention. Our review shows that the EV strategy represents a sustainable and community life-enhancing intervention that aligns with some key SDGs. However, the outcome raises concerns about the equitability of the strategy. Smaller, similar or bigger cities could utilise this approach. However, we recommend the evaluation of local priorities to improve alignment with the SDGs and the provision of clear justifications for selecting an intervention from a range of responses.


2021 ◽  
Vol 263 (2) ◽  
pp. 4268-4274
Author(s):  
Eoin King

This paper considers noise and its control in the context of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Sustainable development involves the simultaneous pursuit of economic prosperity, environmental quality, and social equity, and the UN SDGs describe the major development challenges in these pursuits. The SDG Framework comprises 17 broad goals, that cover a wide range of issues including poverty, hunger, health, education, gender equality, clean water, clean energy, sustainable cities and communities, climate, responsible consumption, and production, amongst others. Although noise and its management are not clearly identified in any of the 17 goals, this paper posits that noise is an issue cross-cutting through almost all of the goals. Through the lens of the SDGs, this paper summarizes how a failure to adequately address noise presents a significant challenge to the realization of sustainable development. This paper considers noise and its control, in the context of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Sustainable development involves the simultaneous pursuit of economic prosperity, environmental quality and social equity, and the UN SDGs describe the major development challenges in these pursuits. The SDG Framework comprises of 17 broad goals, that cover a wide range of issues including poverty, hunger, health, education, gender equality, clean water, clean energy, sustainable cities and communities, climate, responsible consumption and production, amongst others. Although noise and its management are not clearly identified in any of the 17 goals, this paper posits that noise is an issue cross-cutting through almost all of the goals. Through the lens of the SDGs, this paper summarizes how a failure to address noise presents a significant challenge to the realization of these goals.


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