scholarly journals Brazilian Coast: A Significant Gap in the Knowledge of Cyanobacteria and Their Applications

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taiara A. Caires ◽  
Helen Michelle de J. Affe
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
New Taxa ◽  
Brazilian Coast ◽  
Marine Cyanobacteria ◽  
Biotechnological Potential ◽  
Ocean Science ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The World ◽  
Biochemically Active Compounds ◽  
Diverse Groups

Brazil has 10.959 km of coastline which includes three ecoregions based on the biogeographic system, exhibiting a wide range of environments that favor the occurrence of numerous cyanobacterial morpho- and ecotypes. These organisms have a great adaptive capacity, which explains their occupancy in numerous environments and the high diversification of the group. Historically, the cyanobacteria have been classified only based on morphology, which makes their taxonomy quite challenging. There is usually little morphological variation between taxa, which makes it difficult to identify diacritical characteristics between some genera and species, making intergeneric and intraspecific delimitation tough. Thereby, the polyphasic approach based on different tools allows the identification of new taxa and the reassessment of those already established with more reliability, contributing to a better systematic resolution of the world ‘cyanoflora’, a term that we propose herein to describe the diversity of Cyanobacteria into Phycoflora area. However, the use of these tools is still not widely applied to most genera and species, especially those from tropical and subtropical environments, which has limited the real recognition of their biodiversity, as well as the knowledge about the cyanobacteria’s evolutionary history and biogeography. In Brazil, even with the great development of phycological studies, the knowledge about Cyanobacteria from marine benthic environments has not evolved to the same degree. This phylum has been neglected in floristic surveys, presenting only 46 benthic species reported to the long Brazilian coastline, evidencing the still incipient knowledge about the diversity and distribution of this microorganism’s group. Furthermore, biotechnological properties of Brazilian marine cyanobacteria are still almost completely unknown, with only three studies carried out to date, underestimating one of the most diverse groups and with promising potential for the possibility of isolating new biochemically active compounds. The ten new taxa related to the Brazilian coast in the last decade emphasizes the challenge of conducting further floristic surveys in the underexplored marine environments in order to fill an important lacune in the cyanoflora knowledge, as well as their biogeographic distribution and biotechnological potential. Besides, the recognition of the Brazilian cyanoflora makes an important contribution to the understanding of the functioning and monitoring of marine ecosystems and provide data for the construction of future public policies, which is a goal of the United Nations Decade for Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

scholarly journals The duty to take appropriate measures to prevent significant transboundary harm and private companies: insights from transboundary hydropower projects

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 667-682
Author(s):  
Alistair Rieu-Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
International Law ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Transboundary Rivers ◽  
Private Companies ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The World ◽  
The Law ◽  
Private Actors

Abstract Recognition that hydropower plays a role in fostering sustainable development and helping countries move away from fossil fuels has led to a resurgence of planned projects on transboundary rivers around the world. Whilst these projects offer clear benefits, they are not without their socio-ecological impacts. An added feature of hydropower projects is that they tend to involve a wide range of actors that are responsible for their financing, planning, construction and operation (international and domestic; private and State). This begs the question, if it is ultimately the responsibility of States to ensure that these projects are in accordance with international law obligations, what does that responsibility entail when much of the activity is conducted by private companies? International law has a long tradition of placing States under an obligation to regulate the conduct of non-State activities so as to prevent transboundary harm. However, a closer review of the law relating to transboundary hydropower projects reveals that more could be done to guide States as to the appropriate measures that they might put in place to ensure that any hydropower projects involving private actors are implemented in an equitable and sustainable manner.

Developments in Financial Technologies for Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

2022 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Thinh Gia Hoang ◽  
Giang Ngo Tinh Nguyen ◽  
Dat Anh Le
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Sustainable Growth ◽  
Private Capital ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The World ◽  
Technological Developments ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Global Financial System

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can be seen as the critical goal for every country in the world. In this vein, a stable global financial system is needed these days to satisfy its duty to boost the private capital mobilisation to achieve sustainable development and steady economic growth. Nevertheless, several obstacles limiting such financial mobilisation have been identified by scholars, practitioners, and standard setters. Recently, digital transformation and advancement, specifically in the finance sector, include a wide range of technological developments, and applications such as blockchain, internet of things, big data, artificial intelligence are promised to enhance performance in the financial sector. The potential of digital applications in the finance sector to resolve critical obstacles in financing for inclusive and sustainable growth becomes evident. This chapter aims to provide a summary and a detailed discussion of the latest developments in financial technologies that both facilitate the SDGs and also contribute to future sustainable international business.

scholarly journals Gender Equality on the UN Agenda and the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Organization

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-47
Author(s):  
N. Shvedova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
75Th Anniversary ◽  
25Th Anniversary ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The World ◽  
Women And Girls

he 2020 is rich in anniversaries: the world community celebrates the 75th anniversary of the United Nations (UN) and the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women, a mass meeting of more than five thousand participants in Beijing in 1995. A three-day special event is planned during the September Session of the UN General Assembly in New York (2020), dedicated to the celebration of “Beijing Plus 25”. At these meetings governments from around the world are expected to commit to speeding up and scaling up the promises made in the historic Beijing Platform for Action. And the last 2019 was marked by the fortieth anniversary of the most important document in the field of gender equality – the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women – CEDAW, which is rightfully widely known in the world as “The Bill on the Rights of Women” (1979). Anniversary dates increase motivation to comprehend the role and place of events and phenomena associated with them. Moreover, the UN theme and gender equality is a hot topic, which is due to two main circumstances. 47НАДЕАЖ АШВОИнст иД суА ВД ОНАДЕО ОДЕ суА СКсу ОДДнаАЖдОЖт иы суА ВДнаАЖдОИ иЖНОДнРОсниДInternational Trends. Volume 18. No. 2 (61). April–June / 2020On the one hand, the UN is a unique global organization that has a significant impact on international processes. On the other hand, the problem of gender equality is the basis of social stability, a condition for development and an instrument for creating the quality of life. Bridging the gender gap in all areas of life is vital to achieving sustainable development and fulfilling the promise of the 2030 Agenda. To achieve the sustainable development goals, it is necessary to ensure full and equal access for and participation in women and girls. Despite progress, women and girls are still systematically underrepresented as users and leaders in critical areas of human life. The fight against stereotypes and myths occupies a key place. There is a wide range of options available to address both the causes and symptoms underlying gender stereotypes and social norms. The emphasis on a sound strategy with a gender perspective is something that can contribute to achieving gender equality for the sustainable development of the civilized world, this is what the UN insists on.

scholarly journals Social change innovations, citizen science, miniSASS and the SDGs

Water Policy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jim Taylor ◽  
Mark Graham ◽  
Adrienne Louw ◽  
Ayanda Lepheana ◽  
Bonani Madikizela ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Stakeholder Participation ◽  
Action Learning ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Water Quality Monitoring ◽  
Quality Monitoring ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The World

Abstract The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) describe a course of action to address poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all (https://sdgs.un.org/goals). More specifically, SDG 6 clarifies how water quality, quantity and access are crucial to human well-being, and yet human activities are compromising water resources through over-exploitation, pollution, as well as contributing to the spread of disease. Globally aquatic ecosystems are highly threatened and concerted efforts by governments and civil society to ‘turn the situation around’ are simply not working. Human-created problems require human-centred solutions and these require different ways of thinking and acting to those behaviour patterns that are contributing to the challenges. In this paper, we first consider causal approaches to attitude change and behaviour modification that are simply not working as intended. We then explore enabling responses such as citizen science and co-engaged action learning as more tenable alternatives. SDG 6 has a focus on clean water and sanitation for all. The SDGs further clarify how the extent to which this goal can be realized depends, to a large extent, on stakeholder engagements and education. Through stakeholder engagements and educational processes, people can contribute towards SDG 6 and the specific indicator and target in SDG 6.b – Stakeholder participation. Following a three-year research process, that investigated a wide range of participatory tools, this paper explores how the Stream Assessment Scoring System (miniSASS; www.minisass.org) can enable members of the public to engage in water quality monitoring at a local level. The paper continues to demonstrate how miniSASS can contribute to the monitoring of progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 6.3.2., as a Level Two indicator. miniSASS is proving popular in southern Africa as a methodology for engaging stakeholder participation in water quality monitoring and management. The technique costs very little to implement and can be applied by children and scientists alike. As a biomonitoring approach, it is based on families of macroinvertebrates that are present in most perennial rivers of the world. The paper concludes by describing how useful the miniSASS technique can be for addressing SDG 6.3.2 and that it can be applied in most regions of the world.

scholarly journals Education for sustainable development: new map topics in school atlas on economic and social geography of the world

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 158-166
Author(s):  
Tatiana Nokelaynen
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Social Geography ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Water Shortage ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
School Education ◽  
Design Work ◽  
Teaching Aids ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The World

Sustainable development of territories is one of the most fundamental topics of modern natural and social sciences. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by the UN General Assembly (2015), contains 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on a wide range of human, socio-economic and environmental issues. The national education systems of all countries have been given the task of integrating the SDGs into the content of their school education. Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is multidisciplinary. An exceptional role in the implementation of ESD ideas is played by geography, which comprehensively studies the system “nature – population – economy”. School maps and atlases have a special place in the arsenal of teaching aids. Maps are not only a source of geographic information, but also a tool for research and design work, the basis for discussion in the classroom. The inclusion of new subjects and themes in the content of school atlases is one of the most optimal and promising approaches to integrating the ideas of sustainable development into school education. The main result of this research are new cartographic plots reflecting the goals of sustainable development, which were developed and included in the content of the school atlas “Economic and social geography of the world. Natural resources. Population. Economics”. A list of the SDGs and atlas maps corresponding to their topics is provided. An integrated approach and consistency are the distinctive conditions for studying the problems of sustainable development. World maps of the school atlas are grouped into three thematic blocks: “Global resource problems”, “Global socio-demographic problems”, “Global environmental problems” and supplemented by charts, graphs and explanatory texts. The topic of sustainable development is also covered in other sections of the school atlas. As an example, we provide a list of atlas maps that can be used when studying the topic “The Problem of Water Shortage and Deterioration of Water Quality”. The world maps in the atlas are presented at scales of 1 : 80 000 000, 1 : 120 000 000, 1 : 160 000 000 and 1 : 250 000 000.

scholarly journals Transferring Complex Scientific Knowledge to Useable Products for Society: The Role of the Global Integrated Ocean Assessment and Challenges in the Effective Delivery of Ocean Knowledge

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Evans ◽  
Tymon Zielinski ◽  
S. Chiba ◽  
Carlos Garcia-Soto ◽  
Henn Ojaveer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
World Ocean ◽  
Ecosystem Recovery ◽  
Ocean Science ◽  
Regular Process ◽  
The World ◽  
The United Nations

The ocean provides essential services to human wellbeing through climate regulation, provision of food, energy and livelihoods, protection of communities and nurturing of social and cultural values. Yet despite the ocean’s key role for all life, it is failing as a result of unsustainable human practices. The first global integrated assessment of the marine environment, produced by the United Nations under The Regular Process for Global Reporting and Assessment of the State of the Marine Environment, including Socioeconomic Aspects (the World Ocean Assessment), identified an overall decline in ocean health. The second assessment, launched in April 2021, although recognising some bright spots and improvements, stresses ongoing decline in the ocean as a result of many unabated anthropogenic stressors on the ocean. This highlights that society, as a whole, does not fully recognise or value the importance of the ocean to their lives and impacts on the ocean caused by human activities. Further, recognition of the need for immediate and effective solutions for mitigating impacts and enabling ecosystem recovery, and the associated societal changes required is lacking. The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021–2030 both recognize that sustainability is both a desired and essential pathway for ensuring the ocean can continue to provide the services society depends on. The World Ocean Assessment has an important role to play in increasing awareness of the ocean, the changes occurring in the ocean, the human activities causing those changes and the progress being made in reducing and mitigating the impacts of human activities on the marine environment. This paper outlines the knowledge brokering role that the Regular Process provides on ocean issues to all aspects of society from policy makers, ocean managers, ocean users to the public. It identifies the challenges faced by the Regular Process in successfully carrying out that role and lessons learned in achieving widespread uptake and recognition. Within the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, solutions in the form of instructions or guidelines for the use of the assessment can be developed and implemented.

scholarly journals Marine and ocean sciences in Mexico: living with our backs to the sea

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (01) ◽  
pp. C09
Author(s):  
Ana Claudia Nepote ◽  
Pedro Medina-Rosas
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Public Communication ◽  
Marine Environments ◽  
Tropical Ecosystems ◽  
Ocean Science ◽  
Ocean Sciences ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The World ◽  
Threatened Habitat

Despite Mexico has coasts in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, people's connection towards the sea and marine environments is quite poor. Our commentary focuses on Mexico's coral reefs, relevant tropical ecosystems to human and oceanic welfare, and it emerges from the experience of the production of an itinerant coral reefs exhibit in Mexico, committed to the conservation and awareness of this threatened habitat. The UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development starts in 2021 and represents an opportunity to increase initiatives for public communication of science on marine and oceanic issues in Mexico and the world.

Findings of the Beijing 2000 IWA chemical industries speciality conference

2003 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-27
Author(s):  
A.J. Englande ◽  
X. Bao
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Conference Proceedings ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Pollution Control ◽  
Process Industries ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The World ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Beijing China ◽  
Point Of Reference

Critical Technologies to the World in the 21st Century: Pollution Control and Reclamation in Process Industries was a Chemical Industries Specialty Conference held in Beijing, China 18-22 September 2000. Set in China, the cradle of civilization, the conference hosted about 100 delegates from over twenty countries. Approximately 122 technical papers were presented covering a wide range of topic areas. This paper reviews significant findings presented. Perhaps the conference proceedings will serve as a point of reference for future evaluations and accomplishments. The 21st century offers both challenges and opportunities for progress towards sustainable development/production in the process industries. International cooperation and inter-disciplinary collaboration are essential for this goal to be realized.

Mandatory Corporate Social Responsibility and After That?

2020 ◽  
pp. 274-292
Author(s):  
Remya Lathabhavan
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Socially Responsible ◽  
Cultural Economic ◽  
Responsible Investing ◽  
Net Profit ◽  
The World ◽  
Current Scenario ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Diverse Groups

India became the first country in the world to have a mandatory CSR contribution legislation in 2014. This mandate every qualifying company must spend at least 2% of its average net profit on CSR activities. This chapter analyses these following aspects of CSR. First, it describes Sustainable Development, CSR, and its relevance across the world. Second, it explores the prevailing CSR models and models used in India. Third, it discusses the importance of CSR in India, mandatory CSR, and its provisions. Fourth, it analyses the response of Indian corporates on SDGs in terms of their contribution. Fifth, it analyses existing Socially Responsible Investing strategies in India and their scope. Finally, it analyses the current scenario after mandatory CSR, considering the CSR contributions from different corporates. Such discussion is essential for a country like India, an emerging economy with diverse groups with non-aligned social, cultural, economic, and environmental backgrounds.

Educational Cluster as a Tool for Implementation Education for Sustainable Development

2018 ◽  
Vol 89 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-119
Author(s):  
V. Mykhailenko ◽  
M. Blyzniuk
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Cluster Model ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Economic Education ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The World

The world experience on educational clusters proves their applicability and efficiency. An example is the formation of educational clusters for economic education and business schools. Formation of educational clusters has become an important part of the state personnel policy of many countries of the world. Multidimensional notion of "sustainable development" in combination with a wide range of age-old target audiences requires new methodological approaches for building an open dialogue between a student and a teacher. Taking into account the complex nature of the research subject that combines social, economic and environmental dimensions of human activity, authors propose a scientific and educational cluster as an innovative form of implementation of cross-cutting education for sustainable development (ESD) in Ukraine. The role of the core formation of an educational cluster is best suited for universities that are open to innovation and new educational technologies. The new educational model is illustrated by ad hoc activity of Carpathian School held in Kosiv, Ivano-Frankivsk region. Target audience represented Master students of natural sciences, secondary school students, biologists and geography teachers together with civil society activists. The school organizers were "Centre for Civic Initiatives", Kosiv and Faculty of Geography of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv supported by two National Natural Parks “Hutsulshchyna” and “Vyzhnytsky”. The lecturers’ team included university professors, experts of The Regional Environmental Centre for CEE countries (REC), Hungary, the National Ecological Centre of Ukraine (NECU), leading experts of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Ukraine, employees of local museums and cultural institutions. The main goal of the School is to consider the role of civil society, local activists, entrepreneurs and authorities in building sustainable communities, to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The cluster model was tested for obtaining a professional orientation of the lyceum graduates with a strong TOT component in view of education reform "New Ukrainian School". The students were acquainted with educational materials and methodical guides of the REC multimedia toolkits "Green Package" and "Step by Step", adapted to Ukrainian needs by local experts. These materials are easily perceived by young people, Master students and senior pupils. Interactive games and dilemmas were suitable for the formation of ecologically oriented thinking and social competence of youth. The guides were also highly praised by elderly participants and recommended for training and retraining of school teachers. Interviews with the school attendees and lecturers, interviews and publications in the local mass-media showed the benefits of cluster model in comparison with traditional forms of education. The school also identified the opportunities for professional guidance, training and retraining of teachers' staff.

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