“Global sustainable development, implying the environmental, economic and social dimensions of sustainability, as well as the need to face the challenges of growing complexity, requires intense research efforts, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches.”
This quote could be from the UNESCO resolution for IYBSSD 2022. It comes in fact from the final declaration of the 2013 Rio de Janeiro World Science Forum.
Seven years later, this text is worth reading (or reading again): many reasons why we need IYBSSD 2022 are there, and some leads to follow also.
To begin, this declaration states that scientists from different fields should cooperate to take the challenges of sustainable development (SDGs were still in the negociation phase in 2013). It calls for “a new paradigm of development, which combines the possibility of regional social and economical development with the conservation of nature and the culture of indigenous people.”
It asks also for cooperation between universities, public research organizations, and industry, in order to educate and train young scientists.
And it underlines the importance of science based decision in politics and the economy.
As a conclusion, this declaration makes five recommendations :
- International scientific cooperation and coordinated national actions for global sustainable development
- Education to reduce inequalities and promote global and sustainable science and innovation
- Responsible and ethical conduct of research and innovation
- Improved dialogue with governments, society, industry and media on sustainability issues
- Sustainable mechanisms for the funding of science
As we already wrote, and will write again and again, IYBSSD 2022 is deeply rooted in al that has been done by the scientific and scientific policy community during the past decades.