FNs Organisation for Uddannelse, Videnskab og Kultur (UNESCO) har erklæret ‘Science for global sustainability: interconnectedness, collaboration”, transformation’ som årets tema for Verdens Videnskabsdag for Fred og Udvikling den 10.november 2012.
“We must open a new chapter in scientific integration. Innovation and social transformation depend on our capacity to combine disciplines and create synergies among all sciences, natural, human and social, including local and indigenous knowledge”, says Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director General, on the occasion of World Science Day for Peace and Development 2012.
This year’s theme, ‘Science for global sustainability: interconnectedness, collaboration”, transformation’ shines a light on our increasingly interconnected and interdependent economic, social, cultural and political systems, both in terms of the pressure these place on the Earth system and of the potential for solutions that they provide.
Risk and crises
Scientific evidence shows that humanity has put the functioning of the Earth system at risk. Current development paradigms and economic patterns are responsible for many of the interlinked and growing social, environmental and economic crises facing the planet.
The defining challenge of our age is to safeguard Earth’s natural processes to ensure the well-being of civilization while eradicating poverty, reducing conflict over resources, and supporting human and ecosystem health.
More collaboration
These are interconnected, just as the planet’s systems are interconnected, but our governance systems often act independently and are slow to respond. Nations must work together to devise effective ways of protecting such globally common resources as the atmosphere, the ocean, freshwater, biodiversity and natural cycles.
The solutions are rooted in science, but disciplinary research alone will be insufficient. A new, transformative approach is needed spanning all disciplines across the sciences and engineering, including the social, health and agricultural sciences and local and indigenous knowledge systems.
Stronger interface
In the context of sustainability, however, the creation of new knowledge is not enough. A strong interface between science, society and national, regional and international policies is necessary for global sustainability and social transformation.
This can only be achieved through the collaboration of the wider international community, including governments at all levels, international organizations, civil society, the scientific community and the private sector
Kilde: FNs Nyhedstjeneste
