Systems thinking for global health and strategic sustainable development

2018 ◽  
pp. 26-32
Author(s):  
Karl-Henrik Robèrt ◽  
Michael T. Hernke ◽  
Luke Fortney ◽  
Rian J. Podein
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Systems Thinking ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Global Perspective ◽  
Ecological Sustainability ◽  
Systems Perspective ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Looking Back

Population health can be considered the ultimate goal of sustainability. The planetary system, with its boundaries and constraints for civilization, is the necessary starting point for a systems perspective sufficiently broad to operationalize sustainability and advance global health. Both detailed scientific information and the basic aetiology of unsustainability are needed to inform specific strategies, and tools, to resolve current and potentially unrecognized nature–health problems. The Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) operationalizes sustainable development from a long-term, global perspective. It provides a thorough understanding of humans’ dependence on sustainable development, and utilizes scientifically robust, operational principles of social and ecological sustainability. The principles address the fundamental mechanisms that underpin health, enabling a backcasting approach—that is, ‘looking back’ from a robust idea of sustainability in the future, and then innovating smart transition routes to systematically pursue global health.

scholarly journals The Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Religious Exercise: Preliminary Remarks

Laws ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 44
Author(s):  
Adelaide Madera
Keyword(s):  
Global Health ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Personal Lives ◽  
Regulatory Frameworks ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Legal Contexts

Since 2020, the spread of COVID-19 has had an overwhelming impact not only on our personal lives, but also on domestic regulatory frameworks. Influential academics have strongly underlined that, in times of deep crisis, such as the current global health crisis, the long-term workability of legal systems is put to a severe test. In this period, in fact, the protection of health has been given priority, as a precondition that is orientating many current legal choices. Such an unprecedented health emergency has also raised a serious challenge in terms of fundamental rights and liberties. Several basic rights that normally enjoy robust protection under constitutional, supranational, and international guarantees, have experienced a devastating “suspension” for the sake of public health and safety, thus giving rise to a vigorous debate concerning whether and to what extent the pandemic emergency justifies limitations on fundamental rights. The present paper introduces the Special Issue on “The crisis of the religious freedom during the age of COVID-19 pandemic”. Taking as a starting point the valuable contributions of the participants in the Special Issue, it explores analogous and distinctive implications of the COVID-19 pandemic in different legal contexts and underlines the relevance of cooperation between religious and public actors to face a global health crisis.

Achieving the SDGs through interdisciplinary research in global health

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (8) ◽  
pp. 793-795 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sibylle L Herzig Van Wees ◽  
Mats Målqvist ◽  
Rachel Irwin
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Interdisciplinary Research ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Global Health Research ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Research And Teaching ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
New Research

The Swedish Global Health Research Conference held in Stockholm, 18–19 April 2018, convened researchers from across Sweden’s universities to foster collaboration and new research. In response to the theme of the conference, How can Sweden contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals? From research to action, many of the plenary and keynote speakers highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary research and teaching. This commentary draws upon a workshop discussing interdisciplinarity, which took place at the conference. Participants included senior professors, lecturers, students and collaborators from the private sector and civil society and we discussed the conceptual and structural challenges that prevent engagement in interdisciplinary research. Although the workshop focused on the Swedish context, issues will be familiar to researchers working outside of Sweden. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals highlight the grand challenges for global society and are intertwined, with progress in one affecting progress in all others. With this starting point, we argue that interdisciplinary research is the way to achieve them. Accordingly, we need to overcome the conceptual and structural challenges that can hinder it. We therefore argue for a paradigm shift of how we value knowledge. We also call for fundamental changes in external and internal (university-level) funding structures, and for the strengthening of interdisciplinary global health teaching.

scholarly journals A systems perspective on the importance of global health strategy developments for accomplishing today’s Sustainable Development Goals

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (10) ◽  
pp. 800-800
Author(s):  
Jens Byskov ◽  
Stephen Maluka ◽  
Bruno Marchal ◽  
Elizabeth H Shayo ◽  
Astrid Blystad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Systems Perspective ◽  
Health Strategy ◽  
Development Goals

scholarly journals An Overarching Model for Cross-Sector Strategic Transitions towards Sustainability in Municipalities and Regions

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (17) ◽  
pp. 7046
Author(s):  
Lisa Wälitalo ◽  
Karl-Henrik Robèrt ◽  
Göran Broman
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Mental Model ◽  
Ecological Sustainability ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Municipal Planning ◽  
Implementation Model ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Additional Support

Municipal and regional governments can play a key role in global society’s transition towards sustainability. However, municipal leaders often lack a sufficient overview of sustainability and thereby the capacity to coordinate efforts across sectors. Several municipal planning frameworks are available but vary greatly in terms of definitions, scope, and hands-on advice on processes. To complement and unify approaches, the framework for strategic sustainable development (FSSD) has been developed. It utilizes backcasting from operational boundary conditions for the full scope of social and ecological sustainability. This study aims to evaluate a recently developed model for long-term implementation of FSSD across sectors for more cohesive cooperation towards sustainability. This is done through participatory action research (PAR) in ten Swedish municipalities and regions. The evaluation is done to examine if the implementation model (i) lives up to its purpose to help sectors cooperate effectively by using the FSSD as a shared mental model, (ii) aid the handling of previously identified barriers to strategic sustainable development in municipalities and regions, (iii) may contain barriers of its own for appropriate use and (iv) has room for improvement. We used observations, dialogues, and surveys to capture the strengths, weaknesses, enablers, and barriers of the preliminary implementation model. While the compliance of the model varied, our findings show a general appreciation and identified the needs for the approach. From experiencing barriers for the application of the model, practitioners provided several ideas for additional support, such as assessment and alignment support of on-going work and further developed guiding material. In a second phase of the PAR project, application of the implementation model will continue, and such additional support will be developed and evaluated.

scholarly journals Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation—A Sustainable Development Systems Perspective

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom R. Burns ◽  
Nora Machado
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Social System ◽  
Disaster Risk Reduction ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Systems Perspective

This article considers the concepts of sustainability and sustainable development in relation to disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. We conceptualize sustainability from a social systemic perspective, that is, from a perspective that encompasses the multiple functionalities of a social system and their interrelationships in particular environmental contexts. The systems perspective is applied in our consideration and analysis of disaster risk reduction (DRR), climate change adaptation (CCA), and sustainable development (SD). Section 1 introduces briefly sustainability and sustainable development, followed by a brief presentation of the theory of complex social systems (Section 2). The theory conceptualizes interdependent subsystems, their multiple functionalities, and the agential and systemic responses to internal and external stressors on a social system. Section 3 considers disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA), emerging in response to one or more systemic stressors. It illustrates these with disaster risk reduction in the cases of food and chemical security regulation in the EU. CCA is illustrated by initiatives and developments on the island of Gotland, Sweden and in the Gothenburg Metropolitan area, which go beyond a limited CCA perspective, taking into account long-term sustainability issues. Section 4 discusses the limitations of DRR and CCA, not only their technical limitations but economic, socio-cultural, and political limitations, as informed from a sustainability perspective. It is argued that DRRs are only partial subsystems and must be considered and assessed in the context of a more encompassing systemic perspective. Part of the discussion is focused on the distinction between sustainable and non-sustainable DRRs and CCAs. Section 5 presents a few concluding remarks about the importance of a systemic perspective in analyzing DRR and CCA as well as other similar subsystems in terms of sustainable development.

Sustainable Development is a Dead-End: The Logic of Modernity and Ecological Crisis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Lumsden
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Ecological Crisis ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Ecological Sustainability ◽  
Planetary Boundaries ◽  
Western Modernity ◽  
Conceptual Frame ◽  
The Core ◽  
Dead End ◽  
Core Idea

This paper examines the theory of sustainable development presented by Jeffrey Sachs in The Age of Sustainable Development. While Sustainable Development ostensibly seeks to harmonise the conflict between ecological sustainability and human development, the paper argues this is impossible because of the conceptual frame it employs. Rather than allowing for a re-conceptualisation of the human–nature relation, Sustainable Development is simply the latest and possibly last attempt to advance the core idea of western modernity — the notion of self-determination. Drawing upon Hegel’s account of historical development it is argued that Sustainable Development and the notion of planetary boundaries cannot break out of a dualism of nature and self-determining agents.

Research for a sustainable European sugar sector

2010 ◽  
pp. 487-495
Author(s):  
Martin Bruhns ◽  
Peter Glaviè ◽  
Arne Sloth Jensen ◽  
Michael Narodoslawsky ◽  
Giorgio Pezzi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sugar Industry ◽  
Research Priorities ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Sustainable Chemistry ◽  
Technology Platforms ◽  
Research Themes ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Manufacturing Applications ◽  
European Technology

The paper is based on the results of international project entitled “Towards Sustainable Sugar Industry in Europe (TOSSIE)”. 33 research topics of major importance to the sugar sector are listed and briefly described, and compared with research priorities of the European Technology Platforms: “Food for Life”, “Sustainable Chemistry”, “Biofuels”, and “Plant for the Future”. Most topics are compatible with the research themes included in the COOPERATION part of the 7th Framework Program of the EU (2007-2013). However, some topics may require long-term R&D with the time horizon of up to 15 years. The list of topics is divided into four parts: Sugar manufacturing, Applications of biotechnology and biorefinery processing, Sugarbeet breeding and growing, Horizontal issues. Apart from possible use of the list by policy- and decision makers with an interest in sugarbeet sector, the description of each research topic can be used as a starting point in setting up a research project or other R&D activities.

Influence of internal and external risks on sustainability of financial system of Аltai krai

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 133-136
Author(s):  
R. N. Ibragimov
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Financial Stability ◽  
Management Strategy ◽  
Financial System ◽  
Risk Management Strategy ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Impact

The article examines the impact of internal and external risks on the stability of the financial system of the Altai Territory. Classification of internal and external risks of decline, affecting the sustainable development of the financial system, is presented. A risk management strategy is proposed that will allow monitoring of risks, thereby these measures will help reduce the loss of financial stability and ensure the long-term development of the economy of the region.

AS INUNDAÇÕES DE 2009 NA AMAZÔNIA E SUAS RELAÇÕES COM O DESENVOLVIMENTO SUSTENTÁVEL: IMPACTOS AO PRODUTO INTERNO BRUTO MUNICIPAL

GEOgraphia ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (43) ◽  
pp. 101
Author(s):  
Alex Santiago Nina ◽  
Cláudio Fabian Szlafsztein
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Correlation Analysis ◽  
Gross Domestic Product ◽  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Economic Performance ◽  
Domestic Product ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Palabras Clave ◽  
Linear Correlation Analysis

Nos últimos anos, tem aumentado a frequência dos desastres naturais na Amazônia, concomitantemente com a necessidade de estimar os seus prejuízos econômicos. Este trabalho tem como objetivo verificar qual é o tipo e a intensidade do impacto das inundações de 2009, consideradas as maiores já registradas na Amazônia, no crescimento do Produto Interno Bruto (PIB) municipal. A metodologia consistiu na análise de correlação linear entre o desempenho econômico e algumas variáveis referentes ao tipo de inundação e indicadores socioeconômicos. Os resultados mostram que as inundações bruscas são as mais problemáticas em longo prazo. As principais estratégias a serem adotadas perpassam pela inclusão de ações de mitigação de desastres naturais ao planejamento do desenvolvimento sustentável da Amazônia. Palavras-chave: Produto Interno Bruto. Inundação. Amazônia. THE 2009 FLOODS IN THE AMAZON AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: IMPACT ON THE MUNICIPAL GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT Abstract: In the last years, have been increase the frequency of natural disasters in Amazon, concomitantly whit the need of estimate their economic losses. This work have the objective of check what is the type and intensity of 2009 floods impacts, considered the major already registered in Amazon, to the increase of municipal Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The methodology was the linear correlation analysis between the economic performance and some variable relative to inundation type and socioeconomics indicators. The results bring which the fast floods are the major problem in the long term. The means strategies to be adopted are the inclusion of natural disasters mitigation actions in plan of sustainable development of Amazon. Keywords: Gross Domestic Product. Flood. Amazon. LAS INUNDACIONES DE 2009 EN LA AMAZONÍA Y SU RELACIÓN CON EL DESARROLLO SOSTENIBLE: IMPACTO EN EL PRODUCTO INTERNO BRUTO MUNICIPAL Resumen: En los últimos años ha aumentado la frecuencia de los desastres naturales en la Amazonia, concomitantemente con la necesidad de estimar sus prejuicios económicos. Este trabajo tiene como objetivo verificar cual es el tipo y la intensidad del impacto de las inundaciones de 2009, consideradas las mayores ya registradas en la Amazonia, al crecimiento del Producto Bruto Interno (PBI) municipal. La metodología consistió el análisis de correlación linear entre el desempeño económico y algunas variables referentes al tipo de inundación e indicadores socioeconómicos. Los resultados muestran que las inundaciones bruscas son las mas problemáticas a largo plazo. Las principales estrategias a ser adoptadas pasan por la inclusión de acciones de mitigación de desastres naturales a la planificación del desarrollo sostenible de la Amazonia. Palabras clave: Producto Interno Bruto. Inundaciones. Amazonia. 

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