Lecture

Making Development Sustainable

Graph Chat

Chat with Graph Search

Ask any question about EPFL courses, lectures, exercises, research, news, etc. or try the example questions below.

DISCLAIMER: The Graph Chatbot is not programmed to provide explicit or categorical answers to your questions. Rather, it transforms your questions into API requests that are distributed across the various IT services officially administered by EPFL. Its purpose is solely to collect and recommend relevant references to content that you can explore to help you answer your questions.

In course

HUM-355: Cooperation and development

Ce cours abordera les défis majeurs du développement durable auxquels font face les pays du Sud. Les étudiants-es travailleront en groupes interdisciplinaires sur des projets réels (p.ex. Medair, Swiss Red Cross etc.) visant le développement durable à trav ...

Description

This lecture delves into the complexity of sustainability decision-making, emphasizing the three pillars of sustainability: environment, society, and economy. It explores the key aspects of social, economic, and environmental sustainability, highlighting the importance of stakeholder engagement and the concept of social entrepreneurship. The lecture also discusses the challenges and trade-offs involved in making development socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable, using case studies like hydropower dams in Brazil to illustrate these concepts.

Official source

Related concepts (32)

Sustainable development

Sustainable development is an organizing principle that aims to meet human development goals while also enabling natural systems to provide necessary natural resources and ecosystem services to humans. The desired result is a society where living conditions and resources meet human needs without undermining the planetary integrity and stability of the natural system. Sustainable development tries to find a balance between economic development, environmental protection, and social well-being.

Sustainability

Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long time. Specific definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Experts often describe sustainability as having three dimensions (or pillars): environmental, economic, and social, and many publications emphasize the environmental dimension. In everyday use, sustainability often focuses on countering major environmental problems, including climate change, loss of biodiversity, loss of ecosystem services, land degradation, and air and water pollution.

Sustainable Development Goals

The Sustainable Development Goals or Global Goals are a collection of seventeen interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future." The SDGs are no poverty; zero hunger; good health and well-being; quality education; gender equality; clean water and sanitation; affordable and clean energy; decent work and economic growth; industry, innovation and infrastructure; reduced inequalities; sustainable cities and communities; responsible consumption and production; climate action; life below water; life on land; peace, justice, and strong institutions; and partnerships for the goals.

Biodiversity

Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (genetic variability), species (species diversity), and ecosystem (ecosystem diversity) level. Biodiversity is not distributed evenly on Earth; it is usually greater in the tropics as a result of the warm climate and high primary productivity in the region near the equator. Tropical forest ecosystems cover less than 10% of earth's surface and contain about 90% of the world's species.

Biodiversity loss

Biodiversity loss includes the worldwide extinction of different species, as well as the local reduction or loss of species in a certain habitat, resulting in a loss of biological diversity. The latter phenomenon can be temporary or permanent, depending on whether the environmental degradation that leads to the loss is reversible through ecological restoration/ecological resilience or effectively permanent (e.g. through land loss).

Related lectures (64)

Wellbeing and Human Needs: Exploring Sustainable Satisfaction

Examines the relationship between wellbeing, human needs, and sustainable satisfaction through the lens of sufficiency.

Circular Economy for Sustainable Composites

Delves into sustainability strategies, the circular economy, and challenges in the composites industry, addressing climate change effects and the role of composites.

Recycling and Sustainable Development: Challenges and Solutions

Examines the role of recycling in sustainable development, addressing its limitations and the importance of a circular economy.

Planetary Boundaries: Assessing Environmental Limits

Covers planetary boundaries, emphasizing their importance for environmental stability and sustainability.

Sustainable Development Goals: Individual and Collective Actions