Sustainable development goals only
achievable through cross-disciplinary research
Date: September
24, 2019
Source: University
of Copenhagen The Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
Summary: It is
not possible to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDG) if science does
not contribute with cross-disciplinary knowledge and understanding of how
systems are interconnected.
Right now, the UN member states are gathered in New York to
discuss how to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. In this connection, a
UN appointed panel of international researchers has published a commentary
paper in the scientific journal Nature
Sustainability. Here, they
emphasise how science and research need to play a role in achieving the global
goals.
'We argue that the sciences have to contribute
collectively to a greater understanding of various systems and how they
interact and are interconnected. When talking about solutions within, for
example, climate and sustainability, almost everyone thinks of technological
solutions. But we need to understand how those technologies interact with other
systems', says Professor Katherine Richardson, one of the 15 UN appointed
scientists behind the publication and professor at the University of Copenhagen.
The researchers emphasise
that solutions to individual global goals may counteract the advancement of
other goals. If, for example, food production is expanded in order to achieve
the global goal of zero hunger, this may simultaneously work against the global
goals of preventing climate change and protecting and preserving life on land.
It is such interactions between systems that researchers and universities need
to research in a cross-disciplinary manner, Katherine Richardson points out.
Increasing Disproportions
In 2015, the UN member
states decided that the Sustainable Development Goals, which consist of 17 SDGs
and 169 targets, must be met by 2030. The following year, the UN appointed an
international research panel to evaluate the progress in reaching these goals
and to identify ways to work with the goals towards 2030.
Last week, the researchers'
report was published as a prelude to the UN SDG Global Summit in New York on
24-25 September. And one of the conclusions is that at the global level, it
seems difficult to achieve many of the goals.
'Our report shows that
timewise, only a handful of the 169 targets are "on track." And the
goals that we will probably achieve are about improving conditions for people.
When we talk about climate and biodiversity, there is a growing disparity
between what we need to do and what is actually being done', says Professor
Katherine Richardson.
Need for all branches of science
However, the same research
team emphasises in Nature Sustainability that
there are many things that can be done to achieve the Sustainable Development
Goals. If one can break down the silos and the sector thinking in the world of
science, scientists will to a far greater extent be able to conduct research
that can make a global difference. Centrally at the University of Copenhagen
they agree.
'Many people believe that
it is first and foremost research within technical and health sciences that
together with research within natural and life sciences will help us to achieve
the global goals. But we really need social sciences, law, theology and the
humanities to help us understand how systems interact globally', says Prorector
Bente Stallknecht.
'The University of
Copenhagen offers a wide span of programmes and research. Thus, we have a great
potential in relation to conducting cross-disciplinary research, which can be
especially helpful in achieving the global goals'.
Science without spirituality is lame. Spirituality without science is blind. Solutions that are not comprehensive will fail. cw
No comments:
Post a Comment