Refine
Year of publication
Document Type
Keywords
- Ukraine (13)
- sustainable development (13)
- Sustainable development (12)
- Strategic Environmental Assessment (6)
- Green curriculum (5)
- Regional planning (5)
- University education (4)
- Voluntary Sustainability Standards (4)
- Climate change (3)
- Construction sector (2)
Institute
Most semi-arid regions face strong population growth. For example, with the actual growth rate in Jordan, population doubles every 25 years. Many countries in the desert belt experienced rapid modernisation during the last 50 years. Taking Jordan again as an example, modern western life styles are spreading quickly. They co-exist with traditional herding and farming in the rural areas, but urbanization is rapidly expanding.
According to the definition of sustainability, the achievements of past civilizations, e.g. the floodwater farming near the site of Umm el-Jimal, were sustainable since they did not rely on non-renewable resources. But they did not allow continuous settlement from antiquity until today. It is often assumed that breaks in settlement history were due to over-exploitation of the environment, e.g. overgrazing and soil erosion.
The overview of developments in the desert makes clear that Progressive Development is already implemented is many areas, although it is not acknowledged as such and a coordinating master plan is missing. International plans would be very desirable, since water is a transboundary issue. For example, exploitation of the Disi aquifer led to conflict between Jordan and Saudi Arabia [1]. Jordan, Syria, Israel and Palestine share the Yarmouk River as the primary freshwater resource, which is a very sensitive political issue.
It is a deeply entrenched belief that historic land use led to land degradation in the desert belts. Supposedly, overgrazing and farming caused erosion, and irrigation led to salinization. Considering the gaps in settlement history, mismanagement is considered a prime reason for abandonment [1–3]. If this is so, Progressive Development might be doomed to fail, because the soils are already degraded and will inevitably degrade further. Climate variations, however, can also lead to degradation, and might have caused the fluctuations of settlement history. The correct assessment of the past will be most important for evaluating the impact of Progressive Development. This and the geographic law of soil zonality allow predicting how soils and the environment will develop under irrigation and permanent vegetation.
Large-scale irrigation projects are theoretically beneficial; however there are examples of outstanding failures which partly led to ecological catastrophes. We think that irrigation per se does not necessarily lead to land degradation. Even in the famous case of the Mesopotamian plains, the idea that ancient Sumerian irrigation caused irreversible salinization [1] is far less evident than often assumed in the public discussion[2].
Discussion and Conclusion
(2010)
The current discussion of “sustainability” focuses on aspects of conserving the environmental status quo. However, the environmental history of the desert belts is characterized by strong environmental fluctuations, and modern technology started to irreversibly change societies living in arid regions, initiating a growth which long since crossed the limits that could be supported by renewable resources. Due to these conditions, it seems unlikely that “sustainability” in the conservative meaning of preserving the status quo will be feasible in the desert belts. In fact, Progressive Development is already implemented, though not recognised as such and without coordinating master plans.
Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is recognised by a vast number of countries worldwide as an important instrument for integrating environmental concerns into development strategies – policies, plans and programmes [1]. SEA is a planning and decision-aiding tool that informs decision-makers about potential effects of development strategies on the environment. In the EU it is legally defined by the EC SEA Directive.
Main development steps of the modern European legislation in the field of environmental assessment
(2007)
Requirements and Issues with Implementing SEA as a Sustainable Development Instrument in Ukraine
(2011)
Criteria and Requirements for the Implementation of Sustainable Development Policy in Ukraine
(2005)
Implementation of sustainable development principles primarily involves stating appropriate criteria and requirements for reformation of the development management. The main groups of sustainable development indicators (social indicators, economic indicators, environmental indicators, institutional indicators, structural indicators) are formulated. In the view of objectives set for economic and social reforms in Ukraine, there is a need in further specification of these indicator groups, their legislative support with the purpose of organising monitoring of efficiency of state policies and programmes.
The administrative reforms conducted in Ukraine include transformation of regional administration. Aims, objectives and methods of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) are accordant with conducted administrative reforms. At present all plans, programmes and policies developed in Ukraine, which can have significant impact on environment are subject to SEA. The main reasons, which determine necessity of implementing SEA into procedures of regional planning, are investigated in this paper.
В статье анализируется проблема регионального планирования в контексте современной концепции обеспечения устойчивого развития и учета факторов изменяющегося климата. Исследованы и предложены основные направления реформирования регионального планирования в Украине с точки зрения имплементации европейских методов экологизации стратегий развития регионов.
Имплементация идей устойчивого развития в учебные программы студентов экономических специальностей
(2014)
В статье обсуждается проблема имплементации идей устойчивого развития в программы высшего образования студентов неэкологических специальностей. В дискуссии раскрывается сущность «зеленой» образовательной программы, изучаются перспективы, средства и инструменты ее создания и продвижения для экономических специальностей в ВУЗах Украины.
Особенности украинской национальной системы экологической сертификации объектов строительства
(2015)
Исторические предпосылки стратегической экологической оценки как инструмента устойчивого развития
(2015)
The Need for Implementation of Adaptation Measures for Global Climate Change into Regional Planning
(2007)
The purpose of the presented research is to explore the perspectives of applying the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standard in Ukraine. The study had the following objectives: investigate the evolution of the ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ and ‘Corporate Social Accountability’ theories; discuss the main objectives and functions of sustainability reporting; investigate the rationale of standards for sustainability reporting; analyse the experience of Ukrainian industrial enterprises in using the GRI standard.
The main aim of this chapter was to elaborate on the concept of spatial planning in the context of sustainable development and its applicability in Ukraine. Furthermore, in the chapter the problem of regional planning is reviewed with reference to the modern sustainable development concept. Based on the results of the conducted analysis, the author suggested main directions for the reformation of regional planning in Ukraine in the context of implementing main European methods for ecologisation of regional development strategies.
This article explores the concept of partnership as an applied tool for modernisation of university education and formulated specific characteristics of university partnership for the purpose of promoting sustainable development. The authors discussed the main types and functions of partnership in the context of transition of Ukrainian universities towards the new model of higher education. The article revealed the differences and interrelation between internal and external partnership for promoting principles of sustainable development in the higher education. Finally, the authors analysed the experience of partnership relations between the National Mining University and the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg in improving the standard of knowledge and increasing awareness about various aspects of sustainable development.
The purpose of the presented research is to discuss the key directions for the reformation of energy management in support of sustainable development policy implementation under conditions of transitional economy. In accordance with this aim the following objectives were formulated: 1) to analyse the experience of the EU and European countries, which have implemented the energy efficiency concept; 2) to identify the main methods for the implementation of energy efficiency concept in a transitional economy; 3) to suggest conceptual approaches for balancing targets of energy saving and economic growth in Ukraine.
This article analyses the relationship between energy intensity and GDP growth, reviews the contemporary model for energy efficiency in the EU and studies differences between energy policies in various regions and the EU. The system approach allows to identify the main methods and measures that ensure the effectiveness of energy policy in Germany, which can be considered as useful for Ukraine.
The proposed system of methods and measures may be useful for the planning of actions towards strengthening the capacity of energy efficiency in the conditions of the transition economy.
The main objective of this chapter was to study theoretical and practical aspectsof implementing sustainable development goals into global value chains, to determine the main areas of application of voluntary sustainability standards that are relevant for countries with economies in transition, to analyse functions of voluntary sustainability standards and their systems’ elements essential for companies to accelerate their adaptation to new market conditions of globalised value and supply chains.
The limits of digital teaching in the academic education and training are today in times of MOOCs, not only set to the own university. At the BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg in the project “ECO-Campus” different digitization concepts were
developed. The Project is supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The
goal of the project is to share university content on sustainability with international partner universities and to establish the subject especially in the curricula of courses which traditionally pay little attention to sustainability concepts. The Eco Campus platform forms the link between the students and these materials. Due to the high number of international students, who use the newly created and customized Moodle instance, there is a high degree of heterogeneity. At the same time at each partner university lecturers from different disciplines and cultural backgrounds are teaching, so that the materials for the envisaged Flipped Classroom concept must be provided flexibly. The portfolio of digital tools
within the learning platform is diverse. The instance includes different scenarios for synchronous and asynchronous communication and collaboration. In addition, various formative and video-based assessments, gamification approaches and various Video formats are used. The methods follow at the macro level (total of all courses) Bruner's approach of the spiral curriculum and in the micro-level (a course) Kolb's experiential learning cycle.
Der Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit der Neugestaltung der Umweltprüfung von EU-Vorhaben im Bereich der Gesetzgebung, der Gesetzgebungsvorbereitung durch Grün- und Weißbücher und von Programmen mit dem Ziel, einen Vorschlag für eine transparentere Umweltprüfung zu machen.
Системы добровольной сертификации на соответствие стандартам устойчивого развития в строительстве
(2015)
Der Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit dem Konzept freiwilliger Nachhaltigkeitsstandards als Schritt des internationalen Handels hin zu einer „grünen Wirtschaft“. Bereits etablierte Labels beeinflussen schon heute die Kaufentscheidung von Konsumenten bei diversen Gütern, und das System der Nachhaltigkeitsstandards findet teilweise mit Regierungsbeteiligung rasch Einzug in neue Produktsektoren. Abschnitt zwei des Beitrags stellt zunächst die Struktur und das Konzept freiwilliger Nachhaltigkeitsstandards vor. Abschnitt drei gibt einen Rückblick über die Geschichte und Entwicklung der freiwilligen Nachhaltigkeitsstandards, während im Abschnitt vier ihre Verlässlichkeit analysiert wird. Abschnitt fünf gibt einen Einblick in die Rolle freiwilliger Nachhaltigkeitsstandards in der Entwicklungspolitik und Abschnitt sechs blickt auf die Einbindung freiwilliger Nachhaltigkeitsstandards in staatliche Regulierungsprozesse. Herausforderungen und Einschränkungen bei der Anwendung der Standards werden in Abschnitt sieben vorgestellt. Der Beitrag schließt mit einem Fazit im Abschnitt acht.
The book is based on the results of the investigations of the authors in the semi-arid and arid regions (ASAR) of the globe. These investigations brought to the conclusion that the warming climate will cause the drying up of the water resources in these regions. In this case the principles of Sustainable Development will not be able to avert forthcoming catastrophes. These conclusions brought to the compilation of the policy of "Progressive Development", emphasising investment in the development of new water resources and changing the natural environments while advancing the local populations on the dimension of knowledge by education.