Stellenbosch, July 2013
International Sustainable Development Research Conference 19 (ISDRC19)
The International Sustainable Development Research Society (ISDRS) aims to promote collaboration and dialogue of a high quality, building bridges between different research communities, and between research and its applications in society. ISDRS also promotes the engagement between communities in developed and developing countries. To this end the 19th annual International Sustainable Development Research Conference (ISDRC 19) was held, for the first time, in the global south, in the picturesque Lynedoch valley of the capital of the South African wine lands – Stellenbosch – just outside the Cape Town metropolitan area.
South Africa has experienced a difficult transition, and still does, in the face of the many challenges that are characteristic of a developing society. Here the extreme poor live, ironically, in one of the most carbon-intensive economies; one that is based on a “mineral-energy complex”. Thus, one finds the fundamental economic problems of inequality and resource exploitation that remain intact in a democratic space that has made possible countless innovations and changes across multiple other spectra.
Thus, it was appropriate for ISDRC19 to be hosted where these challenges are actively being researched, at the Sustainability Institute, in collaboration with Stellenbosch University, and specifically the postgraduate programme in Sustainable Development and the trans-disciplinary PhD programme – TsamaHUB – in the School of Public Leadership (SPL), in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences; and the Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies (CRSES), in the Faculty of Engineering.
The central focus of ISDRC19 was that of Just Transitions, with perspectives from both the global north and south, with the central themes of:
South Africa has experienced a difficult transition, and still does, in the face of the many challenges that are characteristic of a developing society. Here the extreme poor live, ironically, in one of the most carbon-intensive economies; one that is based on a “mineral-energy complex”. Thus, one finds the fundamental economic problems of inequality and resource exploitation that remain intact in a democratic space that has made possible countless innovations and changes across multiple other spectra.
Thus, it was appropriate for ISDRC19 to be hosted where these challenges are actively being researched, at the Sustainability Institute, in collaboration with Stellenbosch University, and specifically the postgraduate programme in Sustainable Development and the trans-disciplinary PhD programme – TsamaHUB – in the School of Public Leadership (SPL), in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences; and the Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies (CRSES), in the Faculty of Engineering.
The central focus of ISDRC19 was that of Just Transitions, with perspectives from both the global north and south, with the central themes of:
- Crisis, complexity, global change and transitions, with a critical analysis of the science of sustainability, academia, ethics and leadership.
- Rethinking development in terms of greening the developmental state, new forms of urbanism in the context of ecology, social development and food security.
- Better Governance, institutions and economic structures, to support sustainable development and design.
- Achieving rapid transitions for sustainable living, decoupling production and consumption from resource limits and ecological constraints, and pioneering innovative, livable and sustainable contexts.
GRF's Philip Vergragt at ISDRC19
Professor Philip Vergragt led a roundtable discussion at ISDRC19 entitled "Roundtable discussion on the global Research forum on Sustainable Consumption and Production". The roundtable presented an introduction to GRF and addressed four key questions for sustainable production and consumption in the (South) African context, with broad applicability to the international SPaC community.
Roundtable Overview
GRF was created by and for the global community of researchers and practitioners engaged in research on the worldwide transition to sustainable production and consumption systems. GRF strives to develop and strengthen methods of fundamental and applied research to achieve a deeper understanding of the possibilities and barriers to systemic change. Its ultimate goal is to enhance development and adoption of production and consumption policies, practices and systems that meet basic needs – especially of the poor and vulnerable – and provide prosperity, while conserving natural resources and protecting the environment (2013 GRF Vision Statement).
Four Questions Driving the GRF Roundtable:
Roundtable Overview
GRF was created by and for the global community of researchers and practitioners engaged in research on the worldwide transition to sustainable production and consumption systems. GRF strives to develop and strengthen methods of fundamental and applied research to achieve a deeper understanding of the possibilities and barriers to systemic change. Its ultimate goal is to enhance development and adoption of production and consumption policies, practices and systems that meet basic needs – especially of the poor and vulnerable – and provide prosperity, while conserving natural resources and protecting the environment (2013 GRF Vision Statement).
Four Questions Driving the GRF Roundtable:
- How to imagine and facilitate a transition to sustainable production and consumption in the (South) African context?
- What are the roles of stakeholders: business, government, civil society, faith based groups, and research?
- How to stimulate and enhance research on SPaC in (South) Africa? How to enhance the research-practice interface?
- What is the scope for a regional hub of GRF? What is the added value for researchers and others? Could the ARCP and/or SID possibly take up the coordination?
Roundtable Materials
Vergragt - Presentation - The Global Research Forum on Sustainable Production and Consumption | |
File Size: | 2605 kb |
File Type: |
Vergragt - Presentation - Sustainable Production Consumption and Livelihoods | |
File Size: | 1622 kb |
File Type: |
Vergragt - Stellenbosch - Post-Roundtable Report | |
File Size: | 17 kb |
File Type: | docx |