Science, Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Development

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Emerging Strides in Innovations and Skill Enhancement – Sustainable Development a Key Focus

SCIENCE,TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Dr. P. Mani1

Dr. R. Ramakrishnan2 Abstract

Sustainable development describes a process of change that promotes the principles of sustainability.Our Common Future, the Rio Declaration, and Agenda21 are typically considered as the building blocks of the notion of sustainable development. Sustainable development recognizes that growth must be both inclusive and environmentally sound. The Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) cover abroad range of social and economic development issues. Atitscore, science aim sat better understanding the world. Science allows us to constantly expand and revise our knowledge, based on peer-reviewed evidence. The critical thinking that comes with science education is vital in training the mind, understanding the world, and making sustainable choices. Science plays a crucial role for sustainable development. It does by answering many of the problems facing countries across the world today. Science and technology are essential for achieving sustainable development and poverty eradication. Science and technology influence society as never before. International Scientific Cooperation for Sustainable Development is an imperative. Building a sustainable world requires Interdisciplinary cooperation on the basis of disciplinary excellence. The specific role of science for sustainable development goes beyond issues like technology transfer and must not be limited to that of a tool only. The reisnostand-alone goal on science among the SDGs. STI features strongly both in Goal17,on Means of Implementation, as well as across-cutting one to achieve several sectoral Goals and Targets.Sustainable development can succeed only fall areas of the political sector, of society, and of science accept the concept and work together to implement it. Every one especially those working in the private sector and corporate entities need to becomes sensitized to the impact of their practices on local and global sustainability and Agenda 2030. Keywords: Sustainable Development, Science, Technology, Innovation, Stakeholders

Introduction: People have different notions of needs, but at the most basic level, humans need food, water, energy, and shelter to survive. The term development implies a continual process of change. Any development to be meaningful has to have its social, political, cultural and other dimensions as well. Development is a process of growth towards self-reliance and contentment. . It is directed at improved standards of living. It is a process by which individuals, groups and communities obtain the means to be responsible for their own livelihoods welfare and future. Development is popularly understood as economic development. Economic growth requires good investment as well as know-how. Projects that offer good financial returns and present low risk get the required investments easily. The long-term impact of industrialization was the exploitation and damage to environment. It has led to vast inequalities with almost three-fourths of the world’s people are living in less-developed countries and onefifth below the poverty line. Majority of the population in 1

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many developing countries are simply trying to survive. This has made us to become more conscious of the long-term impact of the development. The problems are complex and the choices difficult. Sustainable development describes a process of change that promotes the principles of sustainability. Sustainability requires finding balance among four main objectives: • Careful and considered use of natural resources • Protection of the natural environment • Social progress that takes into account the needs of everyone • Steady and increasing levels of economic growth and employment The most frequently quoted definition of Sustainable development is from Our Common Future, also known as the Brundtland Report. "Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

Department of Physics, Hindustan Institute of Technology & Science(Deemed to be University)Padur, Chennai. Formerly Professor of Management studies, Chennai, India.

Primax Foundation, Bangalore and Asian Institute of Technology Bangkok, Thailand

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3497633

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‘Future generations’ may be practically understood to define a context of three generations; a scope people usually have the experience and affinity to comprehend. Three generations cover a period of about 50 years. This would require using resources with care and at the same time ensuring equitable distribution of goods and services among the current generation and across generations. . Better agricultural and health practices contribute to major gains in survival. Education provides the basic opportunity for their citizens to participate in economic development. Our Common Future, the Rio Declaration, and Agenda 21 are typically considered as the building blocks of the notion of sustainable development. Two other notable documents that contribute to an understanding of sustainable development are the Earth Charter (prepared by the Earth Council) and the UN Millennium Declaration—both published in 2000. Sustainable development recognizes that growth must be both inclusive and environmentally sound. Poverty needs to be reduced and finally eliminated for the same. We can then build prosperity for today's population and also continue to meet the needs of future generations. There can be no development without the environment. Any capacity to develop must occur within its physical context; the land we grow food on, the water we drink, and the air we breathe. Our rush to achieve material development has been predicated on the capacity of the physical environment to support it. Six initial sectors were first identified in 1987 by the World Commission on Environment and Development as global challenges for sustainable development: • Population and human resources, • Food security, • Species and ecosystems, • Energy, • Industry, and • Urban. With the addition of water, these have appeared in various guises, the latest being water, energy, health, agriculture, biodiversity, and urban. The objectives of sustainable development can be grouped into Economic, Social and Environmental as under: • Economic Objectives • Growth • Efficiency • Stability

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Social Objectives • Full employment, • Equity, • Security, • Education, • Health, • Participation, • Cultural identity • Environmental Objectives • Healthy environment for Humans • Rational use of renewable natural resources • Conservation of non-renewable natural resources The 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted by world leaders at an historic UN Summit in September 2015 officially came into force on 1 January2016. The broad seventeen goals are interrelated though each has its own targets to achieve. It has 169 targets having 1 and 3 indicators totaling to 304 indicators that will measure compliance to measure progress toward reaching the targets. These Goals and targets in areas of critical importance for humanity and the planet will stimulate action over the next fifteen years

Fig. 1

The Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) cover a broad range of social and economic development issues. These include poverty, hunger, water, sanitation, energy, health, education, gender equality, social justice, urbanization, environment and climate change. The SDGs build on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight anti-poverty targets that the world committed to achieving by 2015. They have a more ambitious agenda of seeking to eliminate rather than reduce poverty. Today’s complex economic, societal, environmental and cultural challenges require Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) to be woven into the fabric of society. The term Science is used here in its broadest sense and is inclusive of Technology and Traditional knowledge.

May 2018

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They require a society where knowledge is co-created through science-policy- society interfaces, processes that connect and allow for fertile exchange between the three.

burring wood is still the cheapest form of energy source for cooking. Economic development in developing countries is to leverage natural and human resources to improve the welfare of the humans.

They require countries to actively invest in educating and empowering citizens in using science and evidencebased research to make judicious, political, professional and personal choices. For only through strong linkages between science, policy and society can knowledge societies be created where policy- and decision-makers and citizens alike have the capacity and power to choose the future we want for our planet and all its inhabitants.

Science and technology are essential for achieving sustainable development and poverty eradication. The World Conference on Science (Budapest, 1999) and WSSD (Johannesburg, 2002) recognized S&T policies as fundamental tools for attaining sustainable development and recommended that developing countries be assisted in integrating sustainable development priorities into national research and development (R&D) evaluation, advice governments on S&T policies as well as the development and reform of national science, technology and innovation systems.

At its core, science aims at better understanding the world. Science allows us to constantly expand and revise our knowledge, based on peer-reviewed evidence. We need to increase science literacy and science education globally to encourage people to appreciate and engage with science. The critical thinking that comes with science education is vital in training the mind, understanding the world, and making sustainable choices. Science education must be accessible to all and capacity building in science at all levels need to be strengthened. Science allows us to appreciate evidence based knowledge and encourage scientific research. Governments have to ensure that this happens, but the call is also on the scientific community to reach out to society at large. It is encouraging to see that tens of thousands of people worldwide participated in the “March for Science” in order to voice their support for science that is open, inclusive and accessible. Science plays a crucial role for sustainable development. It does by answering many of the problems facing countries across the world today. It tries to find answers to questions about food security, poverty eradication, water management, ocean sustainability, ensuring health and so on to inclusive, sustainable development. Promoting global action on climate change through the Paris Agreement on Climate Change is probably the most prominent example for the power of science. Scientists have tirelessly worked on increasing our understanding of the causes and impacts of climate change. The 2015 UNESCO World Science Report asserts that “science will be critical to meeting the challenge of sustainable development, as it lays the foundations for new approaches, solutions and technologies that enable us to identify, clarify and tackle local and global problems.” The knowledge created through research and scholarship when widely shared can be built upon and implemented into practice and policy. Immediate need for survival often implies exploiting the natural resources base unsustainably. For example

Science and technology influence society as never before. Scientific achievements continue to expand the frontier of knowledge. They increasingly contribute to technological progress that affects our ways of living and working. This is giving rise to policy initiatives and reforms that are high on the science policy agenda, requiring exchanges of views and debate at political level. The contribution of science and technology to sustainable development necessitate greater and more efficient interactions between United Nations Agencies, Governments, public research system and the private sector. There is a need to examine the governance of public research, the role of intellectual property in creating incentives/impediments to innovation. International Scientific Cooperation for Sustainable Development is an imperative. Several global-scale issues have been identified for discussion and action at UNESCO, in particular climate change, water resources, renewable energies and natural hazards, that call for global scientific partnerships that encourage access to research data from public funding. In order to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth, countries must establish new science and technology policies to create knowledge-based development. In the context of the high-level segment of the Economic and Social Council, there was an urgent need for countries to employ a broad range of national research and innovation policies to strengthen human resource capacity. Economic and social dimensions such as poverty and deprivation, governance, gender inequality and social exclusion are central challenges to sustainable urbanization at all levels. For example Availability and quality of water and sanitation in human settlements are vital for health. It determines economic prosperity especially for the poor as preventing diseases is better than curing it.

Primax Foundation, Bangalore and Asian Institute of Technology Bangkok, Thailand

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3497633

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International Journal of Scientific Research and Review

Building a sustainable world requires Interdisciplinary cooperation on the basis of disciplinary excellence. It should be based on a broad understanding of science, covering the whole range of disciplines from natural sciences to engineering to social sciences and the humanities. It should address the three dimensions of sustainable development- social, economic and environmental. Curiosity-driven research explores nature and our place in it. It is a prerequisite for scientific breakthroughs towards a sustainable world especially in the field of medicine. . It may not be utilized immediately but is indispensable for scientific innovation. The specific role of science for sustainable development goes beyond issues like technology transfer and must not be limited to that of a tool only. Acknowledging and maximizing the contribution of science beyond being a ‘means of implementation’ is essential to achieve the desired outcome by 2030. Access to technology at an affordable price is very important. Raising investments in science in accordance with national priorities will contribute to long-term economic development and scientific progress. Science and innovation play three main roles in the SDGs. • They are goals in and of themselves as key drivers for economic growth and job creation. • Science is central to the implementation of other goals • Scientific knowledge can support translation of targets to national policies and help measure and evaluate impact. There is no stand-alone goal on science. STI features strongly both in Goal 17, on Means of Implementation, as well as a cross-cutting one to achieve several sectoral Goals and Targets. It can be seen that there is not a single SDG in the new agenda that will not require inputs from science. The four general areas that Science can contribute to achieving the SDGs are • Challenges, • Actions that can make a difference, • Monitoring progress, and • Innovative solutions Lack of data, poor quality data and regional differences will be a massive challenge for the SDGs. Scientists need to support all aspects of implementation, including ensuring that appropriate metrics, monitoring, evaluation, infrastructure and data are in place. Science and innovation are of critical importance to address the challenges of increasing agricultural Vol.VII, Issue No.7

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productivity, making food healthier, improving the quality of diets and conserving biodiversity. Innovation is a key driver for increased productivity and thus for economic growth. This is also emphasized in target 8.2 which calls for higher levels of economic productivity achieved through “diversification, technological upgrading and innovation”. Enormous advances have been made in most of the basic sciences underpinning agriculture. Knowledge and information have significant impact on people’s lives. In the last few years it has been seen that Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), has the power to transform economies and societies by sharing of knowledge and information. Research relevant to the goals of sustainable development has long been pursued from bases as diverse as geography and geochemistry, ecology and economics, or physics and political science. Science needs to play an important role in the attaining sustainable development, in the following areas: • Energy use : Use of renewable energy like Solar energy, wind energy which reduces the dependence on fossil energy which pollutes and create damage to environment • Biotechnology: Biotechnology is expected to bring important advances in many fields like solving food problems, saving energy, medical diagnosis and therapy, Waste treatment compatible industrial and agricultural production etc • Environmentally compatible mobility: Efficient and alternative-fuel, automated traffic control that are environmental friendly etc • Closure of substance cycles: Environmental technology must be used to design environmentally friendly pathways for consumables through the production, distribution, consumption and disposal processes. Rapid advances in information and communications technologies (ICT), energy technology, biotechnology, nanotechnology, neurotechnology and other technologies will affect all sectors of the economy, including manufacturing, construction and transportation. Many of today’s social and economic developments are a result of technical discoveries and developments in fields such as communications, information processing, health sciences and energy supply. Sustainability involves optimizing the interactions between nature, society, and the economy, in accordance with ecological criteria. Sustainable development can succeed only if all areas of the political sector, of society, and of science accept the concept and work together to implement it.

May 2018

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3497633

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Harnessing and maximizing the potential of technological innovation can help in meeting sustainable development goals. Examples of such technologies include • Carbon capture and storage systems, • More efficient irrigation methods, • Essential medicines, • Household water purification devices, and • Manufacturing processes that minimize waste and pollution. Sustainable development depends on the actions of and cooperation between all stakeholders. These includes governments, civil society, academia, and of course the private sector. Companies worldwide influence not only economic growth, but also social and ecological development. Some of the corporations are even more powerful than governments. Sustainability is again a conscious choice regarding production, job creation, technology development and investments on a continuous basis. Everyone especially those working in the private sector and corporate entities need to become sensitized to the impact of their practices on local and global sustainability and Agenda 2030. Conventional economic development eliminates several traditional occupations. Sustainable development on the other hand leads to the creation of new jobs and of opportunities for the reorientation of traditional skills to new occupations, guided by the need to protect and conserve the environment. REFERENCES • "Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development". United Nations – Sustainable Development knowledge platform available at https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/ post2015/transformingourworld

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UN General Assembly, Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (Addis Ababa Action Agenda), available at http://www.un.org/esa/ffd/wpcontent/ uploads/2015/08/AAAA_Outcome.pdf Our Common Future, Chapter 2: Towards Sustainable Development available at http://www.undocuments.net/ocf-02.htm Sustainable Development knowledge platform available at https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/ topics/science How science should feed into 2030 Agenda available at https://www.scidev.net/global/sdgs/opinion/ science-sdg-2030-agenda-sustainability.html Driving Sustainable Development: the role of Science, Technology and Innovation available at http:/ / w w w. l i n c e i . i t / f i l e s / d o c u m e n t i / 2 0 1 3 Driving_Sustainable_Development.pdf Science, technology and innovation for sustainable development in the global partnership for development beyond 2015 available at http://www.un.org/en/ development/desa/policy/untaskteam_undf/ thinkpieces/28_thinkpiece_science.pdf Sustainable Innovation: Drivers and Barriers-OECD by Daring available at https://www.oecd.org/ innovation/inno/2105727.pdf Science, technology and innovation for sustainable development -UN Economic and Social Council available at https://www.unescap.org/sites/default/ files/E72_32E.pdf

Primax Foundation, Bangalore and Asian Institute of Technology Bangkok, Thailand

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