Sustainability research needs applied and social sciences

There is a need for dialogue between mainstream applied sciences on the one hand and the social sciences and humanities on the other if sustainability research is to come up with solutions to inspire the behavioural change needed to build future sustainable societies.

The dialogue and cooperation between the two different science orientations will ensure sustainable solutions to help the world face the adversities brought about by climate change and to ensure that societies are able to cope better with the effects, and eventually arrest the negative trend.

Researchers at the Sustainability Research and Innovation Congress 2022 (SRI2022) that took place at the University of Pretoria in South Africa from 20-24 June noted that while it was key to come up with innovations to use resources sustainably, the innovations will not succeed if people’s behaviour and attitudes do not change.

Human behaviour cannot be ignored

This will call for the involvement of humanities and social sciences to understand how to influence people to change how they live and do the things they are accustomed to, said Corine Pelluchon, professor of philosophy at the Gustave Eiffel University in France.

Applying the sciences will also help rally people to support change while helping them avoid negative emotions associated with resistance to change, she said.

“Achieving sustainable societies means drastic changes in the way people do things and a change in common development models. We, therefore, need studies, for example, to show the link between human behaviour as an important obstacle to drivers of change,” Pelluchon told a session on research priorities for sustainability science organised by the German Committee Future Earth (DKN) on 21 June.

She observed that the shift from using fossil fuels for example meant to decarbonise the planet would not be easy for many people who use petroleum products for power production or to live comfortably, amplifying why a multiplicity of sciences in research would be necessary.

Remedies should be domesticated

“Sustainability will mean that nearly all the things we do today, change; it will have global consequences and move from impossibility to possibility. This shows that we cannot rely on scientific research alone; it clearly shows that we can no longer separate these important topics,” she said.

Humanities and social sciences were important in addressing both disciplinary and interdisciplinary gaps in research, as well as in identifying priority areas for sustainability research, according to Professor Michael Bollig of the department of social and cultural anthropology at the University of Cologne in Germany.

Identifying priority research areas, approaches, and goals, he said, would guarantee transformation in the quest for sustainability.

“How the world moves in its quest for a better and just future will depend a lot on our contribution as academics, and the major part we must play is in sustainability research,” he said.

In their quest for solutions for a more climatically and environmentally stable future, researchers must find a way to domesticate scientific solutions, but drawing and fusing them with indigenous African knowledge, for it to work for the continent, said Dr Kebadire Mogotsi of Botswana College of Agriculture.

In the past, she noted, researchers neglected useful and important indigenous African knowledge that would prove valuable in tailoring solutions for adapting to changing climate for local communities.

Solutions should capture African realities

During a session on climate change titled ‘Challenges and solutions to the climate crisis in Africa with a focus on water resources’ water-related issues affecting communities were examined.

Participants included researcher Kingsley Nnaemeka Ogbu of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nigeria, and the Centre for Development Research in Bonn, Germany, who noted that many hydrological models developed in Africa have been developed by Western researchers, and do not truly capture the African reality.

Many of them were prone to errors as they were not well aligned to the African water setting, requiring local researchers to domesticate them to help in responding to local challenges water and climate challenges, Ogbu said,

Panama to host SRI2023

At the official closing of the event, the Central American country of Panama was selected to host SRI2023 to be held in June 2023.

Panama’s national secretariat for science, technology, and innovation (SENACYT) will host the gathering in partnership with the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI), SENACYT head Eduardo Ortega-Barrie said.

"On behalf of the Government of Panama and SENACYT, I’m pleased that we have been selected to host SRI2023. It will be an honour for us to host such a relevant congress in our country,” he added.