Having a good strategy means having a set of options than just a fixed plan. It works as parameters for programs and action plans, "A strategy is a plan of action designed to achieve a specific goal. Strategy is all about gaining (or being prepared to gain) a position of advantage over adversaries or best exploiting emerging possibilities" (Wikipedia 2012), strategies are a series of trade-offs between goals and values within changing socio-economic conditions. It most of the times sets goals for a long term plan in order to promote a synergy between all the stakeholders involved in the process of change, strategies promote partnerships, participation and a shared vision created "for the good" of all. Thus, strategies for sustainable development are not always successful, it needs a continuous process of measurement in order to guarantee its success.
A number of strategies have been playing an important role within the international context of implementation of sustainable development. For instance, United Nations has developed Agenda 21 "to provide the bricks and mortar with which to build a more sustainable future" (Baltemus, 2003), the agenda set a number of principles to guide and help governments across the world to embed sustainability into their country's priorities. The principles are as per below:
- Social and economic assumptions
- Conservations and management of resources for development
- Strengthening the role of major groups
- Means of implementation
Agenda 21 principles aim to instigate governments to create new policies and strategies integrating environment and development as a cross-cutting issue into education at all levels. It works as a tool for consolidating ideas and communicating a rationale or vision for activities. The Agenda 21 and The United Nations decade of education for sustainable development are good examples of world wide strategies used by government agencies to coordinate their own efforts and increase effectiveness of their programs.
Since Rio 92 earth Summit, all countries around the world started to develop their own framework in order to embed education for sustainability into formal and informal education. Some of those frameworks were a response of international pressures from UN and UNESCO and they have also been created in response to specific outcomes required by national sustainability strategies (Tilbury and Cooke 2005).
For the past two decades. education has been put into the center of the discussions about sustainable development. After The Earth summit in 2002, the United nations and UNESCO created the Decade of education for sustainable development promoting a more sustainable world through different forms of education, training and public awareness (UNESCO 2012). To attend the objectives of the DESD, governments created their own strategic framework to foster sustainable development through education and learning to create a society capable of changes towards sustainable development. Different governments developed their framework targeting different areas of sustainability such as conservation, poverty or natural resources.
National Strategic framework sets objectives to be achieved in a long term within a country or state. With the formation of a multi-stakeholder committee states and local councils are able to develop action plans that suits their specific needs in a specific area. The Australian government, back in 2000, developed their National DESD strategy to adequate and incentivize the introduction of sustainability issues into their national education curricula. They started with the creation of programs such as Sustainable schools, where teachers had to introduce sustainability into their agenda and also into their teaching skills. The focus will be on achieving a culture of sustainability in which education for sustainability is reinforced by continuous improvement in the sustainability of campus management (Australian national plan 2009). The national action plan divides its major strategies into 5 core objectives:
Since Rio 92 earth Summit, all countries around the world started to develop their own framework in order to embed education for sustainability into formal and informal education. Some of those frameworks were a response of international pressures from UN and UNESCO and they have also been created in response to specific outcomes required by national sustainability strategies (Tilbury and Cooke 2005).
For the past two decades. education has been put into the center of the discussions about sustainable development. After The Earth summit in 2002, the United nations and UNESCO created the Decade of education for sustainable development promoting a more sustainable world through different forms of education, training and public awareness (UNESCO 2012). To attend the objectives of the DESD, governments created their own strategic framework to foster sustainable development through education and learning to create a society capable of changes towards sustainable development. Different governments developed their framework targeting different areas of sustainability such as conservation, poverty or natural resources.
National Strategic framework sets objectives to be achieved in a long term within a country or state. With the formation of a multi-stakeholder committee states and local councils are able to develop action plans that suits their specific needs in a specific area. The Australian government, back in 2000, developed their National DESD strategy to adequate and incentivize the introduction of sustainability issues into their national education curricula. They started with the creation of programs such as Sustainable schools, where teachers had to introduce sustainability into their agenda and also into their teaching skills. The focus will be on achieving a culture of sustainability in which education for sustainability is reinforced by continuous improvement in the sustainability of campus management (Australian national plan 2009). The national action plan divides its major strategies into 5 core objectives:
- Demonstrating Australian Government leadership
- Reorienting education systems to sustainability
- Fostering sustainability in business and industry
- Harnessing community spirit to act
It is clear that the government is creating a guideline of implementation of education for sustainability into all levels of society. Government plays an important leadership role working as an example through the change of its own policies, it also promotes the cultural change within higher education programs to foster sustainability into learning and teaching and also continuous improvement in sustainability on campus management. Creating a partnership with the private sector has also an important part within the National action plan, the objective is to foster capacity building in business and industry to plan for sustainability. Last, the government incentives the harnessing of community spirit with means the emphasis of collaboration with the many diverse providers of education for sustainability to help improve community and practitioners’ access to knowledge and tools. The government also act as a funding agency to many educational programs across Australia in order to promote participation and development of informal education.
Other countries such as Canada has developed a national strategic framework based on education for sustainable development focusing on a strategic vision to support the efforts of education practitioners and the need to empower those responsible for the implementation of that vision.
I think the most important part of the elaboration of an strategy is how and who is going to measure the result and impacts of it. If we take in consideration the private sector, large corporations are developing strategic frameworks to embed sustainability at their core business but at the same time they produce annually reports to measure and improve the impact of their business. Leader companies such as PUMA has been introducing a series of environmental, social and economical practices into their business strategy in order to guarantee their growth in a long term. The same process of conceptualization of a strategic framework could be used as a guideline process to introduce sustainability to an organization:
- Creation of a common vision: providing an overall strategic vision motivates stakeholders to incorporate learning for sustainability into their daily activities. It also provides direction and motivation for coordinated and committed action.
- Participation: Embrace the diversity of learning opportunities.
- Critical thinking: helping to develop a deeper understanding of interests behind the individuals.
- Systemic thinking: Integrative approaches, looking at sustainability issues in a broader, interdisciplinary and more relational way.
Karl Schutte, who works as a broker for green projects and is a graduated student from MQU, did a presentation about strategies to bring about the change. He talked about five case studies where strategic framework was used in a direct and indirect way in order to bring about the change. The key point was that all 5 case studies had in common education for sustainability being embedded as a driver to change individuals mind set about the problem in context. One of the case studies that caught my attention was "Morro do Diabo" state park in Brazil where a conservation area of the remnant Atlantic forest was threatened by settlement of landless peasant. The ICR (institute for ecological research) which had been working to preserve the area wanted to find a way to accommodate the peasant and at the same time preserve the forest. The challenge was to create a program where ICR would help the homeless peasant to develop and build their capacity about the environmental impacts that their agricultural activities could cause to the forest, so to do that ICR developed an educational program in order to educate the families about conservation and agricultural techniques. The educational program constantly reinforce the c complementary and mutually dependant nature of human interests and human needs. What I really have absorbed from this case study was the power of education to change individual's behaviour and at the same time empower them to make wiser and better decisions towards the environment. It had a short term objective to preserve the forest and accommodate the homeless people but it had exceptional impact on the long term conservation plan with the creation of the largest reforestation corridor in Brazil and also created a auto suficiente community who understands the importance of the nature and its preservation.
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