Webinar: Towards a Nexus Knowledge Agenda – Contributions from the Social Sciences

Event
Projects
  • DATE / TIME:
    2021/04/19    15:00 - 16:50
    Location:
    Online

    Image: iStockphoto/Prostock-Studio

    Organisers: UNU-FLORES, Nexus Project Cluster


    Speaker

    • Prof. Chrysi Laspidou, Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Thessaly
    • Mona Arnold, Principal Scientist, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd
    • Dr Louise Gallagher, Environmental Governance Lead, UNEP/GRID-Geneva’s Global Sand Observatory Initiative
    • Dr Andrea L. Pierce, Associate Professor, University of Delaware, Unidel Helen Gouldner Chair of the Environment, Biden School of Public Policy and Administration and the Department of Geography
    • Prof. Paolo Davide Farah, Founder, President, and Director, Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development (gLAWcal); Associate Professor, West Virginia University
    • Dr Mathew Kurian, Consortium Lead, Belmont Forum Project-Cyber-Enabled Disaster Resilience

    Co-Convenors

    • Nexus Project Cluster

    There is a need to refine the understanding of interlinkages within resource systems in the context of the nexus concept from the political, social, legal, and economic dimensions. Social sciences can provide important contributions towards the nexus concept, adding knowledge regarding humanity’s most urgent challenges in the face of climate change and anthropogenic pressures on earth systems and helping ensure policy coherence along scales and boundaries.

    This webinar will touch upon the social science perspectives and identify its current state-of-play in nexus research. The webinar will be a step towards closing the gap of multi-perspective debates about the socio-nature relations that the Nexus Approach intends to promote. It aims to explore the gaps in current nexus discourses to establish more sustainable, equitable decisions and policies for the integrated governance of resources.

    With the mission to advance the Resource Nexus, UNU-FLORES – as a member of the Steering Committee of the Nexus Project Cluster – brings together actors from academia, civil society, industry, and governments to discuss the sustainable management of environmental resources via the Nexus Approach.


    Background

    Under the umbrella of “Circular Economy in a Sustainable Society”, the Dresden Nexus Conference 2020 (DNC2020) dwelled on the question: How can the sustainable use of environmental resources be better achieved through principles of the circular economy and what role does the Nexus Approach play?

    To accelerate meaningful integration of the social sciences into the Nexus discussion, the webinar highlights the role of multifaceted knowledge to seize all opportunities to tackle bottlenecks that prevent sustainability transformation.

    The ambition of the webinar is to provide a forward-looking approach to bring more focus and coherence to the knowledge activities arising at the science-policy interface.


    Relevant Website:
    DNC2020 Opening Session on YouTube