trends and future of sustainable development - TransEco

about environmental challenges. Scott and Gough 2004, consider the World Commission onEnvironment and Development (1987), influential events particularly for introducing the terminology ofSD. It has been recognized as a ground for further work such as IUCN 1990; Caring for the Earthinitiatives which introduced a strategy for Sustainability. This strategy followed and developed intochapter 36 Agenda 21 in 1992 during Rio Earth Summit and the United nations follow up conference.Chapter 36 Agenda 21 of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992explicitly focuses on education, training and awareness with regard to environmental issues withineducational institutions. It has urged for reorienting education towards sustainable development. Itemphasizes on education as a critical means for promoting SD and improving the capacity of the peopleto address environment and development issues. It calls on all countries and recommends that‘Governments should drive to update or prepare strategies aimed at integrating environment anddevelopment as a cross-cutting issue into education for all levels within the next three years…A thoroughreview of curricula should be undertaken to ensure a multidisciplinary approach, with environment anddevelopment issues and their socio-cultural and demographic aspects and linkages.’ In addition to that,Agenda 21 has urges universities on being actively involved in education, research and raising awarenesswith regards to environmental challenges; ‘Educational authorities should promote proven educationalmethods and the development for innovative teaching method for educational setting…Countries couldsupport universities and other tertiary activities and networks for environmental and developmenteducation. Cross-disciplinary course could be made available to all students. Existing regional networksand activities and national university action which promote research and common teaching approacheson sustainable development should be built upon, and new partnerships and bridges created with thebusiness and other independent sectors, as well as with all countries for technology, know-how andknowledge exchange.’ The agenda also encourages educational institutions specially HEIs to contributemore to awareness and capacity building. In addition, the document remind institutions ‘to ensure thatenvironmental and human ecological considerations are integrated at all managerial levels and in allfunctional management areas such as marketing, production and finance.’ The last part of chapter 36encourage universities to take responsibility in community outreach as well as providing non formaleducation , vocational and management training within environmental frame as community service.This chapter urges university to set their operational standard in line with environmental friendlycriteria.Specific declarations for HE and sustainability emerged at the early 1990 and continually evolvedthrough decades until the present time. One of the main motives in preparing such declarations is thatHEIs encountered the world concerning about environmental issues. Wright 2004 explains that HEIswere looked upon by the society as a place of preserving, creating and implementing knowledge andtruth. Therefore it was expected from these institutions to imply the appropriate knowledge and valuesto deal with the complex problem of society. She also points at the criticize which university received ontheir inability to be model of sustainability in operating the infrastructure and technical endeavorenvironmentally friendly as well as lack of environmental curriculum.The Talloires Declaration: in 1990 as a result of the conference held in the Tufts UniversityEuropean Center discussing role of HE in an environmentally sustainable future, the university leadersissued the declaration. They expressed that the universities has a major role in the education, research,policy formation as well as exchanging knowledge and information in order to make a sustainable future256