Synthesis Report - European Science Foundation

Annex 5. GlossarySustainable developmentThe Brundtland Commission coined what has become themost frequently quoted definition of sustainable developmentas development that “meets the needs of the presentwithout compromising the ability of future generations tomeet their own needs”. See www.un-documents.net/wcedocf.htm52Responses to Environmental and Societal Challenges for our Unstable Earth (RESCUE)Tipping pointsTransitions where ‘a small change can make a big difference’have been described as ‘tipping points’. Beyond this point,rapid change can occur and it might even not be possible toreturn to the original state. There are many components (orsub-systems) of the Earth system that could display non-linearbehaviour and transitions under human (anthropogenic)climate forcing. See researchpages.net/ESMG/people/timlenton/tipping-points/TransdisciplinarityTransdisciplinary research and education is a process of integrationthat overcomes disciplinary boundaries (even tostakeholders outside of science) for a more complete understandingof a complex world and that is oriented towardspragmatic issues affecting specific communities. It complementsapplied research and education in problem fields characterisedby complexity and uncertainty: “There is a needfor TR when knowledge about a societally relevant problemfield is uncertain, when the concrete nature of problems isdisputed, and when there is a great deal at stake for thoseconcerned by problems and involved in dealing with them”(Pohl and Hirsch Hadorn, 2007). Participatory approach andcollaboration between disciplines are the central elements oftransdisciplinarity. [See Annex 3 and www.transdisciplinarity.ch/e/Transdisciplinarity/]