Evangelos Manolas

The future we want: Key issues on sustainable development in higher education after Rio and the UN decade of education for sustainable development

Purpose – This paper aims to provide a description of the achievements of the United Nations (UN) Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014) with a focus on higher education, and it describes some of the key issues which will guide sustainable development in the coming years. Design/methodology/approach – The paper initially presents an analysis of past developments, complemented by an assessment of the emphasis on sustainable development by the International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. In particular, it makes cross-references to the deliberations held at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 2012, with a special emphasis to the document “The Future we Want”. It concludes by listing a set of suggestions and measures that both industrialised and developing countries may consider to translate the principles of sustainable development into reality. Findings – Sustainable development is and will continue to be a matter of subst...

A systems approach to education for sustainability in higher education

Purpose – The purpose of the research is to investigate education for sustainability (EfS) practice and perceptions in three university contexts in England, Australia and Greece with a view to identify a suitable systems model for effective EfS across the university.Design/methodology/approach – Research tools involved interviews of key people engaged in EfS (n=25) supported by observations plus appropriate documentary analysis as a basis to establish perceived good practice, barriers and ways to improve EfS.Findings – Clear vision, leadership and support for EfS were considered vital, while agreed understanding about the importance, purpose and nature of EfS was necessary to achieve effective EfS across the university. Wide consultation, consensual agreement and collaborative practice were viewed as important to achieve collective views and coordinated action. A distributed model of leadership in which individuals are responsible and collectively empowered to action is relevant to a systems model for EfS...

The 2007 forest fires in the prefecture of Ilia: the views of citizens with regard to the actions taken before, during and after the fires

In 2007, the prefecture of Ilia, Peloponnese, Greece, was struck by very serious fires which were not only the result of extreme weather but also of human omissions and mistakes. This paper examines the views of the citizens of Ilia with regard to the actions of the Fire Department, the municipal authorities, the Forest Service, the citizens and the state, before, during and after the fires.

Climate change: the views of forestry students in a Greek university.

The trend to global warming is one of the most important problems of our time. This paper reports the findings of self‐management questionnaires, in regard to views held on the issue of climate change by the students of the Department of Forestry and Management of the Environment and Natural Resources of the Democritus University of Thrace.

The Paris climate change agreement

Sir, Some compare the new climate agreement to the successful 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Others mention an unfortunate parallel, which also involves Paris, the 1928 General Treaty for Renunciation of War or the Kellogg-Briand Pact as it is more commonly known. Although this treaty, which sought to outlaw war, lacked an enforcement mechanism it was applauded by many as an effort which would succeed to keep the world at peace. It did not. In a few years World War II broke out [1]. What will be the fate of the Paris climate change agreement? The Paris deal is fundamentally different from its predecessor, the Kyoto Protocol. All countries, not only developed ones, are supposed to reduce emissions. Negotiations did not focus on splitting that responsibility. Instead, each country submitted its own plans based on its national circumstances: the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs). Rather than using international law to enforce these (a means which has been shown to be powerless for climate) the Paris deal seeks to mobilize political pressure. It does so by defining a set of transparency measures and a process for reviewing each country’s progress on a regular and public basis (although exactly how this will be done is not clear). And rich countries have set a non-binding goal of

School Gardens and Ecovillages: Innovative Civic Ecology Educational Approaches at Schools and Universities

100 billion per year (with an increase over time) in public and private financing by 2020 for poorer countries, to help them invest in clean energy and cope with the ravages of climate change. The Paris agreement also creates a process under which each country should propose stronger national emissions-cutting plans every five years. Yet nothing in the deal actually forces countries to do this. The deal contains no enforcement mechanisms [2]. By itself the Paris climate agreement cannot save the planet nor can it stop global warming. It may also prove ineffective, like any treaty relying on voluntary actions. At the same time the treaty can add momentum to efforts already under way around the world and it can encourage countries to do more. Any further action depends on many forces, policymakers, businessmen, scientists, activists. Every country will have to do more. They have to pursue, design and implement new policies, invent and use new technologies, be much more ambitious. The agreement provides strong signals for action, but it is weak. The truth is, if no serious actions are adopted the world may exceed the 2 °C limit [3]. Time will tell if the Paris agreement will be successful. At the next climate summit in Morocco in November 2016, what will states say regarding provisions for transparency, and review of their national efforts? How many of the battles fought in Paris will be refought? In 2020 will countries submit new emissions-cutting plans? [2]. If they do so, will their new emissions-cutting plans be more ambitious? Furthermore, will these new emissions-cutting plans be accompanied by presentation of details on how they will be achieved – for example, through market mechanisms, carbon taxation, or the regulation of power plant emissions? [4] Will the climate aid promised by the wealthy countries actually

The Coexistence of Humans and Companion Animals in the City Parks of Xanthi: The Views of the Citizens

To prevent further damage to the natural ecosystem, it would be necessary to produce environmental stewards capable of making knowledgeable and conscientious decisions regarding the environment. Due to renewed environmental awareness, new civic ecology educational trends, like school gardening and ecovillage projects are enjoying an intense interest. Environmental knowledge alone is not sufficient to solve conservation problems, and the role of civic ecology in solving these problems has become increasingly important. Conventional classroom learning from books, wall charts and memorization often results in youth’s negative attitudes towards environmental sciences. Environmental education researchers therefore have suggested that classroom interventions or combinations with field experiences that actively involve youth may promote pro-environmental behavior, knowledge and positive attitudes towards the environment. Research has shown that school gardens and ecovillages enhance learning, promote experiential learning, and teach environmental education and environmental dispositions. School gardens in primary and secondary education as well as undergraduate and graduate university programs connected with ecovillages cover a continuum of efforts to increase the benefits of environmental education in real world conditions backed up with hands on experience in miniature environments, where youth works in sympathy with nature. The purpose of this paper is to describe the infrastructure of school gardens and ecovillages and assess their style of learning. Furthermore the focus would be in determining, through successful case stories, what are the academic, behavioral, recreational, social, political, and environmental remediation benefits through these civic ecology experiences.

The effectiveness of climate change communication and information dissemination via the internet: experiences from the online climate conference series

Companion animals are very important to people of big cities. In Greece the families which own those animals take them for a walk in the parks and streets of their town but not always with care to not disturb other citizens. Laws and regulations for companion and stray animals are not respected in Greece, although as a result of the Athens Olympics in 2004 the Greek government started to provide funds for the collection, care, and sterilization of stray animals. This paper is a first attempt to record, through the aid of a structured questionnaire, the view of the citizens of the city of Xanthi in northern Greece regarding companion animals and what they do when animals become old. The paper also examines the extent to which the existence of stray and companion animals in parks disturbs the people who visit green areas looking for a place to get a rest or play on the grass. The majority preferred that stray animals are collected off the streets, recorded, treated from parasites, vaccinated, and sterilized and after that are available for adoption or are returned to the area they were found at.

Environmental problems in protected areas

Despite the importance of and the need for using internet-based approaches to promote information and raise awareness on climate change, there is a paucity of initiatives which may foster this cause on a long-term basis. This article presents the concept, approaches, methods, experiences and results from an online climate change conference series led by the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW Hamburg), which, since its inception in 2008, has engaged over one million participants in over 150 countries. Covering a wide range of topics including water use, disasters management, and technologies, the online climate change conferences provide useful insights on matters which may be considered, in ensuring climate change can be successfully communicated via online tools.

Applying an ethical decision-making model: the case of Avco Environmental

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose an approach regarding the management measures for solving environmental problems in protected areas. Two neighboring protected areas with different features were chosen in order to investigate the similarity of the environmental problems with regard to these two areas and if it is possible for these problems to be solved through a network of protected areas. Design/methodology/approach – The research was carried out through the use of a questionnaire which was distributed to the inhabitants and visitors of both areas, as well as through interviews with the representatives of organizations responsible for the management and administration of those areas and representatives of the municipalities and the regional authorities these two national parks belong to. Simple random sampling was applied to the inhabitants and cluster sampling to the visitors. Findings – The results show that with regard to the visitors the most important problem is illegal hunting whi...