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Aims

General aim

The aim of the symposium is to present and discuss the differences in sustainable development of two human societies related to their cultural identities within the frame of Earth resources and processes. The symposium will use oral presentations, poster presentations, and guided field tours to convey the general aim. The guided field tours will provide human and natural examples of sustainable development in Germany. The term “sustainable development” is used in the sense of the early definition (March 20, 1987) by the Brundtland Commission of the United Nations: “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. In general, sustainable is seen in the interaction of Environment, Social Actions, and Economics (Fig. 1).

 

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Fig. 1: Sustainability in the interaction of Environment, Social Actions, and Economics
(www. http://macaulay.cuny.edu/eportfolios/akurry/2011/12/21/sustainable-development/).

 

Environment (Earth resources and processes) is connected with human societies (Social and Economic) by the terms “bearable” and “viable”. These terms describe a possible way how human societies can sustainably develop by living within the system Earth and using the resources of planet Earth. The focus of the symposium is to understand the Earth resources and processes, the cultural identities, and the unique conditions in Economy, Law, Politics, and Social actions between Europe and Latin America (Fig. 2).

 

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​Fig. 2: Interaction between Earth resources and processes, and Human societies.

 

The chance of the symposium is discussing sustainability taking into account the differences of the cultures. Therefore, the symposium will focus on the cultural identities, the Earth resources and processes (Palaeoclimate/Climate change, Biodiversity, Bioeconomy, Energy, Minerals, Water, Oceans), and present the sustainable development in human society (Economics, Law, Politics, Social actions, Fig. 1). Agriculture, Forestry, Cities of the Future, Megacities, and Urban areas are examples for fields of complex interactions between human society and natural resources. In addition, all themes related to Earth resources and processes will be discussed in the view of conflicting priorities of human needs. The topics of the symposium are given by the central themes of the Heidelberg Centre for the Environment (HCE), which supports the organisation of the symposium and the dissemination of its outcome. One outcome of the symposium could be a development scheme for sustainable actions within and between the different cultures. Furthermore, the symposium is strongly supported by the Baden-Württembergisches Brasilien-Zentrum der Universität Tübingen and Baden-Württemberg International (bw-i) in Stuttgart.

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Latest Revision: 2015-06-22
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