Theme 7-2: Capacity, Institutions and Innovations for Sustainable Development--Poster Sessions
Description
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a collection of 17 ambitious goals set by global leaders to transform the world by 2030 and create a sustainable future for all. They are founded on the three pillars of sustainable development – environmental, economic and social sustainability, or as they are more colloquially known, “people, planet and profit”. Creating a better world requires an integrated approach that simultaneously improves livelihoods and reduces inequalities whilst dramatically reducing environmental damage.
This paper argues that rangelands are an ideal arena for showcasing the SDGs because they are, by their very nature, interconnected landscapes in which "people, planet and profits" interact. To simplify: when the land degrades, the people become vulnerable and when the land thrives, the people have a greater chance of thriving. Reaching the SDGs requires innovative, localised solutions to major ecological, economic and social challenges in every habitat around the world. No better is this exemplified than on rangelands.
The economic development of pastoralist communities living on rangelands depends on sustaining high quality ecosystems (“environmental sustainability”), developing market infrastructures (“economic sustainability”), and adapting to changing social dynamics (“social sustainability”). In reality, people react with the local environment, economy and society as interconnected aspects of their lives, rather than distinct domains. So sustainable development – and rangeland management – has to follow suit.
Proposing Baringo County, Kenya as a living lab, this paper argues for more interdisciplinary and grounded research adopting an “everyday life” approach to inform policy and action towards the SDGs. It offers a local rangeland management organisation, RAE Ltd, with their attendant localised solutions as protagonist in the living lab. Their work is perfectly suited for monitoring and analysis to inform bottom-up, sustainable solutions to achieving the SDGs on the ground.
Raising the profile of rangelands in global conversations on sustainability will not only increase awareness of the rangelands themselves; it will also provide a compelling image of the interdependence of people and the planet, encouraging more grounded, interconnected approaches to sustainability.
Citation
Jones, B., "Making the Case for Rangelands to Become the Poster Child of the SDGs: How Rangelands Provide Fertile Ground for an Interconnected Approach to the Three Pillars of Sustainable Development" (2022). IGC Proceedings (1993-2023). 11.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/24/7-2/11
Included in
Making the Case for Rangelands to Become the Poster Child of the SDGs: How Rangelands Provide Fertile Ground for an Interconnected Approach to the Three Pillars of Sustainable Development
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a collection of 17 ambitious goals set by global leaders to transform the world by 2030 and create a sustainable future for all. They are founded on the three pillars of sustainable development – environmental, economic and social sustainability, or as they are more colloquially known, “people, planet and profit”. Creating a better world requires an integrated approach that simultaneously improves livelihoods and reduces inequalities whilst dramatically reducing environmental damage.
This paper argues that rangelands are an ideal arena for showcasing the SDGs because they are, by their very nature, interconnected landscapes in which "people, planet and profits" interact. To simplify: when the land degrades, the people become vulnerable and when the land thrives, the people have a greater chance of thriving. Reaching the SDGs requires innovative, localised solutions to major ecological, economic and social challenges in every habitat around the world. No better is this exemplified than on rangelands.
The economic development of pastoralist communities living on rangelands depends on sustaining high quality ecosystems (“environmental sustainability”), developing market infrastructures (“economic sustainability”), and adapting to changing social dynamics (“social sustainability”). In reality, people react with the local environment, economy and society as interconnected aspects of their lives, rather than distinct domains. So sustainable development – and rangeland management – has to follow suit.
Proposing Baringo County, Kenya as a living lab, this paper argues for more interdisciplinary and grounded research adopting an “everyday life” approach to inform policy and action towards the SDGs. It offers a local rangeland management organisation, RAE Ltd, with their attendant localised solutions as protagonist in the living lab. Their work is perfectly suited for monitoring and analysis to inform bottom-up, sustainable solutions to achieving the SDGs on the ground.
Raising the profile of rangelands in global conversations on sustainability will not only increase awareness of the rangelands themselves; it will also provide a compelling image of the interdependence of people and the planet, encouraging more grounded, interconnected approaches to sustainability.
