Sustainability as a driver of prosperity and peace
The Asia-Pacific region is home to some of the world’s most dynamic and diverse societies. The region is also home to some of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. Rapid economic growth, population growth and urbanisation have resulted in the deterioration of vital ecosystems. The region is facing a range of environmental challenges, including water scarcity, air pollution, land degradation, and biodiversity loss.
In order to ensure the long-term sustainability of the region, it is essential that governments, businesses, and civil society alike take action to address these challenges. The need for sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region is pressing. To this end, governments need to prioritise the implementation of sustainable development policies and strategies, including those related to energy, water, waste management, biodiversity protection, and green infrastructure. Businesses also need to play their part by investing in green technologies and embracing sustainable practices like green supply chains, resource efficiency, and corporate social responsibility. Finally, higher education institutions and civil society need to engage in a meaningful dialogue and action to ensure that information needs are met. In this way, the Asia-Pacific region can make progress towards a more sustainable future.
Against this background and in order to facilitate a broad discussion on the contribution of higher education institutions to sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region, the Asia-Pacific Symposium on Sustainable Development in Higher Education: Sustainability As a Driver of Prosperity and Peace is being organised.
As the title suggests, the symposium will provide an opportunity for sustainability experts from the Asia-Pacific region to meet, present their work, interact and network. To document their work in a lasting way, the experiences from the presenters will be documented and promoted in the book 'Sustainable Development in Higher Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Sustainability As a Driver of Prosperity and Peace', to be published by Springer Nature. The book will be part of the World Sustainability Series (https://www.springer.com/series/13384), the leading peer-reviewed book series on matters related to sustainable development. All papers submitted will be subject to the standard peer-review procedures.
The symposium is an unprecedented event, mobilising the scientific community working on matters related to sustainable development in higher education in the Asia-Pacific region in a way never seen before.
