Resilient and inclusive rural transformation: Exploring pathways for sustainable development

The transformations required to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals across the African continent demand new ways of mobilising, weaving together, and applying knowledge. Research, policymaking, planning, and action must be effectively inter-linked to address complex sustainability challenges and the different needs and interests of societal actors. Transdisciplinarity (TD) – the co-production of knowledge across disciplines and with non-academic actors – offers a promising, holistic approach to foster such transformations. Yet, despite increased application of TD over the past two decades, disciplinary and sectoral silos persist. TD is not well embedded in African academic institutions and, consequently, much SDG-related research is too narrowly framed and divorced from the action space to be effective. There is an urgent need to work collectively across disciplines and society for transformation towards more sustainable and equitable development pathways. Capacities to undertake collaborative, impactful research must be strengthened, and changes in research culture are needed to support relationship building. We explore these issues by drawing on two recent online social learning processes with researchers and practitioners working on sustainability issues and TD. In each process, we built on actors’ own experiences of TD by investigating institutional, practical, and theoretical challenges and enablers of TD. Here, we synthesise our learnings, alongside key literature, and explore avenues to better: a) promote and support TD within academic institutions across Africa; b) resource TD for sustainable partnerships, and c) strengthen TD practices and impacts to support transformation to sustainability across diverse places and contexts.

Quality of life for all: A sustainable development framework for India's climate policy reduces greenhouse gas emissions

ABSTRACTSustainable development is a concern across all sectors in the modern world. While numerous measures have been developed to evaluate sustainable development levels, significant gaps persist in assessing the sustainability of development pathways. This study assesses the sustainability of China's development through the framework of “strong sustainability” and proposes region‐specific development pathways informed by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) index and underlying driving factors. The Sustainable Development Pathway Index (SDPI) is used to establish sustainable social standards and distinguish development pathways among regions. Using data from China in 2000 and 2020, quantile regression is employed to analyze the driving factors effectively. The results indicate a stepped distribution from east to west, with 77.42% of regions following a sustainable development pathway. Notably, Beijing has entered the “Brundtland Quadrat.” Ecological factors, such as vegetation cover, act as constraints on the development of regions with the HH and LH patterns. Social and cultural factors, such as infrastructure development and maternal education levels, play a pivotal role in guiding regions following sustainable development pathways toward an ideal sustainable development society. Accurately measuring the SDPI and determining regional development patterns provide valuable insights for decision‐makers and serve as key references for other developing countries in their pursuit of sustainable development pathways.

In the pursuance of sustainable development, knowledge development and learning are often central activities. Moreover, this is organised in sustainability clusters that are groups of related companies that aim to increase the sustainability of their firms, value chains and territories, supported by stakeholders from public authorities, science, society and business. The thesis Territorial knowledge governance: pursuing sustainability in agriculture and food clusters aims to improve the understanding of the principles and to what extent of the coordination that is established through knowledge and learning in the pursuance of the sustainable development of agriculture and food clusters, or territorial knowledge governance. The thesis addresses two knowledge gaps: 1) the underrepresentation of the coordinative and transformative aspects of knowledge and learning in modes of governance literature and 2) the underrepresentation of a territorial-economic approach in the literature on the governance of sustainable development transitions, especially regarding knowledge and learning. The thesis makes use of on an iterative research design. Each research step consisted of theoretical explorations and case studies that were evaluated afterwards to select the next research activities. The data collection and analysis has two pillars: 1) a literature research on theories of modes of governance, knowledge, learning, innovation, and territorial development and 2) a comparative case study analysis. The thesis presents an analytical framework for analysing territorial knowledge governance, especially in relation to sustainable development and agriculture and food clusters. The coordinative principles of territorial knowledge governance have been defined in this framework as: 1) the setting of sustainable development missions, 2) the production and exchange of knowledge in supportive milieus, 3) the embedding of substantive knowledge, 4) the anchoring of significant knowledge, and 5) the feeding of the acquired significant knowledge into the (re-) design of institutions and strategies of policy design and implementation. Moreover, constraints, enablers and type of results are presented. It is concluded that territorial knowledge governance is especially suited to complex challenges, such as sustainable development, because it is able to open new pathways for sustainable development, through the establishment of alignment between cluster actors around a shared vision and mission that emerges during knowledge-based endeavours in the sustainable development in agriculture and food. Time-aspects and the institutions that enable or constraint territorial knowledge are identified as major issues for future research, especially in relation to the highly complex settings in which cluster actors act from perspectives, habits, capabilities, beliefs and ambitions that tend to oppose the implementation of sustainable territorial development missions.

This review paper explores the integration of Blue, Green, and Grey economies as viable pathways for sustainable economic development in Nigeria. By examining the principles, current status, challenges, and opportunities of these economic models, the study highlights their potential in diversifying Nigeria's economy, enhancing environmental sustainability, and promoting social inclusion. The Blue Economy focuses on harnessing Nigeria’s vast coastal and marine resources for sustainable fisheries, aquaculture, and maritime activities. The Green Economy emphasizes eco-friendly practices, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and land management as means to address climate change and improve food security. Meanwhile, the Grey Economy, predominantly informal, presents opportunities for sustainable urban development, particularly in waste management, recycling, and construction sectors. The study identifies significant challenges, including policy gaps, inadequate infrastructure, limited access to financing, and the need for a more robust regulatory framework. It emphasizes the necessity of an integrated policy approach that aligns with Nigeria’s Vision 2050 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Strategic recommendations include fostering public-private partnerships, investing in capacity building, and leveraging innovative financing mechanisms to support sustainability projects. This review concludes that a comprehensive approach to integrating Blue, Green, and Grey economies can enhance Nigeria’s economic resilience, reduce environmental degradation, and promote inclusive growth. The findings serve as a blueprint for policymakers, stakeholders, and researchers interested in advancing sustainable development in Nigeria.

The recommendation of Sustainable Development Pathways (SDPs) is crucial for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at regional level. However, traditional recommendation algorithms struggle with two key challenges: spatial heterogeneity and sparse historical interaction records between regions and SDPs. To address these issues, we introduce the Regional Graph-Based Explainable Recommendation (RGB-ER) method. RGB-ER leverages a pruned Regional Graph (RG) to capture regional spatial heterogeneity, incorporating environmental, economic, and social factors into the recommendations. In addition, an Intent Graph models regional preferences across various attributes, bridging historical interactions with the RG and mitigating data sparsity. This dual approach significantly improves recommendation accuracy and interpretability. Extensive experiments show that RGB-ER outperforms state-of-the-art graph-based models, with a maximum improvement of 9.61% in Top-3 recommendation accuracy. A case study in Fujian Province – a region characterized by its mountainous terrain, complex socio-economic landscape, and significant sustainability challenges – illustrates RGB-ER’s practical applicability, aligning well with local government strategies for sustainable development. Furthermore, we assess SDPs at the county level across China, highlighting the method’s potential for guiding region-specific sustainable development planning. In conclusion, RGB-ER provides a robust, explainable framework for data-driven decision-making in sustainable development.

The blue economy works as a policy tool or sustainable marine economic development model that drives economic growth and creates jobs. Human civilization is indebted to the oceans from decade to decade since they are a vital source of food, energy, and minerals. Oceans act as primary media upon which global trade (for example, seaborne international trade) takes place. Being an ocean-based country, Bangladesh has immense potential to be an advanced country by the year 2041. Sustainable use of blue economic development must be ensured to achieve developed status. Lack of strong marine policy, weak ocean governance, and unsustainable use (for example, IUU fishing, marine pollution, haphazard tourism, and unplanned coastal development) can be a huge risk factors for the effective execution of the blue economy. Blue economic development should be in an eco-friendly way and a special focus must be on the conservation of the marine ecosystem. A blue economy roadmap is necessary to provide a comprehensive strategy for ocean-based sustainable development that brings together the economy, environment, and society, closely linked to the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The shift to a blue economy will require profound and structural changes in the regulatory-management-governance policy process using the ecosystem-based Marine Spatial Planning method. For sustainable blue development, strong ocean policy and ocean governance must be ensured.

Socio-political factors in Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs), and their scenario narratives often lack transparency for policymakers and interdisciplinary scholars. As these tools increasingly support sustainable development goals, their assumptions and methodologies require scrutiny, particularly from social scientists. We address critiques of climate isolationism, overemphasis on technological transitions, and insufficient inter- and transdisciplinarity, advocating for robust interdisciplinary integration and clearer methodological transparency. Our recommendations stem from expert interviews and over 200 stakeholders across 30 countries from 2019 to 2024, emphasizing the need for cohesive theory and comprehensive social science engagement to refine these critical tools. Our main case study uses a new scenario set, the Sustainable Development Pathways (SDPs), that made substantial efforts to address social sciences critiques. The SDPs consist of both narratives and IAM-quantified target-seeking scenarios that are supported by social science concepts and theories to ensure not only theoretical coherence, but also their credibility among policymakers. As such tools are increasingly used to facilitate policies and actions for sustainability transformation, questions are raised about how they can effectively represent the complexities behind the current polycrisis that is marked by the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, economic inequality and social injustice. The paper concludes by reflecting on the remaining challenges and open questions related to the role of exogenous sociopolitical factors, the potential for scenarios to transcend political ideologies, and the need for ongoing adaptation of SDPs to reflect the dynamic global context. It calls for continued engagement and exploration of these issues to ensure the scientific representation of sustainable and equitable futures.

Uncertainties around whether and how the 2030 Agenda will be taken up and implemented in different countries suggest caution in considering what contribution it may give to a kind of ‘rural transformation’ that can empower rural people not just to avoid being ‘left behind’ by the development process, but also to help drive sustainable development. Still, the agenda does appear to offer some important opportunities to this effect. These are related, in particular, to the move beyond the MDG agenda that the sustainable development goals signify, particularly with the ambition to ‘leave no one behind’ and to achieve 100 percent and zero targets, the removal of some long-standing obstacles to inclusive and sustainable rural development at the international level, and the setting in motion of new, inclusive political processes around the role of ‘the rural’ in sustainable development broadly understood.

In this chapter, we describe the design and implementation of more sustainable development pathways based on two components. Participatory processes choose indicators and set goals; and science-based tools evaluate system performance along the envisioned pathways. Implementation processes design technologies and policies that incentivize changes in the behavior of consumers and producers. The complexity of agricultural systems means there is no one-size-fits-all solutions to sustainable agricultural development. The political and governance challenges of implementation remain daunting. Yet, we are cautiously optimistic since the tools to design and implement more sustainable agricultural development pathways for both developing and industrialized countries are advancing rapidly and becoming widely available, creating opportunities for progress as citizens, businesses, and governments throughout the world recognize the imperative of sustainable development.

Policy making in the cement industry for CO2 mitigation on the pathway of sustainable development- A system dynamics approach

The enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 (PIA) reformed the Nigerian petroleum industry from a single regulatory framework that was in effect for over 50 years to a dual regime, by introducing clear distinctions between the streams of petroleum operations that was previously not clear-cut and the creation of two distinct and focused regulators for the upstream value chain and for the midstream and downstream. The objective of this paper is to review the PIA Best-In-Class Regulatory Framework for achieving a path to economic prosperity and sustainable development in Nigeria. Furthermore, the lesson learnt and experiences from introducing a new approach and transitioning from a single to a dual regulatory regime was also reviewed. The objectives of this paper were achieved through the comprehensive review of the updated regulatory structures, general administration and functions of the regulators that provides clear focus for industry stakeholders for investments opportunities and benefitting from the reforms of the PIA. Additionally, comparisons of the provisions of the Petroleum Act of 1969 to the PIA, the change programs of the PIA Transition committee, the scope of work and terms of reference of consultants saddled with handling some change management programs and the industry and regulators responses to the introduction of a new approach was also studied. The paper found that the PIA addressed the operational deficiencies of the previous regulatory regime by the recognition of distinct streams on the petroleum value chain established through custody transfer, provided clear focus for the regulators and industry stakeholders in the light of energy transition, unbundled the licensing system that hitherto exist, and entrenched transparency in hydrocarbon accounting. Therefore, the implementation guarantees Nigeria optimized value chain, energy security, improved government revenue, expansion of industry for employment. However, despite the clear benefits, change management related to strategic communications, trainings and transition of industry experience from previous regulatory framework is a big factor to prevent regulatory uncertainty. Recognition of distinct streams for value chain optimization offers advantages and provides pathway for economic benefit and sustainable development. Lastly, the paper finds and recommends that any regulatory transitioning, effective implementation of new approaches and attainment of objectives and benefits of such reforms must be accompanied by detailed change management program.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the intersection of world order transformations, sustainable development goals, and their implications for individuals with disabilities. It seeks to analyze how shifts in global governance structures and sustainable development agendas either include or marginalize people with disabilities. THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: The research problem focuses on the potential exclusion of people with disabilities from global development efforts amid evolving world orders and sustainable development initiatives. This study employs a qualitative approach, incorporating literature review, policy analysis, and case studies to examine the multifaceted dynamics involved. THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: Through an examination of the historical context of world order transformations, an analysis of international development agendas, and an evaluation of their impact on individuals with disabilities, the study builds a nuanced argument. It explores how global governance structures can either facilitate or impede the inclusion of people with disabilities in sustainable development initiatives. RESEARCH RESULTS: Findings indicate that, although notable progress has been made in recognizing disability rights within global development frameworks, significant gaps remain. Transformations in world order frequently fail to adequately address the diverse needs and experiences of individuals with disabilities, thereby perpetuating systemic inequalities. CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS: The study concludes that a more inclusive approach to global governance and sustainable development is essential for ensuring the full participation and empowerment of people with disabilities. It underscores the need for policy coherence, intersectional approaches, and meaningful engagement with disabled communities in shaping development agendas. This research provides innovative insights into the complex interplay between global politics, sustainable development, and disability rights. It recommends prioritizing disability-inclusive policies, fostering partnerships with disability organizations, and integrating disability perspectives across all levels of decision-making to establish more equitable and sustainable development pathways.

The effectiveness of carbon taxes has been subject to important debates on the sustainable development pathway. As an archipelagic country that is vulnerable to climate change, the impact of implementing this policy instrument is still understudied in the literature. This study examines the effect of carbon tax and recycling scenarios on the Indonesian economy by employing a dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE). The result revealed that carbon tax revenue recycling combined with household transfer and investment yielded better GDP and employment rate than a household transfer only in the medium and long terms. Furthermore, the carbon tax revenue recycling on household transfer and renewable energy investment created energy intensity reductions. This study recommends implementing the tax by prioritizing specific sectors, setting appropriate tax levels, applying a transitional policy, and diversifying the investment strategy to align with the sustainable development pathway.

Sustainable development pathways of China's wind power industry under uncertainties: Perspective from economic benefits and technical potential