The Greening developing economies in the wake of falling oil prices conference, during which issues concerning sustainability, the “green economy” and development will be discussed, kicks off tomorrow morning (Wednesday, 08 July 2015), at the Makaranga Lodge in Kloof.
The Durban University of Technology’s Journal of Green Economy and Development (JGED) is organising and co-ordinating the conference, with partners and sponsors being the Iqraa Trust, Eskom KwaZulu-Natal, DUT business incubator Invo Tech, academics from Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) in the UK, Unilever Centre for Environmental Water Quality, Rhodes University, University of South Africa and the Institut für Wirtschaftswissenschaft, Erlangen, Germany in.
The conference will cover a variety of aspects including climate change, green agriculture, rural development, sustainable urban and rural livelihoods and development finance and growth.
“One of the most significant challenges facing humanity in the 21st century is the impact that it has had on the state of the earth,” said Professor Ahmed Bawa, Vice-Chancellor and Principal at the Durban University of Technology. “This has resulted primarily from the modes of development that we have chosen such as rapid industrialisation, unsustainable consumption, humungous levels of wastage, unprecedented levels of pollution of all three biospheres of the earth, and so on. What this tells us is that there is a direct link between the nature of the economy and the long term quality of life of all forms. It is important therefore for us to focus our attention on how best to address these challenges through teaching and learning, research, engagement as well as social and political activism of various kinds,” said Prof Bawa.
The 2014 launch of the Journal of Green Economy and Development (JGED) and the accompanying Green Economy and Development Conference not only widened the debate to encompass concerns about water resources, marine affairs, etc, but also showed that ideas on the environment must not be separated from political economy issues such as inequality and power relations.
“While nobody can argue about the positive impact of the economic growth on unemployment and the standard of living of millions of disadvantaged people around the world, we must also admit that the cost and the negative impact of this nonstop growth has been very high to the environment worldwide,” said Dr Mahmoud Youssef Baker, Iqraa Trust Chairman. “We are suffering from unprecedented natural disasters everywhere. Global warming and pollution are affecting our lives and have made our earth very vulnerable. Sustainability planning has become very important to protect the only home we have in this universe. Governments need to reconsider their plans to keep growing their economies irrespective of the impact on environment and future generations,” said Dr Baker.
Academic papers on sustainability, the green economy, climate change and development will also be presented at the conference. Scientists, entrepreneurs, artists, designers, funders and public sector institutions will be in attendance.
Prof Bawa said universities must contribute to knowledge and understanding of how best to address environmental challenges and what undergirds earth’s “massive degradation” in all its representations. “DUT sees itself as being a social institution committed to these activities. This conference will bring together people from many societies who have a common concern about the future of humanity. It will be a great opportunity to understand what is being done globally and what needs to be done and to produce opportunities for all of us to be part of the movement for fundamental change,” said Prof Bawa.
The details of the conference are as follows:
Date: 8 July 2015 – 10 July 2015
Venue: Makaranga Lodge, Kloof, outside Durban.
– Sinegugu Ndlovu
Image courtesy of Shutterstock
