RCE Greater Dhaka organized a field trip on biodiversity on 28th Nov, 2015. The trip organized by the Department of Environmental Science was led by Prof. Rahman and Dr Dastagir for 150 students currently enrolled in sustainability related courses at the International University of Business Agriculture and Technology (IUBAT). This initiative was part of the planned semester activity of the students. The National Botanical Garden of Bangladesh with an area of approximately 84 hectares is located at Mirpur in Dhaka. Established in 1961, it is the largest botanical garden in Bangladesh.

The UN-ESCAP report on integrating the three dimensions of sustainable development introduces useful concepts and practical tools to assist policymakers in promoting integration of the three dimensions of sustainable development across the policy cycle. It explores the use of qualitative scenarios and quantitative input-output analyses for sustainable development policymaking, outlining the limitations and knowledge and information requirements of each.

The "Symposium on Sustainable Development Research in Australia and New Zealand" will be held in Melbourne, Australia on 1st-2nd August 2016. The event, hosted by RMIT University, is co-organised by the Inter-University Sustainable Development Research Programme (IUSDRP), run by Manchester Metropolitan University and Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, and involves a number of institutions of higher education active in this field, from across the region.

The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), established in 2012, is an independent intergovernmental body open to all member countries of the United Nations. The members are committed to building IPBES as the leading intergovernmental body for assessing the state of the planet's biodiversity, its ecosystems and the essential services they provide to society.

by Mario T. Tabucanon, UNU-IAS, Aurea C. Tanaka, UNU-IAS (2008-2014)

November 2015

Key Messages

Integrating the vision of sustainability in higher education means to challenge the status quo, to build a culture of change for reforming higher education institutions and restructure unsustainable processes and practices to shape the leaders of the 21st century. Networking is a strategic approach to effectuate the needed transformation in the sector and the experience of ProSPER.Net suggests the following:

8th ASEAN+3 Leadership Programme on Sustainable Production and Consumption (SCP) and SWITCH-Asia Workshop on “ASEAN and SCP Governance in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”

by Hanna Stahlberg