Transformation Towards Sustainable and Resilient Societies in Asia and the Pacific

Abstract

The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific is the regional development arm of the United Nations and serves as the main economic and social development centre for the United Nations in the region. Its mandate is to foster cooperation between its 53 members and 9 associate members. ESCAP provides the strategic link between the global and country-level programmes and issues. It supports governments in consolidating regional positions and advocates regional approaches to meeting the unique socioeconomic challenges in a globalizing world. The ESCAP office is located in Bangkok. The Asian Development Bank's vision is an Asia and Pacific region free of poverty. Its mission is to help its developing member countries reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of their people. Despite the region's many successes, it remains home to a large share of the world's poor. ADB is committed to reducing poverty through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth and regional integration. Based in Manila, ADB is owned by 67 members, including 48 from the region. Its main instruments for helping its developing member countries are policy dialogue, loans, equity investments, guarantees, grants and technical assistance. The United Nations Development Programme works in about 170 countries and territories, helping to achieve the eradication of poverty, and the reduction of inequalities and exclusion. We help countries to develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities, institutional capabilities and build resilience in order to sustain development results. Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies in Asia and the Pacific Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies in Asia and the Pacific

A Wake-up Call: Covid-19 and Its Impact on Reforming Biosciences Education Towards Resiliency and Sustainability

“…Resilience is the capacity to recover from an unexpected event using sustainable practices. Hence, sustainable practices promoting resilience is the ultimate objective for creating a robust biosciences education system (55). As a result, it is critical not only to address resilience and sustainability practises as separate components in ensuring the future progress and adaptability of biosciences education in a post-pandemic world, but also to develop resiliency in sustainability practises in what is referred to as 'resilience sustainability'.…”

Demystifying Technology as the Basis of Education for Sustainability

“…Indeed, if society does not ensure stability in these crucial economic, technological, and social issues, any other stability, including cultural sustainability and sustainable development, is highly questionable and without fundamental prerequisites for development. For this reason, the resilience of a society is measured by its capabilities, which include the ability to predict, absorb, adapt, and transform [11]. Predictive capacity refers to the ability of the system to predict and mitigate the effects of shocks through preparedness and planning, and absorptive capacity refers to the ability to absorb and manage the effects of shocks and stress [11].…”

“…For this reason, the resilience of a society is measured by its capabilities, which include the ability to predict, absorb, adapt, and transform [11]. Predictive capacity refers to the ability of the system to predict and mitigate the effects of shocks through preparedness and planning, and absorptive capacity refers to the ability to absorb and manage the effects of shocks and stress [11]. Adaptation is the ability of human systems to change and learn in response to multiple, long-term, and future risks and to adapt after the shock has occurred, while transformability is the ability to take deliberate steps to change systems that cause risk, vulnerability, and/or inequity [11].…”

“…Predictive capacity refers to the ability of the system to predict and mitigate the effects of shocks through preparedness and planning, and absorptive capacity refers to the ability to absorb and manage the effects of shocks and stress [11]. Adaptation is the ability of human systems to change and learn in response to multiple, long-term, and future risks and to adapt after the shock has occurred, while transformability is the ability to take deliberate steps to change systems that cause risk, vulnerability, and/or inequity [11]. From the above characteristics and the definition of sustainability and resilience, it is clear that human capabilities are an extremely important pillar of society that should be given special attention.…”