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- Indicators System of Intermunicipal Sustainability: A case study in rural areas, Beira Baixa, PortugalPublication . Manso, Sandra; Caeiro, Sandra; Pardo, Carlos; Nunes, SaraIt is essential and urgent to seek social cohesion and quality of life of citizens, namely quality public spaces, energy efficiency, employment, economy, integration and social inclusion, among others, through policies (global or local), while respecting the specificity of each region. Indeed, in order to change the municipalities’ planning policy, it is essential to incorporate sustainability criteria and their measurement. In particular, indicators are a useful tool for communication and to support decision. The intermunicipal communities, as a cluster of neighbour municipalities, have an essential role in the promotion of territorial policies as a key factor for European territorial cohesion. The case study presented is about the Beira Baixa region in the interior of Portugal. Its population represents 0.8% of the resident population of Portugal. This region holds the country’s 3rd and 4th largest municipalities in terms of area (Castelo Branco and Idanha-a-Nova), but with the lowest populational densities (18 inhabitant/km2). The main objective of this study is to present the results of the themes and calculate an index to determinate the key areas of a questionnaire survey applied to a representative sample of the resident population of Beira Baixa, Portugal, over 18 years of age. The survey aims the support of the development of a participative Indicators System (IS) for Intermunicipal Sustainability assessment. The objectives of the questionnaire were to inquire the population’s perceptions and awareness about sustainability concepts, main sustainability themes and self-assessment of the local sustainability. The data that resulted was analysed using adequate multivariate statistical techniques, in particular to merge the more relevant sustainability domains and respective themes. The results show a statistically significant association between “Have you heard of the term “Sustainable Development (SD)”?” and “municipality”. Specifically, we can see that in the rural municipalities the percentage of the population that has never heard of SD is higher. Besides, there is an imbalance between the four dimensions associated with the concept of SD (environment, economy, social and governance/institutional), in the community as well as in each municipality. In the question that relates to the Themes of the IS the environmental and social ones were identified as the most relevant. The exploratory factorial analysis on the presented subjects revealed six “components”: the first one is strongly related with the “Environmental”, the second with the “Economical”, the third with the “Social”, the fourth with the “Rural”, the fifth with the “Immaterial” and lastly the “External Aspects”. The research revealed also the low involvement of the population in public decisions and in questions related to the environment. It is essential to involve the population in order to put pressure on the government and local authorities to diminish social inequalities and assume their responsibilities for commitments to society, namely regarding local sustainability.
- Perceptions and attitudes about local Sustainability of young people: A case study in rural areas, Beira Baixa, PortugalPublication . Manso, Sandra; Caeiro, Sandra; Pardo, Carlos; Ramos, George; Nunes, SaraIn 2015, the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) defined a new agenda and supplied a holistic and multidimensional view for development. These Goals are challenges to traditional teaching methods, and important to educate for Sustainable Development (SD) and involve young people in the participative model. Young generation can contribute to promote environmental conscience, and to the change in values and attitudes towards sustainability. Bearing in mind that each player has its own “language” it is essential to promote dialogue between science and society, namely among the youth. The case study of this research takes place in the context of a special program, that aims to establish scientific publication partnerships between Secondary Education Schools (SESs) and the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and it refers to the Beira Baixa region. This region is predominately rural, that represents approximately 0.8% of the resident population of Portugal (around 83 thousand people), having one of the lowest rates of young people in the country (10.6%). The main goal of this work is to reflect on the perception that the youth has about SD, based on the results from a questionnaire applied to a group from the region’s student population in Secondary Education. The questionnaire comprises of five parts: i) characterization of the sample; ii) SD perception, iii) SD evaluation in the municipality of residence, iv) what is important to evaluate in the region’s SD, v) voluntary activities. The results allowed to verify that the large majority of the students has heard of the term SD, having school and the media been the major contributors. When asked about the evaluation of SD in the region, referring to the four dimensions, and according to a traffic light, the majority considered the environmental dimension “green”, the economic and governance “yellow” and the social dimension is divided between “green” and “yellow”. About 40% of the students considers that their quality of life “is the same” as in previous years. When asked about what is important to evaluate in their region’s SD and, specifically which of the SDG are more important to their region, the main ones are: Good Health and Well-Being (SDG 3), Affordable and clean energy (SDG 7) and Climate action (SDG 13). Most of them considers that the process for selecting indicators should have their opinion in mind. This project intends to improve the level of knowledge about SD (knowledge acquisition, skills and attitudes), mostly among young people, so that their future decisions are informed and efficient and promote a commitment towards a sustainable future. There is a continuous need, urgent and vital, to create and develop innovative tools to educate the young people on sustainability that allow for the improvement of their knowledge, their skills and their attitudes about SD and the SDG. This work demonstrates that the SESs, connected to the HEIs, can play a vital role in awareness about SD and, specifically about the SDG, so that SD can be reached from the local to the global levels, in order to contribute towards social change and a more sustainable future.
- Percepções e atitudes dos jovens sobre o Desenvolvimento Sustentável: o caso de uma parceria entre IES e as escolas na Beira BaixaPublication . Manso, Sandra; Caeiro, Sandra; Ramos, George; Nunes, Sara; Pardo, Carlos
- Indicators System of Intermunicipal Sustainability: A case study in rural areas, Beira Baixa, PortugalPublication . Manso, Sandra; Caeiro, Sandra; Pardo, Carlos; Nunes, SaraIt is essential and urgent to seek social cohesion and quality of life of citizens, namely quality public spaces, energy efficiency, employment, economy, integration and social inclusion, among others, through policies (global or local), while respecting the specificity of each region. Indeed, in order to change the municipalities’ planning policy, it is essential to incorporate sustainability criteria and their measurement. In particular indicators are a useful tool for communication and to support decision. The intermunicipal communities, as a cluster of neighbour municipalities, have an essential role in the promotion of territorial policies as a key factor for European territorial cohesion. The case study presented is about the Beira Baixa region in the interior of Portugal. Its population represents 0.8% of the resident population of Portugal. This region holds the country’s 3rd and 4th largest municipalities in terms of area (Castelo Branco and Idanha-a-Nova), but with the lowest populational densities (18 inhabitant/km2). The main objective of this study is to present the results of the themes and calculate an index to determinate the key areas of a questionnaire survey applied to a representative sample of the resident population of Beira Baixa, Portugal, over 18 years of age. The survey aims the support of the development of a participative Indicators System (IS) for Intermunicipal Sustainability assessment. The objectives of the questionnaire were to inquire the population’s perceptions and awareness about sustainability concepts, main sustainability themes and self-assessment of the local sustainability. The data that resulted was analysed using adequate multivariate statistical techniques, in particular to merge the more relevant sustainability domains and respective themes. The results show a statistically significant association between “Have you heard of the term “Sustainable Development (SD)”?” and “municipality”. Specifically, we can see that in the rural municipalities the percentage of the population that has never heard of SD is higher. Besides, there is an imbalance between the four dimensions associated with the concept of SD (environment, economy, social and governance/institutional), in the community as well as in each municipality. In the question that relates to the Themes of the IS the environmental and social ones were identified as the most relevant. The exploratory factorial analysis on the presented subjects revealed six “components”: the first one is strongly related with the “Environmental”, the second with the “Economical”, the third with the “Social”, the fourth with the “Rural”, the fifth with the “Immaterial” and lastly the “External Aspects”. The research revealed also the low involvement of the population in public decisions and in questions related to the environment. It is essential to involve the population in order to put pressure on the government and local authorities to diminish social inequalities and assume their responsibilities for commitments to society, namely regarding local sustainability.
- Sistemas de Indicadores de sustentabilidade local: perceção dos atores-chave e dos jovens para o caso da Beira Baixa, PortugalPublication . Manso, Sandra; Caeiro, Sandra; Pardo, Carlos; Nunes, SaraNo âmbito geral, onde esta investigação se insere, pretende-se descrever a metodologia que serviu de base à conceção de um SI para esta região, baseado num processo de participação pública e co-criação, composta, na 1ª fase, por um inquérito por questionário aplicado à população residente e maior de idade e aos jovens do 3º ciclo, no âmbito do Programa Cientificamente Provável. Na 2ª fase, pela realização de grupos focais aos atores-chave e aos jovens da Beira Baixa, para aferir quais os indicadores que devem integrar o SI para monitorizar o DS da Beira Baixa. Neste artigo pretende-se apresentar os resultados preliminares das reuniões com os grupos focais.