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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
- Desenvolvimento de um sistema colaborativo de indicadores de sustentabilidade em comunidades rurais: o estudo de caso da Beira BaixaPublication . Manso, Sandra; Caeiro, Sandra Sofia Ferreira da Silva; Pardo Abad, Carlos JavierA necessidade de gerir eficientemente e eficazmente os recursos, em conjunto com o Desenvolvimento Sustentável (DS), implica o envolvimento de todos os agentes, quer políticos, quer organizações civis e cidadãos, de uma forma ativa, que promova a transformação para sociedades mais sustentáveis. Atualmente começou a surgir o debate sobre como avaliar e monitorizar o DS em pequenas cidades e municípios rurais que apresentam caraterísticas distintas das grandes cidades. As comunidades intermunicipais, compostas por estes municípios, desempenham um papel fundamental na promoção de políticas enquanto fator chave para a coesão territorial europeia, onde os Sistemas de Indicadores (SI) representam uma peça chave como instrumento de apoio à tomada de decisão. Torna-se assim fundamental desenvolver SI, com base em processos colaborativos, que incorporem as preocupações da comunidade local e as especificidades de regiões rurais e que tenham especial enfoque nos grupos mais jovens, considerando o seu papel nas futuras gerações. Este trabalho tem como objetivo desenvolver um SI numa comunidade maioritariamente rural, baseado num processo participativo e de co-criação, constituído, na primeira fase, por um questionário aplicado a uma amostra representativa da população (adulta e jovem) com o objetivo de conhecer as suas perceções e as atitudes sobre o DS e quais as áreas onde é preciso atuar para a sua aplicação no município onde residiam. Na segunda fase, pela realização de grupos focais aos atores-chave e aos jovens, pretendeu-se aferir quais os indicadores que deviam integrar o SI para monitorizar o DS. O estudo de caso refere-se à Beira Baixa, que representa aproximadamente 0,8% da população residente em Portugal, integra os 3º e 4º maiores concelhos do país em termos de área, o que se traduz numa das mais baixas densidade populacional. Esta região tem ainda os mais baixos índices de dependência de jovens e dos mais elevados índices de envelhecimento a nível nacional. Os resultados permitem verificar que a grande maioria dos inquiridos já ouviu falar de DS e que a sua promoção compete, em primeiro lugar, a cada um de nós. Quando questionados sobre SI, menos de metade dos inquiridos ouviu falar em SI, no entanto, referem que a escolha dos indicadores deveria ter em conta a sua opinião. De 40 temas apresentados à população, 22 obtiveram uma média igual ou superior a 4 (numa escala de 1 a 5), os quais estão relacionados com as dimensões social e ambiental e com uma componente “imaterial” das questões da sustentabilidade. Posteriormente, foram apresentados 123 indicadores aos atores-chave e jovens, para debaterem e avaliarem os indicadores associados aos temas, dos quais 56 constituíram o SI para esta comunidade. A abordagem inovadora de envolvimento da população na conceção de um SI de âmbito local, incorporando os jovens neste processo, enquanto agentes de mudança e promotores do DS, principalmente no mundo rural, pode agora permitir o desenvolvimento de metas e objetivos específicos em zonas com elevada desertificação humana, mas com elevados valores naturais. Desta forma pode permitir exercer pressão junto do governo e das autarquias no combate às desigualdades sociais e nas suas responsabilidades pelos compromissos face à sociedade, em concreto, no que se refere à sustentabilidade local, podendo esta abordagem ser replicada e validada em outras localidades tanto em termos nacionais ou internacionais.
- 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.