Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 333–373 |
| Number of pages | 41 |
| Journal | Circular economy and sustainability |
| Volume | 1 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 12 Jun 2021 |
| Publication status | Published - Jun 2021 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Abstract
Overcoming Limitations of Ecology and Engineering in Addressing Society’s Challenges: By providing an integrated, systems-approach to problem-solving that incorporates ecological principles in engineering design, ecological engineering addresses, many of the limitations of Ecology and Engineering needed to work out how people and nature can beneficially coexist on planet Earth. Despite its origins in the 1950s, ecological engineering remains a niche discipline, while at the same time, there has never been a greater need to combine the rigour of engineering and science with the systems-approach of ecology for pro-active management of Earth’s biodiversity and environmental life-support systems. Broad consensus on the scope and defining elements of ecological engineering and development of a globally consistent ecological engineering curriculum are key pillars to mainstream recognition of the discipline and practice of ecological engineering. The Importance of Ecological Engineering in Society: In this paper, the importance of ecological engineering education is discussed in relation to the perceived need of our society to address global challenges of sustainable development. The perceived needs of industry, practitioners, educators and students for skills in ecological engineering are also discussed. The Importance and Need for Ecological Engineering Education: The need for integrative, interdisciplinary education is discussed in relation to the scope of ecology, engineering and the unique role of ecological engineering. Scope for a Universally Recognised Curriculum in Ecological Engineering: The scope for a universally recognised curriculum in ecological engineering is presented. The curriculum recognises a set of overarching principles and concepts that unite multiple application areas of ecological engineering practice. The integrative, systems-based approach of ecological engineering distinguishes it from the trend toward narrow specialisation in education. It is argued that the systems approach to conceptualising problems of design incorporating ecological principles is a central tenant of ecological engineering practice. Challenges to Wider Adoption of Ecological Engineering and Opportunities to Increase Adoption: Challenges and structural barriers to wider adoption of ecological engineering principles, embedded in our society’s reliance on technological solutions to environmental problems, are discussed along with opportunities to increase adoption of ecological engineering practice. It is suggested that unifying the numerous specialist activity areas and applications of ecological engineering under an umbrella encompassing a set of core principles, approaches, tools and way of thinking is required to distinguish ecological engineering from other engineering disciplines and scale up implementation of the discipline. It is concluded that these challenges can only be realised if ecological engineering moves beyond application by a relatively small band of enthusiastic practitioners, learning by doing, to the education of future cohorts of students who will become tomorrow’s engineers, project managers, procurement officers and decision makers, applying principles informed by a growing body of theory and knowledge generated by an active research community, a need whose time has come, if we are to deploy all tools at our disposal toward addressing the grand challenge of creating a sustainable future.
Keywords
- Ecological engineering, Teaching, sustainability, Interdisciplinary education, Environmental challenges, Systems-based, Ecological engineering design, Ecological engineering curriculum, Nature based solutions, Sustainable development
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Sustainable Development Goals
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In: Circular economy and sustainability, Vol. 1, No. 1, 06.2021, p. 333–373.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Education in Ecological Engineering
T2 - a Need Whose Time Has Come
AU - Dale, Glenn
AU - Dotro, Gabriela
AU - Srivastava, Puneet
AU - Austin, David
AU - Hutchinson, Stacy
AU - Head, Peter
AU - Goonetilleke, Ashantha
AU - Stefanakis, Alexandros
AU - Junge, Ranka
AU - José, A. Fernández L.
AU - Weyer, Vanessa
AU - Truter, Wayne
AU - Bühler, Devi
AU - Bennett, John
AU - Liu, Hongbo
AU - Li, Zifu
AU - Du, Jianqiang
AU - Schneider, Petra
AU - Hack, Jochen
AU - Schönborn, Andreas
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2021, The Author(s).
PY - 2021/6
Y1 - 2021/6
N2 - Overcoming Limitations of Ecology and Engineering in Addressing Society’s Challenges: By providing an integrated, systems-approach to problem-solving that incorporates ecological principles in engineering design, ecological engineering addresses, many of the limitations of Ecology and Engineering needed to work out how people and nature can beneficially coexist on planet Earth. Despite its origins in the 1950s, ecological engineering remains a niche discipline, while at the same time, there has never been a greater need to combine the rigour of engineering and science with the systems-approach of ecology for pro-active management of Earth’s biodiversity and environmental life-support systems. Broad consensus on the scope and defining elements of ecological engineering and development of a globally consistent ecological engineering curriculum are key pillars to mainstream recognition of the discipline and practice of ecological engineering. The Importance of Ecological Engineering in Society: In this paper, the importance of ecological engineering education is discussed in relation to the perceived need of our society to address global challenges of sustainable development. The perceived needs of industry, practitioners, educators and students for skills in ecological engineering are also discussed. The Importance and Need for Ecological Engineering Education: The need for integrative, interdisciplinary education is discussed in relation to the scope of ecology, engineering and the unique role of ecological engineering. Scope for a Universally Recognised Curriculum in Ecological Engineering: The scope for a universally recognised curriculum in ecological engineering is presented. The curriculum recognises a set of overarching principles and concepts that unite multiple application areas of ecological engineering practice. The integrative, systems-based approach of ecological engineering distinguishes it from the trend toward narrow specialisation in education. It is argued that the systems approach to conceptualising problems of design incorporating ecological principles is a central tenant of ecological engineering practice. Challenges to Wider Adoption of Ecological Engineering and Opportunities to Increase Adoption: Challenges and structural barriers to wider adoption of ecological engineering principles, embedded in our society’s reliance on technological solutions to environmental problems, are discussed along with opportunities to increase adoption of ecological engineering practice. It is suggested that unifying the numerous specialist activity areas and applications of ecological engineering under an umbrella encompassing a set of core principles, approaches, tools and way of thinking is required to distinguish ecological engineering from other engineering disciplines and scale up implementation of the discipline. It is concluded that these challenges can only be realised if ecological engineering moves beyond application by a relatively small band of enthusiastic practitioners, learning by doing, to the education of future cohorts of students who will become tomorrow’s engineers, project managers, procurement officers and decision makers, applying principles informed by a growing body of theory and knowledge generated by an active research community, a need whose time has come, if we are to deploy all tools at our disposal toward addressing the grand challenge of creating a sustainable future.
AB - Overcoming Limitations of Ecology and Engineering in Addressing Society’s Challenges: By providing an integrated, systems-approach to problem-solving that incorporates ecological principles in engineering design, ecological engineering addresses, many of the limitations of Ecology and Engineering needed to work out how people and nature can beneficially coexist on planet Earth. Despite its origins in the 1950s, ecological engineering remains a niche discipline, while at the same time, there has never been a greater need to combine the rigour of engineering and science with the systems-approach of ecology for pro-active management of Earth’s biodiversity and environmental life-support systems. Broad consensus on the scope and defining elements of ecological engineering and development of a globally consistent ecological engineering curriculum are key pillars to mainstream recognition of the discipline and practice of ecological engineering. The Importance of Ecological Engineering in Society: In this paper, the importance of ecological engineering education is discussed in relation to the perceived need of our society to address global challenges of sustainable development. The perceived needs of industry, practitioners, educators and students for skills in ecological engineering are also discussed. The Importance and Need for Ecological Engineering Education: The need for integrative, interdisciplinary education is discussed in relation to the scope of ecology, engineering and the unique role of ecological engineering. Scope for a Universally Recognised Curriculum in Ecological Engineering: The scope for a universally recognised curriculum in ecological engineering is presented. The curriculum recognises a set of overarching principles and concepts that unite multiple application areas of ecological engineering practice. The integrative, systems-based approach of ecological engineering distinguishes it from the trend toward narrow specialisation in education. It is argued that the systems approach to conceptualising problems of design incorporating ecological principles is a central tenant of ecological engineering practice. Challenges to Wider Adoption of Ecological Engineering and Opportunities to Increase Adoption: Challenges and structural barriers to wider adoption of ecological engineering principles, embedded in our society’s reliance on technological solutions to environmental problems, are discussed along with opportunities to increase adoption of ecological engineering practice. It is suggested that unifying the numerous specialist activity areas and applications of ecological engineering under an umbrella encompassing a set of core principles, approaches, tools and way of thinking is required to distinguish ecological engineering from other engineering disciplines and scale up implementation of the discipline. It is concluded that these challenges can only be realised if ecological engineering moves beyond application by a relatively small band of enthusiastic practitioners, learning by doing, to the education of future cohorts of students who will become tomorrow’s engineers, project managers, procurement officers and decision makers, applying principles informed by a growing body of theory and knowledge generated by an active research community, a need whose time has come, if we are to deploy all tools at our disposal toward addressing the grand challenge of creating a sustainable future.
KW - Ingenieurökologie
KW - Lehre
KW - Nachhaltigkeit
KW - Ecological engineering
KW - Teaching
KW - sustainability
KW - Interdisciplinary education
KW - Environmental challenges
KW - Systems-based
KW - Ecological engineering design
KW - Ecological engineering curriculum
KW - Nature based solutions
KW - Sustainable development
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85122367580&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s43615-021-00067-4
DO - 10.1007/s43615-021-00067-4
M3 - Article
VL - 1
SP - 333
EP - 373
JO - Circular economy and sustainability
JF - Circular economy and sustainability
IS - 1
ER -