Search

The COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted the life of millions of people around the world and brought changes in many contexts. In higher education institutions, teaching staff had to quickly adapt their teaching and research practices and revisit learning and student engagement strategies. In this context, this paper aimed to report on how the lockdowns influenced the work and lives of academic staff at universities. The methodology consisted of an online survey that collected 201 responses across 39 countries worldwide, and the results were explored using descriptive and exploratory modelling analyses. The findings reveal that the main positive aspect of the work-from-home experience during the lockdowns was the reduction of time spent on commuting, while the inability to disconnect and difficulties in work–life balance were the most commonly indicated negative aspects. The principal component analysis indicated that the pandemic had a moderate power in boosting academic staff towards sustainability, and an important potential of revising academic curricula and teaching–learning relationships. Based on the evidence gathered, recommendations to allow academic staff to better cope with the influence of future pandemics include the increased use of digital resources and new teaching styles, curricula revision for encouraging educators to include more issues related to sustainable development in their teaching and greater institutional support to reduce stressful conditions and improve productivity.

Many higher education institutions around the world are engaged in efforts to tackle climate change. This takes place by not only reducing their own carbon footprint but also by educating future leaders and contributing valuable research and expertise to the global effort to combat climate change. However, there is a need for studies that identify the nature of their engagement on the topic, and the extent to which they are contributing towards addressing the many problems associated with climate change. Against this background, this paper describes a study that consisted of a review of the literature and the use of case studies, which outline the importance of university engagement in climate change and describe its main features. The study identified the fact that even though climate change is a matter of great relevance to universities, its coverage in university programmes is not as wide as one could expect. Based on the findings, the paper also lists the challenges associated with the inclusion of climate change in university programmes. Finally, it describes some of the measures which may be deployed in order to maximise the contribution of higher education towards handling the challenges associated with a changing climate.

Access to food is crucial not just to fight hunger. It is a key process to foster social inclusion, in particular of fragile groups within an urban environment. Based on the analysis of specific case studies, this chapter reflects on the role of the contribution provided by urban food-sharing initiatives specifically for sociocultural integration of migrants. In particular, it explores two grassroots initiatives run in Italy between 2016 and 2019, in a moment of strong public hostility against migration. In so doing, it investigates the role played by food, commensality, and conviviality in order to foster a process of empowerment that contributes to the achievement of multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and in particular SDG 10, Reducing Disequalities.

With an area of 603,000 square kilometres, Ukraine is the largest state whose borders lie entirely in Europe. On 24 February 2022, Russia launched a major attack on Ukraine. An end to the hostilities is not yet in sight. This war is having primarily direct consequences to Europe, but global supply chains are also being affected. One of these is the trade of food, more specifically, the export of grains. Almost 30% of global wheat exports have so far come from Ukraine and Russia. As supply shocks lead to significant price increases in global food markets, the reduction or loss of export volumes due to the war in Ukraine and trade restrictions with Russia is already having negative consequences for the food security of many countries in Africa. This chapter describes the problem and its implications and suggests some measures that may be deployed to mitigate the impacts, as well as discuss the problem in the context of the SDGs.

Sustainable use of marine genetic recourses (MGRs) is an important element of Goal 14 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aims at conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources. It is also directly linked with SDG3, which aims at ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages and indirectly connected with SDG2, which aims at increasing agricultural productivity and sustainable food production to help alleviate hunger. Recent rapid technological advancements have provided scientists with more opportunities to explore the richness of marine genetic material, which can be patented and used for many purposes. According to some studies, it is more likely that valuable genetic material to develop medications will be derived from marine species than terrestrial species. For example, it has been estimated that around 1% of samples from marine organisms tested in the laboratory reveal anti-tumour potential, whereas in case of samples from terrestrial species it is only 0.01% (Marciniak 2016). While the utilisation of MGRs for scientific and commercial purposes is of importance, it is equally important to preserve marine species and protect their genetic material for future generations to ensure intergenerational equity. There are, however, some significant issues that may undermine our ability to ensure such intergenerational equity. Although there are relevant regimes in international law (e.g., the United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea or the Convention on Biological Diversity) neither the term “sustainable use” nor the term “MGR” has a clear agreed legal definition. Without such clear definitions, the challenge of ensuring that international obligations are implemented effectively is magnified.

This short paper provides some perspectives on climate change adaptation in the Mediterranean basin, paving the way for further initiatives.

Background: This paper presents a review of the literature and trends related to social values and sustainable development and describes a set of case studies from a variety of community-based projects which illustrate the advantages that social values bring about as part of efforts to promote sustainability. Three approaches were used to develop this study: a bibliometric analysis of the topic “social values and sustainable development”, an analysis of case studies that concretely present community projects addressing social values and sustainability, and the development of a framework linking up bibliometric clusters and the cases studies. Results: While the bibliometric analysis revealed clusters where social values are strongly connected with sustainable development, the case studies indicated the lack of a common terminology and understanding of the relation between social values, sustainable development, and community-based projects. Conclusions: The study concludes by suggesting a set of measures that could be deployed to better take social values into account when planning policies or making decisions related to community projects.

Background: The implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires much planning and the provision of resources, especially regarding the necessary investments, technologies and infrastructures needed. Yet, it is presently unclear how available these elements are, what gaps exist, what changes have taken place in terms of their availability since the adoption of the SDGs and what their requirements will be in the future. The knowledge gap has become even more concerning because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a bibliometric analysis, an assessment of the global progress of SDG implementation and requirements, identifying challenges through the development of a matrix, and a set of 11 case studies to triangulate the holistic analysis, an assessment of the global progress of the SDGs implementation and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on this process was carried out. Results: The findings suggest that the scope and width of resources limitation are currently undermining the implementation of the SDGs. Apart from the fact that the pace of progress has been insufficient, the potential of the SDGs in pursuing sustainability and improving life quality is not fully realised. This trend suggests that a substantial acceleration of the efforts is needed, especially for the five SDGs whose progress since 2015 has not been optimal, namely SDG2, SDG11, SDG13, SDG15, and SDG16, while SDG3, SDG7, SDG9, SDG14, and SDG17 show signs of progress. The case studies showed that different industries have dissimilar effects on achieving the SDGs, with the food sector correlating with 15 SDGs, as opposed to the energy sector correlating with 6 SDGs. Accordingly, the priority level assessment in terms of achieving the SDGs, points to the need to further advance the above-mentioned five SDGs, i.e., 2, 11, 13, 15 and 16. Conclusions: This study fills in a knowledge gap in respect of the current need for and availability of investments, new technologies, and in

Background: Sustainable production and consumption are two important issues, which mutually interact. Whereas individuals have little direct influence on the former, they can play a key role on the latter. This paper describes the subject matter of sustainable consumption and outlines its key features. It also describes some international initiatives in this field. Results: By means of an international survey, the study explores the emphasis given to sustainable consumption during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the degree of preparedness in individuals to engage in the purchase of green and sustainably manufactured products. The main results indicate that the pandemic offered an opportunity to promote sustainable consumption; nevertheless, the pandemic alone cannot be regarded as a ‘game changer’ in this topic. Conclusions: Apart from an online survey with responses from 31 countries, which makes it one of the most representative studies on the topic, a logit model was used to analyse the main variables that affect the probability of pro-environmental consumption behaviour because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper lists some of the technological and social innovations that may be needed, so as to guide more sustainable consumption patterns in a post-pandemic world.

© 2020, Springer Nature B.V. Governance issues, here interpreted as the provisions of adequate policy frameworks characterized by reliability and accountability, coupled with resources to support their implementation, are known to be the basis for the implementation of sustainable development measures. This paper discusses the influence of governance in the ways sustainability is perceived and practiced in a higher education context. Apart from due considerations to the role of governance as the basis for regulation and institutional actions and management decisions, this paper reports on an empirical study undertaken in a sample of higher education institutions. This study entailed an analysis of sustainable development policies, certification, organizational structure, budget, reports, team for sustainability, staff training, and challenges for the integration of sustainability and governance. The results suggest that even though there are different opinions and attitudes on the role of governance, it is regarded as an important component in supporting efforts by higher education institutions to include considerations on sustainable development as part of their strategies.

Sustainable use of marine genetic recourses (MGRs) is an important element of Goal 14 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aims at conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources. It is also directly linked with SDG3, which aims at ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages and indirectly connected with SDG2, which aims at increasing agricultural productivity and sustainable food production to help alleviate hunger. Recent rapid technological advancements have provided scientists with more opportunities to explore the richness of marine genetic material, which can be patented and used for many purposes. According to some studies, it is more likely that valuable genetic material to develop medications will be derived from marine species than terrestrial species. For example, it has been estimated that around 1% of samples from marine organisms tested in the laboratory reveal anti-tumour potential, whereas in case of samples from terrestrial species it is only 0.01% (Marciniak 2016). While the utilisation of MGRs for scientific and commercial purposes is of importance, it is equally important to preserve marine species and protect their genetic material for future generations to ensure intergenerational equity. There are, however, some significant issues that may undermine our ability to ensure such intergenerational equity. Although there are relevant regimes in international law (e.g., the United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea or the Convention on Biological Diversity) neither the term “sustainable use” nor the term “MGR” has a clear agreed legal definition. Without such clear definitions, the challenge of ensuring that international obligations are implemented effectively is magnified.

Research funding for projects in countries that are on the list of Official Development Assistance (ODA) – which is a measure of flows of international aid - has increased over the years. Universities have been working on projects through these funding streams that focus on sustainable development. Therefore, there has been an increase in funded research on sustainable development. However, sustainable development research in the Global South funded by international aid can be seen as paternalistic and neocolonial. Using Brookfield’s lenses, this paper presents the reflections of the researcher/educators on a research project in one of the ODA countries: Colombia. The project focused on female leadership for sustainable development in a rural fishing community and was funded by the QR Global Challenges Research fund. The paper explores the learning related to symmetrical and asymmetrical power relations, agency and identity as perceived by three researcher/educators. Finally, it examines the potential of these types of projects for universities’ critical global citizenship.

For as long as humanity existed, peace has been threatened across geographies and Nations, and the effort toward conflict resolutions has been immense. Given the widespread occurrence of violent conflicts mainly in Africa, Latin America, Middle East, and South Asia, and the rising concern about fragile economies and their repercussions for global development, initiatives toward prevention and resolutions became crucial and leaded the development Agenda of the World (e.g. United Nations Global Compact, 2020; Sustainable Development Goals, 2030). In fact, recently, research on violent conflicts resolutions has grown significantly with several publications in leading scientific journals (e.g. Journal of Conflict Resolution) and mainstream conferences (e.g. Young Academic Conference 2020 ‘Planning as a Conflict Resolution’). In this vein, authors pinpoint the weaknesses in the numerous peacekeeping missions of recent decades and highlight the need to have a more comprehensive actions directed to eradication of roots of war, accommodating the economic and social purposes of war-countries (Gerson and Colletta, 2001). The chapter which follows intends to deeply present, comment, and understand a category of social enterprise, labelled Peace Social Enterprise, which has the social mission of providing solutions to raise peace in violent conflict areas, thereby transforming and developing such contexts. Thus, this chapter provides an analysis of extant literature to explain the characteristics and the role played by social entrepreneurship to address peace and development-related issues such as reconciliation among opposite parties and economic growth in conflicts countries. In doing this, the chapter also highlights the contribution of Peace Social Enterprise to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) developed by the United Nation. In fact, Peace Social Enterprise performs an inclusive economic development contributing to achieving the SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economi

Today’s grand challenges as sustainability, climate change, and poverty have raised vast attention of academics and practitioners both in developed and developing contexts. The United Nations, the World Bank, and governments as well as academics are converging in the relevance of finding solutions to fight poverty and increase the well-being of all humans (Oxfam 2017;World Bank Group 2018; Cumming et al. 2020). A recent solution to alleviate poverty has been referred to ventures as social entrepreneurship (Shepherd et al. 2020; Si et al. 2020), including all the tentative ways by which businesses are trying to solve the societal issues regarding poverty while also pursuing market dynamics and logics (Mair and Marti 2006; Saebi et al. 2019). This entry, then, has the purpose to effectively present the challenges and constraints that such social enterprises face in building their business model to fight poverty (Seelos and Mair 2005; Santos et al. 2015; Dembek et al. 2019).

Social Entrepreneurship for Poverty Alleviation In the last decades, governments, NGOs, policymakers, academics, and large corporations are increasing the attention on powerful mechanisms to alleviate poverty. In fact, being recognized as one of the leading SDGs by United Nations, poverty still represent a worldwide grand challenge, which comprise almost half the world’s population. A recent research from BoP innovation center (2020) estimated that around 4.5 billion people globally live in the so-called base of the pyramid (BoP). The base of the pyramid include a vast population which face differences in the degree of poverty ranging from extreme poverty conditions (with households’ daily incomes of 1 USD) (Sachs 2006; World Bank 2018) to lessconstrained conditions with 8 USD per day in some more developed countries (Alkire et al. 2014). Notably, worldwide this population represent a huge market for addressing the basic need of the poor, as water, electricity, consumer goods, and health care so that many institutions and profit companies are trying to address this market to help people to eradicate poverty, thereby generating a “fortune” for the organization with a huge untapped market (Prahalad and Hammond 2002; London and Hart 2004; Prahalad 2009). Despite the many approaches from governments and nonprofit institutions, a valuable approach has been recognized in businesses which can represent a powerful force toward poverty alleviation and eradication (Bruton et al. 2013; Dembek et al. 2020; Sutter et al. 2019).

Community gardening (CG) has been the subject of growing interest, both within and without the realm of academia. The reasons for this increase in interest are straightforward, given that CG typically offers benefits in at least three areas: (1) fostering a sense of community among contributing stakeholders; (2) promoting a sense of social responsibility; and (3) heightening awareness in areas of sustainability. As such CG is typically recognised as having the capacity to conjointly meet core human needs. This paper presents a case study that describes the inception and progressive implementation of a community garden project (“campus greening”), set within the university context of a private higher education (HE) provider in Brisbane, Australia. The paper charts progress made to date, highlights hurdles that have had to be overcome, distils relevant lessons learned, and extrapolates success factors for future similar projects. Capitalising on ‘right timing’ emerges as a critical success factor for incentivising, progressing and implementing CG projects. The case study analysis also culminates in a shortlist of tentative recommendations for different stakeholders: (1) soliciting input from alternative leaders; (2) building supportive interdepartmental coalitions; (3) building a broad stakeholder base; and (4) building momentum and support through unconventional means. Experiences and lessons gathered in this paper will be useful for education stakeholders who are interested to use CG to promote community, social responsibility, and sustainability.

During the last decade, an increasing number of universities have started to play an active role in creating a more sustainable future, with many implementing sustainability initiatives on campus. Following recent studies of other significant initiatives, this paper aims to analyse recent sustainability policies introduced by the University of Milano-Bicocca to examine how these policies have worked and how improvements have been measured. The results of this analysis, based on an evaluation of the sustainability initiatives, indicate that sustainability reporting in Italian universities is still in its infancy but, at the same time, suggests (i) that certain areas of progress and positive results can be identified, with several benefits for the stakeholders and for the local community, and (ii) that the example offered by the university provides a potential pathway to the creation of specific modules in the degree programs. Based on the experience of the University of Milano-Bicocca, we suggest that standardization in sustainability reporting will play a central role in the near future. Standardization is very important, not only in terms of the creation of sustainability reports but also in terms of their interpretation. This paper explains the current work in progress and the efforts of an Italian university to better incorporate and institutionalize sustainability and to become a template for the Italian University System in facilitating the standardization and the implementation of a unique assessment and reporting model capable of adoption across the National University System.

South Asia is one of the most densely settled and disaster-prone regions in the world. Furthermore, in many low-lying coastal contexts both slow-onset and rapid-onset natural disasters coalesce with existent conditions of poverty and vulnerability to progressively erode and compromise human adaptive capacity, resulting in a persistent flux of livelihood driven human migration into cities (A background video documentary to this research was published by UNSW Australia on 18 February 2015 and may be accessed at https://youtu.be/PBJeelgnadU). While climate change cannot be isolated as the definitive cause of this movement, it is impossible to dismiss it as a contributing factor. Lack of basic education plays a key role in limiting options for arriving daily wage labourers and their respective families, constraining many to struggle for subsistence survival in subhuman conditions in urban slums where vulnerabilities have been described as even more severe than the problems in rural communities of origin that triggered the migrations in the first place. Drawing on field research conducted in Bangladesh, this paper examines the linkages between climate change and human movement with a view to encouraging more congenial migration and human development outcomes. It extends previous research by expressly inviting the grassroots perspectives of rural communities of origin in Bhola Island and urban centres of destination in Dhaka and Chittagong. The research develops recommendations in areas of poverty reduction, livelihood security, transitional education, and government planning. Experiences and lessons gathered in this paper will be useful for both policy and practice serving the cause of climate change adaptation in South Asia.

© 2018, Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature. The increase in population and the improvement of life standards are stretching the boundaries between water-energy-land management, and demanding innovative and holistic solutions. This article proposes an approach for increasing the water availability of two or more water basins taking into consideration land use and wind patterns, and was named Land, Water, and Wind Watershed Cycle (L3WC). This approach can be applied to one watershed or a combination of watersheds. In the first case, if wind patterns blow mainly in the opposite direction of the main river flow, plantations with high water demand should be focused on the lowest part of the basin. The transpired moisture would then return to the basin with the wind and possibly increase the water availability of the basin. Applying this method to a series of basins, water is transposed from one basin to another, used for irrigated agriculture, returned to the atmosphere with evapotranspiration and pushed back to the basin where the water was extracted by the wind. Case studies of this methodology are presented in the São Francisco basin and between the Tocantins, Amazonas, and Paraná basins and the São Francisco basin in Brazil. The São Francisco basin was selected because it is located in a dry region, its flow has considerably reduced in the past decade and because the trade winds blow constantly from the ocean into the continent all year around. L3WC is a strategy to plan the allocation of water consumption in a watershed, taking into account wind patterns to support the sustainable development of a region. It has the potential of increasing water availability and creating a climate change adaptation mechanism to control the climate and reduce vulnerability to climatic variations.

The increase in population and the improvement of life standards are stretching the boundaries between water-energy-land management, and demanding innovative and holistic solutions. This article proposes an approach for increasing the water availability of two or more water basins taking into consideration land use and wind patterns, and was named Land, Water, and Wind Watershed Cycle (L3WC). This approach can be applied to one watershed or a combination of watersheds. In the first case, if wind patterns blow mainly in the opposite direction of the main river flow, plantations with high water demand should be focused on the lowest part of the basin. The transpired moisture would then return to the basin with the wind and possibly increase the water availability of the basin. Applying this method to a series of basins, water is transposed from one basin to another, used for irrigated agriculture, returned to the atmosphere with evapotranspiration and pushed back to the basin where the water was extracted by the wind. Case studies of this methodology are presented in the São Francisco basin and between the Tocantins, Amazonas, and Paraná basins and the São Francisco basin in Brazil. The São Francisco basin was selected because it is located in a dry region, its flow has considerably reduced in the past decade and because the trade winds blow constantly from the ocean into the continent all year around. L3WC is a strategy to plan the allocation of water consumption in a watershed, taking into account wind patterns to support the sustainable development of a region. It has the potential of increasing water availability and creating a climate change adaptation mechanism to control the climate and reduce vulnerability to climatic variations.

© 2017, Springer Science+Business Media B.V. This paper describes a comparative study of four different cases on vulnerability, hazards and adaptive capacity to climate threats in coastal areas and communities in four developing countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, Cameroon and Uruguay. Coastal areas are vulnerable to sea-level rise (SLR), storm surges and flooding due to their (i) exposure, (ii) concentration of settlements, many of which occupied by less advantaged groups and (iii) the concentration of assets and services seen in these areas. The objective of the paper is twofold: (i) to evaluate current evidence of coastal vulnerability and adaptive capacity and (ii) to compare adaptation strategies being implemented in a sample of developing countries, focusing on successful ones. The followed approach for the case evaluation is based on (i) documenting observed threats and damages, (ii) using indicators of physical and socioeconomic vulnerability and adaptive capacity status and (iii) selecting examples of successful responses. Major conclusions based on cross-case comparison are (a) the studied countries show different vulnerability, adaptive capacity and implementation of responses, (b) innovative community-based (CBA) and ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) and (c) early warning systems are key approaches and tools to foster climate resilience. A recommendation to foster the resilience of coastal communities and services is that efforts in innovative adaptation strategies to sea-level rise should be intensified and integrated with climate risk management within the national adaption plans (NAPAs) in order to reduce the impacts of hazards.

Education for sustainable development (ESD) is defined as the knowledge and skills ‘needed to work and live in a way that safeguards environmental, social and economic wellbeing, both in the present and for future generations’. Skills for sustainable development include critical thinking, creative thinking, systems thinking and leadership. Over the last decades, there has been efforts across the world to embed ESD into the curriculum. In European Union (EU) countries, some higher education have made efforts to align education strategies with international and national ESD frameworks. A cursory review of the literature seems to indicate that dissemination and implementation of the international ESD frameworks in Latin America has been slow and sporadic. Although there are some signs to implement ESD into curricula of countries such as Brazil and Colombia, these practices have not been substantial or have not permeated higher education sustainable development strategies. This paper aims to explore the developments of ESD in Latin America. As a first step to explore these developments, it intends to survey and map the current ESD processes in eight higher education institutions of four Latin American Countries: Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. The paper also aims to compare ESD developments with some leading EU higher education institutions in ESD with the view to develop a dialogue between the two regions. These will lead to strategies in which ESD processes can be adopted/adapted with benefits in both directions; it will also create, foster and develop mechanisms that will ensure a sustainable culture of ESD in higher education in both regions. Results of the exploratory survey of a sample of higher education institutions in Latin America are reported.

This paper takes as its staring point a debate series organised by the University of the Arts London in 2013 to explore the relationship between enterprise and sustainability within the creative arts. Traditionally designers have attempted to generate and respond to the desire of consumers through the creation of products. Increasingly this is perceived as unethical in that it contributes to an unsustainable world. In response designers are drawing upon design methodologies that refigure the consumer in different ways that include: user, public,citizen and co-designer. Such approaches draw upon participative methodologies requiring greater use of relational skills such as empathy and facilitation. This creates new challenges for design educators in terms of how to foster such skills which are tacit rather than formal. This paper will consider some concrete examples from design curricula to explore how educators are adapting teaching and learning approaches.

Participatory approaches to developing and implementing environmental management in universities could be central in the successful integration of indirect aspects such as teaching and research. The aim of this research was to develop additional insights into the benefits and challenges associated with a participatory approach to environmental management. The objective was to undertake a case study of the participatory approach to environmental management followed by Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. The approach reported here comprised four stages: (a) an environmental review; (b) a stakeholder analysis, (c) participatory meetings and workshops, and (d) synthesis. The outcomes of this approach were a comprehensive management system covering twelve environmental aspects, including teaching and research; a management group chaired by a lead stakeholder for each aspect; a high level environmental strategy board; and university wide networks in facilitating collaboration in sustainability teaching and research. Benefits of increased capacity and reduced conflict were greater than the effort required for overcoming challenges such as securing commitment from and providing support to stakeholders. This chapter will be useful to universities planning to implement ISO 14001 and/ or those that already have an environmental management system and are wishing to expand the scope to include teaching and research.

A key challenge in climate change adaptation in developing countries as a whole, and to handling global change in particular, is to link local adaptation needs on the one hand, with national adaptation initiatives on the other, so that vulnerable households and communities can directly benefit. This study assesses the impact of the Nepal government’s efforts to promote its Local Adaptation Plan of Action (LAPA) and its applicability to other least developed countries (LDCs). Based on data gathered from two field studies in Nepal, the research shows that the Nepal’s LAPA has succeeded in mobilizing local institutions and community groups in adaptation planning and recognizing their role in adaptation. However, the LAPA approach and implementation have been constrained by sociostructural and governance barriers that have failed to successfully integrate local adaptation needs in local planning and increase the adaptive capacity of vulnerable households. This paper describes the mechanisms of suitable governance strategies for climate change adaptation specific to Nepal and other LDCs. It also argues the need to adopt an adaptive comanagement approach, where the government and all stakeholders identify common local- and national-level mainstreaming strategy for knowledge management, resource mobilization, and institutional development, ultimately using adaptation as a tool to handle global change.

Biodiversity is a key element of sustainable development in university campuses. However, integrating biodiversity in campuses requires strategic planning, beyond minimum compliance with protected species and habitats legislation. This leads to the questions: which university functions impact on biodiversity and what obligations are there under European environmental law for universities to consider biodiversity strategically? University functions and their consequent impacts were classified thematically into four and seven categories respectively. These categories were used to systematically search the Environmental Legislation Update Service and EUR-Lex for relevant legislation, which was also classified. Universities undertake capital projects, building alterations, grounds maintenance, and outdoor activities. These functions may cause loss, damage, disturbance, introductions, pollution to, and overuse of, biodiversity. Legislation applying to these impacts spans wildlife, plant health, planning, and pollution prevention disciplines. The interdisciplinary legal framework for biodiversity presents compliance and integration challenges, such as overlooking legislation or duplicating efforts. This article will help those involved in university management, teaching and research to identify and integrate in their work the relevant legal obligations on biodiversity.