Ecological Economics 74 (2012) 177–178
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Book Review Transdisciplinary research for environmental literacy A review of “Environmental Literacy in Science and Society. From Knowledge to Decisions”, Roland W. Scholz, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge/UK, ISBN 978-0-521-19271-2 Hardback, ISBN 978-0-521-18333-8 Paperback
Is the lack of sustainability a result of environmental illiteracy? No doubt, the assumption that education and research can play a fundamental role in coping with unsustainability is an underlying assumption of environmental and sustainability courses, programmes, books, journals, institutions, and research in the whole world. However, in spite of the often repeated request for holistic thinking and views, most of these initiatives and activities are caught in disciplines, particular foci and models of assumptions. It is thus a relief to find a book published which really attempts to take a broad, inter- and transdisciplinary, however, thoroughly researched and scientifically founded view on what environmental literacy could mean and how it could be achieved. Roland W. Scholz presents a six hundred page oeuvre starting from the identification of the origins of defining and considering the environment in science, to a large overview of the scientific approaches and historical roots when biophysical issues were dealt with in different disciplines such as psychology, sociology, economics and industrial ecology. A fascinating chapter is on “beyond disciplines and sciences” where Scholz argues for a transdisciplinarity science approach to better deal with environmental (and sustainability) challenges. Together with co-authors he proposes the use of integrated systems modelling of complex human-environment systems which precedes his discussion of what transdisciplinarity means and how it could be applied and used. The second last part of the book provides four chapters, three of them with different co-authors, proposing an approach for transdisciplinarity investigations of human-environment systems. The book concludes with an outlook on new horizons for environmental and sustainability sciences. The text is structured very well along core questions which guide, in each chapter in an adjusted way, the reader throughout the book. Each Section is summarized with “key messages”, and boxes and figures illustrate notions, approaches, and effects of different views in reality, with excellent examples. This publication, though research based and exemplary for a basic understanding of the need for interand transdisciplinarity, may serve as a text book for students in environmental and sustainability sciences. From a sustainability perspective the book can be seen as exploring fundamentals for many different kinds of academically founded and advanced real life-oriented education. As a research text, the book provides many, new insights, and challenges the readers to ask questions. The choice of considered disciplines is based on what Roland Scholz calls “components of society” (Scholz, 2011, p. 14), i.e. the economic system, the political and legal 0921-8009/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2011.11.001
system, the social and cultural order system, and the scientific and educational system. The disciplines which are discussed with regard to their contributions or lack of contribution to dealing with the biophysical world are psychology, sociology, economics and industrial ecology. This choice could easily be expanded but would probably divert the attention of the readers from the main focus, the exploration what environmental literacy means and how transdisciplinarity can contribute to its enhancement. Quite interestingly, various distinctive German notions are used and circumscribed for specific issues. Native English readers may be a bit astonished, but the decision where these German notions are applied is excellent. As a highly reputed international scholar, Scholz is very well aware of small but crucial language differences between German and English terminologies. Whereas these differences often distinguish continental European approaches from Anglo-American approaches they are often not realized because of language barriers. To highlight such issues is thus welcome. From a research perspective an interesting part of the book is where different transdisciplinarity approaches are compared. The overview is probably the most comprehensive so far, although some social science approaches which have gained considerable attention in the German and Swiss literature could have been added, like the symptoms approach (WBGU, 1996), or the needs-oriented research approach (see e.g. Mogalle, 2000, 204), sometimes also called action-field oriented approach (e.g. Klann and Nitsch, 1999), which is based on Sen (1993) functionings definition of „the various things that he or she manages to do or be in leading a life”. Environmental literacy: what a notion, what a challenge! Given the ambition, it is inevitable that various different perspectives and topics could additionally be included in the discussion of what is needed and how it could be achieved. Roland Scholz must have known that this endeavour could not be comprehensive but would at this stage have to be a starting point for further transdisciplinary research and studies. He has thus to be congratulated for his courage and excellently designed, systematic approach to tackle this challenge. This publication has its merits by sketching a new scientific path and by setting an agenda. With his book, Roland W. Scholz is likely to have initiated a strand of literature dealing with how mankind can become more literate with regard to solving environmental problems and creating sustainable development through multi-perspective approaches of transdisciplinarity.
References Klann, U., Nitsch, J., 1999. Der Aktivitätsfelderansatz. Ein Ansatz für die Untersuchung eines integrativen Konzepts nachhaltiger Entwicklung (in German: The activity field approach. An approach to investigate an integrative concept of sustainable development) STB-Bericht Nr. 23. DLR, Institut für technische Thermodynamik, Stuttgart. Download: www2.dlr.de/TT. Mogalle, M., 2000. Der Bedürfnisfeld-Ansatz. Ein handlungsorientierter Forschungsansatz für eine transdisziplinäre Nachhaltigkeitsforschung (in German: The needs approach.
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An activity oriented research approach for transdisciplinary sustainability research) Gaia 9 (3), 204–210. Scholz, R.W., 2011. Environmental Literacy. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge/UK. Sen, A., 1993. “Capability and Well-Being”. In: Nussbaum, M., Sen, A. (Eds.), The Quality of Life. Clarendon Press, Oxford, pp. 30–53 (Hrsg.). WBGU, 1996. Welt im Wandel: Herausforderung für die deutsche Wissenschaft. Jahresgutachten 1996. (in German: The world in change. Challenges for German science. Annual report 1996) Springer, Berlin.
Stefan Schaltegger Centre for Sustainability Management (CSM), Leuphana University Lüneburg, Germany E-mail address:
[email protected].
