Esta obra, Objetivos del Desarrollo Sostenible y su estrategia de implementación. Estudios de caso en empresas, gobierno e instituciones de educación superior, busca atender inquietudes sobre cómo las instituciones aportan desde lo local al cumplimiento de objetivos regionales de desarrollo sostenible y la posibilidad de replicar experiencias de caso exitosas, para lo cual se da cabida a la exposición de diversas propuestas realizadas por expertos y que representan un punto de referencia para incentivar nuevas iniciativas. Los capítulos incluidos, representan obras de investigación que han sido sujetas a un riguroso proceso de arbitraje a doble ciego a cargo de un comité científico y forman parte de la Colección Investigación Regional para la Atención de Necesidades Locales en su número 13, como un trabajo intelectual multidisciplinario coordinado por la Universidad Politécnica de San Luis Potosí en el marco de la Red de Investigación Regional, la cual realiza un trabajo colaborativo entre diferentes Instituciones de Educación Superior del país. DOI: https://doi.org/10.52501/cc.107

This book gives a special emphasis to state-of-the-art descriptions of approaches, methods, initiatives, and projects from universities, stakeholders, organizations, and civil society across the world, regarding cross-cutting issues in sustainable development. There is a perceived need for mobilizing the various stakeholders when attempting to promote sustainability in higher education and to promote best practices, which may inspire further initiatives. But despite this need, there are a few publications handling this matter in a coherent way. In order to meet the pressing need for publications which may document and disseminate examples of best practice on sustainable development at university level, the “Handbook of Best Practices in Sustainable Development at University Level” is being published. This book is produced by the European School of Sustainability Science and Research (ESSSR), through the Inter-University Sustainable Development Research Programme (IUSDRP) and contains inputs from authors across all geographical regions. The book also discusses examples of initiatives coordinated by universities but involving civil society, the private sector, and public sector (including local, national, and intergovernmental bodies). In particular, it describes practical experiences, partnerships, networks, and training schemes for building capacity aimed at fostering the cause of sustainable development at institutions of higher education. Thanks to its design and the contributions by experts from various areas, it provides a welcome contribution to the literature on sustainable development, and it may inspire further works in this field.

The book is based on the exchange of professional experiences which featured in an IUCN CEC workshop in August 2002. Practitioners from around the world shared their models of good practice and explored the challenges involved in engaging people in sustainability. The difficulties facing practitioners vary between country and context but some challenges are universal: A lack of clarity in communicating what is meant by sustainable development; An ambition to educate everyone to bring about a global citizenship; Social, organisational or institutional factors constrain change to sustainable development, yet there is an emphasis on formal education, and community educators do not receive the same support; A lack of balance in addressing the integration of environmental, social and economic dimensions leading to an interpretation that ESD is mainly about environment and conservation issues; New learning (rather than teaching) approaches are called for to promote more debate in society. Yet, few are trained or experienced in these new approaches. Practitioners need support to explore new ways of promoting learning. [Foreword, ed].

The North American Mosaic has four overarching features. First, it is, to the extent feasible, based on comparable information on the status and trends of major indicators of the state of the environment in Canada,Mexico, and the United States. Second, the report confirms that these three countries together make up an incredibly complex, dynamic, and interconnected ecosystem in which humans play a dominant and decisive role. Third, the report raises important and sometimes disquieting questions concerning the sustainability of some current trends. Finally, the report is a reminder that our economic, social, and physical well-being are utterly dependent on the life-sustaining services provided by nature. This report emphasizes the importance of developing mutually compatible economic, social, and environmental goals and policies across the three-country region.