ADVANCING A NEXUS APPROACH TO THE SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF WATER , SOIL AND WASTE WHITE BOOK DRESDEN NEXUS CONFERENCE 2015 SDGs NEXUS APPROACH GLOBAL CHANGE

Global problems have become increasingly complex and interwoven, across disciplines, geographic regions and sectors. Traditional compartmentalized approaches to knowledge generation by dissecting a problem to smaller components that can be managed by different disciplines do not work well in this context. It is necessary to find ways to address problems in an inter-disciplinary manner that promotes taking a holistic viewpoint. While the traditional discipline based knowledge generation has been very effective in advancing knowledge and technology, we need new platforms to put the pieces back together to solve these interwoven complex problems. Nexus approach is such a platform where one can address interlinked problems in an efficient and effective manner. The solutions we seek need to be targeted towards development that is equitable and sustainable. Hence it is important to link the approaches, solutions and linkages within a Nexus platform with global development agenda and concrete actions required to achieve them. This paper describes the approaches to sustainability, sustainable development, global development agenda and how they may link with a particular nexus platform. Importance of capacity development customized to local conditions to achieve these global targets cannot be overstated, and challenges and opportunities in integrated approach to research and education is discussed with experiences from the postgraduate programme of UNU-ISP. Environment and the Earth System Global environmental concerns grew since late 1960’s with the realization of the difficulties associated in trying to meet needs of rapidly growing population with ever increasing demands from earth’s limited resources. The space travel made it possible to view earth from outside that highlighted ‘spaceship earth’ as a total living system with interconnected environmental processes and finite resources. The UN Earth Summit in Stockholm in 1972 was instrumental in channeling these concerns towards a global movement that that demanded attention to effects of human development on nature. The UN report on development issued by World Commission on Environment and Development report, Our Common Future (1987) also known as “Brundtland Report,” provided a common platform for different stakeholders and sectors to discuss ways to address this common goal within each discipline. Its definition of sustainable development as the “development, which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” has linked the carrying capacity of earth environment across generations. While the definition of sustainable development does not provide a precise mechanism for quantifying sustainability, the flexibility it provided allowed different disciplines to explore its meaning and to communicate across disciplines (Dally, 1990). The report was followed by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro that produced a detailed action agenda, the agenda 21, and UN conventions on Climate Change and Bio Diversity. In 2002 the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in