2025

Sustainability

Name: Sustainability
Code: PAO13410O
6 ECTS
Duration: 15 weeks/156 hours
Scientific Area: Environment and Ecology Sciences

Teaching languages: Portuguese
Languages of tutoring support: Portuguese

Presentation

Dimensions of the sustainable development and its practical problems. Living within the environmental limits ensuring a healthy society providing wellbeing for all humans and more than humans.

Sustainable Development Goals

Learning Goals

The knowledge of the several dimensions of the sustainable development and its practical problems. Development strongly changed our planet. Living within our environmental limits avoiding negative actions on the ecosphere is one of the central principles of sustainable development, but the goals of sustainable development are far broader than just the environment. It is also about ensuring a strong, healthy and just society which means meeting the needs of all people living now and in the future, promoting wellbeing, social cohesion and inclusion, and creating equal opportunities.

Contents

Sustainability and Sustainable development – concepts, ideas and mark
Sustainability: environmental, social, economic, political
Environmental problems: development, environment and nature, ecological footprint
Social issues: governance, representativeness, administration-citizen distance, employment, poverty, inequalities

Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development of UN. Problems in tropical countries and the
UN programs

Population and development: human population history– periods, transitions.
Population explosions and implosions; demographic transitions; cultural stages, values, vital rates; pro- and anti-natalist mentalities; development level, gender issues, and fertility

Human rights. Indexes of well-being and happiness
Sustainable development issues in tropical developing countries
Models of society and of development. Global and local. Visions of future, utopias and dystopias. The role of the elites

Teaching Methods

In general terms, an approach eminently applied and integrating the themes in context is privileged, stimulating the active participation of students through regular presentations and debates. Classes will be predominantly face-to-face, theoretical-practical, complemented by activities in Moodle.
The summaries, program and bibliography will be made available on SIIUE and on the university's e-learning platform
At the beginning of the year, the teachers of the discipline will indicate two hours per week dedicated to tutorial work, in order to accompany the students, clarify doubts and give bibliographical suggestions for carrying out the scheduled work, students may also use their e-mail.

Continuous evaluation:
Group/individual work - 40%
Frequency / exam - 50%
Attendance - 10%

Final evaluation
Exam - 100%