World science café@Coupure – International collaboration to achieve the SDG’s within planetary boundaries

At the Department of Environment (BW 20) research and education focus on achieving several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within the defined planetary boundaries, driven by a long-standing tradition of international collaboration. In this panel discussion, master’s and PhD students, technicians, postdocs, and professors will explore the critical role of international mobility in academic studies and the significant impact of collaborative international projects on achieving global sustainability goals. SDGs are essential for a stable and prosperous society. However, these goals sometimes conflict, and pursuing one may harm another. The planetary boundary framework, introduced in 2009, defines the Earth’s safe operating space through nine boundaries—climate change, biosphere integrity, land-system change, freshwater use, biogeochemical flows, and others. Achieving the SDGs within this safe operating space requires a comprehensive understanding of transboundary environmental processes, global monitoring and data sharing, as well as the development, testing, and implementation of context-specific sustainable solutions. This can only be realized through international collaboration, where partners across the globe work at both local and global scales, exchanging technology, expertise, and ideas.  

Moderated by Wim Cornelis (BW20)