ISSUE 40: NOVEMBER 2005-FEBRUARY 2006

FRONT PAGE | ARCHIVE |

Innovative communities drive sustainability – report

A UN University study highlights the importance of innovation and change at the community level in strategies to create sustainable societies. 

The findings are published in a new report, Innovative Communities: People-centred Approached to Environmental Management in the Asia-Pacific Region, to be published this month. The report summarizes a forthcoming book on Innovative Communities, to be published by UNU Press.

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Building on 10 case studies from the Asia-Pacific region, the report provides examples of community innovation and explores the reasons behind their success. The aim is to understand the factors that support community innovation and to show what what communities and key stakeholders can do to ensure effective change and  sustainable development.

The results of the research and case studies point at several key elements that contribute to community innovation including:

• Multi-stakeholder partnership and participation;
• Using culture, local knowledge and indigenous systems;
• Facilitating organizations;
• Leadership;
• Income generation and welfare benefits; and
• Resilience to external change.

The studies also highlight the importance of ensuring sustainability of community initiatives and the role of various forms of capital – human, social, cultural, intellectual, creative, economic and natural – accumulated and used in communities.

To build on these research findings during the coming year, the Innovative Communities project will focus on:

• Research on catalysts for and impediments to sustainable innovation at the community level, particularly flows, accumulation and utilization of various forms of capital in promoting sustainability of community approaches;
• Developing appropriate support mechanisms and learning opportunities through non-formal channels at community level; and
• Sharing experiences among international experts and practitioners in community environmental management.

The long-term objective is to develop a framework of innovative communities and community-based education for sustainable development (EfSD) which can be applied widely by communities in the Asia-Pacific region in their environmental management and by local stakeholders who work with communities.

The report and case studies, as well as additional background material on the Innovative Communities project are available at UNU Global Environment Information Centre (UNU-GEIC) website.

© 2006  United Nations University