18 December 2012
‘National Sustainabilities’ to be explored
The possible implications of Scottish independence on the environmental sustainability of the nation are to be explored in a new study at the University of Dundee.
Professor Andrea Ross, from the University’s School of Law, and her colleague Professor Rhys Jones, of Aberystwyth University, have been awarded funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) for their project, ‘National Sustainabilities.’
The project will examine the connections and tensions between nationalist sentiment and discourses of sustainability in Scotland and Wales by carrying out case studies in both countries.
The Scottish element centres on the independence debate, and the connections and tension between it and environmental and sustainability discourses.
It will see Professor Ross engage with the political, academic, business and voluntary sectors to examine the extent they are involved in discussions about Scotland’s future, it's environment, and its contribution to global problems, like climate change, and their solutions. The project dovetails with the ‘5 Million Questions’ initiative being led by the University, and the work of the Scottish Constitutional Futures Forum, of which the Law School is a lead contributor.
Professor Ross said, "A lot of work has been done to promote environmental sustainability at the local and international levels, but we do not see the same emphasis taking place at the national or sub-national level. Paradoxically, these are the places where the biggest opportunities to effect change perhaps exist.
"The US states and Canadian provinces are the drivers of change towards sustainability in those countries and in the UK this is arguably also true of Scotland and definitely true for Wales. The question is particularly pertinent as we look towards 2014 and explore what would independence mean for Scotland in terms of sustainability.
"The Scottish case study will be highlighting how discourses that are predominantly nationalist in character include and link into sustainability issues.
"How do sustainability discourses either help to promote or prove problematic for nationalist debates? How do they fit in with ideas of national identity? One of the hypotheses we will be testing is whether the idea of sustainability is more closely associated with Welsh identity than Scottish.
"This is something we need to re-examine in terms of Scotland’s constitutional future. What type of Scotland do we want to see, whether independent or not? This fits neatly with the 5 Million Questions and SCFF projects and I am delighted to be contributing to both of them."
National Sustainabilities has been funded by a £40,000 grant from AHRC. The Welsh case study led by Professor Jones, a human geographer, will examine the moves to create a single body with responsibility for all environmental matters in Wales. As well as bringing together work currently carried out by a myriad of different groups, it will crucially be separate from the Environmental Agency and other organisations based in England.
NOTES TO EDITORS
5 Million Questions
The University of Dundee has launched a major project - `5 Million Questions’ - to examine the issues surrounding the biggest event in Scotland for over 300 years.
Every aspect of Scottish life stands to be impacted upon by the result of the 2014 referendum, and everyone has a question about how the decision will affect them and the future of the country.
The public debate to this stage has been both highly technical and overtly party political. `5 Million Questions’ aims to stimulate wider debate, apply academic rigour to examination of the issues, and engage with the public on all aspects of the major questions they are facing.
A full programme of events is being planned, which in the early months of 2013 will include lectures and discussion on issues such as the role of nation states in the 21st century and the shape of a modern Scottish welfare state.
More information is available at http://fivemillionquestions.org.
Scottish Constitutional Futures Forum
Academics from five Scottish universities have joined together to form the Scottish Constitutional Futures Forum (SCFF).
Law researchers and experts from Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Strathclyde will address the wide range of issues bearing upon the constitutional choice facing the people of Scotland in the run up to the 2014 independence referendum.
Over the next two years they will host regular debates of key constitutional questions in a way which draws upon comparative expertise and experience, in so doing involving and engaging with a wide range of Scottish groups and interests.
More information is available from http://www.scottishconstitutionalfutures.org
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