276
W. T. Woo et al.
require a suite of management tools from land use control, and management for pest
and vectors control, to insecticide-treated bed nets and effective national health programs to educate and treat affected communities (Cartwright et al. 2013). Similarly,
achieving clean water targets for large urban populations under SDG 6 will require a
combination of installing adequate water treatment plants alongside effective catchment land use management for controlling water pollution. On SDG 13 that calls for
appropriate climate action, the paper highlights vital ecosystem services provided
by nature that mitigate climate impacts and support humanity basic needs and long
term survival (Chadwick et al. 2014). These ecosystem services include providing
food, cycling nutrients, regulating climate, and offering social-spiritual enrichment
(Hoegh-Guldberg et al. 2015; Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005). They help
to fulfil several SDGs such as SDG 2 (no hunger), SDG 6 (clean water) and SDG 13
(climate action). Valuing ecosystem services can empower a future of vibrant environments, robust economies and healthy people (Marre et al. 2015), consistent with
the aspirations of the triple-bottom line of SDGs. Integrating ecosystem services into
strategies for meeting the SDGs can help achieve many SDG goals and targets with
more vigour and commitment. Innovative research is therefore highly desirable to
estimate economic valuations of these ecosystem services for supporting decisionmakers in achieving the SDGs. However, ecosystem services alone will be grossly
insufficient and inadequate to achieve the ambitious SDG agenda. Ecosystem service management will need to be augmented with complementary technologies, and
socio-institutional solutions to achieve targets over the SDG timespan (2015–2030).
Understanding how these ecosystem services could support multiple SDG goals,
including SDG 16 (peace, justice and strong institution), is essential for planning
and implementing synergistic and cost-effective interventions (Wood et al. 2018).
These ecosystem services are frequently linked to the same SDG targets, such as
social justice, good health, clean water, climate regulation and wild lives that support
recreation and tourism. JSC plans to offer postgraduate degree programs, promote
community outreach activities, conduct seminars, training courses and workshops
to inculcate good governance and to develop relevant skills and competences for
achieving synergy in this myriad of interdependent SDGs. Table 1 gives an outline
of these research and community outreach programs undertaken by the authors to
develop relevant governance, skills, competences, expertise and talents in SDGs 17,
3, 6 and 13. It is hoped that this 4th World Symposium on Sustainable Development
for Universities would serve as a good forum to stimulate coordinated endeavours
and enterprises dedicated to the accomplishment of the UN SDG Agenda by 2030.
Acknowledgements Financial
support
provided
by
JSC,
USM
RUI
grant
#1001/PMATHS/8011018 and the Loreal-UNESCO Women in Science Fellowship 2017 is
gratefully acknowledged.
W. T. Woo et al.
require a suite of management tools from land use control, and management for pest
and vectors control, to insecticide-treated bed nets and effective national health programs to educate and treat affected communities (Cartwright et al. 2013). Similarly,
achieving clean water targets for large urban populations under SDG 6 will require a
combination of installing adequate water treatment plants alongside effective catchment land use management for controlling water pollution. On SDG 13 that calls for
appropriate climate action, the paper highlights vital ecosystem services provided
by nature that mitigate climate impacts and support humanity basic needs and long
term survival (Chadwick et al. 2014). These ecosystem services include providing
food, cycling nutrients, regulating climate, and offering social-spiritual enrichment
(Hoegh-Guldberg et al. 2015; Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005). They help
to fulfil several SDGs such as SDG 2 (no hunger), SDG 6 (clean water) and SDG 13
(climate action). Valuing ecosystem services can empower a future of vibrant environments, robust economies and healthy people (Marre et al. 2015), consistent with
the aspirations of the triple-bottom line of SDGs. Integrating ecosystem services into
strategies for meeting the SDGs can help achieve many SDG goals and targets with
more vigour and commitment. Innovative research is therefore highly desirable to
estimate economic valuations of these ecosystem services for supporting decisionmakers in achieving the SDGs. However, ecosystem services alone will be grossly
insufficient and inadequate to achieve the ambitious SDG agenda. Ecosystem service management will need to be augmented with complementary technologies, and
socio-institutional solutions to achieve targets over the SDG timespan (2015–2030).
Understanding how these ecosystem services could support multiple SDG goals,
including SDG 16 (peace, justice and strong institution), is essential for planning
and implementing synergistic and cost-effective interventions (Wood et al. 2018).
These ecosystem services are frequently linked to the same SDG targets, such as
social justice, good health, clean water, climate regulation and wild lives that support
recreation and tourism. JSC plans to offer postgraduate degree programs, promote
community outreach activities, conduct seminars, training courses and workshops
to inculcate good governance and to develop relevant skills and competences for
achieving synergy in this myriad of interdependent SDGs. Table 1 gives an outline
of these research and community outreach programs undertaken by the authors to
develop relevant governance, skills, competences, expertise and talents in SDGs 17,
3, 6 and 13. It is hoped that this 4th World Symposium on Sustainable Development
for Universities would serve as a good forum to stimulate coordinated endeavours
and enterprises dedicated to the accomplishment of the UN SDG Agenda by 2030.
Acknowledgements Financial
support
provided
by
JSC,
USM
RUI
grant
#1001/PMATHS/8011018 and the Loreal-UNESCO Women in Science Fellowship 2017 is
gratefully acknowledged.