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Title Environmental sciences, sustainable development and circular economy: Alternative concepts for trans-disciplinary research
ID_Doc 3353
Authors Sauvé, S; Bernard, S; Sloan, P
Title Environmental sciences, sustainable development and circular economy: Alternative concepts for trans-disciplinary research
Year 2016
Published
DOI 10.1016/j.envdev.2015.09.002
Abstract The intermeshing of disciplines from the natural sciences, social sciences, engineering and management has become essential to addressing today's environmental challenges. Yet, this can be a daunting task because experts from different disciplines may conceptualize the problems in very different ways and use vocabularies that may not be well understood by one another. This paper explores three alternative environmental concepts used in transdisciplinary research, and outlines some of the epistemological and practical problems that each one poses. It pays particular attention to the increasingly popular concept of "circular economy", and contrasts it with the more commonly-used concepts of "environmental sciences" and "sustainable development". In clarifying the nature, meaning and inter-relationship of these alternative concepts, the paper helps trans-disciplinary researchers to understand the opportunities and challenges associated with each one. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://crealivecornmons.orgiiicensesiby14.0/).
Author Keywords Environmental protection; Sustainable development; Circular economy; Multi-/pluri-/inter-/trans-disciplinary research; Sustainability science
Index Keywords Index Keywords
Document Type Other
Open Access Open Access
Source Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED)
EID WOS:000372791500006
WoS Category Environmental Sciences
Research Area Environmental Sciences & Ecology
PDF https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envdev.2015.09.002
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