Practicing the science of sustainability: the challenges of transdisciplinarity in a developing world context

Questions related to how we practice sustainability science remain salient in the face of the failure to achieve broad-scale sustainability objectives. Transdisciplinarity is an essential part of sustainability science. Transdisciplinary conceptual scholarship has been more prevalent than empirical scholarship or applications, especially in developing world contexts. In a single case study of a multiyear project addressing water security issues in HaMakuya, South Africa, we used a framework for assessing transdisciplinary objectives to facilitate more systematic learning for those who practice sustainability science. We found that defining the problem and assembling our team were easier than the co-creation of solution-oriented knowledge and the reintegration and application of this new knowledge. Our singular case study speaks to the potential challenges related to building relationships and co-creating knowledge in an epistemologically diverse setting. Other case studies appear to have negotiated these issues in developing country contexts, and this leaves room further investigation for how to practice transdisciplinarity under these conditions.

Duke Scholars

Author Toddi Steelman Environmental Sciences and Policy