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Desde a Agenda 21 Local, iniciada pela Conferência do Rio (em especial o capítulo 28, em 1992) e da primeira Conferência Europeia sobre Cidades e Vilas Sustentáveis (em 1994), a monitoração da sustentabilidade local, ganhou um lugar de destaque e uma importância cada vez maior, quer a nível mundial, a nível europeu e a nível nacional, com base em indicadores ou critérios de avaliação, de modo a apoiar os processos de tomada de decisão local, sendo uma das suas aplicações mais comuns a comparação entre municípios (Guerra & Schmidt, 2009; Niemann et al., 2017; Schmidt & Guerra, 2007; Seixas, 2008; Tanguay et al., 2010).
Em Portugal ainda se verifica uma escassa inclusão de critérios de sustentabilidade no planeamento urbano, sendo um dos países europeus que mais tardiamente respondeu ao apelo da comunidade internacional no que diz respeito à Agenda 21 Local (Dias, 2015), sendo o papel dos indicadores limitado provavelmente à reduzida preocupação com processos democráticos mais inclusivos e participativos ou com uma maior transparência das políticas locais (Moreno-Pires & Fidélis, 2012). Em particular nos municípios rurais e de baixa densidade populacional estas questões não são particularmente abordadas.
A Comunidade Intermunicipal da Beira Baixa (CIMBB) é composta por seis municípios (Castelo Branco, Idanha-a-Nova, Oleiros, Penamacor, Proença-a-Nova e Vila Velha de Rodão), tem uma área de 4 614,64 km2, representa aproximadamente 0,8% da população residente nacional, o que se traduz na mais baixa densidade populacional (17,9 hab/km2) de Portugal. Segundo a CIMBB (2015) os municípios de perfil rural1 (Idanha-a-Nova, Penamacor, Vila Velha de Ródão, Proença-a-Nova e Oleiros) registam fortes debilidades estruturais, refletidas nos indicadores demográficos e socioeconómicos.
No âmbito geral onde esta investigação se insere pretende-se analisar as percepções, o conhecimento e as atitudes da população maioritariamente rural da CIMBB sobre o Desenvolvimento Sustentável (DS) e quais as áreas onde é preciso atuar para a sua aplicação no âmbito da região onde residem, com base num inquérito dirigido à população adulta desta região. Nesta apresentação pretende-se analisar as diferenças entre os diversos municípios que compõem a CIMBB e, em especial, os temas do Sistema de Indicadores de Desenvolvimento Sustentável (SIDS) que servirão de base ao desenvolvimento futuro de um sistema de indicadores baseado num processo de envolvimento da população local.
O debate sobre sustentabilidade local ganhou um lugar de destaque e uma importância cada vez maior, quer a nível mundial, europeu e nacional, desde a Conferência das Nações Unidas sobre Meio Ambiente e Desenvolvimento em 1992, e a primeira Conferência Europeia sobre Cidades e Vilas Sustentáveis, em 1994. Atualmente, o desenvolvimento rural no âmbito da política da União Europeia é um tema muito relevante. É assim importante a aplicação de políticas, programas, estratégicas e práticas públicas que coloquem em prática o desenvolvimento sustentável a nível local. De igual forma torna-se essencial a avaliação sobre se a sustentabilidade, aos seus diversos níveis, está de facto a ser colocada em prática no município. Essa mensuração é normalmente efetuada através de sistemas de indicadores de desenvolvimento sustentável, pois estes são uma ferramenta útil para os municípios pela sua simplicidade, facilidade no uso e capacidade de transmissão da informação, e ainda de ferramenta de apoio à decisão dos governos locais Estes indicadores devem também permitir a comparação entre municípios, permitir a visão holística e de transição para a sustentabilidade de uma região e serem baseados em processos participativos. Este trabalho tem como objetivo rever e avaliar os diversos sistemas de indicadores de sustentabilidade local de municípios rurais utilizados em termos da sua qualidade e eficiência face aos critérios usualmente definidos para o desenvolvimento e seleção de indicadores. Esta revisão baseou-se em pesquisas na biblioteca digital da b-on de publicações recentes. Resultados preliminares permitem verificar que ao longo das últimas décadas, muitos sistemas de indicadores foram desenvolvidos por instituições internacionais ou nacionais, maioritariamente para grandes centros urbanos e grandes regiões. Os sistemas de indicadores de sustentabilidade, quer na conceção quer na monitorização, baseados na participação pública reforçam a cidadania, bem como o compromisso a sociedade face à sustentabilidade. O recurso ao uso de sistemas de indicadores por municípios rurais ou por comunidades intermunicipais ainda é escasso, muitas vezes condicionados por questões de financiamento ou por falta de pessoal especializado. É também raramente avaliada a eficiência do próprio sistema de indicadores e se estes realmente monitorizam se o município está num bom progresso face à transição e governança para a sustentabilidade.
Since the nineties, a lot has been written about local sustainability, mostly about big cities and/or big regions. These days the debate about small towns and/or rural municipalites has also come about. It is up to all the agents, political and from the community, as well as to the citizens to promote the transformation to more sustainable societies. It is therefore urgent the development of tools like the Indicator System (IS) at a local level, having in mind the involvement of all the agents, that will allow us to evaluate whether we are near or far from that transformation. The incorporation of sustainability criteria and its measurement, having in mind the singular characteristics of these municipalities, will allow us to know and evaluate the Sustainable Development (SD) at a local level, to increase the sensibility of the agents about environmental issues and to promote change in the community. For that to happen the population’s involvement is essential for it allows the strengthening of the commitment for SD. The case study presented is about the Beira Baixa region in the interior of Portugal, its population represent 0.8% of the resident population of Portugal. That translates as one of the lowest populational densities. The main objective of this study is to present the results of the questionnaire applied to a representative sample of the resident population of Beira Baixa, Portugal, over 18 years of age. The general aim of the questionnaire was to inquire the population awareness about sustainability concepts and IS and self-assessment of the local sustainability. The results allow us to verify that a large majority of the participants has hear the term SD, the media being the largest contributor to this and that the promotion of the SD is our own responsibility. In terms of the SD dimensions, it is the environmental and economical ones the most important, in contrast with the social and governance/institutional. About half of the participants considers that their quality of life “stayed the same”, but a quarter of them considers that it is “worse”. When asked about IS, less than half of the participants had ever heard about IS for SD, and the ones that had, heard it mostly through the media. These participants consider that the selection of the indicators should factor the citizens’ opinion, but little more than half of the participants would like to participate in that selection. It is important a wide spread of SD and of the IS among the population, because there is a clear imbalance between the economic and environmental dimension and the social and governance/institutional dimensions.
No âmbito geral, onde esta investigação se insere, pretende-se descrever a metodologia que serviu de base à conceção de um SI para esta região, baseado num processo de participação pública e co-criação, composta, na 1ª fase, por um inquérito por questionário aplicado à população residente e maior de idade e aos jovens do 3º ciclo, no âmbito do Programa Cientificamente Provável. Na 2ª fase, pela realização de grupos focais aos atores-chave e aos jovens da Beira Baixa, para aferir quais os indicadores que devem integrar o SI para monitorizar o DS da Beira Baixa. Neste artigo pretende-se apresentar os resultados preliminares das reuniões com os grupos focais.
It is essential and urgent to seek social cohesion and quality of life of citizens, namely quality public spaces, energy efficiency, employment, economy, integration and social inclusion, among others, through policies (global or local), while respecting the specificity of each region. Indeed, in order to change the municipalities’ planning policy, it is essential to incorporate sustainability criteria and their measurement. In particular indicators are a useful tool for communication and to support decision. The intermunicipal communities, as a cluster of neighbour municipalities, have an essential role in the promotion of territorial policies as a key factor for European territorial cohesion. The case study presented is about the Beira Baixa region in the interior of Portugal. Its population represents 0.8% of the resident population of Portugal. This region holds the country’s 3rd and 4th largest municipalities in terms of area (Castelo Branco and Idanha-a-Nova), but with the lowest populational densities (18 inhabitant/km2). The main objective of this study is to present the results of the themes and calculate an index to determinate the key areas of a questionnaire survey applied to a representative sample of the resident population of Beira Baixa, Portugal, over 18 years of age. The survey aims the support of the development of a participative Indicators System (IS) for Intermunicipal Sustainability assessment. The objectives of the questionnaire were to inquire the population’s perceptions and awareness about sustainability concepts, main sustainability themes and self-assessment of the local sustainability. The data that resulted was analysed using adequate multivariate statistical techniques, in particular to merge the more relevant sustainability domains and respective themes. The results show a statistically significant association between “Have you heard of the term “Sustainable Development (SD)”?” and “municipality”. Specifically, we can see that in the rural municipalities the percentage of the population that has never heard of SD is higher. Besides, there is an imbalance between the four dimensions associated with the concept of SD (environment, economy, social and governance/institutional), in the
community as well as in each municipality. In the question that relates to the Themes of the IS the environmental and social ones were identified as the most relevant. The exploratory factorial analysis on the presented subjects revealed six “components”: the first one is strongly related with the “Environmental”, the second with the “Economical”, the third with the
“Social”, the fourth with the “Rural”, the fifth with the “Immaterial” and lastly the “External Aspects”. The research revealed also the low involvement of the population in public decisions and in questions related to the environment. It is essential to involve the population in order to put pressure on the government and local authorities to diminish social inequalities and assume their responsibilities for commitments to society, namely regarding local sustainability.
In 2015, the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) defined a new agenda and supplied a holistic and multidimensional view for development. These Goals are challenges to traditional teaching methods, and important to educate for Sustainable Development (SD) and involve young people in the participative model. Young generation can contribute to promote environmental conscience, and to the change in values and attitudes towards sustainability. Bearing in mind that each player has its own “language” it is essential to promote dialogue between science and society, namely among the youth. The case study of this research takes place in the context of a special program, that aims to establish scientific
publication partnerships between Secondary Education Schools (SESs) and the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and it refers to the Beira Baixa region. This region is predominately rural, that represents approximately 0.8% of the resident population of Portugal (around 83 thousand people), having one of the lowest rates of young people in the country (10.6%). The main goal of this work is to reflect on the perception that the youth has about SD, based on the results from a questionnaire applied to a group from the region’s student population in Secondary Education. The questionnaire comprises of five parts: i) characterization of the sample; ii) SD perception, iii) SD evaluation in the municipality of residence, iv) what is important to evaluate in the region’s SD, v) voluntary activities. The results allowed to verify that the large majority of the students has heard of the term SD, having school and the media been the major contributors. When asked about the evaluation of SD in the region, referring to the four dimensions, and according to a traffic light, the majority considered the environmental dimension “green”, the economic and governance “yellow” and the social dimension is divided between “green” and “yellow”. About 40% of the students considers that their quality of life “is the same” as in previous years. When asked about what is important to evaluate in their region’s SD and, specifically which of the SDG are more important to their region, the main ones are: Good Health and Well-Being (SDG 3), Affordable and clean energy (SDG 7) and Climate action (SDG 13). Most of them considers that the process for selecting indicators should have their opinion in mind. This project intends to improve the level of knowledge about SD (knowledge acquisition, skills and attitudes), mostly among young people, so that their future decisions are informed and efficient and promote a commitment towards a sustainable future. There is a continuous need, urgent and vital, to create and develop innovative tools to educate the young people on sustainability that allow for the improvement of their knowledge, their skills and their attitudes about SD and the SDG. This work demonstrates that the SESs, connected to the HEIs, can play a vital role in awareness about SD and, specifically about the SDG, so that SD can be reached from the local to the global levels, in order to contribute towards social change and a more sustainable future.
It is essential and urgent to seek social cohesion and quality of life of citizens, namely quality public spaces, energy efficiency, employment, economy, integration and social inclusion, among others, through policies (global or local), while respecting the specificity of each region. Indeed, in order to change the municipalities’ planning policy, it is essential to incorporate sustainability criteria and their measurement. In particular, indicators are a useful tool for communication and to support decision. The intermunicipal communities, as a cluster of neighbour municipalities, have an essential role in the promotion of territorial policies as a key factor for European territorial cohesion. The case study presented is about the Beira Baixa region in the interior of Portugal. Its population represents 0.8% of the resident population of Portugal. This region holds the country’s 3rd and 4th largest municipalities in terms of area (Castelo Branco and Idanha-a-Nova), but with the lowest populational densities (18 inhabitant/km2). The main objective of this study is to present the results of the themes and calculate an index to determinate the key areas of a questionnaire survey applied to a representative sample of the resident population of Beira Baixa, Portugal, over 18 years of age. The survey aims the support of the development of a participative Indicators System (IS) for Intermunicipal Sustainability assessment. The objectives of the questionnaire were to inquire the population’s perceptions and awareness about sustainability concepts, main sustainability themes and self-assessment of the local sustainability. The data that resulted was analysed using adequate multivariate statistical techniques, in particular to merge the more relevant sustainability domains and respective themes. The results show a statistically significant association between “Have you heard of the term “Sustainable Development (SD)”?” and “municipality”. Specifically, we can see that in the rural municipalities the percentage of the population that has never heard of SD is higher. Besides, there is an imbalance between the four dimensions associated with the concept of SD (environment, economy, social and governance/institutional), in the
community as well as in each municipality. In the question that relates to the Themes of the IS the environmental and social ones were identified as the most relevant. The exploratory factorial analysis on the presented subjects revealed six “components”: the first one is strongly related with the “Environmental”, the second with the “Economical”, the third with the
“Social”, the fourth with the “Rural”, the fifth with the “Immaterial” and lastly the “External Aspects”. The research revealed also the low involvement of the population in public decisions and in questions related to the environment. It is essential to involve the population in order to put pressure on the government and local authorities to diminish social inequalities and assume their responsibilities for commitments to society, namely regarding local sustainability.
