{"id":5692,"date":"2019-10-02T09:16:21","date_gmt":"2019-10-02T06:16:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africasustainabilitymatters.com\/?p=5692"},"modified":"2026-01-11T05:30:34","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T05:30:34","slug":"the-contribution-of-chemical-sciences-to-achieving-sdgs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/2019\/10\/02\/the-contribution-of-chemical-sciences-to-achieving-sdgs\/","title":{"rendered":"The Contribution Of Chemical Sciences To Achieving SDGs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Dr Justin N. KABERA<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These days, the world is\nliving at a historic and special moment in the history of science. The\nprospects for positive change have never been brighter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Policy makers in developing\ncountries express greater interest and support for the role that science can\nplay in promoting sustainable development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The number of concrete\nexamples of how science can improve the  well-being  of communities\ncontinues to grow, not only in terms of individual programmes and projects, but\nalso in terms of national policies that are lifting tens of thousands out of\npoverty each year.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

About strategies for\nscience-based development, a lot of references cite Brazil, China, India and\nTurkey as recent experiences, and Rwanda in Africa comes among the firsts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, in 2014, a group of\ninternational chemists who believe that chemistry and related sciences have\nindispensable role to play in helping the world to achieve the SDGs have formed\n\u201cChemists for Sustainability (C4S)\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea started early in\n2008.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following year in 2015,\nat United Nation member states agreed on a set of 17 Sustainable Development\nGoals to be achieved by 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this regard, Royal Society\nof Chemistry of UK started driving an Initiative on Commonwealth Chemistry in\norder to bring together governments, scientists, non-governmental\norganizations, academic and industry across the world working in partnership,\nstarting by Commonwealth States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This because the true impact\nof chemistry for SDGs will be only visible when different fields related to\nchemistry are brought together in ways that were previously not envisaged.\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, today, the\nalliance of chemistry with biology to computing is the key to the development\nof new crops, drugs, vaccines, diagnostic kits for diseases, contraceptives,\nand much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nutrition and healthcare are\nnot the only winners from this alliance but industrial sector also in terms of\ncompetitiveness.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Meeting global\nchallenges, that are related to energy, food and climate change requires the\nidentification of the areas where the chemical sciences can provide\ntechnological and sustainable solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According the consultation\nmeeting organized by Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) in June 2018 where Rwanda\nwas represented for the first time, the priorities areas have been summarized\n  as following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

–        \nEnergy: creating and secured environmentally sustainable energy supply;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

–        \nFood: Creating and securing a safe, environment friendly, diverse and\naffordable food chain supply;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

–        \nFuture Cities: Developing and adapting cities to meet the emerging needs of\ncitizens;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

–        \nHuman health: improving and maintaining accessible health, including disease\nprevention;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

–        \nRaw material and feedstock: creating and sustaining a supply of sustainable\nfeedstock, by designing processes and products that preserve resources;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

–        \nWater and Air: Ensuring the sustainable management of water and air quality,\nand addressing the issues of water resources in terms of quality and\navailability;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

–        \nLifestyle and recreation: providing a sustainable route for people to live\nricher and more varied lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These defined areas of\nintervention are associated with global challenges, where chemistry as science\nis in center of solution approaches, supporting other disciplines such as for\nexample Agriculture for improved food productivity.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chemistry deals with all\nthese areas of human activity. It touches everyone.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Nobel Prize winner (1987),\nJean Marie Lehn stated: \u201cA world without chemistry would be a world without\nsynthetic material as chemistry is behind most of the innovations that have\nimproved our lives\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The past two decades have\nwitnessed university researchers and industrial chemists competing to use\nscience especially chemistry, to find ingenious responses to climate change and\nenvironmental degradation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Time to time, policy makers\nhave underlined the importance of science-based decision making by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

–        \nIntegrating scientists into decision making bodies;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

–        \nEncouraging partnership between scientific, public and private Institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current teaching approach\nof chemistry as a discipline needs redesign and reform, in order to ensure that\nit is attractive and productive as science and relevant to solving 21st century\nchallenges for sustainable development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As reminder, sustainable\ndevelopment is the development that meets the needs of the present without\ncompromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. As\nsuch, chemistry remains the cornerstones for Sustainable Development, not only\nworldwide, but also in Africa, in Rwanda particularly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At national level, we have\nscientists in chemical Sciences without any organizational structure as Society\nor board; Time has come to establish the organization (Rwanda Chemical Society)\nwith the mandate of giving a new orientation for the discipline in the respect\nof the concept: One-World Chemistry (OWC).  More is coming about Chemical\nsciences!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read Original Article<\/a> On The New Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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