Final Report Summary - ATLAS (Action for Training in Land use And Sustainability)
The 'Action for training in land use and sustainability' (ATLAS) project has carried out a survey of the educational and training availability in land use and sustainability, identified the demands for knowledge, and made recommendations on how to improve the effectiveness of education and training in this area. Even though sustainability has been part of societies already for a few decades, in all EU countries there is still an apparent need for clearer definitions, practical guidelines and information of which aspects to consider in implementation. ATLAS studied and analysed the present state of the art of education and training in land use and sustainability. The results were subsequently discussed during the ATLAS final conference by major stakeholders in this area. ATLAS has produced a web-based tool supplying information on relevant literature, documentation and available education and five training courses. Furthermore ATLAS has led to recommendations for future education and training in sustainable land use.
It was found that the situation in sustainability teaching seems to be better in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and the United Kingdom, while in southern and eastern countries the number of available educational possibilities is somewhat smaller. It was also found that while most of the provision concentrates on university courses and programmes, the end users ask for more possibilities in practical work and training. Teaching sustainability should be carried out in cooperation of different academic disciplines by professionals that are aware of the various aspects of sustainability in their fields. It was observed that there is a rather big confusion about the way the terms sustainability, impact assessment and sustainability impact assessment are handled in different language and cultural contexts. There is a variety of national approaches to each of these terms and one should be careful both in translating the terms and transferring the approaches from one knowledge culture to another.
The ATLAS interactive web-based route planner was designed to fulfil two aims. First, advise the user to find a suitable facility for learning. Second, teach the user about basics of sustainability, impact assessment and land use. The user has several options to refine the search for a desired educational facility, and en route she / he has the chance to learn more about sustainability and the place she / he is heading to. Additional facilities give 25 more information about terms used, countries visited and projects carried out. But route planner is best practiced at: http://www.atlas-eu.org.
It was found that the situation in sustainability teaching seems to be better in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and the United Kingdom, while in southern and eastern countries the number of available educational possibilities is somewhat smaller. It was also found that while most of the provision concentrates on university courses and programmes, the end users ask for more possibilities in practical work and training. Teaching sustainability should be carried out in cooperation of different academic disciplines by professionals that are aware of the various aspects of sustainability in their fields. It was observed that there is a rather big confusion about the way the terms sustainability, impact assessment and sustainability impact assessment are handled in different language and cultural contexts. There is a variety of national approaches to each of these terms and one should be careful both in translating the terms and transferring the approaches from one knowledge culture to another.
The ATLAS interactive web-based route planner was designed to fulfil two aims. First, advise the user to find a suitable facility for learning. Second, teach the user about basics of sustainability, impact assessment and land use. The user has several options to refine the search for a desired educational facility, and en route she / he has the chance to learn more about sustainability and the place she / he is heading to. Additional facilities give 25 more information about terms used, countries visited and projects carried out. But route planner is best practiced at: http://www.atlas-eu.org.
