On the basis of this multi-year fruitful experience acquired by ISDRS, the theme of the 24th Annual Conference, “Actions for a Sustainable World: from theory to practice” (ISDRS 2018), aimed to emphasize the fact that we have reached a milestone in the concept and practice of sustainable development. Indeed, the greatest challenge that humanity faces today is to plan and carry out human activities in a manner compatible with the Earth’s resource systems. Despite the fact that the concept of sustainable development has been developed and studied for several decades now, its practical application still seems limited and meaningful targets have not been met: indeed, we are still operating unsustainably.
With the awareness that we must rethink our social and economic systems in order to make economic and social development more resource-efficient and more equitable to all, both across the planet and in future generations, the ISDRS 2018 brought together leading experts, policy-makers and the academic community to translate recent scientific advances into actions on many levels, it addressed how to face the global economic, social and environmental challenges of sustainability that affect the role of each and every stakeholder.
The theme aims were to focus on how scientists and researchers are developing the theory and methods of sustainable development, as well as policy-makers, private and public organizations and citizens are translating them into real practice, and if those tools and related implementation will ensure the achievement of international goals, such as those set by the United Nations in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.