SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT & DIVERSITY: REFLECTIONS ON KNOWLEDGE, CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY FROM A TRANSDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVE

In our rapidly globalizing world, continuous readjustment of the scientific basis of sustainable developmennt (SD) is a prerequisite for sustainability. We shed light on the shift in international discourse concerning culural diversity and SD. We analyse worldviews as a constitutive element of SD, proposing to re-interpret SD as a joint worldview-construct in progress, embracing a multiplicity of visions and knowledges. Through critical literature review, we identified transdisciplinarity, co-creation of knowledge and inra-/inter-cultural dialogue as a necessity for SD to retain its, universal appeal. Transversal thinking, biocultural diversity and trends within SD research act as a guide throughout our reflection on knowledge-creation for and interpretation of SD, starting from a worldviews perspective and interdisciplinarity.