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Sustainability is an interdisciplinary global project that has been critiqued for its eurocentrism. Sustainability can be defined as the maintenance of human wellbeing into the long term future and utilises expertise across disciplines such as ecology, physics, economics and psychology (Pezzey, 1992). It is argued that sustainability has adopted its definition based on the Eurocentric view that our systems can be developed and improved (Opstal and Hugé, 2013). An example is the tourism industry and its sustainability links as it has been reprimanded for reflecting elitist western interests (Schmutz and Elliott, 2016). Despite this, measures have been taken, for example by Aikenhead and Okawa, to provide a definition of sustainability that encompasses both Eurocentric science and indigenous customs of living with nature (Aikenhead  and Ogawa  2007). The invalidation of indigenous knowledge may have arisen from the imposition of the European science curriculum during colonisation. We are now beginning to recognise that by discovering the knowledge of elders, environmental issues could be identified and sustainable practices passed down through generations could be implemented. The amalgamation of European science and local methods for farming and preserving food is essential for sustainability (Glasson et al., 2009).

Joy Hendry, a professor of anthropology, refutes the idea the the west invented science as indigenous populations have on numerous occasions shown to conserve their resources using local knowledge or 'science'. For example in the Cook Islands, the fishing of rare species was prohibited and in 1998 a council of leaders became so worried about the marine environment in Rarotonga that they prohibited the fishing of the local species all together. There have been efforts to combine this local system and a Western style legal system that operates in the Cook Islands. In 2003, a national environment act was introduced to protect and conserve the environment. This shows that despite eurocentrism involved in sustainability, we are beginning to appreciate and use local knowledge. In addition, Inuit populations in Canada are experts in minimising waste as their hunted animals are divided into food from the meat, clothes from the skin and fur and tools from the bones. Another example in agriculture explains the success of 'the three sisters' - maize, beans and squash. These crops grow and thrive together due to the knowledge of native Mexicans. European settlers had different ideas of course and separated the system. Unsustainable aids were introduced in order to have the same yield, such as pesticides, fertilisers and genetic modifications that we know to be harmful to the environment (Hendry, 2014). To conclude, sustainability is deeply interdisciplinary and can be seen as Eurocentric. However, measures have been taken to recognise indigenous knowledge in sustainability in the past and present and this collaboration is necessary for the future of the project.

Bibliography:

Aikenhead, G.  S.,  &  Ogawa,  M.  (2007). Indigenous knowledge  and  science  revisited. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 2, 539–620.

Glasson, G., Mhango, N., Phiri, A. and Lanier, M. (2009). Sustainability Science Education in Africa: Negotiating indigenous ways of living with nature in the third space. International Journal of Science Education, 32(1), pp.125-141.

Hendry, J. (2014). Science and Sustainability: Learning from Indigenous Wisdom. 1st ed. Palgrave Macmillan, pp.39-47.

Pezzey, J. (1992). Sustainability: An Interdisciplinary Guide. Environmental Values, 1(4), pp.321-362.

Schmutz, V. and Elliott, M. (2016). Tourism and Sustainability in the Evaluation of World Heritage Sites, 1980–2010. Sustainability, 8(3), p.261.

Van Opstal, M., & Hugé, J. (2013). Knowledge for sustainable development: a worldviews perspective. Environment, development and sustainability, 15(3), 687-709