Affiliations 

  • 1 School of Psychology, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, United Kingdom
  • 2 College of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Western Philippines University-Puerto Princesa Campus, Puerto Princesa, Philippines
  • 3 School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, United Kingdom
  • 4 Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Built Environment, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 5 Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth, United Kingdom
  • 6 Centre for Sustainable Energy and Resources Management, Universitas Nasional, Jakarta, Indonesia
  • 7 Faculty of Social Work, Hanoi National University of Education, Hanoi, Vietnam
  • 8 Urban and Environmental Psychology Group, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
  • 9 Faculty of Biology, Hanoi National University of Education, Hanoi, Vietnam
  • 10 Vietnam Man and Biosphere Program National Committee, Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO, Hanoi, Vietnam
Front Psychol, 2021;12:635686.
PMID: 34305710 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.635686

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused (and continues to cause) severe disruption in global and local economies and has forced countries, societies, and individuals to adapt quickly to the unprecedented and unpredictable situations. Despite the obvious negative consequences of the pandemic, many have called for efforts to identify transformative opportunities for sustainable development throughout this disorderly time. In the present paper, we explore such potential opportunities in the context of an interdisciplinary, international research project, which is focusing on sustainable marine management in biosphere reserves and marine parks in Southeast Asia. During a virtual workshop conducted as part of the GCRF (Government's Global Challenges Research Fund) Blue Communities Project, future scenarios were developed depicting the potential effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on five case study sites. All of these sites are in areas of internationally recognized outstanding ecological value (Taka Bonerate Kepulauan-Selayar Biosphere Reserve, Indonesia; Tun Mustapha Park, Sabah, Malaysia; Palawan Biosphere Reserve, Philippines; North Devon Biosphere Reserve, United Kingdom; Cu Lao Cham-Hoi An Biosphere Reserve, Vietnam). At the macro-level, economies, governance structures, and societal norms are undergoing big changes. At the micro-level, the livelihoods, lifestyles, and backyards of local residents have to adapt. Collaboratively, we explored how COVID-19 posed challenges in our five case study sites, but we also focused on the potential COVID-19-related windows of opportunity for future sustainable development. Opportunities could be identified in all three pillars of sustainable development: the environment, the society, and the economy. Although remarkable similarities can be found across all five sites, we conclude that there cannot be a "one-size-fits-all" solution to turn the tide toward achieving sustainable development. Just as before the pandemic, sustainable development starts with engaging with and understanding local environments, challenges, and situations; building on local knowledge; and developing tailor-made solutions for the communities in situ.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.