ROLE OF SOCIAL WORK IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: TOWARDS ECO-SOCIAL PRACTICE

Authors

  • Shubham Saini Research Scholar, Department of Adult, Continuing Education and Extension, University of Delhi
  • Navneet Prakash Singh Research Scholar, Department of Social Work, University of Delhi

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhkosh.v4.i1.2023.2440

Abstract [English]

A social work is a profession in which works and tasks are performed by utilising available resources from social environment namely social networks and support system that enhances humans to thrive and excel their lives. However, in the current trends there are some drawbacks in the manner of work such as very limited engagement of social organisation that focuses on environmental aspects and sustainable ecology. As a consequence, social work has to develop theoretical framework to incorporate ecological environment because man and environment are crucial and mutual dependence components. In the existing ecological hardship, climate change is a matter of concern as it regulates the land fertility and biodiversity to achieve sustainable food productions, cycle of energy and water resources. The ill effects of climate change are unbearable by all, for instances people of Flanders in Belgium with enormous wealth had to face challenges in shrinking free land spaces, environment pollutions and many health issues. And as mentioned by the United Nations Development Programme these crises are mostly affected by the poor people which sets a wide gap between the rich and the poor in both the ecological and economic crises. All of these present major challenges to the social work despite of keeping social justice as central core of frame work.

References

Addams, J. (1910/1961). Twenty years at Hull House. New York: MacMillan.

Agoramoorthy, G., & Hsu, M. J. (2008). Reviving India’s grass- roots social work for sustainable development. International Social Work, 51(4), 544–555. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0020872808090247

Baker, S. (2006). Sustainable development. London: Routledge. Berger, R., & Kelly, J. (1993). Social work and the ecological crisis. Social Work, 38(5), 521–526. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203495933

Carrilio, T. E. (2007). Utilizing a social work perspective to enhance sustainable development efforts in Loreto, Mexico, International Social Work, 50(4), 528–538. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0020872807077912

Coates, J., Gray, M., & Hetherington, T. (2006). An ‘ecospiri- tual’ perspective: Finally a place for Indigenous approaches. British Journal of Social Work, 36(3), 381–399. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcl005

Critical Social Work Special Issue (2010) on Building Bridges and Crossing Boundaries: Dialogues in Professional Helping edited by John Coates and Fred Besthorn, Vol. 11, No. 3. Retrieved from http://www.uwindsor.ca/criticalsocialwork/ 2010-volume-11-no-3

Estes, R. J. (1993). Toward sustainable development: From theory to praxis. Social Development Issues, 15(3), 1–29. Revised and reprinted in N. J. Negli & R. Furman (Eds.) (2010). Transnational social work practice (pp. 76–110). New York: Columbia University Press.

Hoff, M., & Pollack, R. (1993). Social dimensions of the envi- ronmental crisis: Challenges for social work. Social Work, 38(2), 204–211.

Informationsdienst Sozialarbeit. (1981). Alternativbewegung, Ökologie und Sozialarbeit [Alternative movement, ecology and social work]. Offenfach, Germany: Verlag 2000.

Matthies, A.-L., Närhi, K., & Ward, D. (Eds.) (2001). The eco-social approach in social work. Jyväskylä, Finland: Sophi.

Matthies, A.-L., Turunen, P., Albers, S., Boeck, T., & Närhi, K. (2000). An eco-social approach to tackling social exclusion in European cities. European Journal of Social Work, 3(1), 43–52. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/714052811

Richmond, M. (1922/1971). What is social case work. New York: Arno Press.

Rockström, J., Steffen, W., Noone, K., Persson, Å., Chapin, F. S., III, Lambin, E., . . . Foley, J. (2009). Planetary boundaries: Exploring the safe operating space for humanity. Ecology and Society, 14(2). Retrieved from http://www.ecologyand society.org/vol14/iss2/art32/ DOI: https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-03180-140232

Soine, L. (1987). Expanding the environment in social work: The case for including environmental hazards content. Journal of Social Work Education, 23(2), 40–46. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.1987.10801460

Van Wormer, K., & Besthorn, F. H. (2010). Human behavior and the social environment. Macro level: Groups, communities and organisations (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

Wilkinson, R. & Pickett, K. (2009). The spirit Level. Why more equal societies almost always do better. London: Allan Lane – Penguin.

Zapf, M. K. (2009). Social work and the environment: Under- standing people and place. Toronto, Canada: Canadian Scholars Press.

Downloads

Published

2023-06-30

How to Cite

Saini, S., & Singh, N. P. (2023). ROLE OF SOCIAL WORK IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: TOWARDS ECO-SOCIAL PRACTICE. ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing Arts, 4(1), 879–884. https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhkosh.v4.i1.2023.2440