sustainable development 20 years on from the ... - José Eli da Veiga

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8. The science and technology community
Agenda 21, chapter 31, recognizes the role of the science and technology community in implementing
<strong>sustainable</strong> <strong>development</strong>. The Johannesburg Plan of Implementation takes a cross-cutting approach to
science and technology as key factors in the implementation of several aspects of <strong>sustainable</strong> <strong>development</strong>.
The situation of the science and technology community across the region varies widely. In general, it has
developed over the past <strong>20</strong> <strong>years</strong>, but there are still marked lags in comparison with other regions.
In <strong>20</strong>07, researchers in Latin America and the Caribbean represented 3.5% of the world total, a
proportion which, while small, is significantly higher than in 1990, when they represented only 1.5% of
the world’s researchers (see figure III.1). The number of researchers and technologists in the region has
doubled over the past decade, rising to a little over 250,000 in <strong>20</strong>07 (expressed as full-time equivalent
units) (RICYT, <strong>20</strong>09). 17
Figure III.1
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN: TREND IN THE GLOBAL SHARE
OF RESEARCHERS, 1990-<strong>20</strong>08
(Percentage of all researchers, expressed as full-time equivalent units)
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
<strong>20</strong>00
<strong>20</strong>01
<strong>20</strong>02
<strong>20</strong>03
<strong>20</strong>04
<strong>20</strong>05
<strong>20</strong>06
<strong>20</strong>07
<strong>20</strong>08
Source: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Sistemas nacionales de ciencia,
tecnología e innovación en América Latina y el Caribe, Montevideo, <strong>20</strong>10.
Growth in the number of researchers in the region also outstrips the global growth rate. However,
Latin America and the Caribbean accounts for 8.6% of the world population, so at the current growth
rates the region’s share of the world’s researchers would not equal its share of the world population until
<strong>20</strong>30 (UNESCO, <strong>20</strong>10).
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See [online] http://www.uis.unesco.org.