The campus of San Sebastian of the University of Navarra has hosted a roundtable on the great environmental challenges facing society. The colloquium has counted with the participation of Xabier Ezeizabarrena, president of the General Councils of Gipuzkoa; Jordi Puig i Baguer, professor of the department of Biology of the University of Navarra, and Eduardo Ayesa, researcher of the Water and Health division of Ceit-IK4.

The experts have approached the subject from a scientific, technical and legal perspective.

Xabier Ezeizabarrena, president of the General Meetings and professor of Law at Deusto and the UPV/EHU, alluded to the three pillars of the sustainable development that are being implemented by the European Union: "I would highlight the economic pillar, because employment must be generated; doing so in harmony with the environmental pillar, that is, protecting the ocean, the atmosphere and natural resources. And finally, the social pillar, because politics and law must intervene in the most disadvantaged sectors. It is a slow path, but one that is being taken," stressed Ezeizabarrena.

Eduardo Ayesa, who is a professor at Tecnun, has argued the importance of training engineers in environmental subject because "in 5 or 10 years no one will consider introducing a technology without having made an environmental analysis of what it will cost to leave nature exactly the same as before it was introduced".

Jordi Puig i Baguer, professor at department of Biology at the University of Navarra, assured that we have to change and respect the environment, even if individual behavior does not have a global repercussion. "We have to convince ourselves that, if the hearts and good intentions of each person are synchronized, the culture can change. And not the other way around."

The roundtable is part of the "University Dialogues" program, organized by Tecnun, the School of Engineering of the University of Navarra in San Sebastian. The goal of this initiative is to create a regular forum for students and professors to reflect on ecology, the technological development and its ethical and social implications.