Complexity Theory for a Sustainable Future

Erscheinungsjahr 2008
ISBN: 978-0-231-13461-3
Verlag: Columbia University Press

Buch, Englisch, 352 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 150 mm x 221 mm, Gewicht: 431 g

Reihe: Complexity in Ecological Systems

Complexity theory illuminates the many interactions between natural and social systems, providing a better understanding of the general principles that can help solve some of today's most pressing environmental issues. Complexity theory was developed from key ideas in economics, physics, biology, and the social sciences and contributes to important new concepts for approaching issues of environmental sustainability such as resilience, scaling, and networks.

Complexity Theory for a Sustainable Future is a hands-on treatment of this exciting new body of work and its applications, bridging the gap between theoretical and applied perspectives in the management of complex adaptive systems. Focusing primarily on natural resource management and community-based conservation, the book features contributions by leading scholars in the field, many of whom are among the leaders of the Resilience Alliance. Theoreticians will find a valuable synthesis of new ideas on resilience, sustainability, asymmetries, information processing, scaling, and networks. Managers and policymakers will benefit from the application of these ideas to practical approaches and empirical studies linked to social-ecological systems. Chapters present new twists on such existing approaches as scenario planning, scaling analyses, and adaptive management, and the book concludes with recommendations on how to manage natural resources, how to involve stakeholders in the dynamics of a system, and how to explain the difficult topic of scale. A vital reference for an emerging discipline, this volume provides a clearer understanding of the conditions required for systems self-organization, since the capacity of any system to self-organize is crucial for its sustainability over time.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Norberg, Jon

Cumming, Graeme

Fachgebiete

• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften Naturschutzbiologie, Biodiversität
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften Terrestrische Ökologie
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften Ökologie
• Geowissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften Umweltsoziologie, Umweltpsychologie, Umweltethik
• Geowissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften Umweltmanagement, Umweltökonomie
• Geowissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften Biodiversität
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften Meeres- und Süßwasserökologie
• Geowissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften Umweltschutz, Umwelterhaltung
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Umweltsoziologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

PrefaceIntroduction, by Jon Norberg and Graeme S. CummingPart 1: Diversity and HeterogeneityIntroduction1. Environmental Asymmetries, by Graeme S. Cumming, Grenville Barnes, and Jane Southworth2. Diversity and Resilience of Social-Ecological Systems, by Jon Norberg, James Wilson, Brian Walker, and Elinor OstromPart 2: NetworksIntroduction3. A Network Perspective on Modularity and Control of Flow in Robust Systems, by Colleen Webb and Örjan Bodin4: Social Networks as Sources of Resilience in Social-Ecological Systems, by Thomas Hahn, Lisen Schultz, Carl Folke, and Per OlssonPart 3: Information ProcessingIntroduction5. Theoretical Challenges: Information Processing and Navigation in Social-Ecological Systems, by John M. Anderies and Jon Norberg6. Regime Shifts, Environmental Signals, Uncertainty, and Policy Choice, by William A. Brock, Stephen R. Carpenter, and Marten SchefferPart 4: Practical ApproachesIntroduction7. Participation in Building Scenarios of Regional Development, by Louis Lebel and Elena Bennett8. Practicing Adaptive Management in Complex Social-Ecological Systems, by Lance Gunderson, Garry Peterson, and C. S. Holling9. Scale and Complex Systems, by Graeme Cumming and Jon NorbergComplexity Theory for a Sustainable Future: Conclusions and Outlook, by Jon Norberg and Graeme CummingIndex

Über Autor(innen)

Jon Norberg is assistant professor of systems ecology at Stockholm University and is affiliated as a researcher with the Stockholm Resilience Center. Coming from a background in ecology, Norberg has become more transdisciplinary, studying the role of social phenomena such as information sharing and trust building for resource management. He completed his post-doc at Princeton University with Simon Levin and has been a long term participant in the resilience alliance.

Graeme S. Cumming is Pola Pasvolsky Chair in Conservation Biology at the University of Cape Town. He runs a wide-ranging research program that focuses on the broad-scale spatial and temporal dynamics of ecological communities and ecosystems, with particular interests in conservation, resilience, and sustainability.