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SIMULATED EXPERIMENTS WITH COMPLEX SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS
Citation:
Cabezas*, H C., C. W. Pawlowski**, A Mayer**, T Hoagland*, AND H. C. Whitmore. SIMULATED EXPERIMENTS WITH COMPLEX SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS. Presented at 6th Conf. on Process Integration, Modeling & Optimisation for Energy Saving & Pollution Reduction, Hamilton, ON, CANADA, October 26 - 29, 2003.
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public
Description:
The concept of sustainability is associated with the statement from the World Commission on Environment and Development: "Development that meets the needs and aspirations of the present without compromising the ability to meet those of the future." But the construction of practical environmental management, however, requires a theory embodying these concepts. The goal of a sustainable management strategy is to promote the structures and operation of the human component (society, economy, technology, etc.) in such a manner as to reinforce the persistence of the structures and operation of the natural component (ecosystem). We report on our efforts with a simulated model system that includes an ecological food web with a rudimentary economy with agricultural and manufacturing sectors, and a basic legal system. We present simulated scenarios illustrating the effects of various changes including variations in the efficiency and waste of human consumption, agricultural production, and manufacturing. We interpret the results using previously developed criteria based on Information Theory and resilience concepts. These criteria provide at least minimal necessary conditions for the sustainability of the resulting system regimes.