The Science of Sustainability? Scaling the interaction between Resilience and Robustness
Citation:
Dyson, B., Tim Canfield, AND J. Carriger. The Science of Sustainability? Scaling the interaction between Resilience and Robustness. SETAC North America 39th Annual Meeting, Sacramento, CA, November 04 - 08, 2018.
Impact/Purpose:
This presentation discusses the dichotomy between managing ecosystems for efficiency of ecosystem service delivery versus managing for persistence of delivery and implications for understanding sustainability.
Description:
The failure of social-ecological systems to be robust to changing conditions points to a need to better understand ecosystem response and ecological resilience as a guide to ensure sustainability of ecosystem service provision. While a systems-level understanding of resilience may be useful, and potentially necessary, it is not sufficient for defining sustainability requirements e.g. the four questions: what; for whom; how long; at what cost, and relevant decision metrics e.g. Triple Bottom Line, that are needed for localized provision of sustained services. Sustainability of social-ecological systems is a function of the interaction between a larger dynamical system understanding of ecological resilience and more localized decision-making and designing of robust systems for maximizing the sustainability of ecosystem service delivery. Understanding ecosystem resilience characteristics provides a larger context or set of operating principles for incorporating adaptability into the planning and execution of service delivery system. Examples include hybrid approaches such as green infrastructure and decentralized networks for water treatment and waste management. Modeling (system dynamics) and analytical approaches (decision analysis/MCDA) for system characterization, problem formulation, option development and implementation will be discussed.