Introduction

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511541957.003

1 - Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 August 2009

Johan Colding and

Edited by

Johan Colding and

Fikret Berkes: Affiliation:
Professor Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba, Canada
Johan Colding: Affiliation:
Centre for Research on Natural Resources and the Environment, Stockholm University; Beijer International Institute of Ecological Economics at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden
Carl Folke: Affiliation:
Director of the Centre for Research on Natural Resources and the Environment (CNM), and a Professor in the Department of Systems Ecology Stockholm University, Sweden; Professor at the Beijer International Institute of Ecological Economics Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden
Fikret Berkes: Affiliation:
University of Manitoba, Canada
Johan Colding: Affiliation:
Beijer International Institute of Ecological Economics, Stockholm
Carl Folke: Affiliation:
Beijer International Institute of Ecological Economics, Stockholm

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Summary

Building capacity to adapt to change: the context

A common perspective until recently was that our problem-solving abilities have been improving over the years. In the area of resource and environmental management, for example, there was a great deal of faith in our growing scientific understanding of ecosystems, our bag of increasingly sophisticated tools and technologies, and the application of market mechanisms to problems such as air pollution control and fishery management through individually allocated quotas. However, the experience over the last few decades does not support such optimism (e.g., Clark and Munn, 1986; Ludwig, Hilborn, and Walters, 1993; Gunderson, Holling, and Light, 1995). Many of our resource and environmental problems are proving resistant to solutions. A gap has developed between environmental problems and our lagging ability to solve them. This is coming at a time when the Earth has become an increasingly human-dominated system. Many of the changes in the biosphere, including the modification of landscapes, loss of biodiversity and, according to some, climate change, are driven by human activities. Furthermore, changes are occurring at an increasingly faster rate than previously experienced in human history.

There is an emerging consensus regarding the need to look for broader approaches and solutions, not only with resource and environmental issues but along a wide front of societal problems. A survey of senior American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) scientists revealed an intriguing insight.

Type: Chapter
Information: Navigating Social-Ecological Systems
Building Resilience for Complexity and Change
, pp. 1 - 30

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511541957.003 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2002

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