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Søgaard Jørgensen P, Weinberger VP, Waring TM. Evolution and sustainability: gathering the strands for an Anthropocene synthesis. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20220251. [PMID: 37952619 PMCID: PMC10645096 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/14/2023] Open
Abstract
How did human societies evolve to become a major force of global change? What dynamics can lead societies on a trajectory of global sustainability? The astonishing growth in human population, economic activity and environmental impact has brought these questions to the fore. This theme issue pulls together a variety of traditions that seek to address these questions using different theories and methods. In this Introduction, we review and organize the major strands of work on how the Anthropocene evolved, how evolutionary dynamics are influencing sustainability efforts today, and what principles, strategies and capacities will be important to guide us towards global sustainability in the future. We present a set of synthetic insights and highlight frontiers for future research efforts which could contribute to a consolidated synthesis. This article is part of the theme issue 'Evolution and sustainability: gathering the strands for an Anthropocene synthesis'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Søgaard Jørgensen
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Stockholm 10691, Sweden
- Global Economic Dynamics and the Biosphere, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Stockholm 10405, Sweden
- Anthropocene Laboratory, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Stockholm 10405, Sweden
| | - Vanessa P. Weinberger
- Center for Resilience, Adaptation and Mitigation (CReAM), Universidad Mayor, Temuco, 4801043, Chile
| | - Timothy M. Waring
- Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, University of Maine Orono, ME 04473, USA
- School of Economics, University of Maine Orono, ME 04473, USA
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Currie TE, Borgerhoff Mulder M, Fogarty L, Schlüter M, Folke C, Haider LJ, Caniglia G, Tavoni A, Jansen REV, Jørgensen PS, Waring TM. Integrating evolutionary theory and social-ecological systems research to address the sustainability challenges of the Anthropocene. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20220262. [PMID: 37952618 PMCID: PMC10645068 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 11/14/2023] Open
Abstract
The rapid, human-induced changes in the Earth system during the Anthropocene present humanity with critical sustainability challenges. Social-ecological systems (SES) research provides multiple approaches for understanding the complex interactions between humans, social systems, and environments and how we might direct them towards healthier and more resilient futures. However, general theories of SES change have yet to be fully developed. Formal evolutionary theory has been applied as a dynamic theory of change of complex phenomena in biology and the social sciences, but rarely in SES research. In this paper, we explore the connections between both fields, hoping to foster collaboration. After sketching out the distinct intellectual traditions of SES research and evolutionary theory, we map some of their terminological and theoretical connections. We then provide examples of how evolutionary theory might be incorporated into SES research through the use of systems mapping to identify evolutionary processes in SES, the application of concepts from evolutionary developmental biology to understand the connections between systems changes and evolutionary changes, and how evolutionary thinking may help design interventions for beneficial change. Integrating evolutionary theory and SES research can lead to a better understanding of SES changes and positive interventions for a more sustainable Anthropocene. This article is part of the theme issue 'Evolution and sustainability: gathering the strands for an Anthropocene synthesis'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas E. Currie
- Human Behaviour and Cultural Evolution Group, Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Monique Borgerhoff Mulder
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87506, USA
- Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Laurel Fogarty
- Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Maja Schlüter
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Carl Folke
- Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, SE-104 05 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - L. Jamila Haider
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Guido Caniglia
- Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research, A-3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | - Alessandro Tavoni
- Department of Economics, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
- Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London School of Economics, London WC2A 2AE, UK
| | - Raf E. V. Jansen
- Global Economic Dynamics and the Biosphere, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, SE-104 05 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Peter Søgaard Jørgensen
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
- Global Economic Dynamics and the Biosphere, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, SE-104 05 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Timothy M. Waring
- Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions and School of Economics, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469-5710, USA
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Kundo HK, Brueckner M, Spencer R, Davis JK. Enhancing the resilience and well-being of rural poor to climate risks: are the economic functions of social protection enough? DISASTERS 2023; 47:651-675. [PMID: 35913085 DOI: 10.1111/disa.12559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
As climate change accelerates, adaptive social protection programmes are becoming increasingly more popular than conventional social assistance programmes, since they are seen to enhance people's resilience and well-being outcomes. Despite this upsurge, little is known about the impacts of adaptive programmes on resilience and well-being outcomes as compared to conventional programmes. This paper examines the economic functions that both types of social protection programmes offer through empirical studies in two climate-vulnerable zones in Bangladesh. By operationalising a simplified analytical framework to comprehend subjective resilience, the qualitative data reveal that the adaptive programme is more effective in enhancing beneficiaries' perceived resilience to climate risks. Regrettably, neither programme is found to contribute much significantly in terms of enabling beneficiaries to achieve the desired well-being outcomes that one might expect to see. The paper offers rich insights into the design components of the programmes, affording an on-the-ground understanding of their implications for resilience and well-being.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hare Krisna Kundo
- PhD Researcher at Murdoch University, Australia
- Associate Professor in Public Administration at Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh
| | - Martin Brueckner
- Associate Professor in Sustainability at Murdoch University, Australia
| | - Rochelle Spencer
- Associate Professor in Development Studies and Sustainability at Murdoch University, Australia
| | - John K Davis
- Adjunct Lecturer at the Sheridan Institute of Higher Education, Australia
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Wernli D, Søgaard Jørgensen P, Parmley EJ, Majowicz SE, Lambraki I, Carson CA, Cousins M, Graells T, Henriksson PJG, Léger A, Harbarth S, Troell M. Scope and applicability of social-ecological resilience to antimicrobial resistance. Lancet Planet Health 2023; 7:e630-e637. [PMID: 37438004 DOI: 10.1016/s2542-5196(23)00128-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2021] [Revised: 12/15/2022] [Accepted: 05/31/2023] [Indexed: 07/14/2023]
Abstract
Social-ecological systems conceptualise how social human systems and ecological natural systems are intertwined. In this Personal View, we define the scope and applicability of social-ecological resilience to antimicrobial resistance. Resilience to antimicrobial resistance corresponds to the capacity to maintain the societal benefits of antimicrobial use and One Health systems' performance in the face of the evolutionary behaviour of microorganisms in response to antimicrobial use. Social-ecological resilience provides an appropriate framework to make sense of the disruptive impacts resulting from the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance; capture the diversity of strategies needed to tackle antimicrobial resistance and to live with it; understand the conditions that underpin the success or failure of interventions; and appreciate the need for adaptive and coevolutionary governance. Overall, resilience thinking is essential to improve understanding of how human societies dynamically can cope with, adapt, and transform to the growing global challenge of antimicrobial resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Didier Wernli
- Global Studies Institute, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
| | - Peter Søgaard Jørgensen
- Global Economic Dynamics and the Biosphere, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden; Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - E Jane Parmley
- Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Shannon E Majowicz
- School of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada
| | - Irene Lambraki
- School of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada
| | - Carolee A Carson
- Centre for Food-borne, Environmental Zoonotic and Infectious Diseases, Public Health Agency of Canada, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Melanie Cousins
- School of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada
| | - Tiscar Graells
- Global Economic Dynamics and the Biosphere, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden; Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Patrik J G Henriksson
- Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden; Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden; WorldFish, Jalan Batu Maung, Penang, Malaysia
| | - Anaïs Léger
- Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Stephan Harbarth
- Infection Control Program and WHO Collaborating Centre on Patient Safety, University of Geneva Hospitals and Faculty of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Max Troell
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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Nugraheni IL, Suyatna A, Setiawan A, Abdurrahman. Flood disaster mitigation modeling through participation community based on the land conversion and disaster resilience. Heliyon 2022; 8:e09889. [PMID: 35965976 PMCID: PMC9363956 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09889] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2022] [Revised: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 07/01/2022] [Indexed: 10/25/2022] Open
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In Support of Sustainability: The Historical Ecology of Vertebrate Biodiversity and Native American Harvest Practices in the Florida Keys, USA. SUSTAINABILITY 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/su14116552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/10/2022]
Abstract
The Florida Keys are currently experiencing unprecedented loss of lifeways, biodiversity, and cultural heritage due to sea-level rise, catastrophic storm events, unsustainable traditions of resource exploitation, and land development. Yet, these islands have a long history of human occupation and socioecological systems underlying their current sustainability crisis that date back at least 2500 years. Here we report early results of ongoing zooarchaeological research from Upper Matecumbe Key designed to explore anthropogenic engagement with vertebrate fauna between AD 800 and 1250, providing an approximately 500-year window on marine fisheries and terrestrial faunal harvesting for this small island archipelago. Focusing on one of the few remaining, nearly intact Native American archaeological sites in the region, our research contributes to critically needed long-term anthropogenic perspectives on harvest patterns relevant to regional biodiversity conservation and sustainability initiatives.
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Mehta G, Cornell SE, Krief A, Hopf H, Matlin SA. A shared future: chemistry's engagement is essential for resilience of people and planet. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:212004. [PMID: 35601450 PMCID: PMC9039782 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.212004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2021] [Accepted: 03/14/2022] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Strengthening resilience-elasticity or adaptive capacity-is essential in responding to the wide range of natural hazards and anthropogenic changes humanity faces. Chemistry's roles in resilience are explored for the first time, with its technical capacities set in the wider contexts of cross-disciplinary working and the intersecting worlds of science, society and policy. The roles are framed by chemistry's contributions to the sustainability of people and planet, examined via the human security framework's four material aspects of food, health, economic and environmental security. As the science of transformation of matter, chemistry is deeply involved in these material aspects and in their interfacing with human security's three societal and governance aspects of personal, community and political security. Ultimately, strengthening resilience requires making choices about the present use of resources as a hedge against future hazards and adverse events, with these choices being co-determined by technical capacities and social and political will. It is argued that, to intensify its contributions to resilience, chemistry needs to take action along at least three major lines: (i) taking an integrative approach to the field of 'chemistry and resilience'; (ii) rethinking how the chemical industry operates; and (iii) engaging more with society and policy-makers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Goverdhan Mehta
- School of Chemistry, University of Hyderabad, Gachibowli, Hyderabad, Telangana 500046, India
- International Organization for Chemical Sciences in Development, 61 rue de Bruxelles, 5000 Namur, Belgium
| | - Sarah E. Cornell
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Kräftriket 2B, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Alain Krief
- International Organization for Chemical Sciences in Development, 61 rue de Bruxelles, 5000 Namur, Belgium
- Department of Chemistry, University of Namur, 61 rue de Bruxelles, 5000 Namur, Belgium
| | - Henning Hopf
- International Organization for Chemical Sciences in Development, 61 rue de Bruxelles, 5000 Namur, Belgium
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, Technical University of Braunschweig, Hagenring 30, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Stephen A. Matlin
- International Organization for Chemical Sciences in Development, 61 rue de Bruxelles, 5000 Namur, Belgium
- Institute of Global Health Innovation, Imperial College London, South Kensington, London SW7 2AZ, UK
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Towards a Resilient and Resource-Efficient Local Food System Based on Industrial Symbiosis in Härnösand: A Swedish Case Study. SUSTAINABILITY 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/su14042197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The endeavour to align the goals of the Swedish food strategy with the national environmental quality objectives and the 17 global SDGs, presents an extraordinary challenge that calls for systemic innovation. Industrial symbiosis can potentially provide the means for increasing sustainable food production, using locally sub-exploited resources that can reduce the need for land, agrochemicals, transport and energy. This case study of the municipality of Härnösand, aims to assess opportunities and challenges for using waste flows and by-products for local food production, facilitated by industrial symbiosis. A potential symbiotic network was developed during three workshops with the main stakeholders in Härnösand. The potential of the COVID-19 pandemic to instigate policy changes, behavioural changes and formation of new alliances that may catalyse the transition towards food systems based on industrial symbiosis is discussed. The material flow inventory revealed that many underexploited resource flows were present in quantities that rendered them commercially interesting. Resources that can be used for innovative food production include, e.g., lignocellulosic residues, rock dust, and food processing waste. The internalised drive among local companies interested in industrial symbiosis and the emerging symbiotic relations, provide a fertile ground for the establishment of a local network that can process the sub-exploited material flows. Although there are multiple challenges for an industrial symbiosis network to form in Härnösand, this study shows that there is a significant potential to create added value from the region’s many resources while at the same time making the food system more sustainable and resilient, by expanding industrial symbiosis practices.
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Folke C, Polasky S, Rockström J, Galaz V, Westley F, Lamont M, Scheffer M, Österblom H, Carpenter SR, Chapin FS, Seto KC, Weber EU, Crona BI, Daily GC, Dasgupta P, Gaffney O, Gordon LJ, Hoff H, Levin SA, Lubchenco J, Steffen W, Walker BH. Our future in the Anthropocene biosphere. AMBIO 2021; 50:834-869. [PMID: 33715097 PMCID: PMC7955950 DOI: 10.1007/s13280-021-01544-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2020] [Revised: 01/31/2021] [Accepted: 02/10/2021] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed an interconnected and tightly coupled globalized world in rapid change. This article sets the scientific stage for understanding and responding to such change for global sustainability and resilient societies. We provide a systemic overview of the current situation where people and nature are dynamically intertwined and embedded in the biosphere, placing shocks and extreme events as part of this dynamic; humanity has become the major force in shaping the future of the Earth system as a whole; and the scale and pace of the human dimension have caused climate change, rapid loss of biodiversity, growing inequalities, and loss of resilience to deal with uncertainty and surprise. Taken together, human actions are challenging the biosphere foundation for a prosperous development of civilizations. The Anthropocene reality-of rising system-wide turbulence-calls for transformative change towards sustainable futures. Emerging technologies, social innovations, broader shifts in cultural repertoires, as well as a diverse portfolio of active stewardship of human actions in support of a resilient biosphere are highlighted as essential parts of such transformations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carl Folke
- Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Global Economic Dynamics and the Biosphere Programme (GEDB), Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | | | - Johan Rockström
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Victor Galaz
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | | | - Marten Scheffer
- Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Henrik Österblom
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | | | | | | | - Beatrice I Crona
- Global Economic Dynamics and the Biosphere Programme (GEDB), Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | | | - Owen Gaffney
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Potsdam, Germany
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Line J Gordon
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Holger Hoff
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Potsdam, Germany
| | | | | | - Will Steffen
- Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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