Description: 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. Jon Norberg and Graeme Cumming Preface Introduction Jon Norberg and Graeme S. Cumming Introduction to Part 1: Diversity and Heterogeneity 1. Environmental Asymmetries Graeme S. Cumming, Grenville Barnes, and Jane Southworth 2. Diversity and Resilience of Social-Ecological Systems Jon Norberg, James Wilson, Brian Walker, and Elinor Ostrom Introduction to Part 2: Networks 3. A Network Perspective on Modularity and Control of Flow in Robust Systems Colleen Webb and Örjan Bodin 4: Social Networks as Sources of Resilience in Social-Ecological Systems Thomas Hahn, Lisen Schultz, Carl Folke, and Per Olsson Introduction to Part 3: Information Processing 5. Theoretical Challenges: Information Processing and Navigation in Social-Ecological Systems John M. Anderies and Jon Norberg 6. Regime Shifts, Environmental Signals, Uncertainty, and Policy Choice William A. Brock, Stephen R. Carpenter, and Marten Scheffer Introduction to Part 4: Practical Approaches 7. Participation in Building Scenarios of Regional Development Louis Lebel and Elena Bennett 8. Practicing Adaptive Management in Complex Social-Ecological Systems Lance Gunderson, Garry Peterson, and C. S. Holling 9. Scale and Complex Systems Graeme Cumming and Jon Norberg Complexity Theory for a Sustainable Future: Conclusions and Outlook Jon Norberg and Graeme Cumming Index
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EAN: 9780231134613
UPC: 9780231134613
ISBN: 9780231134613
MPN: N/A
Book Title: Complexity Theory for a Sustainable Future (Comple
Number of Pages: 312 Pages
Language: English
Publication Name: Complexity Theory for a Sustainable Future
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Subject: Environmental Science (See Also Chemistry / Environmental), Ecology, System Theory, Green Lifestyle, Public Policy / Environmental Policy
Item Height: 0.1 in
Publication Year: 2008
Type: Textbook
Item Weight: 17.7 Oz
Author: Jon Norberg, Graeme Cumming
Item Length: 0.9 in
Subject Area: Nature, Political Science, Science, Self-Help
Item Width: 0.6 in
Series: Complexity in Ecological Systems Ser.
Format: Trade Paperback