Social-Ecological Systems

Professor Carl Folke discusses a social-ecological system approach, in which people are looked at as being part of, and changing, the planet, in addition to being dependent on the Earth for resources and ecosystem services. Examples are given of ecosystem services including crop pollination, carbon sinks, etc.; and an example is given of Madagascar. Folke gives an example of a classic success story of collective action with the lobster in Maine. Resilience is divided into three parts: persistence, adaptability, and transformation, and this is explained using the example of Madonna (the singer). The "ball and cup" description of resilience is considered at each of its three phases. Sustainability science, a new transdisiplinary approach, is presented as defined by the problem that it addresses rather than the discipline that it employs.

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