Institutions Ecosystems And Sustainability

In the latter part of the 20th century, humans are doing a particularly poor job of managing natural resources in a sustainable way over the long term. Institutions, Ecosystems and sustainability focuses on long term, sustainable natural resource management practices at the local, national, and international levels. The authors suggest that a major cause of the "sustainability problem" lie in "scale" problems. Large scale ecosystems are not simply larger versions of smaller systems, and micro-scale ecosystems are not merely microcosims of large scale systems. The driving forces and feedback mechanisms operate at different levels and exhibit distinct patterns of their own. The challenge is to match ecosystems and governance systems in ways that maximize the compatibility of these systems. This book builds upon this fundamental principle. Particularly valuable is the use of simulation exercises to explore the consequences of social institutions and a discussion of the progress being made in developing a broad global data base to test hypotheses about the relationship between ecosystems and social institutions, and to investigate ways to repair the damage already caused by scale mismatches.

The essays in this volume suggest that a major cause of the "sustainability problem"--Regulatory policies for large areas that often threaten the sustainability of both natural resources and previously effective governance problems - lie in "scale" problems.

In the latter part of the 20th century, humans are doing a particularly poor job of managing natural resources in a sustainable way over the long term. Institutions, Ecosystems, and Sustainability focuses on long-term, sustainable natural resource management practices at the local, national, and international levels. The authors suggest that a major cause of the "sustainability problem" - regulatory policies for large areas that often threaten the sustainability of both natural resources and previously effective governance problems - lie in "scale" problems. Large scale ecosystems are not simply larger versions of smaller systems, and micro-scale ecosystems are not merely microcosms of large scale systems. The driving forces and feedback mechanisms operate at different levels and exhibit distinct patterns of their own. Traditional management practices that do well at the local level cannot be expected to do equally well in handling activities organized at the continental or global scale. Even more importantly, when local systems are superseded by national or international management practices, local ecosystems frequently suffer. The challenge is to match ecosystems and governance systems in ways that maximize the compatibility of these systems. This book builds upon this fundamental principle. Particularly valuable is the use of simulation exercises to explore the consequences of social institutions and a discussion of the progress being made in developing a broad global data base to test hypothesis about the relationship between ecosystems and social institutions, and to investigate ways to repair the damage already caused by scale mismatches. Features

A broad and comprehensive exploration of the role of the ecological sciences in sustainability for undergraduates.The urgent quest for more sustainable patterns of development has placed new and difficult demands on both scientists and policy makers as they seek to establish more informed and effective policy processes and management regimes in the the face of pervasive uncertainty. Written by an international group of authors from a range of disciplines - ecology, geography, law, policy analysis and others - the chapters explore issues of scientific legitimacy, public participation, non-governmental organisations, inter-sectoral communication and pragmatic public policy across a wide range of ecosystem management contexts.

This work proposes that new economic theory, rather than a new public policy based on old theory, is needed to guide humanity toward sustainability. The book includes the ideas from old as well as new institutional economics, discussed in detail by leading experts in the field. This book follows a companion work, 'Economics, Sustainability, and Natural Resources: Economics of Sustainable Forest Management', volume 1 of the series.

This book explores one indigenous society and how they managed to live sustainably with their ecosystems for over two thousand years, showing how human systems connect environmental ethics and sustainable ecological practices through institutions.

From the first vague idea to use Konrad Hagedorn’s 60th birthday as an inspi- tion for taking stock of his vibrant academic contributions, this joint book project has been a great pleasure for us in many ways. Pursuing Hagedorn’s intellectual development, we have tried to reflect on the core questions of humanity according to Ernst Bloch “Who are we?”, “Where do we come from?” and “Where are we heading?” In this way, and without knowing it, Konrad Hagedorn initiated a c- lective action process he would have very much enjoyed ... if he had been allowed to take part in it. But it was our aim and constant motivation to surprise him with this collection of essays in his honour. Konrad Hagedorn was reared as the youngest child of a peasant family on a small farm in the remote moorland of East Frisia, Germany. During his childhood in the poverty-ridden years after the Second World War, he faced a life where humans were heavily dependent on using nature around them for their livelihoods; meanwhile, he learned about the fragility of the environment. As a boy, he - tended a one-room schoolhouse, where his great intellectual talents were first r- ognised and used for co-teaching his schoolmates. These early teaching expe- ences might have laid the foundations for his later becoming a dedicated lecturer and mentor.