Sustainability rooted in science

Lubchenco, Jane; Barner, Allison K.; Cerny-Chipman, Elizabeth B.; Reimer, Jeffrey J.

doi:10.1038/ngeo2552

Cited by 58 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…); it was foregrounded in a recent commentary in the journal Eos (Hooke ); and finally it was mentioned in a recent Nature Geoscience article by Lubchenco and others about ‘science for sustainability’ (Lubchenco et al . ).…”

Section: A New Social Contract For Global Change Researchmentioning

confidence: 97%

Geography and the new social contract for global change research

Castree

2016

Trans Inst British Geog

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Anxious about the failure of decisionmakers to significantly reduce 'the human impact' on Earth, many global change researchers are looking for ways and means to influence public policy, business strategy and civil society more strongly. As part of this, there is a greater emphasis on understanding and altering the 'human dimensions' of global environmental change. A number of physical and society-environment geographers are involved in this endeavour, building on some valuable past achievements. But what lies ahead? I address this question by examining the rich idea of a 'social contract' -one little used in disciplinary debates about Geography's past, present and future, but now relatively common in certain wider discussions of anthropogenic global change. I suggest that there are currents of thinking in contemporary Geography that can offer something both new and much needed in the world of global change research. That 'something' is not ever more integrated, accurate analysis of dynamic, coupled human-environment interactions -as if we live in just one world requiring ever more 'joined-up' and granular description, explanation and prediction. Instead, it is an approach to research that eschews ontological holism, epistemological monism and the fact-value dualism. This approach suggests that taking the human dimensions of environmental change seriously requires a new kind of global change research that is at once overtly political and intellectually plural. Far from being a charter for 'bias' or 'relativism', I show that this approach expresses the rich senses of responsibility, accountability and representation contained in the version of a new social contract I advocate here. A wider implication of my argument is that Geography needs new stories about the nature and merits of 'intra-disciplinarity', ones better attuned to the role of research in fostering democracy in our 'post-normal' times. Thinking afresh about how research should influence society promises to alter many geographers' sense of self while usefully repurposing global change research across several disciplines.

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Section: A New Social Contract For Global Change Researchmentioning

confidence: 97%

Geography and the new social contract for global change research

Castree

2016

Trans Inst British Geog

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“…More generally, there is a need for clear evidence that demonstrates how incorporating abiotic components into natural capital and ecosystem service assessments can lead to management outcomes that improve human well-being in both the short and long term. This means advancing understanding of the underlying biophysical mechanisms (Boulton et al 2016) and providing the evidence base to support decision-making (Guerry et al 2015;Lubchenco et al 2015). It also requires developing metrics for assessing the multiple co-benefits of geoconservation in protected areas, as well as evaluating trade-offs between the services derived from biotic and abiotic nature (e.g.…”

Section: Natural Capital and Ecosystem Services Valuationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing the Role of Geoconservation in Protected Area Management and Nature Conservation

Gordon

Crofts²,

Díaz-Martínez

et al. 2017

Geoheritage

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Acknowledgement by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) that geodiversity is part of natural diversity and geoheritage is part of natural heritage should help to strengthen the position and delivery of geoconservation through engagement with the wider nature conservation agenda. In particular, we identify six key areas offering opportunities to enhance the standing and mainstreaming of geoconservation: (1) integrating geoconservation principles in protected area management, including the promotion of geoheritage conservation across the full range of IUCN Protected Area Management Categories; (2) supporting biodiversity conservation and adaptation to climate change through the nature-based solutions approach and 'conserving nature's stage'; (3) contributing to natural capital and ecosystem services valuation; (4) contributing to conservation in the marine environment; (5) enhancing the connections between people, place, and nature and contributing to human well-being; and (6) promoting ecosystem stewardship and contributing to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Adoption of a more outward-looking approach should help to progress the integration of geoconservation within nature conservation, protected area planning and management, and broader environmental strategies and policies.

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“…Zero hunger and no poverty are the first two sustainable development goals [1,2]. Together with clean water and sanitation, they conform the most basic needs of human beings.…”

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confidence: 99%

Mapping social-ecological systems archetypes

Rocha

Malmborg

Gordon

et al. 2020

Environ. Res. Lett.

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Achieving sustainable development goals requires targeting and monitoring sustainable solutions tailored to different social and ecological contexts. A social-ecological systems (SESs) framework was developed to help diagnose problems, identify complex interactions, and solutions tailored to each SES. Here we develop a data-driven method for upscaling the SES framework and apply it to a context where data is scarce, but also where solutions towards sustainable development are needed. The purpose of upscaling the framework is to create a tool that facilitates decision-making in data-scarce contexts. We mapped SES by applying the framework to poverty alleviation and food security issues in the Volta River basin in Ghana and Burkina Faso. We found archetypical configurations of SES in space, and discuss where agricultural innovations such as water reservoirs might have a stronger impact at increasing food availability and therefore alleviating poverty and hunger. We conclude by outlining how the method can be used in other SES comparative studies.

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Sustainability rooted in science

Cited by 58 publications

References 10 publications

Geography and the new social contract for global change research

Geography and the new social contract for global change research

Enhancing the Role of Geoconservation in Protected Area Management and Nature Conservation

Mapping social-ecological systems archetypes

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