Exploring Resilience in Social-Ecological Systems

Comparative Studies and Theory Development

Brian H. Walker		CSIRO Australia
John M. Anderies		Arizona State University, USA
Ann P. Kinzig		Arizona State University, USA
Paul Ryan		CSIRO Australia

34 Illustrations, Tables, Bibliography
240 pages, 248 x 175 mm
Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING

Paperback - 2006
ISBN: 9780643092433 - AU $ 75.00

The capacity of a system – an ecosystem or a social-ecological system – to tolerate disturbance, without collapsing into a qualitatively different state controlled by a different set of processes, is known as resilience. A resilient system:

can absorb considerable change and still retain the same controls on function and structure
is capable of a high degree of self-organisation
has the ability to build and increase its capacity for learning and adaptation

Written by some of the leading international thinkers in the field, Exploring Resilience in Social-Ecological Systems provides a state-of-the-science account of resilience theory, based on comparisons of a set of case studies around the world, and gives some fascinating insights into the subject.
Also available as a special issue of the journal Ecology and Society.

1- Introduction
Brian H. Walker, John M. Anderies, Ann P. Kinzig and Paul Ryan

2 - A Handful of Heuristics and Some Propositions for Understanding Resilience in Social-Ecological Systems
Brian Walker, Lance Gunderson, Ann Kinzig, Carl Folke, Steve Carpenter and Lisen Schultz

3 - Scale Mismatches in Social-Ecological Systems: Causes, Consequences, and Solutions
Graeme S. Cumming, David H. M. Cumming and Charles L. Redman

4 - Toward a Network Perspective of the Study of Resilience in Social-Ecological Systems
Marco A. Janssen, Örjan Bodin, John M. Anderies, Thomas Elmqvist, Henrik Ernstson, Ryan R. J. McAllister, Per Olsson and Paul Ryan

5 - Water RATs (Resilience, Adaptability, and Transformability) in Lake and Wetland Social-Ecological Systems
Lance H. Gunderson, Steve R. Carpenter, Carl Folke, Per Olsson and Garry Peterson

6 - Collapse and Reorganization in Social-Ecological Systems: Questions, Some Ideas, and Policy Implications
Nick Abel, David H. M. Cumming and John M. Anderies

7 - Shooting the Rapids: Navigating Transitions to Adaptive Governance of Social-Ecological Systems
Per Olsson, Lance H. Gunderson, Steve R. Carpenter, Paul Ryan, Louis Lebel, Carl Folke and C. S. Holling

8 - Governance and the Capacity to Manage Resilience in Regional Social-Ecological Systems Louis Lebel, John M. Anderies, Bruce Campbell, Carl Folke, Steve Hatfield-Dodds, Terry P. Hughes and James Wilson

9 - Resilience and Regime Shifts: Assessing Cascading Effects
Ann P. Kinzig, Paul Ryan, Michel Etienne, Helen Allison, Thomas Elmqvist and Brian H. Walker

10 - Fifteen Weddings and a Funeral: Case Studies and Resilience-based Management
John M. Anderies, Brian H. Walker and Ann P. Kinzig

11 - Case Studies in Resilience: Fifteen Social-Ecological Systems across Continents and Societies
• Causse Méjan, France
• Coral reefs of the Caribbean
• Dry Spiny Forests, Southern Madagascar
• Everglades, Florida, USA
• Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique
• Goulburn-Broken Catchment, Australia
• Kristianstads Vattenrike, Sweden
• Mae Ping River Basin, Thailand
• Maine Fisheries, USA
• Malinau Region, Borneo
• Northern Highland Lakes District, Wisconsin, USA
• Phoenix, Arizona, USA
• Rangelands of New South Wales, Australia
• South-East Lowveld, Zimbabwe
• Western Australian Wheatbelt, Australia

References

Scientists at all levels from final year undergraduate through to senior scientists, in the natural and social sciences, in Universities and research agencies. Resource managers and regional and community development policy makers and advisors.

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