Resilience Thinking: Sustaining Ecosystems and People in a Changing WorldIncreasingly, cracks are appearing in the capacity of communities, ecosystems, and landscapes to provide the goods and services that sustain our planet's well-being. The response from most quarters has been for "more of the same" that created the situation in the first place: more control, more intensification, and greater efficiency. "Resilience thinking" offers a different way of understanding the world and a new approach to managing resources. It embraces human and natural systems as complex entities continually adapting through cycles of change, and seeks to understand the qualities of a system that must be maintained or enhanced in order to achieve sustainability. It explains why greater efficiency by itself cannot solve resource problems and offers a constructive alternative that opens up options rather than closing them down. In Resilience Thinking, scientist Brian Walker and science writer David Salt present an accessible introduction to the emerging paradigm of resilience. The book arose out of appeals from colleagues in science and industry for a plainly written account of what resilience is all about and how a resilience approach differs from current practices. Rather than complicated theory, the book offers a conceptual overview along with five case studies of resilience thinking in the real world. It is an engaging and important work for anyone interested in managing risk in a complex world. |
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An essential book for getting a grasp on the theories of resilience. Written in plain simple language
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One of the most readable and accessible academic books on resilience theory I have come across, with very well articulated case studies to illustrate and groudn the theory.
Contents
| 1 | |
WalkerSalt CH 22852 | 28 |
WalkerSalt CH 35373 | 53 |
WalkerSalt CH 474108 | 74 |
WalkerSalt CH 5109138 | 111 |
WalkerSalt CH 6139152 | 139 |
WalkerSalt BM153176 | 153 |
Other editions - View all
Resilience Thinking: Sustaining Ecosystems and People in a Changing World Brian Walker,David Salt No preview available - 2006 |
Resilience Thinking: Sustaining Ecosystems and People in a Changing World Brian Walker,David Salt No preview available - 2006 |
Common terms and phrases
adaptive cycles agricultural approach basin become begins building capacity Caribbean catchment chapter complex components conservation consider coral reefs cost created crossed decline depend disturbance diversity drought dynamics ecological economic ecosystem effect efficiency Everglades example exist farm farmers fish flood forest functional future greater groups growing growth happen human important increase industry interested involved lake land landscape leads levels linked live look loop loss lost major move natural NHLD nutrients occur operating optimal organization percent phase phosphorus population problems production protect range reduce referred regime region release resilience thinking response result rising River scales scenarios shifts shocks social social-ecological systems soil space species structure studies sustainability term things threshold tion transformation trees understanding usually values variables wetland
Popular passages
Page 4 - The number of species on the planet is declining. Over the past few hundred years, humans have increased the species extinction rate by as much as 1,000 times over background rates typical over the planet's history (medium certainty), [referenced chart not copied here] Some 10-30 percent of mammal, bird, and amphibian species are currently threatened with extinction (medium to high certainty).
Bibliographic information
| Title | Resilience Thinking: Sustaining Ecosystems and People in a Changing World |
| Authors | Brian Walker, David Salt |
| Contributor | Walter Reid |
| Edition | revised |
| Publisher | Island Press, 2012 |
| ISBN | 1597266221, 9781597266222 |
| Length | 192 pages |
| Subjects | › Nature / Ecology Nature / General Science / Environmental Science Science / System Theory |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |