Complexity theory illuminates the many interactions between natural and
social systems, providing a better understanding of the general
principles that can help solve some of today's most pressing
environmental issues. Complexity theory was developed from key ideas in
economics, physics, biology, and the social sciences and contributes to
important new concepts for approaching issues of environmental
sustainability such as resilience, scaling, and networks.
Complexity Theory for a Sustainable Future is a hands-on treatment of
this exciting new body of work and its applications, bridging the gap
between theoretical and applied perspectives in the management of
complex adaptive systems. Focusing primarily on natural resource
management and community-based conservation, the book features
contributions by leading scholars in the field, many of whom are among
the leaders of the Resilience Alliance. Theoreticians will find a
valuable synthesis of new ideas on resilience, sustainability,
asymmetries, information processing, scaling, and networks. Managers and
policymakers will benefit from the application of these ideas to
practical approaches and empirical studies linked to social-ecological
systems. Chapters present new twists on such existing approaches as
scenario planning, scaling analyses, and adaptive management, and the
book concludes with recommendations on how to manage natural resources,
how to involve stakeholders in the dynamics of a system, and how to
explain the difficult topic of scale. A vital reference for an emerging
discipline, this volume provides a clearer understanding of the
conditions required for systems self-organization, since the capacity of
any system to self-organize is crucial for its sustainability over time.
