Managing ecosystems sustainably: The key role of resilience

Abstract

The goal of ecosystem management is to provide a sustainable flow of multiple ecosystem services to society today and in the future. As an integral component of natural resource stewardship, ecosystem management recognizes the integrated nature of social-ecological systems, their inherent complexity and dynamics at multiple temporal and spatial scales, and the importance of managing to maintain future options in the face of uncertainty (Christensen et al. 1996; Table 2.1)-i.e., many of the factors governing the resilience and vulnerability of social-ecological systems. As a society, we have a poor track record of managing ecosystems sustainably in part because the short-term use of natural resources often receives higher priority than their long-term sustainability. Environmental degradation contributed to the collapse of many advanced human societies, including Babylon, the Roman Empire, and the Mayan Civilization (Turner et al. 1990, Diamond 2005). More than half of the services provided by ecosystems have declined globally in the last half-century (MEA 2005a, d), raising questions about the capacity of human societies to manage ecosystems sustainably. Rapid rates of social and environmental change have magnified the challenges of sustainable management. © 2009 Springer-Verlag New York.