Livelihoods and human well-being during social-ecological change

Abstract

Social processes strongly influence the dynamics of social-ecological responses to change. In Chapter 2, we described the ecological processes that govern the flow of ecosystem goods and services to society. Sustainability of these flows depends not only on ecosystems, but also on human actions that are motivated, in part, by desires and needs for these services. Many of the social and ecological slow variables that determine the long-term dynamics of social-ecological systems act primarily through their effects on human well-being (see Chapter 1). Today humans are the dominant force driving changes in the Earth System, with the biophysical changes during the last 250 years so fundamental that they define a new geologic epoch-the Anthropocene (Crutzen 2002; see Chapter 14). Social process play a key role in driving these changes, so it is essential to understand them as critical determinants of sustainability from local to planetary scales. This chapter focuses on those social processes that affect well-being, society's vulnerability and resilience to recent and projected changes, and strategies for sustainable development that seek to enhance well-being, while sustaining the capacity of ecosystems to meet human needs. Institutional dimensions of well-being, which are also critical to sustainability, are addressed in Chapter 4. © 2009 Springer-Verlag New York.