Principles of Ecosystem Stewardship: Resilience-Based Natural Resource Management in a Changing World

The world is undergoing unprecedented changes in many of the factors that determine its fundamental properties and their in- ence on society. These changes include climate; the chemical c- position of the atmosphere; the demands of a growing human population for food and ?ber; and the mobility of organisms, ind- trial products, cultural perspectives, and information ?ows. The magnitude and widespread nature of these changes pose serious challenges in managing the ecosystem services on which society depends. Moreover, many of these changes are strongly in?uenced by human activities, so future patterns of change will continue to be in?uenced by society’s choices and governance. The purpose of this book is to provide a new framework for n- ural resource management-a framework based on stewardship of ecosystems for human well-being in a world dominated by unc- tainty and change. The goal of ecosystem stewardship is to respond to and shape change in social-ecological systems in order to s- tain the supply and opportunities for use of ecosystem services by society. The book links recent advances in the theory of resilience, sustainability, and vulnerability with practical issues of ecosystem management and governance. The book is aimed at advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students of natural resource management as well as professional managers, community leaders, and policy makers with backgrounds in a wide array of d- ciplines, including ecology, policy studies, economics, sociology, and anthropology. F. Stuart Chapin, III is Professor of Ecology in the Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks. Gary P. Kofinas is Associate Professor of Resource Policy and Management in the School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks. Carl Folke is Professor and Science Director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University. 1. A Framework for Understanding Change 2. MAnaging Ecosystems Sustainably 3.Human vulnerability, adaptation, and resilience 4. Dynamics of integrated social-ecological systems 5. Conservation and livelihoods: Sustaining and restoring the cultural connections to land 7. Landscape stewardship: Discovering the missing connections to sustain vulnerable systems. 8. Forest systems: Living with long-term change. 9.Drylands: Coping with uncertainty, thresholds, and changes in state 10. Lakes and rivers: Managing connections across temporal and spatial scales 11. Oceans and estuaries: Managing the commons 12. Food production systems: integrating technology sustainably 13. Urban and suburban landscapes: Manging the built environment 14. Planet Earth: Sustaining the life support systems of the planet 15. Strategies for managing uncertainty and change 16. Summary and Synthesis