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Human–Environment Interactions, Complex Systems Approaches for Dynamic Sustainable Development

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Encyclopedia of Complexity and Systems Science

Definition of the Subject

Dynamic sustainable development is a process‐based environmental management theory based upon the recognition of human systems as complexadaptive systems that are, in turn, subsets of ecosystems that are also complex adaptive systems. Human systems and ecosystems exist in an evolvingrelationship, and as human systems grow in size adaptive management techniques must be employed to ensure that the containing ecosystems are notoverwhelmed by human resource demands or by the waste products of human activity. Dynamic sustainable development is the latest step in an ongoing processof evolution within the larger sustainable development discourse away from goal-based, utopian models of sustainability to a process‐based,iterative, adaptive approach.

Introduction

The concept of dynamic sustainable development arose as a means of reconciling the desire to create less environmentally damaging humanenterprises with the complexity inherent in the field of resource...

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Abbreviations

Emergence:

The appearance of complex structures or behaviors within a complex adaptive system that is unpredictable from the starting conditions or materials.

Lock-in:

The inability to change non‐optimal behavior due to the engrained social, financial, or technical cost of changing the behavior.

Negative feedback:

Outcomes of an action within a complex adaptive system that tend to decrease the magnitude of the originating action.

Panarchy:

A model of behavior of complex adaptive systems proposing that such systems progress through cycles of growth, collapse, and renewal.

Path dependence:

The dependence on system behavior upon prior system behavior.

Positive feedback:

Outcomes of an action within a complex adaptive system that tend to increase the magnitude and impact of the originating action.

Resilience:

The ability of a complex adaptive system to maintain its form in the face of disruption.

Transformability:

The ability of a complex adaptive system to transform into a different state better suited to existing conditions.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Royal Roads University, Victoria, Canada

    Lenore Lauri Newman

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  1. Lenore Lauri Newman
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. RAMTECH LIMITED, 122 Escalle Lane, Larkspur, CA, 94939, USA

    Robert A. Meyers Ph. D. (Editor-in-Chief) (Editor-in-Chief)

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Newman, L.L. (2009). Human–Environment Interactions, Complex Systems Approaches for Dynamic Sustainable Development. In: Meyers, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Complexity and Systems Science. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-30440-3_273

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