This is interesting topic about resilience :
Ocean ecosystems are increasingly threatened by overfishing,
pollution, habitat loss, climate change and coastal development.
Understanding why some ecosystems resist these shocks, and continue
to deliver benefits such as plentiful fish and pristine beaches, and
how others collapse is the subject of resilience science — a
budding branch of study that combines approaches from both the life
and social sciences.
“Resilience science examines how human and natural forces come
together to affect an ecosystem’s ability to resist, recover or
adapt to disturbances, ” Leslie said. “That knowledge can be directly
applied to conservation policies — policies that can better protect
the oceans.”
Key elements of resilience science include the recognition of the
connections between marine systems and human communities, the
maintenance of diversity in marine ecosystems and economies, and the
importance of monitoring of the dynamic ecological processes, such
as the rate of plankton production in the upper ocean, that create
large-scale ecological patterns.
Conservation policies based on resilience science are showing
promise around the world and across the United States, most notably
in the Chesapeake Bay. Restoration of the Bay is underway –
evidenced by oyster sanctuaries and eelgrass seeding — to restore
lost diversity and increase future resilience.
“Viewing the world through a resilience lens means embracing change
and acknowledging the tight connections between humans and nature,”
Leslie said. “The way forward will require embracing change at many
levels — in societal expectations, in business practices, in
resource management — to adapt to an ever-changing environment.
Resilience science can show the way forward, creating more robust
marine ecosystems and thriving human communities. “
*Heather Leslie, Sharpe Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies
and Biology at Brown University, presented the symposium “Embracing
Change: A New Vision for Management in Coastal Marine Ecosystems”
on Feb. 17, 2008.
Source: Brown University.
