Sustainability Science
Managing Risk and Resilience for Sustainable Development
- 2nd Edition - November 1, 2023
- Author: Per Becker
- Language: English
- Paperback ISBN:9 7 8 - 0 - 3 2 3 - 9 5 6 4 0 - 6
- eBook ISBN:9 7 8 - 0 - 3 2 3 - 9 5 6 9 1 - 8
Continues to fill gaps between the descriptive, conceptual, and transformative sustainability scienceSustainability is increasingly important across functional sectors and scient… Read more
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Request a sales quoteContinues to fill gaps between the descriptive, conceptual, and transformative sustainability science
Sustainability is increasingly important across functional sectors and scientific disciplines. Policy-makers, practitioners,
and academics continue to wrestle with the complexity of risk, resilience, and sustainability, but because of the necessary
transdisciplinary focus, it is difficult to find authoritative content in a single source. Sustainability Science: Managing
Risk and Resilience for Sustainable Development, Second Edition, contributes to filling that gap and is completely revised
with several new chapters. It asserts that all efforts for the sustainability of humankind are undermined by the four
fundamental challenges of complexity, uncertainty, ambiguity, and dynamic change. While there are no silver bullets, this
book contends that we need systems approaches, risk approaches, participatory approaches, and resilience approaches
to address each of them and endeavours to provide such. With that in mind, this book describes the state of the world
(Part I), proposes a way to approach the world (Part II), and suggests how to set out to change the world (Part III).
● Introduces a new agenda for sustainable development that reflects current thinking in sustainability science.
● Draws lessons from the entire history of humankind to help us understand our present and inform decisions for our
future.
● Operationalises key concepts to provide a clear link between theory to practice.
● Combines a stern message about staggering sustainability challenges with advice for practical action and calls for hope.
● Includes new chapters on complexity–what it is, how it manifests, and its consequences–on resistance to knowledge and change–focusing on the drivers behind the phenomena and how to overcome them–and more.
● Draws lessons from the entire history of humankind to help us understand our present and inform decisions for our
future.
● Operationalises key concepts to provide a clear link between theory to practice.
● Combines a stern message about staggering sustainability challenges with advice for practical action and calls for hope.
● Includes new chapters on complexity–what it is, how it manifests, and its consequences–on resistance to knowledge and change–focusing on the drivers behind the phenomena and how to overcome them–and more.
The book is intended for informed professionals in a wide range of sectors involved in advancing the safety and sustainability of society, such as risk managers, environmental scientists, societal planners, hydrologists, geoscientists, engineers, public health professionals, social workers, and others working for public, private or civil society organisations as policy-makers or practitioners. It is also written for students at the graduate level focusing on risk, resilience and the sustainable development of society.
- Cover image
- Title page
- Table of Contents
- Copyright
- Acknowledgements
- Chapter 1. Introducing the book
- Introduction
- Purpose of the book
- Demarcation of the book
- Structure of the book
- Conclusion
- Part I. The state of the world
- Chapter 2. Our past defining our present
- Introduction
- Conquering our dynamic world
- Social change over millennia
- The invention of risk
- Conclusion
- Chapter 3. Our growing awareness of sustainability challenges
- Introduction
- Our challenges as discussed at world conferences
- Our agenda 2030 and sustainable development goals
- Conclusion
- Chapter 4. Our boundaries for sustainability
- Introduction
- Planetary boundaries for sustainability
- A social foundation for sustainability
- Conclusion
- Chapter 5. Our disturbances, disruptions and disasters
- Introduction
- Hydrometeorological events
- Geological events
- Biological events
- Accidental events
- Antagonistic events
- Conclusion
- Chapter 6. Our dynamic risk landscape
- Introduction
- Environmental degradation
- Climate change
- Demographic and socioeconomic processes
- Globalisation
- Increasing complexity
- Changing antagonistic threats
- Conclusion
- Part II. Approaching the world
- Chapter 7. Conceptual frames for risk, resilience and sustainable development
- Introduction
- Philosophical assumptions about our world
- Development, sustainability and risk
- Managing risk for sustainable development
- The concept of resilience
- Conclusion
- Chapter 8. Resilience—from panacean to pragmatic
- Introduction
- Inherent problems for measuring and comparing resilience
- Operationalising resilience
- Linking resilience to other frameworks
- Conclusion
- Chapter 9. Grasping complexity
- Introduction
- The constitution of complexity
- Manifestations of complexity
- Consequences of complexity
- Conclusion
- Chapter 10. Governing and governmentalisation
- Introduction
- Perspectives on governing and governmentalisation
- Governing complex sustainability challenges
- The governmentalisation of sustainability
- Conclusion
- Chapter 11. The world as human-environment systems
- Introduction
- Why human-environment systems?
- Systems approaches and concepts
- Constructing human-environment systems
- Conclusion
- Part III. Changing the world
- Chapter 12. Science and change
- Introduction
- The sciences of the complemental
- Two scientific processes
- Reliability, validity and workability
- Limitations of science for change
- Conclusion
- Chapter 13. Understanding resistance to knowledge and change
- Introduction
- Resistance to knowledge and change
- Factors driving resistance to knowledge and change
- Overcoming resistance to knowledge and change
- Conclusion
- Chapter 14. Capacity development for resilience
- Introduction
- Defining capacity development
- Deconditioning capacity development
- Designing capacity development
- Conclusion
- Chapter 15. Social change for a resilient society
- Introduction
- Describing social change
- Prescribing social change
- Conclusion
- Chapter 16. On a bumpy road from Industria to Sustainia?
- Introduction
- Unfolding Sustainia
- Investigating changes in production, cognition and coercion
- Conclusion
- Chapter 17. Concluding remarks
- Introduction
- The state of the world
- Approaching the world
- Changing the world
- Conclusion
- Index
- No. of pages: 552
- Language: English
- Edition: 2
- Published: November 1, 2023
- Imprint: Elsevier
- Paperback ISBN: 9780323956406
- eBook ISBN: 9780323956918
PB
Per Becker
Per Becker is a Professor of Risk and Sustainability at Lund University (Sweden), Research Professor of Climate, Environment
and Sustainability at NORCE (Norway), and Extraordinary Professor of Environmental Sciences and Management at
North-West University (South Africa). He has an interdisciplinary background with a PhD in Sociology and another PhD in
Engineering and has combined academia with a professional career for international organisations and public authorities.
His research group has had a significant impact on policy and practice concerning issues of risk and sustainability, perhaps
most notably, as a leading scientific provider of knowledge cited in global UN policies concerning capacity development
and as a trusted partner to a range of local authorities, governmental agencies, and international organisations.
Affiliations and expertise
Division of Risk Management and Societal Safety, Lund University, Sweden; Climate, Environment, and Sustainability, NORCE Norwegian Research Centre, Norway; and Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, South AfricaRead Sustainability Science on ScienceDirect