Reconnecting to the Biosphere

The effort of engendering interdisciplinary dialogue

A group of 22 authors, all prestigious names in the various fields of natural sciences, management of the commons and normative problems of socio-environmental systems, political sciences, resource managements, geography, modelling etc., have recently published a paper titled “Reconnecting to the Biosphere” (AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment, 40(7):719-738. 2011 (http://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/publication/folke-carl-reconnecting-biosphere)
This publication testifies the effort of engendering interdisciplinary dialogue - developed and deepened over time - in order to develop new conceptual tools for ‘reframing ’ human life and actions as part of the natural systems hosting us.

We report the summary here:
Humanity has emerged as a major force in the operation of the biosphere, with a significant imprint on the Earth System, challenging social–ecological resilience. This new situation calls for a fundamental shift in perspectives, world views, and institutions. Human development and progress must be reconnected to the capacity of the biosphere and essential ecosystem services to be sustained. Governance challenges include a highly interconnected and faster world, cascading social–ecological interactions and planetary boundaries that create vulnerabilities but also opportunities for social–ecological change and transformation. Tipping points and thresholds highlight the importance of understanding and managing resilience. New modes of flexible governance are emerging. A central challenge is to reconnect these efforts to the changing preconditions for societal development as active stewards of the Earth System. We suggest that the Millennium Development Goals need to be reframed in such a planetary stewardship context combined with a call for a new social contract on global sustainability. The ongoing mind shift in human relations with Earth and its boundaries provides exciting opportunities for societal development in collaboration with the biosphere—a global sustainability agenda for humanity.

•   Privacy policy