Transcript Sustainability Science - University of Vermont

sustainability science
Joshua C. Farley
University of Vermont
Community Development and Applied Economics
Gund Institute for Ecological Economics
Outline of presentation
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What is Sustainability Science?
Why is sustainability science different from
traditional academic disciplines?
Why is traditional academia incompatible
with sustainability science?
How should we be teaching, learning and
conducting research in sustainability
science?
What is Sustainability Science?
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Is it an objective science which seeks to
maintain the scale of human society within
physically defined carrying capacity of
planet?
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Interdisciplinary endeavor: ecology, biology,
physics, chemistry, etc. plus policy sciences
Or is the goal to ensure that costs of human
encroachment on the sustaining ecosystem
do not outweigh the benefits for this or
future generations?
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Transdisciplinary endeavor: ethics, philosophy,
psychology, economics, cultural values, etc.
Why is sustainability science
different from traditional
academic disciplines?
Requires system thinking
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Inherent complexity
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How do the pieces interact?
Study of a rapidly evolving system
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What are the feedback loops driving system
evolution?
Post normal science
• Uncertainty and
ignorance
• Values matter
• Decisions are urgent
• Stakes are high
Transdisciplinary
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In the university there are disciplines, in the
real world there are problems
Communication and understanding across
disciplines is essential
Communication with sectors outside of
academia is essential
Why is traditional academia
incompatible with sustainability
science?
Academic Autism
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What is Autism? A disorder characterize by:
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abnormal subjectivity
marked deficits in communication and social
interaction
marked withdrawal from reality
abnormal behavior, such as… excessive
attachment to certain objects
Disciplinarity
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Useful for analysis
A blinder for synthesis, system thinking
Hinders communication
Leads to incomplete view of reality
Methodology determines problems
Methodologies drive the discipline.
Objective truth seeking vs. action
oriented research
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Traditional role is neutral scientist,
unbiased objective research
Sustainability science demands solutions
now. We need to do research that matters
and we need to communicate and apply its
results.
Sustainability Science and
Professional Advancement
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Publication in peer reviewed journals
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NSF report on transdisciplinarity recommends
that junior faculty do not engage in
transdisciplinary research
Collaboration across disciplines not
rewarded
Sustainability Science and Funding
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Collaboration across schools and
departments complicated and discouraged
NSF and others are encouraging
interdisciplinary research
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Biocomplexity
IGERT
Others
Lack of qualified peer reviewers
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Still relatively small community of
interdisciplinary researchers, considerable
collaborative work
How should we be teaching, learning
and conducting research in
sustainability science?
Problem Based Learning
•New science: we are all students
•We need to train problem solvers
•Gives students the opportunity to empirically
test theories as we learn them
•Too difficult to learn transdisciplinary thinking
in the abstract
•Values matter, Stakeholders need to play a role
Working with Stakeholders
Community sponsors as a link to stakeholders
•NGOs, Community groups, government departments
•'Community' context dependent
Role of stakeholders
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Integrate stakeholder into every aspect of
the problem
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Framing the problem
Local knowledge
Stakeholder values
Also need to work with unbiased
‘stakeholders’, those who care about the
problem but are not directly affected
Focus on Synthesis…
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Communication across disciplines
Integrative Methodologies
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Systems thinking and modeling
Multi-criteria Analysis
Mediated modeling
Policy implications
… and Communication
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Communicate to those who act on
information
Format appropriate to goal
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Proposal for environmental protected area
submitted to municipal government
Brochure on benefits of riparian reforestation
distributed to reforestation groups and farmers
Editorials
Reports to government agencies
Press conferences
Government briefings
Academic articles
Peer review
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Extended peer review
Relax criterion for collaborator review
while pool of qualified reviewers builds
Summary
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Sustainability science confronts new
problems, demands new approaches from
academia
Move away from study of disciplines and
towards study of problems
Values matter: we need to integrate “nonexpert” opinion
Sustainability science needs to be actionoriented
Moving in the right direction, but a long
ways to go