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The relationship between resilience and sustainability of ecological-economic systems

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Author Info

  • Derissen, Sandra
  • Quaas, Martin F.
  • Baumgärtner, Stefan

Abstract

Resilience as a descriptive concept gives insight into the dynamic properties of an ecological-economic system. Sustainability as a normative concept captures basic ideas of intergenerational justice when human well-being depends on natural capital and services. Thus, resilience and sustainability are independent concepts. In this paper, we discuss the relationship between resilience and sustainability of ecological-economic systems. We use a simple dynamic model where two natural capital stocks provide ecosystem services that are complements for human well-being, to illustrate different possible cases of the relationship between resilience and sustainability, and to identify the conditions under which each of those will hold: a) resilience of the system is necessary, but not sufficient, for sustainability; b) resilience of the system is sufficient, but not necessary, for sustainability; c) resilience of the system is neither necessary nor sufficient for sustainability; and d) resilience is both necessary and sufficient for sustainability. We conclude that more criteria than just resilience have to be taken into account when designing policies for the sustainable development of ecological-economic systems, and, vice versa, the property of resilience should not be confused with the positive normative connotations of sustainability.

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Bibliographic Info

Article provided by Elsevier in its journal Ecological Economics.

Volume (Year): 70 (2011)
Issue (Month): 6 (April)
Pages: 1121-1128

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Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:70:y:2011:i:6:p:1121-1128

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Web page: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolecon

Related research

Keywords: Ecosystem resilience Dynamics Management of ecological-economic systems Sustainability;

References

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  1. Charles Perrings & David Stern, 2000. "Modelling Loss of Resilience in Agroecosystems: Rangelands in Botswana," Environmental & Resource Economics, European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 16(2), pages 185-210, June.
  2. Martinet, Vincent & Thebaud, Olivier & Doyen, Luc, 2007. "Defining viable recovery paths toward sustainable fisheries," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 411-422, December.
  3. Levin, Simon A. & Barrett, Scott & Aniyar, Sara & Baumol, William & Bliss, Christopher & Bolin, Bert & Dasgupta, Partha & Ehrlich, Paul & Folke, Carl & Gren, Ing-Marie & Holling, C.S. & Jansson, Annma, 1998. "Resilience in natural and socioeconomic systems," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 3(02), pages 221-262, May.
  4. Arrow, Kenneth & Bolin, Bert & Costanza, Robert & Dasgupta, Partha & Folke, Carl & Holling, C. S. & Jansson, Bengt-Owe & Levin, Simon & Maler, Karl-Goran & Perrings, Charles & Pimentel, David, 1995. "Economic growth, carrying capacity, and the environment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 91-95, November.
  5. World Commission on Environment and Development,, 1987. "Our Common Future," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192820808, September.
  6. Bretschger, Lucas & Pittel, Karen, 2008. "From time zero to infinity: transitional and long-run dynamics in capital–resource economies," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(06), pages 673-689, December.
  7. Karl-Göran Mäler, 2008. "Sustainable Development and Resilience in Ecosystems," Environmental & Resource Economics, European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 39(1), pages 17-24, January.
  8. Costanza, Robert, 1995. "Economic growth, carrying capacity, and the environment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 89-90, November.
  9. Mäler, K-G. & Xepapadeas, A. & Zeeuw, A.J. de, 2000. "The Economics of Shallow Lakes," Discussion Paper 2000-69, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
  10. Perrings, Charles, 2006. "Resilience and sustainable development," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 11(04), pages 417-427, August.
  11. Janssen, Marco A. & Anderies, John M. & Walker, Brian H., 2004. "Robust strategies for managing rangelands with multiple stable attractors," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 140-162, January.
  12. Stefan Baumgärtner & Martin F. Quaas, 2007. "Ecological-economic viability as a criterion of strong sustainability under uncertainty," Working Paper Series in Economics 67, University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics.
  13. Kjell Arne Brekke & Geir B. Asheim, 2002. "Sustainability when capital management has stochastic consequences," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 921-940.
  14. Common, Mick & Perrings, Charles, 1992. "Towards an ecological economics of sustainability," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 7-34, July.
  15. Bene, C. & Doyen, L. & Gabay, D., 2001. "A viability analysis for a bio-economic model," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 385-396, March.
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Citations

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Cited by:
  1. Sébastien Foudi, 2012. "Exploitation of soil biota ecosystem services in agriculture: a bioeconomic approach," Working Papers 2012-02, BC3.
  2. Martin F. Quaas & Daan van Soest & Stefan Baumgaertner, 2011. "Complementarity, impatience, and the resilience of natural-resource-dependent economies," Working Paper Series in Economics 220, University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics.

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