IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/envsyd/v40y2020i2d10.1007_s10669-020-09778-9.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Lessons from the past, policies for the future: resilience and sustainability in past crises

Author

Listed:
  • John Haldon

    (Princeton University)

  • Merle Eisenberg

    (National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center)

  • Lee Mordechai

    (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

  • Adam Izdebski

    (Max-Planck-Inst. for the Science of Human History, PI)

  • Sam White

    (Ohio State University)

Abstract

This article surveys some examples of the ways past societies have responded to environmental stressors such as famine, war, and pandemic. We show that people in the past did think about system recovery, but only on a sectoral scale. They did perceive challenges and respond appropriately, but within cultural constraints and resource limitations. Risk mitigation was generally limited in scope, localized, and again determined by cultural logic that may not necessarily have been aware of more than symptoms, rather than actual causes. We also show that risk-managing and risk-mitigating arrangements often favored the vested interests of elites rather than the population more widely, an issue policy makers today still face.

Suggested Citation

  • John Haldon & Merle Eisenberg & Lee Mordechai & Adam Izdebski & Sam White, 2020. "Lessons from the past, policies for the future: resilience and sustainability in past crises," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 40(2), pages 287-297, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:envsyd:v:40:y:2020:i:2:d:10.1007_s10669-020-09778-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s10669-020-09778-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10669-020-09778-9
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10669-020-09778-9?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Berkes, Fikret & Ross, Helen, 2016. "Panarchy and community resilience: Sustainability science and policy implications," Environmental Science & Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 185-193.
    2. Anderies, John M., 2006. "Robustness, institutions, and large-scale change in social-ecological systems: the Hohokam of the Phoenix Basin," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 2(2), pages 133-155, August.
    3. Lee Mordechai & Merle Eisenberg & Timothy P. Newfield & Adam Izdebski & Janet E. Kay & Hendrik Poinar, 2019. "The Justinianic Plague: An inconsequential pandemic?," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 116(51), pages 25546-25554, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Pató Beáta Sz.G. & Herczeg Márk, 2020. "The Effect of the Covid-19 on the Automotive Supply Chains," Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai Oeconomica, Sciendo, vol. 65(2), pages 1-11, August.
    2. D. G. Webster & Semra A. Aytur & Mark Axelrod & Robyn S. Wilson & Joseph A. Hamm & Linda Sayed & Amber L. Pearson & Pedro Henrique C. Torres & Alero Akporiaye & Oran Young, 2022. "Learning from the Past: Pandemics and the Governance Treadmill," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-26, March.
    3. Dixon, John M. & Weerahewa, Jeevika & Hellin, Jon & Rola-Rubzen, Maria Fay & Huang, Jikun & Kumar, Shalander & Das, Anup & Qureshi, Muhammad Ejaz & Krupnik, Timothy J. & Shideed, Kamil & Jat, Mangi L., 2021. "Response and resilience of Asian agrifood systems to COVID-19: An assessment across twenty-five countries and four regional farming and food systems," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    4. Benjamin D. Trump & Igor Linkov, 2020. "Risk and resilience in the time of the COVID-19 crisis," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 40(2), pages 171-173, June.
    5. Smith, Michael E., 2022. "How can Research on Past Urban Adaptations be Made Useful for Sustainability Science?," SocArXiv 3fy5b, Center for Open Science.
    6. Adhikari, Jagannath & Timsina, Jagadish & Khadka, Sarba Raj & Ghale, Yamuna & Ojha, Hemant, 2021. "COVID-19 impacts on agriculture and food systems in Nepal: Implications for SDGs," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kai Greenlees & Randolph Cornelius, 2021. "The promise of panarchy in managed retreat: converging psychological perspectives and complex adaptive systems theory," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 11(3), pages 503-510, September.
    2. Edward L. Glaeser, 2021. "Urban Resilience," NBER Working Papers 29261, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Fabio Silva & Fiona Coward & Kimberley Davies & Sarah Elliott & Emma Jenkins & Adrian C. Newton & Philip Riris & Marc Vander Linden & Jennifer Bates & Elena Cantarello & Daniel A. Contreras & Stefani , 2022. "Developing Transdisciplinary Approaches to Sustainability Challenges: The Need to Model Socio-Environmental Systems in the Longue Durée," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-20, August.
    4. D. G. Webster & Semra A. Aytur & Mark Axelrod & Robyn S. Wilson & Joseph A. Hamm & Linda Sayed & Amber L. Pearson & Pedro Henrique C. Torres & Alero Akporiaye & Oran Young, 2022. "Learning from the Past: Pandemics and the Governance Treadmill," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-26, March.
    5. Quaranta Giovanni & Salvia Rosanna, 2014. "An Index to Measure Rural Diversity in the Light of Rural Resilience and Rural Development Debate," European Countryside, Sciendo, vol. 6(2), pages 1-18, June.
    6. Giovanni Zanchetta & Monica Bini & Kevin Bloomfield & Adam Izdebski & Nicola Vivoli & Eleonora Regattieri & Ilaria Isola & Russell N. Drysdale & Petra Bajo & John C. Hellstrom & Robert Wiśniewski & An, 2021. "Beyond one-way determinism: San Frediano’s miracle and climate change in Central and Northern Italy in late antiquity," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 165(1), pages 1-21, March.
    7. C. Emdad Haque & Mahed-Ul-Islam Choudhury & Md. Sowayib Sikder, 2019. "“Events and failures are our only means for making policy changes”: learning in disaster and emergency management policies in Manitoba, Canada," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 98(1), pages 137-162, August.
    8. Fielke, Simon J. & Kaye-Blake, William & Mackay, Alec & Smith, Willie & Rendel, John & Dominati, Estelle, 2018. "Learning from resilience research: Findings from four projects in New Zealand," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 322-333.
    9. Angelo Jonas Imperiale & Frank Vanclay, 2021. "Conceptualizing community resilience and the social dimensions of risk to overcome barriers to disaster risk reduction and sustainable development," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(5), pages 891-905, September.
    10. K. Mix & V. Lopes & W. Rast, 2015. "A Systems Approach to Understanding the Evolution of the Agro-Social-Ecological System of the Upper Rio Grande-San Luis Valley, Colorado," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 29(2), pages 233-251, January.
    11. Remi Jedwab & Noel D. Johnson & Mark Koyama, 2020. "Medieval Cities Through the Lens of Urban Economic Theories," Working Papers 2020-9, The George Washington University, Institute for International Economic Policy.
    12. David G. Angeler & Craig R. Allen & Ahjond S. Garmestani & Lance H. Gunderson & Igor Linkov, 2016. "Panarchy use in environmental science for risk and resilience planning," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 36(3), pages 225-228, September.
    13. McKibbin, Warwick & Fernando, Roshen, 2023. "The global economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    14. Gavin Melles & Ethmadalage Dineth Perera, 2020. "Resilience Thinking and Strategies to Reclaim Sustainable Rural Livelihoods: Cascade Tank-Village System (CTVS) in Sri Lanka," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-16, October.
    15. Jedwab, Remi & Johnson, Noel D. & Koyama, Mark, 2022. "Medieval cities through the lens of urban economics," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    16. Katherine E. Laycock & Wayne Caldwell, 2018. "Exploring Community Cohesion in Rural Canada Post-Extreme Weather: Planning Ahead for Unknown Stresses," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 139(1), pages 77-97, August.
    17. Fikret Berkes, 2017. "Environmental Governance for the Anthropocene? Social-Ecological Systems, Resilience, and Collaborative Learning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-12, July.
    18. M. R. Mahendrini Fernando Ariyachandra & Gayan Wedawatta, 2023. "Digital Twin Smart Cities for Disaster Risk Management: A Review of Evolving Concepts," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-25, August.
    19. Yayut Yishiuan Chen, 2020. "Decolonizing Methodologies, Situated Resilience, and Country: Insights from Tayal Country, Taiwan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-19, November.
    20. David Kaniewski & Nick Marriner, 2020. "Conflicts and the spread of plagues in pre-industrial Europe," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 7(1), pages 1-10, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:envsyd:v:40:y:2020:i:2:d:10.1007_s10669-020-09778-9. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.