1. Developing Transdisciplinary Approaches to Sustainability Challenges
- Author
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Silva, Fabio, Coward, Fiona, Davies, Kimberley, Elliott, Sarah, Jenkins, Emma, Newton, Adrian, Riris, Philip, Linden, Marc Vander, Bates, Jennifer, Cantarello, Elena, Contreras, Daniel A., Crabtree, Stefani, Crema, Enrico Ryunosuke, Edwards, Mary, Filatova, Tatiana, Fitzhugh, Ben, Fluck, Hannah, Freeman, Jacob, Goldewijk, Kees Klein, Krzyzanska, Marta, Lawrence, Dan, Mackay, Helen, Madella, Marco, Maezumi, S. Yoshi, Marchant, Robert, Monsarrat, Sophie, Morrison, Kathleen D., Rabett, Ryan, Roberts, Patrick, Saqalli, Mehdi, Stafford, Richard, Svenning, Jens-Christian, Whitehouse, Nicola, Williams, Alice, Integr. Assessm. Global Environm. Change, Environmental Sciences, Integr. Assessm. Global Environm. Change, Environmental Sciences, Bournemouth University [Poole] (BU), Institut méditerranéen de biodiversité et d'écologie marine et continentale (IMBE), Avignon Université (AU)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Institut de recherche pour le développement [IRD] : UMR237-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), University of York [York, UK], Department of Anthropology [University of Pennsylvania], University of Pennsylvania, Géographie de l'environnement (GEODE), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, University of Oxford, Newton, AC [0000-0003-3591-6089], Vander Linden, M [0000-0002-0120-7754], Bates, J [0000-0002-7100-4741], Cantarello, E [0000-0001-7529-2018], Crabtree, SA [0000-0001-8585-8943], Crema, ER [0000-0001-6727-5138], Fitzhugh, B [0000-0001-5347-2237], Klein Goldewijk, K [0000-0003-2714-7507], Lawrence, D [0000-0001-5613-1243], Mackay, H [0000-0002-8705-8330], Madella, M [0000-0002-9324-1545], Maezumi, SY [0000-0002-4333-1972], Marchant, R [0000-0001-5013-4056], Monsarrat, S [0000-0002-6220-5306], Rabett, R [0000-0002-1876-2199], Saqalli, M [0000-0001-5405-466X], Stafford, R [0000-0002-1964-5787], Svenning, JC [0000-0002-3415-0862], Whithouse, NJ [0000-0002-7044-6492], and Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository
- Subjects
longue duree ,Monitoring ,Computer Networks and Communications ,longue durée ,Geography, Planning and Development ,Energy Engineering and Power Technology ,transdisciplinarity ,archaeology ,paleoecology ,history ,prehistory ,modelling ,Environmental Science (miscellaneous) ,Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law ,Computer Science (miscellaneous) ,Renewable Energy ,SDG 15 - Life on Land ,Planning and Development ,Geography ,Sustainability and the Environment ,Policy and Law ,Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment ,Building and Construction ,[SHS.ANTHRO-SE]Humanities and Social Sciences/Social Anthropology and ethnology ,[SDE.ES]Environmental Sciences/Environmental and Society ,Management ,Hardware and Architecture - Abstract
Human beings are an active component of every terrestrial ecosystem on Earth. Although our local impact on the evolution of these ecosystems has been undeniable and extensively documented, it remains unclear precisely how our activities are altering them, in part because ecosystems are dynamic systems structured by complex, non-linear feedback processes and cascading effects. We argue that it is only by studying human–environment interactions over timescales that greatly exceed the lifespan of any individual human (i.e., the deep past or longue durée), we can hope to fully understand such processes and their implications. In this article, we identify some of the key challenges faced in integrating long-term datasets with those of other areas of sustainability science, and suggest some useful ways forward. Specifically, we (a) highlight the potential of the historical sciences for sustainability science, (b) stress the need to integrate theoretical frameworks wherein humans are seen as inherently entangled with the environment, and (c) propose formal computational modelling as the ideal platform to overcome the challenges of transdisciplinary work across large, and multiple, geographical and temporal scales. Our goal is to provide a manifesto for an integrated scientific approach to the study of socio-ecological systems over the long term. 1. Introduction 2. The Importance of the Longue Durée 3. The Knotty Problem of Humans 4. Transdisciplinary Integration through Computational Modelling 4.1. Modelling as a Platform 4.2. Data Challenges 4.3. The Question of Scale 5. The (Im)practicalities of Transdisciplinarity 6. Concluding Remarks
- Published
- 2022
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