Sustainability science: an ecohealth perspective |
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Authors: | David J Rapport |
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Institution: | (1) Institute for Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China;(2) Ecohealth Consulting, Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada, V8K 2N6 |
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Abstract: | Sustainability science is emerging as a transdisciplinary effort to come to grips with the much-needed symbiosis between human
activity and the environment. While there is recognition that conventional economic growth must yield to policies that foster
sustainable development, this has not yet occurred on any broad scale. Rather, there is clear evidence that the Earth’s ecosystems
and landscapes continue to degrade as a consequence of the cumulative impact of human activities. Taking an ecohealth approach
to sustainability science provides a unique perspective on both the goals and the means to achieve sustainability. The goals
should be the restoration of full functionality to the Earth’s ecosystems and landscapes, as measured by the key indicators
of health: resilience, organization, vitality (productivity), and the absence of ecosystem distress syndrome. The means should
be the coordinated (spatially and temporally) efforts to modify human behaviors to reduce cumulative stress impacts. Achieving
ecosystem health should become the cornerstone of sustainability policy—for healthy ecosystems are the essential precondition
for achieving sustainable livelihoods, human health, and many other societal objectives, as reflected in the Millennium Development
Goals. |
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Keywords: | Ecosystem health Sustainability science Transdisciplinarity Ecosystem distress syndrome Ecological indicators Human activity and the environment |
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