p.425-426 This review is divided into three parts. The first section reviews
concepts and multiple meanings of resilience as they have appeared in the literature. That section reviews examples of modeling
and field experiments that enrich our understanding of ecological change. The second section includes an assessment of how
resilience is related to other key ecosystem properties. The review concludes with a section on how ecological resilience
is key to management of complex systems of people and nature.
p.433 One reason why rigid scientific and technological approaches
fail is because they presume a system near equilibrium and a constancy of relationships. In this case, uncertainties
arise not from errors in tools or models but from a lack of appropriate information for the models. Another reason for failure
is that few approaches account for inherent complex relationships among variables that lead to inherent unpredictabilities
in ecological systems... recent models by Carpenter and others... indicate that ecosystem resilience must be continually
probed.
p.433 The other view is integrative and holistic, searching for
simple structures and relationships that explain much of nature’s complexity. This view provides the underpinnings
for an approach to dealing with resource issues called adaptive management, which assumes surprises
are inevitable, that knowledge will always be incomplete, and that human interaction with ecosystems will always be evolving.
p.434 In order to add resilience to managed systems, at
least three strategies are employed: increasing the buffering capacity of the system, managing for processes at multiple
scales, and nurturing sources of renewal.
p.436 Resilience is maintained by focusing on keystone structuring processes
that cross scales, on sources of renewal and reformation, and on multiple sources of capital and skills. No single
mechanism can guarantee maintenance of resilience. Strategies that address requisite variety of purposes
and concentrate on renewal contribute to resilience. Institutions should focus on learning, and understanding of
key cross-scale interactions.
