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The purpose of this paper is to clarify the interpretation of "orientor"
concept and to point out the main values and fields that the orientor theory uses. In order to understand the
context in which the orientor theory has been developed it is necessary to look at the sustainability approach and the other
two theories that orientors are closely connected to - the theory of self-organization and the gradient theory.
1. “Orientors are aspects, notions, properties or dimensions
which can be used as criteria to describe and evaluate the system�s developmental stage “(Bossel H., 1992)... As
long as the orientor lies within a certain range of values, a development towards a specific goal, resulting state or attractor
is ensured.
2. There is a need for systems to react to the environmental properties
of normal environmental state, scarce resources, variety, variability, change and other systems. Thus their structures
and reaction mechanisms will be built up by some fundamental criteria or so called ‘basic orientors’...
the more these basic orientors are fulfilled by a system, the fitter and further developed it is... every orientor
stands for an unique requirement which cannot be compensated by over-fulfillment of another orientor, but it can
happen that sacrifices have to be made in one orientor to support the other. While evolving in a normal environment, an ecosystem
has to ensure minimum or balanced satisfaction of each of the basic orientors (Bossel H., 1998), as its health and fitness
depends on it.
3. The basic statement of Spangenberg (2007) is that orientors are conditions
that we can apply to (eco)systems in order to judge their sustainability.
4. According to F. M�ller (2005), it is possible to use an alternative formulation
for the ecological components of sustainable development: "meet the needs of future generations" in this context means "keep
available the ecosystem services on a long-term, intergenerational and a broad scale, intragenerational level".
5.
- “[The orientor approach] refers to the idea of self-organizing processes,
that are able to build up gradients and macroscopic structures from the microscopic 'disorder' of non-structured, homogeneous
element distributions in open systems, without receiving directing regulations from the outside” (M�ller F. and Fath
B., 1998).
- The respective state variables which are used to elucidate these dynamics,
are termed orientors. Their technical counterparts in modeling are called goal functions (M�ller F. and Fath B., 1998).
- “The term ‘orientor’ is used to denote
(explicit or implicit) normative concepts that direct behavior and development of systems in general. In
the social context, values and norms, objectives and goals are important orientors. Ecosystems and organisms pursue certain
goal functions as orientors (M�ller F., 1996) […] Orientors are ‘dimensions of concern’; they
are not specific goals.”(Bossel H., 1998).
- (Bossel H., 1992) "The corresponding ecological state variables will
be called orientors in this text, reflecting the fact that their dynamics seems to be oriented toward certain attractor points."
...the developmental tendencies can be observed by means of orientors (M�ller
F. et al., 1998), which on the one hand, avoid the usual restrictions to structural units by integrating the important functional
ecosystem elements and, on the other hand, include indirect, chronic and delayed effects and impacts into evaluation procedures.
As
a conclusion we can say that orientors are consequences of Darwinian evolution on the ecosystem level. In Darwin's
thoughts the varying conditions of existence are the main cause for the differences between parents and their offspring. Furthermore,
it is not the individual or an ecosystem which chooses to adapt to certain conditions, it is its fitness and it is natural
selection which chooses the fittest individuals
6. The orientor approach to analysis of succession in specific ecosystems,
based on hypotheses about the effects of ecosystem component changes on ecosystem development, enables one to tie the many
complex behaviors, interactions and developments of an ecosystem together into easily handled and monitorable "bundles" of
information from which management conclusions can be drawn...
The ‘amoeba diagram’ is an especially useful tool for portraying
ecosystem changes and results to non-scientific or policy-making audiences. The orientor approach gives us therefore
both an analytic as well as a prognostic tool for ecosystem management. It can be imagined, that in the future,
as experience and knowledge about ecosystem response and development increase, as techniques for monitoring ecosystem components
improve, that this particular employment of ecosystem theory will become commonplace among managers and decision-makers.
So
far as ecological systems are characterized by a very high capability for self-organization and have been evolving for billions
of years it makes sense to use and apply the orientors' signals in practical management of a more near-nature manner, that
can prove to be a profound and promising strategy and contribute to the ecological goals of sustainable development (M�ller
F. et al., 1998).
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