A complexity approach to sustainability : theory and application / Angela Espinosa, Jon Walker.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Espinosa Salazar, Angela Ma. (Angela María)

Contributor:

Walker, Jon.

Series:

World scientific series on complexity science, 1755-7453 ; v. 1.

World scientific series on complexity science, 1755-7453 ; v. 1

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sustainable development.

Environmental management.

System analysis.

Physical Description:

xxvii, 361 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Singapore ; Hackensack, NJ : World Scientific, [2011]

Summary:

This series will address aspects of complexity in a range of social and natural sciences, and in so doing help define and mature the science of complexity itself. In this first volume, Epinosa (business, Hull U., Britain) and Walker, an independent British researcher, describe how to manage complexity in large, interactive socio-ecological systems, focusing on the Viable Systems Model. Understanding how complex systems work and how they interact with each other is necessary, they argue, to redesign social and economic systems to create a sustainable society. After defining the concepts of complexity and sustainability, they discuss viability through complexity management, societies as viable systems, complexity and environmental management, rethinking sustainable development, and envisioning solutions for the required societal transition. Distributed in the US by World Scientific. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Contents:

1 Introducing Complexity and Sustainability 1

1.1 Why We Need a New Approach 1

1.2 The Need for a New Paradigm 3

1.3 Sustainability 4

1.4 Conceptual Platform: Systems, Cybernetics and Complexity 6

1.4.1 Systems 6

1.4.2 Cybernetics 8

1.4.3 Complex Systems 14

1.5 Sustainability: A Review from Systemic and Complexity Approaches 16

1.5.1 Holistic and Ecological Thinking 16

1.5.2 A Systemic Approach to Sustainability 18

1.5.3 Revisiting the Idea of Sustainability from a Complexity Approach 21

1.5.4 Sustainability and Governance 23

1.6 Summary 25

2 Viability through Complexity Management: Revisiting the Viable Systems Model 27

2.1 The Conceptual Platform 27

2.1.1 Inspiration 27

2.1.2 Models and Observers 29

2.1.3 Co-evolution: Organisms in their Niche 31

2.1.4 Recursion: Systems within Systems within Systems 33

2.1.5 Variety, Requisite Variety and Variety Engineering 35

2.2 Overview: Three Elements, Five Systems 37

2.2.1 The Three Elements: Environment, Operation and Meta-system 37

2.2.2 The Three Elements as a Homeostatic System 40

2.2.3 The Five Systems: Physiological Inspiration 41

2.2.4 Diagrammatic Representation 43

2.3 The Five Systems 44

2.3.1 System 1 44

2.3.2 System 2 46

2.3.3 System 3 47

2.3.4 System 3* 50

2.3.5 System 4 51

2.3.6 System 5 53

2.4 Viability through Complexity Management 55

2.4.1 Review: Operation, Meta-system and Environment 55

2.4.2 An Example: An Individual as a Viable System 56

2.4.3 Variety Engineering: Vertical and Horizontal Axes 58

2.4.4 Meta-systemic Management 60

2.4.5 Homeostasis and Self-regulation 61

2.4.6 Real-time Management 63

2.5 Managing Complexity in the 3/4/5 Homeostat: Team Syntegrity 65

2.6 Viable Systems, Complex Adaptive Systems and Sustainability 67

2.7 Summary 73

3 Societies as Viable Systems: Complexity Management and Sustainability 75

3.1 Introduction 75

3.2 Modelling a Sustainable Society 77

3.2.1 First: Co-evolution with the Environment 78

3.2.2 Second: Autonomy and Cohesion 84

3.2.3 Third: Recursive Governance 90

3.3 VSM Criteria for Sustainable Governance 93

3.4 Approaches, Methodologies and Tools 96

3.4.1 Our Approach to Facilitate Organisational Transformations 96

3.4.2 VSM Methodologies and Applications 97

3.4.3 A Framework to Facilitate Organisational Self-Transformation 98

3.4.4 Team Syntegrity - Methodology and Applications 103

3.5 Managing Complexity in a Nation State 106

3.5.1 Modelling the Nation State: A Colombian Case Study (1998) 107

3.5.2 Modelling the Social Economy: The Cybersyn Project (1972, 1973) 113

3.5.3 Case Study: The Gorgona Syntegration (Colombia, 1996) 122

3.6 Lessons for Modelling Sustainable Societies 124

3.7 Conclusion 128

4 Complexity and Environmental Management 131

4.1. Environmental Management: Origins, Development, Application and Assessment 132

4.1.1 Environmental Management Origins 132

4.1.2 Environmental Management Development 133

4.1.3 Environmental Management Application 136

4.1.4 Assessment of Current Approaches to Environmental Management 139

4.2 Holistic and Complex System Approaches to Environmental Management 140

4.2.1 Systemic Approaches to Environmental Management 142

4.2.2 Our Theoretical Framework vs. Environmental Management 146

4.3 Environmental Management in Business 147

4.3.1 Introduction: Symptoms and Root Causes 147

4.3.2 Co-operative Design for a Sustainable Business 148

4.3.3 Environmental Management: The Fisheries Industry 160

4.4 Case Study: Environmental Management from the Magdalena River Basin 163

4.4.1 Modelling Environmental Management in the Nation 164

4.4.2 Example of VSM Diagnosis 165

4.4.3 Meta-systemic Management 169

4.4.4 Networks of Eco-communities 170

4.4.5 Criteria to Design the National Environmental Information System 171

4.4.6 Discussion 172

4.4.7 Learning from the Experience 174

4.5 Towards a Complexity-based Framework for Environmental Management 176

4.6 Conclusion 182

4.6.1 System 5 Policies 183

4.6.2 Outside and Then 184

4.6.3 Inside and Now 184

4.6.4 Recursive Mapping 185

5 Rethinking Sustainable Development 187

5.1 Approaches to Sustainable Development 188

5.1.1 Mainstream Paradigm and Dominant Approaches 192

5.1.2 Unexpected Results: Inequitable Outcomes 195

5.1.3 Societal Complexification and Governance 197

5.2 Rethinking the Paradigm of Development 199

5.2.1 Holistic and Complexity Views on Development 199

5.2.2 Rethinking the Intervention Paradigm 202

5.2.3 Redesigning Governance Structures 205

5.3 Self-governance in Communities: Developing a European Eco-village 208

5.3.1 Background on the Project: The Eco-Community 208

5.3.2 Methodological Approach 209

5.3.3 The Learning Process 210

5.3.4 Progress to Date 212

5.3.5 What Comes Next? 216

5.3.6 Ongoing Complexity Analyses 217

5.3.7 Discussion 218

5.4 From Sustainable Development to Sustainable Governance 220

5.4.1 Alternative Models of Governance 223

5.4.2 Redesigning Governance: Democratic Participation 224

5.4.3 Redesigning Governance: New Measuring Systems 226

5.5 Case Study: Developing a Governance System for a National Programme against Poverty 229

5.5.1 Programme Design: An Innovative Approach 229

5.5.2 Implementation 231

5.5.3 The Monitoring System 233

5.5.4 Running the Programmes: the Control Loop 235

5.5.5 Assessment of Impact on Poverty 238

5.5.6 Relevance to Sustainable Development 240

5.6. Conclusions 242

5.6.1 Contributions to Sustainable Development 242

5.6.2 Challenges for Implementation of a Complexity Approach to Sustainability 246

6 Envisioning Solutions for the Required Societal Transition 249

6.1 The Required Societal Transition 249

6.1.1 What Can be Done: Reflections at Each Level of Organisation 250

6.1.2 Defining the Levels of Recursion 251

6.2 From Individuals to Families, Neighbourhoods, Communities and Towns 253

6.2.1 Recursion 1: An Individual Attempting to Live Sustainably 253

6.2.2 Recursion 2: A Family Unit Attempting to Live Sustainably 255

6.2.3 Recursion 3: The Neighbourhood/Community Attempting to Live Sustainably 256

6.2.4 Case Study: Designing a New Agora 260

6.2.5 Recursion 4: A Town Attempting to Live Sustainably 263

6.2.6 Case Study: Transition Towns 266

6.3 from the Eco-region to the Continental Levels 268

6.3.1 Recursion 5: An Eco-Region Attempting to Live Sustainably 266

6.3.2 Recursion 6: A Nation Attempting to Live Sustainably 272

6.3.3 Case Study: Transition Management 274

6.3.4 Case Study: Transition Management in the Netherlands 276

6.3.5 Case Study: Managing Complexity in the Transition Network 278

6.3.6 Recursion 7: A Continent Striving Towards Sustainability 284

6.4 The Global Recursion: A Planetary Society Striving Towards Sustainability 285

6.4.1 Global Recursion: Co-Evolution with the Environment 287

6.4.2 Case Study: 'Cap and Share' 293

6.5 Conclusions 295

7 Conclusions 299

7.1 System 5: Identity and the Need to Adopt a New Paradigm of Sustainable Governance 301

7.2 Need for Recursive Sustainable Self-governance 303

7.3 Co-evolution Between an Organisation and Its Niche 305

7.4 Structural Design 307

7.5 Creating a Co-evolutionary Learning Society 308

7.6 Contributions to the Development of Complexity Sciences 309

7.7 Final Statement 310.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN:

9781848165274

1848165277

OCLC:

449894914