Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Resilience thinking: a renewed system approach for sustainability science

  • Review Article
  • Published:
Sustainability Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper examines the contribution of resilience thinking for social-ecological systems (SESs) in understanding sustainability and the need to preserve natural resources in the face of external perturbations. Through qualitative and quantitative analysis, the literature survey shows the increased importance of resilience and its integration into the interdisciplinary area of sustainability studies. By exploring the links between resilience and sustainability, the analysis finds that these two concepts share some similarities and also highlight the differences. The discussion of resilience indicators, measuring criteria, models and management issues reveals how resilience contributes to sustainability science and in what ways the concept can be used to measure resilience in terms of sustainability. Most existing studies emphasise the ecological aspects of resilience, but only by including human activities in the modelling can resilience thinking inform sustainability in a meaningful way. The paper concludes defining issues requiring further investigation, such as identifying and managing the drivers and key elements of resilience in SESs, exploring the dynamics between critical variables of SESs and the system feedbacks to external perturbations, as well as evaluating policies and engaging stakeholders for building resilience.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adger WN (1997) Sustainability and social resilience in coastal resource use. The Centre for Social and Economic Research on the Global Environment (CSERGE) Working Paper GEC

  • Adger WN (2000) Social and ecological resilience: are they related? Prog Hum Geogr 24(3):347–364

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Adger WN (2003) Building resilience to promote sustainability. Newsl Int Hum Dimens Progr Glob Environm Chang 2:1–3

    Google Scholar 

  • Adger WN, Hughes TP, Folke C, Carpenter SR, Rockström J (2005) Social-ecological resilience to coastal disasters. Science 309:1036–1039

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ahern J (2011) From fail-safe to safe-to-fail: sustainability and resilience in the new urban world. Landsc Urban Plan 100:341–343

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allen CR, Angeler DG, Garmestani AS, Gunderson LH, Holling CS (2014) Panarchy: theory and application. Ecosystems doi:10.1007/s10021-013-9744-2

  • Allison HE, Hobbs RJ (2004) Resilience, adaptive capacity, and the “Lock-in Trap” of the Western Australian agricultural region. Ecol Soc 9(1):3

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderies JM, Janssen MA, Walker BH (2002) Grazing management, resilience, and the dynamics of a fire-driven rangeland system. Ecosystems 5:23–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arrow K, Bolin B, Costanza R, Dasgupta P, Folke C, Holling CS, Jansson B, Levin S, Mäler K, Perrings C, Pimentel D (1995) Economic growth, carrying capacity, and the environment. Science 268:520–521

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Barnosky AD, Hadly EA, Bascompte J, Berlow EL, Brown JH, Fortelius M, Getz WM, Harte J, Hastings A, Marquet PA, Martinez ND, Mooers A, Roopnarine P, Vermeij G, Williams JW, Gillespie R, Kitzes J, Marshall C, Matzke N, Mindell DP, Revilla E, Smith AB (2012) Approaching a state shift in Earth’s biosphere. Nature 486:52–58

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Baudo R (2002) Pollution and recovery of Lake Orta (Italy): resilience at work? Aquat Ecosyst Health Manag 5(1):71–78

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berkes F (2007) Understanding uncertainty and reducing vulnerability: lessons from resilience thinking. Nat Hazards 41:283–295

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berkes F, Folke C (eds) (2000) Linking social and ecological systems: management practices and social mechanisms for building resilience. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Berkes F, Colding J, Folke C (2000) Rediscovery of traditional ecological knowledge as adaptive management. Ecol Appl 10(5):1251–1262

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berkes F, Colding J, Folke C (2003) Navigating social-ecological systems: Building resilience for complexity and change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhui K (2014) A fine balance in the science of risk and resilience. Brit J Psychiat 204:413–414

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blythe JL (2014) Resilience and social thresholds in small-scale fishing communities. Sustain Sci. doi:10.1007/s11625-014-0253-9

    Google Scholar 

  • Bruneau M, Chang SE, Eguchi RT, Lee GC, O’Rourke TD, Reinhorn AM, Shinozuka M, Tierney K, Wallace WA, Winterfeldt D (2003) A framework to quantitatively assess and enhance the seismic resilience of communities. Earthq Spectra 19(4):733–752

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bueno N, Basurto X (2009) Resilience and collapse of artisanal fisheries: a system dynamics of a shellfish fishery in the Gulf of California, Mexico. Sustain Sci 4:139–149

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cabell JF, Oelofse M (2012) An indicator framework for assessing agroecosystem resilience. Ecol Soc 17(1):18

    Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter SR, Ludwig D, Brock W (1999) Management of eutrophication for lakes subject to potentially irreversible change. Ecol Appl 9(3):751–771

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter SR, Walker BH, Anderies JM, Abel N (2001) From metaphor to measurement: resilience of what to what? Ecosystems 4:765–781

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter SR, Westley F, Turner MG (2005) Surrogates for resilience of social-ecological systems. Ecosystems 8:941–944

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark WC (2007) Sustainability science: a room of its own. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 104(6):1737–1738

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Clark WC, Dickson NM (2003) Sustainability science: the emerging research program. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 100(14):8059–8061

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Conway G (1997) The doubly green revolution: food for all in the twenty-first century. Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca

    Google Scholar 

  • Daly HE (1994) Operationalizing sustainable development by investing in natural capital. In: Jansson AM, Hammer M, Folke C, Costanza R (eds) Investing in natural capital: the ecological economics approach to sustainability. Island Press, Washington DC, pp 22–37

    Google Scholar 

  • Darnhofer I, Fairweather J, Moller H (2010) Assessing a farm’s sustainability: insights from resilience thinking. Int J Agric Sustain 8(3):186–198

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Derissen S, Quaas MF, Baumgärtner S (2011) The relationship between resilience and sustainability of ecological-economic systems. Ecol Econ 70:1121–1128

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Endfield GH (2011) The resilience and adaptive capacity of social-environmental systems in colonial Mexico. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 109(10):3676–3681

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fiksel J (2006) Sustainability and resilience: toward a systems approach. Sustain Sci Pract Policy 2(2):14–21

    Google Scholar 

  • Folke C (2003) Freshwater for resilience: a shift in thinking. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 358:2027–2036

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Folke C (2006) Resilience: the emergence of a perspective for social-ecological systems analyses. Glob Environ Chang 16:253–267

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Folke C (2010) How resilient are ecosystems to global environmental change? Sustain Sci 5:151–154

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Folke C, Berkes F, Colding J (2000) Ecological practices and social mechanisms for building resilience and sustainability. In: Berkes F, Folke C (eds) Linking social and ecological systems: management practices and social mechanisms for building resilience. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 414–436

  • Folke C, Carpenter SR, Elmqvist T, Gunderson L, Holling CS, Walker BH, et al. (2002) Resilience and sustainable development: building adaptive capacity in a world of transformations. Scientific background paper on resilience for the process of the World Summit on Sustainable Development

  • Folke C, Carpenter SR, Scheffer M, Elmqvist T, Gunderson LH, Holling CS (2004) Regime shifts, resilience and biodiversity in ecosystem management. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst 35:557–581

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Folke C, Carpenter SR, Walker BH, Scheffer M, Chapin T, Rockström J (2010) Resilience thinking: integrating resilience, adaptability and transformability. Ecol Soc 15(4):20

    Google Scholar 

  • Golub A, Mahoney M, Harlow J (2013) Sustainability and intergenerational equity: do past injustices matter? Sustain Sci 8:269–277

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gotts NM (2007) Resilience, panarchy, and world-systems analysis. Ecol Soc 12(2):1–14

    Google Scholar 

  • Groffman PM, Baron JS, Blett T, Gold AJ, Goodman I, Gunderson LH, Levinson BM, Palmer MA, Paerl HW, Peterson GD, Poff NL, Rejeski DW, Reynolds JF, Turner MG, Weathers KC, Wiens J (2006) Ecological thresholds: the key to successful environmental management or an important concept with no practical application? Ecosystems 9:1–13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gunderson LH, Holling CS (eds) (2002) Panarchy: understanding transformations in human and natural systems. Island Press, Washington DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Gunderson LH, Carpenter SR, Folke C, Olsson P, Peterson G (2006) Water RATs (resilience, adaptability, and transformability) in lake and wetland social-ecological systems. Ecol Soc 11(1):16

    Google Scholar 

  • Gunderson LH, Allen CR, Holling CS (eds) (2010) Foundations of ecological resilience. Island Press, Washington DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Harris JM (2000) Basic principles of sustainable development. A working paper from Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University, Medford

    Google Scholar 

  • Hirota M, Holmgren M, Van Nes EH, Scheffer M (2011) Global resilience of tropical forest and Savanna to critical transitions. Science 334:232–235

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Holdschlag A, Ratter BMW (2013) Multiscale system dynamics of humans and nature in The Bahamas: perturbation, knowledge, panarchy and resilience. Sustain Sci 8:407–421

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holling CS (1973) Resilience and stability of ecological systems. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 4:1–23

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hollnagel E, Pariès J, Woods DD, Leveson N (eds) (2006) Resilience engineering: concepts and precepts. Ashgate Publishing, Aldershot

    Google Scholar 

  • Hollnagel E, Woods DD, Wreathall J (eds) (2011) Resilience engineering in practice: a guidebook. Ashgate Publishing, Surrey

    Google Scholar 

  • Hornborg A (2009) Zero-sum world: challenges in conceptualizing environmental load displacement and ecologically unequal exchange in the world-system. Int J Comp Sociol 50(3–4):237–262

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2014) Summary for policymakers. In: Climate change 2014: impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. part a: global and sectoral aspects, Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK

  • Janssen MA, Schoon ML, Ke W, Börner K (2006) Scholarly networks on resilience, vulnerability and adaptation within the human dimensions of global environmental change. Glob Environ Chang 16:240–252

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jerneck A, Olsson L (2008) Adaptation and the poor: development, resilience and transition. Clim Policy 8(2):170–182

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kinzig AP, Ryan P, Etienne M, Allison H, Elmqvist T, Walker BH (2006) Resilience and regime shifts: assessing cascading effects. In: Walker BH, Anderies JM, Kinzig AP, Ryan P (eds) Exploring resilience in social-ecological systems. CSIRO Publishing, Canberra, pp 139–162

    Google Scholar 

  • Lambin EF (2005) Conditions for sustainability of human-environment systems: information, motivation, and capacity. Glob Environ Chang 15(3):177–180

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Langridge R, Christian-Smith J, Lohse KA (2006) Access and resilience: analyzing the construction of social resilience to the threat of water scarcity. Ecol Soc 11(2):18. http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol11/iss2/art18/

  • Le Maitre D, O’Farrell P (2008) Social-ecological resilience in a dry environment: people and water resources in the Little Karoo. In: Burns M, Weaver A (eds) Exploring sustainability science: a Southern African perspective. Sun Press, Stellenbosch, pp 339–382

    Google Scholar 

  • Levin SA, Barrett S, Aniyar S, Baumol W, Bliss C, Bolin B, Dasgupta P, Ehrlich P, Folke C, Gren I, Holling CS, Jansson A, Jansson B, Ouml K, Auml R, Dan Martin L, Perrings C, Sheshinski E (1998) Resilience in natural and socioeconomic systems. Environ Dev Econ 3(2):221–262

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ludwig D, Walker BH, Holling CS (1997) Sustainability, stability and resilience. Conserv Ecol 1:1–27

    Google Scholar 

  • Ludwig D, Mangel M, Haddad B (2001) Ecology, conservation and public policy. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 32:481–517

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magis K (2010) Community resilience: an indicator of social sustainability. Soc Nat Resour 23(5):401–416

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mäler KG, Li CZ (2010) Measuring sustainability under regime shift uncertainty: a resilience pricing approach. Environ Dev Econ 15:707–719

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mihelcic JR, Crittenden JC, Small MJ, Shonnard DR, Zhang Q, Chen H, Sorby SA, James VU, Sutherland JW, Schnoor JL (2003) Sustainability science and engineering: the emergence of a new metadiscipline. Environ Sci Technol 37(23):5314–5324

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Milestad R, Darnhofer I (2003) Building farm resilience: the prospects and challenges of organic farming. J Sustain Agric 22(3):81–97

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Milman A, Short A (2008) Incorporating resilience into sustainability indicators: an example for the urban water sector. Glob Environ Chang 18:758–767

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muller M (2007) Adapting to climate change: water management for urban resilience. Environ Urban 19:99–113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mumby PJ, Hastings A, Edwards HJ (2007) Thresholds and the resilience of Carinnean coral reefs. Nature 450:98–101

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nadasdy P (2007) Adaptive co-management and the gospel of resilience. In: Berkes F, Armitage D, Doubleday N (eds) Adaptive co-management: collaboration, learning, and multi-level governance, University of Washington Press, Seattle, pp 208–226

  • Newman P, Beatley T, Boyer H (2009) Resilient cities: responding to peak oil and climate change. Island Press, Washington DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Nyström M, Folke C, Mogerg F (2000) Coral reef disturbance and resilience in a human-dominated environment. Trends Ecol Evol 15(10):413–417

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olsson P, Folke C, Berkes F (2004) Adaptive comanagement for building resilience in social-ecological systems. Environ Manag 34(1):75–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ostrom E (1990) Governing the commons: the evolution of institutions for collective action. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ott K (2003) The case for strong sustainability. In: Ott K, Thapa PP (eds) Greifswald’s environmental ethics. Steinbecker Verlag Ulrich Rose, Greifwald, pp 59–64

    Google Scholar 

  • Paerl HW, Valdes LM, Pinckney JL, Piehler MF, Dyble J, Moisander PH (2003) Phytoplankton photopigments as indicators of estuarine and coastal eutrophication. Bioscience 53(10):953–964

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perrings C (1998) Introduction: resilience and sustainability. Environ Dev Econ 3:221

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perrings C (2006) Resilience and sustainable development. Environ Dev Econ 11:417–427

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perrings C, Stern DI (2000) Modelling loss of resilience in agroecosystems: rangelands in Botswana. Environ Dev Econ 16:185–210

    Google Scholar 

  • Pierce JC, Budd WW, Lovrich NP Jr (2011) Resilience and sustainability in US urban areas. Environ Polit 20(4):566–584

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quinlan A (2003) Resilience and adaptive capacity: key components of sustainable social-ecological systems. Newsl Int Hum Dimens Progr Glob Environm Change IHDP 02:4–5

    Google Scholar 

  • Resilience Alliance (2012). http://www.resalliance.org/index.php/resilience. Accessed 7 Oct 2014

  • Rockström J, Steffen W, Noone K, Persson Å, Chapin FS III, Lambin EF, Lenton TM, Scheffer M, Folke C, Schellnhuber HJ, Nykvist B, de Wit CA, Hughes T, van der Leeuw S, Rodhe H, Sörlin S, Snyder PK, Costanza R, Svedin U, Falkenmark M, Karlberg L, Corell RW, Fabry VJ, Hansen J, Walker B, Liverman D, Richardson K, Crutzen P, Foley JA (2009) A safe operating space for humanity. Nature 461:472–475

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rutter M (1993) Resilience: some conceptual considerations. J Adolesc Health 14(8):626–631

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Scheffer M (1993) Alternative equilibria in shallow lakes. Trends Ecol Evol 8(8):275–279

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Scheffer M, Brock W, Westley F (2000) Mechanisms preventing optimum use of ecosystem services: an interdisciplinary theoretical analysis. Ecosystems 3:451–471

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Scheffer M, Carpenter SR, Foley J, Folke C, Walker BH (2001) Catastrophic shifts in ecosystems. Nature 413(6856):591–596

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Scheffer M, Carpenter SR, Lenton TM, Bascompte J, Brock W, Dakos V, van de Koppel J, van de Leemput IA, Levin SA, van Nes EH, Pascual M, Vandermeer J (2012) Anticipating critical transitions. Science 338:344–348

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Scheufele G, Bennett J (2012) Valuing ecosystem resilience. J Environ Econ Policy 1(1):18–31

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steneck RS, Graham MH, Bourque BJ, Corbett D, Erlandson JM, Estes JA, Tegner M (2002) Kelp forest ecosystems: biodiversity, stability, resilience and future. Environ Conserv 29(4):436–459

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Throsby D (1999) Cultural capital. J Cult Econ 23:3–12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Throsby D (2009) Sustainability and culture some theoretical issues. Int J Cult Policy 4(1):7–19

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Todorov V, Marinova D (2011) Modelling sustainability. Math Comput Simul 81(7):1397–1408

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tompkins EL, Adger WN (2004) Does adaptive management of natural resources enhance resilience to climate change? Ecol Soc 9(2):10

    Google Scholar 

  • Tusaie K, Dyer J (2004) Resilience: a historical review of the construct. Holist Nurs Pract 18(1):3–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walker BH (1993) Rangeland ecology-understanding and managing change. Ambio 22(2–3):80–87

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker BH, Meyers JA (2004) Thresholds in ecological and social-ecological systems: a developing database. Ecol Soc 9(2):3

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker BH, Salt D (2006) Resilience thinking: sustaining ecosystems and people in a changing world. Island Press, Washington DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker B, Salt D (2012) Resilience Practice: building capacity to absorb disturbance and maintain function. Island Press, Washington DC

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Walker BH, Carpenter SR, Anderies J, Abel N, Cumming G, Janssen M, Lebel L, Norberg J, Peterson GD, Pritchard R (2002) Resilience management in social-ecological systems: a working hypothesis for a participatory approach. Conserv Ecol 6(1):14

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker BH, Holling CS, Carpenter SR, Kinzig A (2004) Resilience, adaptability and transformability in social-ecological systems. Ecol Soc 9(2):5

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker BH, Abel N, Anderies JM, Ryan P (2009) Resilience, adaptability, and transformability in the Goulburn-Broken catchment Australia. Ecol Soc 14(1):12

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker BH, Sayer J, Andrew NL, Campbell B (2010a) Should enhanced resilience be an objective of natural resource management research for developing countries? Crop Sci 50:10–19

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walker BH, Pearson L, Harris M, Mäler KG, Li CZ, Biggs R, Baynes T (2010b) Incorporating resilience in the assessment of inclusive wealth: an example from South East Australia. Environ Resour Econ 45(2):183–202

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walsh F (1996) The concept of family resilience: crisis and challenge. Fam Process 35(3):81–85

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White JM, Stromberg JC (2011) Resilience, restoration, and riparian ecosystems: case study of a dryland, urban river. Restor Ecol 19(1):101–111

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu L, Marinova D (2013) Resilience thinking: a bibliometric analysis of socio-ecological research. Scientometrics 96:911–927

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

All authors thank the Editor and three anonymous referees whose comments helped improve this survey. The second and third authors acknowledge the financial support of the Australian Research Council.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Curtin University, Perth, Australia

    Li Xu, Dora Marinova & Xiumei Guo

Authors
  1. Li Xu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Dora Marinova
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Xiumei Guo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dora Marinova.

Additional information

Handled by Victor Savage, National University of Singapore, Singapore.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Xu, L., Marinova, D. & Guo, X. Resilience thinking: a renewed system approach for sustainability science. Sustain Sci 10, 123–138 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-014-0274-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-014-0274-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation