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21 - Ecosystem Sustainability through Strategies of Integrated Carbon and Land-Use Management
- Edited by Daniel G. Brown, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Derek T. Robinson, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Nancy H. F. French, Michigan Technological University, Bradley C. Reed, United States Geological Survey, California
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- Book:
- Land Use and the Carbon Cycle
- Published online:
- 05 February 2013
- Print publication:
- 28 January 2013, pp 523-538
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Summary
Introduction
Terrestrial ecosystems provide a number of key services to society that are linked to carbon (C) cycle processes, a few of which include controlling food and fiber production, basic building materials, energy sources, and soil water holding capacity. Human societies have developed a number of land-use practices to enhance biological C processes and increase the delivery of many ecosystem services. However, some of the modifications have led to unintended degradation of land systems in ways that have reduced the natural capacity of ecosystems to maintain a range of supporting, provisioning, and regulating services.
As society strives to sustain key ecosystem services while attempting to meet the challenge of a growing human population and manage for climate change, new and sustainable land-use strategies must play a role. Sustainable management practices – those that maintain the provision of ecosystem services at or from a location – should be a main component of any land-use strategy if we are to successfully deal with global environmental challenges. Society is now demanding much more from land-use systems to achieve multiple goals. Multiple ecosystems services are being required from these systems – to provide food, environments for maintaining biodiversity, and production of energy products, and for preventing pollutants from entering the air and waterways. Developing land-system practices and policies that consider the long-term dynamics of C cycling among competing ecosystem services will provide a framework to develop more sustainable land management.
Chapter 8 - Toward a Sustainable and Resilient Future
- from Section III
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- By Karen O'Brien, Mark Pelling, Anand Patwardhan, Stephane Hallegatte, Andrew Maskrey, Taikan Oki, Úrsula Oswald-Spring, Thomas Wilbanks, Pius Zebhe Yanda, Carlo Giupponi, Nobuo Mimura, Frans Berkhout, Reinette Biggs, Hans Günter Brauch, Katrina Brown, Carl Folke, Lisa Harrington, Howard Kunreuther, Carmen Lacambra, Robin Leichenko, Reinhard Mechler, Claudia Pahl-Wostl, Valentin Przyluski, David Satterthwaite, Frank Sperling, Linda Sygna, Thomas Tanner, Petra Tschakert, Kirsten Ulsrud, Vincent Viguié
- Edited by Christopher B. Field, Vicente Barros, Thomas F. Stocker, Qin Dahe
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- Book:
- Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation
- Published online:
- 05 August 2012
- Print publication:
- 28 May 2012, pp 437-486
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Summary
Executive Summary
Actions that range from incremental steps to transformational changes are essential for reducing risk from weather and climate extremes (high agreement, robust evidence). [8.6, 8.7] Incremental steps aim to improve efficiency within existing technological, governance, and value systems, whereas transformation may involve alterations of fundamental attributes of those systems. The balance between incremental and transformational approaches depends on evolving risk profiles and underlying social and ecological conditions. Disaster risk, climate change impacts, and capacity to cope and adapt are unevenly distributed. Vulnerability is often concentrated in poorer countries or groups, although the wealthy can also be vulnerable to extreme events. Where vulnerability is high and adaptive capacity relatively low, changes in extreme climate and weather events can make it difficult for systems to adapt sustainably without transformational changes. Such transformations, where they are required, are facilitated through increased emphasis on adaptive management, learning, innovation, and leadership.
Evidence indicates that disaster risk management and adaptation policy can be integrated, reinforcing, and supportive – but this requires careful coordination that reaches across domains of policy and practice (high agreement, medium evidence). [8.2, 8.3, 8.5, 8.7] Including disaster risk management in resilient and sustainable development pathways is facilitated through integrated, systemic approaches that enhance capacity to cope with, adapt to, and shape unfolding processes of change, while taking into consideration multiple stressors, different prioritized values, and competing policy goals.