The article that truly intrigued me this week was What is Resilience from the Stockholm Resilience Centre. This article emphasized the fact that people and societies are "inseparable parts of what we call the biosphere", and that serious consequences arise when this connection is not recognized as being important. In order to overcome this, flexible social networks and organizations built on adaptive learning are absolutely necessary.
What immediately came to mind during the reading (aside from how this can be used in our future careers) is the concept of resiliency within the MENV program structure. It is of no surprise to anyone that there have been some kinks and frustrations within this first year of the program. That being said, it is also important to quickly acknowledge the existence of the many great things within the program, most notably the amazing work that we get to accomplish with our capstone partners. Connecting the reading to these first-year frustrations has me questioning, is the MENV program structure resilient? Warning, the following analysis/comparison is me playing devil's advocate and will surely be biased considering that I am a student within the MENV program and not faculty.
After describing the need to recognize a relationship between society and the planet the reading dives into how we can better manage more resilient systems. This managing needs to be done from both sides: the governing and the governed. Regarding the governing side the article states, "governments and institutions need to listen and engage with communities instead of orchestrating and planning on their behalf." For example, MENV faculty are only trying to do their best for us (they do not want us to fail) and are therefore busily creating and innovating. What they must not forget in this process is that students are also an important part of this system, and that resiliency will come from creating flexible social networks and also utilizing adaptive learning. In regards to the governed, the article outlines the responsibility to innovate in a way that is sensitive to the fundamental bonds between the system and its parts. For example, we as students are simply trying to get the most out of this program, but we need to recognize that we are also responsible for creatively innovating if we want to see positive change.
So, when we examine resiliency as described in the articles in regard to the MENV program what do we see? Is it a system that is open to bilateral communication and innovation? A system that creates flexible social networks and utilizes adaptive learning? or instead is it something else? A system where communication and innovation among the governed and the the government is not open or flexible? A system that has the potential to eventually fall into one of the traps described in Navigating the Adaptive Cycle?
Stay tuned to find out...
Question of the Week: What were your thoughts on the planetary boundaries? Do you agree that we should use a more holistic approach when talking about the concerns of climate change in order to be more effective? (for example, instead of voicing your concerns for climate change as a whole should you instead focus on one aspect such as drought, biodiversity, etc?)
Comments