The future of sustainability science: a solutions-oriented research agenda

Abstract

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How can landscape ecology contribute to sustainability science?

“…Reflective papers on the progress in sustainability research have produced important insights in key features and enabling factors that determine how science may contribute to transitions towards sustainability (Lang et al 2012;Miller 2013;Miller et al 2014;Fischer et al 2015;Balvanera et al 2017 andSchäpke et al 2017). For landscape ecologists, we think the following four insights are of particular relevance.…”

“…This relationship can be taken as a basis for analytical and integrative research for understanding complex social-ecological systems (SES). As Miller et al (2014) and Fischer et al (2015) have pointed out, SES has been the dominant focus of sustainability science thus far. However, generating landscape solutions has been less widely pursued within sustainability science-despite it being defined as a place-based, use-inspired science (Kates 2012).…”

Defining transformative climate science to address high-end climate change

“…In addition, research focusing on transformation and sustainability is advancing in the making of a richer representation of agency, mainly using more complex system perspectives in modelling as well as assessment tools and methods. In this guise, the need to understand and integrate the role played by values, visions, and conflicting interests is triggering a whole new array of methodological innovations with the purpose of developing more robust knowledge about possible transformative strategies and solutions supportive of sustainable development (Clark et al 2016;van Kerkhoff and Lebel, 2006;van der Kerkhoff 2014;Miller 2013;Miller et al 2013;Lynam et al 2007). More broadly, this can be seen as part of a general trend to:…”

“…BNormal^or traditional procedures of science, amply influenced by positivist thinking, were unable to deal with the large-scale and irreducible uncertainties and the conflicts derived from assessments which inevitably had to include strong ethical and normative decisions (Jamieson 2014;Gardiner 2011;Owen et al 2012;Rotmans et al 2008;Funtowicz & Ravetz 1991, Jäger 1998. With all this background, transformation research has been particularly taken up by sustainability science (Mauser et al 2013;Miller 2013;Miller et al 2013;Wiek et al 2012;Ostrom 2009), and more recently, with the proposal of developing global systems science (GSS) , with special emphasis on finding Bglobally interconnected systems of solutions to global problems^of which climate change is but one. These approaches have contributed to introducing a transformation focus in climate assessment procedures in which the integration with sustainable development principles and goals is included.…”

Transferring Sustainability Solutions across Contexts through City–University Partnerships

“…Crow and Dabars [11] write about the New American University which, similar to the global trend, recasts American, public research universities as fundamentally responsible for the thriving of the communities in which they are embedded and, as a result of this responsibility, to generating knowledge that can address societal challenges writ-large. In the 21st century, many universities are seeking to go beyond consultation and embed themselves in their communities and co-produce transformational knowledge for sustainability [12].…”