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An Ecosystem Approach to Ecological Economics Ashwani Vasishth vasishth@csun.edu http://www.csun.edu/~vasishth

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Some Names to Keep In Mind Kenneth Boulding Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen Herman Daly Robert Costanza

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Setting the Frame Sustainability as Context

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Sustainable Development is a form of development that meets the needs of the present without curtailing the ability of the future to meet its own needs - a la the Brundtland Commission

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Sustainable Decision Making

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Getting At An Ecological Economics Conceptual Structures

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Factors of Production MarxSustainability Ecological Economics Land Ecology Natural Capital Labor Equity Social Capital Capital Economy Monetary Capital

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Factors of Production MarxSustainability Ecological Economics Land Ecology Natural Capital Labor Equity Social Capital Capital Economy Monetary Capital

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Factors of Production MarxSustainability Ecological Economics Land Ecology Natural Capital Labor Equity Social Capital Capital Economy Monetary Capital

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Human Economy Nature Ecosphere Environmental Economics Ecological Economics

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An Ecological Economics Considers the world to be constituted by the flows of matter, energy and information Takes account of natural, social and monetary capital Considers temporal flows in terms of intergenerational equity Takes the ecosphere as the overarching context within which the human economy operates

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From Empty World Economics

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to Full World Economics

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The Transition to An Ecological Economics...is the transition from a cowboy economy to a spaceship economy - a la Kenneth Boulding

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Taking An Ecological View Understanding the Ecosystem Approach

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What does it mean to take an Ecosystem Approach? And why would we bother?

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Descriptions Matter How we choose to make depictions of complex systems affects what we can see of context and consequence, and so affects outcomes Complex systems are best conceptualized as being arranged into nested levels of organization

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Elements of An Ecosystem Approach Processes Boundaries Scales Purpose Perspective

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Properties of An Ecosystem Approach Nested Assembly Scale-hierarchic Levels of Organization Rate-dependent Boundaries Purposive Descriptions Scale-dependent Structuring Functional Associations

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An ecosystem approach based on nested scale-hierarchic process-function ecology offers the most effective basis for making robust descriptions under complexity

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Nested Systems Bossel, H. 2001. Assessing Viability and Sustainability: A Systems-Based Approach for Deriving Comprehensive Indicator Sets. Conservation Ecology, 5(2): 12.

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Levels of Organization Allen, Timothy F.H. & Thomas W.l Hoekstra. 1992. Toward A Unified Ecology. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 30

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Two Concepts of Significance The Ecosphere and its Carrying Capacity

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The Ecosphere is constituted by bio-geo-chemical processes across nested levels of organization organized into scale hierarchic structures that must be viewed from multiple purposive perspectives and that can only be described at multiple spatial, temporal and organizational scales

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Carrying Capacity is the ability of a system to support a particular intensity and magnitude of processes and functions I=P*A*T Impact Population * Affluence * Technology where affluence is a proxy for level of consumption and technology is a proxy for capacity to do harm or cause pollution

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Ecologizing New Orleans Context as Frame

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For Example, New Orleans

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Or, New Orleans?

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Then, Ecological Economics is the study of the ecosphere, considered to be constituted by the flows of matter, energy and information, taking account of natural, social and economic capital, occurring across multiple levels of organization, seen at functionally relevant temporal, spatial and organizational scales, using multiple purposive perspectives, all embedded within the context of planetary carrying capacity

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Or, Differently Natural Capital Social Capital Monetary Capital Nested Systems The Ecosphere

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Ashwani Vasishth vasishth@csun.edu http://www.csun.edu/~vasishth (818) 677-6137