In the mid-twentieth century, the concept of sustainable development began to be widely proposed in reports, among which the Brundtland Report is a classic. It reflects on the long-term survival relationship between present and future generations, which can be expressed in the question of how to allocate finite resources to meet the needs of the present without harming the interests of the future. The aim is to achieve a state of harmony between humans and nature on a long timescale However, in recent years, with the immediate problems of frequent environmental damage and disasters, resilience has been advanced as the concept of the times. This concept examines systems through the prism of disaster, exploring their ability to resist disturbance in the short term and to return to sustainability after the disaster in the long term. It is conceived that the former is a prerequisite for the latter. In a globalized society, the relationship between the two and the benefits of combining them are now more critical than ever.

Before delving into the relationship, it is necessary to introduce the concept of a system since building resilience and achieving sustainability start with decisions about what we value about a system. One way that systems can be understood is as groups of relationships (Richard, 2018). For example, an ocean is a system of relationships between water and nutrient flows, animal and plant species, and resource exchanges. The relationships of a system are of paramount importance and must remain intact once the system’s state is disturbed; it also affects the system’s stability, which, in turn, depends on the resilience of the system.

Defining Resilience and Sustainability

The definition and classification of resilience are based on their characteristics and foci. Folke (2006) compared different types of resilience; for example, engineering resilience focuses on the time and efficiency of restoring a constant state; social-ecological resilience focuses on the interference between society and ecology and the adaptability of things within the system. The former is the recovery of a single field, while the latter is an integrated system or even a cross-scale interaction. Usually, an ecosystem or species can absorb disturbances in ecology while maintaining its primary function and structure or characteristics. In other words, a resilient system can adapt to change without losing the qualities that define what it is and what it does, which together constitute the system’s identity (Richard, 2018). However, as highlighted by Dr. Mitch Pavao-Zuckerman last week, resilience can also be negative. For example, a dictatorship can be resilient, which is bad for the people, and the capitalist system, upon which we have built our natural resource extraction, is very resilient and very bad for the planet.

In previous lectures, we learned that sustainability was first introduced in the field of forests, fisheries, and wildlife. The purpose was that the early warning should not exceed the maximum sustainable yield (Marten, 2010). After a series of developments in 1987, the Brundtland Report advocated “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. In this view, sustainability is a concept for discussions about how to formulate efficiency policies to coordinate resource tensions between present and future generations, which is the central objective of many global initiatives, most notably the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Clarifying the Relationships

Sustainability can be described as a condition in which humans do not degrade an ecosystem to the detriment of their long-term viability. Resilience, on the other hand, is adaptability in the face of disturbance. There is, however, no conflict or competition between the two concepts; rather, they support each other, as the primary factor in building positive resilience is sustainability (Richard, 2018). For example, reducing dependence on fossil fuels reduces future impacts on the climate and allows for the sustainable development of society. Furthermore, society will become more resilient because the economic consequences of oil, gas, and coal depletion—the boom-and-bust cycles increasingly evident in fossil fuel markets—will be mitigated.

Since sustainability is not a stable state and nothing in nature remains constant, a sustainable society must adapt to new conditions, which means that resilience needs to be considered at all times. In general, resilience is a feature, while sustainability is a goal. They share many common elements, which are relevant to understanding system dynamics and building a stable social order. Therefore, improving positive resilience can be regarded as a prerequisite for achieving sustainability.

Ratchet, Hatchets, and Pivots

In a world where development is thorny and unpredictable, it is especially important to adopt a positive attitude toward the sustainable development of the natural ecological environment. At the same time, sustainable development must not become merely a slogan. Mainly, along with a great deal of discussion about resilience these days, it is geared toward the impacts of climate change. In the face of sluggish global action despite increasingly accurate and reliable scientific predictions, one might wonder whether it is still meaningful for scientists to constantly develop more precise model predictions.

Overall, implementing the concept of sustainable development may be more critical, which requires highlighting the importance of community resilience construction. Building resilience at the community level makes practical sense because it is at this level where we most directly interact with the people and institutions that constitute our society. Meanwhile, everyone in a community is a stakeholder, and stakeholders need the opportunity to participate in and have responsibility for resilience-building (Richard, 2018).

Reference

1) Brundtland, G. H. (1987). Report of the World Commission on environment and development:" our common future.". UN.

2) Folke, C. (2006). Resilience: The emergence of a perspective for social-ecological systems analyses. Global environmental change, 16(3), 253-267.

3) Marten, G. G. (2010). Human ecology: Basic concepts for sustainable development. Routledge.

4) Richard Heinberg. (2018). Post Carbon Institute. Think Resilience. https://www.resilience.org/think-resilience/ (accessed 11/6/2021)

5) Richard Heinberg. (2018). Post Carbon Institute. The Big Picture - Resilience. https://www.resilience.org/stories/2018-12-17/the-big-picture/ (accessed 11/7/2021)