Principles of Ecosystem Stewardship

F. Stuart Chapin, III is Professor of Ecology in the Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks.Gary P. Kofinas is Associate Professor of Resource Policy and Management in the School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks.Carl Folke is Professor and Science Director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University.

• Conceptual Framework.- A Framework for Understanding Change.- Managing Ecosystems Sustainably: The Key Role of Resilience.- Livelihoods and Human Well-Being during Social-Ecological Change.- Adaptive Co-management in Social-Ecological Governance.- Transformations in Ecosystem Stewardship.- Stewarding Ecosystems for Society.- Conservation, Community, and Livelihoods: Sustaining, Renewing, and Adapting Cultural Connections to the Land.- Forest Systems: Living with Long-Term Change.- Drylands: Coping with Uncertainty, Thresholds, and Changes in State.- Freshwaters: Managing Across Scales in Space and Time.- Oceans and Estuaries: Managing the Commons.- Coastal Marine Systems: Conserving Fish and Sustaining Community Livelihoods with Co-management.- Managing Food Production Systems for Resilience.- Managing Densely Settled Social-Ecological Systems.- The Earth System: Sustaining Planetary Life-Support Systems.- Integration and Synthesis.- Resilience-Based Stewardship: Strategies for Navigating Sustainable Pathways in a Changing World.

From the reviews: "Throughout the work, chapter contributors link recent advances in the theory of resilience, sustainability, and vulnerability with practical issues related to the management of social-ecological systems. ... This book introduces an intriguing new approach to the philosophy of resource management emphasizing proactive policies that shape change for sustainability, in contrast to current reactions to observed changes. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through professional collections." (R. L. Smith, Choice, Vol. 47 (3), November, 2009)