Wayne, I will first answer your questions, and then ask you why you are
asking them.
Sustainability IS an important matter, and a crucial one. If we are not
living in a sustainable manner, however you define it, we will eventually
deplete our resources and be left in a very bad state. But what do you
hope to gain by asking the list-members to "define the term as precisely
as
possible"? You will more than likely get several tens of answers,
probably
all differing from each other either minutely or substantially. Yes, this
may indicate that the term has become more than what it used to mean - for
me, it means "consuming less than is produced, and not resulting in the
net
depletion of non-renewable constituent resources" - but does that make the
production of a resource and communication mechanism such as this website
a
bad thing? Or a non-useful thing?
Yes, I think it's possible that "sustainability" has become a much more
frequently-used term by the general populace and, as such, is likely to
get
used by people to reflect _their_ particular definition of what they
believe
sustainability means. If only a few specialists in a very restricted
academic or technical field ever use a particular term, it remains very
precisely defined, and we laypeople probably end up referring to it as
their
jargon. As a term becomes more mainstream and used by many millions of
people, who work in many different fields and also apply the term to
aspects
of their non-professional life, I believe that it will inevitably come to
mean more things to more people and, understandably, loses those nice,
precise definitions and moves from technical jargon to everyday verbiage.
Like "conservative." Or "ecological."
I also believe that, even if a term becomes harder to pin down, it is
important for people to use it, if it embodies what they honestly feel
reflects what they are trying to get across to people. They should,
though,
be prepared and willing to clarify what they are referring to and how they
are using the term, just as different fields explain how they are using
"variable," or "significant," or "adaptable." Don't be scared of using a
term just because it has gotten some fuzzy edges.
And, for Pete's sake, don't be afraid of working together with the people
that use the term the way you do AND with the people who use it
differently.
I took a quick look at the "Learning for Sustainability" website and it
looks like it has some pretty good resources. It may have a little more
social science than what many folks are comfortable with, especially when
compared to quantitative, economically-precise "cost of ecological
services"
discussions, but it may be very useful to others interested in working
with
_people and society_.
Greenly (oops...),
Marcus
-----Original Message-----
From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Wayne Tyson
Sent: Monday, July 20, 2009 10:42 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [ECOLOG-L] Education vs Indoctrination Can sustainability be
sustained? Re: [ECOLOG-L] Managing the social aspects of ecosystem
management - LfS portal update
Ecolog Forum:
I am using this post as a springboard to ask you all whether or not you
consider this an important matter, much less a crucial subject for
consideration. To maintain a bias-free mental posture, I have not visited
any of the sites. Therefore, these comments are not about the content of
those sites, nor are they about the email itself; it merely reminded me of
the issue.
I would like your opinions about whether or not you have had similar
thoughts or whether or not you find the subject disagreeable to think
about
or discuss, or otherwise unworthy of your time.
In asking, "Is sustainability sustainable?" I have a multi-faceted
concern--that while "sustainability" is a valid term in some sense, it,
like
"ecology" and many other perfectly good terms, has lost its discriminatory
value in communication, technology, and science through overuse, misuse,
and
overgeneralization. Do you believe this to be the case?
In any case, would you please define the term as precisely as possible? If
there are alternative definitions, would you please define them too? If
you
believe that there is no question about the definition, that the
definition
is so well understood that there can be no dispute about how the terms is
defined and used that asking those questions is unnecessary, would you
please so indicate?
Respectfully submitted,
WT
----- Original Message -----
From: "Will Allen" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, July 20, 2009 12:44 AM
Subject: [ECOLOG-L] Managing the social aspects of ecosystem management -
LfS portal update
The Learning for Sustainability site -
http://learningforsustainability.net
- brings together resources to help us address and manage the social and
capacity building aspects of ecosystem management and other
sustainability
issues. This resource has been substantially revised and updated over
recent
months. It is a guide to on-line resources for researchers and
practitioners
interested in managing multi-stakeholder processes that support social
learning and collective action. The site highlights the wide range of
social
skills and processes that are needed. It shows how these can be linked
together, and structures these in a practical way. This brings links to
several hundred annotated on-line resources together in one easy to
access
site.
Most pages have been expanded with new resource links added. Particular
attention has been paid to expanding the sections on undertaking
interdisiplinary and integrated projects and adaptation. Featured links
to
specific papers in these areas can be found from the July newletter page
at
- http://learningforsustainability.net/newsletters/jul09.php
Other updated resource sections link to resources to support thinking and
practice around managing complex systems, community resilience, and
participation. A central guides, tools and checklists section provides
practical guidance to help readers address issues involved in managing
multi-stakeholder participation and engagement initiatives. Other site
sections provide links to best and emerging practice in specific areas
including social learning, adaptive management, integration, network
building and mapping, dialogue, knowledge management, and evaluation.
The LearningForSustainability.net site also manages additional sections
on
finding volunteering and job opportunities. These can be found from the
main
site index at http://learningforsustainability.net As with the rest of
the
site these sections bring links to lot of on-line resources together in
one
easy to access site, each link is annotated to provide a guide to its
contents.
Regards
Will
--------------------------------------
Dr. Will Allen
LearningForSustainability.net - http://learningforsustainability.net -
Supporting dialogue, collective action and reflection
E-mail: [email protected]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 8.5.375 / Virus Database: 270.13.20/2248 - Release Date: 07/19/09
05:57:00
