Resilient Planet – our Future

Since the mid-1980s Carl Folke has broken new grounds in understanding the dynamic interplay of humans and nature, of economy and ecology, and developed research on social-ecological systems and resilience thinking from management and stewardship of ecosystem services in the seas and on the land to global sustainability.

Resilience refers to the capacity to learn to live with change, incremental or abrupt, expected or surprising, and in relation to diverse pathways of development and thresholds and tipping points between them. It is about having the capacity to navigate a complex and dynamic ever changing world, the new world of the Anthropocene.

The new reality of rising turbulence on the human dominated planet calls for transformative change towards sustainable futures. Emerging technologies, social innovations, broader shifts in cultural repertoires, as well as a diverse portfolio of active stewardship of human actions in support of a resilient biosphere are highlighted as essential parts of such transformations. Examples of biosphere stewardship ranging from green space for human wellbeing in urban areas to collaboration with global dominant actors like transnational corporations will be presented.