Finding Resilience

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Change and Uncertainty in Nature and Society

By: Brian Walker

eBook - March 2019 - eRetailers

An analysis of how ecosystems, societies and people cope with disturbance and adversity.

Floods, fires, famines, epidemics and disasters of all kinds are on the increase, and as their frequency rises so does the call for greater resilience. But what does that mean? The word is used differently in psychology, ecology, economics and engineering and runs the risk of becoming meaningless jargon. This would be most unfortunate because, if we are to successfully navigate very real and dangerous global trends, it is resilience that needs to be understood and fostered. + Full description

Finding Resilience is international in scope and unravels how ecosystems, societies and people cope with disturbance and adversity. An authoritative but plain English account which is based on the experiences of researchers, the fascinating stories from around the world reveal what resilience is, how it works in different kinds of systems, how it is expressed, and how it can be gained and lost.

- Short description

News

Sales in Australia and New Zealand only. Elsewhere, this title is available through CABI.

Read more on the CSIRO Publishing Blog
During these times of bushfires, climate change and a pandemic, the topic of resilience has never been more pertinent. Brian Walker explains what resilience is and how we can learn more about it from nature: A Lesson in 'Resilience': Realities and misconceptions

Reviews

"I found it to be a beautiful and thoughtful book, which would be useful for students searching for rational answers to complex socio-ecological questions."
Dr Douglas Bardsley, Geographical Education 32, 2019

"This book was intellectually stimulating as it pushed my understanding of resilience beyond the sea-otter- kelp-forest image to new places. ...I thoroughly recommend this book to ecologists and social scientists who are interested in thinking about old ideas in new ways."
Allyson O'Brian, Australian Marine Science Bulletin 206(1), December 2019

Details

Paperback | March 2019 | $ 59.99
ISBN: 9781486310777 | 168 pages | 245 x 170 mm
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Illustrations, Photographs

ePDF | March 2019
ISBN: 9781486310784
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Available from eRetailers

ePUB | March 2019
ISBN: 9781486310791
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Available from eRetailers

Features

International in scope with fascinating stories of resilience from around the world
Plain English account of what resilience is and how it works in nature and society
Provides understanding necessary to successfully navigate dangerous global trends

Acknowledgements
PART I. WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?
1. Connections in a changing world
2. Another pathway
PART II. ENCOUNTERING RESILIENCE IN NATURE
3. Living together in ecosystems
4. Ecological choreography
5. Disturbance, change and diversity
PART III. THE NATURE OF RESILIENCE IN SOCIETY
6. Coping with life
7. Living together in society
8. Weathering crises
PART IV. NATURE, SOCIETY AND RESILIENCE
9. Unintended outcomes
10. Growing pains
PART V. A WAY FORWARD
11. Changing cultures
12. A resilience pathway
EPILOGUE: WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT
Glossary
Endnotes
Index

Authors

Brian Walker has conducted and led research on resilience in social-ecological systems around the world. He was Senior Lecturer at the University of Rhodesia, Zimbabwe, Professor of Ecology at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, and Chief of Australia’s CSIRO Division of Wildlife and Ecology. He is a past-Chair of the International Resilience Alliance and of the Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics in Stockholm, and is now an Honorary CSIRO Fellow and Honorary Professor at The Australian National University. Brian was the recipient of the prestigious Blue Planet Prize in 2018.