Take Home

This module is both the most complex and abstract of all in this course. Nevertheless, it is also at the core of how to think about both problems and solutions in the Anthropocene.

Here are some key understanding that I want you to think about and reflect upon:

Defining the system: The way we look at a system implicitly means that we define its border and treat the outside components as external. We do this because the rationale is that within system interactions are stronger than those to the external components. But this is a subjective border of the observer. Nevertheless, subjectively defined borders can improve focus on key mechanisms and help create an understanding of when external processes matter as drivers or even disturbances.

System dynamics: Most systems of interactions can be grouped differently depending on the unit of measure. A consequence of complex systems and the fact that we put a subjective boundary for it is that it is prone to unexpected dynamics. One of the key properties of complex systems is the phenomenon of regime shifts, which essentially is a change in the dominance of different feedback loops. This has very large implications for management as it requires a focus on the interactions in the system rather than a focus on the actual state of the system. Many of these feedback loops are modulated by slow variables, changes in the ecosystem that occur through either slow integrative changes, through compositional change or through incremental changes in the network structure of the system. These can then trigger fast dynamics. But so can external factors which do not necessarily have to be governed by feedback loops, but through interdependence of different systems. A system that has undergone disturbance and disorganization is open for reorganization. We will go into this much more in the last part of this course.

Understanding resilience for the planetary scale creates a new challenge for governance due to its cross-national interdependence of feedback loops. New ways of governance will be needed to address these and this is the theme of the next module “Governance Toolbox.”