Essay Geography
Progress in Human Geography http://phg.sagepub.com/ Social and ecological resilience: are they related?
W. Neil Adger Prog Hum Geogr 2000 24: 347 DOI: 10.1191/030913200701540465 The online version of this article can be found at: http://phg.sagepub.com/content/24/3/347
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Progress in Human Geography 24,3 (2000) pp. 347–364
Social and ecological resilience: are they related?
W. Neil Adger
School of Environmental Sciences and CSERGE, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK
Abstract: This article defines social resilience as the ability of groups or communities to cope with external stresses and disturbances as a result of social, political and environmental change. This definition highlights social resilience in relation to the concept of ecological resilience which is a characteristic of ecosystems to maintain themselves in the face of disturbance. There is a clear link between social and ecological resilience, particularly for social groups or communities that are dependent on ecological and environmental resources for their livelihoods. But it is not clear whether resilient ecosystems enable resilient communities in such situations. This article examines whether resilience is a useful characteristic for describing the social and economic situation of social groups and explores potential links between social resilience and ecological resilience. The origins of this interdisciplinary study in human ecology, ecological economics and
W. Neil Adger Prog Hum Geogr 2000 24: 347 DOI: 10.1191/030913200701540465 The online version of this article can be found at: http://phg.sagepub.com/content/24/3/347
Published by: http://www.sagepublications.com Additional services and information for Progress in Human Geography can be found at: Email Alerts: http://phg.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts Subscriptions: http://phg.sagepub.com/subscriptions Reprints: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.nav Permissions: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav Citations: http://phg.sagepub.com/content/24/3/347.refs.html
Downloaded from phg.sagepub.com at Serials Records, University of Minnesota Libraries on October 29, 2010
Progress in Human Geography 24,3 (2000) pp. 347–364
Social and ecological resilience: are they related?
W. Neil Adger
School of Environmental Sciences and CSERGE, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK
Abstract: This article defines social resilience as the ability of groups or communities to cope with external stresses and disturbances as a result of social, political and environmental change. This definition highlights social resilience in relation to the concept of ecological resilience which is a characteristic of ecosystems to maintain themselves in the face of disturbance. There is a clear link between social and ecological resilience, particularly for social groups or communities that are dependent on ecological and environmental resources for their livelihoods. But it is not clear whether resilient ecosystems enable resilient communities in such situations. This article examines whether resilience is a useful characteristic for describing the social and economic situation of social groups and explores potential links between social resilience and ecological resilience. The origins of this interdisciplinary study in human ecology, ecological economics and
Citations: http://phg.sagepub.com/content/24/3/347.refs.html Downloaded from phg.sagepub.com at Serials Records, University of Minnesota Libraries on October 29, 2010 Progress in Human Geography 24,3 (2000) pp. 347–364 Social and ecological resilience: are they related? Downloaded from phg.sagepub.com at Serials Records, University of Minnesota Libraries on October 29, 2010 348 Downloaded from phg.sagepub.com at Serials Records, University of Minnesota Libraries on October 29, 2010 W 349 criticality is a state of an area or region which incorporates various attributes including environmental degradation and some aspects of human adaptation (Kasperson et al., 1995: 8) Downloaded from phg.sagepub.com at Serials Records, University of Minnesota Libraries on October 29, 2010 350 Downloaded from phg.sagepub.com at Serials Records, University of Minnesota Libraries on October 29, 2010 W 351 In reality, seeking to analyse the resilience of social systems by using analogies from the ecological systems is akin to endogenizing the role of social institutions in the wider environment (Pritchard et al., 1998) Downloaded from phg.sagepub.com at Serials Records, University of Minnesota Libraries on October 29, 2010 352