Sustainability and Green Socio-Ecosystem Resilience: A Conceptual View

Sustainability and Green Socio-Ecosystem Resilience: A Conceptual View

José G. Vargas-Hernández, Muhammad Mahboob Ali
DOI: 10.4018/IJESGT.292453
OnDemand:
(Individual Articles)
Available
$37.50
No Current Special Offers
TOTAL SAVINGS: $37.50

Abstract

Humanity is facing a series of critical challenges, global warming being one the most important. Consequently, sustainability and resilience have become key elements in better response to the crisis and maintaining an equilibrium between ecology, economics, and various social domains. The design and use of urban land should consider including a multi-functional green infrastructure to obtain different benefits, from ecosystem services to value creation. Additionally, the urban land-use planning system contributes to economic growth, social development and environmental sustainability, while biodiversity can provide renewal and reorganization capacities for changes in the social-ecosystems. All these elements bring forth a different paradigm for the future decisions of communities. Paper seeks to synthesize Keywords: Resilience, sustainability, urban land use.
Article Preview
Top

Introduction

Human development has a profound imprint on nature and co-evolving ecosystems with long term sustainability through competencies. This has resulted in complex, economic-socio-ecological challenges for sustainability and future economic development. Human activity alters the dynamics of ecosystems with its fundamental impact on the atmosphere, climate, land surface, forest, sea, and waters. As a result, green human resources development is required for the betterment of the society. Shafaei et al. (2020) described that at the organizational level, organizational environmental culture is positively related to green HRM, and green HRM management positively associates with organization’s environmental performance. Cities have been portrayed as predominantly monumental static and architectural structures of ever evolving and increasing ecological complexity.

Disturbances change the resilient capacity of nature to supply ecosystem services, and they can degrade socio-ecological systems and lead to social and economic vulnerability (Grundmann, 2016). Urban dwellers pose a high impact on ecosystem services with their habits in trade and consumption, claiming support in waste absorption, carbon emissions, residential water use, and wood for industrial purposes (Folke et al., 1997, Grimm et al., 2008). Government, civil society organizations and the financial institutions should take a more active role in promoting and encouraging businesses to produce and market green products (Islam, Ali, & Medhekar, 2017).

The Guardian (3 Novemebr,2021) depicted the activists in Glasgow, UK have “re-opened” a disused building to house climate justice campaigners visiting the city for the Cop26 summit, as those forced to camp because of lack of affordable accommodation face plummeting temperatures. Eisenmenge et al. (2020) opined that the 17 SDGs and 169 targets address all countries and aim at reconciling economic and social with ecological goals and they adopt a social ecology perspective and critically reflect on the SDGs’ potential for monitoring, supporting, and bringing about a transformation towards sustainability.

According to Levin (1999), humans depend on fragile ecosystem services. Global health control of the ecosystems, published in 2005 by The United Nations Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) observed that technological advancement is the major cause of degradation of the Earth's ecosystem services, which are being used unsustainably. The growing eco-deterioration also impedes the battle against poverty (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA), 2005). Human well-being, economic growth, and social development are dependent on the interrelationships between and within regions and environmental sustainability (Arrow et al., 1995; Folke et al., 1998, Feola, 2015). Uncertainty, diversity and variability of socio-ecosystems are all factors that contribute to their diminishing capacity to cope with disturbance and change within functional groups in the adaptive capacity of ecosystems (Folke et al., 2002; Jackson et al. 2001; Scheffer et al., 2001).

To conserve ecological resources, it is essential to promote sustainable and resilient lifestyles in sustainable urban social-ecosystems (Romero-Lankao, et al., 2016). This can be done with various activities that range from the construction of green spaces, sustainable architecture, green housing, eco-villages, green business and green economic sectors, sustainable urban agriculture and farming, green technologies, renewable energies and designing reversible and flexible systems (Zhang and Babovic, 2012). Sustainable architecture or ecological economics, sustainable technology, and agriculture (Costanza and Patten, 1995) stand out as specific types of sustainable and resilient urban development.

Complete Article List

Search this Journal:
Reset
Volume 15: 1 Issue (2024): Forthcoming, Available for Pre-Order
Volume 14: 1 Issue (2023)
Volume 13: 2 Issues (2022): 1 Released, 1 Forthcoming
Volume 12: 2 Issues (2021)
Volume 11: 2 Issues (2020)
View Complete Journal Contents Listing