Sustainability Science

Author(s): Robert W. Kates, William C. Clark, Robert Corell, J. Michael Hall, Carlo C. Jaeger,
Ian Lowe, James J. McCarthy, Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Bert Bolin, Nancy M. Dickson,
Sylvie Faucheux, Gilberto C. Gallopin, Arnulf Grübler, Brian Huntley, Jill Jäger, Narpat S.
Jodha, Roger E. Kasperson, Akin Mabogunje, Pamela Matson, Harold Mooney, Berrien Moore
III, Timothy O'Riordan, Uno Svedin
Source: Science, New Series, Vol. 292, No. 5517 (Apr. 27, 2001), pp. 641-642
Published by: American Association for the Advancement of Science
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3083523
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 '0 0'

(iv) recognizethe wide rangeof outlooks

POLICY FORUM: ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT regardingwhat makes knowledge usable
within both science and society. Pertinent
actions are not orderedlinearlyin the fa-
Sustainability Science miliar sequence of scientific inquiry,
where action lies outsidethe researchdo-
Robert W. Kates, William C. Clark,* Robert Corell, J. Michael Hall, Carlo C. Jaeger, main. In areaslike climate change, scien-
Ian Lowe, James J. McCarthy,Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Bert Bolin, tific exploration,and practicalapplication
Nancy M. Dickson, Sylvie Faucheux, Gilberto C. Gallopin, Arnulf Grubler, must occur simultaneously.They tend to
Brian Huntley, Jill Jager, Narpat S. Jodha, Roger E.Kasperson, Akin Mabogunje, influenceandbecomeentangledwith each
Pamela Matson, Harold Mooney, Berrien Moore III,Timothy O'Riordan,Uno Svedin other(5).
In each phase of sustainabilityscience
M eeting fundamentalhumanneeds natureand society. Such an understanding research, novel schemes and techniques
whilepreserving thelife-support sys- must encompassthe interactionof global have to be used, extended, or invented.
temsof planetEarthis theessenceof processes with the ecological and social These include observationalmethodsthat
sustainable development, an idea that characteristics of particularplaces and sec- blend remote sensing with fieldwork in
emergedin the early 1980s from scientific tors (3). The regionalcharacterof muchof conceptually rigorous ways, integrated
perspectiveson the relationbetweennature what sustainabilityscience is tryingto ex- place-based models that are based on
andsociety(1). Duringthelate'80s andearly plainmeansthatrelevantresearchwill have semiqualitativerepresentationsof entire
'90s,however,muchof the scienceandtech- to integratethe effects of key processes classes of dynamicbehavior,and inverse
nology communitybecameincreasinglyes- acrossthe full rangeof scales fromlocal to approachesthatstartfrom outcomesto be
trangedfromthe preponderantly societaland global (4). It will also requirefindamental avoided and work backwardsto identify
politicalprocessesthatwereshapingthe sus- advancesin our abilityto addresssuch is- relativelysafe corridorsfor a sustainabili-
tainabledevelopmentagenda.This is now sues as the behaviorof complexself-orga- ty transition. New methodological ap-
changingas effortsto promotea sustainability nizing systems as well as the responses, proachesfor decisionsundera wide range
transition emergefrominternational scientific some irreversible, of the nature-society
sys- of uncertaintiesin naturaland socioeco-
programs,the world'sscientificacademies, tem to multiple and
andindependent networksof scientists(2). interacting stresses. Globall
Combiningdifferent issues North
Core Questions ways of knowingand Old,richmillions
Affluence
A new field of sustainability science is learning will permit "Globalpeople"
emergingthatseeks to understandthe fin- differentsocial actors Resourcesurpluses *
damentalcharacterof interactionsbetween to work in concert, Causes of climatechanger ..
Technologicalknowledg9e " Young,poorbillions
even with much un-
Theory-driven research Poverty
R.W. Kates, 33 Popple Point,Trenton,ME04605, certaintyand limited
USA.W. C. Clarkand N. M.Dickson,KerinedySchool f 9 "Localpeople"
information. Resourceshortages
of Government,HarvardUniversity,Cambridge,MA With a vieW to-
02138, USA.R.Corell,American Meteorological Soci- / Impactsof climatechange
ety,Washington,DC20005, USA.J. M.Hall,National ward promoting the knowledge
Traditional
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Silver research necessary Local Action-drivenresearch
Spring, MD 20910, USA. C. C. Jaeger and H. J. to achieve such ad- issues South
Schellnhuber,PotsdamInstitutefor ClimateImpact vances, we propose Sustainabilityscience within a dividedworld.
Research,PotsdamD-14412, Germany.I.Lowe,Grif-
fith University,Nathan41 11,Australia. J.J. McCarthy,
an initial set of core
HarvardUniversity,Cambridge,MA02138, USA.B. questions for sustainabilityscience (see nomic systems are becoming available
Bolin, Stockholm University,Stockholm S-18451, the tableon page 642). These are meantto and need to be more widely exploited,as
Sweden.S. Faucheux,Centred'Economieet d'ethique focus researchattentionon boththe funda- does the systematic use of networksfor
pour l'Environment et le Developpement,Universite
de Versailles,Guyancourt78047, France.G. C. Gal-
mental characterof interactionsbetween the utilizationof expertiseandthe promo-
lopin, EconomicCommissionfor LatinAmericaand natureand society andon society'scapaci- tion of social learning (6). Finally, in a
the Caribbean,Santiago,Chile.A. Grubler,Interna- ty to guide those interactionsalong more worldput at risk by the unintendedconse-
tional Institutefor AppliedSystemsAnalysis,Vienna sustainabletrajectories. quences of scientific progress,participa-
A-2361,Austria.B.Huntley,NationalBotanicalInsti- tory procedures involving scientists,
tute, CapeTown7735, SouthAfrica.J.Jager,Interna-
tional HumanDimensionProgrammeon GlobalEn- Research Strategies stakeholders, advocates, active citizens,
vironmentalChange,BonnD-53113, Germany.N. S. The sustainabilitysciencethatis necessary and users of knowledge are critically
Jodha,InternationalCentrefor IntegratedMountain to addressthese questionsdiffersto a con- needed(7).
Development, Katmandu,Nepal. R. E. Kasperson, siderabledegreein structure,methods,and
Stockholm EnvironmentInstitute, Stockholm 103
14, Sweden.A. Mabogunje,DevelopmentPolicyCen- content from science as we know it. In Institutions and Infrastructure
tre, Ibadan,Nigeria.P.Matsonand H. Mooney,Stan- particular,sustainabilityscience will need Progressin sustainabilityscience will re-
*fordUniversity,Stanford,CA 94305, USA.B. Moore to do the following:(i) span the range of quire fosteringproblem-driven,interdisci-
III,Institute for the Study of Earth,Oceans, and spatial scales between such diverse phe- plinaryresearch;buildingcapacityfor this
Space, Universityof New Hampshire,Durham,NH
03824, USA.T.O'Riordan, Centrefor Socialand Eco- nomena as economicglobalizationand lo- research;creatingcoherentsystems of re-
nomic Researchon the GlobalEnvironment, Univer- cal farmingpractices,(ii) accountfor both search planning, operationalmonitoring,
sity of EastAnglia,NorwichNR4 7TJ,UK.U. Svedin, the temporalinertia and urgency of pro- assessment,andapplication;andproviding
Swedish Councilfor Planningand Coordinationof cesses like ozone depletion,(iii) deal with reliable,long-termfinancialsupport.Insti-
Research(FRN),StockholmS-10387,Sweden.
functionalcomplexitysuch as is evidentin tutionsfor sustainabilityscience must fos-
*Towhom correspondenceshould be sent. E-mail: recentanalysesof environmental degrada- ter the developmentof capacitiesranging
william_clark@harvard.edu tion resultingfrom multiple stresses;and fromrapidappraisalof knowledgeandex-

www.sciencemag.org SCIENCE VOL292 27APRIL2001 641

 SCIENCE'S COMPASS
perienceneeds in specific field situations, comprehensiveapproachto capacitybuild- ing the social learningthat will be neces-
throughglobaloperationalobservationand ing will have to nurturethese global insti- sary to navigatethe transitionto sustain-
reportingsystems,to long-termintegrated tutions in tandem with locally focused, ability. It is along this pathway-in the
researchon nature-societyinteractionsin trusted,andstableinstitutionsthatcan inte- field, in the simulationlaboratory,in the
key placesandregionsof the world. grateworksituatedin particularplacesand users' meeting, and in the quiet study-
Generatingadequatescientific capacity groundedin particularculturaltraditions that sustainabilityscience has alreadybe-
and institutional support in developing with the global knowledgesystem. Exam- gunto flourish(9).
countriesis particularlyurgentas they are ples of such arrangements are few, but our
most vulnerableto the multiple stresses experienceincludessuch diverseexamples References and Notes
thatarisefromrapid,simultaneouschanges as zlobalENSO (El Nifio-SouthernOscil- 1. K. A. Annan, We, the Peoples: The Role of the United
lation) forecastingand Nations in the 21st Century (United Nations, New
York, 2000), www.un.org/millennium/sg/report/
decision support sys- full.htm;National ResearchCouncil,Boardon Sustain-
COREQUESTIONS OFSUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE tems in Africa, scien- able Development, Our Common Journey: A Transition
Toward Sustainability (National Academy Press, Wash-
Howcan the dynamicinteractionsbetween natureand soci- tific support for the ington,DC, 1999), www.nap.edu/catalog/9690.html; R.
ety-including lags and inertia-be better incorporatedinto Convention on Long- Watson,J.A. Dixon,S. P. Hamburg,A. C. Janetos,R. H.
emergingmodels and conceptualizationsthat integratethe Range Transboundary Moss, Protecting Our Planet, Securing Our Future
Earthsystem, humandevelopment,and sustainability? (United Nations EnvironmentProgramme,Nairobi,
AirPollutionin Europe,
.... ...... ....... ..... .. ... ... ....... .......... .............. .......... ............. ...... ........... . . .. .. ............................................................ ...........................
1998), wwwesd.worldbank.org/planet/.
Howare long-termtrendsin environmentand development, the YaquiValley study 2. Informationregardingsome leading internationalsci-
includingconsumptionand population,reshapingnature- of land-use change in entific programs can be found at www.igbp.kva.se/
society interactionsin ways relevantto sustainability? index.html; www.uni-bonn.de/ihdp; www.wmo.ch/
Mexico,the Sustainable web/wcrp/; www.icsu.org/DIVERSITAS; and
Whatdeterminesthe vulnerabilityor resilienceof the nature- Cities Ph.D. program www.start.org/. Efforts of the world's scientific
society system in particularkindsof places and for particular with its focus on Los academies are reported in Transition to Sustainabili-
types of ecosystems and humanlivelihoods? ty in the 21st Century (Tokyo Summit of May 2000),
Angeles, and mountain
..............................................................................................................................................................
http://interacademies.net/intracad/tokyo2000.nsf/all/
Canscientificallymeaningful"limits"or "boundaries" be de- development in the home. Independent networks include the Resilience
fined that wouldprovideeffective warningof conditionsbe- Alliance, www.resalliance.org, the Global Scenario
yond whichthe nature-societysystems incura significantly
Himalayas. In the Hi- Group,www.gsg.org, and the Sustainability Science
increasedriskof seriousdegradation? malayanstudy, for ex- Initiative,http://sustainabilityscience.org.
ample, local institu-
.............................................................................................................................................................. 3. GermanAdvisoryCouncilon GlobalChange(WBGU),
Whatsystems of incentivestructures-includingmarkets, World in Transition: The Research Challenge (Annual
rules,norms,and scientificinformation-can most effectively tional teams including Report 1996, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1997),
improvesocial capacityto guide interactionsbetween nature naturaland social sci- www.wbgu.de/wbgu_publications.html;National Re-
and society towardmore sustainabletrajectories? entists from five coun- search Council, Committee on Global Change Re-
............................................................................................................................................................... search, The Science of Regional and Global Change:
Howcan today'soperationalsystems for monitoringand re- tries (China, India, Putting Knowledge to Work (National Academy
portingon environmentalandsocial conditionsbe integrated Nepal, Pakistan, and Press,Washington, DC, 2000), http://books.nap.edu/
or extendedto providemore usefulguidancefor efforts to Bangladesh) plus the catalog/10048.html.
4. D. W. Cash, S. C. Moser, Global Environ. Change 10,
navigatea transitiontowardsustainabitity? International Centre 109 (2000); C. Gibson, E. Ostrom,T.Ahn, EcoLEcon.
.................................................................................................................................................................

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9. Foradditionalinformation,see the SustainabilitySci-
that link interdisciplinaryresearchteams 2002. Third(andmost important),research ence Forumat http://sustainabilityscience.org.
acrossregionsandusersof scientificinfor- itself must be focused on the characterof 10. Supplementarymaterial is available on Science On-
mationwith the scientistswho provideit. A nature-societyinteractions,on our ability line at www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/292/
551 7/641/DC1.
few institutionswith wide-rangingglobal to guide those interactionsalong sustain- 11. We gratefullyacknowledgesupport from the Swedish
capabilitiesareneededas well. However,a able trajectories,and on ways of promot- FRN,NOAA,PackardFoundation,and NSF.

642 27APRIL2001 VOL292 SCIENCE www.sciencemag.org