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Biodiversity revisited through systems thinking

Part of: Multi-dimensionality of the biodiversity crisis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 January 2021

Federico Davila Open the ORCID record for Federico Davila [Opens in a new window] ,
Roel Plant  and
Brent Jacobs
Federico Davila*
Affiliation:
Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney, 253 Jones Street, Ultimo NSW 2007 Australia
Roel Plant
Affiliation:
Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney, 253 Jones Street, Ultimo NSW 2007 Australia
Brent Jacobs
Affiliation:
Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney, 253 Jones Street, Ultimo NSW 2007 Australia
*
Author for correspondence: Federico Davila, Email: [email protected]
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Summary

Systems thinking provides a comprehensive range of theories and methods that are useful for understanding and managing sustainability challenges. Biodiversity conservation is riddled with complex interactions between science, society and myriad interacting systems through temporal and spatial scales. This article presents a synthetic analysis of the history of systems thinking from a genealogical perspective, drawing from hard and soft systems thinking, and resilience and social-ecological systems. Using the anchor point of system leverage points and system characteristics (parameters, feedbacks, design and intent), we employ a diversity of examples to illustrate their relevance to multiple biodiversity related problems. We conclude by illustrating the opportunities for systems thinking to bridge epistemic divides with multiple biodiversity actors working towards conservation outcomes. Systems thinking can support more integrative biodiversity interventions, as they provide a pluralistic set of tools for bridging knowledges and disciplines, which can be useful to create new shared understandings of how to conserve biodiversity.

Keywords

biodiversity revisitedconservationinterdisciplinaryleverage pointsmanagementsciencesustainabilitysystems thinking
Type
Subject Review
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 48 , Issue 1 , March 2021 , pp. 16 - 24
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Foundation for Environmental Conservation

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