“Panarchy” is the term we use to describe a conceptthat explains the evolving nature of complexadaptive systems. Panarchy is the hierarchicalstructure in which systems of nature (for example,forests, grasslands, lakes, rivers, and seas), and humans(for example, structures of governance, settlements,and cultures), as well as combined human–nature systems (for example, agencies thatcontrol natural resource use) (Gunderson and others1995) and social-ecological systems (for instance,co-evolved systems of management) (Folkeand others 1998), are interlinked in never-endingadaptive cycles of growth, accumulation, restructuring,and renewal. These transformational cyclestake place in nested sets at scales ranging from a leafto the biosphere over periods from days to geologicepochs, and from the scales of a family to a sociopoliticalregion over periods from years to centuries.If we can understand these cycles and their scales, itseems possible to evaluate their contribution to sustainabilityand to identify the points at which asystem is capable of accepting positive change andthe points where it is vulnerable. It then becomespossible to use those leverage points to foster resilienceand sustainability within a system.
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“Panarchy” is the term we use to describe a conceptthat explains the evolving nature of complexadaptive systems. Panarchy is the hierarchicalstructure in which systems of nature (for example,forests, grasslands, lakes, rivers, and seas), and humans(for example, structures of governance, settlements,and cultures), as well as combined human–nature systems (for example, agencies thatcontrol natural resource use) (Gunderson and others1995) and social-ecological systems (for instance,co-evolved systems of management) (Folkeand others 1998), are interlinked in never-endingadaptive cycles of growth, accumulation, restructuring,and renewal. These transformational cyclestake place in nested sets at scales ranging from a leafto the biosphere over periods from days to geologicepochs, and from the scales of a family to a sociopoliticalregion over periods from years to centuries.If we can understand these cycles and their scales, itseems possible to evaluate their contribution to sustainabilityand to identify the points at which asystem is capable of accepting positive change andthe points where it is vulnerable. It then becomespossible to use those leverage points to foster resilienceand sustainability within a system.