strengthening resilience through social ‑ ecological justice andreas rechkemmer vt gfurr october...
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Strengthening Resilience throughSocial‑Ecological Justice
Andreas Rechkemmer
VT GFURROctober 12th, 2014
Resilience Thinking
Social-Ecological Systems
Sustainable Development
Normative Foundations
Global Environmental Change and Development
Global Environmental Change
Degradation of Ecoysstem Services
Growing Vulnerabilities
Large costs for wealth and
development
Undermining the
possibilities to attain global development
The Anthropocene is the period when human activity has overtaken vast parts of the natural cycles on the planet, and has done so in ways that disrupt those cycles and fundamentally threaten us in the years ahead.
Anthropocene’s impacts
The Anthropocene is felt in many areas, e.g.:
rising greenhouse gas emissions, anthropogenic climate change, ozone depletion (Antarctic)
freshwater stress, ocean acidification and depletionhuman dominance of the natural nitrogen cycle through heavy use
of fertilizers to feed a world population of 7 billion peopleloss of multiple ecosystem services
habitat destruction, loss of livelihoods, dramatic loss of biodiversity and food supply
over-fishing, over-hunting, over-gathering, over-exploitation of natural resources leading to population collapse and species
extinctionnew and emerging diseases (many of which are zoonoses) and
global pandemics
Figure SPM.1bObserved change in surface temperature 1901-2012
All Figures © IPCC 2013
Figure SPM.1aObserved globally averaged combined land and ocean surface temperature anomaly 1850-2012
All Figures © IPCC 2013
Figure SPM.4Multiple observed indicators of a changing global carbon cycle
All Figures © IPCC 2013
Figure SPM.10Temperature increase and cumulative carbon emissions
All Figures © IPCC 2013
Figure SPM.9Global mean sea level rise
All Figures © IPCC 2013
Social-Ecological Paradigm Shift
Resilience Ethics
vs. Utilitarianism (Status quo in International Policy)vs. Theories of Social Contract (John Rawls et al.)
But based on an Idea of Justice that goes ‘beyond compassion and humanity’ (Nussbaum 2004, 2006)and builds on rights-based views, and capabilities.
“The basic moral intuition behind the approach concerns the dignity of a form of life that possesses both deep needs and abilities; its basic goal is to address the need for a rich plurality of life activities.” (Nussbaum 2004)
As with human capabilities, the emphasis lies on autonomy, in the sense that all species and natural systems should be enabled to ‘flourish’.
Sustainable Development will be achieved more easily if we place the idea and
principle of Social-Ecological Justice at its very foundation, conceptually as well as in
every action.
In the sense of Kant, Social-Ecological Justice should precisely not be motivated by utilitarian or contractarian approaches,
but rather be perceived as an a priori, transcendental moral principle informing
law, ethics, policy and action alike.
In the Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals (1785), Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) argues that morality is
based neither on the principle of utility, nor on a law of nature, but on human reason. According to Kant, reason tells us what we ought to do, and when we obey our own
reason, only then are we truly free.
Social-Ecological Justice for
HumansAnimals
Biodiversity & EcosystemsPlanetary Systems & Boundaries
