Science, Environment and Development Group

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Citation:

Clark, William C. 2007. Sustainability science: A room of its own. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104(6): 1737-1738.

Abstract:

Sustainability Science is a field defined by the problems it addresses rather than by the disciplines it employs. In particular, the field seeks to facilitate what the National Research Council has called a "transition toward sustainability," improving society's capacity to use the earth in ways that simultaneously meet the needs of a much larger but stabilizing human population, ... sustain the life support systems of the planet, and ... substantially reduce hunger and poverty" The PNAS Editorial Board approved a new section on Sustainability Science, which now shares the masthead with other long-term residents such as Physics, Genetics, and Cell Biology. This editorial constitutes a progress report on the field itself and on the role of PNAS in fostering its development. Sustainability science research focuses on understanding the complex dynamics that arise from interactions between human and environmental systems. Central questions include the following. How can those dynamic interactions be better incorporated into emerging models and conceptualizations that integrate the Earth system, social development, and sustainability? How are long-term trends in environment and development reshaping nature–society interactions? What factors determine the limits of resilience and sources of vulnerability for such interactive systems? What systems of incentive structures can most effectively improve social capacity to guide interactions between nature and society toward more sustainable trajectories? How can science and technology be more effectively harnessed to address sustainability goals? From its core focus on advancing understanding of coupled human–environment systems, sustainability science has reached out with focused problem-solving efforts targeted to urgent human needs. Researchers from around the world are invited to contribute papers to furnish this new room at PNAS.