Disturbance ecology in human societies
Metadata
Show full item recordEditorial
Wiley
Materia
Societal adaptations Societal disruptions Societal disturbances Societal vulnerability
Date
2019-05-10Referencia bibliográfica
Pausas, J. G., & Leverkus, A. B. (2023). Disturbance ecology in human societies. People and Nature.[DOI: 10.1002/pan3.10471]
Abstract
1. We define societal disturbances as discrete events that abruptly disrupt the functioning
of human societies. There is a variety of such events, including hurricanes,
floods, epidemics, nuclear accidents, earthquakes and wars, among others. These
disturbances can interact, further increasing their impacts. The severity of disturbances
does not only depend on their intrinsic properties (type, intensity and
magnitude) but also greatly on human aspects (socioeconomic, historical, political
and cultural aspects that define vulnerability).
2. Very large or severe disturbances are infrequent and unpredictable. Yet societal
disturbances are intrinsic to human societies; they have occurred through the
entire human history and will continue to occur in the future. We can increase
preparedness and recovery capacity but cannot avoid disturbances. The type,
regime and scale of disturbances change with the development of societies. The
increase in population density and complexity also increases the severity of many
disturbances.
3. Societal disturbances can temporarily disrupt the functioning of societies.
However, when those disturbances are frequent, societies adapt to them and
thus disturbances contribute to shape cultural evolution. That is, societal disturbances
have a cost at short temporal scales, but they can build up resilience at
mid-to
long-term
scales.
4. Understanding this dynamic view of human systems is becoming more important
as climate is changing, humans are overexploiting natural resources and humanity
is dense and hyperconnected. We need to take advantage of frequent small
disturbances, as they can build resilience and reduce the likelihood of infrequent
large and severe disturbances. Our challenge is to encourage actions and policies
to be prepared for unknown, unpredictable and unprecedented (infrequent)
large-scale
societal disturbances that will surely arrive.