Development Management
Resume:
Landscape Ecol (****) **:**** ****
EDITORIAL
Landscape ecology and sustainability
Zev Naveh
Published online: 25 October 2007
Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2007
in uence on the system, however small, can replace
The sustainability revolution and landscape
existing trends by new trends and processes. It can
ecology
be achieved only by an urgently needed, ecological,
socio-economic and cultural and technological sus-
One of the major themes of the recent 7th IALE
tainability revolution, leading to the sustainable
World Congress was Landscape Ecology and
Sustainability. However, in spite of the many future of nature and human life on Earth.
planning, management, conservation, and restoration In this sustainability revolution full use of scien-
projects presented at the congress and published in ti c and technological potentials should be made for
a post-industrial symbiosis between human society
Landscape Ecology and other journals, the real
impact of landscape ecology (LE) on decision and nature. This requires above all a shift from the
making on sustainable land use is still very limited. fossil age to the solar age of a new world
With exception of the Netherlands, Slovakia, and economy, based on the limitless power of the sun as
UK, the landscape as the most suitable, integra- the non-polluting and renewable energy source. It
tive conceptual, and practical tool for sustainable requires a shift from depletion of natural resources to
development has not yet reached nation- and world- their more ef cient and wiser sustainable use, by
wide recognition. This IALE World Congress took recycling and reducing through- ows of material and
place in the crucial transitional period from the energy and their adverse impacts on human and
industrial age to the global information age. This landscape health. It will be driven not only by the
Macroshift (sensu Laszlo 2001) is marked by a widespread adoption of technological innovations of
severe ecological, cultural, and socio-economic regenerative and recycling methods, but also the
crisis, in which human society has little time left ef cient utilization of solar, wind, water and other
for the choice of navigating this transformation non-polluting and renewable sources of energy. As a
cultural evolutionary process it must be coupled with
either to a breakdown or to breakthrough towards a
sustainable world. Such a breakthrough is a chaos more sustainable lifestyles and consumption patterns,
point (Laszlo 2006), during which any input or caring for nature and even investing in nature.
We will only be able to gain a signi cant in uence
in the decision process towards sustainability if we
Z. Naveh will take an active role in steering this Macroshift
Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
towards such an all-embracing sustainability revolu-
Technion - Israel Institute of Technology,
tion as concerned landscape scientists. Our main
Haifa 32 000, Israel
challenge is to respond together with all those dealing
e-mail: abpo4u@r.postjobfree.com
123
1438 Landscape Ecol (2007) 22:1437 1440
with sustainable land use planning and development our global, deep ecological and cultural crisis, and
to the demands of the emerging global information our readiness to contribute our expertise as scientists
society for sustainable healthy and attractive to become involved in their solution.
landscapes. To cope with the complexity of landscapes as an
integrative part of the complex network interactions
between nature and modern life, we will have to
bridge the gaps between the natural sciences, the
Transformation of landscape ecology
into a transdisciplinary science of landscape social sciences, the arts and humanities. This will
demand a shift from a disciplinary, reductionist,
sustainability
linear thinking to a much broader integrative systems
thinking and acting, joining forces with concerned,
To ful ll such a meaningful role, landscape ecolo-
environmentally and ecological-oriented scientists
gists cannot follow the well-paved road of prevailing
from all these elds in co-active landscape studies.
conventional and chie y outdated mechanistic and
This means that we cannot restrict ourselves merely
positivistic scienti c paradigms, based on the
to the study of the geophysical and ecological
assumption that the only obligation to society and
aspects. We will have to deal also with all relevant
all their merit as true scientists are to provide
natural and human-ecological aspects, concerning the
human-detached and valueless, so-called objective
people living in these landscapes, using, perceiving
scienti c information. We need to transform our
and shaping them. We will have to consider not only
science into a goal-oriented and mission-driven
the material and economic needs of the people, but
post-normal transdisciplinary landscape science.
also their spiritual needs, wants, and aspirations, their
As such we will provide useful pragmatic information
dignity and equity.
which becomes meaningful for the receiver in his
As I have pointed out in a transdisciplinary
reaction for helping to change reality by sustainable
education program for sustainable development
landscape planning and design, management, conser-
(Naveh 2002, 2007), most Asian developing coun-
vation, and restoration. Accepting this challenge we
tries, like China, have still the chance to avoid the
will have to become committed actors (Di Castri
fatal mistakes in highly developed industrial coun-
1997) and join all those concerned with the future of
tries. Asian people should not accept uncritically
life on Earth and the welfare of all its inhabitants.
the strife of most Western people to pursue only
We cannot predict with certainty what will happen
one-sided economic goals of quantitative and mate-
to our landscapes by extrapolating from what has
rialistic values, by which development is regarded
happened in the past, and we can therefore also not
as economic growth, and not as overall qualitative
predict in certain terms their future. But we can help
improvement and progress. They still have the oppor-
to shape their future. We can attempt to anticipate
tunity to develop their own version of sustainable
their fate and the risks involved by further misuse and
development, based on authentic and indigenous
degradation and the prospects for further sustainable
natural and cultural values and traditions, such as
development. We can illustrate these anticipations by
shaped by the naturalism of La-Tzu, the social
modeling different scenarios, realizing the most
discipline of Confucius, and the concerns with
desirable scenarios, both for human society and
personal enlightenment of Buddha. The major chal-
nature, and prescribe the best practical remedies.
lenge for landscape scientists in all developing
For this purpose our landscape theory cannot be
countries is to ensure that in their work their native
bound by a rigid, human detached and mechanistic
cultural values should be modernized but not
predictive theory, for which classical Newtonian
westernized by careful, step-by step transformation
physics has served as a model. Landscape ecology
into well-adapted, comprehensive, planning and land
has to become a post-normal prognostic and
use strategies to provide lasting, synergistic bene ts
prescriptive and normative science. It has to be
for the people, their economy, culture and their rural
guided by a much broader and exible, future-
and urban landscapes.
oriented and holistic view of the world systems, of
123
Landscape Ecol (2007) 22:143*-****-****
Trends towards holistic and transdisciplinary of its potentials. As the pre x trans indicates, in
landscape ecology contrast to interdisciplinary it goes not between but
across and even beyond disciplines and their related
Already in 1982, the rst president of IALE Isaac activities, creating an entirely new type of integrative
Zonneveld, raised the ag of a holistic and transdis- knowledge, leading to new relationships between
ciplinary landscape ecological paradigm at the rst researchers and all others involved. Based on
international conference, organized by the Nether- systems theory and network thinking a new quality
lands Association of Landscape Ecology (Zonneveld of scienti c knowledge should emerge, enabling a
1982). Dutch landscape ecologists succeeded to better comprehension of the complexities of the real
create a truly interdisciplinary and in uential science world, which has been fragmentized both by acade-
of landscape assessment, design, planning, and con- micians and practitioners into different elds of
servation management. They took the lead in disciplinary knowledge and interests. The main
innovation and transformation towards inter-and difference between both concepts lies therefore not
transdisciplinary landscape research and management only in the broader range of participants in landscape
in Europe, demanding much broader holistic concep- research, but in the different nature of the mutual
tions with clearer de nitions of theoretical and relationships of these participants, opening many
practical aims (Klijn and Vos 2000; Tress et al. more options for resolving the complex problems
2003, 2004). As re ected in the special symposium which landscape research is facing (Naveh 2007).
on holistic LE in action (Palang et al. 2000), also in The rst prerequisite to attain this goal is to provide
other European countries, there are similar trends. better opportunities for a constructive dialogue and for
The implementation of transdisciplinary concepts, fruitful interactions in our IALE conferences and
methods and practices in Germany and Central initiate joint meetings with other relevant scienti c
Europe was discussed by Bastian and Steinhardt organizations. Instead of organizing many parallel
(2002). Major advances towards transdisciplinary sessions with an overwhelming amount of fragmen-
concepts and their application in the Mediterranean tized frontal information in overlapping sessions, each
have been presented by Makhzoumi and Pungetti participant should present before the conference his or
(1999). There are also many promising signs in the her lecture on the internet and only a short summary at
USA and Canada the strongest and most active the meeting itself in joint, interdisciplinary lectures.
branch of IALE transdisciplinary aspects are get- Also, questions and rst comments and their feedback
ting more and more attention (Wu 2006). could be interchanged through the internet, and the
meeting should be devoted chie y to the nal discus-
sion, leading if possible to joint conclusions.
The true meaning of transdisciplinarity Instead of publishing the lectures, which are anyhow
already available on the internet, it would be much
Transdisciplinarity has become of great signi cance in more important to publish the (edited) full protocol of
almost all spheres of life and many different elds of summaries, discussions and conclusions of the meet-
knowledge. However, the rapidly growing number of ing. This will be much more demanding for the
publications dealing with transdisciplinarity has not organizers, but it would be much more ef cient in its
contributed much to a better understanding of its true nal transdisciplinary outcome. It will enable to utilize
meaning. In the context of scienti c activities this has the bene ts of electronic information with the impor-
caused a misunderstanding of the true distinction tant, enlightening person-to-person contact which we
between interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity, should never sacri ce to the cult of the computer.
regarding the latter merely as a broader range of
partnership in research than interdisciplinarity.
References
Transdisciplinarity certainly involves a higher
level of integration and cooperation, but these
Bastian O, Steinhardt U (eds) (2002) Development and per-
distinctions are not suf cient to identify its true
spectives in landscape ecology. Conceptions, methods,
conceptual and epistemological meaning. They are application. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dodrecht, The
not suf cient for a full comprehension and realization Netherlands
123
1440 Landscape Ecol (2007) 22:1437 1440
Di Castri F (1997) Editorial: landscape in a changing global- by E. Allen. Springer Landscape Series 7, Dodrecht, The
ized environment. Landsc Ecol 12:3 5 Netherlands
Klijn J, Vos W (eds) (2000) From landscape ecology to land- Palang H, Mander U, Naveh Z (eds) (2000) Holistic landscape
scape science. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dodrecht, ecology in action (Special Issue). Landsc Urban Plan
The Netherlands 50:1 6
Laszlo E (2001) MACROSHIFT navigating the transformation Tress B, Tress G, van der Valk A, Fry G (eds) (2003) Inter-
to a sustainable world. Berret-Koehler Publishers, Inc. disciplinary and transdisciplinary landscape Studies:
San Francisco, USA potentials and limitations. Delta Series 2, Wageningen,
Laszlo E (2006) The chaos point. The world at the crossroads. The Netherlands
Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc Tress, G, Tress B, Harms, B, Smeets P, van der Valk (eds)
Makhzoumi J, Pungetti G (1999) Ecological landscape design (2004) Planning metropolitan landscapes. Delta Series 4,
and planning: the mediterranean context. E& FN Spon, Wageningen, The Netherlands
London, UK Wu J (2006) Landscape ecology, cross-disciplinarity, and
Naveh Z (2002) A transdisciplinary education program for sustainability science. Landsc Ecol 21:1 4
regional sustainable development. Int J Ecol Environ Sci Zonneveld IS (1982) Land(scape) ecology, a science or a state
28:167 191 of mind. In: Tjallingii SP, de Veer AA (eds) Perspectives
Naveh Z (2007) Transdisciplinary challenges for landscape in landscape ecology. Pudoc, Wageningen, The Nether-
ecology and restoration ecology an anthology with lands, pp 9 16
forewords by E. Laszlo and M. Antrop and Epilogue
123
Contact this candidate