Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
and other issues of equity. In addition to economic opportunity costs, social measures
of need, capacity, and resilience should be taken into consideration. Ecological resto-
ration and stewardship require community resilience and capacity.
Restoring Ecosystems and Social Systems
If, as has already been argued here, ecosystems and social systems are inextricably in-
tertwined, might it follow that restoring one would be restorative of the other? Several
theoretical concepts are useful in exploring the relationships between restoration of
ecological and social systems: capital, community, and resilience.
First, the concept of
capital
is useful beyond its common application in econom-
ics. Social scientists, for example, refer to natural, social, and human capital. Natural
capital represents the stock of natural resources available to produce goods and ser-
vices into the future (Hawken, Lovins, and Lovins 1999; see chaps. 14, 15, this vol-
ume, for further discussion of this concept). Social capital refers to the informal and
institutionalized relationships, social norms, and levels of trust required for coopera-
tion between people (Bourdieu 1977; Coleman 1990; Fukuyama 2002). Human cap-
ital reflects the capacity of individuals to pursue personal goals and objectives, and is
enhanced by good health care, education, and training. Every human community has
some stock of economic, natural, social and human capital, and these strongly influ-
ence the community's character and capacities.
Second, the social science concept of
community
is as essential to restoring eco-
systems as its ecological counterpart. Two types of human communities are relevant.
Since ecological restoration occurs at specific places,
communities of place
are in-
volved. These are the communities of everyday language; the towns, suburbs, cities,
and rural neighborhoods in which most of us live and work. Communities are fields
of interaction where investments in physical, human, and economic capital are
made, and where social capital is built through volunteerism, engagement in civic
life, and membership in religious and secular organizations (Wilkinson 1991). The
work of ecological restoration takes place in and near such communities, mobilizing
their stocks of human and social capital. Restoration also involves
communities of
interest
; associations of individuals with shared concerns, objectives, or interests
(Webber 1970; Wellman 1979; Pavey et al. 2007; see parts 1, 2, this volume). This
type of community may or may not be place based and may converge or dissipate as
issues emerge and fade. The Oregon Oak Communities Working Group represents
one such community of interest. Landowners might be another, to the extent that
they hold attitudes, beliefs, or opinions in common. Like communities of place,
communities of interest require human and social capital to thrive. To be engaged or
supportive, communities of interest must see their interests reflected in restoration
efforts.
Resilience
is the ability of a complex ecological or social system to cope with, adapt
to, and shape change by maintaining function (Holling 2001). Resilience is related to
the amount of disturbance a system can absorb and the degree to which a system is ca-
pable of self-organization, learning, and adaptation (Carpenter et al. 2001). This ca-
