Twenty-first century ecosystems
Subtitle: managing the living world two centuries after Darwin : report of a symposium
By: Committee for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: A Symposium, U.S. National Committee for DIVERSITAS, Board on International Scientific Organizations, Policy and Global Affairs, National Research Council of the National Academies
Contributors: National Research Council (U.S.). U.S. National Committee for DIVERSITAS
Publisher: National Academies Press
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Washington, D.C
Language: eng
Number of pages: 75
ISBN-13: 9780309209014
Subjects: International cooperation; Congresses; Ecosystem management; Biodiversity conservation
Description: "In honor of Darwin's birthday, the National Research Council appointed a committee under the auspices of the U.S. National Committee (USNC) for DIVERSITAS to plan a Symposium on Twenty-first Century Ecosystems. The purpose of the symposium was to capture some of the current excitement and recent progress in scientific understanding of ecosystems, from the microbial to the global level, while also highlighting how improved understanding can be applied to important policy issues that have broad biodiversity and ecosystem effects. The aim was to help inform new policy approaches that could satisfy human needs while also maintaining the integrity of the goods and services provided by biodiversity and ecosystems over both the short and the long terms. This report summarizes the views expressed by symposium participants; however, it does not provide a session-by-session summary of the presentations at the symposium. Instead, the symposium steering committee identified eight key themes that emerged from the lectures, which were addressed in different contexts by different speakers. The focus here is on general principles rather than specifics. These eight themes provide a sharp focus on a few concepts that enable scientists, environmental NGOs, and policy makers to engage more effectively around issues of central importance for biodiversity and ecosystem management"--Publisher description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.

Also available in Open Book format via the National Academies Press home page.
Table of contents: title: Eight themes for managing the living world. Learning what we have; title: Learning how ecosystems are working and changing; title: Saving what we can; title: Managing ecosystems as complex adaptive systems; title: Increasing capacity to inform policy through integrated science; title: Increasing societal capacity to manage and adapt to environmental change; title: Strengthening international institutions and U.S. engagement and leadership; title: Accounting for the value of nature.