Pamela Matson is dean of the School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences and the Goldman Professor of Environmental Studies at Stanford University. William C. Clark is the Harvey Brooks Professor of International Science, Public Policy, and Human Development at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. Krister Andersson is professor of political science at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
An essential guide to sustainable development for students and practitioners
Sustainability is a global imperative and a scientific challenge like no other. This concise guide provides students and practitioners with a strategic framework for linking knowledge with action in the pursuit of sustainable development, and serves as an invaluable companion to more narrowly focused courses dealing with sustainability in particular sectors such as energy, food, water, and housing, or in particular regions of the world.
Written by leading experts, Pursuing Sustainability shows how more inclusive and interdisciplinary approaches and systems perspectives can help you achieve your sustainability objectives. It stresses the need for understanding how capital assets are linked to sustainability goals through the complex adaptive dynamics of social-environmental systems, how committed people can use governance processes to alter those dynamics, and how successful interventions can be shaped through collaborations among researchers and practitioners on the ground.
The ideal textbook for undergraduate and graduate students and an invaluable resource for anyone working in this fast-growing field, Pursuing Sustainability also features case studies, a glossary, and suggestions for further reading.
• Provides a strategic framework for linking knowledge with action
• Draws on the latest cutting-edge science and practices
• Serves as the ideal companion text to more narrowly focused courses
• Utilizes interdisciplinary approaches and systems perspectives
• Illustrates concepts with a core set of case studies used throughout the book
• Written by world authorities on sustainability
• An online illustration package is available to professors "A valuable resource for academic learning in higher education settings, as well as an informative tool to guide the practice of sustainability in institutional environments. . . . The framework they have presented in this book is adaptable for numerous social-ecological contexts at multiple scales for people working together to create change in pursuit of sustainable development and promote well-being of people for today and for the future."---Robert B. Richardson, Ecological Economics "The thoughtful structure and clear writing make this a model for textbooks in any discipline."---Ted Lefroy, Quarterly Review of Biology "Maybe we only have a short period, of a couple of decades at most, before the task of truly embedding sustainability is either plausibly possible or tragically beyond us. This book offers a vision of what is possible."---Tim O'Riordan, Environment "The strongest part of Sustainability is its ability to lay out clear and basic definitions without being patronizing to a less academic reader."---Bradley E. Keelor, Science and Public Policy "If we are to make peace with nature, the effort will have to come from us all. This very moving book is the finest introduction to the subject I have seen. It does not avoid technicalities, but can be read with equal benefit by the young and the old with no prior knowledge of the complexities we face."-Sir Partha Dasgupta, Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus of Economics, University of Cambridge "Sustainability can seem like a faraway, nebulous dream. Through a clear framework, iconic case studies, and a beautiful, accessible style, Pursuing Sustainability brings this dream to life. A must-read for anyone concerned about the future health of our planet."-Gretchen C. Daily, cofounder of the Natural Capital Project and author
