Extending Systems thinking from ecosystems to policy impact

Session: Systems Practice: A Solution to Address “Wicked” Problems?

Pauline Gerrard, IISD Experimental Lakes Area, [email protected]

Abstract

IISD Experimental Lakes Area has 50 years of experience conducting whole ecosystem research in small boreal lakes in northern canada.  This cross disiplinary approach seeks to understand the impacts humans are having on ecosystems as a whole, focusing on the relationships between aspects of the ecosystem and how they affect each other, leading to many unexpected insights that were not evident from lab based research.  

Systems thinking is an approach to examining the world around us and the underlying systems within which society and the environment function.  This presentation will examine the bridge between ecosystem science and policy outcomes and how taking a systems approach to both can lead to better outcomes. 

Twitter handle of presenter
@GerrardPauline