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Ellis EC. The Anthropocene condition: evolving through social-ecological transformations. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20220255. [PMID: 37952626 PMCID: PMC10645118 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Accepted: 09/13/2023] [Indexed: 11/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Anthropogenic planetary disruptions, from climate change to biodiversity loss, are unprecedented challenges for human societies. Some societies, social groups, cultural practices, technologies and institutions are already disintegrating or disappearing as a result. However, this coupling of socially produced environmental challenges with disruptive social changes-the Anthropocene condition-is not new. From food-producing hunter-gatherers, to farmers, to urban industrial food systems, the current planetary entanglement has its roots in millennia of evolving and accumulating sociocultural capabilities for shaping the cultured environments that our societies have always lived in (sociocultural niche construction). When these transformative capabilities to shape environments are coupled with sociocultural adaptations enabling societies to more effectively shape and live in transformed environments, the social-ecological scales and intensities of these transformations can accelerate through a positive feedback loop of 'runaway sociocultural niche construction'. Efforts to achieve a better future for both people and planet will depend on guiding this runaway evolutionary process towards better outcomes by redirecting Earth's most disruptive force of nature: the power of human aspirations. To guide this unprecedented planetary force, cultural narratives that appeal to human aspirations for a better future will be more effective than narratives of environmental crisis and overstepping natural boundaries. This article is part of the theme issue 'Evolution and sustainability: gathering the strands for an Anthropocene synthesis'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erle C. Ellis
- Department of Geography & Environmental Systems, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA
- Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford, 34 Broad St, Oxford OX1 3BD, UK
- Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography & Environment, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK
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Suleimany M, Mokhtarzadeh S, Sharifi A. Community resilience to pandemics: An assessment framework developed based on the review of COVID-19 literature. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DISASTER RISK REDUCTION : IJDRR 2022; 80:103248. [PMID: 35991617 PMCID: PMC9375855 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2022.103248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2022] [Revised: 07/25/2022] [Accepted: 08/09/2022] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
The COVID-19 outbreak in 2019 and the challenges it posed to communities around the world, demonstrated the necessity of enhancing the resilience of communities to pandemics. In this regard, assessment frameworks can play an essential role and guide resilience-building efforts. However, the lack of a comprehensive assessment framework has led to a focus on sectoral evaluation. This study aims to propose an integrated framework for assessing the pandemic resilience of communities. For this purpose, we rely on a systematic review of literature indexed in major academic databases. We have thoroughly analyzed a total number of 115 related documents to extract relevant criteria. Findings show that many criteria and factors affect community resilience to pandemics. By inductive content coding in MAXQDA software, we have categorized these criteria into five dimensions of Institutional, Social, Economic, Infrastructural, and Demographic. Good leadership and management, insurance and governmental support, planning and preparation, expertise and labor, and available equipment and technologies are the most important institutional criteria. Communication and collective identity, mutual support, public safety and protection, public awareness, and social justice are the influential social criteria. Economic sustainability and resource availability are criteria of economic resilience. Sufficiency of services, public spaces, housing tenure, and transportation system are the main criteria related to the built environment and infrastructural dimension. Finally, demographic resilience includes physical health, psychological well-being, life quality, and hygiene. Based on these criteria, this study develops an integrated evaluation framework that researchers can implement along with conventional assessment and ranking methods to determine the level of community resilience to pandemics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahdi Suleimany
- Urban Planning and Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Safoora Mokhtarzadeh
- Department of Urbanism, Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism. Daneshpajoohan Pishro Institute, Isfahan, Iran
| | - Ayyoob Sharifi
- Hiroshima University, Graduate School of Humanities and Social Science, Japan
- Hiroshima University, Graduate School of Advances Science and Engineering, Japan
- Network for Education and Research on Peace and Sustainability (NERPS), Japan
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Abstract
Global human health threats, such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, necessitate coordinated responses at multiple levels. Public health professionals and other experts broadly agree about actions needed to address such threats, but implementation of this advice is stymied by systemic factors such as prejudice, resource deficits, and high inequality. In these cases, crises like epidemics may be viewed as opportunities to spark structural changes that will improve future prevention efforts. However, crises can also weaken governance and reinforce systemic failures. In this paper, we use the concept of the governance treadmill to demonstrate cross-level dynamics that help or hinder the alignment of capacities toward prevention during public health crises. We find that variation in capacities and responses across local, national, and international levels contributes to the complex evolution of global and local health governance. Where capacities are misaligned, effective local prevention of global pandemic impacts tends to be elusive in the short term, and multiple cycles of crisis and response may be required before capacities align toward healthy governance. We demonstrate that this transition requires broader societal adaptation, particularly towards social justice and participatory democracy.
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Dixon JM, Weerahewa J, Hellin J, Rola-Rubzen MF, Huang J, Kumar S, Das A, Qureshi ME, Krupnik TJ, Shideed K, Jat ML, Prasad PVV, Yadav S, Irshad A, Asanaliev A, Abugalieva A, Karimov A, Bhattarai B, Balgos CQ, Benu F, Ehara H, Pant J, Sarmiento JMP, Newby JC, Pretty J, Tokuda H, Weyerhaeuser H, Digal LN, Li L, Sarkar MAR, Abedin MZ, Schreinemachers P, Grafton Q, Sharma RC, Saidzoda S, Lopez-Ridaura S, Coffey S, Kam SP, Win SS, Praneetvatakul S, Maraseni T, Touch V, Liang WL, Saharawat YS, Timsina J. Response and resilience of Asian agrifood systems to COVID-19: An assessment across twenty-five countries and four regional farming and food systems. AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS 2021; 193:103168. [PMID: 36284566 PMCID: PMC9584831 DOI: 10.1016/j.agsy.2021.103168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2020] [Revised: 04/26/2021] [Accepted: 05/03/2021] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
CONTEXT The COVID-19 pandemic has been affecting health and economies across the world, although the nature of direct and indirect effects on Asian agrifood systems and food security has not yet been well understood. OBJECTIVES This paper assesses the initial responses of major farming and food systems to COVID-19 in 25 Asian countries, and considers the implications for resilience, food and nutrition security and recovery policies by the governments. METHODS A conceptual systems model was specified including key pathways linking the direct and indirect effects of COVID-19 to the resilience and performance of the four principal Asian farming and food systems, viz, lowland rice based; irrigated wheat based; hill mixed; and dryland mixed systems. Based on this framework, a systematic survey of 2504 key informants (4% policy makers, 6% researchers or University staff, 6% extension workers, 65% farmers, and 19% others) in 20 Asian countries was conducted and the results assessed and analysed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION The principal Asian farming and food systems were moderately resilient to COVID-19, reinforced by government policies in many countries that prioritized food availability and affordability. Rural livelihoods and food security were affected primarily because of disruptions to local labour markets (especially for off-farm work), farm produce markets (notably for perishable foods) and input supply chains (i.e., seeds and fertilisers). The overall effects on system performance were most severe in the irrigated wheat based system and least severe in the hill mixed system, associated in the latter case with greater resilience and diversification and less dependence on external inputs and long market chains. Farming and food systems' resilience and sustainability are critical considerations for recovery policies and programmes, especially in relation to economic performance that initially recovered more slowly than productivity, natural resources status and social capital. Overall, the resilience of Asian farming and food systems was strong because of inherent systems characteristics reinforced by public policies that prioritized staple food production and distribution as well as complementary welfare programmes. With the substantial risks to plant- and animal-sourced food supplies from future zoonoses and the institutional vulnerabilities revealed by COVID-19, efforts to improve resilience should be central to recovery programmes. SIGNIFICANCE This study was the first Asia-wide systems assessment of the effects of COVID-19 on agriculture and food systems, differentiating the effects of the pandemic across the four principal regional farming and food systems in the region.
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Affiliation(s)
- John M Dixon
- Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
- University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Jeevika Weerahewa
- Department of Agricultural Economics and Business Management, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
| | - Jon Hellin
- Sustainable Impact Platform, International Rice Research Institute, Los Banos, Laguna, Philippines
| | - Maria Fay Rola-Rubzen
- School of Agriculture and Environment, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
| | | | - Shalander Kumar
- International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Hyderabad, Telangana, India
| | - Anup Das
- Indian Council of Agricultural Research Research Complex for North-Eastern Hill Region, Tripura, India
| | - Muhammad Ejaz Qureshi
- Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | | | - Kamil Shideed
- Sustainable Agricultural Development and Food Security, Amman, Jordan
| | - Mangi L Jat
- International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, New Delhi, India
| | - P V Vara Prasad
- Department of Agronomy, Sustainable Intensification Innovation Lab, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, USA
| | - Sudhir Yadav
- Sustainable Impact Platform, International Rice Research Institute, Los Banos, Laguna, Philippines
| | - Aamer Irshad
- Food and Agriculture Organisation, Islamabad, Pakistan
| | | | - Aigul Abugalieva
- Kazakh Research Institute of Agriculture and Plant Growing, Almaty, Kazakhstan
| | - Aziz Karimov
- Regional Office for Central Asia and the South Caucasus, International Center for Biosaline Agriculture, Uzbekistan
| | | | - Carol Q Balgos
- University of the Philippines Mindanao, Davao City, Philippines
| | - Fred Benu
- Nusa Cendana University, Kupang, Indonesia
| | - Hiroshi Ehara
- International Center for Research and Education in Agriculture, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
| | | | - Jon M P Sarmiento
- School of Agriculture and Environment, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
| | - Jonathan C Newby
- Alliance of Bioversity International and International Center for Tropical Agriculture, Vientiane, Laos
| | - Jules Pretty
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, United Kingdom
| | - Hiromi Tokuda
- Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
| | | | - Larry N Digal
- University of the Philippines Mindanao, Davao City, Philippines
| | - Lingling Li
- Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Md Abdur Rouf Sarkar
- Agricultural Economics Division, Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, Gazipur, Bangladesh
| | | | | | - Quentin Grafton
- Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
- University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Ram C Sharma
- International Center for Agriculture Research in the Dry Areas, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
| | | | | | | | - Suan Pheng Kam
- 18, Lorong Geh Chong Keat, Tanjung Bungah, 11200 Penang, Malaysia
| | - Su Su Win
- Department of Agricultural Research, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, Yezin, Myanmar
| | | | - Tek Maraseni
- University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Australia
| | - Van Touch
- University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Wei-Li Liang
- Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, Hebei, China
| | | | - Jagadish Timsina
- Global Evergreening Alliance, Melbourne, Australia
- Institute for Study and Development Worldwide, Sydney, Australia
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Adhikari J, Timsina J, Khadka SR, Ghale Y, Ojha H. COVID-19 impacts on agriculture and food systems in Nepal: Implications for SDGs. AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS 2021; 186:102990. [PMID: 33191971 PMCID: PMC7648539 DOI: 10.1016/j.agsy.2020.102990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2020] [Revised: 11/03/2020] [Accepted: 11/05/2020] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
The objective of this study was to understand the impacts of COVID-19 crisis in agriculture and food systems in Nepal and assess the effectiveness of measures to deal with this crisis. The study draws policy implications, especially for farming systems resilience and the achievement of SDGs 1 and 2. The findings are based on (i) three panel discussions over six months with policy makers and experts working at grassroots to understand and manage the crisis, (ii) key informants' interviews, and (iii) an extensive literature review. Results revealed that the lockdown and transport restrictions have had severe consequences, raising questions on the achievement of SDGs 1 and 2, especially in the already vulnerable regions dependent on food-aid. This crisis has also exposed the strengths and limitations of both subsistence and commercial farming systems in terms of resiliency, offering important lessons for policy makers. Traditional subsistence farming appears to be somewhat resilient, with a potential to contribute to key pillars of food security, especially access and stability, though with limited contributions to food availability because of low productivity. On the other hand, commercial farming - limited to the periphery of market centres, cities, and emerging towns and in the accessible areas - was more impacted due to the lack of resilient supply networks to reach even the local market. Lower resiliency of commercial farming was also evident because of its growing dependence on inputs (mainly seeds and fertilizer) on distant markets located in foreign countries. The observation of crisis over eight months unleashed by the pandemic clearly revealed that wage labourers, indigenous people, and women from marginalized groups and regions already vulnerable in food security and malnutrition suffered more due to COVID-19 as they lost both external support and the coping mechanisms. The findings have implications for policies to improve both subsistence and commercial farming systems - in particular the former by improving the productivity through quality inputs and by diversifying, promoting and protecting the indigenous food system, while the latter through sustainable intensification by building reliant supply network linking farming with markets and guarantying the supply of inputs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jagadish Timsina
- Institute of Study and Development Worldwide, Sydney, Australia
- Global Ever Greening Alliance, 1 Vision Drive, Burwood East, Melbourne, Australia
| | | | - Yamuna Ghale
- Independent Consulting, Agriculture, Food Security and Gender, Kathmandu, Nepal
| | - Hemant Ojha
- Institute of Study and Development Worldwide, Sydney, Australia
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