2016 AAAS Annual Meeting (February 11-15, 2016)

February 10 - 15, 2016

Finding the Balance: Collaboration on Social-Ecological Tipping Points

What does it mean to cross a tipping point? In ecological systems, it can mean collapsed fisheries, savannahs where forests once stood, coral reefs without corals, or a North Pole free of ice. In social systems, it can mean collapsed economies, lost ecosystem services, or eroded cultural identity. Social-ecological systems everywhere are crossing thresholds and undergoing dramatic changes, forcing people to cope with the resulting impacts. Decision-makers are striving to avoid catastrophic shifts or restore ecosystem benefits in systems that have already crossed a tipping point. In light of recent advances in the science of tipping points and growing awareness of their pervasiveness, scientists and managers are co-developing knowledge and tools to anticipate, avoid, or recover from these changes – utilizing tipping points to effect positive change. Together, they are beginning to quantify thresholds associated with social-ecological tipping points, define safe-operating spaces for human activities, and understand how best to recover systems that have already crossed tipping points. This symposium focuses on co-development of practical management tools, jointly presented by a scientist and manager to weave together the science with its application. The session highlights how these novel international collaborations are giving rise to innovative, durable, and sustainable environmental management solutions.