by Brian Walker and David Salt

Taken from Chapter 1:
"Living in a Complex World: An Introduction to Resilience Thinking
"Life is full of surprises. Sometimes we take them in stride; some times they trip us up.

"Consider these questions: In business, why is a competitor's new product sometimes only a minor hiccough but at other times a major shock can destroy an enterprise? In industry, how is growth sometimes unaffected by medium interest rate rises but at other times the smallest changes brings things crashing down? Why is it that the same drought that causes serious degradation of resources on one farm has little effect on another?

"The response of any system to shocks and disturbances depends on its particular context, its connections across scales, and its current state. Every situation is different; things are always changing. It's a complex world."

Contents:

• Living in a Complex World: An Introduction to Resilience Thinking
• Case Study: Carving up a National Icon: The Florida Everglades
• The System Rules: Creating a Mind Space for Resilience Thinking
• Case Study: Between a (Salt) Rock and a Hard Place: The Goulburn-Broken Catchment, Australia
• Crossing the Threshhold: Be Careful about the Path You Choose - You May Not Be Able to Return
• Case Study: Losing the Jewel in the Crown: The Coral Reefs of the Caribbean
• In the Loop: Phases, Cycle, and Scales - Adaptive Cycles and How Systems Change
• Case Study: Scenarios on the Lakes: The Northern Highlands Lake District, Wisconsin
• Making Sense of Resilience: How Do You Apply Resilience Thinking?
• Case Study: Building Resilience in the Wetlands: The Kristianstads Vattenrike, Sweden
• Creating Space in a Shrinking World: Resilience and Sustainability