Natural Capital Conversations: Is the science and practice of resilience changing the way we do development?

In this conversation, we will explore whether the last ten years of substantial investments in resilience programs are helping development practices to better engage in complex and turbulent contexts. By using a recent framework involving six key features of complex systems, we review the progress made by resilience projects and programs around the world to reorient their focus and approach to account for these features. We will present our findings of innovative practices and how they are resolving some of the long-standing tensions in development. However, our findings also show challenges remain when the dominant applications diverge substantially from the science and in some cases undermine resilience and increase vulnerability. We will also, in conversation with the audience, explore what this means for natural capital and ecosystem service approaches and our collaborative efforts to reshape development practice and policy toward more sustainable futures.

Panelists:

• Belinda Reyers, Professor of Sustainability Science at the University of Pretoria in South Africa and a Research Affiliate of the Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics at The Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences
• Michele-Lee Moore, Director of Transdisciplinary Education at Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University
• Jamila Haider, Researcher at Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University
• Maja Schlüter, Professor at Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University
• Moderator: Anne Guerry, Chief Strategy Officer and Lead Scientist at the Natural Capital Project, Stanford University