Paradigm Shift

There are indicators that there is a paradigm shift going on in environmental science and ecosystem restoration and management.

A. New Rules in Operation

science and management activies are currently working under a different set of actual rules compared to espoused rules

shifting from:	to:
science is value neutral	the definition of problems includes a large component of values
science provides the facts	science helps discover trends and evidence of early warning
ecosystem restoration establishes a new equilibrium through a type of succession	restoration processes are highly dynamic and rely on disturbances
goal of ecosystem management is to establish a self-sufficient ecosystem	goal is to reach a political compromise that serves both ecological and social needs

reference?

B. Paradigm shift doesn't destroy the old

Kuhn's version of changing paradigms seems to imply that the old version is destroyed.

(*** comment on this **)

I like another version proposed by Primack and Abrams (2006) that says new paradigms delinate the old paradigms, showing where they are true and where they no longer hold. This essentially turns the old paradigm into principles or tested theories, and leaves the new science frontier to the new paradigm.

diagramatically - Figure1 from Primack and Abrams 2006

 

C. Changing paradigm in Ecosystem Restoration

see Hobbs 1998 and Pahl-Wostl 1998, Table 7.1

Traditional view

Equilibrium
Set the conditions and it will happen
Restoration works like stages in succession

Emerging view

Dynamic states
Need precursor states as filters for community development
May need disturbances (natural or human perturbation)

It should be expected that people who work in this field, and who have a change in their discipline will have a different world view and a different perspective on problems, from ecosystem to the institutions that they work with.

Peoples' academic discipline or professional training has a big impact on their problem solving approach.

good - solving problems with sophisticated cognitive strategies that focus on the specifics of the situation (Atran-medin-2008)

bad - people would rather make a mistake in a knowledge domain in which they are familiar than to make a better guess in an unfamiliar or ambiguous area (Fox and Tversky 2000 and see reinterpretation-NRC-table.html as an example).

D. Table "Changing Paradigms"

Static Equilibrium	Dynamic
Stability	Resilience
One regional plan	Plans at multiple scales
Powerful general models	Place specificity
Clear separation between science and management	Post normal science, scientific adaptive management
Mechanistic models	Organic, co-evolution models

 

 

 

F. Table from Pahl-Wostl 1998 pg 169

	Prevailing philosophy	Advanced perspective
The overall goal is to	search for an optimal solution, reach a preconceived goal	design an adaptive process, define and redefine goals
participants involved are	decision makers, scientists	decision makers, scientists, citizens
research	reduces uncertainties	reveals indeterminant factors
models	make quantitative predictions	convey qualitative knowledge
political measures	are rigid, controlling enforce regulation	are flexible, adaptive foster innovation