Ecological Visions Report (pdf)

The Report

“Ecological Science and Sustainability for a Crowded Planet: 21^st Century Vision and Action Plan for the Ecological Society of America”

The Ecological Visions Report and Action Plan was submitted to the ESA Governing Board in January 2004. Following feedback from the Board the final technical report was completed. It was then edited by a Science Writer to produce a reader friendly document for distribution to ESA members and colleagues in other scientific disciplines, industry, governmental and non-governmental organizations.
The Report proposes specific actions within the following three Visionary Areas:

Vision 1: Informing Decisions with Ecological Knowledge (ID)

Area A: Integrate advances in ecological knowledge into policy and management decisions that affect ecological sustainability
Area B: Foster a thoughtful public today and educate generations of tomorrow so that the best ecological knowledge informs individual choices about sustainability

Vision 2: Action Areas for Advancing Innovative and Anticipatory Research (AR)

Area A. Build the intellectual and technical infrastructure for ecology
Area B. Create new incentives to recognize and encourage anticipatory and innovative research
Area C. Promote the standardization of data collection, data documentation, and data sharing

Vision 3: Stimulate Cultural Changes For a Forward-Looking and International Ecology (CC)

Area A. Capture, translate and disseminate knowledge on successful collaboration
Area B. Broaden the human and disciplinary dimensions of ecology
Area C. Forge international linkages among ecological scientists and globalize access to ecological knowledge

Please share and discuss the Report with your colleagues. We hope you find it exciting, challenging and provocative.

ESA Governing Board

The Governing Board is discussing implementation of plan and will unveil their priorities at a Special Session during the ESA Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregan. Current and incoming Presidents Bill Schlesinger and Jerry Melillo will led the session (SS-1) “ESA in the 21st Century: The ESA Governing Board Report on the Ecological Visions Project” on Monday, August 2, 1 PM - 2:30 PM, OCC, Meeting Rooms B-117-119.

Ecological Visions Publications

An article published in the Journal Science was prepared by the Ecological Visions Committee. The article lays out the intellectual framework for the ESA action plan, calling for a research agenda focused on ecosystem services and the science of ecological restoration and design. In addition, a dedicated issue in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment is in preparation. The concept behind this Special Issue is to show how efforts to solve serious social and environmental problems could benefit from ecological science, and to link the priority actions identified by the Ecological Visions Project with advances in these areas. The issue will include an introductory article followed by a series of articles written by pairs of authors dealing with the science, policy, and social implications of key global issues of the 21^st century.

Citations:

Palmer, M., E. Bernhardt, E. Chornesky, S. Collins, A. Dobson, C. Duke, B. Gold, R. Jacobson, S. Kingsland, R. Kranz, M. Mappin, M. Martinez, F. Micheli, J. Morse, M. Pace, M. Pascual, S. Palumbi, OJ Reichman, A. Townsend, and M. Turner. 2004. Ecology for a Crowded Planet. Ecological Science and Sustainability for a Crowded Planet: 21st Century Vision and Action Plan for the Ecological Society of America. [Online} URL: www.esa.org/ecovisions

Palmer, M., E. Bernhardt, E. Chornesky, S. Collins, A. Dobson, C. Duke, B. Gold, R. Jacobson, S. Kingsland, R. Kranz, M. Mappin, M. Martinez, F. Micheli, J. Morse, M. Pace, M. Pascual, S. Palumbi, OJ Reichman, A. Simons, A. Townsend, and M. Turner. 2004. Ecology for a Crowded Planet. Science. 304: 5675 (2004). [Online] URL: www.sciencemag.org

M.A. Palmer, E.S. Bernhardt, E.A. Chornesky, S.L. Collins, A.P. Dobson, C. S. Duke, B.D. Gold, R. Jacobson, S. Kingsland, R. Kranz, M.J. Mappin, M.L. Martinez, F. Micheli, J.L. Morse, M.L. Pace, M. Pascual, S. Palumbi, O. J. Reichman, A. Townsend, and M.G. Turner. Ecology for the 21^st Century: an Action Plan. Special Issue of Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. In review.