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Lessons from the past, policies for the future: resilience and sustainability in past crises

Author

Listed:
  • John Haldon

    (Princeton University)

  • Merle Eisenberg

    (National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center)

  • Lee Mordechai

    (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

  • Adam Izdebski

    (Max-Planck-Inst. for the Science of Human History, PI)

  • Sam White

    (Ohio State University)

Abstract

This article surveys some examples of the ways past societies have responded to environmental stressors such as famine, war, and pandemic. We show that people in the past did think about system recovery, but only on a sectoral scale. They did perceive challenges and respond appropriately, but within cultural constraints and resource limitations. Risk mitigation was generally limited in scope, localized, and again determined by cultural logic that may not necessarily have been aware of more than symptoms, rather than actual causes. We also show that risk-managing and risk-mitigating arrangements often favored the vested interests of elites rather than the population more widely, an issue policy makers today still face.

Suggested Citation

  • John Haldon & Merle Eisenberg & Lee Mordechai & Adam Izdebski & Sam White, 2020. "Lessons from the past, policies for the future: resilience and sustainability in past crises," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 40(2), pages 287-297, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:envsyd:v:40:y:2020:i:2:d:10.1007_s10669-020-09778-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s10669-020-09778-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Berkes, Fikret & Ross, Helen, 2016. "Panarchy and community resilience: Sustainability science and policy implications," Environmental Science & Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 185-193.
    2. Anderies, John M., 2006. "Robustness, institutions, and large-scale change in social-ecological systems: the Hohokam of the Phoenix Basin," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 2(2), pages 133-155, August.
    3. Lee Mordechai & Merle Eisenberg & Timothy P. Newfield & Adam Izdebski & Janet E. Kay & Hendrik Poinar, 2019. "The Justinianic Plague: An inconsequential pandemic?," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 116(51), pages 25546-25554, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Smith, Michael E., 2022. "How can Research on Past Urban Adaptations be Made Useful for Sustainability Science?," SocArXiv 3fy5b, Center for Open Science.
    2. Adhikari, Jagannath & Timsina, Jagadish & Khadka, Sarba Raj & Ghale, Yamuna & Ojha, Hemant, 2021. "COVID-19 impacts on agriculture and food systems in Nepal: Implications for SDGs," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    3. D. G. Webster & Semra A. Aytur & Mark Axelrod & Robyn S. Wilson & Joseph A. Hamm & Linda Sayed & Amber L. Pearson & Pedro Henrique C. Torres & Alero Akporiaye & Oran Young, 2022. "Learning from the Past: Pandemics and the Governance Treadmill," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-26, March.
    4. Pató Beáta Sz.G. & Herczeg Márk, 2020. "The Effect of the Covid-19 on the Automotive Supply Chains," Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai Oeconomica, Sciendo, vol. 65(2), pages 1-11, August.
    5. Dixon, John M. & Weerahewa, Jeevika & Hellin, Jon & Rola-Rubzen, Maria Fay & Huang, Jikun & Kumar, Shalander & Das, Anup & Qureshi, Muhammad Ejaz & Krupnik, Timothy J. & Shideed, Kamil & Jat, Mangi L., 2021. "Response and resilience of Asian agrifood systems to COVID-19: An assessment across twenty-five countries and four regional farming and food systems," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    6. Benjamin D. Trump & Igor Linkov, 2020. "Risk and resilience in the time of the COVID-19 crisis," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 40(2), pages 171-173, June.

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