Theory and Knowledge Systems for Sustainability - Agenda

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Theory and Knowledge Systems for Sustainability Science

October 22 - 24, 2013 Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501

Agenda

Monday, October 21, 2013 6:30 Arrival by late afternoon, welcome reception

Tuesday, October 22, 2013 8:15 Shuttle departs Hotel Santa Fe to Santa Fe Institute

9:00 - 9:30 Opening remarks: Jerry Sabloff (President, Santa Fe Institute); and Pavel Kabat (IIASA Director and CEO) Workshop objectives: Nina Fedoroff, Molly Jahn and Luis Bettencourt Session I: The current state of sustainability science (Moderator: Sander van den Leeuw) 9:30-10:30 Discussion Panel 1: Are there theoretical foundations for sustainability science? Panelists: Simon Levin (Princeton University), Bill Clark (Harvard University); Geoff West (Santa Fe Institute) Format: 10 minutes for comments followed by discussion 10:30-11:00 Coffee Break 11:00-12:00 Discussion Panel 2: How do theory and practice interface today and where is there a need for new approaches? Panelists: Tom Wilbanks (Oak Ridge Labs); Pam Matson (Stanford University); Nebojsa Nakicenovic (IIASA); Ulf Dieckmann (IIASA) Format: 10 minutes for comments followed by discussion 12:00-1:00 Working Lunch Remarks by Pavel Kabat: Integrating theory and knowledge systems into the global water futures initiative Session II: Case studies and what can be learned from them (Moderator: Molly Jahn) 1:00-3:00 Discussion Panel 3: Case studies toward sustainability in complex social-ecological systems Panelists: Bronwyn Harch (CSIRO); Harry Kolar (IBM); Bob Scholes (CSIR, South Africa). Format: 15 minutes for comments followed by discussion 3:00-3:30 Coffee Break 3:30-4:30 Discussion Panel 4: What hypotheses about moving to sustainability emerge from case studies? Panelists: Jennifer Dunne (Santa Fe Institute); Ilan Chabay (Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, Potsdam); Michael Obersteiner (IIASA) Format: 5 minutes for comments followed by discussion 5:15 Shuttle departs Santa Fe Institute to Hotel Santa Fe

6:30 Wine & cheese at Nina Fedoroff’s home 7:30 Conference dinner at Santa Café, 231 Washington Avenue (505) 984-1788

Wednesday, 24, 2013 8:15 Shuttle departs Hotel Santa Fe to Santa Fe Institute

Session III: Urbanization and its implications for sustainability (Moderator TBD) 9:00-10:30 Discussion Panel 5: Urbanization and urban systems: ecological impacts and innovation potential. Panelists: Luis Bettencourt (Santa Fe Institute); Jessika Trancik (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Format: 10 minutes for comments followed by discussion 10:30-11:00 Coffee break

Session IV: From practice to theory and theory to practice (Moderator: Simon Levin) 1:00-2:00 Discussion Panel 6: Critical transitions in complex social-ecological systems. Panelists: Elena Rovenskaya (IIASA); Vasilis Dakos (Estación Biológica de Doñana); Omar Knio (Duke University and KAUST) Format: 10 minutes for comments followed by discussion 12:00-1:00 Lunch Break

2:00-3:00 Discussion Panel 7: Defining and staying in a safe operating space. Katherine Richardson (University of Copenhagen); Deb Neimeyer (University of California-Davis); John Antle (OregonState University) Format: 10 minutes for comments followed by discussion 3:00-3:30 Coffee Break 3:30-4:30 Discussion Panel 8: Wrap up and next steps

Are we monitoring the right parameters? How will we know when we are in a safe operating space for humanity? How do we more effectively integrate theoretical and data-based modeling through experimentation? What does such an experiment look like in a complex socio-ecological system? Discussants: Sander van den Leeuw (Arizona State University); Johan Rockstrom, (Stockholm Resilience Center); Pavel Kabat (IIASA); Molly Jahn (University of Wisconsin) Format: Discussion 5:45 Shuttle departs Santa Fe Institute to Hotel Santa Fe