Economic-ecological interaction and models

["Chris Johnson"]

Respected members of the systems dynamics list,

I am working on a project that aims to improve
the social development and ecological
preservation impacts of planning and production
decisions (in Argentina). The objectives of the
work are to 1) understand the conceptual model of
local landowners and producers, 2) model the
interactions between the communities and the
ecosystem with an emphasis of effects on
reforestation efforts and 3) analize small-scale
production opportunities for their impacts on
social development and ecological preservation.
This project will be integrated with biological
reseach on reforestation currently occuring in
the area and with the activities of a business
investing in more sustainable production models.

As results of this work, we hope to strengthen
systems thinking skills as a means of promoting
an understanding of sustainability, and to
promote small enterprises that generate
sustainable value.

I would greatly appreciate suggestions on
articles or models related to this subject. We
also welcome further exchange with members of the
list interested in discussing this issue.

Thank you for your collaboration. Have a great
weekend!

Sincerely,
Christopher Johnson
From: "Chris Johnson" <vacilando77@animail.net>

[Mayank Chaturvedi]

Chris:

I will point you to the following books on the subject:

1. Environmental Impacts of Globalization and Trade: A Systems study by
Corey Lofdahl, 2002
2. Panarchy: Understanding Transformations in human and natural systems
edited by Lance Gunderson and C. S. Holling, 2002
3. Modeling the environment by Andrew Ford, 1999

I hope it helps.

Mayank Chaturvedi
From: Mayank Chaturvedi <mchatur@aol.com>

["Corey Lofdahl"]

With respect to economic and ecological relationships,
you might also want to check out,

_Earth as Transformed by Human Action: Global and
Regional Changes in the Biosphere over the Past 300 Years_.
B.L. Turner II, William C. Clark, Robert W. Kates, John F. Richards,
Jessica T. Mathews, and William B. Meyer (eds.). New York: Cambridge,
1990.

More on interactions than models, but provides a good foundation
for subsequent modeling across a range of dimensions.

best,

Corey
From: "Corey Lofdahl" <clofdahl@bos.saic.com>

["Thompson, Jim A142"]

An explanatory and forward-looking work on the subject can be found at
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA):
<http://www.iiasa.ac.at/Admin/INF
ecent-pubs/pop/pop-climate.html >

Population and Climate Change by Brian C. ONeill, F. Landis MacKellar &
Wolfgang Lutz (2001, Cambridge University Press.) of IIASA describes the
links between population growth - and demographic trends such as aging -
and climate change. The authors survey many current models of
socioeconomic implications of climate change, including climate change
caused by socioeconomic activity.

There are descriptions of the questions addressed by each model and
discussion of model boundaries. The authors briefly discuss the history of
prominent models and their application. Unfortunately, no equations are
included.

Jim Thompson
Director, Economic & Operations Research
Cigna HealthCare
jim.thompson@cigna.com
Tel. 860.226.8607
Fax 860.226.7898