Environmental issues, vast and varied in their details, unfold at the confluence of people and place. They present complexities in their biophysical details, their scope and scale, and the dynamic character of human action and natural systems. Addressing environmental issues often invokes tensions among battling interests and competing priorities. Air and water pollution, the effects of climate change, ecosystem transformationsthese and other environmental issues involve scientific, social, economic, and institutional challenges. This book analyzes why tackling many of these problems is so difficult and why sustainability involves more than adoption of greener, cleaner technologies. Sustainability, as discussed in this book, involves knowledge flows and collaborative decision processes that integrate scientific and technological methods and tools, political and governance structures and regimes, and social and community values. The authors synthesize a holistic and adaptive approach to rethinking the framework for restoring healthy ecosystems that are the foundation for thriving communities and dynamic economies. This approach is that of collective action. Through their research and practical experiences, the authors have learned that much wisdom resides among diverse people in diverse communities. New collaborative decision-making institutions must reflect that diversity and tap into its wisdom while also strengthening linkages among scientists and decision makers.

From the pre-publication reviews:

Finally, we have a book that explains how science is irrelevant without people.  Its people who decide when and how to use science, not scientists.  This book gives us a roadmap for how to really solve complex problems.  It involves hard work, and creating new relationships between scientists and the public that dont typically exist in our society.

-John M. Hagan, Ph.D.

President, Manomet Center forConservation Sciences

Acknowledgements.- Preface.- Introduction: Chapter 1 Restoring and Sustaining LandsCoordinating Science, Politics, and Communities for Action, by  Karl, Scarlett, Vargas-Moreno, and Flaxman.- Section OneScience, Technology, and Engineering (Tools and Methods):  Chapter 2 Section Introduction, by  Flaxman and Vargas-Moreno.- Chapter 3: Participatory Climate Change Scenario and Simulation Modeling: Exploring Future Conservation Challenges in the Greater Everglades Landscape, by Vargas-Moreno and Flaxman.- Chapter 4 Using "Spatial Resilience Planning" to Test Climate-Adaptive Conservation Strategies, by  Flaxman and Vargas-Moreno.- Chapter 5: Cities and Integrated Water Planning: Complexities of Climate Change, by Kirshen and others.- Chapter 6 Collaborative Modeling: Institutional Complexities, by Barreteau and others; Chapter 7 Challenge of Integrating Natural and Social Sciences to Better Inform Decisions: A Novel Proposal Review Process, by Matso.- Section TwoPolitics and Policy (Governance and Frameworks): Chapter 8 Section Introduction, by Scarlett; Chapter 9 Transcending Boundaries: The Emergence of Conservation Networks, by  Scarlett.- Chapter 10 Managing the Science-Policy Interface in a Complex and Contentious World, by Beratan and Karl.- Chapter 11 Deliberative Democratic Governance to Foster Sustainability, by Merad.- Chapter 12 Values in Natural Resource Management and Policy, by Mattson and others.- Chapter 13 Flow in the Everglades: The Game Inside the Game, by Light.- Chapter 14 Framing an Uncertain Climate: Adaptation and Water Management Practice in the Netherlands, by Hogendorn, Laws, and Petersen.- Chapter 15 Adapting to Changing Climate: Exploring the Role of the Neighborhood, by Karl and others.- Section ThreePeople and Action (Implementation and Stewardship): Chapter 16 Section Introduction, by Karl.- Chapter 17 Community-based Ecological Stewardship­AConcept for Productive Harmony on the Public Lands of the Western United States, by McVicker.- Chapter 18 Thoughts on How to Implement Citizen Based Ecosystem Stewardship from 32 Years in Governance, by Whitley.- Chapter 19 Climate Change and the Language of Geographic Place, by Kent and Preister.- Chapter 20 Tomales Bay Watershed Council: Model of Collective Action, by Pileggi and others.- Chapter 21 Outcomes of social-ecological experiments in near-shore marine environments: cognitive interpretation of the impact of changes in fishing gear type on ecosystem form and function, by Curtin and Hammitt.- Synthesis: Chapter 22 Synthesis: Developing the institutions to coordinate science, politics, and communities for action to restore and sustain lands, by Karl, Scarlett, Vargas-Moreno, Flaxman.