Ecology of Changing Planet: Sustainable Development vs Degrowth

This report delves into the ecology of a changing planet, exploring the concepts of degrowth and sustainable development. It begins by examining the degrowth movement, its origins, and its comparison to sustainable development, presenting a table that contrasts key points such as economic growth versus downscaling the economy, and resource use. The report then analyzes ecosystem fragility, resilience, and the conditions that determine ecosystem health, referencing Folke et al. (2004) and other sources. It identifies key variables for measuring ecosystem stability and health, providing examples. Finally, the report discusses modern agricultural practices, such as the use of chemical pesticides and insecticides, and their impact on ecosystems, including the loss of biodiversity and the development of pest resistance. The report provides a comprehensive overview of ecological concepts and their practical implications.

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Running head: Ecology of Changing Planet
Ecology of Changing Planet
Student
Institution

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Ecology of Changing Planet
1. What does a donkey have to do with the concept of “degrowth”?
Francois Schneider is associated with the degrowth movement since its inception. He travelled
across France with a donkey in 2004 while raising awareness about degrowth concept. By doing
this, he received attention from the public and the media and thus he used this opportunity to
spread word on degrowth (Demaria, Schneider, Sekulova & Martinez-Alier, 2013). After his
donkey tour, he and others founded Research & Degrowth which is an academic organization
that also organizes international degrowth conferences. Degrowth has since grown in to a frame
for social movement which allows the actors to engage in collective action for example in anti-
car, cyclists or pedestrian rights campaigns (Della Porta and Diani 2006).
2. Compare and contrast degrowth and sustainable development. Use a table to list and
compare key points.
The founder of the degrowth movement is Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen whose main theme is
departure from economy as the central societal value. Degrowth refers to the change to a less
economy with lower production and less consumption. Degrowth suggests that sustainable
economic growth will result to social and environmental collapse and thus it must be
downscaled. The only way to prevent resources from getting depleted is by decreasing their
flows. The countries that have exceeded their allowable ecological foot print should decrease
their consumption (European Commission, 2010).
Sustainable degrowth seems like a suitable alternative to sustainable development but for it to
succeed, adequate planning needs to take place. It will be difficult for this concept to be accepted
by societies thus the need for adequate planning and preparation. For example, degrowth will
mean a reduction in GDP for countries which might lead to increase in unemployment unless

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other initiatives have been put in place (Alier, 2009). Degrowth has the disadvantage of
confronting current powers who may be unwilling to consider a no growth policy like
governments and private sector leaders (European Commission, 2010).
Sustainable growth pushes for an ecological transition where the use of energy and materials use
is lowered and a decrease in human appropriation of net primary production. This is also an
opportunity to restructure the social institutions. The world population also needs to be
controlled to reduce pressure on the resources (Alier, 2009). Degrowth deals with the crisis not
handled by sustainable development like “loss of cultural diversity, the crisis of political
representation, the crisis of meaning, the multidimensional movement of degrowth being
successful in regenerating some debates that were stuck in the previous decades (Alier, 2009)”.
Sustainable development on the other hand addresses environmental concerns while promoting
economic growth. Sustainable development means “economic growth that is environmentally
sustainable (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987)”. It involves meeting
the current generation needs without affecting the future generations’ ability to meet theirs
regarding use of the natural resources and waste. It is a balance where human beings meet their
needs while taking care of the ecosystem and not destroying the diversity (Morelli, 2013).
Meaningful sustainability focuses on balanced interaction between people and the environment
they live in. Below is a comparison of sustainable development and degrowth.
Figure 1: Sustainable development vs Degrowth
Sustainable Development Degrowth
1 Opens up space for negotiation and discussions
over relationship between the environment and
development
Challenges how this negotiation space is
functioning
2 Promoting economic growth which addresses Less economy, lower production and less

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environmental concerns consumption.
3 Economic growth that is sustainable Downscale the economy as economic
growth will lead to social and ecological
collapse
4 Use resources to meet current needs without
compromise of future generation to meet theirs
Decrease resource flows as the only way
to ensure they are not depleted
5 Sustainable use of resources Decrease consumption in countries that
have exceeded their allowable ecological
foot print
6 Sustainable means of production for example
use of sustainable sources of energy like solar
Change production and the consumption
patterns
7 Nations are requested to commit to sustainable
measures and is regulated
It is democratic meaning it is voluntary
and participatory
3 a) Is ecosystem fragility a term that can be found in Folke et al. (2004)? If not, what terms
would Folke use to describe a fragile ecosystem? (worth 10 points)
A fragile ecosystem would be described as one that does not have resilience. The resilience of
the environment can be eroded and its self repairing capacity should therefore not be taken for
granted therefore the ecosystem needs to be actively strengthened in order to support social and
economic development (Folke, et al., 2004). Ecosystem resilience can be described as the
amount of disturbance that an ecosystem can experience before it changes its state. It can also be
described as ability of the ecosystem to absorb disturbance and reorganize so that it retains
similar functions or structure and identity.
b) Apparently, Folke et al. (2004) believe that all ecosystems are potentially fragile when certain
conditions exist. Explain what conditions should be measured/monitored over time in order to
determine if an ecosystem is “fragile”. (worth 10 points)
The conditions that need to be measured to determine if an ecosystem is fragile include vigor,
resilience and organization. Vigor is measured from empirical measures that quantify the

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magnitude of input available to an ecosystem (GPP) or the economic activity of an ecosystem
which is measured in dollars per unit time. Organization is more difficult to quantify as it
requires measuring diversity and the magnitude of system components and their exchange
pathways in between them. Resilience is measured using a ratio of magnitude of stress and
recovery time (MS/RT) (Costanza & Mageau, 1999).
c) Sometimes ecosystems are described as being stable and healthy. What key variables need to
be measured and over what timeframe must these things be assessed before we can conclude that
an ecosystem of any type is stable and healthy? Provide examples. (worth 10 points)
A healthy and stable ecosystem is one that is sustainable meaning it has the capacity to maintain
its structure and function even when faced by external stress over time (Costanza & Mageau,
1999). A healthy system possesses resilience to survive small disturbances and the time it takes
to recover from that stress. Table 1 below shows the three components of system heath and
concepts and measurements in different fields.
Table 2: Components of vigor, organization and resilience measurements in various fields.
Source: (Costanza & Mageau, 1999).

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Measuring resilience is difficult as it means being able to predict the dynamics of a system under
stress. Recovery time (RT) can be used to measure the time a system takes to recover from
stress. Maximum magnitude of stress (MS) can be measure by steadily increasing the amount of
simulated stress until the system changes to a new steady state and record the amount of stress
that caused the change. The overall measure of stress will then be found from the ratio MS/RT.
This is shown in the figure below, incorporating the two measures of resilience integrated in to
one quantitative measure.
Figure 3: Two components of resilience combined in to a quantitative measure

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d) Identify characteristics that make an ecosystem “resilient”. (worth 10 points)
The characteristics of a resilient ecosystem include the ability to withstand disturbances before
shifting to a different state. A resilient ecosystem is able to withstand disturbance and can
reorganize and retain its function, identity and structure. It is that ability of the ecosystem to
reorganize after disturbances and change and its renewal. Resilience shows the degree to which
an ecosystem is able to self organize and to what extent the system will increase capacity to learn
and adapt. A resilient system is able to maintain its structure and behavior pattern while faced
with stress (Costanza & Mageau, 1999).
Question 4. Describe at least one modern agricultural practice that the authors claim has resulted
in i, ii, iii as noted in the above quote. Clearly explain what the practice is and what it does that
contributes to i, ii, iii. (worth 15 points)
One modern agricultural practice is the use of chemical pesticides and insecticides which is used
to control pests and thus reduce crop losses. However, this usually affects the organisms’
population and the species stability in the ecosystem. Their intensive use interferes with natural
mechanisms thus loss of diversity of plants and insects and alters the composition of species
(Mishra, et al., 2015).
The use of pesticides excessively reduces the population of the pests and predators but will also
lead to increase of other species of pests. It also affects other cross pollinator species like honey
bees and wild bees. It also makes crops reliant on the artificial treatments thus making insects
develop stronger resistance to the plant defense mechanisms. The number of insecticide resistant
insects has increased which may threaten plants and other insect species and also their predators
(Mishra, et al., 2015).

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References
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Della Porta, D. and Diani, M. (2006). Social Movements: An Introduction, 2nd edn. Oxford:
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Demaria, F., Schneider, F., Sekulova, F. & Martinez-Alier, J. (2013). What is Degrowth? From
an Activist Slogan to a Social Movement. Environmental Values 22 (2013): 191–215
European Commission, (2010). Sustainable De-Growth: An Alternative to Sustainable
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Morelli, J. (2013). Environmental Sustainability: A Definition for Environmental
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