Stockholm Resilience Centre’s publications are always worth a careful reading. The latest report, “Resilience Science Must-Knows”, focuses on a single concept, widely debated in a world grappling with deep and rapid changes: resilience.
The report showcases an interesting analysis: it examines resilience from a data- and evidence-based perspective. In doing so, it attempts to make the concept of resilience as objective and actionable as possible within strategies and policies. This is what is needed to bring to order an often confused public debate, prone to revolve around unclear and inconsistently defined concepts.
The report clearly establishes what resilience represents today for economic and political decision-making. It is not the ability of a system to return to a state of equilibrium, rather, it is the capacity to learn from crises, to seize opportunities, and to enable transformation toward more equitable and sustainable futures.
To achieve resilience, decision-makers need scientifically-sound knowledge that can be easily translated into strategic choices. The report offers nine “Must-Knows” ranging from the role of diversity to ways of managing trade-offs, the importance of social relationships to the role of innovation. The “Must-Knows” are pillars of resilience derived from an extensive scientific review and designed to guide decision-making
The key message is the following: investing in resilience protects and strengthens the social, economic, and ecological foundations of long-term human well-being and prosperity. There is no room for blind ideologies: on the contrary, proactive investments in resilience are financially and socially legitimate, especially when considering the costs of risk, disasters, and resource protection. They ensure adequate management of challenges related to crossing planetary boundaries, and also support development, since they strengthen institutions, improve public health, protect ecosystems, prevent conflict, and foster more stable and equitable societies. Besides the benefits, the report also highlights underinvestment in resilience due to short-termism, inadequate metrics, limited institutional awareness, and economic frameworks that overshadow natural and social capital.
In a context where, paradoxically, markets and public opinion – rather than public regulation – are moving forward the ecological transition, resilience helps defining the role of sustainability in political and economic decision-making processes. Even where institutional forces prove inadequate in managing the environment as a public good, sustainability remains paramount as a methodological framework for public and private organizations to define their development trajectory. The need to innovate and to be resilient in the face of fast-paced structural changes that are shaping our world requires solid reference points. These can be found in sustainable development, as it ensures growth that respects planetary boundaries and people alike.
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