PubData Leuphana Repository: Ecological-economic viability as a criterion of strong sustainability under uncertainty

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://doi.org/10.48548/pubdata-1273

Resource type	Working Paper
Title(s)	Ecological-economic viability as a criterion of strong sustainability under uncertainty
DOI	10.48548/pubdata-1273
Handle	20.500.14123/1336
Creator	Baumgärtner, Stefan 0000-0001-8314-8462 121846857 Quaas, Martin F. 0000-0003-0812-8829
Abstract	Strong sustainability, according to the common definition, requires that different natural and economic capital stocks have to be maintained as physical quantities separately. Yet, in a world of uncertainty this cannot be guaranteed. To therefore define strong sustainability under uncertainty in an operational manner, we propose to use the concept of viability. Viability means that the different components and functions of a dynamic, stochastic system at any time remain in a domain where the future existence of these components and functions is guaranteed with sufficiently high probability. We develop a unifying and general ecological-economic concept of viability that encompasses the traditional ecological and economic notions of viability as special cases. It provides an operational criterion of strong sustainability under conditions of uncertainty. We illustrate this concept and demonstrate its usefulness by applying it to livestock grazing management in semi-arid rangelands.
Language	English
Keywords	Ecosystem; Sustainability; Viability; Umweltökonomie; Nachhaltigkeit
Year of publication in PubData	2007
Publishing type	First publication
Publication version	Published version
Date issued	2007-12-13
Creation context	Research
Published by	Medien- und Informationszentrum, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg
Related resources	Relations of this publication Relations of this publication