PARENT SESSION
Tuesday, August 8, 8:00-11:30 am
Symposium 5 - Linking ecology and environmental justice
Ballroom B, Ballroom Level, Cook Convention Center
Organized by: G Middendorf (gmiddendorf@howard.edu), C Nilon , and L Jablonski

In this symposium, leading ecologists will explore the relationship and importance of ecology to environmental justice with a focus on how ecology can be used to ensure that environmental impacts do not disproportionately affect any group and how ecological information can be used in an open decision-making process.

Resistance and resilience as frameworks for understanding the justice implications of global climate change.

Miranda, Marie Lynn^*,1, Aldy, Joe², Schlesinger, William ¹, ¹ Duke University, Durham, NC² Resources for the Future, Washington, DC

ABSTRACT- Global climate change will likely increase the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, cause sea level rise, expand ranges of vector-borne diseases, and alter agricultural and forest productivity. The magnitude and rate of change may threaten vulnerable species and ecosystems, and increase the probability of catastrophic events such as the collapse of the Gulf Stream or the melting of the West Antarctic ice sheet. The impacts of a changing climate will stress both ecological and human systems. Framing these impacts through the ecological concepts of resistance and resilience can provide valuable insights into the justice dimensions of differential burdens on the rich and poor. Resistance refers to the notion that no real impacts occur when an ecosystem experiences a perturbation. In contrast, resilience refers to the notion that an ecosystem recovers after a perturbation, although it may equilibrate to a completely different steady state. The question of how resistant or resilient countries may be to the perturbations introduced by climate change is heavily dependent on the indigenous political, economic, and social infrastructure, as well as access to technical and financial mechanisms for adaptation. Rich countries have the resources and technologies to more effectively adapt to climate change. In addition, more resource-dependent poor countries are at greater economic and social risk in the face of climate change. The relative importance of the wealth loss induced by climate perturbations is magnified in poor countries, with significant implications for environmental justice.

Key words: Global Change, Human Ecology