Comment on ‘In complexity we trust: learning from the socialist calculation debate for ecosystem management’

Logan Robert Bingham; Lucy Van Kleunen; Bohdan Kolisnyk; Olha Nahorna; Frederico Tupinambà-Simões; Keith M. Reynolds; Rasoul Yousefpour; Thomas Knoke

doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ad0efb

Treesearch

Comment on ‘In complexity we trust: learning from the socialist calculation debate for ecosystem management’

Formally Refereed

Authors:

Logan Robert Bingham, Lucy Van Kleunen, Bohdan Kolisnyk, Olha Nahorna, Frederico Tupinambà-Simões, Keith M. Reynolds, Rasoul Yousefpour, Thomas Knoke

Year:

2024

Type:

Scientific Journal

Station:

Pacific Northwest Research Station

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad0efb

Source:

Environmental Research Letters. 19(1): 018002.

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Abstract

Using a metaphor based on a historical debate between socialist and free-market economists, Salliou and Stritih (Environ. Res. Lett. 18 151001) advocate for decentralizing environmental management to harness emergent complexity and promote ecosystem health. Concerningly, however, their account seems to leave little room for top-down processes like government-led sustainability programs or centrally-planned conservation initiatives, the cornerstone of the post-2020 biodiversity framework. While we appreciate their call for humbleness, we offer a few words in defense of planning. Drawing on evidence from ecology, economics, and systems theory, we argue that (1) more complexity is not always better; (2) even if it were, mimicking minimally-regulated markets is probably not the best way to get it; and (3) sophisticated decision support tools can support humble planning under uncertainty. We sketch a re-interpretation of the socialist calculation debate that highlights the role of synthesis and theoretical pluralism. Rather than abandoning big-picture thinking, scientists must continue the difficult work of strengthening connections between and across multiple social, ecological, and policy scales.

Keywords

Complexity, uncertainty, ecosystem management, central planning, decision support systems, trade-offs, polycentric governance

Citation

Bingham, Logan Robert; Van Kleunen, Lucy; Kolisnyk, Bohdan; Nahorna, Olha; Tupinambà-Simões, Frederico; Reynolds, Keith; Yousefpour, Rasoul; Knoke, Thomas. 2024. Comment on ‘In complexity we trust: learning from the socialist calculation debate for ecosystem management’. Environmental Research Letters. 19(1): 018002. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad0efb.