Coping with the Complexity of Ecosystems
We depend upon the Earth's ecosystems for our survival, and they do their part by providing us with food, water and a stable climate. But nature’s benefits are often largely overlooked by businesses and governments, resulting in large-scale degradation of ecosystems.
Ecological sustainability requires that we cope with the complexity of ecosystems. That’s what Dr. Kai Chan, Canada Research Chair in Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, is aiming to do by studying the benefits that ecosystems provide to people.
He is focusing on a project involving sea otters and kelp forests in British Columbia to measure the impact of human activities on these ecosystems, and the resulting consequences for nature’s benefits.
Chan is also leading an effort to identify ecosystem management strategies that will yield stable and sustainable benefits for people. He is partnering with numerous governments, non-government organizations, and corporations to improve the management of landscapes, oceans and coasts.
Chan’s work will result in decision-making that is truly sustainable for the Earth’s ecosystems.