- The purpose of this endeavour is to draw
together concepts and insights from three rapidly
developing areas of academic enquiry – complex open
systems, sustainability of socio-ecosystems, and
civil society roles in governance. A huge literature
in all three areas, produced over the past 25 years
or so, is scattered among a very wide array of
academic and professional journals, and in official
reports such as those associated with UN conferences
and international collaborative studies. The
scholarly challenge is to draw upon basic ideas and
insights from these works, especially those of
people who have synthesized elements of it in
various ways. This will be the basis for preparing a
conceptual framework for testing and critique of our
understanding of citizen engagement in governance
for socio-ecological sustainability. The framework
will have components from both theoretical and
applied sources. Case studies of the place-based
situations facing UNESCO biosphere reserves in
Ontario will be used to help ground and refine
elements of the framework.
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