Special Issue "Ecosystem Approach for Sustainability - A special issue in memory of James J. Kay (1955-2004)"

Guest Editor
Prof. Dr. Stephen D. Murphy
Professor & Associate Chair, Undergraduate Studies, Environment 2, Room 2041, Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1 Canada
Website: www.environment.uwaterloo.ca/ers/faculty/smurphy.htm
E-Mail:
Phone: +1 519 888 4567
Fax: +1 519 746 0292

Dear Colleagues,

My friend and colleague James Kay was a pioneer in this field. This special issue is to be devoted to the legacy and implications of the work on ‘ecosystem approaches’ that he shared in for so many years. The ‘ecosystem approach’ is amorphous and one aspect people have worked on is making it more specific and operational – some of this follows from James’ work on the thermodynamic based SOHO (self-organizing hierarchical open) systems framework. Others have embraced the approach as a means to open dialogue and, via citizen science and participation, link social and ecological challenges and solutions in the lives of those who probably have the most real power to change things. This does not imply that political leaders, scientists or technical experts have no role to play but if transdisciplinary ecosystem approaches are to be useful, they must be tractable and applicable by all citizens. In James’ work, he applied his ideas to eutrophic lakes (Lake Erie), parks and protected areas, urban areas, agroecosystems, industrial ecology, and ecological economics – all wrapped in his ideas of a ‘conserver society’. James was never one for claiming sole credit, which is why he had so many friends as coauthors. His work is carried on via organizations like the Network for Ecosystem Sustainability and Health (NESH) and via new generations of graduate students and recent Ph.Ds. With this special issue, we hope to capture the depth and breadth of the type of work James Kay devoted his life to – using ecosystem approaches for a more sustainable society.

Dr. Stephen Murphy
Guest Editor

• ecosystem approach
• thermodynamics
• ecosystem sustainability
• industrial ecology
• urban ecology
• agroecosystems
• self-organizing hierarchical open systems