Appendices: Group White Papers
Appendix 1: Human Well-Being and the Natural Environment
Authors:
Alejandro Adem (University of British Columbia)
Michelle Bell (Yale University)
Margaret Cozzens (Rutgers University)
Charmaine Dean (Simon Fraser University)
Francesca Dominici (Harvard University)
Avner Friedman (Ohio State University)
Fred Roberts (Rutgers University)
Steve Sain (National Center for Atmospheric Research – NCAR)
Abdul-Aziz Yakubu (Howard University)
Charge to the Group:
Under this theme, the group should seek to identify a small set of research challenges in
the mathematical sciences where progress could advance our understanding of the
interdependence of human well-being and the natural environment. Understanding this
interdependence is an essential foundation for sustainability science. Under this theme,
the group should focus on the challenge of developing an internally consistent
mathematical sciences-based framework for showing how use, and even depletion, of
aspects of the natural environment could be consistent with sustainability so long as they
are converted into other forms of capital (e.g. manufactured, human, social) at
appropriate rates capable of maintaining human well-being over the long-term. Key
issues for sustainable development the group should explore involve precise definitions
of human well-being, and mathematical models of how natural capital contributes to
human well-being, how human actions impact on natural capital, tradeoffs in benefits
over space (intra-generational equity) and time (intergenerational equity), and the role of
institutions, technology and knowledge in promoting sustainable development. Health
(and freedom from disease) is one sample component of sustainability and of interest
here, among other things, is the potential for emerging infectious diseases to arise from
climate change and greatly impact both human and natural systems. Mathematical
epidemiological methods, linked to climate change, provide a growing area of research
which should be linked with sustainability science, and the group is asked to explore
these.
- Introduction
Given the impact that humans have on the environment and the fundamental role
that the environment plays in supporting human well-being, sustainable development
requires improved understanding of human-environment interactions and intelligent
decisions to guide human actions so they are consistent with maintaining human well-
being in the long-run.