Economics and the biophysical sciences have mainly been preoccupied with the behaviour of social-ecological systems close to equilibrium. Much of engineering is about building systems and structures that maintain equilibria. Humans find comfort in believing that our world is equilibrial, which for long periods and at broad scales can be an effective approximation. Policies based on equilibrial assumptions and fine tuning are politically palatable even when not appropriate. In this century, we are entering turbulent times, in which equilibrial assumptions in science and in policies encourage societies to invest in maintaining stability and preventing change when neither may be possible. In introducing resilience thinking into science and policy making, we expect change, and prepare for it.

Resilience thinking can be introduced into research, policy making and management by identifying a focal scale, a catchment, for example. The system at the chosen scale will usually be in a quasi-stable regime, or 'state'. There will be social groups that derive values from that catchment, and there will be social, economic and biophysical interactions of the catchment with broader and finer scales (e.g. farm, upstream, downstream, state, federal, international). We expect to find a small number of 'slow variables' (parameters in equilibrial theory) that maintain the catchment in its current regime, and drivers that could cause a regime change. The shift between regimes is non-linear, and happens when thresholds in the slow variables are crossed. The current regime may be sustainable as it is, sustainable with changes in information, incentives, institutions (=rules) and investments that build resilience, or untenable even with such changes. There may be alternative regimes that are socially more or less desirable, and depending on which, sets of incentives, institutions and investments are designed to prevent or promote the shift.

These ideas are illustrated in the talk by practical examples. The approach has been applied in a case study by Walker, Abel, Anderies and Ryan in Ecology and Society:

http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/viewissue.php?id=72#Synthesis