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Are we about to face the end of the world as we know it? Author James G. Speth thinks so. In one of his final passages from The Bridge at the Edge of the World, he writes, “We are rapidly hollowing out nature, ourselves, and our society. Beyond the fork, down either path, is the end of the world as we have known it. One path beyond the fork continues us on our current trajectory…into the abyss. But there is the other path, and it leads to a bridge across the abyss.”

So, if he is right, we will need help to cross that bridge. This is why we were so excited to hear about Stockholm Resilience Centre’s (RE) new Masters program in Social-Ecological Resilience for Sustainable Development. We were honored to interview the Program Director, Dr. Miriam Huitric and get her thoughts on the program and its potential to nudge us…over the bridge. (Johan Rockström lecturing pictured above).

In what capacity are you involved with the Master’s in Social-Ecological Resilience for Sustainable Development program?

I am both the Program Director as well as teach on some of the program’s core courses. This means that I spend a lot of time with our students both in and out of class!

What can students expect from the learning experience offered?

To begin with, the class that students will work with for two years will be multi- in many ways: cultural, national, academic, past experiences and so on. The program is in its turn transdisciplinary, taking advantage of the diverse backgrounds of the Stockholm Resilience Centre’s researchers to create a program that allows students access to these backgrounds. And this is enhanced by a through flow of prestigious visiting researchers at the SRC, who interact with the students in different ways.

The content and structure of the program and its courses has been designed so that students work with understanding concepts/ theories, learning methods used to study these and their application. Students will go on to develop their research skills during their thesis work and can also carry out a traineeship.

Our goal is that our graduates will grasp the intricacies of dealing with social-ecological systems and have the tools to address these in a useful manner as well as practical experience in doing this. While the program is research-oriented, we also expect graduates to be well-prepared for the current work market in many sectors based on past graduates’ experiences after the program (see below).

In what ways can students apply this knowledge to the real world?

The program addresses social-ecological systems and their resilience in the context of sustainable development… This is extremely topical in the “real world”!! The program provides insights, based on a linked social- and ecological system, and skills that can be used in a multitude of sectors and fields; from conservation and natural resource management to policy and governance.

In what capacity are graduates of the Stockholm Resilience Centre programs engaged today?

Some graduates have been recruited by the SRC to do PhDs, otherwise graduates have gone on to work in universities, research institutes, think tanks, government agencies and NGOs, working in a very broad spectrum of fields – from conservation to policy, and from the local to international scales. Some examples include – the Stockholm Environment Institute, the Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics, Unnayan Onneshan – The Innovators and the Tällberg Foundation, Comité ZIP Ville-Marie in Montreal,   Swedish Fisheries Secretariat, OCEAN2012, Marine Stewardship Council. What these positions have in common is the broaching of social and environment/ ecological systems/ aspects.

What are the most important characteristics students need to bring to this program?

Given the types of problems that we address and that we use a transdisciplinary approach for solving these problems, students need an open mind to new ideas and to work in teams.

Analytical skills! We aim to have a diverse group of students and we introduce them to a range of fields. It is important that students have a good understanding of their disciplines both to provide a base on which to build but also to allow for critical thinking. This is important for depth of understanding.

(Staff introducing themselves to MSc students picture above).

Similar programs such as the Master in Ecosystems, Resilience and Governance (ERG) have been discontinued. Why?

There is both a historical as well as a pedagogic element to this. The easiest way to answer is to provide a brief history on the SRC and the SERSD Master’s programme. The SRC was established in 2006 and brought together three research institutes based here in Stockholm: Stockholm University, the Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics and the Stockholm Environment Institute. While there are several departments at Stockholm University that are affiliated with the SRC, the Centre for Transdisciplinary Environmental Research (CTM) was fully incorporated into the SRC. The CTM had been established to act as a forum for environment-related engagements at Stockholm University, by advertising courses, bringing researchers together and the development of a transdisciplinary Master’s programme – “Natural Resource Management, Governance and Globalisation” in 2004.  Originally a 1-year programme, it was extended to a 2-year programme in 2007 and was re-named “Ecosystems, Governance and Globalisation”.

This change took place at the same time as the SRC was established, which entailed changes in the goals for our Master’s program and steps have been taken to streamline the program’s curriculum to better match the Centre’s field of research. The first step was adjusting the existing EGG program, where from “Ecosystems, Resilience and Governance” and the second is our new program “Social-Ecological Resilience for Sustainable Development” (SERSD). SERSD’s syllabus overlaps to a large extent that of the earlier programs, however has an explicit research orientation, brings the students much closer to researchers’ work and has a greater focus on methods and applications.

What do you expect job growth and salary expectations will look like for graduates of this Master program?

There is increasing interest to address social-environment aspects of sustainable development across sectors. This is quite predictable given the challenges that fall under the sustainable development agenda. Our graduates come well-equipped for this having used and complemented their earlier training and experience in a interdisciplinary setting.

What unique challenges will graduates of your program address in the next decade?

Addressing the functioning of and ultimately the governance of social-ecological systems. The great challenges facing mankind today are set in such systems, as opposed to “ecological” or “economic” or “socio-political” etc. systems.  Social-ecological systems share characteristics of complex adaptive systems, which entail uncertainty at the same time as rapid and important actions are required. Being able to navigate these systems is one of the greatest challenges for the near future.

(SRC building pictured on the right).

How can international students pay for this program?

This is a new challenge for our non-EU students, and so for us as well. We encourage applicants to look into national funding sources, e.g. the Fulbright Program, as these are limited here in Sweden at present. Currently applicants can apply for a stipend at the Department of Biology Education covering tuition fees; this is done at the same time as you apply to the program. Some students may be eligible for scholarships provided by Svenska Institutet (http://www.si.se/English/). We are still exploring other funding avenues and expect more options to arise in the coming years in response to Sweden’s decision to instigate tuition fees.

What scholarships do you offer for students?

The SRC offers 6 scholarships of up to 50, 000SEK per year for its students’ Master’s project time. This is done on a competitive basis but the scholarship is restricted to SRC students.

The Stockholm Resilience Center was established in 2007 with research and educational programs for Undergraduate, Master and Postgraduate levels. The Masters program in Social-Ecological Resilience for Sustainable Development starts in August 2011. You can contact the center here or visit their website for more information.

Stockholm Resilience Centre
Stockholm University
SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
+46 8 674 70 70 office

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*Background on Miriam Huitric:

I took my Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Biology at Royal Holloway College, London University. After this I came to Sweden to do my Master’s degree in Natural Resource Management at the Department of Systems Ecology at Stockholm University and my thesis work on institutional misfits in the context of shrimp farm use of mangroves in Thailand paved the way to a PhD at the same department. I have also worked with Albaeco with communication and various publications and have, since 2006, been Master’s programme director at first at the Centre for Transdisciplinary Environmental Research and subsequently at the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University.

Publications:

Huitric M (Ed.), Walker B, Moberg F, Österblom H, Sandin L, Grandin U, Olsson P., Bodegård J. (2009). Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services and Resilience – Governance for a Future with Global Changes. Background report for the scientific workshop Biodiversity, ecosystem services and governance – targets beyond 2010, Tjärnö, Sweden, 4-6 September 2009.

Deutsch L, Gräslund S, Folke C, Troell M, Huitric M, Kautsky N and Lebel L, 2007:
Feeding aquaculture growth through globalization: Exploitation of marine ecosystems for fishmeal. Global Environmental Change 17 (2): 238-249.

Huitric M, 2004: Masking Environmental Feedback: Misfits between institutions and ecosystems in Belize and Thailand. Doctoral Thesis in Natural Resource Management. Department of Systems Ecology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.

Huitric M, 2003: Lobster and conch fisheries of Belize: A history of sequential exploitation. Ecology and Society 10 (1): 21.

Huitric M, Folke C and Kautsky N, 2002: Development and government policies of the shrimp farming industry in Thailand in relation to mangrove ecosystems. Ecological Economics 40: 441-455

Huitric M and McField M, 2001: Effects of multiple disturbances on hard coral recruits in Glovers Reef Atoll´s lagoon, Belize. Beijer Discussion Paper 138.

McClanahan TR, McField M, Huitric M, Bergman K, Sala E, Nyström M, Nordemar I, Elfwing T, and Muthiga NA, 2001: Responses of algae, corals and fish to the reduction of macroalgae in fished and unfished patch reefs of Glovers Reef Atoll, Belize. Coral Reefs 19: 367-379.

McClanahan TR, K Bergman, M Huitric, M McField, T Elfwing, M Nyström, and I Nordemar, 2000: Response of fishes to algae reduction on Glovers Reef, Belize. Marine Ecology Progress Series 206: 273-282.