Sept. 22–23, 2016: UBC professor Lael Parrott discusses complex systems and sustainability

Lael Parrott is a professor in sustainability at the I.K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences and director of the Okanagan Institute for Biodiversity, Resilience and Ecosystem Services (BRAES) at The University of British Columbia.

As her biography on the UBC website states, "Parrott is developing new quantitative tools and computational models that take into account the complexity of real ecosystems and landscapes. These models are then used to inform environmental management and conservation organizations. Called complex systems management, this approach involves the input from many areas of research including geography, ecology, engineering, biology, and economics, to name a few."

This Thursday, Parrott visits UAA to discuss using complex systems to address conservation and ecology issues. Her visit is hosted by UAA Complex Systems, and co-sponsored by the University Honors College and Institute of Social and Economic Research.

Building Resilient and Sustainable Landscapes: Lessons from Complex-Systems Science Thursday, Sept. 22, noon ISER Conference Room, Third Floor, 1901 Bragaw St. (map)

Many of the global-scale environmental and social challenges humanity faces today are daunting and difficult for policymakers to address, but the regional landscape remains at a scale that makes it possible for regional governance systems to make meaningful change. In this presentation, Lael Parrott explores the relationship between complexity, resilience and sustainability at the landscape scale and describes how a complex-systems approach to management may nurture this relationship. Parrott will illustrate these ideas with a case study from the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia.

Slow Down and Save the Whales Thursday, Sept. 22, 7 p.m. Fine Arts Building, Room 150

At this first annual Helen and Lee Gorsuch Lecture in Complex Systems, hear how concerned people can create successful solutions. Lael Parrott tells the story of how citizens used science and computer modeling to develop voluntary measures that reduced whale/vessel collisions in the St. Lawrence River.

September Archive