Beyond conservation of natural capital: Rethinking sustainability in the Anthropocene

Abstract

In the context of economic policy advice, the common understanding of sustainability focuses on the preservation of natural capital. In the Anthropocene, which is characterised by anthropogenically induced, abrupt and/or long-term, often irreducible ecosystem dynamics and a co-evolution of technology and environment, this understanding reaches its limits. We therefore propose three modifications: shifting the baseline from a static to a dynamic frame of reference, shifting the focus from system components to system properties (stability, functions), and finally moving to a post-Eurocentric and post-anthropocentric perspective. These modifications will in some respects lead to a more restrictive norm of sustainability but will in other respects leave more room for human intervention and the creation of hybrid ecosystems. The challenge, as we see it, is to adapt the concept of sustainability to the realities of the Anthropocene without weakening it (such as by advancing green-washing or a ‘techno-fix ideology’).