d i v e r s i t y a n d h a r m o n y I N OU R GLOBAL HOME

text by Anders Wall my relationship with of my engagement and responsibility for it came about that in 1975, dates back to the beginning of the 1950s, her life’s work, Svenskt Tenn. sold her life’s work, Svenskt Tenn, to the when I was a student at the Stock- Our friendship deepened over time. Kjell and Märta Beijer Foundation, of holm School of Economics. On the During one of our lunches in her apart- which I was chairman. way to my rented room on Grevgatan, ment on Strandvägen, she confided I am among those who consider it I often passed the Svenskt Tenn shop on in me that she was thinking of selling a great privilege for individuals and Strandvägen with its attractive window Svenskt Tenn and that she had no short- organisations with financial resour- displays. I occasionally popped into the age of prospective buyers. However, she ces to be able to contribute to societal shop to admire the beautiful products was frightened at the thought of her crea- development. My old mentor Kjell Beijer and their detail. tion being bought by someone who would was of the same opinion and through On one such occasion, Estrid Ericson not take care of it and of her interior his donations he laid the cornerstone for came up to me and said that they had design concept becoming just one of a foundation supporting research within noticed that I often visited the shop but many in a large department store. If she medicine and the environment. We never bought anything. I explained that were going to sell, it had to be to someone subsequently amended the statutes I was just a poor student. That conversa- who could guarantee that the Svenskt to ensure that the foundation would tion heralded the start of a friendship that Tenn brand and the tradition and quali- work to preserve the Swedish interior lasted until Estrid’s death and the start ty it represented would survive. And thus design tradition. Thanks to my dear friend Stig Ramel, then MD of the Nobel Foundation, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (KVA) came to be involved from the start. In 1977 the Beijer Institute was founded at KVA and today it is one of the world’s leading institutions for research into ecological economics. Many prominent researchers have links to the Beijer Institute. These include Elinor Ostrom, the Nobel prize-winner for text by Anders Wall Economics in 2009, who for a time was a member of the board and was active within many of the Insti- tute’s research programmes. I am proud that we acted so early in promoting an area of research that is now of acute relevance. The Beijer Institute is creating new understandings of the links between humans and nature and our need for a healthy biosphere. For me, a farmer’s son, this connection is abundantly clear. There is a clear link between the Beijer Institute’s aim of building a robust society with long-term sustainability and the quality and timeless beauty that characterise the Svenskt Tenn interior décor philo- sophy. Whether one mixes old and new, different styles of furniture, colours and patterns – objects that one loves will still blend together into a harmonious entity. This picture of a safe, harmonious and sustain- able home interior also illustrates the concepts of bio- diversity and resilience and their importance for the harmony of our global home. photo by Tobias Regell t h e e r a o f m a n k i n d BE A TREE AND YOU WILL SEE

the biosphere is the thin outer layer on this on the planet, with every inch of it’s surface carry- planet in which life exists. We humans are part ing traces of human activity. We have entered into of the biosphere and are completely dependent a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene – on the air, the seas, the forests and all other The Age of Humans. ecological systems in order to survive and thrive. Changes in the environment sometimes take Welfare and wellbeing are interwoven with the com- place slowly, in small, predictable steps, while in ponents of the biosphere in a complicated pattern other cases they lead to sudden, shocking threshold of interactions. effects. If we use our ingenuity and work together Our species is successful. The number of people with the biosphere, mankind can become the force on Earth has doubled in half a century and through that gives coming generations the chance to live well technological development and globalised trade, within planetary boundaries. humans have become the greatest force for change illustrator JESPER WALDERSTEN since the beginning of the 1800s, good news. It helped confirm that phosphorus, changes in land use and loss the world’s population has increased humans and human societies are in- of biological diversity, already seem to from one billion to seven billion. Dur- separable parts of the biosphere – the have been exceeded. The other three are ing the same period, and particularly global ecological system that includes for ocean acidification, freshwater use after the end of World War II, factors all life on Earth and in the atmosphere. and depletion of the ozone layer. such as economic development, tech- The report also emphasised the im- Nature is often subjected to gradual nological invention, new medicines and portance of calculating the value of environmental impacts, such as slowly international cooperation have helped nature’s goods and services. The con- increasing nutrient concentrations or raise the standard of living and improve clusion was that combatting poverty and creeping losses of biological diversity. the health of an increasing proportion economic development are dependent However, ecosystems do not always of people. Despite this, several billion on good management of ecosystems respond in a gradual way. Instead, they still live in poverty. During this period and their ability to provide us with often become more vulnerable to of human development, the world’s essential services. sudden events, such as storms, floods forests, lakes, seas and other ecosystems An attempt to produce scientific and fires, that can cause them to tip have unfortunately begun to show signs guidelines for better ecosystem man- over into a completely new state. A slow, of serious damage. The year2005 saw the agement was made with the publication stable process of change then suddenly publication of the first health check on the of the so-called ‘planetary boundaries’ becomes much more dramatic. This world’s ecosystems, the UN Millennium in the journal Nature in 2009, with phenomenon is called a regime shift or Ecosystem Assessment, to which the a follow-up in Science in 2015. This tipping point. The consequences can Beijer Institute contributed through its represents an attempt to define a ‘safe be severe; important ecosystem services research. The diagnosis was clear: man- operating space’ for humanity through are lost and quality of life is affected. kind’s rapidly increasing need for food, proposing boundaries that should not Moreover, there is often an inertia in the clean water, timber, fibres and fuel has be exceeded if future development is to new system that makes it very difficult for altered the earth’s ecosystems more proceed in a safe way. Boundaries for nature to shift back. rapidly and more severely in the past 70 seven critical planetary processes were This has happened many times of years than in any previous age. proposed. Four boundaries, those for the course of Earth’s history. Around The UN report also brought some climate change, flows of nitrogen and 6000 years ago, the Sahara was covered by forests, green plains, lakes and solar radiation will accumulate and it moving from the Holocene, the remark- rivers. Through natural causes, the will become increasingly warm. The ably stable period in which our civili- climate changed, first slowly but then planetary boundaries have been set in sations developed and thrived, into an the process became self-perpetuating. order to avoid these types of large-scale, age where mankind has itself become Eventually, rain more or less ceased global tipping-points. a global force that can change the whole to fall, which resulted in the Sahara The increasingly strong links bet- world in its wake. The insight that we

Around 6000 years ago, the Sahara was covered by forests, green plains, lakes and rivers.

being transformed into an inhospitable ween human activities and the earth’s humans possess this power means that desert at an accelerating pace. A current life-supporting systems are reflected we are sitting in the driving seat and example is the Arctic ice cap, which is in the name Anthropocene, which is have the power to guide development in gradually thinning due to a warmer derived from anthropos, the Greek word the right direction. climate. The white surface of the ice for human. It is the name of the new reflects the sun’s rays, cooling down geological era that many researchers the region, but if the ice disappears the believe we are now entering. We are l o b s t e r s a n d h u m a n s A NETWORK OF LINKS

within ecosystems, humans, animals, is known for its lobsters and is often had disappeared from the ecosystem, plants and microorganisms evolve and referred to as a successful example of an so the lobsters were able to expand in shape their habitats. In social-ecological economically and socially sustainable great numbers. systems, humans and nature are stud- fishery where the lobster is not overfished. When too many lobsters live close ied as one entity, where all societies are Through cooperation and joint together, they can easily develop diseases. dependent on ecosystems and all nature regulations, 7000 fishermen and many A few dozen miles south of Maine, is affected by humans. If they are studied others living around the Gulf can earn over 70% of the lobster population has separately, important interactions can a living from lobster fishing and supply already been killed off by a type of be overlooked. the whole world with the ‘black gold bacterial infection. Resilience – the capacity of a system of the sea’. If people work together to increase to deal with disruptions and live with However, when this lobster fishery biological diversity in the Gulf of Maine, change – is important in this context. was studied from a social-ecological they can restore variation in fish species It is essential in order for society and perspective, researchers found that and businesses. This would spread the nature to develop together in a positive practically all other species of fish had risks and increase resilience. way in a rapidly changing world. been fished out of existence. The gulf of Maine in North America The natural enemies of the lobster illustrator LISELOTTE WATKINS It can take up to three kilos of wild-caught fish to produce one kilo of farmed salmon and as much as 20 kilos to produce a kilo of farmed tuna. as the ex ample of lobster fishing in is dependent on resources from both more efficient use of resources, a lower Maine shows, large-scale production agriculture and fishing. Modern aqua- environmental impact, improved certi- of a single species, so-called mono- culture often takes the form of large fication and a greater diversity of spe- culture, is seldom a good idea in the long monocultures and products such as cies and culture methods. For example, term, even if the advantages of scale it soybean, fish meal and fish oil are fish farming could be combined with provides can give economic benefits commonly used in fish feed. It can take production of mussels and algae that in the short term. This applies within up to three kilos of wild-caught fish to live on the excess nutrients supplied in agriculture, forestry and aquaculture, produce one kilo of farmed salmon and aquaculture and thereby clean the water. i.e., production of fish and shellfish, as much as 20 kilos to produce a kilo of This would be a benefit not just for the which is one of the Beijer Institute’s farmed tuna. environment but also for the fish farmer, research areas. These large-scale cultures are suscept- who would have more products to sell Aquaculture is often cited as an ible to diseases and are associated with and a less vulnerable production system. important component in feeding the a number of environmental problems If aquaculture is to be a sustainable world’s growing population and as a way through eutrophication, emissions of part of the solution to meeting future to counteract the dwindling fish stocks pharmaceuticals and pesticides or fell- demands for food, we need to stimulate in the world’s oceans. It is also the fast- ing of rainforest for soybean production. innovation in relation to alternative food est growing sector within food produc- The Beijer Institute’s research shows production and to combating poverty. tion and now supplies almost half of that aquaculture has great potential to all seafood we consume. However, it is increase food availability, but to ensure sometimes forgotten that aquaculture sustainable production there must be t h e b e i j e r i n s t i t u t e a n d PAT T E R NS OF THE BIOSPHERE text by Carl Folke - Director of the Beijer Institute th e be ij e r ins tit ut e at the Royal How can we make use of nature’s servic- various ways within the research and Swedish Academy of Sciences is an es in an increasingly urbanised world? education world. The results have also international research centre, a cross- How can we capture the role of nature for been taken up and implemented in prac- disciplinary institute at the interface our welfare in economic development? tice within our entire society, for example of ecology and economics, that gathers How can we manage the seas and develop in UN documents, EU decisions and leading researchers from around the aquaculture for fair and optimum use national measures in different countries, world. The aim is to achieve a deeper of the world’s food resources? How and at local level in cities and companies. understanding of the interactions be- can we enhance our ability to live with The importance of the dynamics of tween ecological systems and societal and uncertainty in a world undergoing rapid nature and how we affect, are dependent economic development, which can help change? How can people’s behaviour on and can work together with these are us to identify pathways to a sustainable contribute to a healthy environment and at the core of our research. A fundamen- future for humanity. better human welfare? tal concept in our research is that we as In our research programmes, eco- The Beijer Institute’s activities in- humans form part of the living biosphere logists, economists and other researchers clude international research programmes, and can influence it. Many new ideas are working together to answer questions workshops, teaching, capacity building have emerged from the Beijer Institute’s such as: How can we develop our societies and dissemination of research results. research, examples being: natural capital, within the boundaries of the biosphere? The research has had an impact in ecosystem services, ecological footprint, a n a r e n a f o r k n o w l e d g e i n n o v a t i o n a n d understanding w h e r e d i f f e r e n t r e s e a r c h a r e a s c a n m e e t . social-ecological systems, tipping points Anders Wall and the Beijer Foundation and an official opening with ‘Patterns of and resilience, which are described have been fundamental in this! the Biosphere’. The Beijer Foundation in this brochure. Another successful Here we are now at the opening of made all this possible! research institute, Resili- ‘Patterns of the Biosphere’ – a very We look forward to an eventful month ence Centre, was created by the inspirational meeting between art and many new and exciting encounters. Beijer Institute and it has also helped and science at Svenskt Tenn. The four start a number of other platforms and artists, Eric Ericson, Jesper Waldersten, international networks. Liselott Watkins and Stina Wirsén, have The Beijer Institute at the Royal interpreted central concepts and in- Swedish Academy of Sciences was sights from the Beijer Institute’s cross- founded in the middle of the 1970s and disciplinary research in highly impressive changed direction in the early 1990s ways. The collaboration with colleagues to focus on ecology and economics. at Guringo and Svenskt Tenn has been Over the decades, the Kjell and Märta very enriching and we have been able Beijer Foundation has provided the to watch a classic cabinet basic funding for the Beijer Institute. undergo a metamorphosis. This represents a substantial and long- Together with ‘Patterns of the Bio- term investment in a research institute, sphere’, another exhibition of science and photo by Mikael Axelsson Mikael by photo not to find quick solutions to specific art is being opened. This, ‘Reflections problems or issues, but as an arena for of People and the Biosphere’ at Raoul professor Carl Folke DIRECTOR, THE BEIJER INSTITUTE, knowledge innovation and understand- Wallenbergs Torg on Nybroplan, dis- ROYAL SWEDISH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. ing where different research areas can plays pictures from the book with the FOUNDING MEMBER AND SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR AT STOCKHOLM RESILIENCE CENTRE, meet. The support and engagement of same name and shares many synergies STOCKHOLM UNIVERSITY. -

t h e a r t o f l i v i n g w i t h CHANGE AND ADAPTING

FROM JOSEF FRANK’S classic cabi- expansion, followed by a time of stag- ecological and social systems and that net, a sculpture has been created for the nation, a disruptive ‘creative destruction’ it does not assume linear, predictable Patterns of the Biosphere exhibition. phase and then a time of renewal. Know- development. Strategies based on re- It interprets the scientific concept of ledge, understanding and experience are silience mean that we must expect the resilience, which means the ability to live mobilised and combined in new ways. unexpected and strengthen the ability with change and to adapt. Resilience is Through this, new development can con- of systems to adapt to future changes. something that can be built or cultivated, tinue along the same path or move to new The resilience concept is an approach something that humans can practise. paths. Slow and sudden changes interact. for analysing the major global changes The concept of resilience is captured The model inspires dynamic thinking on we are facing. A better understanding in the cabinet’s infinity symbol, which in development – in a person, an ecosystem, of resilience in intertwined systems of research is called the adaptive cycleI. It a company, a society or a whole culture. humans and nature (social-ecological describes a four-phase dynamic process Resilience is characterised by the systems) is becoming increasingly impor- that many systems undergo – a time of fact that it involves interactions between tant in dealing with the challenges posed -

by climate change and other environ- Forum, the UN’s high-level panel on mental impacts. sustainable development, aid work, Resilience can be good or bad. Con- crisis management and innovative tinuing along the current development thinking have all been inspired by resili- pathway, refining and improving along ence thinking. It was first developed the way, can lead us into a one-way at the Beijer Institute in the early 1990s, street. Activities, societies and values where the seeds were sown for the risk being locked into a development emergence of what is now Stockholm trajectory that is difficult to escape when Resilience CentreII. things suddenly change. The challenge then is being able to change paths, to I find new ways. Sometimes, these shifts CS HOLLING, a professor of ecology from Canada, are beneficial, at other times they can is father to the resilience perspective and presented the adaptive cycle or ‘Holling Figure-eight’ in the be painful. mid-1980s. Resilience involves introducing flexi- II bility and choice, handling uncertainty STOCKHOLM RESILIENCE CENTRE is an interna- tional research centre at Stockholm University working and complexity, being prepared for the in close collaboration with the Beijer Institute at the unpredictable and having the capacity Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. to turn crises into opportunities. It involves diversity and sustainability, something which is reflected in Svenskt Tenn’s philosophy and the quality of its furniture. Research into resilience has grown

rapidly and is now being conducted all design / intervention over the world. The World Economic JOSEF FRANK / GURINGO i n v i s i b l e u r b a n SERVICES

over half the world’s population now important service with future global and roofs, in order to provide people lives in cities. The number continues and warming. Birds spread seeds, insects with food. Such urban gardens also make 60% of the land that will be urbanised pollinate crops and wild plants, and green it easier for animals and plants to spread by 2030 has still not been built upon. areas absorb stormwater and prevent from one patch to the next around Think of the opportunities that exist to flooding. These are services which are the city. create cities where people can feel well expensive, or in some cases impossible, By protecting ecosystem services and and prosper, that provide clean air and to replace through human efforts or tech- ensuring that they have a place in our water and secure access to food – cities nology. New York saved seven billion dol- cities, we can become healthier. There that are more self-supporting and inter- lars by preserving an area of forest that are many studies showing clear links act with the surrounding landscape. Let filters the city’s water instead of build- between access to green areas and peo- us employ the help of nature’s own ser- ing a new larger water treatment plant. ple’s physical and mental health. Urban vices, the so-called ecosystem services, Urban gardening is an increasingly green areas provide spaces for exercise, some of which have been personally and popular re-invented activity that is not recreation and quality of life, and humorously interpreted by Eric Ericson just a good hobby, but can also make strengthen our feeling of belonging with in the adjoining illustration. a considerable contribution to food nature. Now that increasing numbers Ecosystem services are the multitude security in many countries. It is there- of people are becoming urban dwellers, of services and functions supplied by eco- fore regarded by the UN as an essential we must give ourselves the chance to re- systems and their species to us humans. component in the fight against hunger. establish the bonds with nature and the In cities, trees clear the air of particu- During World Wars I and II, vegetables biosphere in order to guide development late matter and exhaust fumes, reduce were grown in parks, in back gardens and towards a sustainable future. Urban eco- noise and provide shade, an increasingly on railway embankments, football pitches system services can help us in that task. illustrator ERIC ERICSON e a r t h h a s i n v i t e d h u m a n s W ELCOME TO THE BANQUET

earth has invited humans to a great feast and has a resource considered to be never-ending. The Beijer provided food, warm protective vegetation, water, Institute invited both these groups to sit at the same power and beauty. However, the resources and ser- table and to share meals and thoughts. When their vices in our global ecosystem – the biosphere – are world views were superimposed, new patterns which not limitless. They are natural capital that we must agreed much better with reality were able to emerge. manage well, since economic development and eco- Research can involve identifying connections and logical sustainability go hand in hand. patterns and developing theoretical models and This is not always the case. Ecology and economics concepts for use when knowledge is being put into have long been studied as separate parts. Previously, practice. When we collaborate with each other, our ecologists studied natural ecosystems but saw only ecosystems, and the unique biosphere in which we bushes, trees and animals – no humans. At the same live, the feast can continue and there will be place at time, economists sketched out social systems where the table for all. nature was regarded as one resource among many, e a r t h h a s i n v i t e d h u m a n s W ELCOME TO THE BANQUET

JORDEN HAR BJUDIT IN MÄNNISKAN till en dignande festmåltid och dukat upp generöst med mat, varm skyddande grönska, vatten, kraft och skönhet. Men tillgångarna och tjänsterna i vårt globala ekosystem – biosfären – är inte obegränsade. Det är ett naturkapital vi måste förvalta väl, där ekonomisk tillväxt och ekologisk hållbarhet går hand i hand.

Men så är det inte alltid. Ekonomi och ekologi har länge studerats som separata system. Ekologer undersökte naturens ekosystem, men såg bara buskar, träd och djur – inga människor. Samtidigt skissade ekonomerna på samhällssystem där naturen sågs som en resurs bland andra, en resurs de räknade med aldrig skulle ta slut. Beijerinstitutet bjöd in dem att sitta vid samma bord och dela måltider och tankar. När deras världsbilder kunde läggas på varandra framträdde nya mönster, illustrator som stämde mycket bättre med hur verkligheten såg ut. Forskning kan vara att se samband och mönster och ta fram tankemodeller och STINA WIRSÉN begrepp som går att använda när kunskapen ska omsättas i praktiken. När vi samarbetar med varandra, våra ekosystem och den unika biosfär vi lever i, kan festmåltiden fortsätta och bli en fest för alla. ecosystems - forests, wetlands, fields, prevent such effects occurring and to tems such as the Great Barrier Reef in coasts, seas or grasslands – are living find better ways forward. This joint Australia and on to global collaboration natural capital. This natural capital work often takes its starting point on fish resources in the Antarctic Ocean. forms the basis for all other capital and, in crisis awareness, where knowl- This type of collaboration acknow- just like all other capital, needs to be edge and standpoints are tested and ledges that the world and its ecosystems actively managed if its value is to be perspectives widened. This inspires are in a state of continual change and maintained or increased. The value for hope and shows that it is possible to that management methods must be us humans can be measured as welfare. adjust activities and guide development adapted to this. Another important The Beijer Institute is working on the in a more sustainable direction. component is to coordinate all the management of natural capital on sever- parties involved in order to utilise the al different fronts, including economic different types of knowledge available theory, food production, behavioural about the landscape and learn from one research and societal planning. another, an example being the action in- Green accounts is a collective term troduced to save the Great Barrier Reef describing different ways of trying to in Australia. capture the value of natural capital and The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s ecosystem services in new measures of largest coral reef area and was long con- welfare that can act as a complement sidered to be healthy and unaffected to GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and far away from the coast. However, the provide support in political decision threats began to increase in several making and business strategy. More and more examples are emer- ways; fish species important for the The Beijer Institute’s research shows ging from all corners of the earth of reef’s health were fished hard, the inflow that when people who are jointly mana- people working together across activities of nutrients from agriculture increased ging natural capital such as fishing and sectors to manage natural capital in and the rising water temperatures waters or grazing grounds acquire a better way – from local areas such as caused coral bleaching. Individuals, knowledge of threshold effects, they Kristianstad Vattenrike in Southern activities and organisations, such as have the ability to work together to to regional large-scale ecosys- local fishers, tourist guides, researchers, business owners and politicians on national level, came The possibilities of working with the natural capital instead of together and were mobilised to take on the challenge. Reef against it, of developing technologies and economies in part- upkeep changed from having its focus solely on the coral reef nership with the biosphere, are now crystallising. Sustainable to including the entire coastline and the surrounding landscape development is how we manage our biosphere and our future with its seventy different ecosystems. The main objective was together with everyone else on our planet. to enhance the resilience of the coral reefs and their ability to adapt to change and to secure the many ecosystem services and the economic, cultural and social values that the Great Barrier Reef provides.

Patterns of the Biosphere is a joint production by svenskt tenn and the beijer institute of ecological economics at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The exhibition is held for the first time at Svenskt Tenn between 15 April and 15 June 2015. Concept development and production: guringo ab www.svenskttenn.se www.beijer.kva.se

© SVENSKT TENN EDITOR: AGNETA SUNDIN DESIGN: PLANETA DESIGN TEXT: AGNETA SUNDIN, CARL FOLKE, FREDRIK MOBERG, ANDERS WALL COVER: STINA WIRSÉN PRINT: MIX GRAFISKA