Total human ecosystem
Total human ecosystem (THE) is an eco-centric concept initially proposed by ecology professors Zeev Naveh and Arthur S. Lieberman in 1994.[1]
History of the concept
Naveh and Lieberman (1994)
Zev Naveh (1919-2011), the major contributor to this concept, was Professor in landscape ecology at the Technion,
drought resistant plants for multi-beneficial landscape restoration and beautification.[3]
Almo Farina, who also developed the concept from 2000 onwards, is also a professor of ecology at the
Urbino University, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, in Italy
.
Concepts and epistemology
The interaction and co-evolution of the human and natural
social sciences and the humanities in order to prevent further environmental degradation
and drive natural and human systems towards a sustainable future.
A natural ecosystem within this concept is
fossil energy powered by high input and throughput, and can be divided into two sub-ecosystems: urban-industrial and agro-industrial. The ecosystem is realised in space as an ecotope and the system of ecotopes is the landscape: natural, semi-natural, urban-industrial are the tangible, three-dimensional physical systems. These form the Total Human Ecosystem. The THE also consists of the domain of information, perceptions (in landscape ecology this is the ecofield concept),[4][5]
knowledge, feeling and consciousness, enabling human (but also biological) self-awareness.
A special case of landscapes inside of the Total Human Ecosystem are the cultural landscapesresilience and resistance.
See also
- Human ecosystem
- Landscape ecology
- Environmental geography
- Ecosystem
- Sustainability
References
- Farina, A., 2006. Principles and Methods in Landscape Ecology: Towards a Science of the Landscape, Springer, Dordrecht, 412 p.