Transition principles: Experiences from the Victorian State of the Environment reporting process and relevance to sustainability in complex systems

Abstract

As a result of research for the Victorian State of the Environment (SoE) Report, a number of core principles of value to broad areas of management for sustainability were developed. These principles are: the fundamental dependence of human wellbeing on ecosystem services; the importance of measuring wellbeing; the value of addressing environmental problems via an aetiological approach; the importance of decoupling and understanding shifting baselines and tipping points; and the role that resilience and its elements must play in transitioning to a sustainable future. This article describes and explores the links between these transition principles. Using examples, it shows that the principles..