DUD 206, UNIT 2

Outline:
I. System Thinking
II. Environment Systems/
Ecosystems
III. Ecosystem Services
 DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK:
Towards Urban Resilience

Global Warming (cf. LCCAP)

Ridge to Reef

System Thinking Planet

DRRM (cf. LDRRM)
Weather Patterns
Comprehensive
People Ecosystem
Approach
Development Plan (CDP)
Climate Resilient Cities
Environmental Laws:
NIPAS, DAO 03-30
Prosperity
Sustainable Development Comprehensive Land Use
Plan (CLUP)

Peace Partnership
Cross Sectoral
Governance
Ludwig Von Bertalanffy
• -founded the science of "General System
Theory“ (1948).

The General system theory is a general

science of wholeness... The meaning of the
somewhat mystical expression, “The whole
is more that the sum of its parts”, is simply
means that constitutive characteristics are
not explainable from the characteristics of
the isolated parts. The characteristics of the
complex, therefore, appear as new or
emergent... - Ludwig von Bertalanffy
• https://medium.com/disruptive-design/tools-for-
systems-thinkers-the-6-fundamental-concepts-of-
systems-thinking-379cdac3dc6a
https://medium.com/disruptive-design/tools-for-systems-thinkers-the-6-fundamental-concepts-of-systems-thinking-379cdac3dc6a
1. Interconnectedness
2.
Synthesis
• Synthesis is about
understanding the
whole and the parts at
the same time, along
with the relationships
and the connections
that make up the
dynamics of the whole.
• Essentially, synthesis
is the ability to see
interconnectedness.
3. Emergence
• Emergence is the outcome of
the synergies of the parts; it is
about non-linearity and self-
organization and we often use the
term ‘emergence’ to describe the
outcome of things interacting
together.
4. Feedback Loops
 5. Causality

• Causality as a concept in
systems thinking is really about
being able to decipher the way
things influence each other in a
system.
 6. Systems Mapping

Identify and map the elements of ‘things’ within a system to

understand how they interconnect, relate and act in a
complex system, and from here, unique insights and
discoveries can be used to develop interventions, shifts, or
policy decisions that will dramatically change the system in
the most effective way. Identify and map the elements of
‘things’ within a system to understand how they interconnect,
relate and act in a complex system, and from here, unique
insights and discoveries can be used to develop interventions,
shifts, or policy decisions that will dramatically change the
system in the most effective way.
 • systems thinking
•
Term used to describe a
perspective and a set of methods
and tools that make it possible to
look at the full extent of a system,
rather than at fragments or parts.
To innovate on any social,
economic or environmental
problems , it’s necessary to find
ways to see, understand and use
the system itself.

http://www.socialinnovationacademy.eu/project/systems-thinking-definition/
 10 COMMON CHARACTERISTICS OF A SYSTEMS
THINKER

1. Insatiable Curiosity & Courageousness to

prove themselves wrong
2. Happy to not know the answer
3. Intuitive Pattern/Trend Spotter
4. Cross-Pollinator/Connector/Weaver
5. Working at the Edges (not the Centre)
6. Attracted to Ambiguity
7. Turn Uncertainty into Opportunities
8. Flow & Flexibility
9. Pioneer
10. Reluctance to Lead Want to read more?

https://www.slideshare.net/hladewolf/systems-thinking-in-a-nutshell-72237405
In science, the term system as
defined above has similar meaning
with the word model.
 Within its defined boundary the system has three kinds of
properties:

• Elements - are the kinds of things or substances composing the

system. They may be atoms or molecules, or larger bodies of matter-
sand grains, rain drops, plants, or cows.
• Attributes - are characteristics of the elements that may be
perceived, for example: quantity, size, color, volume, temperature,
and mass.
• Relationships - are the associations that exist between elements
and attributes based on cause and effect.

The state of the system is defined when each of its properties

(e.g. elements, attributes, and relationships) has a defined value.
Ecosystems
Ecosystem is an assemblage of living
and non-living elements contained
within a boundary such that these
elements have functional
relationships with each other and can
maintain the flow of energy and
complete the chemical cycle.
https://www.plantscience4u.com/2016/07/ecosystem-definition-different-types.html
 Biosphere

Community Ecosystem

Population Population System

Organism Organismic System

MATTER
Organ and Organ System
ENERGY
Tissue Tissue System

Cell Cellular System

Gene Genetic System

Living Components + Non-Living Components = Biological Systems

Fig. 1. Levels of biological organization

 Concept of Levels
of Organization

• https://eschooltoday.co
m/learn/levels-of-
organization-in-an-
ecosystem/
 What are the basic
components of the
ecosystem?

Components of the
ecosystem: An Ecosystem
includes all of the living
things and non-living.
Living things include;
plants, animals, and
organisms while non-
living things include
Weather, Earth, Sun, Soil,
Climate, and Atmosphere
etc.

https://www.jagranjosh.com/general-knowledge/components-of-ecosystem-1439556853-1
 R R

Producers Herbivores Carnivores

(Green Plants)

Dead Organic Matter R

R
Decomposers To surroundings
As heat energy

Nutrients

Nutrient cycling
A generalized Ecosystem Energy Flow
Components of Ecosystem According to Structure
A food web is a mixed of food chain.
Figure 3.25 (Continued) (C) Tropical Seas.
Algae:(1) coccolithopliores, (2)
dinoflagellates. Herbivores: (3)
euphausiids, (4) copepods, (5) shrimp.
Filterers: (6) vertically migrating
mesopelagic fishes, (7) flying fishes, (8)
hyperiid amphipods, (9) lantern fish, (10)
ocean sunfish. Predators: (11)
mesopelagic fishes, (12) snake mackerel,
(13) squid, (14) dolphin (Coryphaena). Top
predators: (15) tuna, (16) lancetfish, (17)
marlin, (18) medium-sized sharks, (19)
large sharks. (A,B,C modified from N. V.
Parin, Ichthyofaunaof the epipelagic zone,
trans by the Russian by the Israel program
for Scientific Translations, 1970.)
Table 1. Relationships between Solar Energy Input and Primary
Productivity

Absorbed NPP
Solar
by GPP (available to
Energy
Autotroph heterotrophs)

Maximum 100 50 5 4

Ave.
favorable 100 50 1.0 0.5
conditions

Ave. for
100 <50 0.2 0.1
Biosphere
Table 2. Annual production and respiration as Kcal/yr in growth type
and steady-state ecosystem

Young pine Medium oak Mature

Alfalfa field
plantation pine forest rainforest

GPP 24,400 12,200 11,500 45,000

RA 9,200 4,700 6,400 32,000

NPP 15,200 7,500 5,000 13,000

RH 800 4,600 3,000 13,000

NCP 14,400 2,900 2,000 Very little

NPP/GPP 62.3 61.5 43.5 28.9

Table 3. Production under intensive cultivation during favorable growing
conditions (Kcal/m2/day)

Solar
GPP NPP Net/Gross
Radiation

Sugarcane
4,000 306 190 62
Hawaii

Irrigated
6,000 405 190 47
Maize

Sugar Beet
2,650 202 144 72
England
Ecosystem properties

• Productivity
• Stability
• Sustainability
• Biodiversity
• Equitability
Research Orientation

https://research.ncsu.edu/rdo/2020/08/the-
difference-between-multidisciplinary-
interdisciplinary-and-convergence-research/
 Ecosystem Services

• Conceptual framework for ecosystem assessment (Source: Maes et al., 2016)

https://vivagrass.eu/lessons/ecosystem-service-concept-and-classification-system/
The links between ecosystem services and human well-being as described by
MA classification system (Source: MA, 2005)
Haribon.org
https://ecology.fnal.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Ecosystem-Services.jpg
• 'Ecosystem services' (ES) are
the ecological characteristics, functions,
or processes that directly or indirectly
contribute to human wellbeing: that is,
the benefits that people derive from
functioning ecosystems (Costanza et al.,
1997;
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
(MEA), 2005).
Innovative financial
mechanisms are needed to
encourage investment in
conservation. We need to
understand nature programs
as revenue opportunities
rather than cost centers.
Treating well-managed
ecosystems as assets with
value to the economy would
go a long way.

https://opinion.inquirer.net/141087/healing-nature-by-restoring-the-ecosystem
MANILA — From white sand to palm
trees, the Manila baywalk is getting a
complete beach do.
The Department of Environment and
Natural Resources said Saturday it has
started planting mature coconut palm
trees at the baywalk on Roxas
Boulevard— another phase in the
rehabilitation of the Manila Bay at the
capital.
This follows its controversial P389-million
project dumping crushed dolomite on part
of the bay's shore to create an artificial
beach, which government said was part of
efforts to beautify the bay and help
improve Filipinos' mental health during
the pandemic.
END OF UNIT 2