Contents -- Foreword -- Preface -- Acknowledgements -- Index of Figures -- Index of Tables -- 1 Introducing Complexity and Sustainability -- 1.1. WHY WE NEED A NEW APPROACH -- 1.2. THE NEED FOR A NEW PARADIGM -- 1.3. SUSTAINABILITY -- 1.4. CONCEPTUAL PLATFORM: SYSTEMS, CYBERNETICS AND COMPLEXITY -- 1.4.1. Systems -- 1.4.2. Cybernetics -- 1.4.3. Complex Systems -- 1.5. SUSTAINABILITY: A REVIEW FROM SYSTEMIC AND COMPLEXITY APPROACHES -- 1.5.1. Holistic and Ecological Thinking -- 1.5.2. A Systemic Approach to Sustainability -- 1.5.3. Revisiting the Idea of Sustainability from a Complexity Approach -- 1.5.4. Sustainability and Governance -- 1.6. SUMMARY -- 2 Viability through Complexity Management: Revisiting the Viable Systems Model -- 2.1. THE CONCEPTUAL PLATFORM -- 2.1.1 Inspiration -- 2.1.2. Models and Observers -- 2.1.3 Co-evolution: Organisms in their Niche -- 2.1.4. Recursion: Systems within Systems within Systems -- 2.1.5. Variety, Requisite Variety and Variety Engineering -- 2.2. OVERVIEW: THREE ELEMENTS, FIVE SYSTEMS -- 2.2.1. The Three Elements: Environment, Operation and Meta-system -- 2.2.2. The Three Elements as a Homeostatic System -- 2.2.3. The Five Systems: Physiological Inspiration -- 2.2.4. Diagrammatic Representation -- 2.3. THE FIVE SYSTEMS -- 2.3.1. System 1 -- 2.3.2. System 2 -- 2.3.3. System 3 -- 2.3.4. System 3* -- 2.3.5. System 4 -- 2.3.6. System 5 -- 2.4. VIABILITY THROUGH COMPLEXITY MANAGEMENT -- 2.4.1. Review: Operation, Meta-system and Environment -- 2.4.2. An Example: An Individual as a Viable System -- 2.4.3. Variety Engineering: Vertical and Horizontal Axes -- 2.4.4. Meta-systemic Management -- 2.4.5. Homeostasis and Self-regulation -- 2.4.6. Real-time Management -- 2.5. MANAGING COMPLEXITY IN THE 3/4/5 HOMEOSTAT: TEAM SYNTEGRITY -- 2.6. VIABLE SYSTEMS, COMPLEX ADAPTIVE SYSTEMS AND SUSTAINABILITY -- 2.7. SUMMARY.

3 Societies as Viable Systems: Complexity Management and Sustainability -- 3.1. INTRODUCTION -- 3.2. MODELLING A SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY -- 3.2.1. First: Co-evolution with the Environment -- 3.2.2. Second: Autonomy and Cohesion -- 3.2.3. Third: Recursive Governance -- 3.3. VSM CRITERIA FOR SUSTAINABLE GOVERNANCE -- 3.4. APPROACHES, METHODOLOGIES AND TOOLS -- 3.4.1. Our Approach to Facilitate Organisational Transformations -- 3.4.2. VSM Methodologies and Applications -- 3.4.3. A Framework to Facilitate Organisational Self-Transformation -- 3.4.4. Team Syntegrity - Methodology and Applications -- 3.5. MANAGING COMPLEXITY IN A NATION STATE -- 3.5.1. Modelling the Nation State: A Colombian Case Study (1998) -- 3.5.2. Modelling the Social Economy: The Cybersyn Project (1972, 1973) -- 3.5.3. Case Study: The Gorgona Syntegration (Colombia, 1996) -- 3.6. LESSONS FOR MODELLING SUSTAINABLE SOCIETIES -- 3.7. CONCLUSION -- 4 Complexity and Environmental Management -- 4.1. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT: ORIGINS, DEVELOPMENT, APPLICATION AND ASSESSMENT -- 4.1.1. Environmental Management Origins -- 4.1.2. Environmental Management Development -- 4.1.3. Environmental Management Application -- 4.1.4. Assessment of Current Approaches to Environmental Management -- 4.2. HOLISTIC AND COMPLEX SYSTEM APPROACHES TO ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT -- 4.2.1. Systemic Approaches to Environmental Management -- 4.2.2. Our Theoretical Framework vs. Environmental Management -- 4.3. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT IN BUSINESS -- 4.3.1. Introduction: Symptoms and Root Causes -- 4.3.2. Co-operative Design for a Sustainable Business -- 4.3.3. Environmental Management: The Fisheries Industry -- 4.4. CASE STUDY: ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT FROM THE MAGDALENA RIVER BASIN -- 4.4.1. Modelling Environmental Management in the Nation -- 4.4.2. Example of VSM Diagnosis -- 4.4.3. Meta-systemic Management.

4.4.4. Networks of Eco-communities -- 4.4.5. Criteria to Design the National Environmental Information System -- 4.4.6. Discussion -- 4.4.7. Learning from the Experience -- 4.5. TOWARDS A COMPLEXITY-BASED FRAMEWORK FOR ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT -- 4.6. CONCLUSION -- 4.6.1. System 5 Policies -- 4.6.2. Outside and Then -- 4.6.3. Inside and Now -- 4.6.4. Recursive Mapping -- 5 Rethinking Sustainable Development -- 5.1. APPROACHES TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT -- 5.1.1. Mainstream Paradigm and Dominant Approaches -- 5.1.2. Unexpected Results: Inequitable Outcomes -- 5.1.3. Societal Complexification and Governance -- 5.2. RETHINKING THE PARADIGM OF DEVELOPMENT -- 5.2.1. Holistic and Complexity Views on Development -- 5.2.2. Rethinking the Intervention Paradigm -- 5.2.3. Redesigning Governance Structures -- 5.3. SELF-GOVERNANCE IN COMMUNITIES: DEVELOPING A EUROPEAN ECO-VILLAGE -- 5.3.1. Background on the Project: The Eco-Community -- 5.3.2. Methodological Approach -- 5.3.3. The Learning Process -- 5.3.4. Progress to Date -- 5.3.5. What Comes Next? -- 5.3.6. Ongoing Complexity Analyses -- 5.3.7. Discussion -- 5.4. FROM SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT TO SUSTAINABLE GOVERNANCE -- 5.4.1. Alternative Models of Governance -- 5.4.2. Redesigning Governance: Democratic Participation -- 5.4.3. Redesigning Governance: New Measuring Systems -- 5.5. CASE STUDY: DEVELOPING A GOVERNANCE SYSTEM FOR A NATIONAL PROGRAMME AGAINST POVERTY -- 5.5.1. Programme Design: An Innovative Approach -- 5.5.2. Implementation -- 5.5.3. The Monitoring System -- 5.5.4. Running the Programmes: the Control Loop -- 5.5.5. Assessment of Impact on Poverty -- 5.5.6. Relevance to Sustainable Development -- 5.6. CONCLUSIONS -- 5.6.1. Contributions to Sustainable Development -- 5.6.2. Challenges for Implementation of a Complexity Approach to Sustainability.

6 Envisioning Solutions for the Required Societal Transition -- 6.1. THE REQUIRED SOCIETAL TRANSITION -- 6.1.1. What Can be Done: Reflections at Each Level of Organisation -- 6.1.2. Defining the Levels of Recursion -- 6.2. FROM INDIVIDUALS TO FAMILIES, NEIGHBOURHOODS, COMMUNITIES AND TOWNS -- 6.2.1. Recursion 1: An Individual Attempting to Live Sustainably -- 6.2.2. Recursion 2: A Family Unit Attempting to Live Sustainably -- 6.2.3. Recursion 3: The Neighbourhood/Community Attempting to Live Sustainably -- 6.2.4. Case Study: Designing a New Agora -- 6.2.5. Recursion 4: A Town Attempting to Live Sustainably -- 6.2.6. Case Study: Transition Towns -- 6.3 FROM THE ECO-REGION TO THE CONTINENTAL LEVELS -- 6.3.1. Recursion 5: An Eco-Region Attempting to Live Sustainably -- 6.3.2. Recursion 6: A Nation Attempting to Live Sustainably -- 6.3.3. Case Study: Transition Management -- 6.3.4. Case Study: Transition Management in the Netherlands -- 6.3.5. Case Study: Managing Complexity in the Transition Network -- 6.3.6. Recursion 7: A Continent Striving Towards Sustainability -- 6.4. THE GLOBAL RECURSION: A PLANETARY SOCIETY STRIVING TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY -- 6.4.1. Global Recursion: Co-Evolution with the Environment -- 6.4.2. Case Study: 'Cap and Share' -- 6.5. CONCLUSIONS -- 7 Conclusions -- 7.1. SYSTEM 5: IDENTITY AND THE NEED TO ADOPT A NEW PARADIGM OF SUSTAINABLE GOVERNANCE -- 7.2 NEED FOR RECURSIVE SUSTAINABLE SELF-GOVERNANCE -- 7.3. CO-EVOLUTION BETWEEN AN ORGANISATION AND ITS NICHE -- 7.4. STRUCTURAL DESIGN -- 7.5. CREATING A CO-EVOLUTIONARY LEARNING SOCIETY -- 7.6. CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMPLEXITY SCIENCES -- 7.7. FINAL STATEMENT -- References -- Appendix 1 Systemic Methodologies: Contributions to EM - Some Examples -- Author Index -- Subject Index.