A recent article in Ambio, titled Resilience and regeneration for a world in crisis, explores how sustainability science can better respond to the many crises shaping our world today. The authors revisit two key ideas in environmental research, namely resilience and regeneration, and explore how they relate to one another.
Resilience has mainly focused on how social and ecological systems cope with shocks and adapt to change. Regeneration goes a step further by emphasising the active restoration and renewal of these systems. It stresses the importance of building positive, place based relationships between people and the wider living world.
The article shows that resilience and regeneration have developed along partly separate paths, yet they complement one another. When combined, they offer stronger guidance for how we govern and care for social and ecological systems. Regeneration in particular brings a clear future focus. It encourages us not only to avoid breakdown, but to create the conditions in which people and nature can truly thrive.
This perspective closely aligns with the ambitions of the Regenerative Futures community at the LDE Centre for Sustainability. The community works towards transformative pathways that repair and strengthen ecological and social foundations. The article provides a clear framework that helps connect theory to practice and supports the shift from sustaining what we have towards actively shaping regenerative futures.
Citation: Fischer, J., Farny, S., Pacheco-Romero, M. et al. Resilience and regeneration for a world in crisis. Ambio 55, 24–34 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-025-02287-6