ABSTRACT
Those who emphasise the near equilibrium definition of engineering resilience, for example, draw predominantly from traditions o f deductive mathematical theory (Pimm, 1984) where simplified, untouched ecological systems are imagined, or from traditions of engineering, where the motive is to design systems with a single operating objective (Waide and Webster, 1976; De Angelis, 1980; O ’Neill et al., 1986). On the one hand, that makes the mathematics more tractable, and on the other, it accommodates the engineer’s goal to develop optimal designs. There is an implicit assumption that there is global stability - i.e. there is only one equilibrium steady-state, or, if other operating states exist, they should be avoided by applying safeguards.
