Governance for Sustainability in the ‘Anthropocene’: A Triple-Helix Model

With the term “Anthropocene”, scientists from various disciplinary domains qualify a human epoch characterized by the apparent influence of humans on the Earth dynamics “through a range of biophysical and social processes leading to complex global changes […] with an increasing evidence that current “governance systems” too often are not fit for contemporary circumstances” (Schlindwein, Schwaninger and Ison, www.wosc2017rome.asvsa.org1). With the purpose of joining the debate arising from a critical reflection on the governance in the Anthropocene, this work aims to discuss the possible contribution of a Triple-helix based model of governance re-interpreted in the light of a systems view of sustainability and sustainable development (Pearce, Atkinson and Dubourg, 1994; Clayton and Radcliff, 1996; Barile et al., 2014), which also explores cybersistemic possibilities (Espejo, 2014, 2015; Espinosa, 2015; Schwaninger, 2001, 2015; Ison and Schlindwein, 2015).