PECS-3: Pathways to Sustainability

Welcome to Pathways to Sustainability:
Social-ecological resilience
and transformation across multiple scales

We are excited to invite the world’s foremost thinkers and advocates of place-based social-ecological scholarship to PECS3 in Montreal Canada (12-15 August 2024) to share ideas on how to transform sustainable development to better contend with the challenges of the Anthropocene informed by issues and solutions in multiple knowledges and values. This conference is co-hosted by The Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society, the Resilience Alliance, and NSERC ResNet.

As the flagship meeting of a transdisciplinary, action-orientated field, this conference will gather a diverse group of scholars, policy-makers, stakeholders, practitioners, and Indigenous rights-holders from across Canada and all over the planet to share cross-cutting interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research and insights on social-ecological dynamics in the Anthropocene. It will focus on the transformative changes needed in different contexts and places to bring society onto a sustainable path.

The PECS-III meeting will be more than just a conference. We will also discuss the launch of a new society for the social-ecological systems community at the conference, which could be a monumental step for our community. We intend this society to guide and set the agenda for the future of transdisciplinary social-ecological research and policy responses- creating a global community of social-ecological systems practice to support urgently needed sustainability transformations.

PECS I held in Stellenbosch, South Africa in 2015 and PECS II held in Oaxaca, Mexico were landmark events that brought the community together to discuss social-ecological science and transdisciplinary research, and spurred the growth of the field. We are now excited to host PECS III to showcase the growth and prominence of social-ecological science and thinking in Canada and abroad, and further develop its relevance to policy and navigating pressing societal challenges. Given the growth of the field, we anticipate attendance of around 400 delegates.

PECS-III will take place in the beautiful city of Montréal located in the province of Quebec in Canada. It is the largest city in the region, and is known for its French-Canadian culture and heritage and its cobbled streets, quaint cafes, and lively nightlife. Montréal has been recognized for its commitment to sustainability, being recently named "most sustainable destination” in North America for the ways that both the city and visitors can mitigate environmental and social impacts of travel.

We look forward to seeing you in Montréal!

Elena and Alta, PECS-3 Co-Chairs

Land Acknowledgement

Montréal sits on the traditional territory of the Kanien’kehá:ka (People of the Flint), also known as the Mohawk. The island called “Montreal” (Tiotia:ke in the language of the Kanien’kehá:ka) has historically been a meeting place for other Indigenous nations, including the Algonquin people.

A connection to the land is inextricably linked to Indigenous identity. For many Indigenous peoples in Canada, and increasingly in broader Canadian society, traditional territory acknowledgements are an important cultural protocol practiced at important events as a way to acknowledge and honour Indigenous peoples’ connections to their ancestral lands.

The Congress Opening Plenary will begin with a territorial acknowledgement. This acknowledgement aims to show recognition of and respect for Indigenous Peoples - of their presence both in the past and the present. It is a part of establishing healthy relations with Indigenous communities, a key to reconciliation, a process to which the Congress is committed.