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V. Meyer Jr. et al.
1 Introduction
Sustainable development has been widely discussed since the last decades of the
twentieth century. The discussion began with the publication of the “World’s Conservation Strategy” (IUCN 1980) by the International Union for the Conservation
of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). Focusing on the issue of environmental integrity, this publication highlighted the importance of social, ecological and
economic dimensions and the role of organizations and governments in achieving
sustainability, considering living and non-living resources as well as the short- and
long-term advantages of alternative actions.
Since then, the relationship between society and environment began to be observed
more critically, and the very concept of the environmental problem continues to be
increasingly and more globally examined (Van Bellen 2005). Therefore, there has
been more intense and closer integration and interdependence among countries with
regard to decisions and actions that have an environmental and social impact on the
planet.
Organizations and their complexity are perceived as open systems in permanent
interaction with the environment, with the predominance of characteristics such as
adaptability, non-linearity, agent autonomy, dynamic interaction of agents exchanging information, and self-organization (Stacey 1996; Cilliers 1998; McDaniel 2007).
In this type of organization, behavior is determined by the nature of the interactions between agents, with decisions and actions influenced by divergent interests
between the groups that compose them. Each of these groups has sufficient power and
autonomy to ensure that their goals are legitimate and contribute to organizational
purposes.
Complexity Theory refers to social organizations as living and dynamic systems,
facing constantly changing environments, presenting chaotic behavior or unfamiliar
patterns. In these circumstances, making non-short-term forecasts becomes a difficult
task since these complex systems are extremely sensitive to their initial internal
conditions and to external factors such as uncertainties and surprises.
The purpose of this paper was to analyze the catastrophe of the Fundão Tailing
Dam under the lens of complexity and emergency theories, sustainable sciences and
the management of complex systems, seeking to explore problems and some lessons
learned from the catastrophe.
The paper contributes to the field by highlighting three main points. First, the
fragility of dams and the mismanagement of a multi-scalar system. Second, the sloppy
supervision and control of the dam‘s operations by public government. Third, some
critical lessons from the catastrophe are discussed in an attempt to contribute to the
building of a more reliable and sustainable system. These contributions are relevant
to the management of a complex system in order to promote the sustainability of the
system and the reliability of its processes.
V. Meyer Jr. et al.
1 Introduction
Sustainable development has been widely discussed since the last decades of the
twentieth century. The discussion began with the publication of the “World’s Conservation Strategy” (IUCN 1980) by the International Union for the Conservation
of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). Focusing on the issue of environmental integrity, this publication highlighted the importance of social, ecological and
economic dimensions and the role of organizations and governments in achieving
sustainability, considering living and non-living resources as well as the short- and
long-term advantages of alternative actions.
Since then, the relationship between society and environment began to be observed
more critically, and the very concept of the environmental problem continues to be
increasingly and more globally examined (Van Bellen 2005). Therefore, there has
been more intense and closer integration and interdependence among countries with
regard to decisions and actions that have an environmental and social impact on the
planet.
Organizations and their complexity are perceived as open systems in permanent
interaction with the environment, with the predominance of characteristics such as
adaptability, non-linearity, agent autonomy, dynamic interaction of agents exchanging information, and self-organization (Stacey 1996; Cilliers 1998; McDaniel 2007).
In this type of organization, behavior is determined by the nature of the interactions between agents, with decisions and actions influenced by divergent interests
between the groups that compose them. Each of these groups has sufficient power and
autonomy to ensure that their goals are legitimate and contribute to organizational
purposes.
Complexity Theory refers to social organizations as living and dynamic systems,
facing constantly changing environments, presenting chaotic behavior or unfamiliar
patterns. In these circumstances, making non-short-term forecasts becomes a difficult
task since these complex systems are extremely sensitive to their initial internal
conditions and to external factors such as uncertainties and surprises.
The purpose of this paper was to analyze the catastrophe of the Fundão Tailing
Dam under the lens of complexity and emergency theories, sustainable sciences and
the management of complex systems, seeking to explore problems and some lessons
learned from the catastrophe.
The paper contributes to the field by highlighting three main points. First, the
fragility of dams and the mismanagement of a multi-scalar system. Second, the sloppy
supervision and control of the dam‘s operations by public government. Third, some
critical lessons from the catastrophe are discussed in an attempt to contribute to the
building of a more reliable and sustainable system. These contributions are relevant
to the management of a complex system in order to promote the sustainability of the
system and the reliability of its processes.