Community-Based Resilience: Digital Technologies for Living within Planetary Boundaries

TL;DR

This paper systematically reviews how digital technologies can support humanity in living sustainably within Planetary Boundaries, highlighting methods and capabilities especially in food and agriculture sectors.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive review of digital technology applications for planetary sustainability and identifies key capabilities for enabling resilient, boundary-respecting systems.

Findings

Digital technologies enable dynamic networks for sustainability

Application in food and agriculture demonstrates practical potential

Framework assessed for broader critical infrastructure use

Abstract

The world faces increasing challenges related to climate change and shifting geopolitical situations. The COVID 19 pandemic clearly illustrated the need for resilience not just within civil engineering but also within social and economic systems. While significant work has focused on applying digital technologies to solve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), less effort has been placed on the ability of digital technologies to enable humanity to continue to live effectively within the Planetary Boundaries. Within this paper, we perform a Systematic Literature Review using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analyses (PRISMA) methodology. Nine hundred and twenty papers were reviewed. Based on the Systematic Literature Review (SLR), we have outlined specific methods to apply digital technologies to enable humanity to live within PB. Critical capabilities provided by digital technologies, specifically the ability to create dynamic networks for enabling humanity to live within PB, are identified and illustrated in food and agriculture. The paper closes with a brief assessment of the concept's applicability to other Critical National Infrastructure.