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Ecosystems are sustainable when we balance the rates of removal and replacement. Sustainable ecosystems provide resources and services people rely on, such as:

food and other income
maintaining ecosystem health
cultural needs

Technology alone cannot insure this balance; no machine can replace a reef or forest. The best way we know to ensure sustainably is to protect intact ecosystems. However, many of our actions put these vital habitats at risk.

To preserve intact ecosystems we need to understand sustainability, and for each different habitat to be able to answer the following questions:

What are the elements of ecological sustainability?
How is sustainability threatened?
What practical steps can we take to protect sustainability?

Microdocs

A microdoc is a 2-3 minute documentary about one topic. These sustainability microdocs each feature one aspect of sustainability. They are divided into two main sections:

Elements of Sustainability

This section defines sustainability and explores the 4 elements that influence and shape ecosystems:

Productivity
Diversity
Resilience
Disturbance

Understanding how these elements affect ecosystems and how we alter them helps us understand our impact on the environment.

Sustainability on Coral Reefs

These microdocs give examples of sustainability issues in a real ecosystem – the coral reef. Coral reefs are highly diverse areas that provide vital resources for millions of people. This environment faces many threats and examining these helps to illustrate what occurs when ecological balance is changed. The same 4 elements operate in all ecosystems – and other ecosystems could be used as an example. We chose coral reefs because they are visually beautiful, under severe threat, and the film company will go there for free.

Acknowledgements
Palumbi Lab
Hopkins Marine Station
Stanford University
Garthwait & Griffin Films