MuSIASEM or Multi-Scale Integrated Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism, is a method of accounting used to analyse socio-ecosystems and to simulate possible patterns of development. It is based on maintaining coherence across scales and different dimensions of quantitative assessments generated using different metrics. It is designed to detect and analyze patterns in the societal use of resources and the impacts they create on the environment.
History
The approach was created around 1997 by Mario Giampietro and Kozo Mayumi, and has been developed since then by the members of the IASTE group at the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and its external collaborators. MuSIASEM strives to characterize metabolic patterns of Socio-Ecological Systems. This integrated approach allows for a quantitative implementation of the DPSIRframework and application as a decision support tool. Different alternatives of the option space can be checked in terms of feasibility, viability and desirability. The ability to integrate quantitative assessments across dimensions and scales makes MuSIASEM particularly suited for different types of sustainability analysis: the nexus between food, energy, water and land uses; urban metabolism; waste metabolism; tourism metabolism; rural development.
Applications
MuSIASEM accounting has been used for the integrated assessment of agricultural systems, biofuels , nuclear power , energetics, sustainability of water use, mining, urban wastemanagement systems, and urban metabolism in developing countries. Moreover, the methodology has been applied to assess societal metabolism at the municipal, regional has included the MuSIASEM approach in the training of its personnel. Finally, several master courses about the application to the approach to energy system in various Southern African Universities have been elaborated under the Participia project. MuSIASEM has been applied to the analysis of Shanghai's urban metabolism.
