"Success comes from collaboration and pushing each other to be better and do better"

It all started with a single question: Why are we here?

Carl Folke, co-founder of Stockholm Resilience Centre (SRC), has just sat down. He sets his coffee cup on the table, a hint of a playful smile appearing on his face. His eyes narrow, still beaming. “I spent a long time on that question,” he leans back in his chair. We are about to delve into a long stream of memories and history – from his early days in academia through the formation of SRC, to today, chapter by chapter of a life in the service of science, art and collaboration.

At 25, with an education in business and economy, he had a staked-out path in front of him, taking over the family corporation. But instead, he veered off into biology—searching for a deeper understanding of life and how it all connects.

“In the known universe, there is one planet, surrounded by a 20 km deep layer that provides the foundations for life - the biosphere – it contains all life that we know of.” To scale, the biosphere is no thicker than the skin of an apple. It paints an almost moving, somehow frail picture of the living systems – vast jungles that seem impenetrable, deep oceans that we still know so little about, all enveloped in this thin layer.

“Humans don’t just live in the biosphere – we are a part of it. We are deeply intertwined with the ecosystems that surround us and that create conditions for life. With this insight comes an urge to care for them, but somehow, we have lost that connection and sense of intertwinedness,” Carl continues.

A pioneer in thought

When Carl Folke started his PhD studies in the 1980’s, the links between ecosystems and human activities or society were poorly studied. Though the concept of systems ecology came around in the 1970’s, widening the scope for what could be considered relevant in a field of study, most researchers stayed in their academic disciplines.

“Economists studied the economy, biologists looked at the natural world,” he explains. The notion that the two could be connected was a controversial one, and one met with a fair bit of resistance and skepticism in the academic community.

“With my thesis work, I was part of the research group that published the first economic valuation of what we came to call ecosystem services,” he says. Already in his master's thesis in 1983, Carl looked at the value of a wetland on the island of Gotland. It was a novel approach at the time, how humans depend on nature. “But at the same time it seems so obvious – that we are a part of nature, not apart from it.”

This insight became the foundation of Carl’s successful academic career and later the establishment of a pioneering research centre.

A different kind of science centre

In 2006, Carl Folke and Johan Rockström took the lead in answering a call from Mistra to establish “a large-scale, interdisciplinary, and internationally competitive research centre addressing sustainable governance and management of linked ecological and social systems.” Carl was already director of the Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics, and Johan led the Stockholm Environment Institute. Together with colleagues from their respective organizations and with Albaeco, a not-for-profit organization, they put together what became the winning application, and SRC was born.

Since its inception in 2007, SRC has become what Mistra had envisioned – a world-renowned institution with influence not only in academia but also in policy and business communities. And it is safe to assume, the Centre would look very different without Carl.

“I think it comes down to curiosity,” he says. “Curiosity about the world, but also curiosity about people. I’ve always been interested in people and relationships. You can’t do the kind of research that we do without people who respect and trust each other. That was my conviction from the start.”

In establishing a new organization, Carl wanted to ensure it would be built on trust, openness, and a sense of community, where sharing ideas rather than competing for them was the formula for any scientific undertaking.

“If you look at a typical university institution, it is quite different from what we designed here,” he says. “We decided to structure the research to make sure people collaborate across groups and themes. We wanted to make sure that the content of the research we do would be something we create together.”

Up to this day, the spirit of collaboration is deeply embedded in the Centre’s culture. “We have to make space for laughter and fun, for building trust and relationships,” says Carl, and adds that he is convinced that this culture of collaboration has been and remains central to the SRC’s success:

“I think everyone here understands that sharing their best ideas benefits not just the individual but the entire community. Success comes from collaboration, from pushing each other to be better and do better,” he says. “While competition can be common in academia, the real breakthroughs happen when knowledge is shared and exchanged.”

New generations

Forty-some years after he stepped into biology to ask why we are all here, he is now the academic father, grandfather, great grandfather and even great great grandfather of many younger academics. The path he carved out – showing the interconnectedness of humans as part of nature, and the economy as a product of society, also dependent on nature – has been tread by many feet, and has widened, meandered and branched out.

His best advice for the next generation of sustainability researchers? It has to do with lifting your gaze, knowing your context and trusting your gut:

“Quality means knowing your context, understanding the background and the 'why.' You don’t need to reinvent the wheel – it’s about seeing the bigger picture and understanding your role in the larger system, “ he says, explaining that building on that kind of insight means younger academics can find what will be their contributions to deepening insights. “Understanding context means you can get to depth and quality rather than scratching the surface. And being able to go that deep will get results. It’s a craft—much like any other—and it takes skill and dedication to master it.”

As Carl transitions into a retirement, his contributions to the scientific foundation, culture, and organization of the Stockholm Resilience Centre stand as a testament to his lasting impact. His influence on the Centre’s development has been invaluable, and it is a great advantage that he will continue to be involved and engaged in the years to come.

Note: This text is from Stockholm Resilience Centres annual report which will be released on the 28th of April.