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Many key global sustain- ability challenges are closely intertwined (ex- amples are provided in the figure). These challenges include air pollution, biodiver- sity loss, climate change, energy and food sec- urity, disease spread, species invasion, and water shortages and pollution. They are inter- connected across three dimensions (orga- nizational levels, space, and time) but are often separately studied and managed. Sys- tems integration—holistic approaches to in- tegrating various components of coupled

human and natural systems (for example, social- ecological systems and human-environment systems) across all dimensions—is necessa- ry to address complex interconnections and identify effective solutions to sustainability challenges.