Book excerpt: Originating from the work of the late Nobel laureate Ilya Prigogine, ECOSUD 2017 was the 11th International Conference on Ecosystems and Sustainable Development in this long-standing series. This volume contains papers presented at the meeting and covers new research on ecological problems, as well as new ideas and concepts from scientists, engineers, socio-economic specialists and other professionals working in this area. Emphasis is placed on subject areas that would benefit from the application of scientific methods for sustainable development, including the conservation of natural systems around the world whilst also integrating thermodynamics, ecology and economics. Furthermore, the study of distributed systems is addressed in order to avoid transport recovery and waste reduction. Individual topics covered include: Energy systems and the environment; Sustainable development and planning; Ecosystem modelling; Environmental innovative approaches; Natural resources management; Protection and mitigation; Knowledge dissemination; Social responsibility; Sustainability indicators, monitoring and assessment; Urban agriculture; Environmental risk management; Ecosystems recovery; Complex systems in ecology; Ecosystems networks; Biomass issues; Integrated assessment tools.