scholarly journals Re-integrating ecology into integrated landscape approaches

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Reed ◽  
Koen Kusters ◽  
Jos Barlow ◽  
Michael Balinga ◽  
Joli Rumi Borah ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Biophysical Parameters ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
Ecological Understanding ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
The Social ◽  
Collective Experience ◽  
Design And Practice ◽  
Ecological Dimension

Abstract Context Integrated landscape approaches (ILAs) that aim to balance conservation and development targets are increasingly promoted through science, policy, and the donor community. Advocates suggest that ILAs are viable implementing pathways for addressing global challenges such as biodiversity loss, poverty alleviation, and climate change mitigation and adaptation. However, we argue that recent advances in ILA research and discourse have tended to emphasize the social and governance dimensions, while overlooking ecological factors and inadequately considering potential trade-offs between the two fields. Objectives By raising the issue of inadequate integration of ecology in ILAs and providing some general design suggestions, we aim to support and incentivise better design and practice of ILAs, supplementing existing design principles. Methods In this perspective we draw on the recent literature and our collective experience to highlight the need, and the means, to re-integrate ecology into landscape approaches. Results We suggest that better incorporation of the ecological dimension requires the integration of two approaches: one focusing on conventional scientific studies of biodiversity and biophysical parameters; and the other focusing on the engagement of relevant stakeholders using various participatory methods. We provide some general guidelines for how these approaches can be incorporated within ILA design and implementation. Conclusion Re-integrating ecology into ILAs will not only improve ecological understanding (and related objectives, plans and monitoring), but will also generate insights into local and traditional knowledge, encourage transdisciplinary enquiry and reveal important conservation-development trade-offs and synergies.

scholarly journals Spotlight on social equity, finance and scale: Promises and pitfalls of nature-based solutions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karina Barquet ◽  
Elin Leander ◽  
Jonathan Green ◽  
Heidi Tuhkanen ◽  
Vincent Omondi Odongo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Great Promise ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Knowledge Gaps ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
Societal Challenges ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
The Social ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Potential Risks

Human activity has modified and deteriorated natural ecosystems in ways that reduce resilience and exacerbate environmental and climate problems. Physical measures to protect, manage and restore these ecosystems that also address societal challenges in sustainable ways and bring biodiversity benefits are sometimes referred to as “nature-based solutions” (NBS). For example, reducing deforestation and restoring forests is a major opportunity for climate mitigation, while protecting or restoring coastal habitats can mitigate damage to coastal areas from natural hazard events, in addition to potentially providing co-benefits related to livelihood, recreation, and biodiversity. There is now an impetus to shift towards greater deployment of nature-based solutions. Not only do they offer an alternative to conventional fossil fuel-based or hard infrastructure solutions but, if implemented correctly, they also hold great promise for achieving multiple goals, benefits and synergies. These include climate mitigation and resilience; nature and biodiversity protection; and economic and social gains. 2020 saw an explosion in publications about NBS, which have contributed to filling many of the knowledge gaps that existed around their effectiveness and factors for their success. These publications have also highlighted the knowledge gaps that remain and have revealed a lack of critical reflection on the social and economic sustainability aspects of NBS. Building on these gaps, we decided to launch this mini-series of four briefs to provoke a more nuanced discussion that highlights not only the potential benefits, but also the potential risks and trade-offs of NBS. The purpose is not to downplay the importance of NBS for biodiversity, ecosystems, and coastal mitigation and adaptation, but to ensure that we establish a dialogue about ways to overcome these challenges while leaving no one behind.

scholarly journals Getting out of Crises: Environmental, Social-ecological and Evolutionary Research Needed to Avoid Future Risks of Pandemics

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Delphine Destoumieux-Garzon ◽  
Franziska Matthies-Wiesler ◽  
Nicolas Bierne ◽  
Aurélie Binot ◽  
Jérôme Boissier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Global Environmental Change ◽  
Emerging Infectious Diseases ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Face ◽  
Climate And Health ◽  
Relationship Of

The implementation of One Health/EcoHealth/Planetary Health approaches has been identified as key (i) to address the strong interconnections between risk for pandemics, climate change and biodiversity loss, and (ii) to develop and implement solutions to these interlinked crises. As a response to the multiple calls of scientists in that direction, we have put forward seven long term research questions regarding COVID-19 and emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) that are based on an effective integration of environmental, ecological, evolutionary, and social sciences to better anticipate and mitigate EIDs. Research needs cover the social-ecology of infectious disease agents, their evolution, the determinants of susceptibility of humans and animals to infections, and the human and ecological factors accelerating infectious disease emergence. For comprehensive investigation, they include the development of nature-based solutions to interlinked global planetary crises, addressing ethical and philosophical questions regarding the relationship of humans to nature and regarding transformative changes to safeguard the environment and human health. In support of this research, we propose the implementation of innovative multidisciplinary facilities embedded in social-ecosystems locally: the “ecological health observatories” and the “living laboratories”. This work has been carried out in the frame of the EC project HERA (www.HERAresearchEU.eu) that aims to set the priorities for an environment, climate and health research agenda in the EU by adopting a systemic approach in the face of global environmental change.

A Sustainable Agriculture?

Daedalus ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 144 (4) ◽  
pp. 76-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Philip Robertson
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Agriculture ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Environmental Cost ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
General Welfare ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Right

The defining challenge of sustainable agriculture is the production of food and other agricultural products at an environmental cost that does not jeopardize the food security and general welfare of future generations. Feeding another three billion people in the face of climate change, biodiversity loss, and an environment already saturated with excess nitrogen and other reactive pollutants requires new approaches and new tools in the design and deployment of workable solutions. Solutions will be local but all will require an ecological systems approach that considers sustainable farming practices in the full context of ecosystems and landscapes. And their deployment will require an understanding of the social systems capable of building incentives that produce socially desired outcomes. Socioecological models for agriculture provide an opportunity to explore feedbacks, trade-offs, and synergies that can optimize and strengthen emerging connections between farming and society. With the right incentives, innovative research, and political will, a sustainable agriculture is within our reach.

scholarly journals Ecosystem Services Becoming Political: How Ecological Processes Shape Local Resource-Management Networks

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Béla Kuslits ◽  
Ágnes Vári ◽  
Eszter Tanács ◽  
Réka Aszalós ◽  
Anghel Drasovean ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Social Sphere ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
The Social ◽  
Wide Range

While a landscape usually provides a wide range of benefits, the ecological and spatial entanglement of the processes behind ecosystem services does not allow maximizing benefits from all services at the same time. Different stakeholders relying on different services might therefore prefer different policies and management for the wider area where they operate. Trade-offs, disagreements and mutual interests are rooted in ecological processes but are manifested in the social sphere. Social networks were shown to have a significant impact on the management of ecosystem services. In this paper we show that ecosystem services also influence the structure of management-networks and power-relations among stakeholders, thus ecological factors set the stage for (local-regional) political discourse. We used social network analysis (SNA) to show how ecological processes become agents of social-ecological systems (SES), this method is also useful for finding those players who can adopt a mediator role in the social sphere, having a special position in the web of competing interests. Our research shows how mutual influence between social and ecological elements shapes management strategies in five protected areas in Central and Eastern Europe. The most voluminous and profitable ecosystem services (primarily timber production in our cases) define which stakeholders are the most powerful in management networks—this eminent position allows these players to make decisions unilaterally. Other, smaller players tend to negotiate with a diverse set of counterparts with whom they share and co-manage often multiple services. Power relations that emerge as a consequence of production differences among ecosystem services often do not allow participatory management methods. These situations lead to over-utilization of natural resources with a narrow interpretation of sustainability which decreases resilience for the whole social-ecological system. Our results contribute to the theoretical understanding of political discourses in SES and showcase how SNA can be applied as a tool to facilitate participatory landscape-management. We show how ecological factors co-create the social sphere where decisions are made about sustainable land-use.

The social wasp Vespula germanica (Fabricius) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) population dynamics in England over 39 years.

2018 ◽  
Vol 154 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-155
Author(s):  
Michael Archer
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Population Dynamic ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Social Wasp ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Vespula Germanica ◽  
The Social ◽  
Minimum Number ◽  
Suction Traps

1. Yearly records of worker Vespula germanica (Fabricius) taken in suction traps at Silwood Park (28 years) and at Rothamsted Research (39 years) are examined. 2. Using the autocorrelation function (ACF), a significant negative 1-year lag followed by a lesser non-significant positive 2-year lag was found in all, or parts of, each data set, indicating an underlying population dynamic of a 2-year cycle with a damped waveform. 3. The minimum number of years before the 2-year cycle with damped waveform was shown varied between 17 and 26, or was not found in some data sets. 4. Ecological factors delaying or preventing the occurrence of the 2-year cycle are considered.

Islamic Law and Society

1990 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-191
Author(s):  
Louay M. Safi
Keyword(s):  
Composite System ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
Legal Theory ◽  
Fifth Century ◽  
Muslim Community ◽  
Social Growth ◽  
The Social ◽  
Collective Experience ◽  
Law And Morality ◽  
The Impact

Shari'ah (Islamic law) has been the dominant moral and legal code ofMuslim societies for the gnxter part of their history. During the early centuriesof Islam, Shari'ah hcilitated the social growth and develojment of the Muslims,growth that culminaa in the establishment of a vast emph and an outstandmgcivilization. By the close of the fifth century of Islam, however, Shari'ahbegan to lose its role as the guiding force that inspired Muslim creativityand ingenuity and that nurtured the growing spirit of the Muslim community(Ummah). Consequently, the Ummah entered a period of stagnation thatgradually gave way to intellectual decline and social decadence. Regrettably,this painful trend continues to be more or less 'part of the individualconsciousness and collective experience of Muslims.This paper attempts to trace the development of the principles of Islamicjurisprudence, and to assess the impact of Shari'ah on society. It argues thatthe law ceased to grow by the sixth century of Islam as a result of thedevelopment of classical legal theory; more specifically, law was put on hold,as it were, after the doctrine of the infallibility of ijma' (juristic consensus)was articulated. The rigid principles of classical theory, it is contended, havebeen primarily induced by the hulty epistemology employed.by sixth-centuryjurists.Shari'ah, or Islamic law, is a comprehensive system encompassing thewhole field of human experience. It is not simply a legal system, but rathera composite system of law and morality. That is, Islamic law aspires to regulateall aspects of human activities, not only those that may entail legalconsequences. Hence, all actions and relationships are evaluated in accordancewith a scale of five moral standards.According to Shari'ah, an act may be classified as obligatory (wajib),recommended (mandub), permissible (mubah), reprehensible (makruh), orprohibited (haram). These five categories reflect the varying levels of moral ...

Energy Markets and Trading

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Mares
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Adjustment Costs ◽  
Institutional Context ◽  
Energy Markets ◽  
Energy Resources ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
The Social ◽  
Impact Risk

This chapter discusses the role of energy in economic development, the transformation of energy markets, trade in energy resources themselves, and the geopolitical dynamics that result. The transformation of energy markets and their expansion via trade can help or hinder development, depending on the processes behind them and how stakeholders interact. The availability of renewable, climate-friendly sources of energy, domestically and internationally, means that there is no inherent trade-off between economic growth and the use of fossil fuels. The existence of economic, political, social, and geopolitical adjustment costs means that the expansion of international energy markets to incorporate alternatives to oil and coal is a complex balance of environmental trade-offs with no solutions completely free of negative impact risk. An understanding of the supply of and demand for energy must incorporate the institutional context within which they occur, as well as the social and political dynamics of their setting.

scholarly journals Women’s Preferences for Strong Men Under Perceived Harsh Versus Safe Ecological Conditions

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 147470492110323
Author(s):  
Ray Garza ◽  
Farid Pazhoohi ◽  
Jennifer Byrd-Craven
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Ecological Condition ◽  
Sex Characteristics ◽  
Ecological Conditions ◽  
University Women ◽  
Secondary Sex Characteristics ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Forced Choice Task ◽  
Women’S Preferences ◽  
Physical Features

Ecological conditions provide information about available resources for one’s environment. In humans, this has been shown to influence reproductive behavior, as individuals may engage in trade-offs between partner quality and investment. For instance, many women may trade-off preferences for men with physical features indicative of social dominance and health over physical features indicative of commitment and investment. The current study explored women’s preferences for formidable men under safe vs. harsh ecological conditions. Across three studies, U.S. university women ( N = 1,098) were randomly assigned to a perceived harsh or safe ecological condition. They were asked to rate the attractiveness of men’s body types (i.e., muscular vs. less muscular). Findings revealed that in general, women rated stronger men as more attractive than weaker men irrespective of the ecological condition. Evidence for preference as a function of ecology appeared only when a two-alternative forced-choice task was used (Study 3), but not in rating tasks (Studies 1 and 2). Study 3 showed that women had a relatively stronger preference for stronger men for short-term relationships in a resource scarce ecological condition. This research provides some evidence that perceived ecological conditions can drive women’s preferences for men with enhanced secondary sex characteristics as a function of mating context. These findings are consistent with previous research indicating the importance of physical characteristics in men’s attractiveness, and it adds to the existing literature on ecological factors and mating preferences.

scholarly journals Why Protect Ancient Woodland in the UK? Rethinking the Ecosystem Approach

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Jona Razzaque ◽  
Claire Lester
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Ecosystem Approach ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Value Systems ◽  
Ancient Woodland ◽  
Forestry Practices ◽  
Regulatory Frameworks ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
The Uk

Abstract Sites of ancient woodland in the United Kingdom (UK) are diminishing rapidly and the multifunctional forest management system with its fragmented approach fails effectively to protect such woodland. In the face of reports on the destruction of ancient woodland, the HS2 High-Speed train project in the UK signifies the extent of trade-offs among the key stakeholders. Such large infrastructure projects typically come with high environmental and social costs, including deforestation, habitat fragmentation, biodiversity loss, and social disruption. This article examines the protection of ancient woodland in the UK and assesses the challenges in applying the ecosystem approach, an internationally recognized sustainability strategy, in the context of such protection. A better understanding of the ecosystem approach to manage ancient woodland is critical for promoting sustainable forestry practices in the UK and informs the discussion in this article of the importance of conserving ancient woodland globally. Lessons learned from UK woodland policies and certification schemes include the need to have in place strong regulatory frameworks, introduce clear indicators, and recognize pluralistic value systems alongside economic considerations. The article concludes that the protection of ancient woodland in the UK requires distinct and strong laws that reflect multiple values of this resource, acknowledge the trade-offs among stakeholders, and adopt an inclusive approach to reduce power asymmetries.

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