Sustainable livelihoods approach through the lens of the State-and-Transition Model in semi-arid pastoral systems

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcos H. Easdale ◽  
Dardo R. López
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Livelihoods ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
The State ◽  
Transition Model ◽  
Pastoral Systems ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
State And Transition Model ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Semi Arid

Dealing with complex challenges worldwide regarding sustainable development and environmental management requires applied frameworks to understand and manage change in complex social-ecological systems. In this regard, frameworks that have originated from different research arenas such as the State-and-Transition Model and the sustainable livelihoods approach provide a conceptual basis for theory and operative integration. The aim of this paper was to provide a conceptual model for social-ecological research and sustainable management in semi-arid pastoral systems. We suggest integrating the state-and-transition model by including structural and functional features of social-ecological systems into the sustainable livelihoods approach. Both attributes are analysed at a household level in five types of capital that typically comprise social-ecological systems: natural, human, manufactured, social and financial. We propose to perform the structural-functional analysis for each capital as separate sub-systems in order to assess the impact of different disturbance factors. Some implications of this framework are explained by providing an example of the impact of drought in smallholder pastoral systems from semi-arid rangelands of North-West Patagonia, Argentina. This approach is encouraging as a step towards two main challenges: (i) the provision of applied frameworks for social-ecological assessment and management, and (ii) an attempt to bring closer science and decision making.

scholarly journals Droughts and governance impacts on water scarcity: an~analysis in the Brazilian semi-arid

2015 ◽  
Vol 369 ◽  
pp. 129-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. C. S. Silva ◽  
C. O. Galvão ◽  
G. N. S. Silva
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Management ◽  
Climate Variability ◽  
Extreme Events ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Drought Event ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
Semi Arid

Abstract. Extreme events are part of climate variability. Dealing with variability is still a challenge that might be increased due to climate change. However, impacts of extreme events are not only dependent on their variability, but also on management and governance. In Brazil, its semi-arid region is vulnerable to extreme events, especially droughts, for centuries. Actually, other Brazilian regions that have been mostly concerned with floods are currently also experiencing droughts. This article evaluates how a combination between climate variability and water governance might affect water scarcity and increase the impacts of extreme events on some regions. For this evaluation, Ostrom's framework for analyzing social-ecological systems (SES) was applied. Ostrom's framework is useful for understanding interactions between resource systems, governance systems and resource users. This study focuses on social-ecological systems located in a drought-prone region of Brazil. Two extreme events were selected, one in 1997–2000, when Brazil's new water policy was very young, and the other one in 2012–2015. The analysis of SES considering Ostrom's principle "Clearly defined boundaries" showed that deficiencies in water management cause the intensification of drought's impacts for the water users. The reasons are more related to water management and governance problems than to drought event magnitude or climate change. This is a problem that holdup advances in dealing with extreme events.

scholarly journals The vulnerability evolution and simulation of social-ecological systems in a semi-arid area: A case study of Yulin City, China

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 152-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jia Chen ◽  
Xinjun Yang ◽  
Sha Yin ◽  
Kongsen Wu ◽  
Mengqi Deng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Arid Area ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
Yulin City ◽  
Semi Arid

How to Concretize Research on the Coupling of Ecosystems to Human Activities? From Socioeconomic Indicators to Styles of Living and Acting

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 218-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Jetzkowitz ◽  
Jörg Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Research Strategy ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Alien Plants ◽  
Plant Species Composition ◽  
Socioeconomic Indicators ◽  
Ecological Studies ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
Interdisciplinary Research Project ◽  
The Impact

Recent ecological studies have identified human activity as a relevant dimension of current evolutionary processes. However, most of these studies rely on socioeconomic indicators that consider the impact of activities on ecosystems but have only limited informative value on the effects of concrete patterns of action. This paper focuses on the concept of style as a tool for the study of the interface between society and nature. We exemplify our thesis with reference to changes in plant biodiversity in settlements, and start by summing up the methods and findings of our interdisciplinary research project that aimed to explain the distribution of native and alien plants. Since the findings indicate that styles of living and acting influence plant species composition, we apply the findings of our research strategy beyond the narrow focus of our study. Finally, we comment on methodological implications for the study of the societal aspects of social-ecological systems.

scholarly journals Assessing the Complexity of Social-Ecological Systems: Taking Stock of the Cross-Scale Dependence

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (15) ◽  
pp. 6236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leandra R. Gonçalves ◽  
Mayara Oliveira ◽  
Alexander Turra
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Zone ◽  
Response Assessment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Ecosystem Approach ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
Fit For Purpose ◽  
The Cross ◽  
The Impact

Human demands and activities introduce cross-scale pressures in different systems and scales, affecting the provision of ecosystem services and causing an unbalanced effect on human well-being within the territory. The existing institutions are frequently considered panaceas since they do not take into account the different spatial and jurisdictional scales of the social-ecological systems (SES). This paper aims to broaden the existing DPSIR (Drivers–Pressures–State–Impact–Response) assessment frameworks to strengthen the ecosystem approach and promote an integrated cross-scale perspective. The concept of the Cross-scale Ecosystem-Based Assessment (DIET) was developed and applied to a case study on the demand of seafood provisions. The assessment has indicated that the activities related to the specified demand occur at different scales and generate cumulative impacts and pressures on other scales, especially in the coastal zone. The existing responses to address this issue are highly fragmented, both spatially and among sectors. DIET was applied here to the land–sea interface to illustrate how coastal zone governance and management can be improved and how the impact of certain drivers or activities in the SES can be reduced. DIET may help to reduce the governance morbidity and prevent panaceas by fostering the integration of institutions in pursuing flexible, adaptive and fit-for-purpose policies to address complex issues so as to secure social-ecological justice and well-being for all humans.

scholarly journals A Social-Ecological Systems Understanding of Drivers of Degradation in the Tsitsa River Catchment to Inform Sustainable Land Management

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 516
Author(s):  
Adela Itzkin ◽  
Mary C. Scholes ◽  
Jai Kumar Clifford-Holmes ◽  
Kate Rowntree ◽  
Bennie van der Waal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Land Degradation ◽  
Sustainable Livelihoods ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Climatic Variables ◽  
River Catchment ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Social Ecological

Understanding the interactions of the social and biophysical drivers of land degradation is crucial for developing adaptive management actions for future sustainability. A research-praxis project, the ‘Tsitsa Project’ (TP), applies a social-ecological systems (SES) approach where researchers, natural resource managers, and residents collaborate to support sustainable livelihoods and improved natural resource management for the degraded Tsitsa River Catchment (TRC) in South Africa. A system diagramming approach was coupled with findings from interviews, workshops, literature, and two conceptual frameworks. Data inputs were qualitatively integrated to provide a systemic snapshot of how the context-specific social and biophysical drivers are interlinked and how they interact, revealing multiple processes that operate simultaneously to cause and exacerbate land degradation. Physical and climatic variables, changes in land use and cover, and overgrazing were identified as key factors leading to degradation. Additionally, poverty and disempowerment were also important. While little can be done to influence the physical aspects (steep topography and duplex soils) and climatic variables (extreme rainfall and drought), carefully planned changes in land use and management could produce dual-benefits for improving landscape conditions and sustainable livelihoods. This analysis will inform integrated planning processes to monitor, avoid, reduce and reverse land degradation.

scholarly journals How Can Local Governance Systems Strengthen Community Resilience? A Social-Ecological Systems Approach

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 62-73
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Carabine ◽  
Emily Wilkinson
Keyword(s):  
Local Governance ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Community Level ◽  
Risk Governance ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
Governance Systems ◽  
Entry Points ◽  
Local Risk ◽  
The Impact

At their core, donor-funded climate and disaster resilience programmes provide goods and services to help build assets and minimise the impact of shocks and stresses on people’s lives and livelihoods. Little is known, however, about the way local risk governance systems and the broader institutional arrangements, in which they are embedded, mediate people’s access to these services and therefore lead to improved resilience. Drawing on Social-Ecological Systems theory, we explore those characteristics of risk governance systems believed to be more favourable for building resilience at the community level in different developing country contexts. These include: diversity; polycentricism and connectivity; decentralisation and flexibility; participation and community engagement; and, learning and innovation. This review paper proposes a conceptual framework and assesses the evidence linking risk governance and access to the services needed to build resilient outcomes, drawing particularly on evidence from the Sahel and Horn of Africa. In doing so, we can start to understand where the entry points might be for strengthening resilience and the conditions needed for community-level initiatives to be brought to scale from the bottom up.

Dynamics of Social–Ecological Systems: The Case of Farmers’ Food Security in the Semi-arid Tropics

2014 ◽  
pp. 157-178
Author(s):  
Chieko Umetsu ◽  
Thamana Lekprichakul ◽  
Takeshi Sakurai ◽  
Taro Yamauchi ◽  
Yudai Ishimoto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
Semi Arid

scholarly journals Relationality and Social–Ecological Systems: Going Beyond or Behind Sustainability and Resilience

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 2760 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raul P. Lejano
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Systems ◽  
The State ◽  
Ecological System ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Relational Analysis ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
The Rich ◽  
And Function

Sustainability and resilience are most often thought of as systems concepts that evaluate the state and function of objects of interest as well as the system as a whole. In this article, we shift the focus toward the “space in between”—i.e., the relationships among objects in the system. The article develops the concept of relationality, which provides a new lens to understanding what social and material processes drive or impede the functioning and sustainability of a social–ecological system (SES). Relationality seeks to understand a system not so much as a set of interacting objects but a web of relationships. By foregrounding relationships, we are better able to understand the rich ground of practice that guides a system in ways that the formal rational designs do not explain. Several examples are drawn from the literature that suggests how a relational analysis might proceed and what social–ecological phenomena we can better explain by this means. The article ends with a note on how the promise of relational analyses also bears in it its challenges.

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