scholarly journals Operationalizing the social-ecological systems framework to assess sustainability

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (19) ◽  
pp. 5979-5984 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather M. Leslie ◽  
Xavier Basurto ◽  
Mateja Nenadovic ◽  
Leila Sievanen ◽  
Kyle C. Cavanaugh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Coupled System ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
The Social ◽  
Key Aspects

Environmental governance is more effective when the scales of ecological processes are well matched with the human institutions charged with managing human–environment interactions. The social-ecological systems (SESs) framework provides guidance on how to assess the social and ecological dimensions that contribute to sustainable resource use and management, but rarely if ever has been operationalized for multiple localities in a spatially explicit, quantitative manner. Here, we use the case of small-scale fisheries in Baja California Sur, Mexico, to identify distinct SES regions and test key aspects of coupled SESs theory. Regions that exhibit greater potential for social-ecological sustainability in one dimension do not necessarily exhibit it in others, highlighting the importance of integrative, coupled system analyses when implementing spatial planning and other ecosystem-based strategies.

Unpacking social-ecological transformations: Conceptual, ethical and methodological insights

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 250-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sameer H Shah ◽  
Lucy Rodina ◽  
Jenn M Burt ◽  
Edward J Gregr ◽  
Mollie Chapman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Change ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Early Career ◽  
The Political ◽  
Major Transitions ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
The Social ◽  
Ecological Implications ◽  
Key Aspects

Social-ecological systems contribute to environmental change and, in turn, face its corresponding shocks and disturbances. As scholarship on resilience and social-ecological transformations grows, researchers from various disciplines continue to debate how major transitions and environmental change can be anticipated, studied or guided towards just and ethical outcomes. To this end, we apply an interdisciplinary perspective to describing key aspects of social-ecological transformations scholarship around three pressing questions: (1) What features or criteria distinguish transformations from other forms of change?; (2) What are the political, ethical, and normative concerns associated with transformations?; and (3) How can we better track, measure, and evaluate such transformations? Our insights, which emerged from a workshop with early-career interdisciplinary scholars, highlight questions of justice, equity and ethics in transformations research, and suggest that more precise indicators of change, a more explicit understanding of system boundaries, and a dual focus on process and outcomes will help advance our understanding of the social-ecological implications of transformations. We hope that articulating these challenges and recommendations in an interdisciplinary framing will help further the conversation on these critical topics and provide an accessible perspective of key considerations for multidisciplinary scholarship on social-ecological transformations.

Social-Ecological Systems in Local Fisheries Communities

2019 ◽  
pp. 304-314
Author(s):  
George O. Tsobanoglou ◽  
Eirini Ioanna Vlachopoulou
Keyword(s):  
Systems Approach ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Local Conservation ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
The Social ◽  
Conservation Actions ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
The Commons ◽  
Systems Framework

Even though the study of the commons has been expanding rapidly in the past years, and there have been multiple cases of successful local conservation initiatives, still, significant gaps in knowledge remain. The Social-Ecological Systems framework attempts to analyse the linkages between the “human system” (society) and the “natural system” (ecosystems). In every conservation attempt, the interactions and feedback between the two systems become evident. By examining thoroughly this relationship through the SES lens, we can develop a deep and holistic understanding of the processes that should be taken into consideration before the implementation of conservation actions. This study, through the exploration of the fisheries management procedures in Japan, attempts to develop an understanding of how the adoption of the Social-Ecological Systems approach could promote local development in the insular periphery of the developed world, in countries like Greece, where public participation in the decision-making processes is limited.

scholarly journals Deltas in Crisis: From Systems to Sophisticated Conjunctions

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1322
Author(s):  
Casper Bruun Jensen ◽  
Atsuro Morita
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Careful Examination ◽  
Earth System ◽  
Earth System Science ◽  
System Science ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Systems Research ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
The Social

In recent years, threatened deltas have emerged as a significant matter of concern in numerous fields. While Earth System science and social-ecological systems focus on topics like global water circulation and sediment transport, social scientists tend to consider the problems facing particular deltas in the context of modernization or (post)-colonial development. There is nevertheless broad agreement that the delta crisis raises fundamental questions about modern approaches to infrastructure planning. Thus, environmental and sustainability scientists have come to recognize “the social” as integral to the delta crisis. This understanding of “the social,” however, takes two quite different forms. As an object of social-ecological systems research, the social is modeled alongside ecological systems. However, as a context for scientific interventions in environmental policy it appears as an obstacle to achieving sustainable delta policies. Based on a careful examination of Earth System science and associated discourses, we show that this instability of “the social”, combined with the ambition to integrate ‘it’ in an encompassing system poses serious problems for interdisciplinary delta research and for more imaginative and inclusive collaborative efforts to tackle the delta crisis—including, but going considerably beyond, policy and governance. Rather than integrative systems, we argue that the situation requires the creation of sophisticated conjunctions of epistemologies, methods, and practices. Such conjunctions, we suggest, pave the way for a cosmo-ecological approach, where social, environmental and sustainability sciences work together with designers, urban planners, policy-makers, and affected or concerned citizens on solving multi-scalar delta problems by working across their differences.

scholarly journals Untapped capacity for resilience in environmental law

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (40) ◽  
pp. 19899-19904 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahjond Garmestani ◽  
J. B. Ruhl ◽  
Brian C. Chaffin ◽  
Robin K. Craig ◽  
Helena F. M. W. van Rijswick ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Change ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Legal Reform ◽  
The United States ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Ecological Resilience ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological

Over the past several decades, environmental governance has made substantial progress in addressing environmental change, but emerging environmental problems require new innovations in law, policy, and governance. While expansive legal reform is unlikely to occur soon, there is untapped potential in existing laws to address environmental change, both by leveraging adaptive and transformative capacities within the law itself to enhance social-ecological resilience and by using those laws to allow social-ecological systems to adapt and transform. Legal and policy research to date has largely overlooked this potential, even though it offers a more expedient approach to addressing environmental change than waiting for full-scale environmental law reform. We highlight examples from the United States and the European Union of untapped capacity in existing laws for fostering resilience in social-ecological systems. We show that governments and other governance agents can make substantial advances in addressing environmental change in the short term—without major legal reform—by exploiting those untapped capacities, and we offer principles and strategies to guide such initiatives.

Strengthening post-hoc analysis of community-based fisheries management through the social-ecological systems framework

Marine Policy ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 82 ◽  
pp. 50-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Blythe ◽  
Philippa Cohen ◽  
Hampus Eriksson ◽  
Joshua Cinner ◽  
Delvene Boso ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Post Hoc Analysis ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
The Social ◽  
Post Hoc ◽  
Systems Framework

scholarly journals An education approach for the Anthropocene epoch

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. e448101119780
Author(s):  
Cristiane Mansur de Moraes Souza
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Social Learning ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Ecological Resilience ◽  
Considerable Uncertainty ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
The Social

It is now well established in the literature that there is a need to incorporate the concept of sustainability into education at all study levels. However, there is considerable uncertainty expressed concerning how it could best be achieved and how the resilience concept would enhance this idea. This article aims to address this gap. The objective is to explore aspects of socio-ecological resilience, that underlies a university case study. The methodology is exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory. Results demonstrate that civil engagement university activities are an education approach that provides students with experiences that build skills necessary for addressing the challenges of the Anthropocene Epoch. The conclusion of the article emphasizes that the education for the Anthropocene epoch should consider the enhancement of ecosystem services by demonstrating that humans are part of the social-ecological systems; considering interdisciplinarity as a methodological approach; demonstrating the variety of potentials on participation of stakeholders by civil engagement as developing autonomy both on students and stakeholders and developing the ability for proactive attitudes. Is also enhance learning and social learning by civil engagement and participation.

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