scholarly journals The role of conservation physiology in mitigating social-ecological traps in wildlife-provisioning tourism: a case study of feeding stingrays in the Cayman Islands

2020 ◽  
pp. 125-140
Author(s):  
Christina A.D. Semeniuk

In feeding marine wildlife, tourists can impact animals in ways that are not immediately apparent (i.e. morbidity vs. mortality/reproductive failure). Inventorying the health status of wildlife with physiological indicators can provide crucial information on the immediate status of organisms and long-term consequences. However, because tourists are attempting to maximize their own satisfaction, encouraging the willingness to accept management regulations also requires careful consideration of the human dimensions of the system. Without such socio-ecological measures, the wildlife-tourism system may fall into a trap—a lose–lose situation where the pressure imposed by the social system (tourist expectations) has costs for the ecological system (maladaptive behaviours, health), which in turn feed back into the social system (shift in tourist typography, loss of revenue, decreased satisfaction), resulting in the demise of both systems (exhaustion). Effective selection and communication of physiological metrics of wildlife health is key to minimizing problem-causing and problem-enhancing feedbacks in social-ecological systems. This guiding principle is highlighted in the case study presented here on the socio-ecological research and management success of feeding southern stingrays (Hypanus americanus) as a marine tourism attraction at Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. e448101119780
Author(s):  
Cristiane Mansur de Moraes Souza

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.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 11247
Author(s):  
Yanzi Wang ◽  
Chunming Wu ◽  
Yongfeng Gong ◽  
Zhen Zhu

Adaptive governance is increasingly considered a feasible approach to address the uncertainties and complexities of social-ecological system (SES), whereas its role on SES coupling has not been sufficiently testified. Empirical evidence is provided in this paper with the case of northwestern China, a region struggling with economic backwardness and ecological vulnerability. Given the ambiguities in scholarship on the causal relationship between adaptive governance and SES coupling, we develop a theoretical framework to outline the driving mechanism of adaptive governance by focusing on its impact on ecosystem service (ES) delivery. Within the framework, ecosystem governance and social system governance are identified as pathways of adaptive governance, which are estimated on their effects on SES coupling by FGLS. The results show that (1) only the synergy of them can positively promote SES coupling rather than isolated one of them, and (2) only social system governance presents a lustrous role in restraining the effect of resource-dependence on SES coupling as opposed to ecosystem governance. The practice of northwestern China again evidences its key leader’s role in seizing the opportunity window and social innovation. The results further uncover the necessity of synthesizing the social and ecological dimensions for shaping adaptive governance and the direction of targeted reforms for catalyzing the transition to adaptive governance.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan Tam ◽  
Kai M. A. Chan ◽  
Terre Satterfield ◽  
G.G. Singh ◽  
Stefan Gelcich

Conventional common property thinking assumes that a central goal of management is to maintain social-ecological systems in a healthy and resilient state, including maintaining the ability of communities to harvest across time and generations. Little research has been done, however, on how common property systems are affected by demographic shifts, the social status of emerging livelihoods, and the employment aspirations of users for their offspring. An empirical case study from Chile (well known for its common property fisheries) suggests that major socio-cultural shifts are now occurring, with a lack of entry by new fishers and an aging population of existing ones. These types of social and cultural changes are increasingly common through globalization and worldwide economic development, and pose significant policy challenges across broad classes of common property systems. The Chilean case reveals that community adaptive capacity can come at the expense of social-ecological common property systems, and highlights the need to consider the broader context of ‘slow’ social variables.


Water Policy ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 933-952 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sameer H. Shah ◽  
Lucy Rodina

Abstract The protection of natural rivers and watersheds face important concerns related to environmental (in)justice and (in)equity. Using the Queensland Wild Rivers Act as a case study, we advocate that ethical water governance attends to multiple and diverse values, specifically in ways that: (i) locate them within stakeholders' claims of inequality that emerge from a given or practiced water ethic; and (ii) historicize and understand them as resonating or reflecting natural resource management frameworks that have led to structural injustices. This approach, combined with adaptive co-governance, can contribute to more inclusive water ethics and even support reflexive spaces where radical change in social-ecological resource governance can be imagined.


Author(s):  
William H. Durham

Why is Galápagos so endlessly fascinating, whether to read about, to visit, or both? Reasons include its menagerie of truly unusual organisms (like tree daisies, marine iguanas, and flightless cormorants), its relatively low human impact (most of its endemic biodiversity is still extant), and its unrivalled role in the history of science ever since Charles Darwin. Exuberant Life offers a contemporary synthesis of what is known about the evolution of the curiously wonderful organisms of Galápagos, of how they are faring in the tumultuous world of human-induced change, and how evolution can guide efforts today for their conservation. In eight case-study chapters, the book looks at each organism’s ancestry, at how and when it came to Galápagos, and how and why it changed since its arrival, all with an eye to its conservation today. Such analysis often provides surprises and suggestions not previously considered, like the potential benefits to joint conservation efforts with tree daisies and tree finches, for example, or ways that a new explanation for peculiar behaviors in Nazca and blue-footed boobies can benefit both species today. In each chapter, a social-ecological systems framework is used, because human influence is always present, and because it allows an explicit link to evolution. We see how the evolutionary fitnesses of Galápagos organisms are now a product of both ecological conditions and human impact, including climate change. Historically, Galápagos has played a central role in the understanding of evolution; what it now offers to teach us about conservation may well prove indispensable for the future of the planet.


2019 ◽  
Vol 231 ◽  
pp. 940-952 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julen Gonzalez-Redin ◽  
Iain J. Gordon ◽  
Rosemary Hill ◽  
J. Gary Polhill ◽  
Terence P. Dawson

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Pérez ◽  
M. A. Janssen ◽  
A. Tenza ◽  
A. Giménez ◽  
A. Pedreño ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. e1291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason B. Dunham ◽  
Paul L. Angermeier ◽  
Shelley D. Crausbay ◽  
Amanda E. Cravens ◽  
Hannah Gosnell ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
George O. Tsobanoglou ◽  
Eirini Ioanna Vlachopoulou

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.


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