scholarly journals Adaptive capacity: from assessment to action in coastal social-ecological systems

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte K. Whitney ◽  
Nathan Bennett ◽  
Natalie Ban ◽  
Edward H. Allison ◽  
Derek Armitage ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Coastal Communities ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
Assessment Approach ◽  
The Face ◽  
Social Environmental ◽  
Evaluation And Monitoring

Because of the complexity and speed of environmental, climatic, and socio-political change in coastal marine social-ecological systems, there is significant academic and applied interest in assessing and fostering the adaptive capacity of coastal communities. Adaptive capacity refers to the latent ability of a system to respond proactively and positively to stressors or opportunities. A variety of qualitative, quantitative, and participatory approaches have been developed and applied to understand and assess adaptive capacity, each with different benefits, drawbacks, insights, and implications. Drawing on case studies of coastal communities from around the globe, we describe and compare 11 approaches that are often used to study adaptive capacity of social and ecological systems in the face of social, environmental, and climatic change. We synthesize lessons from a series of case studies to present important considerations to frame research and to choose an assessment approach, key challenges to analyze adaptive capacity in linked social-ecological systems, and good practices to link results to action to foster adaptive capacity. We suggest that more attention be given to integrated social-ecological assessments and that greater effort be placed on evaluation and monitoring of adaptive capacity over time and across scales. Overall, although sustainability science holds a promise of providing solutions to real world problems, we found that too few assessments seem to lead to tangible outcomes or actions to foster adaptive capacity in social-ecological systems.

scholarly journals Integrated modelling to support decision-making for marine social–ecological systems in Australia

2017 ◽  
Vol 74 (9) ◽  
pp. 2298-2308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Melbourne-Thomas ◽  
Andrew J Constable ◽  
Elizabeth A Fulton ◽  
Stuart P Corney ◽  
Rowan Trebilco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Marine Species ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
System Level ◽  
Integrated Modelling ◽  
Marine Systems ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
The Face

Abstract Policy- and decision-makers require assessments of status and trends for marine species, habitats, and ecosystems to understand if human activities in the marine environment are sustainable, particularly in the face of global change. Central to many assessments are statistical and dynamical models of populations, communities, ecosystems, and their socioeconomic systems and management frameworks. The establishment of a national system that could facilitate the development of such model-based assessments has been identified as a priority for addressing management challenges for Australia’s marine environment. Given that most assessments require cross-scale information, individual models cannot capture all of the spatial, temporal, biological, and socioeconomic scales that are typically needed. Coupling or integrating models across scales and domains can expand the scope for developing comprehensive and internally consistent, system-level assessments, including higher-level feedbacks in social–ecological systems. In this article, we summarize: (i) integrated modelling for marine systems currently being undertaken in Australia, (ii) methods used for integration and comparison of models, and (iii) improvements to facilitate further integration, particularly with respect to standards and specifications. We consider future needs for integrated modelling of marine social–ecological systems in Australia and provide a set of recommendations for priority focus areas in the development of a national approach to integrated modelling. These recommendations draw on—and have broader relevance for—international efforts around integrated modelling to inform decision-making for marine systems.

scholarly journals Adaptive capacity: from assessment to action in coastal social-ecological systems

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte K. Whitney ◽  
Nathan J. Bennett ◽  
Natalie C. Ban ◽  
Edward H. Allison ◽  
Derek Armitage ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological

scholarly journals Environmental education model in non-formal education at coastal community based on resilience and social ecological systems

2018 ◽  
Vol 197 ◽  
pp. 13024
Author(s):  
Samadi Samadi ◽  
Dwi Sukanti Lestariningsih
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Education ◽  
Carrying Capacity ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Coastal Communities ◽  
Data Systems ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Coastal Community ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological

The study aims to identify factors for environmental education in non-formal education at coastal community, based on resilience and social-ecological systems as well as having the characteristics of marine until May-October 2014. This study used a qualitative approach, were involved in depth interview for key informant. This research was conducted in the coastal areas Cipatujah, Tasikmalaya regency of West Java Province. The results showed that the identification of factors that influence the construction of models of environmental education in the implementation of non-formal education in coastal communities are factors : (1) Strategy and Policy of Non -Formal PLH namely the carrying capacity of infrastructure and resources with the supporters as well as human resources sufficient education; (2) Carrying Capacity of Natural Resources and Environment Coastal Communities, namely the integration of ecological, sector integration and stakeholder alignment; (3) Cipatujah coastal communities need for infrastructure Grey mechanism involving roads, bridges, social infrastructure such as schools, health centers; and Blue infrastructure concerning infrastructure directly related to fishing activities such as fish auctions, boat docks, and shipbuilding. And lastly, (4) Efforts to develop and strengthen environmental education system in dire need of research location; based data systems business potential of marine and review of the supply side and demand side..

scholarly journals Understanding adaptive capacity and capacity to innovate in social–ecological systems: Applying a gender lens

AMBIO ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (S3) ◽  
pp. 309-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philippa J. Cohen ◽  
Sarah Lawless ◽  
Michelle Dyer ◽  
Miranda Morgan ◽  
Enly Saeni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
Gender Lens

Adaptive capacity in social–ecological systems: a framework for addressing bark beetle disturbances in natural resource management

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 555-567 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Cottrell ◽  
Katherine M. Mattor ◽  
Jesse L. Morris ◽  
Christopher J. Fettig ◽  
Pavlina McGrady ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Resource Management ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Natural Resource Management ◽  
Bark Beetle ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological

scholarly journals Catching sea cucumber fever in coastal communities: Conceptualizing the impacts of shocks versus trends on social-ecological systems

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maery Kaplan-Hallam ◽  
Nathan Bennett ◽  
Terre Satterfield
Keyword(s):  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Sea Cucumber ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Rapid Onset ◽  
Gold Rush ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Drivers Of Change ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological

Research on vulnerability and adaptation in social-ecological systems (SES) has largely centered on climate change and associated biophysical stressors. Key implications of this are twofold. First, there has been limited engagement with the impacts of social drivers of change on communities and linked SES. Second, the focus on climate effects often assumes slower drivers of change and fails to differentiate the implications of change occurring at different timescales. This has resulted in a body of SES scholarship that is under-theorized in terms of how communities experience and respond to fast versus slow change. Yet, social and economic processes at global scales increasingly emerge as ‘shocks’ for local systems, driving rapid and often surprising forms of change distinct from and yet interacting with the impacts of slow, ongoing ‘trends’. This research seeks to understand the nature and impacts of social shocks as opposed to or in concert with trends through the lens of a qualitative case study of a coastal community in Mexico, where demand from international seafood markets has spurred rapid development of a sea cucumber fishery. Specifically, we examined what different social-ecological changes are being experienced by the community, how the impacts of the sea cucumber fishery are distinct from and interacting with slower ongoing trends and how these processes are affecting system vulnerability, adaptations and adaptive capacity. We begin by proposing a novel framework for conceptualizing impacts on social systems, as comprised of structures, functions, and feedbacks. Our results illustrate how the rapid-onset of this fishery has driven dramatic changes in the community. New challenges such as the ‘gold-rush-style’ arrival of new actors, money, and livelihoods, the rapid over-exploitation of fish stocks, and increases in poaching and armed violence have emerged, exacerbating pressures from ongoing trends in immigration, overfishing and tourism development. We argue that there is a need to better understand and differentiate the social and ecological implications of shocks, which present novel challenges for the vulnerability and adaptive capacity of communities and the sustainability of marine ecosystems.

Resilience

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl Folke
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Ecological Dynamics ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
Resilience Thinking ◽  
Complex Adaptive ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Individual

Resilience thinking in relation to the environment has emerged as a lens of inquiry that serves a platform for interdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration. Resilience is about cultivating the capacity to sustain development in the face of expected and surprising change and diverse pathways of development and potential thresholds between them. The evolution of resilience thinking is coupled to social-ecological systems and a truly intertwined human-environment planet. Resilience as persistence, adaptability and, transformability of complex adaptive social-ecological systems is the focus, clarifying the dynamic and forward-looking nature of the concept. Resilience thinking emphasizes that social-ecological systems, from the individual, to community, to society as a whole, are embedded in the biosphere. The biosphere connection is an essential observation if sustainability is to be taken seriously. In the continuous advancement of resilience thinking there are efforts aimed at capturing resilience of social-ecological systems and finding ways for people and institutions to govern social-ecological dynamics for improved human well-being, at the local, across levels and scales, to the global. Consequently, in resilience thinking, development issues for human well-being, for people and planet, are framed in a context of understanding and governing complex social-ecological dynamics for sustainability as part of a dynamic biosphere.

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