Integrating Key Insights of Sociological Risk Theory into the Ecosystem Services Framework

Environmental risks give urgency to the need to understand the society–nature relationship. While the ecosystem services (ES) framework allows analysis of interrelationships between biophysical supply and human demand for natural resources, further research is needed to understand what drives societal demand for ES. Here, I explore how incorporation of the key sociological theories of risk (systems theory, ‘world risk society’, and cultural theory of risk) can advance this understanding. By examining these theories, the following key insights were identified: (1) A deeper understanding of societal structures and risk perception helps to understand culturally driven patterns of ES demand; (2) sociological ES research must use inter- and transdisciplinary methods to understand the drivers of ES demand and risk perception. It must also link this understanding to the natural sciences’ knowledge of the drivers of ES supply if it is to identify new instruments of environmental governance; (3) while anthropocentric in character, the ES framework, especially one that is modified by the concept of risk, enables society to reflect on its role as a proactive part of a social–ecological system, rather than a passive victim of nature’s whims. This change in perspective may prove to be a key step in achieving sustainable development.

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“A Very Noble Crop”: Financial Stability, Agronomic Expertise, and Personal Values Support Conservation in Shade-Grown Coffee Farms

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13137227 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (13) ◽

pp. 7227

Author(s):

Jeannine H. Richards ◽

Ingrid M. Torrez Luna ◽

Alberto Vargas

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Financial Stability ◽

Personal Values ◽

Nutrient Cycles ◽

Tropical Biodiversity ◽

Social Ecological ◽

Positive Attitudes ◽

Building Conservation ◽

Aesthetic Values ◽

Conservation Interventions

Shade-grown coffee is an important reservoir for tropical biodiversity, but habitat quality hinges on decisions made by farmers. Our research aims to investigate the link between coffee producers’ decisions and outcomes for biodiversity, using epiphytes as our focal group. Using qualitative methods, we interviewed 33 producers in northern Nicaragua to understand how they connect trees and epiphytes on their farms to ecosystem services and how personal values, access to agronomic expertise, labor supply, and financial stability influence decision-making. We used interview responses to construct six producer typologies. Most producers had strong positive attitudes toward trees and associated them with a variety of important ecosystem services. Smallholders were more likely to connect trees with provisioning services, while producers on larger farms and with greater agronomic knowledge emphasized regulating services. Most producers connected epiphytes primarily with aesthetic values. Across demographics, producers emphasized the restorative potential for shade coffee in repairing damage to soil, water, and nutrient cycles caused by other forms of agriculture. The conservation significance and sustainability of this social-ecological system can be maintained and expanded through economic and capacity-building conservation interventions, especially when those can be connected to values already held by farmers.

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A review of public acceptance of nature-based solutions: The ‘why’, ‘when’, and ‘how’ of success for disaster risk reduction measures

AMBIO ◽

10.1007/s13280-021-01502-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Carl C. Anderson ◽

Fabrice G. Renaud

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Risk Perception ◽

Risk Reduction ◽

Disaster Risk Reduction ◽

Disaster Risk ◽

Public Acceptance ◽

Societal Challenges ◽

Increasing Trend ◽

Risk Reduction Measures

AbstractNature-based solutions (NbS) are increasingly recognized as sustainable approaches to address societal challenges. Disaster risk reduction (DRR) has benefited by moving away from purely ‘grey’ infrastructure measures towards NbS. However, this shift also furthers an increasing trend of reliance on public acceptance to plan, implement and manage DRR measures. In this review, we examine how unique NbS characteristics relate to public acceptance through a comparison with grey measures, and we identify influential acceptance factors related to individuals, society, and DRR measures. Based on the review, we introduce the PA-NbS model that highlights the role of risk perception, trust, competing societal interests, and ecosystem services. Efforts to increase acceptance should focus on providing and promoting awareness of benefits combined with effective communication and collaboration. Further research is required to understand interconnections among identified factors and how they can be leveraged for the success and further uptake of NbS.

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Achieving Social and Ecological Outcomes in Collaborative Environmental Governance: Good Examples from Swedish Moose Management

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13042329 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 2329

Author(s):

Sabrina Dressel ◽

Annelie Sjölander-Lindqvist ◽

Maria Johansson ◽

Göran Ericsson ◽

Camilla Sandström

Keyword(s):

Social Learning ◽

Environmental Governance ◽

Collaborative Governance ◽

Theory Of Change ◽

Ecological Context ◽

Discretionary Power ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Resource Governance ◽

Social Ecological ◽

The Social

Collaborative governance approaches have been suggested as strategies to handle wicked environmental problems. Evaluations have found promising examples of effective natural resource governance, but also highlighted the importance of social-ecological context and institutional design. The aim of this study was to identify factors that contribute to the achievement of social and ecological sustainability within Swedish moose (Alces alces) management. In 2012, a multi-level collaborative governance regime was implemented to decrease conflicts among stakeholders. We carried out semi-structured interviews with six ‘good examples’ (i.e., Moose Management Groups that showed positive social and ecological outcomes). We found that ‘good examples’ collectively identified existing knowledge gaps and management challenges and used their discretionary power to develop procedural arrangements that are adapted to the social-ecological context, their theory of change, and attributes of local actors. This contributed to the creation of bridging social capital and principled engagement across governance levels. Thus, our results indicate the existence of higher-order social learning as well as a positive feedback from within-level collaboration dynamics to between-level collaboration. Furthermore, our study illustrates the importance of institutional flexibility to utilize the existing knowledge across stakeholder groups and to allow for adaptations based on the social learning process.

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Multi-level social-ecological networks in a payments for ecosystem services programme in central Veracruz, Mexico

Environmental Conservation ◽

10.1017/s0376892920000478 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-7

Author(s):

Alfonso Langle-Flores ◽

Adriana Aguilar Rodríguez ◽

Humberto Romero-Uribe ◽

Julia Ros-Cuéllar ◽

Juan José Von Thaden

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Spatial Scales ◽

Payments For Ecosystem Services ◽

Collaboration Network ◽

Governmental Organizations ◽

Social Ecological ◽

Non Governmental Organizations ◽

Conservation Activity ◽

Ecological Importance ◽

Hydrological Services

Summary Payments for ecosystem services (PES) programmes have been considered an important conservation mechanism to avoid deforestation. These environmental policies act in social and ecological contexts at different spatial scales. We evaluated the social-ecological fit between stakeholders and ecosystem processes in a local PES programme across three levels: social, ecological and social-ecological. We explored collaboration among stakeholders, assessed connectivity between forest units and evaluated conservation activity links between stakeholders and forest units. In addition, to increase programme effectiveness, we classified forest units based on their social and ecological importance. Our main findings suggest that non-governmental organizations occupy brokerage positions between landowners and government in a dense collaboration network. We also found a partial spatial misfit between conservation activity links and the forest units that provide the most hydrological services to Xalapa. We conclude that conservation efforts should be directed towards the middle and high part of the Pixquiac sub-watershed and that the role of non-governmental organizations as mediators should be strengthened to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the local PES programme.

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