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

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.

scholarly journals Social Sustainability as Social Learning: Insights from Multi-Stakeholder Environmental Governance

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 7744
Author(s):  
Tasos Hovardas
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Social Sustainability ◽  
Collaborative Governance ◽  
Stakeholder Collaboration ◽  
The Social ◽  
Multi Stakeholder ◽  
Cross Fertilization

Social sustainability has for long been either neglected or downplayed in scientific literature and policy making and it remains an unsettled concept. The present paper critically examines several explanations for the unequal development of the social component of sustainability and suggests that social learning can serve as an insightful anchor for conceptualizing and operationalizing social sustainability. Collaborative governance is used to showcase this approach, specifically, a targeted review of multi-stakeholder schemes in natural resource management, wildlife conservation, and protected area governance. These schemes can exemplify a wide array of commonalities between the fields of social sustainability and social learning and reveal a fruitful cross-fertilization of the two concepts. The paper wishes to make two contributions. First, a specific dialectic between stakeholder collaboration and conflict under power asymmetries will be illustrated, which is characteristic in the operation of many multi-stakeholder governance schemes. Second, the need for scaffolding social learning in such schemes will be demonstrated so that a process-oriented account of social sustainability is attained. The way out offered by the present paper is that the dynamics between collaboration and conflict, properly managed by means of a toolkit with social learning templates for multi-stakeholder environmental governance schemes, may serve as a precondition for innovations sought.

scholarly journals Social Learning for Facilitating Dialogue and Understanding of the Ecosystem Services Approach: Lessons from a Cross-Border Experience in the Alboran Marine Basin

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (19) ◽  
pp. 5239 ◽  
Author(s):  
María D. López-Rodríguez ◽  
Javier Cabello ◽  
Hermelindo Castro ◽  
Jaime Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Social Learning ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Ecological System ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
The Social ◽  
Governance Practice ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Marine Basin

Social learning (SL) appears to have considerable potential to enhance the impact of the ecosystem services approach (ESA) discourse on policy and society. However, empirical research to better understand the processes that support SL, the effects it generates, and the conditions that enable such learning is limited. This study assesses the ability of SL to enhance dialogue and understanding of the ESA to support transformative social change in governance practice in the Alboran Marine Basin. To do so, we conducted a specifically designed SL process oriented towards the ESA as a governance approach in this marine region. The SL process was developed through three interlinked workshops involving scientists, decision-makers and local users from Spain and Morocco, the two countries that share the governance of this social-ecological system. The results revealed that the SL process progressively facilitated (i) a more inclusive and constructive ecosystem services dialogue, (ii) a better understanding of the social-ecological system in which the actors were embedded, (iii) an enhanced recognition of science-policy-society complementarities to address sustainability issues, and (iv) a gradual social transformation towards more sustainable and equitable governance. Via the SL process, a variety of factors were identified as contributing to the creation of four relevant conditions that facilitated its successful operationalisation. These conditions included (i) the generation of trust and shared understanding, (ii) the facilitation of knowledge exchanges between actor groups across frontiers, (iii) the promotion of more democratic participation, and (iv) the co-production of practical outcomes. These contextual insights provided empirical evidence of the prominent role SL can play to enhance dialogue and understanding of the ESA for supporting its adoption as governance practice. On this basis, it is argued that operationalising SL in those processes focused on making the ESA relevant to policy and society is pivotal to its implementation in governance practice.

scholarly journals How Can We Mitigate Power Imbalances in Collaborative Environmental Governance? Examining the Role of the Village Facilitation Team Approach Observed in West Kalimantan, Indonesia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuki Arai ◽  
Maswadi . ◽  
Shenny Oktoriana ◽  
Anita Suharyani ◽  
Didik . ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Collaborative Governance ◽  
Training Programme ◽  
Team Approach ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Effective Measure ◽  
West Kalimantan ◽  
Prevention Project ◽  
The Government ◽  
Questionnaire Surveys

Researchers have focused on collaborative governance as an effective measure to realise sustainable natural resource management through the participation of various stakeholders. However, the literature has indicated that issues such as power imbalances tend to undermine the effectiveness of collaborative governance. Powerful actors represented by the government tend to control collaborative processes and produce benefits for dominant groups, while less empowered local communities are often deprived of opportunities for livelihood improvement. Although numerous researchers have analysed the key factors that influence the processes and outcomes of collaborative governance, few have identified a concrete measure to reduce the risk of failure, particularly when managing power imbalances in developing countries. This study explored a methodology to address the power imbalances in collaborative governance based on a case study of a participatory peatland fire prevention project implemented in West Kalimantan Province, Indonesia. Semi-structured interviews and questionnaire surveys conducted with project participants suggested that measures such as establishing a joint team of government officers and villagers, providing a common facilitation training programme, training villagers as facilitators, promoting equal knowledge sharing, and allowing villagers to make their own decisions mitigated the power imbalances between the two groups.

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.

scholarly journals Spirit Ecologies and Customary Governance in Post-conflict Timor-Leste

2019 ◽  
Vol 175 (4) ◽  
pp. 474-505
Author(s):  
Lisa Palmer ◽  
Andrew McWilliam
Keyword(s):  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Family Networks ◽  
Resource Governance ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
The Social ◽  
Timor Leste ◽  
Living Nature

Abstract In post-conflict Timor-Leste, the concepts of spirit ecologies and intergenerational wellbeing direct our attention to the ways in which Timorese people derive strength from house-based family networks as well as protective and productive spiritual relations with living nature. These practices of exchange resonate with a comparative body of research that has described similar ‘spiritscapes’ elsewhere in Southeast Asia and their relevance for social and environmental governance. Exploring the diverse ontologies of particular Timorese ‘spirit ecologies’ and their embedding in a concept of more-than-human ‘intergenerational wellbeing’, in this article we investigate the renewed significance of these ‘house-based’ practices for social and environmental governance in Timor-Leste. We argue that despite the challenges, multiple engagements of mutually appropriated, transgenerational debt obligations and ritually regulated forms of resource governance are emerging as cultural, and increasingly state-sanctioned, strategies aimed at rebuilding the social and environmental commons.

scholarly journals A Social-Ecological Framework to Understand Barriers to HIV Clinic Attendance in Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Uganda: a Qualitative Study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelli N. O’Laughlin ◽  
Kelsy Greenwald ◽  
Sarah K. Rahman ◽  
Zikama M. Faustin ◽  
Scholastic Ashaba ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Model ◽  
Clinical Care ◽  
Community Support ◽  
Hiv Care ◽  
Clinic Attendance ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
The Social ◽  
Hiv Clinical Care

AbstractThe social-ecological model proposes that efforts to modify health behaviors are influenced by constraints and facilitators at multiple levels. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 47 clients in HIV care and 8 HIV clinic staff to explore how such constraints and facilitators (individual, social environment, physical environment, and policies) affect engaging in HIV clinical care in Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Uganda. Thematic analysis revealed that participants were motivated to attend the HIV clinic because of the perceived quality of services and the belief that antiretroviral therapy improves health. Barriers to clinic attendance included distance, cost, unemployment, and climate. Those that disclosed their status had help in overcoming barriers to HIV care. Nondisclosure and stigma disrupted community support in overcoming these obstacles. Interventions to facilitate safe disclosure, mobilize social support, and provide more flexible HIV services may help overcome barriers to HIV care in this setting.

scholarly journals Becoming Family Farmers: The Contribution of the Existential Ontological Perspective to the Social Learning for Sustainability Theory

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 8186
Author(s):  
Marcia Juliana d’Angelo ◽  
Janette Brunstein ◽  
Jones Madson Telles
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
Social Dimension ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
Family Farmers ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Status ◽  
Sustainability Theory ◽  
Four Levels ◽  
Ways Of Being

This research examines social learning for sustainability (SLfS), particularly in its social dimension. Few studies have discussed or advanced on the ontological issues of SLfS relating to who social actors are becoming. This study aims to describe and analyze how the process of SLfS facilitates Brazilian families who were at the base of the social pyramid (no income) to change the status from landless campers to family farmers with land moving up four levels in the social pyramid over a decade. The research is qualitative interpretative, based on narratives from semi-structured interviews with 16 social actors and document analysis. The results show the meaning of learning professional ways of being family farmers from an existential ontological perspective.

scholarly journals Community Self-Organisation from a Social-Ecological Perspective: ‘Burlang Yatra’ and Revival of Millets in Odisha (India)

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1867
Author(s):  
Lopamudra Patnaik Saxena
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Indigenous Community ◽  
Ecological Perspective ◽  
Ecological Relationships ◽  
Ecological Memory ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge System ◽  
The Social

In this paper, I focus on the revival of an Indigenous community seed festival known locally as Burlang Yatra (‘Indigenous Biodiversity Festival’) in the district of Kandhamal in Odisha (India). This annual event brings together millet farmers to share knowledge and practices, including exchange of Indigenous heirloom seeds. Such community seed festivals remain largely underappreciated (and underexplored). Investigating Burlang Yatra through a social-ecological lens allowed for a greater understanding of its capacity to build and strengthen relationships, adaptation, and responsibility, three key principles that together link the social and the ecological in a dynamic sense. These principles, driven by intergenerational participation and interaction as well as social learning, can be seen as fostering ‘social-ecological memory’ of millet-based biodiverse farming. The festival’s persistence and revival illustrate a form of grassroots self-organising that draws on values of an Indigenous knowledge system. Within a restorative context, it has the capacity to repair and restore cultural and ecological relationships that the community has with their own foods and practices. This paper offers a new understanding of community self-organising from a social-ecological perspective and particularly in a marginalised context as supporting the revitalisation of Indigenous food systems.

scholarly journals Exploring the social-ecological factors related to physical activity participation among Black, Asian and minority ethnic immigrants

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Godi Katito ◽  
Emma Davies
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Cultural Beliefs ◽  
Intervention Development ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Minority Ethnic

PurposeDespite the health benefits of physical activity (PA), participation rates Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) adults in the United Kingdom (UK) are low in comparison to the general population. This study aimed to explore the social-ecological factors related to PA participation among BAME immigrants.Design/methodology/approachSemi-structured interviews were carried out with 12 purposively selected adults from the BAME populace residing in one postcode district of a city in southern England.FindingsThe three main themes that developed from this study demonstrated that the barriers to PA participation among BAME were perceived to exist at intrapersonal, and environmental (social and physical) levels.Research limitations/implicationsUnderstanding these unique social-ecological factors may assist in intervention development.Originality/valueProminent barriers included intrapersonal factors such as deportation fear and cultural beliefs; and environmental factors such as the cost of accessing PA facilities. Length of residency appeared to be related to increased PA.

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