The social, the ecological, and the adaptive. Von Bertalanffy's general systems theory and the adaptive governance of social-ecological systems

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 308-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristof Van Assche ◽  
Gert Verschraegen ◽  
Vladislav Valentinov ◽  
Monica Gruezmacher
Keyword(s):  
Systems Theory ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
General Systems Theory ◽  
Adaptive Governance ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
The Social ◽  
General Systems

scholarly journals Decision-Making for Rewilding: An Adaptive Governance Framework for Social-Ecological Complexity

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
James R. A. Butler ◽  
Mariella Marzano ◽  
Nathalie Pettorelli ◽  
Sarah M. Durant ◽  
Johan T. du Toit ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Power Sharing ◽  
Knowledge Generation ◽  
Adaptive Governance ◽  
Learning Networks ◽  
Governance Framework ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Resource Governance ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
The Social

Rewilding can be defined as the reorganisation or regeneration of wildness in an ecologically degraded landscape with minimal ongoing intervention. While proposals for rewilding are increasingly common, they are frequently controversial and divisive amongst stakeholders. If implemented, rewilding initiatives may alter the social-ecological systems within which they are situated and thus generate sudden and unforeseen outcomes. So far, however, much of the discourse on the planning and implementation of rewilding has focused on identifying and mitigating ecological risks. There has been little consideration of how rewilding could alter the human components of the social-ecological systems concerned, nor governance arrangements that can manage these dynamics. This paper addresses this gap by proposing a generic adaptive governance framework tailored to the characteristics of rewilding, based on principles of managing complex social-ecological systems. We integrate two complementary natural resource governance approaches that lend themselves to the contentious and unpredictable characteristics of rewilding. First, adaptive co-management builds stakeholder adaptive capacity through iterative knowledge generation, collaboration and power-sharing, and cross-scale learning networks. Second, social licence to operate establishes trust and transparency between project proponents and communities through new public-private partnerships. The proposed framework includes structural and process elements which incorporate a boundary organisation, a decision-into-practise social learning exercise for planning and design, and participatory evaluation. The latter assesses rewilding outcomes and pre-conditions for the continuation of adaptive governance and conservation conflict resolution.

scholarly journals Reconstructing Governability: How Fisheries Are Made Governable

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Song
Keyword(s):  
Marine Protected Areas ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
General Systems Theory ◽  
Relational Approach ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
General Systems ◽  
Analytical Development ◽  
Conceptual Foundations

Governability is an important concept in the political and environmental social sciences with increasing application to social-ecological systems such as fisheries. Indeed, governability analyses of fisheries and related systems such as marine protected areas have generated innovative ways to implement sustainability ideals. Yet, despite progress made, we argue that there remain limitations in current conceptions of governability that hinder further analytical development and use. By drawing on general systems theory – specifically cybernetics, control, and feedback – we interrogate the conceptual foundations that underpin two key limitations: the need to incorporate the numerous variables that comprise a complex, holistic system into a singular assessment of governability; and the a priori separation of the governor and the governed that precludes analysis of a self-governing situation. We argue that by highlighting the reciprocal nature of a governor-governed relationship and the co-produced understanding of governing capacity and objects, a relational approach to governability is possible. This offers a clearer and more pragmatic understanding of how governors and fishers can make fisheries governable.

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.

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 ADAPTIVE GOVERNANCE OF SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS

2005 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 441-473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl Folke ◽  
Thomas Hahn ◽  
Per Olsson ◽  
Jon Norberg
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Adaptive Governance ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document