scholarly journals Guiding rangelands into an uncertain future

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 235
Author(s):  
Brian Walker
Keyword(s):  
Transformational Change ◽  
Optimal Combination ◽  
Ecological System ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Ongoing Process ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
The Face ◽  
Self Organisation ◽  
Uncertain Future ◽  
Oncoming Stream

The oncoming stream of biophysical and social changes facing the rangelands calls for an innovative mix of modifying existing uses and pursuing new ones to help transition into a social-ecological system more in tune with its new environment. In the face of rising uncertainty, trying to find some particular, optimal combination of management and policy to suit some assumed future environment can’t work. A transformational change is needed. This does not mean getting to one new, particular kind of system. It has to be an ongoing process of exploring, learning and keeping options open, along the lines of the developing field of guided self-organisation.

scholarly journals Making Resilient Decisions for Sustainable Circularity of Fashion

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Celinda Palm ◽  
Sarah E. Cornell ◽  
Tiina Häyhä
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Ecological System ◽  
Fashion Industry ◽  
State Response ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
Industry Value Chain ◽  
The Many ◽  
Sustainability Challenges

AbstractThe fashion and textiles industry, and policymakers at all levels, are showing an increased interest in the concept of circular economy as a way to decrease business risks and negative environmental impacts. However, focus is placed mainly on the material ‘stuff’ of textile fashion and its biophysical harms. The current material focus has several shortcomings, because fashion is a social-ecological system and cannot be understood merely by addressing its environmental dimensions. In this paper, we rethink the fashion system from a critical social-ecological perspective. The driver-state-response framework shows social drivers and ecological impacts as an adaptive social-ecological system, exposing how these interacting aspects need to be addressed for sustainable and resilient implementation of circular economy. We show how current responses to global sustainability challenges have so far fallen short. Our overall aim is to expand possibilities for reframing responses that better reflect the complex links between the global fashion system, culture and creativity and the dynamics of the living planet. We argue that reducing planetary pressure from the global fashion and textiles industry requires greater recognition of the system’s social drivers with more emphasis on the many cross-scale links between social and ecological dimensions. Resilient decisions aiming for sustainable circularity of the fashion industry must therefore pay attention to social activities beyond the industry value chain, not just material flows within it.

scholarly journals Optimism despite profound uncertainty: school and social relationships in adolescents with single ventricle heart disease

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Jennifer K. Peterson ◽  
Ellen F. Olshansky ◽  
Yuqing Guo ◽  
Lorraine S. Evangelista ◽  
Nancy A. Pike
Keyword(s):  
Heart Disease ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Single Ventricle ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Psychosocial Sequelae ◽  
Health Related ◽  
The Face ◽  
Phenomenological Methodology ◽  
Physical Limitations ◽  
Uncertain Future

Abstract Background: Survivors of single ventricle heart disease must cope with the physical, neurodevelopmental, and psychosocial sequelae of their cardiac disease, which may also affect academic achievement and social relationships. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively examine the experiences of school and social relationships in adolescents with single ventricle heart disease. Methods: A descriptive phenomenological methodology was employed, utilising semi-structured interviews. Demographic and clinical characteristics were obtained via chart review. Results: Fourteen adolescents (aged 14 to 19 years) with single ventricle heart disease participated. Interviews ranged from 25 to 80 minutes in duration. Four themes emerged from the interviews, including “Don’t assume”: Pervasive ableism; “The elephant in the room”: Uncertain future; “Everyone finds something to pick on”: Bullying at school; “They know what I have been through”: Social support. The overall essence generated from the data was “optimism despite profound uncertainty.” Conclusions: Adolescents with single ventricle heart disease identified physical limitations and school challenges in the face of an uncertain health-related future. Despite physical and psychosocial limitations, most remained optimistic for the future and found activities that were congruent with their abilities. These experiences reflect “optimism despite profound uncertainty.”

A structured participatory method to support policy option analysis in a social-ecological system

2017 ◽  
Vol 197 ◽  
pp. 360-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Mehryar ◽  
Richard Sliuzas ◽  
Ali Sharifi ◽  
Diana Reckien ◽  
Martin van Maarseveen
Keyword(s):  
Policy Option ◽  
Ecological System ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
Support Policy ◽  
Participatory Method

scholarly journals Managing Herder-Community-Based Tourism: An Institutional Framework for an Integrated Social–Ecological System

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 4001
Author(s):  
Undrakh Zagarkhorloo ◽  
Wim Heijman ◽  
Liesbeth Dries ◽  
Buyanzaya Batjargal
Keyword(s):  
Protected Area ◽  
Cultural Landscapes ◽  
Buffer Zone ◽  
Ecological System ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Conceptual Foundation ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
Tourism Sector ◽  
The Social

Improving household livelihoods through tourism, while at the same time achieving the goals of conservation, remains a challenge in high-value nature areas around the world. This paper studies a herder-community-based tourism system in Mongolia in light of these challenges. The social–ecological system (SES) framework was used as a conceptual foundation. The generic SES framework was adapted to the case of the herder-community-based tourism system. The adapted framework was then used to assess the economic, ecological, and social objectives of the herder-community-based tourism system characterised by natural resources and cultural landscapes. Primary data collection included interviews with key informants in the tourism sector: tourism researchers, representatives of donor projects, managers of tour operators, and guides. Based on their responses, the study site was selected in the buffer zone of the Hustai National Park, which is a protected area. Respondents in the second stage of interviews were herders who participate in herder-based tourism and who live in the vicinity of the protected area. Results show that the SES framework is able to diagnose the sustainability of the herder-community-tourism system, but sustainability outcomes indicate an imbalance between social, economic, and environmental performance. The herder-community-based tourism system is successful in conserving wildlife and habitats; however, the distribution of revenues gained from tourism shows that only a small and inequitable share reaches the herder community.

scholarly journals Effect of infrastructure design on commons dilemmas in social−ecological system dynamics

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (43) ◽  
pp. 13207-13212 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Yu ◽  
Murad R. Qubbaj ◽  
Rachata Muneepeerakul ◽  
John M. Anderies ◽  
Rimjhim M. Aggarwal
Keyword(s):  
Design Feature ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Qualitative Behavior ◽  
Central Feature ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
Vital Functions ◽  
The Face ◽  
Design Characteristics ◽  
Shared Infrastructure

The use of shared infrastructure to direct natural processes for the benefit of humans has been a central feature of human social organization for millennia. Today, more than ever, people interact with one another and the environment through shared human-made infrastructure (the Internet, transportation, the energy grid, etc.). However, there has been relatively little work on how the design characteristics of shared infrastructure affect the dynamics of social−ecological systems (SESs) and the capacity of groups to solve social dilemmas associated with its provision. Developing such understanding is especially important in the context of global change where design criteria must consider how specific aspects of infrastructure affect the capacity of SESs to maintain vital functions in the face of shocks. Using small-scale irrigated agriculture (the most ancient and ubiquitous example of public infrastructure systems) as a model system, we show that two design features related to scale and the structure of benefit flows can induce fundamental changes in qualitative behavior, i.e., regime shifts. By relating the required maintenance threshold (a design feature related to infrastructure scale) to the incentives facing users under different regimes, our work also provides some general guidance on determinants of robustness of SESs under globalization-related stresses.

scholarly journals The paraty artisanal fishery (southeastern Brazilian coast): ethnoecology and management of a social-ecological system (SES)

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alpina Begossi ◽  
Svetlana Salyvonchyk ◽  
Vinicius Nora ◽  
Priscila F Lopes ◽  
Renato AM Silvano
Keyword(s):  
Ecological System ◽  
Brazilian Coast ◽  
Artisanal Fishery ◽  
Social Ecological
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