scholarly journals Bringing Technology into Social-Ecological Systems Research—Motivations for a Socio-Technical-Ecological Systems Approach

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helene Ahlborg ◽  
Ilse Ruiz-Mercado ◽  
Sverker Molander ◽  
Omar Masera
Keyword(s):  
Systems Approach ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Interdisciplinary Studies ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Systems Research ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
Repeated Calls ◽  
System Interfaces

The purpose of this synthesis paper is to present the motivations and conceptual basis for research on socio-technical-ecological systems (STES), addressing the need for interdisciplinary studies targeting the technological mediation of human–environment relationships. The background is the very limited number of collaborations between scholars of social-ecological systems and sociotechnical systems (SES), despite repeated calls for bridging work. The synthesis builds on an in-depth review of previous literature, interdisciplinary exchanges, and empirical examples. The result is arguments for why a sociotechnical understanding of ‘technology’ is of central importance for SES studies, related to how technology: (1) mediates human–environment relationships; (2) brings ambivalence to these relationships; (3) enhances and transforms human agency and provides a source of constitutive power; (4) changes scalar relationships, enabling our interaction with and impact on the natural world across time and space. Furthermore, we present an STES analytical approach which starts from symmetrical attention to technology, society, and environment, specifically targeting interfaces and relationships of critical relevance for SES scholars, and address counterarguments that we have encountered. We conclude that a shift to STES research will enhance our knowledge of system interfaces that are often overlooked, opening further avenues for research and real-world interventions.

scholarly journals Harnessing Insights from Social-Ecological Systems Research for Monitoring Sustainable Development

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Odirilwe Selomane ◽  
Belinda Reyers ◽  
Reinette Biggs ◽  
Maike Hamann
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Agenda 2030 ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Systems Research ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
Ecological Feedbacks ◽  
Development Outcomes

The United Nations’ Agenda 2030 marks significant progress towards sustainable development by making explicit the intention to integrate previously separate social, economic and environmental agendas. Despite this intention, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which were adopted to implement the agenda, are fragmented in their formulation and largely sectoral. We contend that while the design of the SDG monitoring is based on a systems approach, it still misses most of the dynamics and complexity relevant to sustainability outcomes. We propose that insights from the study of social-ecological systems offer a more integrated approach to the implementation of Agenda 2030, particularly the monitoring of progress towards sustainable development outcomes. Using five key features highlighted by the study of social-ecological systems (SESs) relevant to sustainable development: (1) social-ecological feedbacks, (2) resilience, (3) heterogeneity, (4) nonlinearity, and (5) cross-scale dynamics. We analyze the current set of SDG indicators based on these features to explore current progress in making them operational. Our analysis finds that 59% of the indicators account for heterogeneity, 33% for cross-scale dynamics, 23% for nonlinearities, and 18% and 17%, respectively, for social-ecological feedbacks and resilience. Our findings suggest limited use of complex SES science in the current design of SDG monitoring, but combining our findings with recent studies of methods to operationalize SES features suggests future directions for sustainable development monitoring for the current as well as post 2030 set of indicators.

A Social–Ecological Systems Approach to Assessing Conservation and Fisheries Outcomes in Fijian Locally Managed Marine Areas

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (9) ◽  
pp. 1096-1111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stacy D. Jupiter ◽  
Graham Epstein ◽  
Natalie C. Ban ◽  
Sangeeta Mangubhai ◽  
Margaret Fox ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systems Approach ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
Marine Areas

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.

Improving Water Management in Pakistan Using Social-Ecological Systems Research

2021 ◽  
pp. 249-271
Author(s):  
Michael Mitchell ◽  
Catherine Allan ◽  
Jehangir F. Punthakey ◽  
C. Max Finlayson ◽  
Mobushir R. Khan
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Systems Research ◽  
Social Ecological

scholarly journals How Societal Values Determine the Local Use of Forest Resources—Findings from the Rural Community Kegong (Northwest Yunnan, China)

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 3447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Nassl ◽  
Jörg Löffler
Keyword(s):  
Forest Biomass ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Forest Transition ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Societal Values ◽  
Systems Research ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
Northwest Yunnan ◽  
Scientific Attention ◽  
Local Use

The transition from net deforestation to net reforestation in China has received much scientific attention, in the hope that, by understanding the underlying drivers and processes, it might be reproduced in other regions of the world. The scientific literature has suggested that this process was driven by the creation of off-farm opportunities and huge state afforestation programs by economic growth. Recent publications, however, have noted a lack of inclusion of local dynamics in this analysis. We used the social-ecological interactions (SEI) framework, designed for the assessment of ecosystem services in socio-ecological systems, to trace the causes and patterns of the local use of forest biomass in a village in Northwest Yunnan. Our results suggest that societal values, in particular, are key to understanding the local resource use underlying the forest transition in Yunnan. However, societal values have been neglected, both in the analysis of forest transition as well as in social-ecological systems research, in general.

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.

Multiple values and knowledge integration in indigenous coastal and marine social-ecological systems research: A systematic review

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
pp. 100910 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodolfo Dam Lam ◽  
Alexandros Gasparatos ◽  
Shamik Chakraborty ◽  
Horacio Rivera ◽  
Taira Stanley
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Knowledge Integration ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Systems Research ◽  
Social Ecological
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