Abstract
We explored why social-ecological memory (SEM) is a source of inertia and path dependence, as well as a source of renewal and reorganization in social-ecological systems (SESs). We have presented two case studies: the historical case of the Norse settlement on Greenland and an empirical case from contemporary southern Madagascar. The cases illustrate how SEM is linked to specific pathways of development and a particular set of natural resource management practices. We have shown that in each case, a broader diversity of SEM is present in the SESs, but not drawn upon. Instead, SEMs are part of what explains community coherence and the barriers to adoption of more diverse practices. We have elaborated on how specific SEMs are linked to specified resilience, and we have shown that this fits existing notions of resilience, robustness, inertia, and path dependence. We have proposed that to change the dynamics of development pathways that do not produce desired results, it is necessary for managers to shift from specific to general SEM, which would also mirror the shift from specified to general resilience. The challenge lies in the interplay between the specified and the general. In this critical work, it is important to recognize that the valued diversity of SEM necessary for general resilience might actually reside in a different community.
Highlights
Societal responses to environmental change, such as adaptations to climate change (Adger 2006) or adaptive strategies for management of natural resources (Allison and Hobbs 2004, Armitage et al 2009), constitute an important area of sustainability science (Kates et al 2001)
We have elaborated on how specific social-ecological memory (SEM) are linked to specified resilience, and we have shown that this fits existing notions of resilience, robustness, inertia, and path dependence
We have proposed that to change the dynamics of development pathways that do not produce desired results, it is necessary for managers to shift from specific to general SEM, which would mirror the shift from specified to general resilience
Summary
Societal responses to environmental change, such as adaptations to climate change (Adger 2006) or adaptive strategies for management of natural resources (Allison and Hobbs 2004, Armitage et al 2009), constitute an important area of sustainability science (Kates et al 2001). In this regard, insights from research on resilience find that it is important to identify and nurture “sources of resilience” (Folke et al 2005) to manage social-ecological systems (SESs) along desired pathways of development (Folke et al 2010). Specified resilience concerns “some particular part of a system, related to a particular control variable, to one or more identified kinds of shocks” (Folke et al 2010)
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