Complex Socio-ecological System Research Articles

The Many Meanings of ‘One’: The Concept and Practice of the One Health Approach in Socio-Ecological Production Landscapes and Seascapes

Abstract What does One Health mean for a complex socio-ecological system? How can this integrated approach be put into practice? Can it foster on-the-ground local management and national policy uptake? Our commentary explores these questions by looking at the concept of One Health in the context of socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes (SEPLS) and the use of resilience assessment in SEPLS as a tool for its operationalisation in Taiwan. We conclude that One Health has a high sustainability potential for holistic, dynamic and integrated solutions in complex systems at various scales. One Health impact statement From a ‘scapes’ perspective, the One Health approach offers an opportunity to take a fresh look at the familiar socio-ecological components of a landscape or seascape – community, biodiversity and abiotic environment. In fact, in addition to the holistic and dynamic qualities of it as a concept, its implementation in a real-world setting allows to explore its many meanings of ‘One’. One Health stands for ‘oneness’ – as many inter-connected elements within one system, for being ‘the only one’ – as the most valuable and cherished thing, and for ‘one for all’ – as what is to be co-created and shared by all living beings.

A Comprehensive Review on Climate Change Adaptation Strategies and Challenges in Agriculture

This review examines the impact of climate change on Indian agriculture and adaptation strategies. Climate change, driven by human activities, poses challenges like rising temperatures and extreme weather events. Rising temperatures can induce heat stress in crops, leading to reduced yields and poor quality produce. Farmers use adaptation measures like altering planting dates and developing climate-resilient crops. Changing rainfall patterns, erratic or insufficient rainfall can trigger drought conditions, parching farmlands and causing crop failures. On the other hand, excessive rainfall can result in flooding, which damages crops and soil, disrupting agricultural operations especially during the monsoon. Soil conservation, precision agriculture, and urban food production initiatives promote food security and resource recycling. Addressing water scarcity requires improved irrigation and efficient water management. Climate change affects agricultural pests population and threatening global food security. Various adaptation strategies, including traditional practices, resource-conservation technologies, and socio-economic interventions, are being implemented. Climate-smart agriculture technologies like precision agriculture increase yields and resilience. Success depends on regional suitability, economic viability, and collective implementation. Agriculture operates within a complex socio-ecological system with uncertainties in policy, economics, and climate. Site-specific climate-smart agriculture practices are crucial for smallholders' resilience and food security. Publicly provided agricultural extension services can help adopt these technologies, but barriers like financial constraints and cultural factors must be considered. This review emphasizes the need for comprehensive, context-specific approaches to address vulnerabilities in Indian agriculture to climate change and ensure a sustainable future for food production and smallholder livelihoods.

Agent-based model development of a complex socio-ecological system: Methods for overcoming data and domain limitations

Agent-based models (ABMs) are appropriate tools for modelling socio-ecological systems due to their ability to handle complexity. However, development of such models is often an intensive process. There are many tutorials on the general methods and steps in ABM development but there are not necessarily practical details on how to overcome certain challenges. Honeybush (Cyclopia spp.), a kind of fynbos vegetation found in the Western and Eastern Cape mountains, is an important ecological and agricultural product in South Africa. It is considered a complex system due to its variability and unpredictability. The honeybush tea industry faces the challenge of meeting emerging market demands while maintaining sustainable harvesting practices, in the midst of an uncertain future due to climate change. We created a prototype model, HoneybushModel, using the MARS framework, a C# multi-agent simulation toolkit. The model was validated using historic data. Whilst outlining the development processes used to create the HoneybushModel, this paper provides a methodology for the development of such models and demonstrates techniques for addressing data, domain and framework limitations. The implemented model also acts as a case study for similar systems that could be modelled using an ABM.

Understanding change in traditional sustainable livelihoods: a complex socio-ecological system in an indigenous community in Mexico

Abstract This research documents how a transition to a more monetized, trade-based economy modifies the socio-ecological livelihoods system of the indigenous community of Santa Fe de la Laguna, in Mexico. The research found that there had been changes in community livelihoods, from traditional activities (agriculture, forestry, and fishing) to an economy based on handicraft production (pottery) and its trade. Through the modelling of the structure, dynamics, and change processes of the system, two key repercussions are identified: first, pottery production has intensified the extraction of soil and firewood, and second, the increase in trade and the abandonment of traditional activities are diminishing people’s links with nature, which is having an impact on their links with community sociocultural and institutional systems. The paper argues that the most important economic practices and related knowledge of the community may become unviable in the face of livelihood transformations that are responding to the global monetized economy.

University Departments as Change Agents in the Organic Waste Management Sector: Lessons from Action Research Initiatives in Thailand and Taiwan

Abstract Due to the concentration of people and industries, cities are the main human habitats where residents can create opportunities for flourishing economic, political and social lives. However, these diverse anthropogenic activities also create flows of material and energy within cities that are inevitably produced and wasted. In order to investigate how cities can better reduce and repurpose the flows of material and energy, this paper adopts the urban metabolism approach to frame cities as a complex socio-ecological system where natural and human systems co-produce the environment the urban population depends on. To illustrate urban metabolism at work, we have selected Thaklong municipality in Thailand and Pingtung county in Taiwan as case studies to compare different innovative measures taken by university departments to reduce organic waste through action research oriented repurposing experiments. Although the size of the cities, the type of targeted organic waste varies and local culture differs, the case studies of Thaklong and Pingtung show that the university departments as change agents and the stakeholders as recipients of proposed change face similar opportunities and challenges.

Robust sensitivity analysis to uncertainties in environmental and socio-economic scenarios: A perspective from a global socio-ecological system model

Uncertainties exist in modelling and simulating complex socio-ecological systems due to unknown, unmeasurable, and uncontrollable occurrence probabilities of future conditions, which are often expressed through multiple representative future scenarios. The sensitivities of uncertain scenario parameters that comprise these scenarios may be different under different scenarios. To largely reduce unnecessary efforts of refining insensitive parameters, it is helpful to identify scenario parameters that remain sensitive in all plausible future scenarios. Based on a well-established global socio-ecological system model—Functional Enviro-economic Linkages Integrated neXus (FeliX), this study conducted robust sensitivity analyses of the scenario parameters that defined five representative environmental and socio-economic scenarios. The study explored their sensitivities on eco-environmental carrying capacity represented by six planetary boundary (PB) indicators. A three-step method was proposed for these analyses. First, an uncertainty analysis was adopted to explore the impacts of uncertain scenario parameters on PB indicators in each scenario using the Latin hypercube sampling and nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis test. Second, a sensitivity analysis was utilized to quantify the global sensitivity of each parameter using the Extended Fourier Transform Sensitivity Test (eFAST). Third, we conducted a robust sensitivity analysis and identified 12 common sensitive parameters that remained sensitive under all five scenarios by combining the eFAST's results according to four decision criteria representing different decision preferences. This study provides a better understanding of the sensitivity of scenario parameters on PB indicators influenced by future uncertainties across five representative scenarios in a complex socio-ecological system modelled by FeliX. The findings make it easier to improve and apply FeliX or other socio-ecological system models by focusing on key parameters and understanding important linkages of sectors in socio-ecological systems.

Making Food Safer in Palestine: A One Health Approach to Antimicrobial Resistance

A One Health and transdisciplinary perspective, considering human-animal-environmental interfaces, is central to food safety as it embeds food production systems in their environmental, socio-economic, and public health context. Compared to frameworks that solely concentrate on specific aspects of food safety, integrated One Health approaches add value to improve human, animal, and environmental health. According to the World Health Organization, preventative measures that have been implemented to lower the prevalence of Campylobacter in live poultry have been linked to a corresponding drop in human cases. This highlights the importance of cross-sectoral cooperation and demonstrates how the complex socio-ecological system interacts. One Health pays particular attention to the interaction of food security, human health, and environmental sustainability rather than removing food systems from their context. This case study tries to find a critical methodology to foster food safety by better understanding the zoonotic foodborne illnesses transmission and their resistance to antimicrobials in socio-ecological systems like in Palestine. This project recommends urgently building a national surveillance system in Palestine to efficiently and sustainably monitor and manage zoonotic disease outbreaks, the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and other health threats. It is essential to regularly gather and assess samples from humans, animals, foods, and the environment to check for zoonotic pathogens and their levels of antimicrobial resistance.© The Authors 2023

The socioecology of fear: A critical geographical consideration of human‐wolf‐livestock conflict

Animal fear can be an important driver of ecological community structure: predators affect prey not only through predation, but also by inducing changes in behaviour and distribution—a phenomenon evocatively called the “ecology of fear.” The return of wolves to the western United States is a notable instance of such dynamics, yet plays out in a complex socioecological system where efforts to mitigate impacts on livestock rely on manipulating wolves' fear of people. Examining Washington state's efforts to affect wolf behaviour to reduce livestock predation, we argue that this approach to coexistence with wolves is predicated on relations of fear: people, livestock, and wolves can arguably share landscapes with minimal conflict, as long as wolves are adequately afraid. We introduce the “socioecology of fear” as an interdisciplinary framework for examining the interwoven social and ecological processes of human‐wildlife conflict management. Beyond frequently voiced ideas about wolves' “innate” fear, we examine how fear is (re)produced through human‐wolf interactions and deeply shaped by human social processes. We contribute to the critical physical geography project by integrating critical social analysis with ecological theory, conducted through collaborative interdisciplinary dialogue. Such integrative practice is essential for understanding the complex challenges of managing wildlife in the Anthropocene.

Perspectives on China-Africa Relationships in a context of Changing World

When talking about Sino-African relationships recently, few concern about China- Africa relationships in the context of the changing world. This study generally reviewed the background of the changing world and the evolution of China-Africa relations. For a long time, the Africa has been regarded as the hopeless continent. In the new century, the African countries experienced a transition from hopeless continent to rising Africa with more potentials. The state and private Chinese enterprises went to African countries not only for the crude oil and gas, the mining, and the forestry business, but also as important partner in infrastructure construction, joint enterprises as well as international trade partners. Most western views of China in Africa contained with negative attitude in the globalization era. The globalization and changing world gave the opportunity for China to improve the relations with African countries, especially in the economic relations. From 2009 to present, China became the top international trade partner in the whole Africa. There are also arguments with China in Africa in the future. The world is a complex socio-ecological system and corresponding with rapid changes, we provide the perspectives on the China-Africa relations in the context of changing world.

Updated census in the Laurentian Great Lakes Watershed: A framework for determining the relationship between the population and this aquatic resource

The Laurentian Great Lakes Watershed (LGLW) is a complex socio-ecological system that spans the United States and Canada and includes Anishinaabe Nations, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and Métis Nations. However, this system contains overlapping political and ecological boundaries that do not conform, obscuring a true geographic definition of the LGLW and complicating the inclusion of population data in policy and social-ecological systems research. In this Short Communication, we provide a spatial framework for assessing the LGLW population using the watershed footprint under the Great Lakes Commission’s jurisdiction with international consistency to support regional science and policy, and discuss challenges in accurately assessing Indigenous areas. Using the best available sources, we estimate a population of 38,327,681 people (2015–2019) within the watershed and 133,737 residents within government-delineated Indigenous, First Nation, and Métis census areas of 2021.

Socio-ecological systems modelling of coastal urban area under a changing climate – Case study for Ubatuba, Brazil

Understanding the complex dynamics between society and nature is a critical contribution of ecological modelling. Integrated views of human-nature relations as well as tools and frameworks for studying these relations are gaining ground. A socio-ecological systems (SES) perspective therefore embraces both social and environmental factors that uses nonlinearities, feedbacks, models, and multi-level networks for understanding and studying those phenomena. When undesired drivers as climate change are also taken into account, the most urgent question is how these critical socio–ecological systems will behave given the stresses they endure. This work had the objective of creating a new simulation of a coastal SES from Brazil that is able to integrate several climatic and social variables through a dynamic and coupled model, and forecast its behavior in the future according to scenarios. Specifically, a systems dynamics simulation model using MIMES (Multiscale Integrated Model of Ecosystem Services) was developed for Ubatuba, a coastal city highly dependent and influenced by tourism. Results showed good correspondence between the model and the data when testing several environmental inputs (wind speed and direction, cloud cover, sea surface temperature, precipitation patterns). The model simulated the population dynamics of 15 biological groups from 2010 to 2100 under different scenarios. Climate change will reduce most of populations in a range from −0.13% (± 0.0%) to −10.31% (± 0.0%). There are groups where the influence of climate change is not significant (Bivalve, Brachyuran, pelagic feeding fish and benthic feeding fish) with variations from 0 to 2% and others with moderate significance (Phytoplankton, Zooplankton, and Enterococcus) with variations >2%. Tourists reacting to water quality degradation is very relevant in Enterococcus population (with a reduction of 34%). Results show the urban activities strongly influencing the biological populations and that these impacts depend on the scenario context. This suggests a policy that limits the number of tourists and increases the water quality at the same time. Therefore, the model's spatial simulation of this complex socio-ecological system can be used to develop an integrative decision-making tool to help the city manage its natural capital and adapt to its changes.

Systemic Governance of Mountains, Rivers, Forests, Farmlands, Lakes and Grasslands: Theoretical Framework and Approaches

The life community of mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes and grasslands (MRFFLG) and its systemic governance are key components to build ecological civilization in China. It comprises diverse connotations in value, scientific and economic dimensions. Epistemologically, it comes from the Chinese traditional philosophy of harmonious coexistence of heaven, earth and man, and conforms to the Western ecological ethics, complex system science and environmental value theory. Methodologically, as a complex socio-ecological system in which man and nature interact and coexist, the life community of the MRFFLG should be governed coordinately from both narrow and broad views. At the policy level, from the perspectives of narrow synergy among ecological subsystems and broad synergy among the complex socio-ecological system, this paper evaluates the performance indicators of 16 pilot projects of the MRFFLG, and points out that the design of most pilot projects well reflects the narrow synergy of multiple ecological elements, but is short of attention to the broad synergy of green development and ecological civilization. There are two practical ways to promote the systemic governance of the MRFFLG. First, it needs to focus on the coordinated governance of watershed and ecological environment restoration against the background of global climate and environmental change. The goal is to restore and improve the service functions of ecological subsystems and enhance their climate adaptability. Second, in the context of new urbanization and green development transition, it requires a collaborative planning focusing on natural capital and green infrastructure investment, which is aimed at cultivating ecological dividends and realizing ecological economy.

Piekrastes pārvaldība Latvijā: pārvaldības ietvara attīstības pārskats

The coastal territory is a complex socio-ecological system (SES), which needs to be governed using an integrated approach. Integrated coastal management (ICM) is considered as the main approach in coastal governance, offering a holistic view of the coastal zone by integrating different governance sectors and governance levels, but ICM is not a fixed approach and should be adopted to meet each particular unique national and local situation. Full scale ICM in Latvia is not applied, but the following problems are recognized as most significant in the coastal territory: the lack of qualitative infrastructure and the lack of good governance; the local level coastal SES is studied, monitored and evaluated insufficiently as well as good practice examples are not communicated enough. In the current study, the exploration of the legisla-tive regulations and planning documents was conducted, therefore, the main research methods are docu-ment studies and expert interviews. Both the vertical and horizontal integration were assessed for the coastal governance, as well as overview of ICM developments in the modern history of Latvia. In order to understand the situation of the coastal governance in Latvia, the scheme of coastal dune protection zone was prepared, based on Latvian coastal legislation, however it is often difficult to depict different protec-tion zones in practice in such a dynamic and changing territory as a coastal zone.

Payment for water-ecosystem services monitoring in Brazil

The reduction of tropical forests has generated a loss of ecosystem services across the globe. In Brazil, essential biomes related to water provision (such as the Atlantic Forest and Savanna) have been degraded, compromising water-ecosystem services. Payment for water-ecosystem services (water PES) has been implemented as a tool to stimulate changes in the use and management of these areas. Many water PES projects have emerged in Brazil using forest restoration, aiming to improve water ecosystem services. In this context, this study identified the types of monitoring carried out in Brazilian water PES projects, to include their main characteristics and gaps. Five Brazilian projects were selected for analysis as case studies. Interviews were then conducted with stakeholders to get current data on their monitoring practices. The data from the literature review, case study approach, and interviews were analyzed from the perspective of monitoring guides recommendations. Different aspects were analyzed, such as objectives, institutional arrangements, type of monitoring, indicators, and frequency of monitoring. The study indicates that there is a lack of standardized methods, making it difficult to specify the results of the implemented actions. The central gap is related to benefit monitoring. It is necessary to establish a holistic monitoring system, dealing with the ecosystem as a complex socio-ecological system. Some perspectives to solve the problems were proposed. The results of this work may help not only improve the current and future PES schemes in Brazil but also in other countries, especially developing ones, where vulnerable populations depend upon them.

At the crossroads of co-management in a complex socioecological system: Lessons from the first participatory management plan in Chile

Co-management of a system or resource should be understood as an approach to governance in which there is some redistribution of power between the state and a community of users. Despite its potential utility, its application in traditional, hierarchically complex systems faces social challenges that impede self-organization and/or self-management. In a new attempt to promote the sustainability of fisheries in Chile, Management Plans were incorporated into the Fisheries Law in 2013. These plans were based on the Management Plan for the Contiguous Zone (MPCZ), the first participatory Management Plan of a fishery in Chile. While the plan failed to achieve self-organization and expired after 14 years, part of its legacy includes a framework for the operation and governance of Management Plans. In this article, we adopted a general socioecological framework to analyze and discuss the MPCZ and its governance model. The hierarchy established by the state has restricted the development of the management process and threatens its potential contribution to the sustainability of fisheries. Distrust among users, scientists and state officials has also been an obstacle to strengthening co-management. The Management Plans represent an opportunity for traditionally hierarchical administration of fisheries to evolve towards co-management, as long as the state modifies its previous strategies and chooses to strengthen and consolidate the participative processes.

An integrated approach based on two-objective optimization and 2SFCA model for health-care facility location-allocation problems

Public health-care facilities are essential to all communities, and their location has long been an important issue in urban planning. With the steady growth of Shenzhen’s population, the government needs to decide where health-care facilities should be located to improve the equity of accessibility, and further more to raise the residential needs and satisfaction for the entire population. As a large immigrate city, Shenzhen is a complex socio-ecological system which make it hard to find the best solution that meets all of the objectives. In this article, we establish a multi-objective model to examine the problem of where health-care facilities should be located to improve accessibility for the entire population and decrease the cost of building new facilities. In particular, the model accounts for the different requirements of varying age groups. We used data from Shenzhen and two heuristic algorithms to create the model. The strategy proposed here can be adopted in urban planning and help policymakers reach better decisions.

Just beautiful green herbs: use of plants in cultural practices in Bukovina and Roztochya, Western Ukraine

BackgroundThe use of plants in rituals is a little explored corner of biocultural diversity which has developed through time within a complex socio-ecological system. Indeed, rituals are complex interactions between humans and biodiversity shaped by history, culture, and ethnic belonging. Yet, in Western Ukraine, such rituals were forbidden for over 50 years (1939–1991). The current revival of rituals by rural inhabitants is an untapped reservoir of local ecological knowledge. The aim of the present study was to identify the ritual use of wild and cultivated plants in two regions of Western Ukraine, Bukovina and Roztochya, and to compare the findings with historical data. Moreover, we analyzed attitudes toward the ritual use of plants and interactions with the local environment.MethodsWe conducted 31 in-depth semi-structured interviews among Orthodox Hutsuls of Bukovina and 16 interviews among Greek Catholic rural inhabitants of Roztochya during summer 2018 focusing on the ritual uses of plants.ResultsWe documented 28 plant taxa among Bukovinian Hutsuls and 58 plant taxa among inhabitants in Roztochya that were used in 7 religious festivals (of which two were celebrated differently in the two communities). Plants were mainly used in bouquets, but also for decorating churches and houses or in fruit baskets. In both communities, almost 25% of the interviewees could not name the plants they collected for bouquets, but rather referred to “just beautiful green herbs” one can get in meadows, forests, and gardens. Comparison with historical data shows a smaller number of taxa currently used (wild taxa have been lost), yet the persistence of 18 taxa used both now and a century ago.ConclusionsContemporary practices concerning the use of plants in Christian rituals in Bukovina and Roztochya can be contextualized in the broader phenomenon of the revitalization of traditional environmental knowledge and practices that have characterized Europe over the past 30 years and in particular Eastern Europe after socialism. The current religious use of plants is to a certain extent the revitalization of historical rituals supported by various internal (knowledge from older generations) and external (church authorities and fashion in the region) drivers. Further research should address changes in regions with longer and more severe prohibition of religious practices and their revival.

Variability of Water Balance under Climate Change Scenarios. Implications for Sustainability in the Rhône River Basin

The Rhône basin is considered a complex river socio-ecological system, which houses numerous socioeconomic activities closely linked to its river courses, as well as competition between the different users of these water resources. Likewise, its increasing vulnerability to climate change highlights the need to assess the potential effects of a set of climate scenarios to assist the management of these resources. With this aim, we have analysed the effects of five scenarios on different environmental zones of the basin characterised by altitudinal features, using the “Water Yield” hydrological module of the InVEST model. The model outputs show that the Rhône basin will have significant discharge water variations and changes in the seasonality of the hydrological regime, being able to trigger serious economic and environmental effects under the simulated scenarios. Regarding these altitudinal environmental zones, results show important differences in the final water balance, resulting in the mountain and subalpine zones being the most affected by these scenarios. The uncertainty in the availability of water resources and the need for its sustainable management will require the establishment of important adaptations to the new challenges imposed by these scenarios, particularly in alpine zones, due to its sensitivity and fragility to climate change.

Characterizing Exposure to and Sharing Knowledge of Drivers of Environmental Change in the St. Lawrence System in Canada

The St. Lawrence is a vast and complex socio-ecological system providing a wealth of services sustaining numerous economic sectors. These ecosystems are subject to significant human pressures that overlap and potentially interact with climate driven environmental changes. Our objective in this paper is to systematically characterize the distribution and intensity of drivers in the St. Lawrence System. To do so, we launch eDrivers, an open knowledge platform gathering experts committed to structuring, standardizing and sharing knowledge on drivers in support of science and management. We gathered data on 22 coastal, climate, fisheries and marine traffic drivers through collaborations, existing environmental initiatives and open data portals. We show that few areas of the St. Lawrence are free of cumulative exposure. The Estuary, the Anticosti Gyre and coastal areas are particularly exposed, especially in the vicinity of urban centers. We identified 6 areas of distinct cumulative exposure regime that show that certain drivers typically co-occur in different regions of the St. Lawrence and that coastal areas are exposed to all driver types. Of particular concern are two threat complexes capturing most exposure hotspots that show the convergence of contrasting exposure regimes at the head of the Laurentian Channel. eDrivers was built on a series of guiding principles upholding existing data management and open science standards. We therefore expect it to evolve through time to address knowledge gaps and refine current driver layers. Ultimately, we believe that eDrivers represents a much needed solution that could radically influence broad scale research and management practices by increasing knowledge accessibility and interoperability.

Ten lessons from the frontlines of science in support of fisheries management

AbstractAfter 20+ years as a research scientist, I recently made a career change to a scientific administrator in NOAA Fisheries. Part of the NOAA Fisheries mission is to provide scientific advice for fisheries using ecosystem based approaches to management. Where I used to see fisheries science as a relatively straightforward discipline, I now recognize fisheries as a complex socio-ecological system that spans natural and social sciences. With this recognition has come an appreciation for the concept of wicked problems and for the incremental approach to policy-making. Here I describe my perspectives before and after this recognition and present 10 lessons for myself as a guide to providing science in support of fisheries management.