Socio-ecological Systems Approach Research Articles

Agrobiodiversity-Oriented Food Systems between Public Policies and Private Action: A Socio-Ecological Model for Sustainable Territorial Development

The international and European literature and institutional contexts are fostering agrobiodiversity as the foundation of a new paradigm for localized agri-food system development and sustainability. Accordingly, new systemic and holistic theoretical approaches and conceptual models are needed. This paper aims to identify and apply a new conceptual framework contributing to the understanding of how the restoring and valorization of underutilized or neglected landraces can act as a trigger for sustainable territorial development. A new holistic model was designed for the characterization and analysis of agrobiodiversity-oriented food systems. We consider the model innovative in enhancing the conceptualization of the adoption of a socio-ecological systems approach. We applied the model to a representative case study involving the localized agri-food system of the Valtiberina Red Onion, a threatened plant landrace cultivated in Tuscany, Italy. A participatory action–research approach was followed, involving both public and private stakeholders. As the main outcome of the paper, we demonstrated the capability of our new SES model by identifying and describing the assets, drivers, human action processes and generated beneficial effects concerning the development and reproduction of landrace-based quality valorization virtuous circles. Our research findings highlighted the model as an innovative tool for the analysis of agrobiodiversity-oriented food systems sustainability. Significantly, the model was designed to identify the combined role of public policy and private action in supporting the implementation of coherent management mechanisms and effective governance settings.

Developing Social-Ecological System Approach and a Case Study in Red River Delta

After 3 decades of sustainable development, Vietnam's development is still not sustainable, especially in terms of society and ecology, the economy is still a brown economy: low product quality, high consumption resources, causing environmental pollution, increasing greenhouse gas emissions – causing climate change, and other social issues. In the last 20 years, the Socio-Ecological theory has developed on a global scale and is widely applied in many fields for sustainable development. Currently, Vietnam is having many innovations in the direction of rapid and sustainable development, nature-based/harmonization development, and planning based on integrated ecological functions, etc. In this direction, the Center for Eco-Community Development (ECODE) conducted a case study based on the Socio-Ecological system approach in 3 coastal districts (Tien Hai district, Thai Binh province, Giao Thuy district, Nam Dinh province, and Cat Hai district, Hai Phong city), typical for the Red River Delta – one of the areas in Vietnam most vulnerable to climate change, and has obtained significant results about: i) Zoning of social - ecological functions; ii) Assessing the impacts of climate change and development resources/climate disaster resilience of sub-regions; and iii) propose solutions and models of climate-adaptive livelihoods based on ecosystems. The research results confirmed the role of ecological and social pillars and systemic, interdisciplinary, inter-regional, and ecosystem-based approaches are crucial in research for sustainable development in the global context.

Análisis bibliométrico del conocimiento científico sobre resiliencia de agroecosistemas

Global phenomena such as climate change threaten the resilience of agroecosystems and therefore food security. Thus, the objective of this paper was to analyze the cumulative nature and outstanding advances in the knowledge of the resilience of agroecosystems as a basis for the development of new trends in the subject. A literature review was conducted using the Web of Science database, considering criteria such as date of publication, disciplines and scientific journals. The search covers the period from 1993 to 2020. One hundred eighty-eight publications were identified, with 2018 and 2019 being the years with the highest number of articles published. The research areas with the most publications on resilience are ecology (71), agriculture (52) and environmental sciences (44). Regarding the connectivity based on the value of intermediate centrality, the areas of greatest interrelationship are mainly: agriculture (0.45), science and technology (0.28), environmental sciences (0.2) and ecology (0.12). In the dynamics and study of resilience, the adaptability of the agroecosystem stands out. The conceptual model of resilience analyzed facilitates its study and is composed of: precariousness, latitude, resistance and panarchy. Therefore, the indicators for quantifying resilience in agroecosystems are heterogeneous and multidimensional. It is concluded that resilience has been conceptually studied as an emerging property from the agroecological approach, recently from the socioecological systems approach, where adaptability and interdiscipline are highlighted as a means to solve complex problems.

Evaluating Risk and Possible Adaptations to Climate Change Under a Socio-Ecological System Approach

Evidence suggests that climate change could drastically reduce Mexico's agricultural productivity with severe socio-ecological consequences. Population growth and the increasing demand of resources will exacerbate these impacts. Focusing on rainfed maize production, we evaluate the socio-ecological risk that municipalities currently face and how climate change could modify it. Municipalities were classified based on their biophysical and socioeconomic traits like temperature, precipitation, population, gross domestic product, marginalization, and agricultural subsidies. The study identifies municipalities that would face higher risk under climate change conditions, and it evaluates whether increases in agricultural subsidies could be effective for reducing the farmers' future risk. Our results show that during the 2010's, 36.8% of the municipalities and 15% of the population were at very high and high risk, respectively. By 2070, under a high-warming scenario these figures increase to 56.5 and 18.5%. We find that a generalized augment in agricultural subsidies is not enough to compensate for the effects of climate change on the socio-ecological risk of rainfed maize producers. We suggest that transformative adaptation is required for managing the agricultural risk that socio-ecological systems experience under climate change conditions. Such adaptation strategies should include poverty alleviation, promotion of resistant and native varieties of crops, capacity building to improve management and water use, sustainable technification, and soil restoration.

Linking Fishing Behavior and Ecosystem Dynamics Using Social and Ecological Network Models

One goal of ecosystem-based management is studying an ecosystem and its people, the socio-ecological system, in a qualitative and quantitative modeling approach that can provide management agencies with possible outcomes of their actions using scenario forecasting. Ecosystem-based fisheries management strives to use the socio-ecological system approach, including direct and indirect impacts on multiple species including the behavioral responses of fishers after a regulatory change (a gillnet ban). Here, we link fisher behavioral networks with a mass-balanced food-web ECOPATH network model of an estuarine ecosystem and its commercial fisheries for an analysis of fishing impacts after a gillnet ban on multiple species using ECOSIM. We modeled fisher behavioral networks using reported catches of species from individual fishers along with the gear fished to create nodes in a gear/species affiliation network. Individual fishers with common gear/species use are indicative of common fishing behavior. When such fishers have high network centrality and are engaged in multiple gear/species fisheries, they can transition to other gear/species fisheries along “switching pathways” when facing a regulatory change. We used an index of joint gear participation to identify likely gear switching pathways, and we predicted changes in fishing effort after a gill net ban. We simulated the gill net ban in ECOSIM under two scenarios of fishing effort: Scenario 1, gill net fishing effort of 0%; Scenario 2, gill net fishing effort of 0% with increased effort in the alternative gear fisheries using the predicted switching pathways for the affiliation network. Scenario 1 predicted an increase in flounder (Paralichthys spp.) biomass over a decade. Under Scenario 2, fishers targeting flounders were predicted to switch from gill nets to pound nets. Scenario 2 predicted a 7% decline in flounder biomass over ten years, rather than an increase in flounders. The gillnet ban with increased effort due to switching is predicted to have the opposite effect on the conservation goal, which was to increase flounder stocks. Fishery management that incorporates a socio-ecological approach modeling both fisher behaviors and multi-species ecosystem responses can reveal single-species responses that are in the opposite direction of the anticipated management goals.

Understating complex interactions in socio-ecological systems using system dynamics: A case in the tropical Andes

The high dependence of human communities on ecosystems’ well-functioning has transformed and degraded ecosystems at alarming rates. Strategies for sustainability are an urgent need and requires the understanding of the complex interactions between human and ecological systems in the territories. For such understanding several modelling approaches have been proposed, but still face important challenges. This manuscript contributes by examining the dynamics of land use and land cover change in a basin in Colombian Andes using the socio-ecological systems approach. We develop a system dynamics model for a basin socio-ecological system with four interrelated subsystems and ecosystem services. The ecosystem services considered are hydrological regulation and erosion as an inverse proxy for the regulation ecosystem service of erosion control. In the model different natural and social processes of multiple time and spatial scales are considered. The model contributes to fill the following gaps identified by recent scientific literature: (i) Analysis of spatiotemporal dynamics of ES and SES remains a major challenge (ii) There are very few studies on the dynamics of mountain ecosystem services in the south hemisphere (iii) There is need of studies that focus on more than one ecosystem service to allow the analysis of the interaction between different ES, (iv) Models are often developed to only work with biophysical data excluding socioeconomic aspects that contribute to understanding complexity of SES, (iv) includes a human decision making process modelling that considers multiple criteria to decide land use. The modeling approach presented here constitutes an advance in the challenges associated with socio-ecological systems modeling.

Application of the Socio-Ecological System Framework to Forest Fire Risk Management: A Systematic Literature Review

Although increasing concern about climate change has raised awareness of the fundamental role of forest ecosystems, forests are threatened by human-induced impacts worldwide. Among them, wildfire risk is clearly the result of the interaction between human activities, ecological domains, and climate. However, a clear understanding of these interactions is still needed both at the global and local levels. Numerous studies have proven the validity of the socioecological system (SES) approach in addressing this kind of interdisciplinary issue. Therefore, a systematic review of the existing literature on the application of SES frameworks to forest ecosystems is carried out, with a specific focus on wildfire risk management. The results demonstrate the existence of different methodological approaches that can be grouped into seven main categories, which range from qualitative analysis to quantitative spatially explicit investigations. The strengths and limitations of the approaches are discussed, with a specific reference to the geographical setting of the works. The research suggests the importance of local community involvement and local knowledge consideration in wildfire risk management. This review provides a starting point for future research on forest SES and a supporting tool for the development of a sustainable wildfire risk adaptation and mitigation strategy.

Investigating SES variables causing changes in sense of place in the context of coastal wetland conservation - A case of Pulicat lagoon

Socio-Ecological System (SES) approach is being employed for more than 20 years to conserve coastal wetlands. It has been observed through literature study that the institutional mechanism used as SES approach for conserving coastal wetlands influences various dimensions of Sense of Place (SoP). This ‘influence’ on SoP many a time adversely affect the performances of projects. The paper investigates the impact of changes in SES variables on SoP components due to institutional mechanism adopted for conserving the Pulicat Lagoon, located in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The SES framework is used for identifying and analysing the responsible SES variable influencing changes in the SoP. A qualitative approach is adopted, to gain insight into an understudied phenomenon by using a semi-structured interview for the selected participants through purposive sampling (n = 30). Grounded theory was used to arrive at categories from thematic analysis of transcripted data. The data interpreted resulted in contextualizing the core phenomenon for theory generation. The findings reveal that socio-political dimension has a major role in instigating conflicts between Pulicat lagoon management (CRZ authorities and TN Forest Department) and coastal communities over resource ownership, recognition of their land rights and lacking participation towards conservation. In essence, the qualitative study reveals that communities reflect a deep association with the lagoon, which contributes significantly to their sense of belonging. Thus, result advocate for a strong involvement and integration of SoP values for effective place-based conservation.

Marsh Migration, Climate Change, and Coastal Resilience: Human Dimensions Considerations for a Fair Path Forward

Coastal regions worldwide will be dramatically reshaped by the impacts of sea-level rise. Of particular concern are impacts on coastal wetlands, the loss of which would have consequences for both human and ecological communities. The future of many coastal wetlands will depend greatly on their capacities to migrate into uplands. Coastal resilience work within wetland sciences has increasingly focused on developing strategies to promote marsh migration into rural uplands; however, less attention has been given to the impacts that migrating marshes have on people in these landscapes. In this paper, we share rural perspectives and experiences with marsh migration through three case-studies from collaborative research with rural, low-lying communities on the Chesapeake Bay, USA. These case-studies demonstrate the complexities of the challenges facing rural communities as a result of marsh migration, and reveal important issues of equity and injustice that need attention in future coastal resilience work. We draw upon a socio-ecological systems (SES) approach to highlight potential human-ecological misalignments that emerge with marsh migration and to offer future research questions to inform socially-just and resilient wetland migration planning in rural coastal areas.

A climate change indicator framework for rangelands and pastures of the USA

Rangelands and pastures include grasslands, savannas, shrublands, and woodlands and are often maintained to support grazing animals. Rangelands and pastures cover more than one-third of the land area in the USA and a similar extent globally. The ecosystem goods and services associated with rangeland and pastureland include critical wildlife habitat, forage for livestock, amenities related to water conservation, sustainable soil functions, and soil stabilization and support a diversity of biota and livelihoods. This paper provides a framework for development of a socio-ecological system (SES)–oriented set of indicators for rangeland and pasture systems to support evaluation of impacts of climate and land use changes. These indicators will also serve to inform adaptive management practices. We present a rationale for using an SES approach to evaluate trends and vulnerabilities of rangeland and pasture systems and provide an example of a set of system indicators arising from the SES approach. The indicators include evaporative demand, land cover extent, aboveground plant biomass, human demographics (population age distribution), cattle numbers, and economic value of cattle products relative to total agricultural value. These indicators are not meant to be comprehensive but are offered to illustrate how they might be used in a SES approach to plan for, assess, and mitigate climate change impacts. The conceptual framework provides a systems perspective on the impact of climate change on the socio-ecological dynamics of rangeland and pasture systems including measures of the resilience and vulnerability of ecosystem services with respect to the six indicators. The article focusses on livestock production in rangeland ecosystems, recognizing that additional work is needed to address pastures and other ecosystem services. Examples of the types of regional information associated with the indicators are provided. Guidance for future efforts in indicator development is offered. This framework will serve to guide future development of indicators for rangeland and pasture components of a larger national effort of indicators.

Соціально-екологічний підхід до розроблення стратегії сталого розвитку туризму територіальних громад

На прикладі запланованої Старосамбірської об'єднаної територіальної громади (ОТГ) Львівської області проаналізовано найвідоміші теоретичні моделі, побудовані на підставі соціально-екологічного підходу розвитку суспільства, призначених для застосування під час розроблення стратегії сталого розвитку територій. Встановлено, що соціально-екологічний підхід до розроблення стратегії сталого розвитку туризму територіальних громад, стане тим інноваційним механізмом, за допомогою якого регіон зможе реалізувати свій туристичний потенціал, базуючись на концепції сталого розвитку, що ґрунтується на двох основоположних підходах: ощадливе використання природних ресурсів та мінімізація шкоди для довкілля; забезпечення збалансованого соціально-економічного розвитку туристичних регіонів. Висвітлено проблеми та перспективи використання соціально-екологічного підходу до розроблення стратегії сталого розвитку туризму територіальних громад (на прикладі запланованої Старосамбірської об'єднаної територіальної громади Львівської області) та впровадження стратегічних планів економічного та соціального розвитку туризму об'єднаних територіальних громад для забезпечення високого рівня та якості життя населення регіонів України, створення сприятливих умов для діяльності нинішнього та майбутніх поколінь та припинення деградації природних екосистем шляхом впровадження нової моделі економічного зростання, що ґрунтується на засадах сталого розвитку. Встановлено, що пріоритетними напрямками розвитку туристичної сфери цього району є такі види туризму: сакральний; паломницький; ностальгійний; культурно-пізнавальний; рекреаційний; активний туризм, зокрема, піший туризм, велотуризм та екстремальний туризм та екологічний туризм. Саме стійкий попит на такий продукт сприятиме розвитку інфраструктури, малого та середнього підприємництва тощо. Результати досліджень наявних туристично-рекреаційних ресурсів, з урахуванням екологічної та соціально-економічної складових для реалізації принципів сталого розвитку громади є важливими, як власне для окремих об'єднаних територіальних громад, так і для держави загалом.

Government Extension, Agroecology, and Sustainable Food Systems in Belize Milpa Communities: A Socio-Ecological Systems Approach

The sustainability of milpa agriculture, a traditional Mayan farming system in southern Belize, is uncertain. For centuries, the milpa has been a sustainable agriculture system. The slash-and-burn aspect of milpa farming, however, has become less reliable and less sustainable over the last 50 years due to several factors, including forest loss, climate change, population growth, and other factors. The traditional milpa practices of slash-and-mulch and soil nutrient enrichment (nutrient cycling) are agroecological practices that produce food in a more sustainable way. Agriculture extension, a government service in Belize, can promote additional agroecological practices to address food and livelihood insecurities in milpa communities. This study examines perceptions of these practices from milpa farmers and agricultural extension officers in Belize using a socio-ecological systems (SES) framework. SES considers multidisciplinary linkages, including social, economic, environmental, cultural, and other factors in the agroecological system. The study finds several of these SES linkages between agroecological practices—specifically slash-and-mulch and soil nutrient enrichment—and the sustainability of the milpa farming system in southern Belize. Milpa communities are part of the broader SES and therefore are affected by changes to it. Milpa communities can also be enabled and participate in solution-finding. The findings imply that increasing the use of agroecology practices in milpa communities is needed and that government involvement and action, particularly from agriculture extension services, can facilitate a more sustainable milpa farming system and therefore more food and livelihood security in milpa communities in Belize. See the press release for this article.

Environmental citizenship for inclusive sustainable development: the case of Kelab Alami in Mukim Tanjung Kupang, Johor, Malaysia

ABSTRACTUsing environmental citizenship as the basis of its activities and initiatives, a community organisation, Kelab Alami, successfully combined environmental action with a socio-ecological systems approach to counter environmental and social injustice. The organisation fused traditional ecological knowledge with science for use in community-initiated ecotourism; engaged with surrounding developers, local authorities and the state government to mitigate environmental damage and maximize job opportunities for the community; nurtured and supported local entrepreneurship efforts and continues to spread environmental awareness and protection. This paper traces the development of Kelab Alami, the training and empowerment of youthful citizen scientists, and its attempt to garner multi-level support and collaboration for its environmental actions. This is a grounded illustration of resource mobilization in action, and a local view of a community’s efforts to cope with poverty, environmental degradation and urbanization; a model that could be adapted and adopted by other communities facing similar circumstances and threats.

Invasive alien species and planetary and global health policy

Invasive alien species and planetary and global health policy

Deep decarbonization and renewable energy in the Appalachian Mountains (DDREAM): a socio-ecological systems approach to evaluating ecological governance

Through the lens of ecologically based planning and design decisions for a renewable energy infrastructure, our project investigates a pilot method that assesses ecological, geographic, and sociopolitical opportunities and constraints. This method couples an application of the University of Pennsylvania Suitability Analysis Method, more commonly known as the McHarg Method, and a statistical analysis of the Appalachian Mountain Region of Pennsylvania in the United States. Despite the region’s high-quality natural resources, persistent reliance on coal industries has resulted in disadvantaged socioeconomic distress and risk. By unraveling linkages between socio-ecological systems and governance actions, the results of our pilot described challenges for the Appalachian Mountain Region in transitioning to a renewable energy infrastructure, while also formulating the basis for county-level strategies that may encourage the pro-environmental governance necessary to promote renewable energy initiatives. We find that Appalachian counties’ relatively low levels of infrastructure density, solar irradiation, population growth, limited access to education centers, and high-quality forests present challenges to allocating suitable areas for solar infrastructure. However, clusters of moderately suitable areas are identifiable throughout the region. Yet such opportunities may struggle to support solar energy initiatives as the region suffers from limited pro-environmental governance, particularly in areas with low-density infrastructure and historically higher levels of dependence on natural resource industries. Above all, our findings identify that the relationship between socio-ecological conditions and pro-environmental governance is complex and often in conflict in key areas of the region.

Ecological Urban Planning and Design: A Systematic Literature Review

Urbanization is a defining feature of the modern age, yet the current model of urban development profoundly alters the natural environment, often reducing biodiversity and ultimately threatening human wellbeing. An ecologically based urban planning and design paradigm should consider a more harmonious relationship. Through a systematic literature review of 57 papers, this research identified relevant concepts and theories that could underpin this new paradigm. It revealed a noticeable increase in academic interest in this subject since 2013 and the development of concepts and theories that reflect a more holistic socio-ecological systems approach to urban planning and design based on a transdisciplinary integration and synthesis of research. Seven main themes underpin the academic literature: ecosystem services, socio-ecological systems, resilience, biodiversity, landscape, green infrastructure, as well as integrated and holistic approaches. Six of these can be organised into either a sustainability stream or a spatial stream, representing the foundations of a potential new ecological urban planning and design paradigm that applies sustainability-related concepts in a spatial setting. The final theme, integrated and holistic, includes concepts that reflect the fundamental characteristics of this new paradigm, which can be termed ‘urban consonance’.

Rural-Urban Migration and the Growth of Informal Settlements: A Socio-Ecological System Conceptualization with Insights Through a “Water Lens”

Informal settlements i.e., slums emerge from the interplay of multidimensional factors related to urbanization and sustainability. While the contribution of urban factors is well understood, the role of external drivers, such as uncontrolled migration to urban areas, is rarely addressed in research or policy-making. This study develops a novel conceptualization of slums by reviewing the pushing and pulling factors of migration and their contribution to informal settlements through 1) a socio-ecological system approach and 2) the concept of adaptive capacity. Further, it advances the discussion around synergistic and coherent policy-making in the urban context by reviewing three urban agendas and further using water as a case with the concept of cross-cutting domains. We show that the emergence of urban challenges can, and should be, linked to the root causes of flows into urban areas. Understanding these linkages through a socio-ecological system framework opens a window for knowledge-based policy development and addressing the question of how to avoid unsustainable urban development. Urbanization is one of the phenomena where the excessive complexity and dimensions of problems should not hamper action but instead, actions should be encouraged and enabled with synergistic and integrative pathways for sustainable urban development.

Identifying barriers, conflict and opportunity in managing aquatic ecosystems

Inland aquatic ecosystems play an important part in the delivery and support of ecosystem services. However, these ecosystems are subject to stressors associated with human activities such as invasive species introduction and landscape alteration. There is a delicate balance between maintaining good status of the ecosystem whilst meeting the needs of those stakeholders dependent on the ecosystem services it supplies, and where there are many different stakeholders, each with different aspirations and dependencies on the ecosystem, it can be difficult to strike a balance on suitable management measures to put in place. A better understanding of the interactions between the human and ecological functions of the ecosystem (a socio-ecological systems (SES) approach) can enable an effective dialogue to be opened to secure management solutions of best fit. In this study we took a SES approach to explore the dependencies and interactions in the Lough Erne catchment with a range of stakeholders representing the use of the Lough. In particular, we explored how individual stakeholder goals were perceived to be affected by both the biodiversity and activities found in the catchment. Results suggest there are distinct components deemed integral to the success of stakeholder goals in this system, including ‘key habitat components’ and ‘policy relevant species’, as well as activities associated with ‘conservation and recreation’ and ‘scientific research’. Those components which were seen to limit the potential achievement of most goals included invasive species, and in particular, more recently introduced invasives, as well as extractive industries. Consideration of the similarity in goals based on their perceived interactions with the activities and biodiversity of the system indicated that there were shared dependencies between some stakeholders, but also differences that highlight the potential for conflict. Future management scenarios should take consideration of the key limiting and enabling factors identified here.

Shaping the future of marine socio-ecological systems research: when early-career researchers meet the seniors

Abstract As the environmental issues facing our planet change, scientific efforts need to inform the sustainable management of marine resources by adopting a socio-ecological systems approach. Taking the symposium on “Understanding marine socio-ecological systems: including the human dimension in Integrated Ecosystem Assessments (MSEAS)” as an opportunity we organized a workshop to foster the dialogue between early and advanced-career researchers and explore the conceptual and methodological challenges marine socio-ecological systems research faces. The discussions focused on: a) interdisciplinary research teams versus interdisciplinary scientists; b) idealism versus pragmatism on dealing with data and conceptual gaps; c) publishing interdisciplinary research. Another major discussion point was the speed at which governance regimes and institutional structures are changing and the role of researchers in keeping up with it. Irrespective of generation, training or nationality, all participants agreed on the need for multi-method approaches that encompass different social, political, ecological and institutional settings, account for complexity and communicate uncertainties. A shift is needed in the questions the marine socio-ecological scientific community addresses, which could happen by drawing on lessons learnt and experiences gained. These require in turn a change in education and training, accompanied by a change in research and educational infrastructures.

Capacidad de carga turística y aprovechamiento sustentable de Áreas Naturales Protegidas

Natural Protected Areas (npa) of littoral have very sensitive and attractive landscape ecological systems, for which tourism is commonplace, as in the apffic (Area de Proteccion Flora y Fauna Isla de Cozumel in Spanish). The objective was to determine touristic carrying capacity with an integrated approach of sustainable development. The method applied theoretical process (touristic carrying capacity) and empirical process (limits of acceptable change), to achieve a balance between conservation and use. The result allows strategies of decisions and design management around natural resource management, looking for sustainable tourism developmencft as an integrated socio-ecological system approach. This will make the npa and its environment a better environment according to natural, social, economic, moral and aesthetic criteria.