| 1. |
- Diaz, Sandra, et al.
(författare)
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Pervasive human-driven decline of life on Earth points to the need for transformative change
- 2019
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 366:6471
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The human impact on life on Earth has increased sharply since the 1970s, driven by the demands of a growing population with rising average per capita income. Nature is currently supplying more materials than ever before, but this has come at the high cost of unprecedented global declines in the extent and integrity of ecosystems, distinctness of local ecological communities, abundance and number of wild species, and the number of local domesticated varieties. Such changes reduce vital benefits that people receive from nature and threaten the quality of life of future generations. Both the benefits of an expanding economy and the costs of reducing nature's benefits are unequally distributed. The fabric of life on which we all depend-nature and its contributions to people-is unravelling rapidly. Despite the severity of the threats and lack of enough progress in tackling them to date, opportunities exist to change future trajectories through transformative action. Such action must begin immediately, however, and address the root economic, social, and technological causes of nature's deterioration.
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| 2. |
- Pereira, Henrique M., et al.
(författare)
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Scenarios for Global Biodiversity in the 21st Century
- 2010
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 330:6010, s. 1496-1501
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Quantitative scenarios are coming of age as a tool for evaluating the impact of future socioeconomic development pathways on biodiversity and ecosystem services. We analyze global terrestrial, freshwater, and marine biodiversity scenarios using a range of measures including extinctions, changes in species abundance, habitat loss, and distribution shifts, as well as comparing model projections to observations. Scenarios consistently indicate that biodiversity will continue to decline over the 21st century. However, the range of projected changes is much broader than most studies suggest, partly because there are major opportunities to intervene through better policies, but also because of large uncertainties in projections.
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| 3. |
- Andersson, Christopher B., et al.
(författare)
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Conceptualizing the diverse values of nature and their contributions to people
- 2022
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Ingår i: The Methodological Assessment Report on The Diverse Values and Valuation of Nature. - : Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. ; , s. 55
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Bokkapitel (populärvet., debatt m.m.)abstract
- Humanity confronts multiple socio-environmental crises that are also a values crisis (e.g., biodiversity loss, climate change, emergent diseases) {2.1.1; 2.1.2}. There is consensus that environmental decision-making can be enhanced by being more inclusive of nature’s diverse values {2.1.1}. Yet, understanding nature’s values requires grasping different conceptualizations of the ways people interpret and experience human-nature relationships, such as worldviews informed by different knowledge systems, cultures, languages and disciplines. Better engagement of this diversity offers opportunities to make policies more rigorous, effective and inclusive {2.1.2}. Chapter 2 aims to help decision-makers characterize and assess different conceptualizations of the diverse values of nature and how they are expressed, formed and changed (Figure 2.1). It uses scoping, systematic and critical reviews, complemented with regionally- and thematically balanced case studies to assess academic literature, government policies and indigenous and local knowledge (ILK). Findings provide conceptual background for subsequent chapters and insights for decision-makers to engage, manage and incorporate the conceptual diversity of values in governance frameworks that have impact on nature and its contributions to people (Figure 2.2). Key messages highlight (i) concepts that help diagnose policy-relevant challenges and opportunities and (ii) guidance to use these concepts in solutions to achieve better conceptual, practical and ethical outcomes {2.1}.
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| 4. |
- Balvanera, Patricia, et al.
(författare)
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Key features for more successful place-based sustainability research on social-ecological systems : a Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS) perspective
- 2017
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Ingår i: Ecology and Society. - 1708-3087. ; 22:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The emerging discipline of sustainability science is focused explicitly on the dynamic interactions between nature and society and is committed to research that spans multiple scales and can support transitions toward greater sustainability. Because a growing body of place-based social-ecological sustainability research (PBSESR) has emerged in recent decades, there is a growing need to understand better how to maximize the effectiveness of this work. The Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS) provides a unique opportunity for synthesizing insights gained from this research community on key features that may contribute to the relative success of PBSESR. We surveyed the leaders of PECS-affiliated projects using a combination of open, closed, and semistructured questions to identify which features of a research project are perceived to contribute to successful research design and implementation. We assessed six types of research features: problem orientation, research team, and contextual, conceptual, methodological, and evaluative features. We examined the desirable and undesirable aspects of each feature, the enabling factors and obstacles associated with project implementation, and asked respondents to assess the performance of their own projects in relation to these features. Responses were obtained from 25 projects working in 42 social-ecological study cases within 25 countries. Factors that contribute to the overall success of PBSESR included: explicitly addressing integrated social-ecological systems; a focus on solutionand transformation-oriented research; adaptation of studies to their local context; trusted, long-term, and frequent engagement with stakeholders and partners; and an early definition of the purpose and scope of research. Factors that hindered the success of PBSESR included: the complexities inherent to social-ecological systems, the imposition of particular epistemologies and methods on the wider research group, the need for long periods of time to initiate and conduct this kind of research, and power asymmetries both within the research team and among stakeholders. In the self-assessment exercise, performance relating to team and context-related features was ranked higher than performance relating to methodological, evaluation, and problem orientation features. We discuss how these insights are relevant for balancing place-based and global perspectives in sustainability science, fostering more rapid progress toward inter-and transdisciplinary integration, redefining and measuring the success of PBSESR, and facing the challenges of academic and research funding institutions. These results highlight the valuable opportunity that the PECS community provides in helping build a community of practice for PBSESR.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Calderón-Contreras, Rafael, et al.
(författare)
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A regional PECS node built from place-based social-ecological sustainability research in Latin America and the Caribbean
- 2022
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Ingår i: Ecosystems and People. - : Informa UK Limited. - 2639-5908 .- 2639-5916. ; 18:1, s. 1-14
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sustainability requires a combination of meaningful co-production of locally relevant solutions, synthesis of insights gained across regions, and increased cooperation between science, policy and practice. The Programme for Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS) has been coordinating Place-Based Social-Ecological Sustainability Research (PBSESR) across the globe and emphasizes the need for regional scientific nodes from diverse biocultural regions to inform sustainability science and action. In this paper, we assess the strengths of the PBSESR communities in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). We provide an overview of PBSESR literature associated with this region and highlight the achievements of two prominent regional networks: The Social-Ecological Systems and Sustainability Research Network from Mexico (SocioEcoS) and the South American Institute for Resilience and Sustainability Studies from Uruguay (SARAS Institute). Finally, we identify the potential in these nodes to constitute a regional PECS node in Latin America and discuss the capacity needed to ensure such function. The results of the literature review show that while still loosely interconnected across the region, networks play key roles in connecting otherwise cloistered teams and we illustrate how the SocioEcoS network (focusing on transdisciplinary co-production of knowledge towards sustainability) and the SARAS Institute (focusing on innovative approaches for looking at complex social-ecological problems, rooted in slow science and arts) operate as key connectors in the region. We conclude that these organizations combined can embody a Latin American node for PECS, and would thereby not only contribute to regional but also global capacities to advance the sustainability agenda.
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| 7. |
- Carpenter, Stephen R., et al.
(författare)
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Program on ecosystem change and society : an international research strategy for integrated social-ecological systems
- 2012
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Ingår i: Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. - : Elsevier BV. - 1877-3435 .- 1877-3443. ; 4:1, s. 134-138
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Program on Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS), a new initiative within the ICSU global change programs, aims to integrate research on the stewardship of social-ecological systems, the services they generate, and the relationships among natural capital, human wellbeing, livelihoods, inequality and poverty. The vision of PECS is a world where human actions have transformed to achieve sustainable stewardship of social-ecological systems. The goal of PECS is to generate the scientific and policy-relevant knowledge of social-ecological dynamics needed to enable such a shift, including mitigation of poverty. PECS is a coordinating body for diverse independently funded research projects, not a funder of research. PECS research employs a range of transdisciplinary approaches and methods, with comparative, place-based research that is international in scope at the core.
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| 8. |
- Chazdon, Robin L., et al.
(författare)
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Carbon sequestration potential of second-growth forest regeneration in the Latin American tropics
- 2016
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Ingår i: Science Advances. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 2375-2548. ; 2:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Regrowth of tropical secondary forests following complete or nearly complete removal of forest vegetation actively stores carbon in aboveground biomass, partially counterbalancing carbon emissions from deforestation, forest degradation, burning of fossil fuels, and other anthropogenic sources. We estimate the age and spatial extent of lowland second-growth forests in the Latin American tropics and model their potential aboveground carbon accumulation over four decades. Our model shows that, in 2008, second-growth forests (1 to 60 years old) covered 2.4 million km2 of land (28.1% of the total study area). Over 40 years, these lands can potentially accumulate a total aboveground carbon stock of 8.48 Pg C (petagrams of carbon) in aboveground biomass via low-cost natural regeneration or assisted regeneration, corresponding to a total CO2 sequestration of 31.09 Pg CO2. This total is equivalent to carbon emissions from fossil fuel use and industrial processes in all of Latin America and the Caribbean from 1993 to 2014. Ten countries account for 95% of this carbon storage potential, led by Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela. We model future land-use scenarios to guide national carbon mitigation policies. Permitting natural regeneration on 40% of lowland pastures potentially stores an additional 2.0 Pg C over 40 years. Our study provides information and maps to guide national-level forest-based carbon mitigation plans on the basis of estimated rates of natural regeneration and pasture abandonment. Coupled with avoided deforestation and sustainable forest management, natural regeneration of second-growth forests provides a low-cost mechanism that yields a high carbon sequestration potential with multiple benefits for biodiversity and ecosystem services.
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| 9. |
- Cortés-Calderón, Sofía, et al.
(författare)
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Ecosystem services supply and interactions along secondary tropical dry forests succession
- 2021
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Ingår i: Forest Ecology and Management. - : Elsevier BV. - 0378-1127 .- 1872-7042. ; 482
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Secondary forests will likely dominate future tropical landscapes, and the ecosystem services they provide to humanity will be particularly relevant. However, few empirical studies provide quantitative evidence of how the supply of ecosystem services change along secondary forest succession. The need for such information is particularly pressing for tropical dry forests because of their extensive global coverage and a high degree of disturbance. Here we examine the changes in the potential supply of ecosystem services and the interactions among them along secondary tropical dry forest succession for a site on the Mexican Pacific coast. Using data from a chronosequence of twelve sites followed over ten years, we characterized changes in five ecosystem services along a successional gradient from abandoned farmland to old-growth forests: forage, multiple forest resources, microclimate regulation, carbon storage and carbon sequestration. The long-term recovery trajectory for each service was modelled using linear and non-linear mixed models. Interactions among them were examined over different timeframes using Spearman correlations. The results showed rapid non-linear recovery of multiple forest resources provision, microclimate regulation and carbon storage within the first two decades of succession. Carbon sequestration increased slightly over time, while the supply of forage showed no clear trend. The strength of the interactions among pairs of services changed through successional time, being particularly higher in farmlands and old-growth forests. Our findings suggest that adaptive forest management practices that foster the natural regeneration of tropical dry forests are cost-effective mechanisms to recover the supply of critical ecosystem services for local actors by meeting their livelihood needs as well as those for the global community through climate change mitigation. Maintaining tropical dry forest resilience will highly depend on the maintenance of diversity in terms of species and ecosystem services.
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| 10. |
- Fischer, Joern, et al.
(författare)
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Advancing sustainability through mainstreaming a social–ecological systems perspective
- 2015
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Ingår i: Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. - : Elsevier BV. - 1877-3435 .- 1877-3443. ; 14, s. 144-149
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The concept of social-ecological systems is useful for understanding the interlinked dynamics of environmental and societal change. The concept has helped facilitate: (1) increased recognition of the dependence of humanity on ecosystems; (2) improved collaboration across disciplines, and between science and society; (3) increased methodological pluralism leading to improved systems understanding; and (4) major policy frameworks considering social-ecological interactions. Despite these advances, the potential of a social-ecological systems perspective to improve sustainability outcomes has not been fully realized. Key priorities are to: (1) better understand and govern social-ecological interactions between regions; (2) pay greater attention to long-term drivers; (3) better understand the interactions among power relations, justice, and ecosystem stewardship; and (4) develop a stronger science-society interface.
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