| 1. |
- Angeler, David
(författare)
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Convergence science in the Anthropocene: Navigating the known and unknown
- 2020
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Ingår i: People and nature - a journal of relational thinking. - : Wiley. - 2575-8314. ; 2, s. 96-102
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- 1. Rapidly changing ecological and social systems currently pose significant societal challenges. Navigating the complexity of social-ecological change requires ap-proaches able to cope with, and potentially solve, both foreseen and unforeseen societal challenges. 2. The emergent field of convergence addresses the intricacies of such challenges, and is thus relevant to a broad range of interdisciplinary issues. 3. This paper suggests a way to conceptualize convergence research. It discusses how it relates to two major societal challenges (adaptation, transformation), and to the generation of policy-relevant science. It also points out limitations to the further development of convergence research.
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| 2. |
- Axelsson, Petter
(författare)
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Symphony for the native wood(s): Global reforestation as an opportunity to develop a culture of conservation
- 2022
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Ingår i: People and Nature. - : Wiley. - 2575-8314. ; 4, s. 576-587
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- 1. The stewardship of forests across multiple human generations has potential to lead to cultural innovations fostering sustainable uses. Nevertheless, positive culture-nature interactions are often disrupted due to colonial exploitation and a lack of intrinsic value ascribed to nature in capitalist economies. There is global recognition that restoring degraded ecosystems is critical to promote the welfare of people and nature by reducing the negative impacts of global climate change and diminishing biodiversity. However, with a focus on technical remedies, restoration and reforestation efforts generally fail to address the root causes of ecosystem degradation.2. In this perspective paper, we call for explicit incorporation of cultural values into global reforestation efforts. We focus on music as a cultural ecosystem service as music has been a prominent part of human history with clear sociological and psychological attributes that may invite mass interest and participation. We illustrate the value of musical linkages via three case studies from Europe, Africa and Hawaii focusing on native tree species, their wood, musical ecology and their interaction with culture.3. We show that multi-generational stewardship of native ecosystems in Europe has allowed the refinement of the violin to its current form, one that is culturally significant for millions of people and has created a multi-million dollar industry. This development stems from a 500-year tradition of craftsmanship handed down across generations and illustrates that ecocultural interactions can be a strong dynamo for development of unique commodities.4. In contrast, in regions where extirpation of native plant species was used as a deliberate colonization strategy, many ecocultural linkages face risk of extinction. Our case studies from Africa and Hawaii illustrate how native tree species of particular value for musical expression were nearly lost and along with loss of music, important cultural connections to nature.5. In the context of restoration, there is also evidence that music-based linkages can revitalize nature-culture interactions and promote restoration of native ecosystems. Incorporating native trees in global reforestation efforts is critical for ensuring that reforestation efforts capture the synergies needed for developing new ideologies that promote the well-being of co-dependent humans and all life.
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| 3. |
- Barnes, Michele L., et al.
(författare)
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'Bunkering down' : How one community is tightening social-ecological network structures in the face of global change
- 2022
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Ingår i: People and Nature. - : Wiley. - 2575-8314. ; 4:4, s. 1032-1048
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Complex networks of relationships among and between people and nature (social-ecological networks) play an important role in sustainability; yet, we have limited empirical understanding of their temporal dynamics.We empirically examine the evolution of a social-ecological network in a common-pool resource system faced with escalating social and environmental change over the past two decades.We first draw on quantitative and qualitative data collected between 2002 and 2018 in a Papua New Guinean reef fishing community to provide contextual evidence regarding the extent of social and environmental change being experienced. We then develop a temporal multilevel exponential random graph model using complete social-ecological network data, collected in 2016 and 2018, to test key hypotheses regarding how fishing households have adapted their social ties in this context of change given their relationships with reef resources (i.e. social-ecological ties). Specifically, we hypothesized that households will increasingly form tight-knit, bonding social and social-ecological network structures (H1 and H3, respectively) with similar others (H2), and that they will seek out resourceful actors with specialized knowledge that can promote learning and spur innovation (H4).Our results depict a community that is largely ‘bunkering down’ and looking inward in response to mounting risk to resource-dependent livelihoods and a breakdown in the collaborative processes that traditionally sustained them. Community members are increasingly choosing to interact with others more like themselves (H2), with friends of friends (H1), and with those connected to interdependent ecological resources (H3)—in other words, they are showing a strong, increasing preference for forming bonding social-ecological network structures and interacting with like-minded, similar others. We did not find strong support for H4.Bonding network structures may decrease the risk associated with unmonitored behaviour and help to build trust, thereby increasing the probability of sustaining cooperation over time. Yet, increasing homophily and bonding ties can stifle innovation, reducing the ability to adapt to changing conditions. It can also lead to clustering, creating fault lines in the network, which can negatively impact the community's ability to mobilize and agree on/enforce social norms, which are key for managing common resources.
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| 4. |
- Barraclough, Alicia D., et al.
(författare)
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Global knowledge-action networks at the frontlines of sustainability : Insights from five decades of science for action in UNESCO's World Network of biosphere reserves
- 2023
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Ingår i: People and Nature. - 2575-8314. ; 5:5, s. 1430-1444
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- 1. Generating actionable knowledge to meet current sustainability challenges re- quires unprecedented collaboration across scales, geographies, cultures and knowledges. Intergovernmental programmes and place -based knowledge- action networks have much potential to mobilize sustainability transformation. Although many research fields have benefited from research networks and comparative sites, the potential of site -based research networks for generating knowledge at the people- nature interface has yet to be fully explored.2. This article presents the World Network of biosphere reserves (WNBR) of UNESCO's Man and Biosphere Programme, intentionally established for generating actionable knowledge through comparative sites envisioned as learning spaces for sustainable development. Drawing on experiences over five decades, and we offer six categories of insights. Our intent is to share the story of this network widely, distil the learnings from the network to enhance its potential to support both knowledge coproduction and collaborative action for sustainability and inform wider efforts to establish place -based sustainability networks aimed at improving human- environment relations through knowledge and action.3. The WNBR has generated insights on the challenges of creating and supporting an international and inter-governmental sustainability network to generate and mobilize place -based interdisciplinary knowledge in the long term. Despite the challenges, site-and place -based research facilitated by this network has been fundamental in creating space for sustainability science, knowledge coproduction and transdisciplinary research at the human- nature interface.4. We share insights on pathways to the implementation of global sustainability agendas through local networks, and the role of research in supporting learning and experimentation in local sites as they work to adapt global sustainability goals. Research in the WNBR has generated deeper understanding on social- ecological complexity and resilience in place -based sustainability initiatives, and how collaborative platforms might facilitate collective action across landscapes. The network continues to offer a fundamental learning space on operationalizing pluralistic approaches to biodiversity conservation, for example, through its focus on biocultural diversity, offering a key opportunity for the implementation of the post -2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.5. We conclude by arguing that WNBR, and similar place -based knowledge- action networks, can support interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research related to human- nature relationships and provide opportunities for comparative research that may yield more explanatory power than individual case studies.
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| 5. |
- Beery, Thomas, et al.
(författare)
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Disconnection from nature : Expanding our understanding of human–nature relations
- 2023
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Ingår i: People and Nature. - : Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd. - 2575-8314. ; 5:2, s. 470-488
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The human relationship with nature is a topic that has been explored throughout human history. More recently, the idea of connection to nature has merged as an important transdisciplinary field of study. Despite increased scholarly attention to connection to nature, the notion of disconnection from nature remains undertheorized and understudied. In this perspective article, we argue for a more comprehensive understanding of disconnection from nature to strengthen theories of human-nature relationships that goes beyond individual relationships and considers social and collective factors of disconnection, including institutional, socio-cultural and power dimensions. Drawing on case insights, we present the ‘wheel of disconnection’ to illustrate how disconnections from nature manifest across individual or societal meaning-making processes, thereby problematizing existing research that seeks to create dualisms between human positive and negative impacts on the environment in isolation from cultural or political contexts. We do not seek to discount research or important practical efforts to foster an individual's connection to nature by elevating disconnection. Instead, we hope that creating greater awareness and understanding of disconnection will be able to guide opportunities going forward for strengthening a connection to nature along a continuum from the individual to the social. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
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| 6. |
- Blenckner, Thorsten, et al.
(författare)
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The Baltic Health Index (BHI): Assessing the social-ecological status of the Baltic Sea
- 2021
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Ingår i: People and Nature. - : Wiley. - 2575-8314. ; 3:2, s. 359-375
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Improving the health of coastal and open sea marine ecosystems represents a substantial challenge for sustainable marine resource management, since it requires balancing human benefits and impacts on the ocean. This challenge is often exacerbated by incomplete knowledge and lack of tools that measure ocean and coastal ecosystem health in a way that allows consistent monitoring of progress towards predefined management targets. The lack of such tools often limits capabilities to enact and enforce effective governance. We introduce the Baltic Health Index (BHI) as a transparent, collaborative and repeatable assessment tool. The Index complements existing, more ecological-oriented, approaches by including a human dimension on the status of the Baltic Sea, an ecosystem impacted by multiple anthropogenic pressures and governed by a multitude of comprehensive national and international policies. Using a large amount of social-ecological data available, we assessed the health of the Baltic Sea for nine goals that represent the status towards set targets, for example, clean waters, biodiversity, food provision, natural products extraction and tourism. Our results indicate that the overall health of the Baltic Sea is suboptimal (a score of 76 out of 100), and a substantial effort is required to reach the management objectives and associated targets. Subregionally, the lowest BHI scores were measured for carbon storage, contaminants and lasting special places (i.e. marine protected areas), albeit with large spatial variation. Overall, the likely future status of all goals in the BHI averaged for the entire Baltic Sea is better than the present status, indicating a positive trend towards a healthier Baltic Sea. However, in some Baltic Sea basins, the trend for specific goals was decreasing, highlighting locations and issues that should be the focus of management priorities. The BHI outcomes can be used to identify both pan-Baltic and subregional scale management priorities and to illustrate the interconnectedness between goals linked by cumulative pressures. Hence, the information provided by the BHI tool and its further development will contribute towards the fulfilment of the UN Agenda 2030 and its Sustainability Development Goals. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
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| 7. |
- Bodin, Örjan, et al.
(författare)
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The impacts of trust, cost and risk on collaboration in environmental governance
- 2020
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Ingår i: People and Nature. - : Wiley. - 2575-8314. ; 2:3, s. 734-749
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- 1. Collaborative approaches to environmental governance are drawing increased interest in research and practice. In this article we investigate the structure and functioning of actor networks engaged in collaboration.2. We specifically seek to advance understanding of how and why collaborative networks are formed as actors engage in addressing two broad classes of collective action problems: coordination and cooperation. It has been proposed that more risk-prone cooperative problems favour denser and more cohesive bonding network structures, whereas less risky coordination problems favour sparser and more centralized bridging structures.3. Recent empirical findings, however, cast some doubts on these assumptions. In building on previous work we propose and evaluate a set of propositions in order to remedy these ambiguities. Our propositions build on the assumption that bridging structures could, if actors experience sufficient levels of trust in the collaborative process, adequately support both cooperation and coordination problems.4. Our empirical investigation of four UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserves gives initial support for our assumptions, and suggests that bridging structures emerge when actors have trust in the collaborative endeavour, and/or when the cost of collaborative failure is deemed low. While caution is warranted due to data limitations, our findings contribute to improved policies and guidelines on how to stimulate and facilitate more effective collaborative approaches to environmental governance. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article
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| 8. |
- Bowler, D. E., et al.
(författare)
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Mapping human pressures on biodiversity across the planet uncovers anthropogenic threat complexes
- 2020
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Ingår i: People and Nature. - : Wiley. - 2575-8314. ; 2:2, s. 380-394
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Climate change and other anthropogenic drivers of biodiversity change are unequally distributed across the world. Overlap in the distributions of different drivers have important implications for biodiversity change attribution and the potential for interactive effects. However, the spatial relationships among different drivers and whether they differ between the terrestrial and marine realm has yet to be examined. We compiled global gridded datasets on climate change, land-use, resource exploitation, pollution, alien species potential and human population density. We used multivariate statistics to examine the spatial relationships among the drivers and to characterize the typical combinations of drivers experienced by different regions of the world. We found stronger positive correlations among drivers in the terrestrial than in the marine realm, leading to areas with high intensities of multiple drivers on land. Climate change tended to be negatively correlated with other drivers in the terrestrial realm (e.g. in the tundra and boreal forest with high climate change but low human use and pollution), whereas the opposite was true in the marine realm (e.g. in the Indo-Pacific with high climate change and high fishing). We show that different regions of the world can be defined by Anthropogenic Threat Complexes (ATCs), distinguished by different sets of drivers with varying intensities. We identify 11 ATCs that can be used to test hypotheses about patterns of biodiversity and ecosystem change, especially about the joint effects of multiple drivers. Our global analysis highlights the broad conservation priorities needed to mitigate the impacts of anthropogenic change, with different priorities emerging on land and in the ocean, and in different parts of the world. Abstrakt Der Klimawandel und andere anthropogene Faktoren, die die biologische Vielfalt verandern, betreffen nicht alle Teile der Erde in gleicher Weise. Wahrend unsere Kenntnisse zu jedem einzelnen Gefahrdungsfaktor standig wachsen, ist unser Verstandnis zu den raumlichen Beziehungen zwischen den verschiedenen Faktoren und ihr Zusammenwirken noch sehr mangelhaft. Das betrifft z.B. auch die Unterschiede zwischen terrestrischen und marinen Lebensraumen, die sehr unterschiedlichen Bedrohungen ausgesetzt sein konnen, selbst wenn sie eng benachbart sind. In der vorliegenden Studie haben wir globale Datensatze uber Klimawandel, Landnutzung, Ressourcenausbeutung, Umweltverschmutzung, biologische Invasionen und Bevolkerungsdichte zusammengestellt. Mit Hilfe multivariater Statistiken haben wir die raumlichen Beziehungen zwischen diesen Ursachen des globalen Biodiversitatswandels und deren Kombinationen untersucht, um deren Einfluss auf verschiedene Regionen der Welt zu charakterisieren. Insbesondere in den terrestrischen Regionen wirken die genannten Gefahrdungsfaktoren haufig in der gleichen Richtung, vor allem solche, die zum Teil besonders hohe Belastungen darstellen. Regionen mit starker ausgepragtem Klimawandel sind tendenziell solche Gebiete, in denen die Gefahrdung durch andere Faktoren eher geringer ist, wie z.B. in der Tundra und im borealen Nadelwald, die stark vom Klimawandel, aber weniger von hoher Nutzungsintensitat und Verschmutzung betroffen sind. Dagegen treten in den Meeresregionen gegenteilige Muster auf, wo z.B. im Indopazifik ein sehr ausgepragter Klimawandel einer hoher Ressourcenausbeutung durch Fischerei zusammenfallt. Die Regionen der Welt lassen sich in Klassen unterschiedlicher Interaktionen und Intensitaten dieser anthropogenen Gefahrungsfaktoren unterteilen. Diese insgesamt 11 verschiedene Faktorenklassen konnen nun dazu verwendet werden, Auswirkungen auf Biodiversitat zu untersuchen und die Gefahrdungs-Hotspots zu identifizieren. Diese Hotspots sind diejenigen gro ss raumigen Meeres- und Festlandsregionen, in denen prioritar Naturschutzma ss nahmen angewendet werden mussen, um den Auswirkungen des anthropogenen Biodiversitatswandels entgegenzutreten. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
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| 9. |
- Chan, Kai M. A., et al.
(författare)
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Levers and leverage points for pathways to sustainability
- 2020
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Ingår i: People and Nature. - : Wiley. - 2575-8314. ; 2:3, s. 693-717
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- 1. Humanity is on a deeply unsustainable trajectory. We are exceeding planetary boundaries and unlikely to meet many international sustainable development goals and global environmental targets. Until recently, there was no broadly accepted framework of interventions that could ignite the transformations needed to achieve these desired targets and goals.2. As a component of the IPBES Global Assessment, we conducted an iterative expert deliberation process with an extensive review of scenarios and pathways to sustainability, including the broader literature on indirect drivers, social change and sustainability transformation. We asked, what are the most important elements of pathways to sustainability?3. Applying a social-ecological systems lens, we identified eight priority points for intervention (leverage points) and five overarching strategic actions and priority interventions (levers), which appear to be key to societal transformation. The eight leverage points are: (1) Visions of a good life, (2) Total consumption and waste, (3) Latent values of responsibility, (4) Inequalities, (5) Justice and inclusion in conservation, (6) Externalities from trade and other telecouplings, (7) Responsible technology, innovation and investment, and (8) Education and knowledge generation and sharing. The five intertwined levers can be applied across the eight leverage points and more broadly. These include: (A) Incentives and capacity building, (B) Coordination across sectors and jurisdictions, (C) Pre-emptive action, (D) Adaptive decision-making and (E) Environmental law and implementation. The levers and leverage points are all non-substitutable, and each enables others, likely leading to synergistic benefits.4. Transformative change towards sustainable pathways requires more than a simple scaling-up of sustainability initiatives-it entails addressing these levers and leverage points to change the fabric of legal, political, economic and other social systems. These levers and leverage points build upon those approved within the Global Assessment's Summary for Policymakers, with the aim of enabling leaders in government, business, civil society and academia to spark transformative changes towards a more just and sustainable world.
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| 10. |
- Dajka, Jan-Claas, et al.
(författare)
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Red and green loops help uncover missing feedbacks in a coral reef social-ecological system
- 2020
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Ingår i: People and Nature. - : Wiley. - 2575-8314. ; 2:3, s. 608-618
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Social-ecological systems (SES) exhibit complex cause-and-effect relationships. Capturing, interpreting, and responding to signals that indicate changes in ecosystems is key for sustainable management in SES. Breaks in this signal-response chain, when feedbacks are missing, will allow change to continue until a point when abrupt ecological surprises may occur. In these situations, societies and local ecosystems can often become uncoupled. In this paper, we demonstrate how the red loop-green loop (RL-GL) concept can be used to uncover missing feedbacks and to better understand past social-ecological dynamics. Reinstating these feedbacks in order to recouple the SES may ultimately create more sustainable systems on local scales. The RL-GL concept can uncover missing feedbacks through the characterization of SES dynamics along a spectrum of human resource dependence. Drawing on diverse qualitative and quantitative data sources, we classify SES dynamics throughout the history of Jamaican coral reefs along the RL-GL spectrum. We uncover missing feedbacks in red-loop and red-trap scenarios from around the year 600 until now. The Jamaican coral reef SES dynamics have moved between all four dynamic states described in the RL-GL concept: green loop, green trap, red loop and red trap. We then propose mechanisms to guide the current unsustainable red traps back to more sustainable green loops, involving mechanisms of seafood trade and ecological monitoring. By gradually moving away from seafood exports, Jamaica may be able to return to green-loop dynamics between the local society and their locally sourced seafood. We discuss the potential benefits and drawbacks of this proposed intervention and give indications of why an export ban may insure against future missing feedbacks and could prolong the sustainability of the Jamaican coral reef ecosystem. Our approach demonstrates how the RL-GL approach can uncover missing feedbacks in a coral reef SES, a way the concept has not been used before. We advocate for how the RL-GL concept in a feedback setting can be used to synthesize various types of data and to gain an understanding of past, present and future sustainability that can be applied in diverse social-ecological settings. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
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