| 1. |
- Frawley, Timothy H., et al.
(författare)
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Self-governance mediates small-scale fishing strategies, vulnerability and adaptive response
- 2024
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Ingår i: Global Environmental Change. - 0959-3780 .- 1872-9495. ; 84
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- As global change accelerates, natural resource-dependent communities must respond and adapt. Small-scale fisheries, essential for coastal livelihoods and food security, are considered among the most vulnerable of these coupled social-ecological systems. While previous studies have examined vulnerability and adaptation in fisheries at the individual, household, and community level, these scales of organization are inconsistent with many of the legal and regulatory frameworks that function in practice to mediate behavior, decision-making, and adaptation. Here, we use cooperative- and privately-owned fishing enterprises in Northwest Mexico as a case study to examine how different forms of marine self-governance experience and respond to climate shocks. Leveraging social-ecological network methods to examine changes in fisheries participation and vulnerability during a recent period of pronounced regional oceanographic change, our analysis suggests that: 1) different forms of SSF self-governance (and the fishing strategies and harvest portfolios with which they are associated) help determine the impacts of and response to environmental change; and 2) that there may be important tradeoffs between short-term responses which function to prevent or mitigate lost fishing revenue and long-term changes in climate vulnerability. In particular large fishing cooperatives, predicted to be highly vulnerable on the basis of network theoretic metrics, exceeded expectations (maintaining or increasing resource revenues) while demonstrating a degree of path dependency that may function to increase sensitivity and undermine resilience as climate change progresses. In providing an empirical evaluation of how self-governance arrangements characterized by different group sizes, access regimes and levels of cooperation respond to system perturbation, we aim to advance common pool resource theory while offering targeted guidance for the development of more nuanced and equitable climate adaptation policies.
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| 2. |
- González García-Mon, Blanca, 1993-
(författare)
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Harvesting from land and sea : Social relationships, trade networks, and spatial connectivity in changing social-ecological systems
- 2022
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In the era of global change, the connectivity of aquatic and terrestrial food production systems across spatial scales is increasing. At the same time, diverse actors that participate in food systems, from production to consumption, face the need to adapt their daily activities to an increasingly changing context. This thesis aims to better understand actors’ responses to social or environmental changes in food systems that are characterized by their cross-scale dynamics and social-ecological interactions. The four papers that constitute this thesis address this overarching aim by investigating two processes that are important in responding to changes and creating spatial connectivity between geographical locations: trade (Papers I-III), and spatial diversification or actor’s geographical mobility (Paper IV). The papers analyze fisheries and agricultural systems in Mexico and South Africa, using interview-based data collection and analysis, network analysis, agent-based modeling, and combinations of these methods. Papers I-III specifically examine how trade networks, which are embedded in social relationships and networks that operate across spatial scales, can influence the responses of food system actors to multiple types of changes. Paper I shows that trade relationships across fisheries and agricultural systems are generally embedded in stable business relationships characterized by reciprocity. Paper II finds that different trade network structures in a multi-species Mexican fishery can buffer changes in fish availability and create cascading effects between different species and geographical regions. Paper III describes four types of social networks consisting of relationships within and across scales that enable responding to multiple types of changes in a South African agricultural trade network. Paper IV identifies potential factors, such as environmental changes, that could influence changes in fisheries actors’ spatial diversification observed in Mexico. The thesis contributes to social-ecological systems research with theoretical insights regarding the embeddedness of trade networks in multidimensional social relationships within and across scales, where diverse types of social relationships and networks can influence fishing and farming practices. In addition, it highlights that spatial and temporal heterogeneity can have a key role in responses to changes based on spatial connectivity. Finally, the mixed-method methodology applied in this thesis enables simultaneously analyzing networks and processes in social-ecological systems, while illustrating the challenges and opportunities of method integration.
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| 3. |
- González-Mon, Blanca, 1993-
(författare)
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Cross-scale mechanisms and adaptation strategies in Small-Scale Fisheries
- 2020
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF) are increasingly facing shocks and changes that affect their capacity to provide food and maintain the livelihoods of millions of people who depend on fishing activities. At the same time, SSF influence and are influenced by interactions across scales, where interdependencies between different places are increasingly evident. In this context, there is a need to better understand actors’ adaptation to such changes, explicitly considering actors that participate in post-harvesting activities and their associated cross-scale interactions. This licentiate thesis aims to understand cross-scale mechanisms that influence the adaptation strategies of SSF actors to environmental changes. The first manuscript (Paper I), contributes towards understanding the spatial diversification (or the mobility of fisheries actors across space) in response to environmental changes. The second manuscript (Paper II), investigates how local trade networks can influence the resilience of fish provision at the individual and the system level. Both manuscripts analyze the influence of the social and social- ecological context in which SSF actors are embedded. They address the effect of fisheries institutions and policies (Paper I), and of the social-ecological network structures in which trading takes place (i.e. local trade networks in Paper II). To investigate these cross-scale mechanisms, I use a combination of methods consisting of network analysis and agent-based modelling, grounded in qualitative empirical research of the case study of Baja California Sur, Mexico. Such combination of structural and dynamic research approaches, with the understanding of a single case study, allows to untangle and interrogate how structures and mechanisms interact in SSF. The results of the two manuscripts describe cross-scale mechanisms in SSF to investigate actors’ adaptation strategies to different environmental changes. They show how such adaptation can create interdependencies between different places, which may ultimately influence outcomes associated to the resilience of SSF at different scales. In addition, the results show how institutions, social and social-ecological relationships can play an important role in influencing the capacities of small-scale fishery actors to adapt to environmental changes. In this way, this licentiate contributes to the cross-scale understanding of small-scale food production systems from a social-ecological perspective.
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| 4. |
- González-Mon, Blanca, 1993-, et al.
(författare)
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Fish provision in a changing environment : The buffering effect of regional trade networks
- 2021
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 16:12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Local and regional trade networks in small-scale fisheries are important for food security and livelihoods across the world. Such networks consist of both economic flows and social relationships, which connect different production regions to different types of fish demand. The structure of such trade networks, and the actions that take place within them (e.g., people fishing, buying, selling), can influence the capacity of small-scale fisheries to provide sufficient fish in a changing social and ecological context. In this study, we aim to understand the importance of networks between different types of traders that access spatially-distinct fish stocks for the availability and variability of fish provision. We deployed a mixed-methods approach, combining agent-based modelling, network analysis and qualitative data from a small-scale fishery in Baja California Sur, Mexico. The empirical data allowed us to investigate the trade processes that occur within trade networks; and the generation of distinct, empirically-informed network structures. Formalized in an agent-based model, these network structures enable analysis of how different trade networks affect the dynamics of fish provision and the exploitation level of fish stocks. Model results reveal how trade strategies based on social relationships and species diversification can lead to spillover effects between fish species and fishing regions. We found that the proportion of different trader types and their spatial connectivity have the potential to increase fish provision. However, they can also increase overexploitation depending on the specific connectivity patterns and trader types. Moreover, increasing connectivity generally leads to positive outcomes for some individual traders, but this does not necessarily imply better outcomes at the system level. Overall, our model provides an empirically-grounded, stylized representation of a fisheries trading system, and reveals important trade-offs that should be considered when evaluating the potential effect of future changes in regional trade networks.
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| 5. |
- González-Mon, Blanca, 1993-, et al.
(författare)
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Small-scale fisheries and agricultural trade networks are socially embedded : emerging hypotheses about responses to environmental changes
- 2023
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Ingår i: Ecology & Society. - 1708-3087. ; 28:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Global change is threatening the production and livelihoods of millions of smallholders. The capacity of smallholders to deal with such changes is influenced by the increasingly complex trade networks that connect them to local and global markets. Moreover, the social relationships (e.g., trust, reciprocity) in which these trade networks are embedded likely influence smallholders' capacity to respond to change. However, the prevalence and influence of such social embeddedness of trading across different fisheries and agricultural small-scale food systems is still largely unknown. Here, we characterize the social embeddedness of trade networks in small-scale food systems across different production and institutional contexts. We then explore how actors in small-scale food systems could respond to environmental changes in relation to their existing trade networks. We used a methodology based on the qualitative comparison of three different case studies of small-scale fisheries and agriculture in Mexico and South Africa. We analyzed and compared expert interviews among case studies and against the backdrop of embeddedness theory and a previous empirical study. We found key similarities in the level of social embeddedness of trade networks across cases. For example, business relationships characterized by stability and trust prevailed, whereby smallholders are often interdependent through networks of connected traders. There were also differences across cases, such as the higher formalization of business relationships in the agricultural cases, and the influence of institutional and country-specific factors on trade structures. Actors mostly responded to environmental change based on their existing trade networks, although these networks were also subject to change. The findings allowed us to propose more detailed hypotheses outlining how social embeddedness in trade networks play different roles in responding to environmental changes. These hypotheses aim to inspire future research toward the improved understanding of trade networks' influence on small-scale food systems' resilience.
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| 6. |
- González-Mon, Blanca, 1993-, et al.
(författare)
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Small-scale fisheries and agricultural trade networks are socially embedded: emerging hypotheses about responses to environmental changes
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The prevalence of diverse and embedded social- and trade relationships connecting producers to consumers has been widely recognized across fisheries and agricultural small-scale food systems (SSFS). How this embeddedness influences the ability of smallholders to deal with environmental change is still largely unknown. This is particularly troublesome in the context of global change which is threatening the production and livelihoods of millions of smallholders around the world. In this study, we characterize SSFSs trade networks concerning their social embeddedness across different contexts and then explore how SSFSs’ actors at different scales could respond to environmental changes. We apply a comparative research design based on four different case studies of small-scale fisheries and agriculture in Mexico and South Africa. Building from embeddedness theory, we find key similarities in the level of social embeddedness of trade relationships across cases. For example, stable socially impregnated trade prevails, including horizontal relationships amongst actors connected to smallholders, as opposed to solely spot market-based relationships connecting producers with consumers through vertical relationships. Still, there are differences across cases, such as the higher formalization of business relationships in the agriculture cases and the influence of institutional and country-specific factors on the trade structures. In responding to environmental change, actors mostly respond based on their existing trade relationships, although these relationships are also subject to change. These findings allowed us to propose four hypotheses outlining how social embeddedness in trade networks plays a role in responding to environmental changes and, in particular, how socially embedded trade relationships can be both beneficial and burdensome.
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| 7. |
- González-Mon, Blanca, 1993-, et al.
(författare)
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Spatial diversification as a mechanism to adapt to environmental changes in small-scale fisheries
- 2021
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Ingår i: Environmental Science and Policy. - : Elsevier BV. - 1462-9011 .- 1873-6416. ; 116, s. 246-257
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Small-scale fisheries’ actors increasingly face new challenges, including climate driven shifts in marine resource distribution and productivity. Diversification of target species and fishing locations is a key mechanism to adapt to such changes and maintain fisheries livelihoods. Here we explore environmental and institutional factors mediating how patterns of spatial diversification (i.e., utilization of alternative fishing grounds) and target species diversification change over time. Using small-scale fisheries in Baja California Sur (Mexico) as a case study, we adopt a social-ecological network approach to conduct a spatially explicit analysis of fisheries landings data (2008–2016). This approach quantifies relative patterns of diversification, and when combined with a qualitative analysis of existing literature, enables us to illuminate institutional and environmental factors that may influence diversification strategies. Our results indicate that interannual changes in spatial diversification are correlated with regional oceanographic change, while illustrating the heterogeneity and dynamism of diversification strategies. Rather than acting in isolation, we hypothesize that environmental drivers likely operate in combination with existing fisheries regulations and local socioeconomic context to mediate spatial diversification. We argue that small-scale fisheries policies need to better account such linkages as we move towards an increasingly variable environment. Overall, our results highlight spatial diversification as a dynamic process and constitute an important step towards understanding and managing the complex mechanisms through which environmental changes affect small-scale fisheries.
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| 8. |
- González-Mon, Blanca, 1993-, et al.
(författare)
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The importance of cross-scale social relationships for dealing with social-ecological change in agricultural supply chains
- 2024
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Ingår i: Journal of Rural Studies. - 0743-0167 .- 1873-1392. ; 105
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Agricultural systems are important for the livelihoods and food security of millions of people. These systems are increasingly interconnected across scales and face challenges in responding to multiple, and coalescing types of environmental, social, and economic change. Most studies on how actors respond to change have focused on farmers and farming communities. In this study, we investigate the connectivity of farming systems to markets, to understand how social relationships across the supply chain influence how actors respond to multiple types of changes. We used a participatory network mapping method to interview actors across a fruit supply chain in the Western Cape, South Africa, that is connected to both global and national markets. We identified droughts, climatic variations, changes related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and other social shifts as the most important changes affecting the production and trade of fruit in this region. We also identified three types of responses to these changes: i) responses concerning the dynamics of trade relationships (e.g., changing or maintaining trade relationships); ii) responses based on changes at the individual level (e.g., changes in farm management); and iii) responses based on social relationships (categorized into four types, namely collaboration, knowledge transfer, financial assistance, and marketing coordination). Within these four types, we found that different types of social networks, that include actors operating at different scales and within and outside of supply chains, mediate responses to change. We also found that networks of collaboration, knowledge exchange and financial assistance show a positive correlation, where actors with an export orientation engage in multiple social relationships that enable responding to changes. However, we found limited participation of local market actors in most of these networks. Further investigating these social networks, and the actors participating in them, is essential to better understand and anticipate how and why agricultural systems respond to multiple types of changes, ultimately influencing their trajectory in an increasingly changing world.
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| 9. |
- González-Mon, Blanca, 1993-, et al.
(författare)
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The role of cross-scale social relationships for responding to changes in agricultural systems
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Agricultural systems are important for the livelihoods and food security of millions of people. At the same time, these systems are increasingly interconnected across scales and face the challenge of responding to multiple, and coalescing types of environmental, social, and economic changes. Previous studies investigated such responses to changes placing the focus on farmers and farming communities. In this study, we investigate the connectivity of farming systems to markets with the aim to understand the role of social relationships across the supply chain to influence responses to multiple types of changes. To this end, we conducted interviews with actors across a fruit supply chain in the Western Cape, South Africa, connected to global and national markets, using a participatory network mapping method. The most important changes mentioned affecting the production and trade of fruit in this region included: droughts, climatic changes, changes related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and other social changes. We identified three types of responses to these changes: i) responses concerning the dynamics of trade relationships (e.g., changing or maintaining trade relationships); ii) responses based on changes at the individual level (e.g., changes in farm management); and iii) responses based on social relationships (collaboration, knowledge transfer, financial assistance, and marketing coordination). Building on these four types of social relationships, we found that different social networks mediate responses to changes. These social networks include actors internal and external to the supply chains operating within and across scales. Networks of collaboration, knowledge exchange, and financial assistance show a positive correlation, where actors with an export orientation engage in multiple social relationships that enable responding to changes. However, we found limited participation of local market actors in these networks, besides their role in responses based on marketing coordination. Exploring these social networks and the actors participating in them could be essential to better understand and anticipate how and why agricultural systems respond to multiple types of changes, ultimately influencing their trajectory in an increasingly changing context.
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| 10. |
- Käll, Sofia, et al.
(författare)
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Social embeddedness of fisheries trade : What can we learn for improved market interventions towards sustainability?
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Efforts to drive a transformation towards sustainability in fisheries production have increasingly been characterized by market-based approaches, such as certifications, ratings, traceability schemes and Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs). These approaches are often based on the assumption that economic gain and business demand for sustainable seafood are enough to create change along the value chain, from producers to suppliers. Economic theories of rationality have dominated many market interventions, although these theories often do not hold up in reality. At the same time, non-economic aspects of markets are undervalued in the design of sustainable incentives, even though well-established social theories of embeddedness suggest market actors are in fact embedded in social relationships, institutions and culture, and that these filter and structure trade while also shaping actors’ economic behaviour and impact on the ecosystem. In this paper we provide a literature review of how the theory of social embeddedness has been applied in literature about fisheries trade. In light of the noted shortcomings, we argue that a wider acknowledgement and understanding of how economic behaviour is embedded within fisheries systems is necessary to modified and improve current market-based approaches. By analysing empirical insights from published case studies, and identifying and synthesizing key social structures that appear as particularly important for fisheries trade, we explore the social aspects of fishery trade that market-based approaches will likely need to consider and account for to improve their success. Our review shows that three aspects will likely to be particularly important to consider; i) the importance of social identity and structures (e.g., ethnicity) for trade relationships and market access; ii) different forms of trust and the roles it plays in influencing trade strategies; and iii) the importance of community as local norm-setting for trade and trade as community builder. We end with a discussion on how future research areas can promote better design of sustainability interventions.
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