| 1. |
- 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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| 2. |
- Bennett, Elena M., et al.
(författare)
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Bright spots : seeds of a good Anthropocene
- 2016
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. - : Wiley. - 1540-9295 .- 1540-9309. ; 14:8, s. 441-448
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The scale, rate, and intensity of humans' environmental impact has engendered broad discussion about how to find plausible pathways of development that hold the most promise for fostering a better future in the Anthropocene. However, the dominance of dystopian visions of irreversible environmental degradation and societal collapse, along with overly optimistic utopias and business-as-usual scenarios that lack insight and innovation, frustrate progress. Here, we present a novel approach to thinking about the future that builds on experiences drawn from a diversity of practices, worldviews, values, and regions that could accelerate the adoption of pathways to transformative change (change that goes beyond incremental improvements). Using an analysis of 100 initiatives, or seeds of a good Anthropocene, we find that emphasizing hopeful elements of existing practice offers the opportunity to: (1) understand the values and features that constitute a good Anthropocene, (2) determine the processes that lead to the emergence and growth of initiatives that fundamentally change human-environmental relationships, and (3) generate creative, bottom-up scenarios that feature well-articulated pathways toward a more positive future.
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| 3. |
- Biggs, Reinette, et al.
(författare)
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Regime Shifts
- 2011
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Ingår i: Sourcebook in Theoretical Ecology. - : University of California Press.
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 4. |
- Blasiak, Robert, et al.
(författare)
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The Ocean Decade as an instrument of peace
- 2023
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Ingår i: Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. - 1877-3435 .- 1877-3443. ; 64
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030 (the 'Ocean Decade') is poised to stimulate new cooperation for ocean science, but makes no mention of conflict or peace. We contend that this is a missed opportunity, and use an environmental peacebuilding typology to review how ocean science has historically contributed to peace. Such considerations are timely in the context of an increasingly complex and multidimensional ocean risk landscape, due among other things to unprecedented growth in the extent and intensity of ocean uses, and increasing conflict potential as the ocean becomes a more crowded and coveted place. We conclude by proposing the Ocean Decade Implementation Plan be appended to include an eighth intended outcome: 'A Peaceful Ocean'.
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| 5. |
- 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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| 6. |
- Castro, Antonio J., et al.
(författare)
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Applying Place-Based Social-Ecological Research to Address Water Scarcity : Insights for Future Research
- 2018
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Ingår i: Sustainability. - : MDPI AG. - 2071-1050. ; 10:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Globally, environmental and social change in water-scarce regions challenge the sustainability of social-ecological systems. WaterSES, a sponsored working group within the Program for Ecosystem Change and Society, explores and compares the social-ecological dynamics related to water scarcity across placed-based international research sites with contrasting local and regional water needs and governance, including research sites in Spain and Sweden in Europe, South Africa, China, and Alabama, Idaho, Oklahoma, and Texas in the USA. This paper aims to provide a commentary on insights into conducting future solutions-oriented research on water scarcity based on the understanding of the social-ecological dynamics of water scarce regions.
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| 7. |
- Crona, Beatrice I., et al.
(författare)
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Masked, diluted and drowned out : how global seafood trade weakens signals from marine ecosystems
- 2016
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Ingår i: Fish and Fisheries. - : Wiley. - 1467-2960 .- 1467-2979. ; 17:4, s. 1175-1182
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nearly 40% of seafood is traded internationally and an even bigger proportion is affected by international trade, yet scholarship on marine fisheries has focused on global trends in stocks and catches, or on dynamics of individual fisheries, with limited attention to the link between individual fisheries, global trade and distant consumers. This paper examines the usefulness of fish price as a feedback signal to consumers about the state of fisheries and marine ecosystems. We suggest that the current nature of fisheries systems and global markets prevent transmission of such price signals from source fisheries to consumers. We propose several mechanisms that combine to weaken price signals, and present one example - the North Sea cod - to show how these mechanisms can be tested. The lack of a reliable price feedback to consumers represents a challenge for sustainable fisheries governance. We therefore propose three complimentary approaches to address the missing feedback: (i) strengthening information flow through improved traceability and visibility of individual fishers to consumers, (ii) capitalizing on the changing seafood trade structures and (iii) bypassing and complementing market mechanisms by directly targeting citizens and political actors regarding marine environmental issues through publicity and information campaigns. These strategies each havelimitations and thus need to be pursued together to address the challenge of sustainability in global marine fisheries.
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| 8. |
- Cvitanovic, Chris, et al.
(författare)
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Building university-based boundary organisations that facilitate impacts on environmental policy and practice
- 2018
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 13:9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Responding to modern day environmental challenges for societal well-being and prosperity necessitates the integration of science into policy and practice. This has spurred the devel- opment of novel institutional structures among research organisations aimed at enhancing the impact of environmental science on policy and practice. However, such initiatives are seldom evaluated and even in cases where evaluations are undertaken, the results are rarely made publicly available. As such there is very little empirically grounded guidance available to inform other organisations in this regard. To help address this, the aim of this study is to evaluate the Baltic Eye Project at Stockholm University – a unique team consisting of researchers from different fields, science communicators, journalists and policy analysts – working collectively to support evidence-informed decision-making relating to the sustainable management of the Baltic Sea environment. Specifically, through qualitative interviews, we (1) identify the impacts achieved by the Baltic Eye Project; (2) understand the challenges and barriers experienced throughout the Baltic Eye Project; and (3) highlight the key features that are needed within research organisations to enhance the impact of science on policy and practice. Results show that despite only operating for three years, the Baltic Eye Project has achieved demonstrable impacts on a range of levels: impacts on policy and practice, impacts to individuals working within the organisation and impacts to the broader University. We also identify a range of barriers that have limited impacts to date, such as a lack of clear goals at the establishment of the Baltic Eye Project and existing metrics of aca- demic impact (e.g. number of publications). Finally, based on the experiences of employees at the Baltic Eye Project, we identify the key organisational, individual, financial, material, practical, political, and social features of university-based boundary organisations that have impact on policy and practice. In doing so this paper provides empirically-derived guidance to help other research organisations increase their capacity to achieve tangible impacts on environmental policy and practice.
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| 9. |
- Cvitanovic, Christopher, et al.
(författare)
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Maximising the benefits of participatory climate adaptation research by understanding and managing the associated challenges and risks
- 2019
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Ingår i: Environmental Science and Policy. - : Elsevier BV. - 1462-9011 .- 1873-6416. ; 94, s. 20-31
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Participatory research approaches are increasingly advocated as an effective means to produce usable climate adaptation science, and increase the likelihood that it will be beneficially incorporated into decision-making processes. However, while the implementation of participatory research approaches, such as those associated with knowledge co-production, have become increasingly commonplace, to date there has been little consideration given to the challenges and subsequent risks associated with their use. To start to address this gap we review the literature on participatory research in climate adaptation science. In doing so we identify and articulate several challenges, and subsequent risks, created by participatory research approaches to adaptation (i) science, (ii) scientists and scientific institutions, (iii) decision-makers and decision-making institutions and (iv) research funders. Based on this we identify seven strategies to help manage these challenges and reduce the associated risks: (a) choose participants carefully; (b) monitor team composition and adjust as necessary; (c) set clear expectations, and agreed conflict resolution mechanisms; (d) use different modes of scientific inquiry that can account for different knowledges and biases; (e) incorporate mechanisms for independent review at all stages of research; (f) reimagine professional development for adaptation researchers, and (g) ensure that appropriate institutional support is in place. These strategies can help to increase the likelihood that participatory research approaches will achieve their goal of generating knowledge that will help society successfully navigate modern day sustainability challenges, such as those posed by climate change.
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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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