| 1. |
- Clements, Harley S., et al.
(författare)
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The bii4africa dataset of faunal and floral population intactness estimates across Africa's major land uses
- 2024
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Ingår i: Scientific data. - 2052-4463. ; 11:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sub-Saharan Africa is under-represented in global biodiversity datasets, particularly regarding the impact of land use on species' population abundances. Drawing on recent advances in expert elicitation to ensure data consistency, 200 experts were convened using a modified-Delphi process to estimate 'intactness scores': the remaining proportion of an 'intact' reference population of a species group in a particular land use, on a scale from 0 (no remaining individuals) to 1 (same abundance as the reference) and, in rare cases, to 2 (populations that thrive in human-modified landscapes). The resulting bii4africa dataset contains intactness scores representing terrestrial vertebrates (tetrapods: ±5,400 amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals) and vascular plants (±45,000 forbs, graminoids, trees, shrubs) in sub-Saharan Africa across the region's major land uses (urban, cropland, rangeland, plantation, protected, etc.) and intensities (e.g., large-scale vs smallholder cropland). This dataset was co-produced as part of the Biodiversity Intactness Index for Africa Project. Additional uses include assessing ecosystem condition; rectifying geographic/taxonomic biases in global biodiversity indicators and maps; and informing the Red List of Ecosystems.
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| 2. |
- 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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| 3. |
- Malherbe, Willem, et al.
(författare)
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Comparing apples and pears : Linking capitals and capacities to assess the resilience of commercial farming operations
- 2024
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Ingår i: Agricultural Systems. - 0308-521X .- 1873-2267. ; 217
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- CONTEXT: As the concept of social-ecological resilience gains increasing policy attention, there is growing demand for approaches that operationalise it. Amongst these demands is the need to empirically assess absorptive, adaptive and transformative capacities that underpin resilience to better understand the ways in which social-ecological systems can navigate change and uncertainty.OBJECTIVE: We explore the application of a capitals approach for assessing resilience capacities, using an example of deciduous fruit farming operations in the Western Cape region of South Africa.METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted, thematically coded, and analysed using causal loop diagrams and co-occurrence analyses to identify changes experienced by farming operations, their responses to these changes, and the effects of both on capital resources. We then apply the criteria developed for the classification of resilience capacities.RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: A variety of changes affect farming operations at multiple points across the value chain, and have effects across capital resources. Most significant to farmers are changes which impact the amount of water available and the cashflow they require to sustain their operations. The most common responses employed by farmers consisted of activities which either increase the availability of an affected resource, or decrease its demand in order to maintain the same functions (adaptive capacity). In fewer cases, farming operations were able to absorb the depletion of their capital resources due to pre-emptive management (absorptive capacity). In similarly few cases, the potential or realised resource deficiencies caused by changes were either corrected or decoupled from the farming operation through structural reorganisation towards a different or additional function and types of output being delivered (transformative capacity). Evidence of changes being anticipated prior to their onset were also identified, leading to responses which are used in conjunction with the preceding three capacities.SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings suggest that the criteria we developed for classifying resilience capacities offer a useful means of operationalising resilience. In particular, the approach we pilot in this paper enables the application of a systems perspective to identify interactions between changes and responses, which broadens the options for identifying management strategies and interventions. The approach we propose can be used to identify key leverage points to strengthen the capacities of vulnerable farmers. Further work is required to integrate consideration of cross-scale effects of farm-scale resilience strategies on the broader social-ecological system.
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| 4. |
- Manyani, Amanda, et al.
(författare)
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The evolution of social-ecological systems (SES) research : a co-authorship and co-citation network analysis
- 2024
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Ingår i: Ecology and Society. - 1708-3087. ; 29:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Social-ecological systems (SES) research has gained substantial momentum, as witnessed by the growth in SES publications, theories, and frameworks, and the traction these concepts have gained in development and policy arenas. However, the growth and development of the SES field has only been partially examined, which limits our ability to make sense of and support the future development of the field and its ability to inform pressing sustainability challenges. The aim of this study is to understand how SES research has grown and changed over time as a field of study using bibliometric methods, co-authorship and co-citation network analysis. Our study is informed by broader bodies of work that have sought to understand the development of scientific fields, concepts, and research agendas. We highlight key trends that have influenced the organization of the field as well as how key thematic areas of SES research have evolved over time. Our results indicate that the research on SES is (i) mainly carried out by authors located in North America and Europe, (ii) characterized by changes in the terminology employed, as identified through our search terms, (iii) linked to the emergence of major conferences and centers dedicated to SES research, as well as its growth over time, (iv) characterized by a highly interconnected structure, with almost 80% of scholars being connected to each other, and (v) characterized by a shift in citation patterns, with newcomers in the network carving out their niche and replacing the founding figures as the central focus. We discuss the implications of these findings, including the nature of SES research as an epistemic network, the highly collaborative nature of SES research, and the role played by open -access journals in the growth of SES research in the digital era. We further suggest that the SES research field is at a critical transition point, with contending visions of its future following a more disciplinary path or remaining as a more open interdisciplinary space. We conclude with the questions this raises for future SES research regarding the implications of this duality on the nature, production, and validation of knowledge and its evolution.
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| 5. |
- Meacham, Megan, 1986-, et al.
(författare)
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Advancing research on ecosystem service bundles for comparative assessments and synthesis
- 2022
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Ingår i: Ecosystems and People. - : Informa UK Limited. - 2639-5908 .- 2639-5916. ; 18:1, s. 99-111
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Social-ecological interactions have been shown to generate interrelated and reoccurring sets of ecosystem services, also known as ecosystem service bundles. Given the potential utility of the bundles concept, along with the recent surge in interest it is timely to reflect on the concept, its current use and potential for the future. Based on our ecosystem service bundle experience, expertise, and ecosystem service bundle analyses, we have found critical elements for advancing the utility of ecosystem service bundle concept and deepening its impact in the future. In this paper we 1) examine the different conceptualizations of the ecosystem service bundle concept; 2) show the range of benefits of using a bundles approach; 3) explore key issues for improving research on ecosystem service bundles, including indicators, scale, and drivers and relationships between ecosystem services; and 4) outline priorities for the future by facilitating comparisons of ecosystem service bundle research.
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| 6. |
- Norström, Albert V., 1979-, et al.
(författare)
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The programme on ecosystem change and society (PECS) - a decade of deepening social-ecological research through a place-based focus
- 2022
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Ingår i: Ecosystems and People. - : Informa UK Limited. - 2639-5908 .- 2639-5916. ; 18:1, s. 598-608
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS) was established in 2011, and is now one of the major international social-ecological systems (SES) research networks. During this time, SES research has undergone a phase of rapid growth and has grown into an influential branch of sustainability science. In this Perspective, we argue that SES research has also deepened over the past decade, and helped to shed light on key dimensions of SES dynamics (e.g. system feedbacks, aspects of system design, goals and paradigms) that can lead to tangible action for solving the major sustainability challenges of our time. We suggest four ways in which the growth of place-based SES research, fostered by networks such as PECS, has contributed to these developments, namely by: 1) shedding light on transformational change, 2) revealing the social dynamics shaping SES, 3) bringing together diverse types of knowledge, and 4) encouraging reflexive researchers.
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| 7. |
- Rockström, Johan, et al.
(författare)
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Shaping a resilient future in response to COVID-19
- 2023
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Ingår i: Nature Sustainability. - 2398-9629. ; :6, s. 897-907
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Science today defines resilience as the capacity to live and develop with change and uncertainty, which is well beyond just the ability to ‘bounce back’ to the status quo. It involves the capacity to absorb shocks, avoid tipping points, navigate surprise and keep options alive, and the ability to innovate and transform in the face of crises and traps. Five attributes underlie this capacity: diversity, redundancy, connectivity, inclusivity and equity, and adaptive learning. There is a mismatch between the talk of resilience recovery after COVID-19 and the latest science, which calls for major efforts to align resilience thinking with sustainable development action.
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| 8. |
- Schneider, Flurina, et al.
(författare)
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Co-production of knowledge and sustainability transformations : a strategic compass for global research networks
- 2021
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Ingår i: Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. - : Elsevier BV. - 1877-3435 .- 1877-3443. ; 49, s. 127-142
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- An increasing number of voices highlight the need for science itself to transform and to engage in the co-production of knowledge and action, in order to enable the fundamental transformations needed to advance towards sustainable futures. But how can global sustainability-oriented research networks engage in co-production of knowledge and action? The present article introduces a strategic tool called the ‘network compass’ which highlights four generic, interrelated fields of action through which networks can strive to foster co-production. It is based on the networks’ particular functions and how these can be engaged for co-production processes. This tool aims to foster self-reflection and learning within and between networks in the process of (re)developing strategies and activity plans and effectively contributing to sustainability transformations.
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| 9. |
- van Velden, J. L., et al.
(författare)
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Futures for invasive alien species management : using bottom-up innovations to envision positive systemic change
- 2023
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Ingår i: Sustainability Science. - 1862-4065 .- 1862-4057. ; 18:6, s. 2567-2587
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Invasive alien species (IAS) pose a key threat to biodiversity, the economy and human well-being, and continue to increase in abundance and impact worldwide. Legislation and policy currently dominate the global agenda for IAS, although translation to localised success may be limited. This calls for a wider range of responses to transform IAS management. An under-appreciated strategy to achieve success may come from bottom-up, experimental innovations (so-called “seeds”), which offer alternative visions of what may be possible for IAS management in the future. We present an application of a participatory process that builds on such innovations to create alternative visions of the future, with actionable pathways to guide change. Through a series of workshops with practitioners and academics, we used this process to explore alternative positive futures for IAS management in South Africa. We then identified a set of domains of change, that could enable these visions to be actioned by appropriate stakeholders. The domains of change highlight the social–ecological nature of the IAS sector, with interconnected actions needed in financial, cultural, social, technological and governance spheres. Key domains identified were the need to shift mindsets and values of society regarding IAS, as well as the need for appropriate and functional financing. This participatory futuring process offers a way to interrogate and scale bottom-up innovations, thereby creating optimism and allowing stakeholders to engage constructively with the future. This represents an important step in fostering the potential of bottom-up innovations to transform IAS management.
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