Sustainability opportunities phd course 2016 Social-ecological systems. Gunilla Almered Olsson Human Ecology, Global studies, GU

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1 Sustainability opportunities phd course 2016 Social-ecological systems Gunilla Almered Olsson Human Ecology, Global studies, GU

2 Key messages of this lecture 1. Humans are part of the ecosystem. Nature and culture rebuilding lost connections - local cultures & ethnic groups often adapted to local ecological conditions as compared to the globalization pathways where such adaptations and knowledge are lost 2. Social-ecological systems as fundaments for building resilience and sustainability

3 Food security Energy scarcity Migration,refugees Global sustainability challenges

4 Van Gujjar semi-nomads N. India Dependent on forest for livelihood P. Gooch 2005

5 Following the buffalo The forest is a veil behind which we live Winter Summer

6 the creation of a National Park

7 The paradigm shift in Ecology The old paradigm: Disturbances in ecosystems are negative to equilibrium, stability Natural D: fire, land slides, weather events, Ice ages etc Anthropogenic D: pollution, changed land use & land cover, livestock grazing, human use etc D decreases biological diversity, D must be counteracted Recovery after disturbance leads (linearly) to ONE stable state, Equilibrium, with higher biodiversity

8 The new paradigm and current scientific view on disturbances... Disturbances - a natural part of all ecosystems Humans are part os the ecosystems and their use (livestock grazing, TEK etc) is a natural part of ecosystems Maintenance of biological diversity demands disturbances Not ONE single equilibrium! Patch-dynamics Dynamic Equilibrium in ecosystems demands disturbances Changed view - from islands to landscapes Knowledge of earlier history!

9 Masai Mara National Park, Kenya

10 Masai villages forced to move out of the National Park a disturbance

11 Social-ecological system? Social system: Property rights, land and resource tenure systems, systems of knowledge relevant for environment and resources, ethics and world views relevant for environment and resources (Berkes et al. 1996) Ecological system: ecosystem in conventional sense: biotic and abiotic components, organisms, biological interactions (competition, predation, symbiosis etc) and ecosystem processes The two systems are linked through human history and a separation between them is artificial Complex social-ecological systems incorporate interactions between humans and the bio-physical world

12 Social-Ecological systems Institutions: humanly devised constraints that structure human interaction; formal institutions: rules, laws, constitutions; informal institutions: norms of behavior, conventions and selfimposed codes of conduct; customary rules Adaptive co-management: a long-term management structure that permit stakeholders to share management responsibility and that permits mutual learning along the process Adaptive capacity of the system Bottom up vs Top-down processes

13 Interpretations of social-ecological systems Kotchen & Young 2007

14 Social-ecological system, SES System approach can be understood as a methodology System approach can also be understood as relating to specific systems, e.g. an agricultural SES with several linked components in the social and ecological systems at various levels e.g. a farm or an agricultural landscape, or the global food system

15 Vulnerability? V. research emerged as aspect of social systems: The degree of harm to the system from exposure to disturbances, hazards, e.g. climate change Critique: V research mainly addressed impacts on the social subsystem not the coupled SES system

16 The context for the evolution of Resilience concept in ecology Holling Resilience and stability of ecological systems. Annual Review of Ecology & Systematics, 4:1-23 Theoretical models + selected field data The importance of disturbance for (diversity) development of multi-stable states The importance of variability vs constancy Another view of stability Connects to the paradigm shift in ecology

17 Characteristics of resilient systems Response on Disturbances: The capacity of learning The capacity for renewal, re-organisation and development The capacity to absorb disturbances and still maintain function The capacity to sustain (ecosystem services) at the same time as it develops something new

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20 Applying the resilience concept on social-ecological systems Provides insights on how ecosystems react and change due to human actions Links biodiversity, disturbances (scales of human use and exploitation), global environmental change and system responses Links modern ecological theory on disturbances and stability with SES and thereby Focus on non-linearity, different states and tresholds Provides an alternative to linear development thinking (adapting rather than exploiting) Adaptive co-management capacity for learning in the system can lead to self organisation?

21 Critisism to Resilience of SES The lack of questions of power, conflicts and inequalities, both in terms of causes of environmental problems and in terms of adaptation Ecological theories applied to social systems very problematic - social systems include both human intentions and power relationships Is the implication of taking the focus away from balance of nature that we focus on how to survive the effects of the problem rather than trying to solve the problem ( Resilience instead of Revolution )? Resilience cannot be integrated into existing governance systems, it presupposes radical and fundamental change The social, political, cultural, economic consequenses? Also an advantage!?

22 Alternate view on SES,-concept Widgren 2012: SES concept suffers from the old dichotomy Nature- Culture Cultural landscapes do not fit this model since nature is a product of culture over very long time periodes Human systems have intentions and values not incorporated in the SES and R concepts Nature-Culture dichotomy in new light: Domestication of landscapes parallell to domestication of species, crops and livestock, human activites: old irrigation systems, anthropogenic soils, Landscapes and vegetation incorporated in the social systems

23 Photos! ÖLAND world heritage

24 A general framework for analyzing the sustainability of SES Ostrom 2009, Science 325:

25 A general framework for analyzing the sustainability of SES The framework helps to Apply a systemic approach Include the Social-Human dimensions Identify sub-systems & variables Methodological approaches and data collection Work at different scales Remaining challenges To assess & balance the impact of different variables from the sub-systems To combine and jointly analyse the different categories of variables from the sub-systems To connect to other systems and the global system

26 Re-connencting: society and nature as linked socio-ecological systems in a sustainability context involves: Changes in the modes of production/economic systems includes present globalization processes Changes in technologies of production and land use (e.g. return to local/regional & renewable energy and nutrient sources for food ) Changes in power-relations: aquisition and colonization of land and natural resources Innovations New opportunities

27 Literature Anguelovski, I. & Martínez Alier, J The Environmentalism of the Poor revisited: Territory and place in disconnected glocal struggles. Ecological Economics 102: Escobar, A Difference and conflict in the struggle over natural resources: A political ecology framework. Development 49: Gooch, P Trees: In: Ecology and power. A. Hornborg, B. Clark & K. Hermele (Eds.) Routledge.pp , Hornborg, A. et al. ed Ecology and power. Struggles over land and material resources in the past, present and future. Routledge. avail. in UB as e-source Huitric, M. (ed.) Biodiversity, ecosystem services and resilience. Governance for a future with global changes. Albaeco. Available as E-book at UB Foley, S.F. et al The Palaeoanthropocene The beginnings of anthropogenic environmental change. Anthropocene 3:83 88 Jackson, T Prosperity without growth: economics for a finite planet. EarthScan. Krausmann, F. et al., Growth in Global Materials Use, GDP and Population During the 20th Century. Ecological Economics, 68: Martínez-Alier, J. et al Sustainable de-growth: Mapping the context, criticisms and future prospects of an emergent paradigm. Ecological Economics 69 : Svarstad. H & Dhillion, S.S Responding to Bioprospecting. From biodiversity in the South to medicines in the North. Spartacus. UNEP Decoupling. Natural resource use and environmental impacts from economic growth. Nairobi. Wachernagel, M. et al Ecological footprint time series of Austria Land Use Policy 21: Pilgrim, S. & Pretty, J. (2010) Nature and culture rebuilding lost connections. Routhledge. Ch. 1, 4. LINK TO E-BOOK Rockström, J. et al A safe operating space for humanity. Nature 461: Steffen, W. et al Planetary boundaries: Guiding human development on a changing planet. Science 347, issue 6223 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment