Social-Ecological Systems in Transition

Although the growing field of research on social–ecological systems (SESs) deals with some of the most important questions of our time, the study of SESs lacks an overarching theoretical framework. The development of such a framework is desirable because it would greatly improve our ability to generalize from individual case studies, to distinguish important from less important results, and ultimately to draw on the power of the scientific method to predict the consequence of management and policy interventions and to build greater resilience in SESs. Existing frameworks for the analysis of SESs can be grouped into five categories: (1) hypothesis-oriented frameworks; (2) assessment-oriented frameworks; (3) action-oriented frameworks; (4) problem-oriented frameworks; and (5) theory-oriented or overarching frameworks. Focusing on the fifth category, theory-oriented frameworks, seven assessment criteria are proposed that a satisfactory framework should meet: (1) it should provide a clear way of linking social and ecological systems and be strong in both disciplines; (2) it should be supported by rigorous empirical studies, key theories should meet Popper’s falsifiability criterion, and frameworks should include translation modes that allow theory to be connected to empirical observations, and vice-versa; (3) frameworks should offer insights into causality, ideally being based on first principles, and should offer clear statements of cause and effect; (4) frameworks should deal with the dynamic aspects of SESs and the nature of change through time, as well as with the spatial nature of SES and spatial variation; (5) frameworks should build on previous frameworks and, ideally, should be able explain their weaknesses and/or incorporate their strengths; (6) frameworks for SESs should be able to cope with, and offer connections between, complementary perspectives and different epistemologies; and (7) frameworks should provide direction for the study of SESs by suggesting or guiding new empirical studies that will advance our theoretical understanding of SESs. Illustrative examples are offered from eight existing frameworks that meet some of these criteria, but highlight the fact that no existing framework meets all the criteria well. The development of a stronger theoretical framework remains an important goal for SES theory.

Whereas many studies have addressed the effects of deforestation on biodiversity, few have focused on the recovery of diversity during reforestation. This study aimed at evaluating the recovery of, or chronosequential changes in, the biodiversity in the fallows (i.e., secondary vegetation or forests that form during the resting periods following harvest in shifting cultivation) of a tropical rainforest region in Borneo. We also aimed at determining the impacts of forest fragmentation and other land-use changes on biodiversity.

We established several study plots in fallows at different stages of succession, specifically, new fallows (rested for 1–3 years), young fallows (rested for 5–13 years), and old fallows (rested for 20–60 years). We also established study plots in a continuous primary forest and fragmented primary forests, extensive rubber gardens, and other land-use types. In addition, we investigated the diversity of trees, fungi, and animals, and compared the values obtained among the different land-use types.

With each progression in forest stage, the species richness, species density, and encounter rates increased for trees, fungi, army ants, and ants attending hemipterans. However, even after fallow periods of 20–60 years, the levels of diversity had not fully recovered to those recorded in primary forests. The biodiversity indices of fragmented primary forests were lower compared to those of the continuous primary forest for army ants. The biodiversity indices of extensive rubber gardens and the other land-use types were also lower compared to those of the continuous primary forest for bats. Such trends were also observed for aphyllophoraceous fungi and some insects.

These results indicate the irreplaceable value of continuous primary forests for conserving biodiversity. In contrast, the species richness of small mammals and phytophagous scarabaeid beetles was similar or even higher in fragmented primary forests and the other land-use types compared to the continuous primary forest. Further studies are necessary to investigate how the characteristics of each taxonomic group (e.g., disturbance tolerance, dispersal ability, and the life history traits) are related to the different types of disturbance (intensity, spatio-temporal configurations, and the consequent changes in the environmental factors of each habitat type).

Grassland covers approximately 75 % of Mongolia, which is characterized by a dry, cold climate, and most of this grassland is used as pasture. Although they are vulnerable, people have lived in the grasslands as nomadic herders for thousands of years, suggesting that the relationship between livestock grazing and pasture vegetation has historically been sustainable. Since the twentieth century, however, the social system and the nomadic circumstances of herders have changed dramatically through a rapid shift to socialism and democracy. In recent decades, the number of livestock (particularly goats) raised to produce cashmere for export has increased rapidly, and herders have concentrated in areas surrounding the capital city and along main roads leading to the capital. These changes, which reflect a shift from nomadic traditions to unsustainable practices, have resulted in the degradation of pasture vegetation. Large herbivores, including livestock, have significant direct and indirect effects on ecosystem structure and function. However, livestock products are an essential part of the Mongolian economy and the livelihood of large numbers of people. It is therefore important to assess the direct and indirect effects of livestock grazing on pasture ecosystems to promote both conservation of natural ecosystems and sustainability of residents and their livelihoods. To obtain a better understanding of the direct effects of livestock grazing, I have used the fecal accumulation rate technique to estimate livestock density on a small scale, and to estimate livestock grazing rates. The data obtained in this study suggest that grazing rate is generally constant, but that it can vary depending on total production of pasture plants. To understand better the indirect effects of grazing, relationships between soil alkalization, livestock grazing pressure, and pasture vegetation were examined. I conclude that overgrazing can cause soil alkalization, and that soil alkalization may delay the recovery of degraded pasture vegetation. Thus, it is important to consider the variability of the grazing rate and to manage grazing intensity and prevent soil alkalization to achieve sustainable use of pasture.

About 40 % of the population of Mongolia is involved in nomadic pastoralism. Thus, maintaining productive pasture through regulation is an important topic of research. To gain a better understanding of the ecological interactions between pasture plants and livestock, we conducted a field study of Mongolian pasturelands. We found that intermediate disturbance by livestock grazing maximized both species richness and annual productivity of pasture plants, although the optimal intensity of grazing differs with soil moisture and fecundity. However, too intensive continuous grazing decreases plant species richness and aboveground annual production within several years. Intensive grazing may lead to nearly irreversible changes associated with dominance of grazing-tolerant plants unpalatable to animals and soil alkalization. Pasture degradation is often attributed to a recent increase in goats kept for cashmere production. We confirmed some difference in food preferences between goats and sheep, but both can cause severe damage to pasture plants.

Urban green spaces have recently gained a lot of attention, as they are known to provide various vital ecosystem services to the community. Bangalore, a south-Indian city, which was called the “Garden City” of India, has several large green spaces. It is only in recent years that small pocket green spaces such as neighborhood parks have been created. Although the importance of neighborhood parks is known, they are ignored and readily sacrificed for developmental projects, while the large heritage green spaces receive more attention and are conserved. The concept of the large spaces providing more services seems to have filtered into the minds of citizens, thus resulting in complete negligence towards the neighborhood parks. Cities are required to implement newer concepts which focus on small green spaces too, which could enhance the services they currently provide to the community. Thus integrating multiple concepts that not only focus on the ecological functioning but also the social needs of the community could help increase the stewardship which is currently lacking around neighborhood parks and much needed attention towards small green spaces. In this chapter, through an interdisciplinary approach, we suggest concepts that could help conserve smaller green spaces through better green space management in developing cities.

Since the dramatic transition in the 1990s from central planning to a market-based economy in Mongolia, modern pastoralism has transformed into a more sedentary system with increasing livestock densities. Following this shift, herders were able to live in the place of their choosing; many migrated to peri-urban areas in the central part of the country, where they increased their livestock numbers to maximize profits, resulting in overgrazing and land degradation. To minimize degradation associated with such shifts in Mongolian pastoralism, an understanding of how economic and social factors can affect human activities and environmental changes via pastoralism is critical. Herein, the author developed a spatially explicit simulation model that combined the behaviors of local people with vegetation processes according to precipitation patterns in Mongolian grasslands to predict grassland degradation after 30 years. This model was parameterized with empirical data relating to Mongolian pastoralism, including rainfall patterns, changes in grassland biomass, and spatiotemporal movement patterns of nomadic peoples. The model was simulated using four scenarios that combined a mobility mode (nomadic or sedentary mode) with a specified degree of grazing pressure (high or moderate). The results suggest that mobility is a key factor for environmental and economic sustainability in Mongolian pastoral systems because, in an unpredictable environment, nomadic pastoralism was more sustainable and profitable compared to sedentary pastoralism. However, pastoral systems with excess grazing pressure were unsustainable, regardless of mobility mode. These predictions have important implications for the development of effective management strategies in the sustainability of pastoral systems.

Sustainable adaptation to climate change needs to be assessed beyond the present time and location to include the way that current forms of adaptation might influence future response options. An analysis of past dynamics of adaptation, what we call “trajectories,” might hold the key to understanding how the adaptive outcomes of past responses to climate stress constrain or open avenues to future adaptation. Adaptation research often focuses on particular actions, technologies, or institutions which may positively influence these relationships in order to build resilience and reduce vulnerability. However, relationships are complex and often behave in unexpected ways. There is no simple cause and effect, but rather actions are modified and transmitted through a web of linkages and feedbacks that are both physical and social. This complexity challenges our ability to predict the outcome of particular actions and there remain gaps in the understanding of system interactions that would permit a more accurate assessment of future development trajectories. The work presented here is an analysis of change in the climate vulnerability of dryland farmers in Northeast Brazil over four decades. The analytical framework, which links biophysical characteristics with a socio-economic context and indicators, permits an analysis that captures the dynamic relationship of adaptive capacities and consequent changes in vulnerability. The analysis of trajectories provides a foundation for future assumptions about human behavior and the relationship with the environment.

Resilience is much more than bouncing back after a shock. It also involves the ability of individuals, communities, and entire regions to self-organize and increase their capacity for learning, experimentation, and adaptation. In the context of climate change, a resilience perspective emphasizes learning from the past (memory), monitoring the present, and the ability to anticipate and prepare for the worst. It includes learning to live with change and uncertainty by combining different types of knowledge, envisioning possible futures, and enhancing flexibility in decision-making and planning. Rather than learning by shock, a resilience lens offers a potentially empowering arena for nurturing innovation and the capacity to transform in order to navigate both slow and incremental environmental changes and rapid-onset crises.

This chapter explores the role and potential limits of iterative learning processes for climate change adaptation in rural African communities characterized by high and chronic poverty, coupled with low awareness for complex drivers of change. It stresses learning, memory, creativity, and the need to move forward in spite of imperfect knowledge and vast uncertainties. At the same time, the chapter identifies critical institutional, policy, and power barriers, and potential limits at multiple scales that inhibit just and timely adaptation among vulnerable and marginalized populations, especially those dependent on rainfed agriculture. We identify poverty traps as complex thresholds typified by shifts and losses of key household assets, increasing failure of livelihood response strategies to social and ecological stresses and shocks, ineffective social networks, and limited anticipatory capacity to embrace change, uncertainty, and surprises. We conclude by proposing adaptive social protection as a prospective yet potentially insufficient means for bypassing or escaping poverty traps in the semi-arid tropics of Africa, and facilitating transitions towards livelihood resilience.

Resilience is defined as “the capacity of a system to experience shocks while retaining essentially the same function, structure, feedbacks, and therefore identity (Walker et al. (2004) Ecol Soc 9(2):5). Although resilience has been defined and analyzed in ecological as well as social-ecological terms, their method of analysis is still under development. Recently, the concept of resilience has been directly applied to regional development and food security issues where people’s livelihoods rely heavily on the natural resource base. Resilience of social-ecological system (SES) is considered an important component for achieving sustainability.

Within Semi-Arid Tropical Sub-Saharan Africa, communities’ livelihoods depend critically on fragile and poorly endowed natural resources, and poverty and environmental degradation are widespread. People in these regions depend largely on rain-fed agriculture, and their livelihoods are vulnerable to environmental variability. Environmental resources such as vegetation and soil are also vulnerable to human activities. To surmount these environmental challenges, human society and ecosystems must have a capacity to recover quickly from environmental shock.

We argue that, in order to operationalize resilience, it is important for us to consider resilience in the context of human security of rural households in semi-arid tropics (SAT) regions. We consider resilience to environmental variability, such as drought, flooding, and social changes. We consider resilience of food supply and consumption, health status, agricultural production, and livelihoods. Lastly, we consider resilience for protecting human security, i.e., survival, livelihoods, and dignity. The purpose of the chapter is to show our empirical evidence from Zambia and the dynamics of farmers’ livelihoods in response to various shocks, discuss whether threshold can be defined in the context of food security in social-ecological system, and, lastly, investigate the role of institutions to build adaptive capacity of the communities.

This chapter considers the effect of plantation development on human resource use and subsistence activities in Sarawak, Malaysia. With the demand for palm oil, natural forest has rapidly changed into plantations in tropical areas in recent decades. While the large-scale plantations expand dramatically, it is unclear how their resource use and subsistence activities change after plantations spread. This chapter examines the alteration of subsistence activities, including, shifting cultivation, hunting, gathering wild plants, and cash crop cultivation.

I found that shifting cultivation has not much changed in terms of work processes, cultivation areas, and crops. However, an increasing number of families have recently cultivated their paddy fields along roads. As for hunting, before plantation expansion the local population hunted various animals in the natural forest, but after it they mostly chase wild boar in the plantations at night. They used diverse wild plants of the natural forest before plantations spread, but these wild plants have sharply decreased around plantations. After the expansion of road networks and oil palm plantations, people now have new opportunities to cultivate oil palms as smallholders. This chapter illustrates how people try to continue the conventional way of livelihood even under the plantation expansion. They also adapt flexibly to the new environment by using resources available around the plantations.