Studying the complexity of change toward an analytical framework for understanding deliberate social-ecological transformations

Faced with numerous seemingly intractable social and environmental challenges, many scholars and practitioners are increasingly interested in understanding how to actively engage and transform the existing systems holding such problems in place. Although a variety of analytical models have emerged i...

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Published inEcology and society Vol. 19; no. 4; p. 54
Main Authors Moore, Michele-Lee, Tjornbo, Ola, Enfors, Elin, Knapp, Corrie, Hodbod, Jennifer, Baggio, Jacopo A., Norström, Albert, Olsson, Per, Biggs, Duan
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Ottawa Resilience Alliance 01.01.2014
Subjects
Ecological processes
Ecological sustainability
Ecosystem services
Ecosystems
Human ecology
Innovations
Marine ecology
Renewable energy
resilience
Social activism
Social change
Social innovation
Social movements
social-ecological systems
Society
Trajectories
transformation
transition management
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Summary:Faced with numerous seemingly intractable social and environmental challenges, many scholars and practitioners are increasingly interested in understanding how to actively engage and transform the existing systems holding such problems in place. Although a variety of analytical models have emerged in recent years, most emphasize either the social or ecological elements of such transformations rather than their coupled nature. To address this, first we have presented a definition of the core elements of a social-ecological system (SES) that could potentially be altered in a transformation. Second, we drew on insights about transformation from three branches of literature focused on radical change, i.e., social movements, socio-technical transitions, and social innovation, and gave consideration to the similarities and differences with the current studies by resilience scholars. Drawing on these findings, we have proposed a framework that outlines the process and phases of transformative change in an SES. Future research will be able to utilize the framework as a tool for analyzing the alteration of social-ecological feedbacks, identifying critical barriers and leverage points and assessing the outcome of social-ecological transformations.
ISSN:1708-3087
1708-3087
DOI:10.5751/es-06966-190454