• Energy Research

Achieving effective, sustainable environmental governance requires a better understanding of the causes and consequences of the complex patterns of interdependencies connecting people and ecosystems within and across scales. Network approaches for conceptualizing and analysing these interdependencies offer one promising solution. Here, we present two advances we argue are needed to further this area of research: (i) a typology of causal assumptions explicating the causal aims of any given network-centric study of social–ecological interdependencies; (ii) unifying research design considerations that facilitate conceptualizing exactly what is interdependent, through what types of relationships and in relation to what kinds of environmental problems. The latter builds on the appreciation that many environmental problems draw from a set of core challenges that re-occur across contexts. We demonstrate how these advances combine into a comparative heuristic that facilitates leveraging case-specific findings of social–ecological interdependencies to generalizable, yet context-sensitive, theories based on explicit assumptions of causal relationships.

AbstractCoral reefs are increasingly affected by climate-induced disturbances that are magnified by increasing ocean temperatures. Loss of coral reefs strongly affects people whose livelihoods and wellbeing depend on the ecosystem services reefs provide. Yet the effects of coral loss and the capacity of people and businesses to adapt to it are poorly understood, particularly in the private sector. To address this gap, we surveyed about half (57 of 109) of Australian reef tourism operators to understand how they were affected by and responded to severe impacts from bleaching and cyclones. Reef restoration and spatial diversification were the primary responses to severe bleaching impacts, while for cyclone-impacts coping measures and product diversification were more important. Restoration responses were strongly linked to the severity of impacts. Our findings provide empirical support for the importance of response diversity, spatial heterogeneity, and learning for social-ecological resilience.

Abstract Feedbacks between people and ecosystems are central to the study of social–ecological systems (SES) but remain poorly understood. It is commonly assumed that changes in ecosystems leading to a reduction in ecosystem services will trigger human responses that seek to restore service provision. Other responses are possible, however, but remain less studied. We evaluated the effect of environmental change, specifically the degradation of coral reefs, on the supply of and demand for a cultural ecosystem service (CES); that is, recreation. We found that declines in coral cover reduced demand for recreational ecosystem services but had no apparent effect on the benefits received from recreation. While this finding seems counter‐intuitive given previous experimental data that suggest ecosystem quality affects people's satisfaction, our analysis suggests that social adaptation could have mediated the anticipated negative impact of environmental change on CES benefits. We propose four mechanisms that may explain this effect and that require further research: spatial diversification; (service) substitution; shifting baselines; and time‐delayed effects. Our findings emphasize the importance of human culture and perception as influences on human responses to environmental change, and the relevance of the more subjective elements of social systems for understanding social–ecological feedbacks. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

AbstractComplex social-ecological interactions underpin many environmental problems. To help capture this complexity, we advance an interdisciplinary network modeling framework to identify important relationships between people and nature that can influence environmental conditions. Drawing on comprehensive social and ecological data from five coral reef fishing communities in Kenya; including interviews with 648 fishers, underwater visual census data of reef ecosystem condition, and time-series landings data; we show that positive ecological conditions are associated with ‘social-ecological network closure’ – i.e., fully linked and thus closed network structures between social actors and ecological resources. Our results suggest that when fishers facing common dilemmas form cooperative communication ties with direct resource competitors, they may achieve positive gains in reef fish biomass and functional richness. Our work provides key empirical insight to a growing body of research on social-ecological alignment, and helps to advance an integrative framework that can be applied empirically in different social-ecological contexts.

Résumé Les connaissances sur la capacité d'adaptation et ses déterminants ont considérablement augmenté au cours de la dernière décennie. Cependant, la plupart des recherches sur la capacité d'adaptation ont été statiques, sans tenir compte de la façon dont la capacité d'adaptation pourrait changer au fil du temps, en particulier après de graves perturbations. Nous avons étudié la dynamique de la capacité d'adaptation des opérateurs touristiques de récifs d'Asie-Pacifique affectés par le blanchiment des coraux et les cyclones tropicaux par rapport à un groupe témoin avec des opérateurs non affectés. Nous avons constaté que les impacts des cyclones tropicaux étaient associés à des changements fréquents de la capacité d'adaptation. Notamment, nous avons constaté une réduction des attributs tangibles (actifs et flexibilité) de la capacité d'adaptation, alors que les attributs intangibles (agence et organisation sociale) ont augmenté. Nos résultats montrent que la capacité d'adaptation n'est pas nécessairement une variable à évolution lente ; au contraire, la capacité d'adaptation peut changer rapidement et de manière complexe à la suite de graves impacts climatiques. Comprendre la dynamique de la capacité d'adaptation peut soutenir les programmes d'adaptation en montrant où les changements de capacité sont les plus susceptibles de se produire après de graves impacts climatiques. Resumen El conocimiento sobre la capacidad de adaptación y sus determinantes ha aumentado significativamente en la última década. Sin embargo, la mayoría de las investigaciones sobre la capacidad de adaptación han sido estáticas, sin considerar cómo la capacidad de adaptación podría cambiar con el tiempo, particularmente después de perturbaciones graves. Estudiamos la dinámica de la capacidad de adaptación de los operadores turísticos de arrecifes de Asia-Pacífico afectados por el blanqueamiento de corales y los ciclones tropicales en comparación con un grupo de control con operadores no afectados. Encontramos que los impactos de los ciclones tropicales se asociaron con cambios frecuentes en la capacidad de adaptación. En particular, encontramos una reducción en los atributos tangibles (activos y flexibilidad) de la capacidad de adaptación, mientras que los atributos intangibles (agencia y organización social) aumentaron. Nuestros hallazgos proporcionan evidencia de que la capacidad de adaptación no es necesariamente una variable que cambia lentamente; más bien, la capacidad de adaptación puede cambiar rápidamente y de manera compleja después de los graves impactos climáticos. Comprender la dinámica de la capacidad de adaptación puede apoyar los programas de adaptación al mostrar dónde es más probable que ocurran cambios en la capacidad después de impactos climáticos severos. Summary Knowledge about adaptive capacity and its determinants has increased significantly over the last decade. However, most research on adaptive capacity has been static, not considering how adaptive capacity might change over time, particularly after severe disturbances. We studied the adaptive capacity dynamics of Asian-Pacific reef tourism operators affected by coral bleaching and tropical cyclones compared with a control group with non-affected operators. We found that impacts from tropical cyclones were associated with frequent changes in adaptive capacity. Notably, we found a reduction in tangible attributes (assets and flexibility) of adaptive capacity, whereas intangible attributes (agency and social organization) increased. Our findings provide evidence that adaptive capacity is not necessarily a slowly changing variable; rather, adaptive capacity can change rapidly and in complex ways following severe climate impacts. Understanding adaptive capacity dynamics can support adaptation programs by showing where changes in capacity are most likely to occur after severe climate impacts. ملخص ازدادت المعرفة حول القدرة على التكيف ومحدداتها بشكل كبير خلال العقد الماضي. ومع ذلك، فإن معظم الأبحاث حول القدرة على التكيف كانت ثابتة، ولا تأخذ في الاعتبار كيف يمكن أن تتغير القدرة على التكيف بمرور الوقت، لا سيما بعد الاضطرابات الشديدة. درسنا ديناميكيات القدرة التكيفية لمشغلي سياحة الشعاب المرجانية في آسيا والمحيط الهادئ المتأثرين بتبييض الشعاب المرجانية والأعاصير المدارية مقارنة بمجموعة التحكم مع المشغلين غير المتأثرين. وجدنا أن تأثيرات الأعاصير المدارية كانت مرتبطة بالتغيرات المتكررة في القدرة على التكيف. والجدير بالذكر أننا وجدنا انخفاضًا في السمات الملموسة (الأصول والمرونة) للقدرة على التكيف، في حين زادت السمات غير الملموسة (الوكالة والتنظيم الاجتماعي). تقدم النتائج التي توصلنا إليها دليلاً على أن القدرة على التكيف ليست بالضرورة متغيرًا بطيئ التغير ؛ بدلاً من ذلك، يمكن أن تتغير القدرة على التكيف بسرعة وبطرق معقدة بعد التأثيرات المناخية الشديدة. يمكن أن يدعم فهم ديناميكيات القدرة على التكيف برامج التكيف من خلال إظهار الأماكن التي من المرجح أن تحدث فيها تغيرات في القدرة بعد التأثيرات المناخية الشديدة.

Significance Marine reserves that prohibit fishing are a critical tool for sustaining coral reef ecosystems, yet it remains unclear how human impacts in surrounding areas affect the capacity of marine reserves to deliver key conservation benefits. Our global study found that only marine reserves in areas of low human impact consistently sustained top predators. Fish biomass inside marine reserves declined along a gradient of human impacts in surrounding areas; however, reserves located where human impacts are moderate had the greatest difference in fish biomass compared with openly fished areas. Reserves in low human-impact areas are required for sustaining ecological functions like high-order predation, but reserves in high-impact areas can provide substantial conservation gains in fish biomass.

Extreme climatic events trigger changes in ecosystems with potential negative impacts for people. These events may provide an opportunity for environmental managers and decision-makers to improve the governance of social-ecological systems, however there is conflicting evidence regarding whether these actors are indeed able to change governance after extreme climatic events. In addition, the majority of research to date has focused on changes in specific policies or organizations after crises. A broader investigation of governance actors' activities is needed to more fully understand whether or not crises trigger change. Here we demonstrate the use of a social network analysis of management and decision-making forums (e.g. meetings, partnerships) to reveal the effects of an extreme climatic event on governance of the Great Barrier Reef over an eight-year period. To assess potential shifts in action, we examine the topics of forums and the relative participation and influence of diverse governance actors before, during, and after two back-to-back mass coral bleaching events in 2016 and 2017. Our analysis reveals that there is little change in the topics that receive attention, and in the relative participation and influence of different actor groups in the region. Our research demonstrates that network analysis of forums is useful for analyzing whether or not actors' activities and priorities evolve over time. Our results provide empirical evidence that governance actors struggle to leverage extreme climate events as windows of opportunity and further research is needed to identify alternative opportunities to improve governance.