Social Ecological Transformation

Author : Tetsu Sato,Ilan Chabay,Jennifer Helgeson
Publisher : Springer
Page : 430 pages
File Size : 41,8 Mb
Release : 2018-12-08
Category : Nature
ISBN : 9789811323270

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Transformations of Social-Ecological Systems by Tetsu Sato,Ilan Chabay,Jennifer Helgeson Pdf

Through this book, readers will gain a comprehensive overview of transdisciplinary knowledge co-production in local contexts as an issue-driven and solution-oriented process, and will come to understand its relationship to societal transformation processes toward sustainability. In a single volume, the theory, approaches and academic implications of this novel type of knowledge production are addressed, together with its societal impacts. In the midst of global anthropogenic impacts that affect various environments, over the past few decades we have observed autonomous initiatives in local communities around the world to tackle these environmental challenges. It is vital that such local actions be scaled up to achieve sustainable societies, which requires societal transformation on larger scales. Thanks to numerous collaborative actions in local communities, transdisciplinary knowledge co-production among diverse stakeholders has successfully been mobilized, resulting in the development of Integrated Local Environmental Knowledge (ILEK); knowledge that can inform and support decisions and actions promoting the sustainable transformation of society. This book uses comparative case studies in communities around the world to illuminate and clarify processes and factors promoting the co-production and utilization of ILEK to facilitate decision-making. In addition, readers will gain deeper insights into the science-society interactions that can contribute to finding collaborative solutions to a wide range of critical environmental problems. Though the book is ideally suited for researchers and students, it also offers a valuable resource for practitioners, government agencies, and stakeholder agencies.

Author : Shoko Sakai,Chieko Umetsu
Publisher : Springer
Page : 201 pages
File Size : 44,5 Mb
Release : 2014-08-12
Category : Science
ISBN : 9784431549109

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Social-Ecological Systems in Transition by Shoko Sakai,Chieko Umetsu Pdf

This book presents an overview of current knowledge about social–ecological systems (SESs), a productive new field dedicated to understanding the relationships between human society and nature. To make the reader aware of how SESs are necessary to maintain our society, the book begins with a broad perspective about what social–ecological systems are and what the related research issues in this field are as well. The second part discusses how human activities have changed ecosystems from temperate grasslands to tropical areas. The third part focuses on the adaptability of societies to unpredictable fluctuation in ecosystems, while the last part summarizes factors for the resilience of society against social and ecological shocks. Human activities have severely degraded most natural ecosystems, which are now in critical condition. Various approaches have been developed to improve the SESs, to understand environmental problems and explore better ways to increase the sustainability both of ecosystems and of human societies. However, a clear perspective on how to address such problems is still lacking. Part of the difficulty arises because of the diversity and complexity of ecosystems and human societies. Another important factor is the effect of extremely rapid changes in the social and economic characteristics of social–ecological systems. Consequently, adaptability and resilience clearly are essential for the sustainability of SESs. Although there is no one, direct method to achieve high adaptability and resilience, a possible way is to compare and understand the diverse problems associated with differing social–ecological systems. This published work makes a useful contribution to a greater understanding of the way that essential social responses linked to changes in ecosystems can potentially stimulate further research on this important and interesting subject. The book will attract the attention of scholars in environmental sciences, ecology, and sociology, and indeed of anyone interested in the concept of social–ecological systems.

Author : Olivier de Schutter,Tom Dedeurwaerdere
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 160 pages
File Size : 50,7 Mb
Release : 2021-10-15
Category : Community development
ISBN : 1032121920

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Social Innovation in the Service of Social and Ecological Transformation by Olivier de Schutter,Tom Dedeurwaerdere Pdf

This book explores how the State can play a role as an enabler of citizens-led social innovations, to accelerate the shift to sustainable and socially just lifestyles. To meet the twin challenges of environmental degradation and the rise of inequalities, societal transformation is urgent. Most theories of social change focus either on the role of the State, on the magic of the market, or on the power of technological innovation. This book explores instead how local communities, given the freedom to experiment, can design solutions that can have a transformative impact. Change cannot rely only on central ordering by government, nor on corporations suddenly acting as responsible citizens. Societal transformation, at the speed and scope required, also should be based on the reconstitution of social capital, and on new forms of democracy emerging from collective action at the local level. The State matters of course, for the provision of both public services and of social protection, and to discipline the market, but it should also act as an enabler of citizen-led experimentation, and it should set up an institutional apparatus to ensure that collective learning spreads across jurisdictions. Corporations themselves can ensure that society taps the full potential of citizens-led social innovations: they can put their know-how, their access to finance, and their control of logistical chains in the service of such innovations, rather than focusing on shaping consumers' tastes or even adapting to consumers' shifting expectations. With this aim in mind, this book provides empirical evidence of how social innovations, typically developed within niches, initially at a relatively small scale, can have society-wide impacts. It also examines the nature of the activism deployed by social innovators, and the emergence of a do-it-yourself form of democracy. This book will appeal to all those interested in driving societal change and social innovation to ensure a sustainable and socially just future for all.

Author : Karl Bruckmeier
Publisher : Springer
Page : 406 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 2016-06-03
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781137438287

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Social-Ecological Transformation by Karl Bruckmeier Pdf

This book advances a social-ecological theory to reconnect nature and society through sustainable transformation of interacting social and ecological systems. Social ecology develops as an interdisciplinary science by using knowledge from the social sciences, especially sociology and economics, and from natural-scientific ecology. Knowledge integration across the boundaries of social and natural sciences is not widespread, blocked by the specialisation of theories and their competing forms of explanation and interpretation. Chapters in this book describe a new social-ecological theory that connects concepts and theories from both sides to create a new interdisciplinary theory. Inter- and transdisciplinary knowledge synthesis creates possibilities to analyse global environmental problems more systematically by integrating specialized research on environmental problems. The author uses social-ecological theory to analyse and explain problems and processes of global change in modern society such as climate change and adaptation to it, ecosystem change, and transformation of the industrial energy regime , finally offering pathways of transformation to a future sustainable society.

Author : Fred Magdoff,Chris Williams
Publisher : NYU Press
Page : 387 pages
File Size : 53,7 Mb
Release : 2017-05-29
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781583676301

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Creating an Ecological Society by Fred Magdoff,Chris Williams Pdf

Aiming squarely at replacing capitalism with an ecologically sound and socially just society, Magdoff and Williams provide accounts of how a new world can be created from the ashes of the old. They show that it is possible to envision and create a society that is genuinely democratic, equitable, and ecologically sustainable. And possible--not one moment too soon--for society to change fundamentally and be brought into harmony with nature. --From publisher description.

Author : Karl Bruckmeier
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 447 pages
File Size : 41,7 Mb
Release : 2020-11-21
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9783030566272

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Economics and Sustainability by Karl Bruckmeier Pdf

This textbook provides an overview of economic perspectives on sustainability. It synthesises economic, ecological and interdisciplinary sustainability research and by applying an integrated social-ecological and economic framework, demonstrates how this research can be improved and implemented in practice. Split into three parts, the book begins by introducing a range of topics forming the basis of knowledge needed to understand the varying sustainability discourses in economics, ecology and interdisciplinary sustainability research. Chapters cover the political context of sustainability; the history of sustainability in European environmental discourses dating back to the seventeenth century; as well as various problems and forms of interdisciplinary knowledge integration and synthesis in the sustainability process. Part II reviews the core economic themes relevant to sustainable development including natural resource management, environmental economics and ecological economics. Also highlighted are often neglected issues such as conflicts, disasters and interrelated crises on the way towards sustainability. The chapters in Part III discuss the future of the sustainability process. They argue for the necessity of overhauling the relationship between science and practice; explore failures and the unforeseen difficulties of sustainability transformation; and discuss how to enable a long term sustainability process that reaches into the distant future. An innovative resource for a broad range of interdisciplinary programmes on sustainability. The book will be an invaluable reference for master and PhD students, instructors, researchers and practitioners in sustainability governance.

Author : Patrick Huntjens
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 212 pages
File Size : 43,8 Mb
Release : 2021-03-30
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9783030671303

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Towards a Natural Social Contract by Patrick Huntjens Pdf

This open access book is a 2022 Nautilus Gold Medal winner in the category "World Cultures' Transformational Growth & Development". It states that the societal fault lines of our times are deeply intertwined and that they confront us with challenges affecting the security, fairness and sustainability of our societies. The author, Prof. Dr. Patrick Huntjens, argues that overcoming these existential challenges will require a fundamental shift from our current anthropocentric and economic growth-oriented approach to a more ecocentric and regenerative approach. He advocates for a Natural Social Contract that emphasizes long-term sustainability and the general welfare of both humankind and planet Earth. Achieving this crucial balance calls for an end to unlimited economic growth, overconsumption and over-individualisation for the benefit of ourselves, our planet, and future generations. To this end, sustainability, health, and justice in all social-ecological systems will require systemic innovation and prioritizing a collective effort. The Transformative Social-Ecological Innovation (TSEI) framework presented in this book serves that cause. It helps to diagnose and advance innovation and spur change across sectors, disciplines, and at different levels of governance. Altogether, TSEI identifies intervention points and formulates jointly developed and shared solutions to inform policymakers, administrators, concerned citizens, and professionals dedicated towards a more sustainable, healthy and just society. A wide readership of students, researchers, practitioners and policy makers interested in social innovation, transition studies, development studies, social policy, social justice, climate change, environmental studies, political science and economics will find this cutting-edge book particularly useful. “As a sustainability transition researcher, I am truly excited about this book. Two unique aspects of the book are that it considers bigger transformation issues (such as societies’ relationship with nature, purpose and justice) than those studied in transition studies and offers analytical frameworks and methods for taking up the challenge of achieving change on the ground.” - Prof. Dr. René Kemp, United Nations University and Maastricht Sustainability Institute

Author : Derek Armitage,Fikret Berkes,Nancy Doubleday
Publisher : UBC Press
Page : 362 pages
File Size : 53,9 Mb
Release : 2010-10-01
Category : Nature
ISBN : 9780774859721

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Adaptive Co-Management by Derek Armitage,Fikret Berkes,Nancy Doubleday Pdf

In Canada and around the world, new concerns with adaptive processes, feedback learning, and flexible partnerships are reshaping environmental governance. Meanwhile, ideas about collaboration and learning are converging around the idea of adaptive co-management. This book provides a comprehensive synthesis of the core concepts, strategies, and tools in this emerging field, informed by a diverse group of researchers and practitioners with over two decades of experience. It also offers a diverse set of case studies that reveal the challenges and implications of adaptive co-management thinking.

Author : Wolfgang Jonas,Sarah Zerwas,Kristof von Anshelm
Publisher : Birkhäuser
Page : 288 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2015-11-27
Category : Design
ISBN : 9783035606539

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Transformation Design by Wolfgang Jonas,Sarah Zerwas,Kristof von Anshelm Pdf

“Transformation design” is looking for new ways to change our behavior and society through new forms of innovation. The existing user-oriented approach of design must therefore be extended to one that is society-oriented. The concept of transformation is based on the anthropologist Karl Paul Polanyi and his book The Great Transformation (1944), which described the emergence of the now almost undisputed and globally widespread western market logic: the transformation of societies with markets into market societies, which he calls “dislodgment of the markets”. Meanwhile, leading think tanks are referring to Polanyi. They are calling for a new social contract and the “re-embedding” of the market into society. What are the possible instruments and contributions of design for this new “Great Transformation”? The variety of the above questions, answers, theories, methods, ideas, and projects suggests that “transformation design” is not in fact a discipline in itself, but that it will lead to a fruitful discourse. The book attempts to form an initial position in terms of this ambitious and ethical design perspective. It also seeks to inspire the international debate to push for a project of responsible design.

Author : Manuel González de Molina,Víctor M. Toledo
Publisher : Springer
Page : 368 pages
File Size : 55,8 Mb
Release : 2014-06-30
Category : History
ISBN : 9783319063584

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The Social Metabolism by Manuel González de Molina,Víctor M. Toledo Pdf

Over this last decade, the concept of Social Metabolism has gained prestige as a theoretical instrument for the required analysis, to such an extent that there are now dozens of researchers, hundreds of articles and several books that have adopted and use this concept. However, there is a great deal of variety in terms of definitions and interpretations, as well as different methodologies around this concept, which prevents the consolidation of a unified field of new knowledge. The fundamental aim of the book is to conduct a review of the past and present usage of the concept of social metabolism, its origins and history, as well as the main currents or schools that exist around this concept. At the same time, the reviews and discussions included are used by the authors as starting points to draw conclusions and propose a theory of socio-ecological transformations. The theoretical and methodological innovations of this book include a distinction of two types of metabolic processes: tangible and intangible; the analysis of the social metabolism at different scales (in space and time) and a theory of socio-ecological change overcoming the merely “systemic” or “cybernetic” nature of conventional approaches, giving special protagonism to collective action.

Author : Karl Bruckmeier
Publisher : Springer
Page : 289 pages
File Size : 44,6 Mb
Release : 2018-09-25
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9783319981109

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Global Environmental Governance by Karl Bruckmeier Pdf

This book provides a critical review of global environmental governance as part of the broader process of sustainably transforming modern society. The author argues for substantial modifications, outlining potential improvements in knowledge bridging processes, integration and synthesis that offer valuable information for environmental policy and governance. These improvements, he argues, should be achieved through the use of theoretical and empirical knowledge gleaned from global scenario analysis and interdisciplinary environmental research, and with the aid of new practices for knowledge sharing, cooperation and collective learning. The analysis presented in the book is based on recent developments in social ecology and the author’s interdisciplinary theory of society-nature interaction (Social-Ecological Transformation: Reconnecting Society and Nature, Palgrave Macmillan, 2016).

Author : Bernd Siebenhüner,Marlen Arnold,Klaus Eisenack,Klaus H. Jacob
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 307 pages
File Size : 46,6 Mb
Release : 2013-08-21
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781136772283

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Long-Term Governance for Social-Ecological Change by Bernd Siebenhüner,Marlen Arnold,Klaus Eisenack,Klaus H. Jacob Pdf

The book discusses how to tackle long-term social and ecological problems by using different environmental governance approaches to creating sustainable development. It explores opportunities and requirements for the governance of long-term problems, and examines how to achieve a lasting transformation. When investments are made to mitigate climate change or preserve biodiversity, future generations can reap benefits from the efforts of the present generation. However, long-term social-ecological change towards sustainable development is disrupted by the fact that the costs and benefits of action are seen by different generations. With a global focus that includes case studies from Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America, this book attempts to address the difficulty of developing and implementing effective long-term governance solutions. The authors examine what distinguishes long‐term problems from other policy problems, what governance responses are available and used, and how different governance mechanisms, namely economic incentives, participation, as well as knowledge and learning, help to address them. Combining the perspectives on the different governance approaches and featuring cases studies on national, regional and global issues, Long-Term Governance for Social-Ecological Change will be of interest to policy-makers, students and scholars of global environmental governance, development, sustainability, politics, economics, law and sociology.

Author : Nathan Barlow,Livia Regen,Noémie Cadiou,Ekaterina Chertkovskaya,Max Hollweg,Christina Plank,Merle Schulken,Verena Wolf
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 53,7 Mb
Release : 2022
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 1906948623

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Degrowth & Strategy by Nathan Barlow,Livia Regen,Noémie Cadiou,Ekaterina Chertkovskaya,Max Hollweg,Christina Plank,Merle Schulken,Verena Wolf Pdf

Author : Krystyna Stave,Goraw Goshu,Shimelis Aynalem
Publisher : Springer
Page : 652 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2017-04-06
Category : Technology & Engineering
ISBN : 9783319457550

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Social and Ecological System Dynamics by Krystyna Stave,Goraw Goshu,Shimelis Aynalem Pdf

This book is a social—ecological system description and feedback analysis of the Lake Tana Basin, the headwater catchment of the Upper Blue Nile River. This basin is an important local, national, and international resource, and concern about its sustainable development is growing at many levels. Lake Tana Basin outflows of water, sediments, nutrients, and contaminants affect water that flows downstream in the Blue Nile across international boundaries into the Nile River; the lake and surrounding land have recently been proposed as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve; the basin has been designated as a key national economic growth corridor in the Ethiopian Growth and Transformation Plan. In spite of the Lake Tana Basin’s importance, there is no comprehensive, integrated, system-wide description of its characteristics and dynamics that can serve as a basis for its sustainable development. This book presents both the social and ecological characteristics of the region and an integrated, system-wide perspective of the feedback links that shape social and ecological change in the basin. Finally, it summarizes key research needs for sustainable development.

Author : Kousik Das Malakar,Manish Kumar,Subhash Anand,Gloria Kuzur
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 534 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 2023-07-19
Category : Science
ISBN : 9789819943906

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Climate Change and Socio-Ecological Transformation by Kousik Das Malakar,Manish Kumar,Subhash Anand,Gloria Kuzur Pdf

This book focuses on various psycho-social and socio-physical aspects of climate change and includes a wide range of case studies. Included topics are notable climate-related social thinking; climate vulnerability; transformation in socio-ecological subsystems; bioclimatological, urban bioclimatological and socio-bioclimatic ideas; disasters; policy instruments; climate justice; human rights; and sustainability. The book distinguishes itself from similar works by including a wide variety of topics and assists policy management in the current and upcoming climate crisis era. This book also addresses the Sustainable Development Goals 13 (Take Urgent Action to Combat Climate Change and Its Impacts), highlighting resilience, recovery potential and adaptive capacity, climate change measures integrated into policies and planning, and knowledge and capacity to mitigate climate change. The ideas covered in this book evolved in response to the current climate crisis, ideas that the authors believe will aid in societal management and development in the present and future. The book is a useful source for planners, geographers, professionals, academics, government officials, laypeople, and others interested in climate change.