Ecosystems and People (Dec 2022)
Social-ecological change: insights from the Southern African Program on Ecosystem Change and Society
- Reinette Biggs,
- Hayley S. Clements,
- Graeme S. Cumming,
- Georgina Cundill,
- Alta de Vos,
- Maike Hamann,
- Linda Luvuno,
- Dirk J. Roux,
- Odirilwe Selomane,
- Ryan Blanchard,
- Jessica Cockburn,
- Luthando Dziba,
- Karen J. Esler,
- Christo Fabricius,
- Rebecka Henriksson,
- Karen Kotschy,
- Regina Lindborg,
- Vanessa A. Masterson,
- Jeanne L. Nel,
- Patrick O’Farrell,
- Carolyn G. Palmer,
- Laura Pereira,
- Sharon Pollard,
- Rika Preiser,
- Robert J. Scholes,
- Charlie Shackleton,
- Sheona Shackleton,
- Nadia Sitas,
- Jasper A. Slingsby,
- Marja Spierenburg,
- Maria Tengö,
- Belinda Reyers
Affiliations
- Reinette Biggs
- Centre for Sustainability Transitions, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
- Hayley S. Clements
- Centre for Sustainability Transitions, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
- Graeme S. Cumming
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DST/NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
- Georgina Cundill
- Climate Resilient Food Systems Division, International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada
- Alta de Vos
- Department of Environmental Science, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa
- Maike Hamann
- Centre for Sustainability Transitions, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
- Linda Luvuno
- Centre for Sustainability Transitions, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
- Dirk J. Roux
- Scientific Services, South African National Parks, George, South Africa
- Odirilwe Selomane
- Centre for Sustainability Transitions, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
- Ryan Blanchard
- Centre for Sustainability Transitions, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
- Jessica Cockburn
- Department of Environmental Science, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa
- Luthando Dziba
- Conservation Services, South African National Parks, Pretoria, South Africa
- Karen J. Esler
- Department of Conservation Ecology & Entomology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
- Christo Fabricius
- Sustainability Research Unit, Nelson Mandela University, George, South Africa
- Rebecka Henriksson
- Centre for Water Resources Research, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
- Karen Kotschy
- Association for Water and Rural Development (AWARD), Hoedspruit, South Africa
- Regina Lindborg
- Department of Physical Geography, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Vanessa A. Masterson
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Jeanne L. Nel
- Sustainability Research Unit, Nelson Mandela University, George, South Africa
- Patrick O’Farrell
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DST/NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
- Carolyn G. Palmer
- Institute for Water Research, ARUA Water CoE, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa
- Laura Pereira
- Centre for Sustainability Transitions, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
- Sharon Pollard
- Association for Water and Rural Development (AWARD), Hoedspruit, South Africa
- Rika Preiser
- Centre for Sustainability Transitions, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
- Robert J. Scholes
- Global Change Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Charlie Shackleton
- Department of Environmental Science, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa
- Sheona Shackleton
- African Climate and Development Initiative, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
- Nadia Sitas
- Centre for Sustainability Transitions, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
- Jasper A. Slingsby
- Department of Biological Sciences and Centre for Statistics in Ecology, Environment and Conservation, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
- Marja Spierenburg
- Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
- Maria Tengö
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Belinda Reyers
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1080/26395916.2022.2097478
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 18,
no. 1
pp. 447 – 468
Abstract
Social-ecological systems (SES) research has emerged as an important area of sustainability science, informing and supporting pressing issues of transformation towards more sustainable, just and equitable futures. To date, much SES research has been done in or from the Global North, where the challenges and contexts for supporting sustainability transformations are substantially different from the Global South. This paper synthesises emerging insights on SES dynamics that can inform actions and advance research to support sustainability transformations specifically in the southern African context. The paper draws on work linked to members of the Southern African Program on Ecosystem Change and Society (SAPECS), a leading SES research network in the region, synthesizing key insights with respect to the five core themes of SAPECS: (i) transdisciplinary and engaged research, (ii) ecosystem services and human well-being, (iii) governance institutions and management practices, (iv) spatial relationships and cross-scale connections, and (v) regime shifts, traps and transformations. For each theme, we focus on insights that are particularly novel, interesting or important in the southern African context, and reflect on key research gaps and emerging frontiers for SES research in the region going forward. Such place-based insights are important for understanding the variation in SES dynamics around the world, and are crucial for informing a context-sensitive global agenda to foster sustainability transformations at local to global scales.
Keywords
- Elena Bennett
- SAPECS
- social-ecological systems
- transdisciplinarity
- ecosystem services
- human well-being
