per olsson transformation
TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to Stockholm Resilience Centre– Research for Governance of Social-Ecological Systems
Research on innovation and transformation in social-
ecological systems
Per OlssonStockholm Resilience Centre
Part I Background
Part II Insights from empirical studies
Outline
Background
There is a recognition for the need of major change in how humans interact with the biophysical system in order to reverse current trends of crossing critical thresholds and tipping points in the Earth system
But, there is the general lack of understanding about how to transform social-ecological systems that are locked into unsustainable development pathways to improved trajectories that enhance the capacity of ecosystems to generate services and increase human wellbeing.
Photo: B Christensen / AzotePhoto: B Christensen / Azote
?
Understanding transformations in social-ecological systems
“…some now consider it easier to accept future temperature increases of up to 4 [degrees] C or more within this century (along with other environmental and social changes) than to pursue transformative strategies to avoid such changes.”
O’Brian (2011)
Transformingbureaucracies
Institutionalising participatory approaches and processes for natural resource management
Addressing transformations
Theories and frameworks
• Social movement theory• Garbage can theory• Punctuated equilibrium• Organizational learning• Social innovation • Transition theory• Resilience theory
Social innovation• Social innovation refers to new concepts, strategies,
initiatives, products, processes or organizations that meet pressing social needs and extend and strengthen civil society
• Social innovations can be pioneered by a wide range of actors, including non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community groups, charities, governments, business, academics, philanthropists, or combinations of these groups
• Innovation differs from invention in that it does not refer only to the creation of new ideas or products, but also to the process of implementation or diffusion that make promising ideas useful in meeting social needs
The Young Foundation 2006, Westley et al. 2006, McKeown 2008
Transitions in Socio-Technological Systems
(Rotmans et al. 2001, Loorbach and Rotmans 2010, Geels and Shot 2007)
Transitions in STS
Regimes - dominant rule-sets, social networks and organizations, prevailing infrastructures
Landscapes - geographical position of the land, climate, available resources, political constellations, economic cycles, and broad societal trends
Niches - small protected spaces in which new practice can develop, protected from harsh selection criteria and resistance from prevailing regimes
Transitions in Socio-Technological systems
(Rotmans et al. 2001, Loorbach and Rotmans 2010, Geels and Shot 2007)
Niche dynamics
Limitations with existing frameworks
• tends to miss the ecological dimension of such shifts addressing only the social dimension will not be sufficient to guide society toward sustainable outcomes
• societies may undergo major transformations without improving their capacity to learn from, respond to, and manage environmental feedback from dynamic ecosystems
Understanding transformations in social-ecological systems
Transformations in SES
Gunderson and Holling 2002
Adaptability and Transformability
• ADAPTABILITY is the capacity of a SES to adjust its responses to changing external drivers and internal processes and thereby allow for development within the current stability domain, along the current trajectory
• TRANSFORMABILITY is the capacity to create new stability domains for development, a new stability landscape, and cross thresholds into a new development trajectory
Walker et al. 2004, Folke et al. 2010
• Purposefully navigated transformations of social-ecological systems
• Focus on transformations that increase our capacity to learn from, respond to, and manage environmental feedback from dynamic ecosystems
• Include redirecting governance into restoring, sustaining, and developing the capacity of ecosystems to generate essential services
SES transformations
Folke et al 2010
SES Transformations cont’d
• Systemic change and regime shifts • The incorporation of ecosystem
dynamics into the governance system • Innovation and agency, and strategies
to overcome barriers to change • Traps and path dependence as well as
windows of opportunity for change
Olsson et al. 2010
Insights from empirical work
Photo: www.flickr.com/photos/37365478@N03/3465479992/
• Patterns
• Innovation
• Agency
Three research areas
1Patterns
Conventional management
Ecosystem management
Building knowledge
Vision and goals in comprehensive
framework
Social networks
Window-of -opportunity
Olsson et al 2004
Triggers
Understanding transformations in social-ecological systems
Preparing Navigating the transition Stabilizing
Window of opportunity
a)
b)
Olsson et al 2004, Olsson et al 2006
Transformations in SES - multi-phasePreparing for transformation
• Engage stakeholders to identify dysfunctional states and raise awareness of problems
• Identify thresholds, plausible alternative states, pathways, and triggers• Identify the barriers to change, potential change agents, and strategies to
overcome barriersNavigating the transition
• Identify potential crises and use them as opportunities to initiate change• Maintain flexible strategies and transparency• Foster institutions that facilitate cross-scale and cross-organizational
interactions and stakeholder participationBuilding resilience of the new regime
• Create incentives and foster values for stewardship in the new context• Initiate and mobilize social networks of key individuals for problem-solving• Foster interactions and support of decision makers at other levels
Olsson et al 2004
Crisis and opportunity for transformations
Socio-political change as window of opportunity - the case of Chilean marine coastal resources
Gelcich et al. 2010
CURRENT DYNAMICS IN MAKANYA
At a system level, current social-ecological feedbacks reduce the agro-ecological productivity
Transformations in a water management regime in the Tiscza River, Hungary
Sendzimir et al 2007
Text
A Stability Landscape for the Columbia River Basin
Hill and Kolmes, unpublished
2Innovation
...into the Anthopocene
TextText
A safe and just space for humanity
Source: Oxfam
alterna've)direc&ons)for)innova'on)
business)as)usual)–)unsustainable)lock3in)
planetary
boundaries
planetary
boundaries
Safe))opera'ng)
space))
Desired)futures)
)Socially3just)distribu&on-
Diverse)pathways)
Transforming-Innova&on-for-sustainable-development-
Innova&on)–)new)ways)of)doing)things;)technologies,)ins'tu'ons,)social)prac'ces)))
Leach et al. 2012
Social-ecological innovations
Olsson and Galaz 2012
New technology, strategies, concepts, ideas and organizations that benefit both people and nature
Improve human life and strengthen the life-supporting ecosystems on which we ultimately depend
BiofuelsA systemic shift to biofuels might slow climate change but lead to:
• destructive land-use change and biodiversity loss
• inequalities and social unrest • further ecological degradation,
and lock-in traps that are difficult to get out of
Grau and Aide 2008
Photo: Lisbeth Westerlund
Fish farming on land is the future!
Veta la Palma - Integrated Fish Farm
Networked social and technological innovation
for sustainability
3Agency
Westley, Olsson et al. 2011
Change makers and institutional entrepreneurs
Shadow networks
Olsson et al. 2006
• Characterized by political independence and out of the fray of regulation and implementation
• Incubators - places to develop alternative policies, dare to learn from each other, and think creatively about how to resolve resource problems
• Their ability to link in to the formal political arenas and networks at different levels
Shadow networks and transformations in SES
Preparing for systemic change
Landscape perspective and an ecosystem approach
• Generating new knowledge
• Building support for the new approach
• Developing a vision
Shadow networks and transformations in SES
Preparing Navigating Stabilizing
Westley et al 2011
Rosen and Olsson 2013
• Making organizational changes
• Bridging science and policy
• Changing people’s perceptions
• Facilitating community participation and public consultation
• Gaining state and national political support
• Incorporating an understanding of ecosystem dynamics into the governance system to build capacity for managing ecosystem services
The role of agency in SES Transformations
SWARMS
Transformation pilots
Rockefeller Foundation Global Fellowship Program in Social Innovation