Achieving the promise of integration in social-ecological research: a review and prospectus
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
An integrated understanding of both social and ecological aspects of environmental issues is essential to address pressing sustainability challenges. An integrated social-ecological systems perspective is purported to provide a better understanding of the complex relationships between humans and nature. Despite a threefold increase in the amount of social-ecological research published between 2010 and 2015, it is unclear whether these approaches have been truly integrative. We conducted a systematic literature review to investigate the conceptual, methodological, disciplinary, and functional aspects of social-ecological integration. In general, we found that overall integration is still lacking in social-ecological research. Some social variables deemed important for addressing sustainability challenges are underrepresented in social-ecological studies, e.g., culture, politics, and power. Disciplines such as ecology, urban studies, and geography are better integrated than others, e.g., sociology, biology, and public administration. In addition to ecology and urban studies, biodiversity conservation plays a key brokerage role in integrating other disciplines into social-ecological research. Studies founded on systems theory have the highest rates of integration. Highly integrative studies combine different types of tools, involve stakeholders at appropriate stages, and tend to deliver practical recommendations. Better social-ecological integration must underpin sustainability science. To achieve this potential, future social-ecological research will require greater attention to the following: the interdisciplinary composition of project teams, strategic stakeholder involvement, application of multiple tools, incorporation of both social and ecological variables, consideration of bidirectional relationships between variables, and identification of implications and articulation of clear policy recommendations.
Key words: human-environment systems; interdisciplinary; social-ecological systems; stakeholder participation; sustainability science
Key words: human-environment systems; interdisciplinary; social-ecological systems; stakeholder participation; sustainability science
Date Issued
2018-10
Date Acceptance
2018-10-01
Citation
Ecology and Society: a journal of integrative science for resilience and sustainability, 2018, 23 (3)
ISSN
1195-5449
Publisher
The Resilience Alliance
Journal / Book Title
Ecology and Society: a journal of integrative science for resilience and sustainability
Volume
23
Issue
3
Copyright Statement
© 2018 by the author(s). Published here under license by The Resilience Alliance. This article is under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. You may share and adapt the work for noncommercial purposes provided the original author and source are credited, you indicate whether any changes were made, and you include a link to the license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).
License URL
Identifier
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000446321000015&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
Subjects
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Ecology
Environmental Studies
Environmental Sciences & Ecology
human-environment systems
interdisciplinary
social-ecological systems
stakeholder participation
sustainability science
INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH
KNOWLEDGE COPRODUCTION
ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
CONSERVATION
SYSTEMS
POLICY
SUSTAINABILITY
FRAMEWORK
SCIENCE
MARINE
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN 38
Date Publish Online
2018-10-01