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arXiv · 1704.06135

Modelling social-ecological transformations: an adaptive network proposal

Steven J. Lade·Örjan Bodin·Jonathan F. Donges·Elin Enfors Kautsky·Diego Galafassi·Per Olsson·Maja Schlüter
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Abstract

Transformations to create more sustainable social-ecological systems are urgently needed. Structural change is a feature of transformations of social-ecological systems that is of critical importance but is little understood. Here, we propose a framework for conceptualising and modelling sustainability transformations based on adaptive networks. Adaptive networks focus attention on the interplay between the structure of a social-ecological system and the dynamics of individual entities. Adaptive networks could progress transformations research by: 1) focusing research on changes in structure; 2) providing a conceptual framework that clarifies the temporal dynamics of social-ecological transformations compared to the most commonly used heuristic in resilience studies, the ball-and-cup diagram; 3) providing quantitative modelling tools in an area of study dominated by qualitative methods. We illustrate the potential application of adaptive networks to social-ecological transformations using a case study of illegal fishing in the Southern Ocean and a theoretical model of socially networked resource users.

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Steven J. Lade, Örjan Bodin, Jonathan F. Donges, Elin Enfors Kautsky, Diego Galafassi, Per Olsson, Maja Schlüter. 2017-04-18. Modelling social-ecological transformations: an adaptive network proposal. https://arxiv.org/abs/1704.06135

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