Dwelling in the biosphere: exploring an embodied human–environment connection in resilience thinking

Cooke, Benjamin; West, Simon; Boonstra, Wiebren J.

doi:10.1007/s11625-016-0367-3

Cited by 67 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 73 publications

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“…Understanding diverse contexts of humans as "dwelling in the biosphere" (Cooke et al 2016) and shaping it in different ways is of significance in biosphere stewardship , Williams et al 2015. Investigations of issues like power dynamics, distribution of benefits, or poverty alleviation need to be connected to the vision of biosphere stewardship for human well-being (Fischer et al 2015).…”

Section: Biosphere Stewardshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social-ecological resilience and biosphere-based sustainability science

Folke¹,

Biggs²,

Norström³

et al. 2016

E&S

792

585

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ABSTRACT. Humanity has emerged as a major force in the operation of the biosphere. The focus is shifting from the environment as externality to the biosphere as precondition for social justice, economic development, and sustainability. In this article, we exemplify the intertwined nature of social-ecological systems and emphasize that they operate within, and as embedded parts of the biosphere and as such coevolve with and depend on it. We regard social-ecological systems as complex adaptive systems and use a social-ecological resilience approach as a lens to address and understand their dynamics. We raise the challenge of stewardship of development in concert with the biosphere for people in diverse contexts and places as critical for long-term sustainability and dignity in human relations. Biosphere stewardship is essential, in the globalized world of interactions with the Earth system, to sustain and enhance our lifesupporting environment for human well-being and future human development on Earth, hence, the need to reconnect development to the biosphere foundation and the need for a biosphere-based sustainability science.

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Section: Biosphere Stewardshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social-ecological resilience and biosphere-based sustainability science

Folke¹,

Biggs²,

Norström³

et al. 2016

E&S

792

585

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Interesting opportunities may also lie in somewhat less talked about research areas such as relational and process-based philosophy. In this ontology, the world consists of relations, not objects (Cooke et al 2016, Kaaronen 2018, West et al 2018, Mancilla Garcia et al 2019. Such an ontology, for example, argues that valleys and mountains only exist in relation to each other.…”

Section: Network Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social-ecological network analysis for sustainability sciences: a systematic review and innovative research agenda for the future

Sayles

García

Hamilton

et al. 2019

Environ. Res. Lett.

108

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Social-ecological network (SEN) concepts and tools are increasingly used in human-environment and sustainability sciences. We take stock of this budding research area to further show the strength of SEN analysis for complex human-environment settings, identify future synergies between SEN and wider human-environment research, and provide guidance about when to use different kinds of SEN approaches and models. We characterize SEN research along a spectrum specifying the degree of explicit network representation of system components and dynamics. We then systematically review one end of this spectrum, what we term 'fully articulated SEN' studies, which specifically model unique social and ecological units and relationships. Results show a larger number of papers focus on methodological advancement and applied ends. While there has been some development and testing of theories, this remains an area for future work and would help develop SENs as a unique field of research, not just a method. Authors have studied diverse systems, while mainly focusing on the problem of social-ecological fit alongside a scattering of other topics. There is strong potential, however, to engage other issues central to human-environment studies. Analyzing the simultaneous effects of multiple social, environmental, and coupled processes, change over time, and linking network structures to outcomes are also areas for future advancement. This review provides a comprehensive assessment of (fully articulated) SEN research, a necessary step that can help scholars develop comparable cases and fill research gaps.

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“…Humans and nature are inextricably linked (Folke 2006;Cooke et al 2016) and everything is constantly coevolving with everything else. In some contexts, coevolutionary relationships are very direct and observable, like in Village A where agricultural biodiversity and cultural diversity directly maintain each other through the ritual of Baht.…”

Section: Reconfiguration Of Coevolutionary Relationships In Developmementioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of development interventions on biocultural diversity: a case study from the Pamir Mountains

et al. 2019

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The relationship between nature and culture in biocultural landscapes runs deep, where everyday practices and rituals have coevolved with the environment over millennia. Such tightly intertwined social-ecological systems are, however, often in the world's poorest regions and commonly subject to development interventions which effect biocultural diversity. This paper investigates the social and ecological implications of an introduced wheat seed in the Pamir Mountains. We examine contrasting responses to the intervention through participatory observation of food practices around a New Year ritual, and interviews in two communities. Our results show how one community fostered biocultural diversity, while the other did not, resulting in divergent processes of social and cultural change. In the former, ritual is practiced with traditional seed varieties, involving reciprocal exchange and is characterised by little outmigration of youth. In contrast, the second community celebrates the ritual with replaced store-bought ingredients, no longer cultivates any grain crops and where circular migration to Russia is the main livelihood strategy. Coevolution as an analytical lens enables us to understand these divergent pathways as processes of dynamically changing social-ecological relations. The paper suggests that a deeper understanding of socialecological relationships in landscapes offers a dynamic and process-oriented understanding of development interventions and can help identify endogenous responses to local, regional and global change-thereby empowering more appropriate and effective development pathways.

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Dwelling in the biosphere: exploring an embodied human–environment connection in resilience thinking

Cited by 67 publications

References 73 publications

Social-ecological resilience and biosphere-based sustainability science

Social-ecological resilience and biosphere-based sustainability science

Social-ecological network analysis for sustainability sciences: a systematic review and innovative research agenda for the future

Effects of development interventions on biocultural diversity: a case study from the Pamir Mountains

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