Improving network approaches to the study of complex social–ecological interdependencies

Abstract

Achieving effective, sustainable environmental governance requires a better understanding of the causes and consequences of the complex patterns of interdependencies connecting people and ecosystems within and across scales. Network approaches for conceptualizing and analyzing these interdependencies offer one promising solution. Here, we present two advances we argue are needed to further this area of research: (i) a typology of causal assumptions explicating the causal aims of any given network-centric study of social-ecological interdependencies; (ii) unifying research design considerations that facilitate conceptualizing exactly what is interdependent, through what types of relationships, and in relation to what kinds of environmental problems. The latter builds on the appreciation that many environmental problems draw from a set of core challenges that re-occur across contexts. We demonstrate how these advances combine into a comparative heuristic that facilitates leveraging case-specific findings of social-ecological

Integrated spatial analysis for human–wildlife coexistence in the American West

“…A non-exhaustive list of methods, considerations, and outcomes are described for each level of integration. (Bodin et al 2019).…”

Socio-Ecological Network Structures from Process Graphs

“…Thus, in this paper, we discuss a potential new tool for ENA. 15 The use of network-based techniques for the analysis of social-ecological 16 interdependencies remains a challenge [4]. Such models are extended from ENA 17 methods through linkage with a network model of a human community at an 18 appropriate scale.…”

“…In order to better 35 understand the behavior of real ecosystems, the capability to represent the existence of 36 multiple simultaneous interdependencies is needed [13]. The current approach relies on 37 multiplex network modelling approaches -i.e., the use of multiple linked network 38 models, each representing one type of interdependence [4,14].…”

“…However, there is no record of its 85 use for ecological systems in the scientific literature. allows different types of interactions to be represented in a single graph, which is a 96 departure from the conventional multiplex graph approach [4,14].…”

Governance networks around grasslands with contrasting management history

“…This is also the case of Romania, for example, in protected areas and water resource governance (Manolache et al, 2018; Nita et al, 2018; Vinke-de Kruijf et al, 2016). The complex governance arenas make the analysis of stakeholders’ interaction and response to policies difficult with conventional tools, and network analysis may provide an ideal framework to understand the formation and coordination of management structures and provide feedback to policymakers (Alexander et al, 2016; Bodin et al, 2019; Nita et al, 2018).…”