Social-ecological memory as a source of general and specified resilience

Abstract

ABSTRACT. We explored why social-ecological memory (SEM) is a source of inertia and path dependence, as well as a source of renewal and reorganization in social-ecological systems (SESs). We have presented two case studies: the historical case of the Norse settlement on Greenland and an empirical case from contemporary southern Madagascar. The cases illustrate how SEM is linked to specific pathways of development and a particular set of natural resource management practices. We have shown that in each case, a broader diversity of SEM is present in the SESs, but not drawn upon. Instead, SEMs are part of what explains community coherence and the barriers to adoption of more diverse practices. We have elaborated on how specific SEMs are linked to specified resilience, and we have shown that this fits existing notions of resilience, robustness, inertia, and path dependence. We have proposed that to change the dynamics of development pathways that do not produce desired results, it is necessary for managers to shift from specific to general SEM, which would also mirror the shift from specified to general resilience. The challenge lies in the interplay between the specified and the general. In this critical work, it is important to recognize that the valued diversity of SEM necessary for general resilience might actually reside in a different community.

Are adaptations self-organized, autonomous, and harmonious? Assessing the social–ecological resilience literature

“…Recent literature on social learning and adaptive comanagement opens up the "black box" of self-organization and acknowledges that learning is not value free and that power issues are important parts of the system dynamics in a SES that sometimes block "desirable" adaptations and transformations (e.g., Plummer and Armitage 2007, Armitage et al 2008, Berkes 2009, Reed et al 2010, Österblom and Folke 2013, Nykvist 2014. This also holds for social-ecological memories as contributing to adaptability and resilience (Nykvist and von Heland 2014).…”

Integration across a metacoupled world

“…The metacoupling framework can help address complex features such as nonlinearity (Garmestani 2014, Blenckner et al 2015, Monfared et al 2016, bifurcations (Suweis andD'Odorico 2014, Monfared et al 2016), oscillations (Innes et al 2013, Chaffin andGunderson 2016), time lags (Hamann et al 2016, Rova andPranovi 2017), legacy effects , Waylen et al 2015, path dependence (Hukkinen 2003, Manson 2008, Nykvist and von Heland 2014, and surprises associated with emergent properties (Heckbert et al 2010, ReyesGarcia et al 2016. The governance of metacoupled systems should pay serious attention to the need for agility in response to various changes and for avoiding different types of lock-ins (Hukkinen 2003, Schlüter et al 2009, Waylen et al 2015, Laborde et al 2016.…”

Social-ecological memory in an autobiographical novel: ecoliteracy, place attachment, and identity related to the Korean traditional village landscape

“…In this regard, researchers of SES have increasingly focused their attention to the factors that enhance resilience and adaptive capacity of an SES in the face of change and perturbations (e.g., Olsson et al 2004, Berkes and Seixas 2005, Folke et al 2005, Folke 2006, Ahern 2013, Ruiz-Mallén and Corbera 2013. Recent studies show that memory is important for social-ecological resilience; it is a resource for renewal, reorganization, and innovation when an SES experiences disturbance or crisis , DavidsonHunt and Berkes 2003, Folke et al 2005, Barthel et al 2010, Nykvist and von Heland 2014.…”