Social-ecological traps in reef fisheries

Cinner, Joshua E.

doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2011.04.012

Cited by 169 publications

(143 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Research from disciplines outside of social innovation has demonstrated that when critical ecological thresholds are crossed, degradation in the social system can and often does follow (e.g., Homer-Dixon 1999, Kinzig et al 2006, Cinner 2011. In addition, the social costs and benefits that follow from the activity that caused the degradation are not evenly distributed.…”

Section: Strategic Imperative #1: Confronting the Social-ecological Cmentioning

confidence: 99%

The concept of the Anthropocene as a game-changer: a new context for social innovation and transformations to sustainability

Olsson¹,

Moore²,

Westley³

et al. 2017

E&S

148

138

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ABSTRACT. After tracing the antecedents of the concept and considering its intersection in social innovation research, we put forward the argument that the Anthropocene concept points to three areas of thought that are strategically imperative and must be accelerated if social innovation theory and practice is to prove transformative and respond to the challenges associated with the Anthropocene. First, we contend that the current debate on social innovation for sustainability lacks a deeper focus on human-environmental interactions and the related feedbacks, which will be necessary to understand and achieve large-scale change and transformations to global sustainability. Many innovations focus on only the social or the ecological, and we believe a more integrated approach will be needed moving forward. Second, social innovation research must confront the path-dependencies embedded within systems, and we propose that the act of "bricolage," which recombines existing elements in novel ways, will be essential, rather than single variable solutions, which currently dominate social innovation discussions. Finally, we put forward the idea that confronting the cross-scalar nature of the Anthropocene requires revisiting both the scope and temporal nature of social innovations that are most typically focused upon by scholars and funders alike. We believe the concept of the Anthropocene creates new opportunities for social innovation scholars to imagine new possibilities.

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Section: Strategic Imperative #1: Confronting the Social-ecological Cmentioning

confidence: 99%

The concept of the Anthropocene as a game-changer: a new context for social innovation and transformations to sustainability

Olsson¹,

Moore²,

Westley³

et al. 2017

E&S

148

138

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Overfishing, commonly explained through Hardin's (1968) classical metaphor where the "tragedy" refers to instances when people fail to solve dilemmas of collective action, is increasingly conceptualized as a linked social-ecological process with critical feedbacks that can drive a system toward less desirable configurations. Recontextualizing overfishing as such may help confront the problem and find creative solutions to break the social-ecological feedback loops that perpetuate the cycle of poverty and natural resource degradation (Cinner 2011). We frame contemporary management of the hilsa shad (Tenualosa ilisha) fishery in the Meghna River and estuarine ecosystem, a vast tidal delta waterscape that stretches over 350 km of rivers in southern Bangladesh (Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reimagining large-scale open-water fisheries governance through adaptive comanagement in hilsa shad sanctuaries

Brakel¹,

Nahiduzzaman²,

Haque³

et al. 2018

E&S

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ABSTRACT. Almost a half million fishers in Bangladesh are predominantly reliant on the hilsa shad (Tenualosa ilisha) fishery in the Meghna River and estuarine ecosystem. This paper adopts a broadened concept of social-ecological traps to frame the complex dynamics that emerge from social and ecological interactions in this highly natural resource-dependent social-ecological system (SES). We analyze how endogenous self-reinforcing processes in the system and poor initial conditions, particularly debt and lack of livelihood options outside fisheries, keep fishing households in poverty. We identify a policy decision in favor of incentive-based fisheries management as a critical juncture that influenced a trajectory of recovery in hilsa shad stocks in this complex adaptive system. Normative assessment of stakeholder perceptions indicates that fishers perceive a nominal improvement in well-being as a result of this policy. Compensation in return for compliance with a seasonal fishing ban in sanctuary areas does not, however, disrupt trap dynamics perpetuating the cycle of poverty, social exclusion, and political disempowerment in which fishing households are entrenched. Poverty and lack of alternative livelihood opportunities remain significant reasons for noncompliance with the ban as long as fishers do not have any meaningful representation in resource management and decision making. A secured tenure system through adaptive comanagement involving fishers in monitoring and enforcement of compliance with fishing bans, supported by sustainable finance for livelihood improvements outside of natural resource exploitation and predicated on responsive and accountable institutions for and by people who depend on the fishery, can form the foundation for local stewardship in a unique demonstration of contemporary largescale open-water fisheries governance in this complex SES.

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“…This is especially the case when financial investments have been made in fishing technologies and intensified extraction is required to pay off these investments. This creates a reinforcing feedback loop, or a social-ecological trap (Steneck 2009;Cinner 2011) in which increased technology leads to ecological degradation and vice versa.…”

Section: Discussion Variable Implications and Interactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At the same time, users who are extremely dependent on one resource are often unable to act to conserve it, as their wellbeing is so tightly tied to the use of that resource and they have few other livelihood options. As this resource becomes degraded, users become embedded in a poverty trap where they have no option but to continue exploiting this resource (Cinner 2011). To conserve a resource users need both the incentive and the ability to conserve, implying an overall trend in which conservation behaviors peak at a moderate level of resource dependence.…”

Section: Discussion Variable Implications and Interactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Studying common-pool resources over time: A longitudinal case study of the Buen Hombre fishery in the Dominican Republic

Wilson¹,

Pavlowich

Cox

2015

Ambio

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Like many small-scale fishing communities around the world, the community of Buen Hombre in the Dominican Republic is dealing with a set of challenges to reconcile its fishing activities with the ecology on which it depends. Also like many such communities, this case has been examined at a particular period in time by a group of social scientists, but not over substantial lengths of time in order to examine the longitudinal validity of the conclusions made during this period. In this paper we combine data from previous anthropological work with our own primary social and ecological data to conduct a longitudinal case study of the Buen Hombre fishery. Our over-time comparison focuses on a suite of mostly social and institutional variables to explain what we find to be a continued degradation of the fishery, and we conclude the analysis by presenting a causalloop diagram, summarizing our inferences regarding the complex interactions among these variables. We find that a mix of factors, notably changes in gear and fishing sites used, the number of fishermen and their livelihood diversity, as well as an increased connectivity between Buen Hombre and its external environment, have contributed to the decline of the condition of Buen Hombre coral reef fishery. We conclude with a discussion of what may lie ahead for this particular case and others like it.

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Social-ecological traps in reef fisheries

Cited by 169 publications

References 54 publications

The concept of the Anthropocene as a game-changer: a new context for social innovation and transformations to sustainability

The concept of the Anthropocene as a game-changer: a new context for social innovation and transformations to sustainability

Reimagining large-scale open-water fisheries governance through adaptive comanagement in hilsa shad sanctuaries

Studying common-pool resources over time: A longitudinal case study of the Buen Hombre fishery in the Dominican Republic

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