1

Innova&on  and  Transforma&on  for  People  and  the  Planet  

Per  Olsson  Stockholm  Resilience  Centre    

A PARTNER WITH

There  is  a  recogni&on  for  the  need  of  major  change  in  how  humans  interact  with  the  biophysical  system  (Folke  et  al.  2011)    But,  there  is  the  general  lack  of  understanding  about  how  to  transform  social-­‐ecological  systems  that  are  locked  into  unsustainable  development  pathways  to  improved  trajectories  that  enhance  the  capacity  of  ecosystems  to  generate  services  and  increase  human  wellbeing.    

“…some  now  consider  it  easier  to  accept  future  temperature  increases  of  up  to  4  [degrees]  C  or  more  within  this  century  (along  with  other  environmental  and  social  changes)  than  to  pursue  transforma&ve  strategies  to  avoid  such  changes.”    

O’Brian  (2011)  

Ecosystem Stewardship:    Sustainability  Strategies  for  a  Rapidly  Changing  Planet  

Integrates  three  broadly  overlapping  sustainability  approaches:  

•  reducing  vulnerability  to  expected  changes    •  fostering  resilience  to  sustain  desirable  

condi&ons  in  the  face  of  perturba&ons  and  uncertainty    

•  transforming  from  undesirable  trajectories  when  opportuni&es  emerge  

Chapin et al. 2010

1.  An  energy  revolu&on  –  Facilita&ng  a  global  energy  transforma&on  (>80  %  reduc&on  in  CO2  emissions  by  2050)    

2.  Future  food  -­‐    a  food  system  transforma&on  to  achieve  +70%  produc&on  by  2050  through  Sustainable  Intensifica&on    

3.  An  urban  planet  -­‐  Achieving  sustainable  urban  living  

4.  The  rising  billion  -­‐  Adap&ng  to  the  popula&on  transi&on  and  preparing  for  a  world  of  9  billion  people  

5.  Protect,  restore  &  sustain  -­‐  A  biodiversity  Management  Transforma&on  

6.  Strengthen  global  governance  -­‐  A  private  and  public  Governance  transforma&on  

 Six  urgent  transforma&on  areas  

Photo:  Ma`as  Klum  

Text Text

A safe and just space for humanity

Source: Oxfam

Text Text

A safe and just space for humanity

World Social Science Report 2013

Outline  

1.  Transforma&on  (before  lunch)  –  Exercise    

2.  Innova&on  (acer  lunch)  –  Exercise    

3.  Agency  

1 Transforma&on  

Transforming  bureaucracies  

 Ins&tu&onalising    par&cipatory  approaches  and  processes  for  natural  resource  management  

Addressing  transforma&ons  

Con&

nuity

 Cross-­‐scale  interac&ons  

Holling  et  al.  

Change  

Giddens  

Macro  

Meso  

Micro  

Rotmans  et  al.  

Social institutions Scale  

Structures of legitimation (norms and procedures)  

Structures of domination (power )  

Structures of domination ( resources)  

Structures of signification (values and beliefs)  

Macro Societies/cultures  

Legal  Ins&tu&ons  

Poli&cal  Ins&tu&ons  

Economic  Ins&tu&ons  

Cultural  Ins&tu&ons  (media,  schools,  churches,  etc.)  

Meso Organizations, networks, communities, associations  

Rules,  procedures,  norms  that  govern  our  interac&ons  (formal  or  informal)  around  work  and  social  interac&on  

Hierarchies,  distribu&on  of  authority.  Rules  that  govern  our  interac&ons  around  power    

Markets,  transac&ons,  distribu&on  of  resources.  Rules  that  govern  distribu&on,  access,  and  use.  

Values,  beliefs,  popular  culture.  Rules  that  allow  us  to  interpret  and  reproduce  the  meanings  of  day  to  day  invent  

Micro  (interac&ons/conversa&ons)  

What  are  the  rules  that  govern  our  exchanges  

Who  controls  the  topic,  the  mood?  

Who  gets  more  &me/whose  ideas  are  privileged?  

What  values  and  beliefs  inform  the  interac&on  

Transitions in Socio-Technological Systems

(Rotmans et al. 2001, Loorbach and Rotmans 2010, Geels and Shot 2007)

Macro/Landscapes  -­‐  geographical  posi&on  of  the  land,  climate,  available  resources,  poli&cal  constella&ons,  economic  cycles,  and  broad  societal  trends    Meso/Regimes  -­‐  dominant  rule-­‐sets,  social  networks  and  organiza&ons,  prevailing  infrastructures    Micro/Niches  -­‐  small  protected  spaces  in  which  new  prac&ces  can  develop,  protected  from  harsh  selec&on  criteria  and  resistance  from  prevailing  regimes  

Three  levels  

Fig.  2  

Macro  

Meso  

Micro  

Limita&ons  with  exis&ng  frameworks  

1.  tends  to  miss  the  ecological  dimension  of  such  shics  addressing  only  the  social  dimension  will  not  be  sufficient  to  guide  society  toward  sustainable  outcomes.    

2.  socie&es  may  undergo  major  transforma&ons  without  improving  their  capacity  to  learn  from,  respond  to,  and  manage  environmental  feedback  from  dynamic  ecosystems  

Understanding  transforma&ons  in  social-­‐ecological  systems  

Transformations in SES

Gunderson and Holling 2002

•  Purposefully navigated transformations of social-ecological systems

•  Increase our capacity to learn from, respond to, and manage environmental feedback from dynamic ecosystems

•  Include redirecting governance into restoring, sustaining, and developing the capacity of ecosystems to generate essential services

•  Innovation and agency, and strategies to overcome barriers to change

•  Traps and path dependence as well as windows of opportunity for change

SES transformations

Folke  et  al  2010  

Transforma&on  case  studies  

Phases  of  transforma&on  

Olsson  et  al  2004  

M.  Leach  2012    

Preparing for transformation •  Engage stakeholders to

identify dysfunctional states and raise awareness of problems

•  Identify thresholds, plausible alternative states, pathways, and triggers

•  Identify the barriers to change, potential change agents, and strategies to overcome barriers

•  Build strategic networks •  Develop vision/scenarios

Navigating the transition •  Identify potential crises

and use them as opportunities to initiate change

•  Maintain flexible strategies and transparency

•  Foster institutions that facilitate cross-scale and cross-organizational interactions and stakeholder participation

Building resilience of the new regime

•  Create incentives and foster values for stewardship in the new context

•  Initiate and mobilize social networks of key individuals for problem-solving

•  Foster interactions and support of decision makers at other levels

Phases  of  transforma&on  

Olsson  et  al  2004  

Naviga&ng:  Transi&onal  jus&ce  

Exercise  

Navigating transformations in governance of Chilean marine coastal resources

Gelcich et al. 2010

Exercise  

Using  the  transi&on  framework  to  understand  cross-­‐scale  dynamics  in  the  Chilean  case  study:  

– Make  a  &meline  and  map  key  events  happening  at  the  different  scales.    

– Once  mapped,  brainstorm  examples  of  the  opportuni&es  and  key  features  for  crossing  scales.  

– Report  back  acer  45  min.    

Transformations in a water management regime in the Tiscza River, Hungary

Sendzimir  et  al  2007  

2 Innova&on  

www.igbp.net  

Type/content  

Inclusiveness  

Scaling  

Key  aspects  of  innova&on    

Content    

   

Changing the system dynamics that created the problem in the first place

A  social  innova&on  is  any  ini&a&ve,  product,  process,  program  or  design  that  challenges  and,  over  &me,  changes,  the  defining  rou$nes,  resource  and  authority  flows  or  beliefs  of  the  broader  social  system  in  which  it  is  introduced.  Successful  social  innova&ons  have  durability,  scale  and  transforma&ve  impact.  

Muhammad  Yunus  

Social-­‐ecological  innova&ons  New technology, strategies, concepts, ideas and organizations that enhance the capacity of ecosystems to generate (bundles of) services •  have the potential to build resilience in SES, increase human well-being, and reduce vulnerability to present and future challenges •  can enhance the fit between ecosystems and governance systems and help can help break self-reinforcing feedbacks, unlock social-ecological systems’ lock-ins, escape traps and move to new trajectories of sustainability

Veta la Palma - Integrated Fish Farm

Inclusiveness  

Scaling  

A  systemic  shic  to  biofuels  might  slow  climate  change  but...      

destruc&ve  land-­‐use  change    and  biodiversity  loss  

land  grabbing,  inequali&es    and  social  unrest  

Biofuels  

Copyright  Policymic  

Photo: Kaj Török

Merrie  and  Olsson  2013  

 

Big  Picture  Bopom  Up  Innova&ons  

Excercise  

•  Using  the  Barefoot  College  as  a  case:  – What  is  the  social  innova&on  in  this  film  –  is  it  product,  process,  program,  design  or  all  of  these?Iden&fy  as  many  of  the  elements  as  you  can,  and  how  they  are  connected.  

– Has  the  innova&on  scaled  out?  Why?  Has  it  scaled  up?  In  other  words,  to  what  extent  do  you  see  the  ini&a&ve    as  having  an  impact  on  the  flows  of  resources,  power/authority,  rou&nes  and/or  beliefs  that  created  the  problem  in  the  first  place?  

3 Agency  

Photo:  "Transformers,"  courtesy  DreamWorks  Pictures  

Allan  Savoy    

Shadow networks

Olsson  et  al.  2006  

•  Characterized by political independence and out of the fray of regulation and implementation

•  Incubators - places to develop alternative policies, dare to learn from each other, and think creatively about how to resolve resource problems

•  Their ability to link in to the formal political arenas and networks at different levels

Westley,  Olsson  et  al.  2011  

Institutional  entrepreneurs,  global  networks,  and  the  emergence  of  international  institutions  for  ecosystem  stewardship:  The  Coral  Triangle  Initiative  

Franciska  Rosen  and  Per  Olsson  (manuscript)  

Photo: www.flickr.com/photos/37365478@N03/3465479992/

Key  Actors  •  Malaysia,  Indonesia,  Philippines,  Papua  New  Guinea,  Timor  Leste,  Solomon  Islands  •  Conserva&on  Interna&onal,  CI  •  WorldWildlifeFund,  WWF  •  Nature  Conservancy,  TNC  •  Asian  Development  Bank,  ADB;  •  Asian  Pacific  Economic  Coopera&on,  APEC;  •  Global  Environment  Facility,  GEF  •  United  States  Agency  for  Interna&onal  Development,  USAID  

Coral  Triangle  Ini&a&ve  (CTI)    an  interna&onal  agreement  and  partnership  for  ecosystem-­‐based  man-­‐  agement  of  coastal  and  marine  resources  in  the  Coral  Triangle  

Rosen  and  Olsson  2013  

Mobilizing  funds  and  broad  support:  Aprac&ng  interna&onal  finance  and  poli&cal  recogni&on    

•  Ac&vate  social  capital  and  social-­‐ecological  memory  from  previous  collabora&ve  projects.  

•  Strategic  communica&on  at  the  ‘right’  interna&onal  events.  

•  Iden&fy  poli&cal  opportuni&es  to  introduce  new  ideas.  

•  Visualize  links  between  different  issue  areas,  especially  between  ecosystem  stewardship  and  other  poli&cal  priori&es.  

‘‘Acer  9/11,  and  later  the  Bali-­‐bombings,  it  became  a  key  objec&ve  to  support  poli&cal  stability  in  Southeast  Asia.  The  structure  provided  by  the  CTI  provided  a  good  opportunity  to  increase  poli&cal  presence  in  the  region’’  (Interview32).  

‘‘Illegal  fishing  in  Australia’s  northern  waters  has  increased  drama&cally  in  the  past  five  years.  More  than  240  foreign  vessels  –most  of  them  Indonesian  –  have  been  apprehended  this  year  for  fishing  illegally…  Illegal  fishing  depletes  fish  stocks  and  poses  serious  environmental,  quaran&ne  and  security  risks  to  Australia’’  [56].  

   

per.olsson@stockholmresilience.su.se  twiper:  perserudsper  

 Subscribe  to  our  newsleper  

www.stockholmresilience.org/subscribe  

Thank  you!  

A PARTNER WITH