Welcome to Stockholm Resilience Centre– Research for Governance of Social-Ecological Systems

Research on innovation and transformation in social-

ecological systems

Per OlssonStockholm Resilience Centre

Part I Background

Part II Insights from empirical studies

Outline

Background

There is a recognition for the need of major change in how humans interact with the biophysical system in order to reverse current trends of crossing critical thresholds and tipping points in the Earth system

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.

Photo: B Christensen / AzotePhoto: B Christensen / Azote

?

Understanding transformations in social-ecological systems

“…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 transformative strategies to avoid such changes.”

O’Brian (2011)

Transformingbureaucracies

Institutionalising participatory approaches and processes for natural resource management

Addressing transformations

Theories and frameworks

• Social movement theory• Garbage can theory• Punctuated equilibrium• Organizational learning• Social innovation • Transition theory• Resilience theory

Social innovation• Social innovation refers to new concepts, strategies,

initiatives, products, processes or organizations that meet pressing social needs and extend and strengthen civil society

• Social innovations can be pioneered by a wide range of actors, including non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community groups, charities, governments, business, academics, philanthropists, or combinations of these groups

• Innovation differs from invention in that it does not refer only to the creation of new ideas or products, but also to the process of implementation or diffusion that make promising ideas useful in meeting social needs

The Young Foundation 2006, Westley et al. 2006, McKeown 2008

Transitions in Socio-Technological Systems

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

Transitions in STS

Regimes - dominant rule-sets, social networks and organizations, prevailing infrastructures

Landscapes - geographical position of the land, climate, available resources, political constellations, economic cycles, and broad societal trends

Niches - small protected spaces in which new practice can develop, protected from harsh selection criteria and resistance from prevailing regimes

Transitions in Socio-Technological systems

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

Niche dynamics

Limitations with existing frameworks

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

• societies may undergo major transformations without improving their capacity to learn from, respond to, and manage environmental feedback from dynamic ecosystems

Understanding transformations in social-ecological systems

Transformations in SES

Gunderson and Holling 2002

Adaptability and Transformability

• ADAPTABILITY is the capacity of a SES to adjust its responses to changing external drivers and internal processes and thereby allow for development within the current stability domain, along the current trajectory

• TRANSFORMABILITY is the capacity to create new stability domains for development, a new stability landscape, and cross thresholds into a new development trajectory

Walker et al. 2004, Folke et al. 2010

• Purposefully navigated transformations of social-ecological systems

• Focus on transformations that 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

SES transformations

Folke  et  al  2010

SES Transformations cont’d

• Systemic change and regime shifts • The incorporation of ecosystem

dynamics into the governance system • Innovation and agency, and strategies

to overcome barriers to change • Traps and path dependence as well as

windows of opportunity for change

Olsson  et  al.  2010

Insights from empirical work

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

• Patterns

• Innovation

• Agency

Three research areas

1Patterns

Conventional management

Ecosystem management

Building knowledge

Vision and goals in comprehensive

framework

Social networks

Window-of -opportunity

Olsson et al 2004

Triggers

Understanding transformations in social-ecological systems

Preparing Navigating the transition Stabilizing

Window of opportunity

a)

b)

Olsson et al 2004, Olsson et al 2006

Transformations in SES - multi-phasePreparing 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 barriersNavigating 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 participationBuilding 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

Olsson et al 2004

Crisis and opportunity for transformations

Socio-political change as window of opportunity - the case of Chilean marine coastal resources

Gelcich et al. 2010

CURRENT  DYNAMICS  IN  MAKANYA

At a system level, current social-ecological feedbacks reduce the agro-ecological productivity

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

Sendzimir  et  al  2007

Text

A Stability Landscape for the Columbia River Basin

Hill and Kolmes, unpublished

2Innovation

...into the Anthopocene

TextText

A safe and just space for humanity

Source: Oxfam

alterna've)direc&ons)for)innova'on)

business)as)usual)–)unsustainable)lock3in)

planetary

boundaries

planetary

boundaries

Safe))opera'ng)

space))

Desired)futures)

)Socially3just)distribu&on-

Diverse)pathways)

Transforming-Innova&on-for-sustainable-development-

Innova&on)–)new)ways)of)doing)things;)technologies,)ins'tu'ons,)social)prac'ces)))

Leach et al. 2012

Social-ecological innovations

Olsson  and  Galaz  2012

New technology, strategies, concepts, ideas and organizations that benefit both people and nature

Improve human life and strengthen the life-supporting ecosystems on which we ultimately depend

BiofuelsA systemic shift to biofuels might slow climate change but lead to:

• destructive land-use change and biodiversity loss

• inequalities and social unrest • further ecological degradation,

and lock-in traps that are difficult to get out of

Grau and Aide 2008

Photo: Lisbeth Westerlund

Fish farming on land is the future!

Veta la Palma - Integrated Fish Farm

Networked social and technological innovation

for sustainability

3Agency

Westley,  Olsson  et  al.  2011

 Change  makers  and  institutional  entrepreneurs

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

Shadow networks and transformations in SES

Preparing for systemic change

Landscape perspective and an ecosystem approach

• Generating new knowledge

• Building support for the new approach

• Developing a vision

Shadow networks and transformations in SES

Preparing Navigating Stabilizing

Westley et al 2011

Rosen and Olsson 2013

• Making organizational changes

• Bridging science and policy

• Changing people’s perceptions

• Facilitating community participation and public consultation

• Gaining state and national political support

• Incorporating an understanding of ecosystem dynamics into the governance system to build capacity for managing ecosystem services

The role of agency in SES Transformations

SWARMS

Transformation pilots

Rockefeller Foundation Global Fellowship Program in Social Innovation