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The secrets of social-ecological systems: How do nature and society integrate seamlessly?
Social-Ecological Systems (SES), as an integrated framework that recognizes the interdependence of humans and nature, is an important cornerstone of today's environmental management and sustainable development. These systems involve not only geographical and ecological environments, but also the dynamics of human society, forming a complex and adaptive network.
A social-ecological system is a bio-geo-physical unit that continuously interacts with relevant social actors and institutions and exhibits resilient qualities.
Traditionally, social and natural sciences have been fairly clearly separated in their study of social-ecological systems, leading to a disconnect between human behavior and ecological management. Over time, however, scholars began to recognize that this boundary was artificial and ineffective. In the 1970s and 1980s, emerging research fields such as environmental ethics, political ecology, and ecological economics opened up interdisciplinary dialogues that emphasized the need to consider social factors when understanding ecosystems.
Scholars are increasingly recognizing that the connection between social and ecological systems is formed through feedback mechanisms, and that both systems exhibit resilience and complexity.
Social ecological system emphasizes the interactive relationship between ecological environment and social dynamics. This concept was first proposed by Berkes and Folke, and then, after in-depth discussions by many scholars, it gradually formed a comprehensive framework including natural resource management and community governance. This interdisciplinary way of thinking allows human behavior to be incorporated into ecological considerations, breaking the past view of humans as external factors in the ecosystem.
These studies not only consider the use of physical resources, but also focus on social structures and their impact on resource management. For example, traditional ecological knowledge systems play an indispensable role in establishing connections with ecosystems. Many communities have developed a variety of adaptive management strategies to cope with environmental changes based on a deep understanding of local ecology. How to balance these indigenous knowledges with scientific research methods remains a challenge facing contemporary environmental governance.
Social or cultural potential can be expressed as the cumulative network of relationships between people and between people and governance institutions.
In complex social-ecological systems, self-organization and nonlinearity are one of their important characteristics. In the face of environmental change and external shocks, systems reorganize based on their history and internal structure. Holling's adaptation cycle theory explains this process, emphasizing the need for systems to find a balance between conservation and utilization.
Such adaptability depends not only on environmental drivers but also on the flexibility of social institutions and their responsiveness. For example, several ecological regions in Florida, such as the Everglades, have very different institutional structures and levels of cooperation among stakeholders than the Grand Canyon. Past conflict and stalemate made it difficult for these ecosystems to innovate and adapt, but collaboration and feedback loops among stakeholders in the Grand Canyon are helping to restore the ecosystem.
In effective management strategies, resilience risk management of social-ecological systems involves the degree of shock that the system can absorb in order to remain within a certain state.
The issue of sustainable development is often implicit in the social-ecological system, which requires not only the intervention of scientists but also the joint efforts of policymakers and all sectors of society. Using complexity research and interdisciplinary approaches to address these issues has enabled many organizations to begin to understand that ecosystem protection and social development are not contradictory, but can reinforce each other. As global environmental changes intensify, how to promote this form of interdisciplinary cooperation to a wider range has become one of the main challenges at present.
Faced with future challenges, we should think: In such a social-ecological system, how can we ensure the harmonious development of nature and society to achieve a sustainable future?
