Key features for more successful place-based sustainability research on social-ecological systems: a Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS) perspective
Key features for more successful place-based sustainability research on social-ecological systems: a Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS) perspective
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DOI：
10.5751/es-08826-220114
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发表时间：
2017-01-01
影响因子：
4.1
通讯作者：
Perez-Verdin, Gustavo
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Balvanera, Patricia;Daw, Tim M.;Perez-Verdin, Gustavo
可持续发展科学的新兴学科明确关注自然与社会之间的动态相互作用，致力于跨越多个尺度的研究，并支持向更大的可持续性过渡。由于近几十年来出现了越来越多的基于地方的社会生态可持续性研究（PBSESR），因此越来越需要更好地了解如何最大限度地提高这项工作的有效性。生态系统变化与社会方案提供了一个独特的机会，可以综合从这一研究界获得的关于可能有助于PBSESR相对成功的关键特征的见解。我们调查了PECS附属项目的领导人使用开放式，封闭式和半结构化的问题相结合，以确定研究项目的哪些功能被认为有助于成功的研究设计和实施。我们评估了六种类型的研究特征：问题导向，研究团队，背景，概念，方法和评价功能。我们研究了每个功能的可取和不可取的方面，与项目实施相关的有利因素和障碍，并要求受访者评估他们自己的项目与这些功能的性能。从25个国家的42个社会生态研究案例中的25个项目获得了答复。有助于PBSESR的整体成功的因素包括：明确解决综合社会生态系统;注重解决方案和转型为导向的研究;研究适应当地环境;与利益相关者和合作伙伴的信任，长期和频繁的接触;以及研究的目的和范围的早期定义。阻碍PBSESR取得成功的因素包括：社会生态系统固有的复杂性，对更广泛的研究群体强加特定的认识论和方法，需要很长的时间来启动和进行这种研究，以及研究团队内部和利益攸关方之间的权力不对称。在自我评估工作中，有关团队和上下文相关的功能的性能排名高于有关方法，评价和问题导向功能的性能。我们讨论了这些见解是如何平衡可持续发展科学的地方和全球视角，促进跨学科和跨学科整合的更快进展，重新定义和衡量PBSESR的成功，并面对学术和研究资助机构的挑战。这些结果突出了佩奇社区在帮助建立PBSESR实践社区方面提供的宝贵机会。
The emerging discipline of sustainability science is focused explicitly on the dynamic interactions between nature and society and is committed to research that spans multiple scales and can support transitions toward greater sustainability. Because a growing body of place-based social-ecological sustainability research (PBSESR) has emerged in recent decades, there is a growing need to understand better how to maximize the effectiveness of this work. The Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS) provides a unique opportunity for synthesizing insights gained from this research community on key features that may contribute to the relative success of PBSESR. We surveyed the leaders of PECS-affiliated projects using a combination of open, closed, and semistructured questions to identify which features of a research project are perceived to contribute to successful research design and implementation. We assessed six types of research features: problem orientation, research team, and contextual, conceptual, methodological, and evaluative features. We examined the desirable and undesirable aspects of each feature, the enabling factors and obstacles associated with project implementation, and asked respondents to assess the performance of their own projects in relation to these features. Responses were obtained from 25 projects working in 42 social-ecological study cases within 25 countries. Factors that contribute to the overall success of PBSESR included: explicitly addressing integrated social-ecological systems; a focus on solutionand transformation-oriented research; adaptation of studies to their local context; trusted, long-term, and frequent engagement with stakeholders and partners; and an early definition of the purpose and scope of research. Factors that hindered the success of PBSESR included: the complexities inherent to social-ecological systems, the imposition of particular epistemologies and methods on the wider research group, the need for long periods of time to initiate and conduct this kind of research, and power asymmetries both within the research team and among stakeholders. In the self-assessment exercise, performance relating to team and context-related features was ranked higher than performance relating to methodological, evaluation, and problem orientation features. We discuss how these insights are relevant for balancing place-based and global perspectives in sustainability science, fostering more rapid progress toward inter-and transdisciplinary integration, redefining and measuring the success of PBSESR, and facing the challenges of academic and research funding institutions. These results highlight the valuable opportunity that the PECS community provides in helping build a community of practice for PBSESR.