Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Restoring the human capacity for conserving biodiversity: a social–ecological approach

  • Note and Comment
  • Published:
Sustainability Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Achieving biodiversity targets will require acknowledging that human societies are highly interconnected with the biophysical life-support system, conforming social–ecological systems. Under the social–ecological systems framework, we recognize that human wellbeing depends, in part, upon ecosystems; additionally, biodiversity conservation depends on human behavior and governance. Precisely, under the social–ecological systems paradigm, three conservation challenges emerge: (1) to recognize the value pluralism of biodiversity in science and decision-making, (2) to acknowledge that social–ecological systems require institutional diversity to be managed effectively, and (3) to go beyond scientific disciplines towards a real transdisciplinary science. In this context, sustainability science emerges as the body of knowledge able to understand the complex interactions of social-ecological systems. Consequently, we argue that the current challenge of biodiversity conservation needs to be addressed through the operationalization of sustainability science along the three lines above.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

References

  • Agrawal A (1996) The community vs. the market and the state: forest use in Uttarakhand in the Indian Himalayas. J Agr Environ Ethic 9:1–15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Agrawal A (2007) Forests, governance and sustainability: common property theory and its contributions. Int J Commons 1:111–136

    Google Scholar 

  • Agrawal A, Yadama G (1997) How do local institutions mediate the impact of market and population pressures on resource use. Dev Change 28:435–465

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Armsworth PR, Chan KMA, Daily GC, Ehrlich PR, Kremen C, Ricketts TH, Sanjayan MA (2007) Ecosystem-service science and the way forward for conservation. Conserv Biol 21:1383–1384. doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2007.00821.x

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ban NC, Mills M, Tam J, Hicks CC, Klain S, Stoeckl N, Bottrill MC, Levine J, Pressey RL, Satterfield T, Chan KMA (2013) A social–ecological approach to conservation planning: embedding social implications. Front Ecol Environ 11:194–202. doi:10.1890/110205

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berkes F (2001) Religious, traditions and biodiversity. Encyc Biodivers 5:109–120

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berkes F, Folke C (1998) Linking social and ecological systems: management practices and social mechanisms for building resilience. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Brondizio ES, Gatzweiler F, Zografos C, Kumar M (2010) The socio-cultural context of ecosystem and biodiversity valuation. In: Kumar P (ed) The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity: Ecological and Economic Foundations. Earthscan, London and Washington, pp 150–181

    Google Scholar 

  • Bugalho MN, Caldeira MC, Pereira JS, Aronson J, Pausas JG (2011) Mediterranean cork oak savannas require human use to sustain biodiversity and ecosystem services. Front Ecol Environ 9:278–286. doi:10.1890/100084

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Butchart SHM, Walpole M, Collen B, van Strien A, Scharlemann JPW, Almond REA, Baillie JEM, Bomhard B, Brown C, Bruno J, Carpenter KE, Carr GM, Chanson J, Chenery AM, Csirke J, Davidson NC, Dentener F, Foster M, Galli A, Galloway JN, Genovesi P, Gregory RD, Hockings M, Kapos V, Lamarque J-F, Leverington F, Loh J, McGeoch MA, McRae L, Minasyan A, Hernández Morcillo M, Oldfield TEE, Pauly S, Quader S, Revenga C, Sauer JR, Skolnik B, Spear D, Stanwell-Smith D, Stuart SN, Symes A, Tierney M, Tyrrell TD, Vié J-C, Watson R (2010) Global biodiversity: indicators of recent declines. Science 328:1164–1168. doi:10.1126/science.1187512

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter SR, Mooney HA, Agard J, Capistrano D, DeFries RS, Díaz S, Dietz T, Duraiappah AK, Oteng-Yeboah A, Pereira HM, Perrings C, Reid WV, Sarukhan J, Scholes RJ, Whyte A (2009) Science for managing ecosystem services: beyond the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Proc Nat Acad Sci USA 106:1305–1312. doi:10.1073/pnas.0808772106

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Carvalho AM, Frazão-Moreira (2011) Importance of local knowledge in plant resources management and conservation in two protected areas from Trás-os-Montes Portugal. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed 7:36. doi:10.1186/1746-4269-7-36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chan KMA, Satterfield T, Goldstein J (2012a) Rethinking ecosystem services to better address and navigate cultural values. Ecol Econ 74:8–18. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2011.11.011

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chan KMA, Guerry AD, Balvanera P, Klain S, Satterfield T, Basurto X, Bostrom A, Chuenpagdee R, Gould R, Halpern BS, Hannahs N, Levine J, Norton B, Ruckelshaus M, Russell R, Tam J, Woddside U (2012b) Where are cultural and social in ecosystem services? A framework for constructive engagement. Bioscience 62:744–756. doi:10.1525/bio.2012.62.8.7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark WC (2007) Sustainability Science: a room of its own. Proc Nat Acad Sci USA 104:1737–1738. doi:10.1073/pnas.0611291104

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Colding J, Folke C (2000) The taboo system: lessons about informal institutions for nature management. GIELR 12:413–445

    Google Scholar 

  • Colding J, Folke C, Elmqvist T (2003) Social institutions in ecosystem management and biodiversity conservation. Trop Ecol 44:25–41

    Google Scholar 

  • Corbera E, Pascual U (2012) Ecosystem services: heed social goals. Science 335:655–656. doi:10.1126/science.335.6069.655-c

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dietz T, Ostrom E, Stern PC (2003) The struggle to govern the commons. Science 302:1907–1912. doi:10.1126/science.1091015

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ehrlich PR, Kareiva PM, Daily GC (2012) Securing natural capital and expanding equity to rescale civilization. Nature 486:68–73. doi:10.1038/nature11157

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fazey I, Fazey JA, Salisbury JG, Lindenmayer DB, Dovers S (2006) The nature and role of experiential knowledge for environmental conservation. Environ Cons 33:1–10. doi:10.1017/S037689290600275X

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fischer J, Dyball R, Fazey I, Gross C, Dovers S, Ehrlich PR, Brulles RJ, Christensen C, Borden RJ (2012) Human behavior and sustainability. Front Ecol Environ 10:153–160. doi:10.1890/110079

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Folke C, Hahn T, Olsson P, Norberg J (2005) Adaptive governance of social-ecological systems. Annu Rev Environ Resour 30:441–473. doi:10.1146/annurev.energy.30.050504.144511

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Folke C, Asa J, Rockstrom J, Olsson P, Carpenter SR, Chapin FS III, Crepin A-S, Daily G, Danell K, Ebbesson J, Elmqvist T, Galaz V, Moberg F, Nilsson M, Österblom H, Ostrom E, Persson A, Peterson G, Polasky S, Steffen W, Walker B, Westley F (2011) Reconnecting to the biosphere. Ambio 40:719–738. doi:10.1007/s13280-011-0184-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gadgil M, Berkes F, Folke C (1993) Indigenous knowledge for biodiversity conservation. Ambio 22:151–156

    Google Scholar 

  • García-Llorente M, Martín-López B, Iniesta-Arandia I, López-Santiago CA, Aguilera PA, Montes C (2012) The role of multi-functionality in social preferences toward semi-arid rural landscapes: an ecosystem service approach. Environ Sci Policy 19–20:136–146. doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2012.01.006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gatzweiler FW (2005) Institutionalising biodiversity conservation—the case of ethiopian coffee forests. Conserv Soc 3:201–223

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghimire SK, McKey D, Aumeeruddy-Thomas Y (2005) Heterogeneity in ethnoecological knowledge and management of medicinal plants in the Himalayas of Nepal: implications for conservation. Ecol Soc 9: 6. URL: http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol9/iss3/art6/

  • Gómez-Baggethun E, Mingorría S, Reyes-García V, Calvet L, Montes C (2010) Traditional ecological knowledge trends in the transition to a market economy: empirical study in the Doñana natural areas. Conserv Biol 24:721–729. doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01401.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gómez-Baggethun E, Reyes-García V, Olsson P, Montes C (2012) Traditional ecological knowledge and community resilience to environmental extremes: a case study in Doñana, SW Spain. Global Environ Chang 22:640–650. doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2012.02.005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gómez-Bagghetun E, Kelemen E, Martín-López B, Palomo I, Montes C (2013) Scale misfit in ecosystem service governance as a source of environmental conflict. Soc Natur Resour 26:1202–1216. doi:10.1080/08941920.2013.820817

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holling CS, Meffe GK (1996) Command and control and the pathology of natural resource management. Conserv Biol 10:328–337

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iniesta-Arandia I, García del Amo D, García-Nieto AP, Piñeiro C, Montes C, Martín-López B (2014) Factors influencing local ecological knowledge maintenance in Mediterranean watersheds: insights for environmental policies. Ambio. doi:10.1007/s13280-014-0556-1

    Google Scholar 

  • Jax K, Barton DN, Chan KMA, de Groot R, Doyle U, Eser U, Görg C, Gómez-Baggethun E, Griewald J, Haber W, Haines-Young R, Heink U, Jahn T, Joosten H, Kershbaumer L, Korn H, Luck GW, Matzdorf B, Muraca B, Neβhöver C, Norton B, Ott K, Potschin M, Rauschmayer F, von Haaren C, Wichmann S (2013) Ecosystem services and ethics. Ecol Econ 93:260–268. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2013.06.008

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Joppa LN (2012) Ecosystem services: free lunch no more. Science 335:656. doi:10.1126/science.335.6069.656-a

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kates RW (2011) What kind of a science is sustainability science? P Nat Acad Sci USA 108:19449–19450. doi:10.1073/pnas.1116097108

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kauffman J (2009) Advancing sustainability science: report on the international conference on sustainability science (ICSS) 2009. Sustain Sci 4:233–242. doi:10.1007/s11625-009-0088-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kinzig AP, Perrings C, Chapin FS III, Polasky S, Smith VK, Tilman D, Turner BL II (2011) Paying for ecosystem services—promise and peril. Science 334:603–604. doi:10.1126/science.1210297

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Komiyama H, Takeuchi K (2006) Sustainability science: building a new discipline. Sustain Sci 1:1–6. doi:10.1007/s11625-006-0007-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Land DJ, Wiek A, Bergmann M, Stauffacher M, Martens P, Moll P, Swilling M, Thomas CJ (2012) Transdisciplinary research in sustainability science: practice, principles, and challenges. Sustain Sci 7:25–43. doi:10.1007/s11625-011-0149-x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laurence WF et al (2012) Averting biodiversity collapse in tropical forest protected areas. Nature 489:290–294. doi:10.1038/nature11318

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lelé S, Norgaard RB (2005) Practicing interdisciplinarity. Bioscience 55:967–975

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leroux SJ, Kerr JT (2012) Land development in and around protected areas at the wilderness frontier. Conserv Biol 27:166–176. doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2012.01953.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindenfeld L, Smith HM, Norton T, Grecu NC (2014) Risk communication and sustainability science: lessons from the field. Sustain Sci 9:119–121. doi:10.1007/s11625-013-0230-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MA (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment) (2005) Ecosystems and human well-being: synthesis. Island Press, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Mace GM (2014) Whose conservation? Science 345:1558–1560. doi:10.1126/science.1254704

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Martín-López B, Iniesta-Arandia I, García-Llorente M, Palomo I, Casado-Arzuaga I, García del Amo D, Gómez-Baggethun E, Oteros-Rozas E, Palacios-Agúndez I, Willaarts B, González JA, Santos-Martín F, Onaindia M, López-Santiago C, Montes C (2012) Uncovering ecosystem services bundles through social preferences: experimental evidence from Spain. PLoS One 7:e38970. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0038970

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martín-López B, Gómez-Bagghetun E, García-Llorente M, Montes C (2014) Trade-offs across value-domains in ecosystem services assessments. Ecol Indic 37A:220–228. doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2013.03.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mascia MB, Brosius JP, Dobson TA, Forbes BC, Horowitz L, McKean MA, Turner NJ (2003) Conservation and the social sciences. Conserv Biol 17:649–650. doi:10.1046/j.1523-1739.2003.01738.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKean M (1992) Success on the commons: a comparative examination of institutions for common property resource management. J Theor Polit 4:247–281

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Menzel S, Teng J (2010) Ecosystem services as a stakeholder-driven concept for conservation science. Conserv Biol 24:907–909. doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01347.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moller H, Berkes F, Lyver PO, Kislalioglu M (2004) Combining science and traditional ecological knowledge: monitoring populations for co-management. Ecol Soc 9:2. URL: http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol9/iss3/art2

  • Nieto-Romero M, Oteros-Rozas E, González JA, Martín-López B (2014) Exploring the knowledge landscape of ecosystem services assessments in Mediterranean agroecosystems: insights for future research. Environ Sci Policy 37:121–133. doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2013.09.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ostrom E (1990) Governing the Commons. Cambridge University Press, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ostrom E (1998) Scales, polycentricity and incentives: Designing complexity to govern complexity. In: Guruswamy LD, McNeely JA (eds) Protection of global biodiversity: converging strategies. Duke University Press, Durham, pp 149–167

    Google Scholar 

  • Ostrom E (2005) Understanding Institutional Diversity. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Google Scholar 

  • Ostrom E (2009) A general framework for analyzing sustainability of social-ecological systems. Science 325:419–422. doi:10.1126/science.1172133

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Palomo I, Montes C, Martín-López B, González JA, García-Llorente M, Alcorlo P, García-Mora MR (2014) Incorporating the social-ecological approach to protected areas in the Anthropocene. Bioscience 64:181–191. doi:10.1093/biosci/bit033

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pascual U, Muradian R, Brander L, Gómez-Baggethun E, Martín-López B, Verma M, Armsworth P, Christie M, Cornelissen H, Eppink F, Farley J, Loomis J, Pearson L, Perrings C, Polasky S (2010) The economics of valuing ecosystem services and biodiversity. In: Kumar P (ed) The economics of ecosystems and biodiversity: ecological and economic foundations. Earthscan, London and Washington, pp 184–255

    Google Scholar 

  • Pascual U, Phelps J, Garmendia E, Brow K, Corbera E, Martin A, Gomez-Baggethun E, Muradian R (2014) Social equity matters in payments for ecosystem services. BioScience 64:1027–1036. doi:10.1093/biosci/biu146

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pe’er G, McNeely JA, Dieterich M, Jonsson B-G, Selva N, Fitzgerald JM, Nesshöver C (2013) IPBES: opportunities and challenges for SCB and other learned societies. Conserv Biol 27:1–3. doi:10.1111/cobi.12000

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pereira HM, Navarro LM, Santos Martins I (2012) Global biodiversity change: the bad, the good, and the unknown. Annu Rev Environ Resour 37:25–50. doi:10.1146/annurev-environ-042911-093511

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pretty J (2011) Interdisciplinary progress in approaches to address social-ecological and ecocultural systems. Environ Conserv 38:127–139. doi:10.1017/S0376892910000937

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rands MRW, Adams WM, Bennun L, Butchart SHM, Clements A, Coomes D, Entwistle A, Hodge I, Kapos V, Scharlemann JPW, Sutherland WJ, Vira B (2010) Biodiversity conservation: challenges beyond 2010. Science 239:1298–1303. doi:10.1126/science.1189138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raymond CM, Fazey I, Reed MS, Stringer LC, Robinson GM, Evely AC (2010) Integrating local and scientific knowledge for environmental management. J Environ Manag 91:1766–1777. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2010.03.023

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reyers B, Polasky S, Tallis H, Mooney HA, Larigauderie A (2012) Finding common ground for biodiversity and ecosystem services. Bioscience 62:503–507. doi:10.1525/bio.2012.62.5.l2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reyers B, Biggs R, Cumming GS, Elmqvist T, Hejnowicz AP, Polasky S (2013) Getting the measure of ecosystem services: a social-ecological approach. Front Ecol Environ 11:268–273. doi:10.1890/120144

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salomon AK, Tanape NM, Huntington HP (2007) Serial depletion of marine invertebrates leads to the decline of a strongly interacting grazer. Ecol Appl 17:1752–1770. doi:10.3410/f.10828956.11742054

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santos-Martín F, Martín-López B, García-Llorente M, Aguado M, Benayas J, Montes C (2013) Unraveling the relationships between ecosystems and human wellbeing in Spain. PLoS One 8:e73249. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0073249

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (2014) Global biodiversity outlook 4. Montréal, Canada

    Google Scholar 

  • Shirk JL, Ballard HK, Wilderman CC, Phillips T, Wiggins A, Jordan R, McCallie E, Minarchek M, Lewenstein BV, Krasny ME, Bonney R (2012) Public participation in scientific research: A framework for deliberate design. Ecol Soc 17: 29. URL: http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol17/iss2/art29/

  • Simaika JP, Samways MJ (2010) Biophilia as a universal ethic for conserving biodiversity. Conserv Biol 24:903–906. doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2010.01485.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stringer LC, Dougill AJ, Fraser E, Hubacek K, Prell C, Reed MS (2006) Unpacking “participation” in the adaptive management of social—ecological systems: a critical review. Ecol Soc 11: 39. URL: http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol11/iss2/art39/

  • Sutherland WJ, Gardner TA, Haider J, Dicks LV (2013) How can local and traditional knowledge be effectively incorporated into international assessments? Oryx 48:1–2. doi:10.1017/S0030605313001543

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • TEEB (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) (2011) The economics of ecosystems and biodiversity in national and international policy making. Earthscan, London and Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Tëngo M, Belfrage K (2004) Local management practices for dealing with change and uncertainty: a cross-scale comparison of cases in Sweden and Tanzania. Ecol Soc 9: 4. URL: http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol9/iss3/art4

  • Tëngo M, Brondizio ES, Elmqvist T, Malmer P, Spierenburg M (2014) Connecting diverse knowledge systems for enhanced ecosystem governance: the multiple evidence base approach. Ambio. doi:10.1007/s13280-014-0501-3

    Google Scholar 

  • Tittensor DP, Walpole M, Hill SLL, Boyce DG, Britten GL, Burgess ND, Butchart SH, Leadley PW, Regan EC, Alkemade R, Baumung R, Bellard C, Bouwman L, Bowles-Newark NJ, Chenery AM, Cheung WWL, Christensen V, Cooper HD, Crowther AR, Dixon MJR, Galli A, Gaveau V, Gregory RD, Gutierrez NL, Hirsch TL, Höft R, Januchowski-Hartley SR, Karmann M, Krug CB, Leverington FJ, Loh J, Lojenga RK, Malsch K, Marques A, Morgan DHW, Mumby PJ, Newbold T, Noonan-Mooney K, Pagad SN, Parks BC, Pereira HM, Robertson T, Rondinini C, Santini L, Scharlemann JPW, Schindler S, Sumaila RU, The LSL, van Kolck J, Visconti P, Ye Y (2014) A mid-term analysis of progress toward international biodiversity targets. Science 346:241–244. doi:10.1126/science.1257484

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Turner NJ, Turner K (2008) “Where our women used to get the food”: cumulative effects and loss of ethnobotanical knowledge and practice; case study from coastal British Columbia. Botany 86:103–115. doi:10.1139/B07-020

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turnhout E, Bloomfield B, Hulme M, Vogel J, Wynne B (2012) Listen to the voices of experience. Nature 488:454–455. doi:10.1038/488454a

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vatn A (2005) Institutions and the environment. Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson EO (1984) Biophilia. Harvard University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Kai Chan for his inspiring and constructive comments.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Social-Ecological Systems Laboratory, Department of Ecology, Edificio de Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, c. Darwin 2, 28049, Madrid, Spain

    Berta Martín-López & Carlos Montes

Authors
  1. Berta Martín-López
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Carlos Montes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Berta Martín-López.

Additional information

Handled by Kai M A Chan, The University of British Columbia, Canada.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Martín-López, B., Montes, C. Restoring the human capacity for conserving biodiversity: a social–ecological approach. Sustain Sci 10, 699–706 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-014-0283-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-014-0283-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation