Browsing by Subject "social-ecological systems"
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Item Open Access A novel framework for analyzing conservation impacts: evaluation, theory, and marine protected areas.(Ann N Y Acad Sci, 2017-07) Mascia, Michael B; Fox, Helen E; Glew, Louise; Ahmadia, Gabby N; Agrawal, Arun; Barnes, Megan; Basurto, Xavier; Craigie, Ian; Darling, Emily; Geldmann, Jonas; Gill, David; Holst Rice, Susie; Jensen, Olaf P; Lester, Sarah E; McConney, Patrick; Mumby, Peter J; Nenadovic, Mateja; Parks, John E; Pomeroy, Robert S; White, Alan TEnvironmental conservation initiatives, including marine protected areas (MPAs), have proliferated in recent decades. Designed to conserve marine biodiversity, many MPAs also seek to foster sustainable development. As is the case for many other environmental policies and programs, the impacts of MPAs are poorly understood. Social-ecological systems, impact evaluation, and common-pool resource governance are three complementary scientific frameworks for documenting and explaining the ecological and social impacts of conservation interventions. We review key components of these three frameworks and their implications for the study of conservation policy, program, and project outcomes. Using MPAs as an illustrative example, we then draw upon these three frameworks to describe an integrated approach for rigorous empirical documentation and causal explanation of conservation impacts. This integrated three-framework approach for impact evaluation of governance in social-ecological systems (3FIGS) accounts for alternative explanations, builds upon and advances social theory, and provides novel policy insights in ways that no single approach affords. Despite the inherent complexity of social-ecological systems and the difficulty of causal inference, the 3FIGS approach can dramatically advance our understanding of, and the evidentiary basis for, effective MPAs and other conservation initiatives.Item Open Access Pathways to coastal resiliency: The Adaptive Gradients Framework(Sustainability (Switzerland), 2018-07-26) Hamin, EM; Abunnasr, Y; Dilthey, MR; Judge, PK; Kenney, MA; Kirshen, P; Sheahan, TC; DeGroot, DJ; Ryan, RL; McAdoo, BG; Nurse, L; Buxton, JA; Sutton-Grier, AE; Albright, EA; Marin, MA; Fricke, RCurrent and future climate-related coastal impacts such as catastrophic and repetitive flooding, hurricane intensity, and sea level rise necessitate a new approach to developing and managing coastal infrastructure. Traditional "hard" or "grey" engineering solutions are proving both expensive and inflexible in the face of a rapidly changing coastal environment. Hybrid solutions that incorporate natural, nature-based, structural, and non-structural features may better achieve a broad set of goals such as ecological enhancement, long-term adaptation, and social benefits, but broad consideration and uptake of these approaches has been slow. One barrier to the widespread implementation of hybrid solutions is the lack of a relatively quick but holistic evaluation framework that places these broader environmental and societal goals on equal footing with the more traditional goal of exposure reduction. To respond to this need, the Adaptive Gradients Framework was developed and pilot-tested as a qualitative, flexible, and collaborative process guide for organizations to understand, evaluate, and potentially select more diverse kinds of infrastructural responses. These responses would ideally include natural, nature-based, and regulatory/cultural approaches, as well as hybrid designs combining multiple approaches. It enables rapid expert review of project designs based on eight metrics called "gradients", which include exposure reduction, cost efficiency, institutional capacity, ecological enhancement, adaptation over time, greenhouse gas reduction, participatory process, and social benefits. The framework was conceptualized and developed in three phases: relevant factors and barriers were collected from practitioners and experts by survey; these factors were ranked by importance and used to develop the initial framework; several case studies were iteratively evaluated using this technique; and the framework was finalized for implementation. The article presents the framework and a pilot test of its application, along with resources that would enable wider application of the framework by practitioners and theorists.Item Open Access Using Social and Ecological Data to Identify Trends in Three Marine Protected Areas in the Gulf of California(2017-04-18) Starks, CaitlinMarine protected areas (MPAs) have become an increasingly common conservation tool in marine environments, yet few studies have focused on impacts to fisheries and communities in addition to ecological impacts. In this study, I draw on multiple data sources including interviews with MPA managers, ecological monitoring data, and fisheries landing reports, in a more holistic approach to understanding how MPAs interact with social and ecological systems. Using qualitative and quantitative analyses, I aim to illuminate social, ecological and fishery trends surrounding Cabo Pulmo National Park, Bahia de Loreto National Park, and Espiritu Santo Archipelago National Park in the southern Gulf of California, Mexico. Findings from this study show that trends reflected in different data sets can vary widely within and between MPAs, and further research should focus on disentangling the connections between social, ecological and fisheries data in MPA evaluations.