Operationalizing the social-ecological systems framework to assess sustainability

Heather M. Leslie; Xavier Basurto; Mateja Nenadovic; Leila Sievanen; Kyle C. Cavanaugh; Juan José Cota-Nieto; Brad E. Erisman; Elena Finkbeiner; Gustavo Hinojosa-Arango; Marcia Moreno-Báez; Sriniketh Nagavarapu; Sheila M. W. Reddy; Alexandra Sánchez-Rodríguez; Katherine Siegel; José Juan Ulibarria-Valenzuela; Amy Hudson Weaver; Octavio Aburto-Oropeza

doi:10.1073/pnas.1414640112

New Research In

Edited by Bonnie J. McCay, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Brunswick, NJ, and approved April 2, 2015 (received for review August 22, 2014)

Significance

Meeting human needs while sustaining ecosystems and the benefits they provide is a global challenge. Coastal marine systems present a particularly important case, given that >50% of the world’s population lives within 100 km of the coast and fisheries are the primary source of protein for >1 billion people worldwide. Our integrative analysis here yields an understanding of the sustainability of coupled social-ecological systems that is quite distinct from that provided by either the biophysical or the social sciences alone and that illustrates the feasibility and value of operationalizing the social-ecological systems framework for comparative analyses of coupled systems, particularly in data-poor and developing nation settings.

Abstract

Environmental governance is more effective when the scales of ecological processes are well matched with the human institutions charged with managing human–environment interactions. The social-ecological systems (SESs) framework provides guidance on how to assess the social and ecological dimensions that contribute to sustainable resource use and management, but rarely if ever has been operationalized for multiple localities in a spatially explicit, quantitative manner. Here, we use the case of small-scale fisheries in Baja California Sur, Mexico, to identify distinct SES regions and test key aspects of coupled SESs theory. Regions that exhibit greater potential for social-ecological sustainability in one dimension do not necessarily exhibit it in others, highlighting the importance of integrative, coupled system analyses when implementing spatial planning and other ecosystem-based strategies.

Footnotes

↵¹To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: heather.m.leslie{at}gmail.com or xavier.basurto{at}duke.edu.
↵²Present address: Department of Geography, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095.
↵³Present address: Marine Science Institute, The University of Texas at Austin, Port Aransas, TX 78373.
↵⁴Present address: Cátedra Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología, Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional Unidad Oaxaca, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Oaxaca, 71236, Mexico.
↵⁵Present address: Sustainable Fisheries Group, Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106.

Author contributions: H.M.L., X.B., M.N., and L.S. designed research; H.M.L., X.B., M.N., L.S., G.H.-A., S.M.W.R., K.S., A.H.W., and O.A.-O. conceived of the study; H.M.L., X.B., M.N., L.S., K.C.C., J.J.C.-N., E.F., G.H.-A., S.M.W.R., K.S., J.J.U.-V., A.H.W., and O.A.-O. collected the data; H.M.L., X.B., M.N., L.S., K.C.C., J.J.C.-N., B.E.E., E.F., G.H.-A., M.M.-B., S.N., S.M.W.R., A.S.-R., K.S., J.J.U.-V., A.H.W., and O.A.-O. performed research; H.M.L., X.B., M.N., and L.S. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; H.M.L., X.B., M.N., L.S., K.C.C., and M.M.-B. analyzed data; and H.M.L., X.B., M.N., and L.S. wrote the paper.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.
This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1414640112/-/DCSupplemental.

Freely available online through the PNAS open access option.

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