Various analytical frameworks have been developed to examine the interactions between humans and nature in social-ecological systems (SES). When studies of SES do not make explicit how a framework is used to build conceptual models, they leave a black box for scholars aiming to use such frameworks. Our study highlights such a process, focusing on the analytical step of transitioning from empirical data to categories of the recently developed social-ecological action situations (SE-AS) framework. This framework, which proposes to study SES along configurations of action situations (AS), has so far been applied in few studies. Clarifying how data are analyzed and adapted within this framework is thus of relevance for anyone interested in using it. We compare two analytical methods used to identify AS configurations, each method serving for the analysis of one of two lake-catchment areas, located in Northern Germany and Canada. The first method is a qualitative interview content analysis based on text coding; the second is the analysis of causal loop diagrams (CLD) derived from interviews. Both data sources outline stakeholder social representations of their SES. We compare: (1) the suitability of the two analytical methods for identifying configurations of AS and their linkages, and (2) the potential and limitations of the SE-AS framework for assessing the inherent dynamics of emergent phenomena within SES. Our two-pronged data analysis methodology led to similar results despite the different analytical methods used. We conclude that the SE-AS framework can help illustrate different interactions within an SES while allowing for relatively simple, yet comprehensible system representations. We also identify challenges and limitations that we encountered. Challenges revolve around identifying AS and differentiating them from outcomes. Limitations include the representation of time and levels of governance, and weighting the relative importance of AS.

Private lands are increasingly targeted for ecological restoration and conservation initiatives in high-income countries. However, the fragmented nature of private land tenure, the large number of landowners and their heterogeneous profiles can pose significant challenges for conservation initiatives. This can lead to a range in landowners’ attitudes toward conservation initiatives, with some initiatives being received with resistance, and others with consent and participation. Most research dealing with social outcomes of conservation or restoration initiatives on private lands addresses regionally specific case studies, but few studies have attempted to derive general trends. To fill this gap, we performed a systematic literature review of conservation measures on private lands to develop a comprehensive typology of factors influencing the acceptance of conservation initiatives on private lands. Our results show that conservation agents (typically government agencies or NGOs), despite their limited power over individual factors of private landowners, can seek to encourage both the adoption and perceptions of conservation initiatives on private land through improving institutional interactions. We propose six recommendations to help support and design conservation programs on private lands and to identify intervention levers that may be acted upon to improve the social acceptance of such conservation initiatives.

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À compter du milieu des années 1980, dans le cadre d’une authentique révolution verte, l’agriculture vietnamienne a subi d’importantes modifications. Dans plusieurs régions du pays, les cultures traditionnelles ont progressivement été remplacées par la monoculture intensive du riz, une transformation amplifiée par la politique du Doi Moi. Bien des problèmes en ont résulté, ce qui a incité le gouvernement vietnamien à réorienter ses politiques en faveur de systèmes agricoles plus durables. Au moyen d’études de cas réalisées dans deux communes du delta du Mékong, nous examinons la durabilité de deux systèmes agricoles-aquacoles intégrés promus par les programmes gouvernementaux et concluons que ces systèmes peuvent, au moins partiellement, tant atteindre les objectifs établis par l’État que souscrire aux principes de l’agriculture durable.