Human responses to social-ecological traps

Boonstra, Wiebren J.; Björkvik, Emma; Haider, L. Jamila; Masterson, Vanessa A

doi:10.1007/s11625-016-0397-x

Cited by 59 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…A ventilated plastic box with a water-soaked lining is mandated but unlikely to be used by many or enforced (MPA 2013). Similar situations have been described in the literature as social-ecological traps (Boonstra et al 2016). Overharvesting pressures in combination with difficulties in accessing new mangrove areas because of informal fishing areas, have forced fishers to begin harvesting smaller (illegal) crabs locally, which have lower market value.…”

Section: Key Interactions 3: Patron-client Relationships and Socialecmentioning

confidence: 58%

Mangroves, fishers, and the struggle for adaptive comanagement: applying the social-ecological systems framework to a marine extractive reserve (RESEX) in Brazil

Partelow¹,

Glaser²,

Arce³

et al. 2018

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ABSTRACT. Brazil has a network of marine extractive reserves (RESEX), a form of marine protected area (MPA) using comanagement. The RESEX program aims to bring traditionally marginalized populations with natural resource dependent livelihoods into national development processes by empowering them to participate in governance and steward biodiversity conservation. We apply the socialecological systems framework (SESF) and collective action theory to diagnose challenges for comanagement in the Caete-Teperacu marine RESEX near Bragança, Brazil, a multiuse mangrove estuary supporting a small-scale crab fishery. We conducted key informant interviews and build on over 20 years of research in the region to provide an overarching analysis of the challenges facing comanagement. We describe the variables from the SESF in the case context and find that many social and ecological variables interact in clusters over time, and these clusters can be identified as themes, including (1) social and political momentum supporting the RESEX; (2) shifting perceptions of local residents and fishers; (3) patron-client relationships and social-ecological traps; (4) challenges with institutional fit; and (5) the interactions between harvesting closures, compensation, and dependence on local natural resources. Furthermore, we use collective action theory to help explain the role that each variable plays in either hindering or enabling successful governance. Our findings suggest that institutional resilience is needed to make RESEX adaptive to shifting social and political momenta. It could do this by providing more platforms for communication, deliberation, and knowledge exchange among the relevant actors. We believe our findings reflect broader challenges facing RESEX implementation throughout Brazil, and lessons can be learned for MPAs facing difficulties with the implementation of comanagement worldwide.

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Section: Key Interactions 3: Patron-client Relationships and Socialecmentioning

confidence: 58%

Mangroves, fishers, and the struggle for adaptive comanagement: applying the social-ecological systems framework to a marine extractive reserve (RESEX) in Brazil

Partelow¹,

Glaser²,

Arce³

et al. 2018

E&S

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“…Recently, Strand and Lizardo () conceptualized alienation as a ‘hysteresis effect’, because the aspirations and capacities that actors hold are adapted to social and ecological conditions that completely or partially ceased to exist (see also Boonstra et al . ).…”

Section: Discussion: Why Study the Quality Of Compliance?mentioning

confidence: 97%

The quality of compliance: investigating fishers’ responses towards regulation and authorities

2016

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A substantial amount of scientific effort goes into understanding and measuring compliance in fisheries. Understanding why, how and when fishers follow or violate rules is crucial for designing effective fishery policies that can halt overfishing. Non‐compliance was initially explained almost exclusively with reference to economic and self‐interested motivations. More recently, however, most explanations involve a combination of economic, social, political and environmental factors. Despite this recent development towards more holistic explanations, many scientists continue to frame the issue in binary terms: fishers either follow rules, or they don't. In this article we challenge this binary interpretation and focus attention on the diversity of fishers’ dispositions and perceptions that underpin compliant behaviour. To this aim we construct a typology of fishers’ responses towards regulation and authorities, thereby developing conceptual tools to understand different motivations and attitudes that underlie compliance outcomes. For this purpose, we identify the motivational postures of ‘creativity’ and ‘reluctance’, and then highlight their empirical relevance with an interview study of Swedish fishers. Reasons for studying the quality and diversity of fishers’ motivations and responses are not purely academic. Conceptualizing and observing the quality of compliance can help policymakers and managers gauge and anticipate the potentiality of non‐compliant fishing practices that may threaten the resilience of marine ecosystems.

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“…Social-ecological traps are an emerging concept used to characterize interactions between people and the surrounding environment, as well as the processes that drive systems toward unsustainable and undesirable states (Cinner 2011, Boonstra and De Boer 2014, Boonstra et al 2016. Traps occur when there is an ongoing, negative mismatch between the current ecological condition and people's interaction with their surrounding resources De Boer 2014, Boonstra et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Governance and the making and breaking of social-ecological traps

Baker¹,

Murray²,

Agyare³

2018

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ABSTRACT. Many countries in sub-Saharan Africa have areas of significant ecological importance that overlap with pressing development needs and high levels of natural resource dependence. This makes the design of effective natural resource governance and management systems both challenging and critical. In Ghana, this challenge is made more complex by the necessity of connecting formal, state-led systems of governance with Ghana's informal governance systems through which customary authorities exert considerable control over land and resources. We present findings from two multimethod research projects in two regions of Ghana that have significant issues related to resource exploitation and that have experienced extensive management interventions. The goals of the research were to characterize the social-ecological traps from a local perspective, to describe how governance and management structures interact with and relate to those traps, and to discuss the strategies used and challenges encountered when community-based natural resource management initiatives seek to reverse persistent social-ecological traps. In both case studies, participants described persistent cycles of resource dependence, overexploitation, and unsustainable land-use practices, which are exacerbated by illegal logging, intensive agricultural development, and population growth. Findings highlight how natural resource management is constrained by a lack of capacity to implement and enforce state policies, ongoing tension between customary and state institutions, and ambiguity regarding management responsibility and resource tenure. Interventions included targeted governance reform that centred on improving linkages between customary and state institutions, new and nonlocal actors, and complementary investments in capacity building and training. We conclude with a discussion of implications for the design of effective natural resource governance regimes in Ghana and beyond.

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Human responses to social-ecological traps

Cited by 59 publications

References 62 publications

Mangroves, fishers, and the struggle for adaptive comanagement: applying the social-ecological systems framework to a marine extractive reserve (RESEX) in Brazil

Mangroves, fishers, and the struggle for adaptive comanagement: applying the social-ecological systems framework to a marine extractive reserve (RESEX) in Brazil

The quality of compliance: investigating fishers’ responses towards regulation and authorities

Governance and the making and breaking of social-ecological traps

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