Multiple telecouplings and their complex interrelationships

Liu, Jianguo; Hull, Vanessa; Luo, Jiangxin; Yang, Wu; Liu, Wei; Viña, Andrés; Vogt, Christine A.; Xu, Zhenci; Yang, Hongbo; Zhang, Jindong; An, Li; Chen, Xiaodong; Li, Shuxin; Ouyang, Zhiyun; Xu, Weihua; Zhang, Hemin

doi:10.5751/es-07868-200344

Cited by 124 publications

(128 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…LSLA also created new ecological interconnectedness through enhanced virtual water trade (Breu et al 2016), agrochemical pollution of water resources (Dell'Angelo et al 2017b), and by contributing to climate change by reducing soil organic carbon (Shete et al 2016). This spatial separation of decision making from land use change is prone to unintended social and ecological consequences (Eakin et al 2014, Liu et al 2015. It creates new trade-offs and conflicts of interest between local and distant users of land resources, and their negotiations are conducted and shaped through interactions in multiple linked governance spaces.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polycentric governance in telecoupled resource systems

Oberlack¹,

Boillat²,

Brönnimann³

et al. 2018

E&S

107

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ABSTRACT. Recent advances in land system science and in institutional analysis provide complementary, but still largely disconnected perspectives on land use change, governance, and sustainability in social-ecological systems, which are interconnected across distance. In this paper we bring together the emerging concept of telecoupled land systems and the established concept of polycentric governance to support the analysis and the development of sustainable land governance in interconnected social-ecological systems. We operationalize the two concepts by analyzing networks of action situations in which interactions between proximate and distant actors as well as socioeconomic and ecological processes cause land use change and affect the sustainability of land systems. To illustrate this integrated approach empirically, we analyze a case of transnational biofuel investment in Sierra Leone. We identify the characteristics of, and activities in, networks of action situations that affect the sustainability of land systems related to this case. Integration of the two concepts of telecoupled land systems and polycentric governance enables analysts to identify interactions in polycentric governance systems (1) as drivers of telecoupled sustainability problems and (2) as transformative approaches to such problems. The method provides one way for linking place-based analysis of land change with process-based analysis of land governance.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polycentric governance in telecoupled resource systems

Oberlack¹,

Boillat²,

Brönnimann³

et al. 2018

E&S

107

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“…Our study focuses only on the Miyun Reservoir watershed, and does not include the outside overflow of environmental impacts of migration [44]. For example, migrant workers move out from rural areas for employment, which can reduce the population carrying capacity on the local ecological environment and provide the most basic conditions for ecological restoration.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Household Livelihood Strategy Choices, Impact Factors, and Environmental Consequences in Miyun Reservoir Watershed, China

et al. 2017

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Abstract:Household livelihood strategies are embedded in the natural and socioeconomic contexts in which people live. Analyzing the factors that influence household livelihood choice and defining their consequences can be beneficial for informing rural household policies. In turn, this has great significance for fostering sustainable livelihood strategies. We grouped household livelihood strategies based on the income distribution of 756 households and analyzed their influencing factors and possible livelihood consequences in the watershed of Miyun Reservoir, the only source of surface water currently available for domestic use in Beijing, China. Local farmers' livelihood strategies can be grouped into three types: farming, local off-farm, and labor-migrant. Farming households have the lowest livelihood capitals, other than natural capital, compared with labor-migrant households and off-farm households, the latter having better livelihood capital status. Geographical location, natural capital, household structure, labor quality, and ecological policies are the main factors affecting farmers' choice of livelihood strategy. Local off-farm households have a significantly lower dependency on firewood, land resources, and investment than that of farming and labor-migrant households, and have the highest reliance on fossil fuel. This household classification can help us understand the livelihood characteristics, impact factors, and consequences of different types of household strategies, which also suggest tailored policy and management options to promote sustainable livelihoods based on different household types.

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“…Two example telecouplings with opposite flow directions are shown in this section. Although the telecoupling framework and the examples are described in Liu et al (2013Liu et al ( , 2015a, a brief overview here lays a foundation for the remaining sections of this paper.…”

Section: Telecoupling Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Like other places, there are many human-nature interactions within Wolong, e.g., timber harvesting, fuelwood collection; between Wolong and distant areas, e.g., panda loans, tourism, trade of agricultural products, information dissemination, labor migration (Chen et al 2012a, Liu et al 2015a; and between Wolong and adjacent areas, e.g., panda movement across reserve boundaries, human immigration to the reserve through marriage, exchanges of goods and products, water outflows from the rivers inside the reserve. Some of the human-nature interactions, e.g., timber harvesting or fuelwood collection, existed before the reserve was established, while other interactions, e.g., panda loans and tourism, emerged after the reserve's establishment.…”

Section: Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A place can be viewed as a coupled human and natural system (coupled system for short, e.g., social-ecological system, human-environment system; Turner et al 2003, Folke et al 2011. To reflect human-nature interactions between distant coupled systems (Liu et al 2015a), the framework of telecoupling (socioeconomic and environmental interactions over distances) has been developed ). However, no frameworks have explicitly integrated human-nature interactions between adjacent coupled systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Integration across a metacoupled world

Liu¹

2017

E&S

Self Cite

219

170

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ABSTRACT. Human-nature interactions are complex and have important implications for achieving sustainable development goals and addressing other global challenges. Although numerous studies have explored human-nature (or human-environment) interactions and generated useful insights, they are largely disintegrated. Because conceptual frameworks are the foundation of quantitative and qualitative integration, many have been proposed but focus mainly on human-nature interactions within a specific system. To reflect human-nature interactions between distant coupled systems, the framework of telecoupling (socioeconomic and environmental interactions over distances) has been developed. However, no framework has explicitly integrated human-nature interactions between adjacent coupled systems, let alone within a coupled system as well as between adjacent and distant coupled systems simultaneously. To fill such an important gap, in this paper I present an integrated framework of metacoupling: human-nature interactions within a system (intracoupling), between distant systems (telecoupling), and between adjacent systems (pericoupling). A metacoupled system is a set of two or more coupled systems that interact internally as well as nearby and far away, facilitated by agents affected by various causes with various effects. By differentiating and integrating intracoupling, pericoupling, and telecoupling, the metacoupling framework advances a systems perspective on global sustainability and human well-being. The framework can help uncover hidden systemic connections such as spillovers and feedbacks that may not be apparent when focusing on a particular system. To demonstrate the utility of the metacoupling framework, I illustrate its application to human-nature interactions within a global flagship nature reserve as well as between the reserve and the rest of the world. The illustration suggests that the framework has the potential to help holistically understand and integrate human-nature interactions from local to global scales, over time, and among organizational levels. Finally, I offer suggestions for operationalizing the metacoupling framework and discuss the need for new policy, governance, and management for a sustainable future across the metacoupled world.

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Multiple telecouplings and their complex interrelationships

Cited by 124 publications

References 71 publications

Polycentric governance in telecoupled resource systems

Polycentric governance in telecoupled resource systems

Household Livelihood Strategy Choices, Impact Factors, and Environmental Consequences in Miyun Reservoir Watershed, China

Integration across a metacoupled world

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