Abstract
New applied approaches are needed to address urgent, global environmental issues. Practitioners, scholars, and policy makers alike call for increased integration of natural and social sciences to develop new frameworks for better addressing the range of contemporary environmental issues. From a theoretical perspective, social–ecological systems (SES) offers a novel approach for enhancing sustainability science and for improving the practice of environmental management. To translate SES theory into action, education and training programs are needed that focus on the application of SES approaches across the education and professional spectrum, from K-12 to graduate training to agency management. We developed a training framework that serves sustainability practitioners by building their capacity to apply SES approaches to real world problems and decision-making. The framework uses a SES-based environmental management approach based on a systemic worldview, transdisciplinary thinking, co-development of knowledge, stakeholder engagement, and adaptive governance. The social–ecological systems training and education program (SESTEP or “see-step”) framework was designed to provide SES training opportunities as a response to the need expressed by senior directors of US federal land management agencies. The core of the framework is a 12-step SES heuristic that provides a diagnostic tool for practitioners as they work through a SES case-study issue or problem. The curriculum provides adaptable and tailored professional development training for sustainability professionals to enhance sustainability science in practice. The evaluation of the inaugural course indicates achievement of positive course learning outcomes consistent with advancing sustainability science in practice.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alessa L, Kliskey A (2020) People, perceptions, and process: multisystemic resilience in social–ecological systems. In: Unger M (ed) Multisystemic resilience: adaptation and transformation in contexts of change. Oxford Press, Oxford
Alessa L, Kliskey A, Altaweel M, Barton M, Bankes S, Bondizio E, Brown D, Feddema J, Grier C, Liu J, Moran E et al (2015) Best practices for integrating social sciences into social ecological systems science: future directions for building a more resilient America. Center for Resilient Communities, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID. https://www.uidaho.edu/caa/galleries-centers-and-labs/crc/news
Alessa L, Kliskey A, Gosz J, Griffith D, Ziegler A (2018) MtnSEON and social–ecological systems (SES) science in complex mountain landscapes. Front Ecol Environ 16(S1):S4–S10
Armitage D, Marschke M, Plummer R (2008) Adaptive co-management and the paradox of learning. Global Environ Change 18(1):86–98
Baird J, Moore M, Brandes O (2016) Introducing resilience practice to watershed groups: what are the learning effects? Soc Natural Resour 29(10):1214–1229
Baird J, Plummer R, Schultz L, Armitage D, Bodin O (2019) How does socio-institutional diversity affect collaborative governance of social–ecological systems in practice? Environ Manage 63:200–214. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-018-1123-5
Bammer G (2013) Disciplining interdisciplinarity: integration and implementation for researching complex real-world problems. ANU Press, Australia
Ban NC, Mills M, Tam J, Hicks CC, Klain S, Stoeckl N, Bottrill MC, Levine J, Pressey RL, Satterfield T, Chan KM (2013) A social–ecological approach to conservation planning: embedding social considerations. Front Ecol Environ 11(4):194–202. www.jstor.org/stable/23470948
Bandura A (1982) Self-efficacy mechanism in human agency. Am Psychol 37(2):122–147. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.37.2.122
Berkes F, Colding J, Folke C (2003) Navigating social–ecological systems: building resilience for complexity and change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Blickley J, Deiner K, Lacher I, Meek M, Porensky L, Wilkerson M, Winford E, Schwartz M (2012) Graduate student’s guide to necessary skills for nonacademic conservation careers. Conserv Biol 27(1):24e34
Bodin O, Crona B, Ernstson H (2006) Social networks in natural resource management: what is there to learn from a structural perspective. Ecol Soc 11(2):r2. https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol11/iss2/resp2/
Bourgeron P, Kliskey A, Alessa L, Loescher H, Krauze K, Virapongse A, Griffith D (2018) Complex human–environmental processes: a framework for social–ecological observatories. Front Ecol Environ 16(S1):S52–S66
Brondizio ES, Ostrom E, Young OR (2009) Connectivity and the governance of multilevel social–ecological systems: the role of social capital. Annu Rev Environ Resour 34:253–278. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.environ.020708.100707
Brown ED, Williams BK (2015) Resilience and resource management. Environ Manage 56(6):1416–1427
Carpenter SR, Gunderson LH (2001) Coping with collapse: ecological and social dynamics in ecosystem management. AIBS Bull 51(6):451–457
Cenek M, Franklin M (2017) An adaptable agent-based model for guiding multi-species Pacific salmon fisheries management within a SES framework. Ecol Model 360:132–149
Chang H, Granek E, Ervin D, Yeakley A, Dujon V, Shandas V (2020) A community-engaged approach to transdisciplinary doctoral training in urban ecosystem services. Sustain Sci 15:699–715. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-020-00785-y
Cinner J, Barnes M (2019) Social dimensions of resilience in social–ecological systems. One Earth 1(1):51–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2019.08.003
Clark S, Palis F, Trompf G, Terway T, Wallace R (2017) Interdisciplinary problem framing for sustainability: challenges, a framework, case studies. J Sustain Forest 36(5):516–534. https://doi.org/10.1080/10549811.2017.1330213
Clement S, Gonzalez A, Wyborn C (2019) Understanding effectiveness in its broader context: assessing case study methodologies for evaluating collaborative conservation governance. Soc Nat Resour. https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2018.1556761
CRC (Center for Resilient Communities) (2018). Social–ecological systems current practices archive (SES-CPA). Center for Resilient Communities, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID. https://www.sescpa.net
Cumming GS, Cumming DH, Redman CL (2006) Scale mismatches in social–ecological systems: causes, consequences, and solutions. Ecol Soc 11(1):14
Cundill G, Rodela R (2012) A review of assertions about the processes and outcomes of social learning in natural resource management. J Environ Manage 113:7–14
Davis K, Chades I, Rhodes J, Bode M (2019) General rules for environmental management to prioritise social ecological systems research based on a value of information approach. J Appl Ecol 56(8):2079–2080. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13425
Diduck A, Raymond C, Rodela R, Moquin R, Boerchers M (2019) Pathways of learning about biodiversity and sustainability in private urban gardens. J Environ Planning Manage. https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2019.1633288
Dietz T, Ostrom E, Stern PC (2003) The struggle to govern the commons. Science 302(5652):1907–1912
Egli L, Weise H, Radchuk V, Seppelt R, Grimm V (2019) Exploring resilience with agent-based models: state of the art, knowledge gaps and recommendations for coping with multidimensionality. Ecolog Complex 40(B). doi: 10.1016/j.ecocom.2018.06.008
Ernst A (2019) Research techniques and methodologies to assess social learning in participatory environmental governance. Learn Cult Soc Interact 23:100331. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lcsi.2019.100331
Fazey I, Fazey JA, Fazey DM (2005) Learning more effectively from experience. Ecol Soc 10(2):4. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-01384-100204
Gigerenzer G, Gaissmaier W (2011) Heuristic decision-making. Annu Rev Psychol 62:451–482
Golden SD, Earp JAL (2012) Social ecological approaches to individuals and their contexts: twenty years of health education & behavior health promotion interventions. Health Educ Behavior 39(3):364–372
Gunderson LH, Holling CS (2002) Panarchy: understanding transformations in human and natural systems. Island Press, Washington
Holling CS (1973) Resilience and stability of ecological systems. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 4(1):1–23
Hunt T, Kliskey A, Alessa L (2018) MtnSEON and social–ecological systems (SES) science in complex mountain landscapes. Front Ecol Environ 16(1):S3
Kliskey A, Alessa L, Wandersee S, Williams P, Trammell J, Powell J, Grunblatt J, Wipfli M (2017) A science of integration: frameworks, processes, and products in a place-based, integrative study. Sustain Sci 12(2):293–303. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-016-0391-3
Kolb A (2014) Experiential learning: experience as the source of learning and development, 2nd edn. Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey
Kolb AK, Fry R (1975) Towards an applied theory of experiential learning. In: Cooper CL (ed) Theories of group processes. Wiley, London, pp 33–56
Kovach M (2009) Indigenous methodologies: characteristics, conversations, and contexts. University of Toronto Press, Toronto
Krasny ME, Lundholm C, Plummer R (2010) Resilience in social–ecological systems: the roles of learning and education. Environ Educ Res 16(5–6):463–474. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2010.505416
Kristjanson P, Harvey B, Van Epp M, Thornton P (2013) Social learning and sustainable development. Nat Clim Change 4(1):5–7
Krupa M, Cenek M, Powell J, Trammell EJ (2018) Mapping the stakeholders: using social network analysis to increase the legitimacy and transparency of participatory scenario planning. Soc Nat Resour 31(1):136–141
Lave J, Wenger E (1991) Situated learning: legitimate peripheral participation, vol 521423740. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Löf A (2010) Exploring adaptability through learning layers and learning loops. Resilience in Social–Ecological Systems. 77–91. Routledge.
Macintyre T, Lotz-Sisitka H, Wals A, Vogel C, Tassone V (2018) Towards transformative social learning on the path to 1.5 degrees. Curr Opin Environ Sustain 31:80–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2017.12.003
Magliocca N, Ellis E, Allington G, de Bremond A, Dell’Angelo J, Mertz O, Messerli P, Masterson V, Enqvist J, Stedman R, Tengo M (2018) Sense of place in social–ecological systems: from theory to empirics. Sustain Sci 14:555–564. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-019-00695-8
Meyfroidt P, Seppelt R, Verburg P (2018) Closing global knowledge gaps: producing generalized knowledge from case studies of social–ecological systems. Global Environ Change 50:1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2018.03.003
Mezirow J (1995) Transformation theory of adult learning. In: Welton MR (ed) In defense of the lifeworld. State University of New York Press, New York, pp 39–70
Mezirow J (1997) Transformative learning: theory to practice. N Dir Adult Contin Edu 1997(74):5–12
Mitchell M, Griffith R, Ryan P, Walkerden G, Walker B, Brown VA, Robinson S (2014) Applying resilience thinking to natural resource management through a “planning-by-doing” framework. Soc Nat Resour 27(3):299–314
Ostrom E (2009) A general framework for analyzing sustainability of social–ecological systems. Science 325:419–422
Pahl-Wostl C (2009) A conceptual framework for analysing adaptive capacity and multi-level learning processes in resource governance regimes. Global Environ Change 19(3):354–365
Pahl-Wostl C (2019) The role of governance modes and meta-governance in the transformation towards sustainable water governance. Environ Sci Policy 91:6–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2018.10.008
Pahl-Wostl C, Hare M (2004) Processes of social learning in integrated resources management. J Commun Appl Soc Psychol 14(3):193–206
Pahl-Wostl C, Craps M, Dewulf A, Mostert E, Tabara D, Taillieu T (2007) Social learning and water resources management. Ecol Soc 12(2):5. https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol12/iss2/art5/
Pereira L, Karpouzoglou T, Frantzeskaki N, Olsson P (2018) Designing transformative spaces for sustainability in social–ecological systems. Ecol Soc 23(4):32. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-10607-230432
Phillip T, Bang M, Jackson K (2018) Articulating the “How”, the “For What”, the “For Whom”, and the “With Whom” in concert: a call to broaden the benchmarks of our scholarship. Cogn Instr 36(2):83–88. https://doi.org/10.1080/07370008.2018.1413530
Plummer R (2013) Social–ecological resilience and environmental education: synopsis, application, implications. In: Resilience in social–ecological systems, Routledge, pp. 43–58
Preise R, Biggs R, De Vos A, Folke C (2018) Social–ecological systems as complex adaptive systems: organizing principles for advancing research methods and approaches. Ecol Soc 23(4):46
Puettmann KJ, Parrott L, Messier C (2016) Teaching complex adaptive systems science in natural resource management: examples from forestry. Nat Sci Educ 45(1):1–7
Reyers B, Folke C, Moore M, Biggs R (2018) Social–ecological systems insights for navigating the dynamics of the Anthropocene. Annu Rev Environ Resour 43:267–289. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-110615-085349
Resilience Alliance (2010) Assessing resilience in social–ecological systems: workbook for practitioners. Version 2.0. https://www.resalliance.org/3871.php
Rodela R (2013) The social learning discourse: trends, themes and interdisciplinary influences in current research. Environ Sci Policy 25(1):157–166
Rodela R, Swartling A (2019) Environmental governance in an increasingly complex world: reflections on transdisciplinary collaborations for knowledge coproduction and learning. Environ Policy Gov 29:83–86. https://doi.org/10.1002/eet.1842
Rogers KH, Luton R, Biggs H, Biggs R, Blignaut S, Choles AG, Tangwe P (2013) Fostering complexity thinking in action research for change in social–ecological systems. Ecol Soc 18(2):31. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-05330-180231
Romina R (2014) Social learning, natural resource management, and participatory activities: a reflection on construct development and testing. NJAS Wageningen J Life Sci 69:15–22
Roux D, Nel J, Cundill G, O’Farrell P, Fabricius C (2017) Transdisciplinary research for systemic change: who to learn with, what to learn about and how to learn. Sustain Sci 12:711–726. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-017-0446-0
Salovaara J, Soini K, Pietikainen J (2020) Sustainability science in education: analysis of master’s programmes’ curricula. Sustain Sci 15:901–915. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-019-00745-1
Schluter M, Haider L, Lade S, Lindkvist E, Martin R, Kirill O, Wijermans N, Folke C (2019) Capturing emergent phenomena in social–ecological systems: an analytical framework. Ecol Soc 24(3):11. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-11012-240311
Schusler TM, Decker DJ, Pfeffer MJ (2003) Social learning for collaborative natural resource management. Soc Nat Resour 16(4):309–326
Smith L (2012) Decolonizing methodologies, 2nd edn. Zed Book, London
Suppes P (1974) The place of theory in educational research. Educa Research 3(6):3–10
Suškevičs M, Hahn T, Rodela R, Macura B, Pahl-Wostl C (2018) Learning for social–ecological change: a qualitative review of outcomes across empirical literature in natural resource management. J Environ Planning Manage 61(7):1085–1112
Thomas DR (2006) A general inductive approach for analyzing qualitative evaluation data. Am J Eval 27(2):237–246
Trimble M, Plummer R (2019) Participatory evaluation for adaptive management of social–ecological systems: a transdisciplinary research approach. Sustain Sci 14(4):1091–1103. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-018-0602-1
Van Epp M, Garside B (2019) Towards an evidence base on the value of social learning in the context of climate change and food security. Environ Policy Gov 29(2):118–131. https://doi.org/10.1002/eet.1835
Van Assche K, Verschraegen G, Valentinov V, Gruezmacher M (2019) The social, the ecological, and the adaptive. Von Bertalanffy’s general systems theory and the adaptive governance of social–ecological systems. Syst Res Behav Sci 36(3):308–321. https://doi.org/10.1002/sres.2587
Virapongse A, Brooks S, Metcalf E, Zedalis M, Gosz J, Kliskey A, Alessa L (2016) A social–ecological systems approach for environmental management. J Environ Manage 178:83–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.02.028
Walker B, Carpenter S, Anderies J, Abel N, Cumming G, Janssen M, Lebel L, Norberg J, Peterson GD, Pritchard R (2002) Resilience management in social–ecological systems: a working hypothesis for a participatory approach. Conserv Ecol 6(1):14. https://www.consecol.org/vol6/iss1/art14/
Walker B, Gunderson L, Kinzig A, Folke C, Carpenter S, Schultz L (2006) A handful of heuristics and some propositions for understanding resilience in social–ecological systems. Ecol Soc 11(1):3. https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol11/iss1/art13
Wei CA, Burnside WR, Che-Castaldo JP (2015) Teaching socio-environmental synthesis with the case studies approach. J Environ Stud Sci 5(1):42–49. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13412-014-0204-x
Weinberg AE, Trott CD, Wakefield W, Merritt EG, Achambault L (2020) Looking inward, outward, and forward: exploring the process of transformative learning in teacher education for a sustainable future. Sustain Sci. doi: 10.1007/s11625-020-00831-9
Acknowledgements
The initial curriculum design was funded through the MtnSEON Research Coordination Network [National Science Foundation award #1231233]. The 2016–2017 SESTEP course and evaluation was funded by Idaho MILES [National Science Foundation award #1301792] and MtnSEON [National Science Foundation award #1231233]. Evaluation of learning outcomes was funded through Idaho GEM3 [National Science Foundation award #1757324] and evaluation of stakeholder needs was funded through the EngageINFEWS Research Coordination Network [National Science Foundation award #1856059]. Thanks to the SESTEP Working Group members (Samantha Brooks, Ray Callaway, Pat Fallin, Ed Galindo, Elizabeth Metcalf, Arika Virapongse, and Morgan Zedalis) for contributing course ideas and design during the planning workshops held in Chico, MT, Couer d’Alene, ID and Missoula, MT; and Brant Miller in the College of Education at University for Idaho for invaluable comments on an earlier draft.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Handled by Guido Caniglia, Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research, Austria.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kliskey, A., Alessa, L., Griffith, D. et al. Transforming sustainability science for practice: a social–ecological systems framework for training sustainability professionals. Sustain Sci 16, 283–294 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-020-00846-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-020-00846-2