EditorialThe human and social dimensions of invasion science and management
Introduction
Invasive alien species (IAS) are a major driver of global change, affecting humans and the environment. Within the field of invasion science, as well as within other fields of environmental management and conservation, it is increasingly being recognised that studying the social domain is needed to build defendable and sustainable management solutions (Robbins, 2001, Le Maitre et al., 2004, García-Llorente et al., 2008, Decker et al., 2012, Head et al., 2015, Bennett et al., 2017a, Bennett et al., 2017b, Christie et al., 2017, Head, 2017, Kueffer, 2017, Backstrom et al., 2018, Teel et al., 2018). This is because the issues associated with IAS, as in most environmental change and management issues, are embedded within a suite of social-ecological systems (Thomas, 1956, Redman et al., 2004, Ostrom, 2009). Therefore, social and ecological complexities need further research to enhance our understanding and help us improve environmental management and build resilience (Berkes et al., 2000, Head, 2017). This has led to calls for increased research within the social domain along with more inter- and trans-disciplinary collaborated research and a shift from invasion biology to more holistic invasion science (Richardson, 2011, Kueffer, 2013, Wilson et al., 2016, Vaz et al., 2017a).
Humans and society are fundamentally involved with biological invasions in multiple ways, from initial introduction, to recognition and management – a point that was acknowledged by early researchers such as Elton, 1958, Harlan and de Wet, 1965 and Crosby (1986). Although research into the biological aspects of IAS grew quickly from the late 1980s, social science and humanities-related research concerning IAS has only emerged in the last two to three decades (e.g., Symanski, 1994, Peretti, 1998, Symanski, 1994, Robbins, 2001, Mitman, 2004, Robbins, 2004a, Robbins, 2004b, Richardson, 2011, Vaz et al., 2017a), with major syntheses in the form of edited volumes appearing much more recently (Dobson et al., 2013; Rotherham and Lambert, 2011; Farwley and McCalman, 2014). Research in this area is still less common than work on the ecological aspects of biological invasions (Vaz et al., 2017a, Abrahams et al.,. this issue).
Early work on the human and social domain focused mainly on humans as catalysts, drivers and vectors for the purposeful or accidental introduction and spread of non-native/alien species into new areas, where some of them proliferate and spread (i.e., become invasive) (McNeely, 2001, Pyšek et al., 2004, Robbins, 2004b, Richardson et al., 2011). It is now being acknowledged, though, that humans also mediate levels of invasibility of ecosystems by modifying disturbance regimes and altering landscapes and the environment (Kueffer, 2017). Other recent work has examined how invasive alien species affect humans and society, in particular by influencing livelihoods and human well-being (Shackleton et al., 2007, Pejchar and Mooney, 2009; Head and Atchison, 2015; Bacher et al., 2018). These effects on human well-being can influence the adoption or rejection of IAS within local cultures and livelihoods, which may modify people's perceptions, attitudes and beliefs and sometimes lead to conflicts of interest over the use and management of IAS (García-Llorente et al., 2008, Kull et al., 2011, Kull et al., 2018, Van Wilgen et al., 2011, Estévez et al., 2015; Kueffer and Kull, 2017). To avoid, reduce, or solve these conflicts of interest, it is now understood that engagement with different stakeholders is critical when considering and implementing management options relating to biological invasions (Stokes et al., 2006, Bryce et al., 2011, Gaertner et al., 2016, Crowley et al., 2017, Novoa et al., 2018).
The aforementioned human and social dimensions research draws on multiple disciplines and approaches within the social sciences and humanities, just as there are diverse biological disciplines and approaches for studying IAS. The multiple phases and processes of biological invasions, which operate at different spatial and temporal scales, can require and influence the use of different sub-disciplinary approaches, theoretical perspectives and research paradigms. The “human and social dimensions” in the title of this paper refers to the suite of interactions that people have with IAS at different levels (individuals to societies); it also broadly encompasses different framings within social science and humanities sub-fields. The words “human” and “social” are often used interchangeably to relate to anything and everything to do with people (e.g., “The human dimensions of invasive species” (McNeely et al., 2001) and “The social dimensions of invasive alien plants” (Head, 2017)). The two words, however, sometimes have more specific meanings. Broadly speaking, “social” relates more closely to wider social, economic, political and cultural aspects. For instance, the theoretical, critical social sciences seek to understand societal processes underpinning the introduction and spread of invasive species and shaping their impacts, such as looking into political-economic power dynamics and “winners and losers”. They also investigate how knowledge on invasions is produced and how broader conceptualisation and framing by different social groups shape our understanding and actions with respect to invasions (Kull, 2018). In turn, more applied social sciences might consider questions relating more closely to how to intervene and aid in the development of appropriate control actions and to manage conflicts of interest surrounding invasive species. In contrast, the “human” dimensions can be construed to focus more specifically on health impacts, or on psychological aspects such as cognition, learning, understanding, perceptions and behaviours of people.
This editorial paper explores developments in research on the human and social dimensions of biological invasions and how this research contributes to invasion science. We draw especially on papers from this special issue in the Journal of Environmental Management on the “Human and Social Dimensions in Invasion Science”, which cover a broad range of social-ecological contexts and sub-disciplinary social science and humanities approaches and methods (Fig. 1 and Table 1); we also draw on the broader literature, especially on previous syntheses (e.g. McNeely, 2001, Rotherham and Lambert, 2011, Farwley and McCalman, 2014, Dobson et al., 2013, Head, 2017).
Section snippets
The study of human and social dimensions within invasion science
Studying the human and social dimensions of biological invasions has provided significant contributions to the discipline, but there is a need to identify emerging trends and to promote further research and integration. Below we discuss four areas that this special issue contributes to, and where we believe better insights on human and social dimensions are imperative for improving our understanding and management of invasive alien species in the future. These include: (1) people as a cause
Conclusions
We have illustrated some of the crucial research contributions relating to the human and social dimensions of invasion science and their role in improving understanding and management of biological invasions.
The contributions to the special issue remind us that biological invasions are as inherently social as they are biological and are perfect example of socio-natural hybrid interactions and systems (Robbins, 2001, Head, 2017). Further inputs from the social sciences and humanities are
Acknowledgments
We thank all the contributors to the special issue and the editorial staff of Journal of Environmental Management for helping to make it a smooth process. In particular, we thank the Editor-in-Chief, Berrin Tensil, who facilitated the issue and provided much support. Many funding sources contributed to allow the special issue to happen. We acknowledge funding from the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology (where the idea for the special issue was born), the Social Sciences and
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