Modelling social-ecological transformations: an adaptive network proposal

TL;DR

This paper introduces an adaptive network framework to better understand and model social-ecological transformations, emphasizing structural change and dynamic interactions for sustainability.

Contribution

It proposes a novel adaptive network approach for modeling social-ecological transformations, integrating structure and dynamics with quantitative tools.

Findings

Adaptive networks highlight structural changes in social-ecological systems.

The framework clarifies temporal dynamics beyond traditional resilience diagrams.

Case study demonstrates application to illegal fishing and resource user networks.

Abstract

Transformations to create more sustainable social-ecological systems are urgently needed. Structural change is a feature of transformations of social-ecological systems that is of critical importance but is little understood. Here, we propose a framework for conceptualising and modelling sustainability transformations based on adaptive networks. Adaptive networks focus attention on the interplay between the structure of a social-ecological system and the dynamics of individual entities. Adaptive networks could progress transformations research by: 1) focusing research on changes in structure; 2) providing a conceptual framework that clarifies the temporal dynamics of social-ecological transformations compared to the most commonly used heuristic in resilience studies, the ball-and-cup diagram; 3) providing quantitative modelling tools in an area of study dominated by qualitative methods. We illustrate the potential application of adaptive networks to social-ecological transformations using a case study of illegal fishing in the Southern Ocean and a theoretical model of socially networked resource users.