Transformations of Social-Ecological Systems, 1st ed. 2018
Studies in Co-creating Integrated Knowledge Toward Sustainable Futures
Ecological Research Monographs Series

Coordinators: Sato Tetsu, Chabay Ilan, Helgeson Jennifer

Language: English

189.89 €

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Through this book, readers will gain a comprehensive overview of transdisciplinary knowledge co-production in local contexts as an issue-driven and solution-oriented process, and will come to understand its relationship to societal transformation processes toward sustainability. In a single volume, the theory, approaches and academic implications of this novel type of knowledge production are addressed, together with its societal impacts.


In the midst of global anthropogenic impacts that affect various environments, over the past few decades we have observed autonomous initiatives in local communities around the world to tackle these environmental challenges. It is vital that such local actions be scaled up to achieve sustainable societies, which requires societal transformation on larger scales. Thanks to numerous collaborative actions in local communities, transdisciplinary knowledge co-production among diverse stakeholders has successfully been mobilized,resulting in the development of Integrated Local Environmental Knowledge (ILEK); knowledge that can inform and support decisions and actions promoting the sustainable transformation of society. 


This book uses comparative case studies in communities around the world to illuminate and clarify processes and factors promoting the co-production and utilization of ILEK to facilitate decision-making. In addition, readers will gain deeper insights into the science-society interactions that can contribute to finding collaborative solutions to a wide range of critical environmental problems. Though the book is ideally suited for researchers and students, it also offers a valuable resource for practitioners, government agencies, and stakeholder agencies.



1 Introduction.- PART I Co-producing Knowledge.- 2 Making Meaning of Traditional Agricultural Knowledge: Ground Water Management in Arid Areas of Turkey.- 3 Knowledge and Technologies Born from Livelihoods: Emergence of Sato-umi and Self-harvesting Forestry in Japan.- 4 Drawing Plans of a House that Already Stands: Knowledge systems of the Shiretoko region, a World Heritage Site of Japan.- 5 Community-Based Scallop Restoration: A Model for Knowledge Circulation Theory.- Part II Conceptualizing Values.- 6 Co-creation of Local Values: Reintroduction of Oriental White Storks into the Wild.- 7 Future Visions for Fundamental Livelihoods: Collaborative Actions in the Nishibetsu Watershed in Japan.- 8 Innovation Emerging from Livelihoods: Natural Resource Management in Lake Malawi.- Part III Processes of Mobilization.- 9 Adaptive Process Management: Dynamic Actions Toward Sustainable Societies.- 10 Social Learning Driven by Collaboration in the Canadian Network of UNESCO Biosphere Reserves.-11 Creating Platforms for Capacity Building in Rural Communities: Noto Peninsula, Japan and Ifugao, the Philippines.- 12 Catalysts to Mobilize Local Communities: Conservation of Coral Reef Cultures in Shiraho, Okinawa.-Part IV: Creating Linkages.-13  Certification Schemes Wielded by Producers and Communities.- 14 International Systems Deployed at the Local Level: UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme in Japan.- 15 Coastal Resource Management Connected by Marine Protected Area Networks.- 16 Salmon-Safe Certification in the Pacific Northwest of the United States.- Part V: Supporting Decisions and Actions.- 17 Co-creation, Co-evolution and Co-management of the Japanese Coastal Fisheries: a Toolbox Aproach.- 18 Boundary Organizations and Objects to Support Sustainable Water Management Decision Making in Phoenix, Arizona USA.- 19 Semantic Network Modelling and the Integrated Local Environmental Knowledge Simulator.- 20 Institutional Support for Combining Multiple Knowledge Systems in Planning for Community Resilience to Natural and Anthropogenic Hazards.- 21 Sources and Uses of Knowledge in Co-designing Sustainable Futures in the Arctic.- Part VI Conclusion and Way Forward.- 22 Conclusion and Way Forward.

Tetsu Sato is professor emeritus at the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, National Institutes for Humanities, Kyoto, Japan; professor at Ehime University, Matsuyama, Japan; and former project leader of the “Creation and Sustainable Governance of New Commons through Formation of Integrated Local Environmental Knowledge” (ILEK Project). His major research fields are sustainability science and transdisciplinary local environmental studies.

Prof. Sato studied the ecology of cichlid fishes of African lakes for 20 years, and expanded his research into adaptive governance of complex social-ecological systems. Throughout his career, including as conservation director of the WWF Japan and professor of Nagano University, he focused on creating knowledge bases for community-based management of natural resources. As the project leader of the ILEK project (from 2012 to 2017), he has explored a transdisciplinary approach to co-produce integrated local environmental knowledge (ILEK) as the knowledge basis for decision making and actions of diverse stakeholders for societal transformations toward sustainability. Since 2017, he has been leading a 3-year research project at Ehime University titled “Transdisciplinary Study of Natural Resource Management Under Poverty Conditions Collaborating with Vulnerable Sectors (TD-VULS project)”, funded by the Research Institute of Science and Technology for Society (RISTEX), Japan Science and Technology Agency.

 

Ilan Chabay is head of Strategic Science Initiatives and Programs and the KLASICA (Knowledge, Learning, and Societal Change International Research Alliance - www.KLASICA.org) project at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam, Germany; and adjunct professor in the School of Sustainability, Arizona State University at the ASU Barrett & O’Connor Center, Washington DC, USA. His major research fields are understanding social dynamics in complexsocial-ec

Describes the emergence of transdisciplinary, integrated scientific processes Uses real-world case studies to maximize readers’ understanding of the application of theory to practical contexts Will benefit a broad readership, including both academic and non-academic readers