A diagnostic approach for going beyond panaceas

TLDR

The special feature challenges the assumption that simple predictive models can yield universal panaceas for resource overuse or destruction, noting that many variables influence patterns of interaction and outcomes in social–ecological systems. The authors aim to move beyond panaceas by developing cumulative diagnostic capacities for linked social–ecological systems, first organizing variables into a nested, multitier framework that supports building an interdisciplinary science to match governance arrangements to specific problems. The framework structures analyses of resource system attributes, resource units, users, and governance, mapping their mutual effects on interactions and outcomes at specific times and places, while also linking these dynamics to broader and finer socioeconomic, political, and ecological contexts. The proposed framework represents a foundational step toward an interdisciplinary science that will allow diagnosticians to align governance arrangements with specific social–ecological problems.

Abstract

The articles in this special feature challenge the presumption that scholars can make simple, predictive models of social–ecological systems (SESs) and deduce universal solutions, panaceas, to problems of overuse or destruction of resources. Moving beyond panaceas to develop cumulative capacities to diagnose the problems and potentialities of linked SESs requires serious study of complex, multivariable, nonlinear, cross-scale, and changing systems. Many variables have been identified by researchers as affecting the patterns of interactions and outcomes observed in empirical studies of SESs. A step toward developing a diagnostic method is taken by organizing these variables in a nested, multitier framework. The framework enables scholars to organize analyses of how attributes of ( i ) a resource system (e.g., fishery, lake, grazing area), ( ii ) the resource units generated by that system (e.g., fish, water, fodder), ( iii ) the users of that system, and ( iv ) the governance system jointly affect and are indirectly affected by interactions and resulting outcomes achieved at a particular time and place. The framework also enables us to organize how these attributes may affect and be affected by larger socioeconomic, political, and ecological settings in which they are embedded, as well as smaller ones. The framework is intended to be a step toward building a strong interdisciplinary science of complex, multilevel systems that will enable future diagnosticians to match governance arrangements to specific problems embedded in a social–ecological context.