Ways forward for resilience thinking: lessons from the field for those exploring social-ecological systems in agriculture and natural resource management

Katrina Sinclair; Andrea Rawluk; Saideepa Kumar; Allan Curtis

doi:10.5751/ES-09705-220421

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Ways forward for resilience thinking: lessons from the field for those exploring social-ecological systems in agriculture and natural resource management

Journal article

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Ways forward for resilience thinking: lessons from the field for those exploring social-ecological systems in agriculture and natural resource management

Katrina Sinclair, Andrea Rawluk, Saideepa Kumar and Allan Curtis

Ecology and society, Vol.22(4), 21

2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-09705-220421

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Abstract

agriculture

limitations

natural resource

management

reflexivity

resilience framework

social-ecological systems

Resilience thinking appears to offer a holistic approach that can be used by social researchers to interpret past and contemporary conditions and identify possible futures for social-ecological systems (SES). Resilience thinking is shaping contemporary environmental policy and its implementation in Australia, Europe, and North America. At the same time, social researchers have raised concerns about the limitations of resilience thinking, particularly in its handling of human agency, power relationships, social thresholds, and the social construction of SES definitions. We argue for a reflexive turn in resilience thinking as a way to address these concerns. We draw on lessons from three Australian case studies where a reflexive application of resilience thinking generated insights for research and practice. We propose six areas for reflexive inquiry: (1) focal scale and level, (2) SES definition, (3) narratives of change, (4) processes of knowledge production, (5) social transition trajectories, and (6) social thresholds. In so doing, the assumptions of resilience thinking are politicized and problematized, which improves its theoretical analytical utility, and in practice generates new insights into social processes. Reflexivity offers opportunity for greater cross-disciplinary dialogue between resilience thinking and the social sciences, while allowing methodologies with differing ontologies and epistemologies to be applied in a complementary manner.

Details

Title: Ways forward for resilience thinking: lessons from the field for those exploring social-ecological systems in agriculture and natural resource management
Creators: Katrina Sinclair - NSW Department of Primary Industries
Andrea Rawluk - University of Melbourne
Saideepa Kumar - Charles Sturt University
Allan Curtis - Charles Sturt University
Publication Details: Ecology and society, Vol.22(4), 21
Publisher: Resilience Alliance
Number of pages: 8
Identifiers: 991013125986702368
Academic Unit: Faculty of Science and Engineering
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

Ways forward for resilience thinking: lessons from the field for those exploring social-ecological systems in agriculture and natural resource management

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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