{"title":"Shouldering the burden: social-ecological scale mismatches in wetland ecosystem management in Aotearoa New Zealand","authors":"C. Y. Bataille, S. Malinen, P. O. Lyver","doi":"10.1080/26395916.2023.2279589","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Social-ecological mismatches in scale limit the recovery of ecosystems from environmental degradation, severely impacting the diverse groups who rely on them. Identifying scale mismatches across cultural groups provides insights into underlying social and structural inequities affecting the management, recovery, and use of natural ecosystems. It can also present pathways to remediate mismatches and inequities. Here, we investigated the nature of social-ecological scale mismatches reported by four actor groups (tangata tiaki (Māori environmental guardians), private landowners, Crown (i.e. State) agencies, and recreational gamebird hunters) associated with wetland ecosystems in Aotearoa New Zealand. We also sought to uncover the nature of burdens and benefits brought about by mismatches and whether these were reportedly shared by all groups. Spatial, temporal, and functional-conceptual scale mismatches enabled by Western-based governance (e.g. policies geared towards individual farm-scale rather than catchment-scale wetland management) were reported to undermine aspects of social, cultural, and environmental wellbeing (e.g. through reduced agency). Mismatches such as focus on short-term economic gain over long-term wetland ecosystem health were reported to hamper particularly Indigenous peoples’ rights and responsibilities towards natural ecosystems. Equitable partnerships and nested governance are mechanisms within biocultural frameworks that can support self-determination by Indigenous peoples. Fostering cultural diversity by embracing value plurality and weaving diverse knowledge systems can improve social-ecological outcomes for both Indigenous and other actor groups. Social justice through equitable management and use of resources can then cascade to promote social-ecological wellbeing, thus benefitting both humans and other elements of nature.","PeriodicalId":37104,"journal":{"name":"Ecosystems and People","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.3000,"publicationDate":"2023-11-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Ecosystems and People","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/26395916.2023.2279589","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"Agricultural and Biological Sciences","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
ABSTRACT Social-ecological mismatches in scale limit the recovery of ecosystems from environmental degradation, severely impacting the diverse groups who rely on them. Identifying scale mismatches across cultural groups provides insights into underlying social and structural inequities affecting the management, recovery, and use of natural ecosystems. It can also present pathways to remediate mismatches and inequities. Here, we investigated the nature of social-ecological scale mismatches reported by four actor groups (tangata tiaki (Māori environmental guardians), private landowners, Crown (i.e. State) agencies, and recreational gamebird hunters) associated with wetland ecosystems in Aotearoa New Zealand. We also sought to uncover the nature of burdens and benefits brought about by mismatches and whether these were reportedly shared by all groups. Spatial, temporal, and functional-conceptual scale mismatches enabled by Western-based governance (e.g. policies geared towards individual farm-scale rather than catchment-scale wetland management) were reported to undermine aspects of social, cultural, and environmental wellbeing (e.g. through reduced agency). Mismatches such as focus on short-term economic gain over long-term wetland ecosystem health were reported to hamper particularly Indigenous peoples’ rights and responsibilities towards natural ecosystems. Equitable partnerships and nested governance are mechanisms within biocultural frameworks that can support self-determination by Indigenous peoples. Fostering cultural diversity by embracing value plurality and weaving diverse knowledge systems can improve social-ecological outcomes for both Indigenous and other actor groups. Social justice through equitable management and use of resources can then cascade to promote social-ecological wellbeing, thus benefitting both humans and other elements of nature.
Ecosystems and PeopleAgricultural and Biological Sciences-Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
CiteScore
7.80
自引率
11.30%
发文量
40
审稿时长
42 weeks
期刊介绍:
Ecosystems and People is an interdisciplinary journal that addresses how biodiversity and ecosystems underpin human quality of life, and how societal activities and preferences drive changes in ecosystems. Research published in Ecosystems and People addresses human-nature relationships and social-ecological systems in a broad sense. This embraces research on biodiversity, ecosystem services, their contributions to quality of life, implications for equity and justice, and the diverse and rich ways in which people relate to nature.