Download sustainability-SES perspective Feb 2016

Azim Premji University
Course Title
Sustainability: A Social-Ecological Systems Perspective
Programme Title
Master of Arts in Development
Mode
Level
L3
Course ID
Credits
3
Semester
3
Course Type
Elective (one of the two
courses under ‘framing’
bucket of sustainability
specialisation)
Academic Year
2015-16
Course Designers
Dhanya B, Radha Gopalan, Chetan HC and Chitra Ravi
Course
Instructors
Dhanya B and Chitra Ravi
Rationale
This course is envisaged as one of the two “Framing” courses in the Sustainability specialization
in the MA Development programme. The Framing Courses draw from the preparation given by
the earlier Foundation course “Sustainability: An Interdisciplinary Exploration” which provides
analytical frames for disciplinary, thematic and policy discussions on sustainability. The Framing
Courses deepen and take forward the commitment to knowledge of sustainability through
exploration of ethical, economic, social, cultural, biophysical and earth systems dimensions.
They arrive together (beginning with a common introductory lecture) and frame the thematic
questions and disciplinary boundaries that are to be interrogated further in the rest of the
specialization. The Framing course on “Cultural and political framings of sustainability” and this
course run through common themes of community, populations, conservation, human impact on
species, resilience and vulnerability, climate change and governance. While this course provides
a social-ecological systems perspective on these themes, the other framing course unpacks the
politics behind issues around sustainability. In this manner, these three courses (two Framing and
one Foundational) shape students’ thinking on ‘sustainability’ through a number of questions,
using the toolkit of various disciplines and help them emerge ready to confront specific studies
of particular aspects of the field.
A social-ecological systems perspective to understand human – environment interactions,
viewing humans as components of a complex web of life, has profound implications on the way
environmental challenges could be managed. Ecology therefore becomes one of the core
disciplines for a transdisciplinary approach to the complex domain of sustainability. This
framing course attempts to deepen the learning on ecosystems from the core course on Ecology
and Development and the foundational course on ‘Sustainability: An Interdisciplinary
Exploration’ to provide a better understanding of the principles of ecological organization and
processes that govern interactions between human beings and the environment. We use a socialecological systems approach that examines resilience and vulnerability to complex challenges
such as of resource degradation, biodiversity loss and climate change. That said, although the
course examines social aspects such as the value-laden framing of ecosystem services, and the
linkage between ecosystem services and human wellbeing, the focus of the course is to provide a
complementary perspective to the second Framing course, exploring ecological principles in
depth. The learnings from this course will be particularly relevant in explorations of the
ecological angles of sustainability.
Objectives of the course and expected learning outcomes
As an optional (3 credits) ‘ Framing’ course to be offered in III Semester of MA Dev (July 2015)
under the sustainability specialization, the course provides a deeper understanding of the
framing and evolution of social-ecological systems approaches to sustainability. Next, the course
provides in depth learning of basic social-ecological and ecosystems principles, and finally,
discusses how these can be applied for dealing with specific sustainability challenges, provided
as examples.
The specific objectives of the course are
1. To develop an understanding of the normative values that underly the use of the
principles and practices of ecology and earth systems sciences for sustainability
2. To analyse the scientific principles as well as the complexities, possible consequences
and uncertainties associated with human – nature interactions
3. To demonstrate the complex feedback mechanisms and tradeoffs within social-ecological
systems while addressing real world sustainability challenges
Syllabus:
The course will be transacted in four units organised into 15 class room sessions of 3 hours per
week (15 weeks) and two field practicums
UNIT I – Social-ecological framing of sustainability: a normative perspective (Weeks 1 to
2)
We begin Unit 1 with a common lecture (between the two Framing courses) that introduces the
divergence between science and social science in understanding and forming questions around
ecology. Subsequently this unit traces the history of ecological thinking, scientific and normative
framings of ecology and how this impacts sustainability.
Detailed syllabus
-
Diverse disciplinary voices in sustainability: comparing and contrasting the ecological
and political-cultural framings of sustainability
Ecological thinking: fleshing out the normative frame: Social-ecological systems
approaches have developed as a cohesive body of scholarship that informs the framing,
planning and practice of sustainability. Yet these approaches are informed by a normative
view of sustainability that needs to be understood before we enter into a deeper
discussion of the scientific principles, which forms the focus of this lecture.
UNIT II- Principles of ecology and earth systems science (Weeks 3- 7):
In unit 2 we introduce students to fundamental principles and processes underlying ecosystem
structure and organization that prepare the ground for an ecological understanding of complex
interactions in social-ecological systems. While exploring these, this unit also takes forward the
discussions on normative view in ecological thinking emphasizing the history of co-evolution of
human and other species and drawing parallels with co-evolution of all knowledge.
Detailed syllabus
-
The physical environment: The organism and its environment, Adaptation and natural
selection, Concept and components of ecosystems, Concept of planetary boundaries.
Population ecology: Structure of populations and their dynamics, Population growth and
regulation
-
Community ecology: Species interactions - Predation and herbivory, symbiosis,
competition and parasitism, Keystone species, Community structure, Ecological
succession
-
Ecosystem ecology: Ecosystem energetics, decomposition and nutrient cycling,
biogeochemical cycles
UNIT III. Understanding social-ecological systems (Weeks 8-11)
In unit III we attempt to understand the applications of concepts detailed in the previous unit and
expose students to the social-ecological systems approach in addressing diverse challenges to
sustainability. Ecological underpinnings of resilience in social-ecological systems are
appreciated with reference to biodiversity, nutrient cycling and a detailed exploration of the
ecology of commons in nature.
Detailed syllabus
-
Principles of social-ecological systems, with a focus on understanding resilience and
vulnerability
-
Ecological foundations of resilience:
Biodiversity: types, patterns, values and
measurement, species extinction, species conservation, ecosystem services and human
wellbeing
-
Ecosystem management: examples from forests, grasslands, aquatic ecosystems will be
used to understand how human management influences ecological outcomes such as
biodiversity and nutrient availability in ways that are often complex, with unintended
social and ecological consequences
-
Ecology of common property resources – using a case study of Gundathopus (traditional
orchards) in Bangalore, we will examine how social use shapes the ecology of the
commons, and likewise, how the ecology guides the social practices of use that have
evolved in various traditional societies over long periods of time.
Practicum I (Week 11): Biodiversity assessment in socio-ecological systems
This practicum focuses on understanding and assessment of biodiversity as the foundation of
resilience in social-ecological systems. Quadrat/transect techniques and species-area curves
will be used in a social-ecological system (eg: lake, grazing land) to look at biodiversity, while
investigating impacts of human activities on it.
UNIT IV. Social-ecological systems in practice: addressing sustainability challenges (Weeks
12 to 15)
Building up from the understanding of social-ecological systems in unit 3, this unit looks at
sustainability challenges in social-ecological systems at different scales, taking the examples of
climate change at global scale and resource degradation and pollution at local scales and
examining the scientific and social causes, and policy and management responses. An overview
of technological, economic and legal tools to assess and mitigate such impacts are also part of
this unit.
Detailed syllabus
-
Climate change: Ecological aspects such as ozone depletion, greenhouse effect and
anthropogenic forcing of climate change, and policy responses
-
Resource degradation and pollution: air, water and soil pollution through industrial and
extractive processes and transportation, and management/policy responses
-
Tools for environmental management: Environmental and Social Impact Assessments
-
Application of ecological principles in planning and development projects: landscape
planning, land reclamation & rehabilitation, ecosystem restoration and regeneration
Practicum II (Week 15): Open cast mining and planning for ecological restoration
This practicum is planned to expose students to application of ecological principles in ecosystem
restoration and regeneration. An open cast mining area will be visited to study the impact of
mining on air, water, soil and vegetation and to understand field application of restoration
planning for the degraded site.
Weekly lecture schedule with readings
Week
Lecture Topic
Core readings
1
Sustainability: Diverse
Disciplinary Voices
(common lecture for both
framing courses)
Lele
Binder et al.
2
Ecological thinking: fleshing Carolan
Miller et al.
out the normative frame
3
Organism and the
environment, concepts of
ecosystems and planetary
boundaries
Population ecology
Community ecology-I
Community ecology-II
Ecosystem ecology
S&S (5)
BTH(1)
S &S (8-9)*
S &S (13-16)*
S &S (17-18)*
S &S (21-23)*
BTH(4)
BTH (16)
BTH (19)
BTH (17 18)
Social-ecological systems
framework
Resilience and vulnerability:
Ecological foundations of
resilience, resilience and
sustainability etc.
Ecosystem management
Ostrom, Nagendra
and Ostrom
Folke et al.
Gunderson et al
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Optional
readings
Liu et al
Fischer et al
Field practicum
Vitousek
Ghosh
Walker and Salt
11
Ecology of common property Wall
Biodiversity assessment
resources: case study of
in social-ecological
Gundathopus in Bangalore
systems
12
Climate change and policy
S&S (30), Hill (8)
responses
13
Resource degradation and
Hill (5,9 &16)*
pollution
14
Tools for environmental
Wathern
management
15
Application of ecological
Higgs
Open cast mining and
principles in planning and
planning for ecological
development projects
restoration
S&S: Smith and Smith, BTH: Begon, Townsend and Harper O&B: Odum and Barret,
* Selected sections from the readings, Chapter numbers in paranthesis
Pedagogy: The course uses a mix of classroom lectures, short videos, discussions and field
visits and experiments to demonstrate some of the relevant concepts discussed in the class. The
pedagogy consciously tends towards using real examples of how humans impact socialecological systems as part and/ or drivers.
Assessment and grading:
1
2
3
4
Mode of assessment
Weightage
Announced quizzes based on lectures and
35
readings (one in every two weeks)
Exercises based on field practicums
25
Final exam
30
Class participation
10
Announced quizzes: A quiz once in every two weeks of class covering the topics discussed in
the class and the readings. Seven such quizzes are planned with weightage of 5 each.
Exercises based on field practicums: These will be discussion questions or exercises based on
field observations in the practicums
Final exam: A closed book exam with descriptive type questions
Class participation: Attendance in the class and participation in the discussions will be
evaluated. Just talking in the class will not be counted as participation unless the points raised
add value to the discussions.
References
Begon, Michael, Colin R. Townsend, and John L. Harper. Ecology: from individuals to
ecosystems. 2006.
Binder, C.R., J. Hinkel, P. W. G. Bots, and C. Pahl-Wostl. 2013. Comparison of frameworks for
analyzing social-ecological systems. Ecology and Society 18(4): 26.
Carolan, MS. 2006. Conserving Nature, but to what end? Conservation Policies and the
unanticipated Ecologies they support. Organization and Environment 19 (2): 153-170
Fischer et al. 2015. Advancing sustainability through mainstreaming social–ecological systems.
Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 14:144–149
Folke, C., S. R. Carpenter, B. Walker, M. Scheffer, T. Chapin, and J. Rockström. 2010.
Resilience thinking: integrating resilience, adaptability and transformability. Ecology and
Society 15(4): 20.
Ghosh, D. 2014. Ecosystem Management: towards merging theory and practice. Nimby books.
Chapter 4
Gunderson, LH, Allen CR and Holling CS. 2009. Foundations of ecological resilience. Chapter
6: Ecological resilience, biodiversity and scale. Island Press
Harini, N. and Ostrom, E. 2014. Applying the social-ecological system framework to the
diagnosis of urban lake commons in Bangalore, India. Ecology and Society 19(2): 67.
Higgs, Eric S. "What is good ecological restoration?" Conservation Biology 11.2 (1997): 338348.
Hill MK. 2010. Understanding environmental pollution. Cambridge University Press
Lele, S. 2013. Rethinking Sustainable Development. Current History November 2013: 311-316
Liu et al. 2007. Complexity of Coupled Human and Natural Systems. Science 31 4:1513-1516
Miller, Thaddeus R and Mark W Neff. 2013. "De-Facto Science Policy in the Making: How
Scientists Shape Science Policy and Why it Matters (Or, Why STS and STP Scholars should
Socialize)." Minerva 51, no. 3: 295-315.
Odum, EP and Barrett, GW. 2005. Fundamentals of Ecology (5th edition). Thompson,
Brooks/Cole.
Ostrom, E. 2009. A general framework for analysing the sustainability of social-ecological
systems. Science 325, 419
Smith, TM and Smith RL.2012. Elements of Ecology. Eight edition. Pearson
Vitousek, PM. 1983. The effects of deforestation on soil, air and water. In: The major
biogeochemical cycles and their interactions. Bolin, B and Cook, RB (eds.) SCOPE
Walker. B and Salt, D. 2012. Resilience thinking: sustaining ecosystems and people in a
changing world. Island Press. Chapters 4 and 5
Wall, Derek. 2014. Ecology of commons. In: The Commons in History. Culture, Conflict, and
Ecology. The MIT Press
Wathern, P. 2013. Environmental impact assessment: theory and practice. Routledge. Chapter 1