society and natural resources final

social proof

we determine what is correct by finding out what other people think is correct (behavior perceived as correct to the degree we see other people doing it)

social norms

unwritten rules that guide people's behavior

descriptive norms

person's perception of how people typically behave in a given situation (observe people's behavior, friends/family/co-workers)

injuctive/prescriptive norms

generally agreed upon standards shared by members of a social group

(our perceptions of how others think we should behave, social pressure)

reference groups

we develop values, opinions, and other assessments through comparison to other people we feel are important (family, friends, co-workers, celebrities)

how can reference groups be used to influence pro-environmental behavior?

celebrities using their platform to encourage environmental actions, friends who care about the environment pushing us to be more sustainable

how to use social norms/social influence to encourage pro-environmental change?

can change our behavior to be more environmental friendly based on the people we surround ourselves with and observing how others go about contributing to the environment in a positive way

why is it challenging to encourage pro-environmental behavior change?

- people may be surrounded around non-environmental people who encourage behavior that is not environmentally friendly

- natural resources issues are emergent and pervasive

- people may not know the best action to take, lack of education

- usually requires collective action

conservation behavior

commitment to environmental stewardship or an environmental ethic

3 types of informational needs

background knowledge: provides background and context about the environmental issue

normative knowledge: uses social norms to encourage behavior change

procedural knowledge: provides step-by-step approach

strategies to encourage pro-environmental behavior change

education: increase awareness, enhance skill and knowledge

policy and regulation: top-down approach, voluntary

agreements may help to get public buy-in

persuasive communication: widespread campaigns, encourage community action, top-down or bottom-up approach

social marketing

social marketing, how it can be used to encourage pro-environmenal behavior

social marketing: systematic application of marketing along with other concepts and techniques to achieve specific behavioral goals for a social good

can be used to raise awareness about an environmental issue to a large audience, encourage collective action

steps used in social marketing

1. select behavior and audience: which behavior to target, who could change behavior and make a difference, what exactly needs to be done to help solve the problem

2. identify barriers and attitudes: what barriers prevent behavior and perceived benefits (resources, misconceptions, ability/capacity), use focus groups, conduct survery

3. develop messages and tools: key message should attraction attention and motivate/prompt action, tools best used in combination with others

4. pilot test: listen for feedback, test with real audience members, revise and implement

5. implement and evaluate: launch campaign, count for participants, check for change, produce the tools

5 different types of social marketing tools, how they can be used to encourage pro-environmental change

1. commitment: provide information, get consent, ask for participation (using a pledge for an environmental cause and participation)

2. prompts: helps remind people, usually short phrase for reminder at location, sticker, signs or magnets (sign near tap to save water)

3. social norms - community leaders: find opinion leaders, work with them to identify barriers and identify likely solutions, ask them to help convey information or solutions.

4. communication - persuasion: relevant, meaningful, from a credible source, procedural, vivid and captivating

5. incentives: provide good reasons for behavior change, different people care about different reasons (plant native plants to improve ecosystem, family, yard, etc)

elaboration likelihood model of persuasion

two persuasive paths that can lead to behavior change

1. influence people through central route: provide information that gets people thinking about the environmental issue (issue is personally relevant to the person, not tired or distracted, high motivation and ability to think about the message, lasting change)

2. influence people through the peripheral route: change attitudes by association/reference (low motivation and ability to think about message, tired or distracted, issue discussed is not personally relevant to person, temporary change in attitude)

how to encourage longer term behavior change

- use two way dialogue

- use multisensory media and attractive designs

- use questions

- avoid jargon

- use straight forward language

- tell stories relevant to lives of audience

WICKED problems

problems that defy any true/false solutions, partly because they are commonly symptoms of other problems

key characteristics of WICKED problems

- no definitive definition of the problem

- no true/false solutions, only relatively good/bad solutions

- can be seen as symptoms of other interacting problems

- unique, no template to follow in responding

- responses are "one-shot", can't be replicated

- includes many stakeholders with a wide range of values and priorities

environmental WICKED problems

- plastic waste

- invasive species

- global poverty

- deforestation

- human-induced global climate change

-transborder pollution

systems thinking

way to make sense of complex system that gives attention to exploring the relationships, boundaries and perspectives in a system

mental framework to help become better problem solvers

iceberg model

event: what just happened (react)

pattern: what trends have there been over time (anticipate)

system structures: what has influenced the patterns, what are the relationships between the parts (design)

mental models: what assumptions/beliefs/values do people hold about the system? what beliefs keep the system in place? (transform)

4 key components of systems thinking

multiple perspectives: who/what are the stakeholders, different ways situation can be framed or understood, what stakes do they have?

interconnections: how do elements within situation interconnect, what is the nature of the relationship between them, what patterns emerge from relationships in action?

boundaries: define scope and scale, are other boundaries possible/feasible, how to structure the problem situation, what constitutes an improvement?

influences: identify drivers/trends/enablers/blocks, what drives systems in question in particular direction

maslow hierarchy of needs

human needs arranged in a hierarchy of importance/priority

(bottom to top)

1. physiological needs: food/water/warmth/rest (basic needs)

2. safety needs: security, safety (basic needs)

3. belongingness and love needs: intimate relationships, friends (psychological needs)

4. esteem needs: prestige and feeling of accomplishment (psychological needs)

5. self-actualization: achieving one's full potential, creative activities (self-fulfillment needs)

ecological footprint

measures ecological assets that a given population requires to produce the natural resource it consumes, human effect on environment

(livestock and fish products, timber and other forest products, space for urban infastructure)

biocapacity

productivity of it's ecological assets, supply side (cropland, grazing land, fishing grounds, built-up land)

if left unharvested, can absorb waste we generate (carbon emissions)

carrying capacity and 3 components

maximum number of individuals of a species that environment can carry and sustain

1. population size

2. resources available in ecosystem

3. amount of resources each individual consumes

ecological deficit vs ecological reserve

ecological deficit: ecological footprint exceeds region's biocapacity, resources low but human impact high

ecological reserve: region's biocapacity exceeds its ecological footprint, resources high and human impact low

hyperconsumerism, factors led to its emergence

hyperconsumerism: consumption of goods for non-functional purposes and associated significant pressure to consume those goods exerted by the modern capitalist society, as those goods shape one's identity

factors that led to its emergence: rise in individualism, advancement in technology, after great depression and world wars

problems caused by hyperconsumption

- unsustainable use of natural resources

- environmental pollution

- greenhouse gas emission increase, global warming

- loss of social connectedness and sense of belonging to the community

- feeling of never-ending consumption

solutions to hyper-consumption

- ethical consumption

- voluntary consumption

- government policies

- collaborative consumption: reduce costs and wastage, social benefits

resilience

capacity of a system (individual, forest, city, economy) to deal with change and continue to develop

humans and nature using shocks/disturbances to spur renewal and innovative thinking

socio-ecological thinking

coupled system of humans and nature that constitutes a complex adaptive system with ecological and social components that interact dynamically through various feedbacks

socio-ecological challenges in global coffee production process

social issues: unable to cope with climate uncertainity, international agreements falling apart, livelihood of farmers, grief and loss associated with coffee production, culture and identity, low income farmers

ecological issues: pest/fungi infesting coffee plants, changes in weather patterns/climate change, wild coffee species at risk of extinction, coffee plants requiring specific elevation, coffee takes a long time to grow and be productive, deforestation, and habitat fragmentation

concept maps

helps visualize and understand how different ideas and concepts relate to each other, makes complex information easier to grasp and remember

7 principles of social-ecological resilience

1. maintain diversity and redundancy

2. manage connectivity

3. manage slow variables and feedback

4. foster complex adaptive systems thinking

5. encourage learning

6. broaden participation

7. promote polycentric governance systems

maintain diversity and redundancy

systems with many different components are more resilient than systems with few components, redundancy provides insurance within system by allowing some components to compensate for the loss or failure of others

case study example:

manage connectivity

structure and strength with which resources/species/actors disperse or interact across social domains,

well-connected systems can overcome and recover from disturbances more quickly, but over connected systems can lead to rapid spread of disturbancesm

manage slow variables and feedback

crucial to keep social-ecological systems configured and functioning in ways that produce essential ecosystem services

if systems shift into different configuration regime, can be difficult to reverse

foster complex adaptive systems thinking

acknowledging that social-ecological systems are based on a complex and unpredictable web of connections and interdependencies, can foster resilience

encourage learning

learning and experimentation important for building resilience

ensures different types and sources of knowledge are considered when developing knowledge, greater willingness to experiment and take risks

broaden participation

can build trust, create a shared understanding and uncover perpsectives that may not be acquired through more traditional scientific processes

examples: get right people involved, find inspired and motivated leaders, deal with power issues and potential conflicts

promote polycentric governance

collaboration across institutions and scales improves connectivity and learning across scales and cultures

can deal with change and disturbance swiftly, addressed by the right people at the right time

case studies related to 7 principles

1. coastal communities in East Africa: different livelihoods such as agriculture, tourism, casual labor along with fishing (maintain diversity and redundancy)

2. multifunctional landscape in Quebec, Canada: well-defined bundles of ecosystem services such as tourism, exurban, cottages, village, pork production. relationship between structural elements and purpose (manage connectivity)

3. avoiding poverty traps in tanzania: drought areas have population growth, increase crop production and reduced fallow, leads to drop in soil fertility and organic matter drop, trapped in poverty cycle (manage slow variables and feedbacks)

4. river management for tisza basin: extreme water level fluctuations reached crisis level, formed alternative river management by scientists and local activists (foster complex adaptive systems thinking)

5. social learning fire management in south-eastern US: fire management key to maintaining ecosystem, participatory modeling approach to learn more about fire management for new policies and practices (encourage learning)

6. vulnerability assessment in remote communities of Kahua in the Solomon Islands: communities limited transport, communications and other services, established precedent for community participation/learning/action, facilitate learning and community action (broaden participation)

7. environmental management in southern arizona: collaborations on environmental management and promotion of ecosystem services treated as polycentric system, 20 different groups contribute to decision-making process about pressing environmental challenges in region (promote poly-centric governance)

dr. ben lowe aroacha guest lecture

why does religion matter: religion shaped beliefs/attitudes/norms/behaviors, provides ethical/normative/social resources

lake tanganyika case study: majority of fishers use religion/traditional beliefs/practices in fishing to inform fishing plans, increase catch and provide protection (prayer to god, cleansing rituals, charms/amulets and blood sacrifices)

faith based orgs in us: green faith, interfaith power and light, climate steards, yeca

key takeaways:

religion plays integral role in social-ecological challenges we face today

religion is complex/contextual, rigorous and nuanced

religion viewed as part of the problem but also part of the solution

growth in religious engagement, collaboration, FBOs across conservation

dr diane sturgeon guest lecture: social marketing in action, pet trade research to mosquito control invasive species

stakeholders: pet owners & enthuasists, sellers & breeders, private trappers, scientists & government, conservation organizations (people belonged to groups simulatenously)

SIT: sterile insect technique, mass-rear male mosquitos, sterile via irradiation, release sterile males into wild, results in fewer mosquitos (82.4% support it)

six types of sit supporters: relief seekers, unelaborated supporters, substitutive reasoners, cautious accepters, evidence-informed, ecosystem-conscious

(look at slides!)

behavioral theories for encouraging pro-environmental behavior

1. self-efficacy: observation, models, vicarious experiences can help build a sense that people can take action

2. self-determination theory: self-efficacy and external incentives can help build competence and autonomy which can evolve into internal motives for behavior change

3. flow of behavior change: informational and motivational interventions can help move people toward changing or adopting behavior

4. elaboration likelihood model of persuasion: atitudes about a behavior are more likely to remain changed by communication activities that engage people in thinking about behavior

long term impacts on natural resource challenges (plastic pollution, great Pacific garbage patch)

- negative impacts on marine life

- microplastics in environment, negative effect on human health

-air and water pollution

connection between individual and collective behaviors

individual behavior such as someone recycling or picking up trash can lead more people doing these actions due to observation and social pressure

consumption relate to sustainability and conservation behavior

- hyperconsumption can lead to environmental effects such as pollution, loss of global biodiversity, and overusage of natural resources

use systems thinking to address environmental problem

apply elements of multiple perspectives, interconnections, boundaries and influences to climate change, fast fashion, water pollution

challenges with coffee production and consumption

- climate change, change in weather patterns

- over reliance and production of coffee crop causes deforestation and habit fragmentation

- non-shade coffee requires greater inputs of fungicides, pesticides, water and energy

- pest/fungi infestations of coffee plants

WICKED problems/systems thinking to relevant case study

use case study: collapse of timber industry in the southeast

elements of systems thinking, wicked problems (problem that has no clear solution, symptom of another cause)

iceberg model hurricane helen

event: widespread flooding and infastructure damage

pattern: increasing frequency and severity of hurricanes and flooding events in region

systems structures: urban

planning and development in flood-prone areas, aging infrastructure and stormwater systems, inadequate disaster preparedness and response funding

mental models: short-term economic growth takes precedence over climate resilience, disasters are isolated/unpredictable, technological solutions can manage climate impacts

social norms and social influence on pro-environmental behavior

- celebrities using influence to promote pro-environmental behavior

- observing other people's pro-environmental behavior can lead to pro-environmental behavior in someone

- social pressure from friend group to participate in pro-environmental behavior