Social-Ecological Inventories: Building Resilience to Environmental Change within Biosphere Reserves

 

 

Project Description

In partnership with the colleagues from Environment Canada, the Stockholm Environmental Institute and the Stockholm Resilience Centre, a two-day experts' workshop was organized by core faculty and researchers with the Brock University Environmental Sustainability Research Unit (BESRU).

The main aim of the workshop was to collaborate on the construction of an Annex for contribution to the RA Workbook (http://www.resalliance.org/index.php/resilience_assessment) integrating Social-Ecological Inventories with the three interconnected, interdependent dimensions from the UNESCO MAB program. The Annex has been completed (above link) and integrates recent research and scholarship being developed by those who have conducted social-ecological inventories in Sweden and Canada, by those investigating dimensions of the UNESCO MAB Program domestically or internationally, by those who may have knowledge/integration of both areas.

As sites of excellence, the 564 ecosystems comprising the 2011 constellation of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves offer one of the premier planetary frameworks for the development and building of international capacity to manage complex socio-ecological systems. This may be achieved through greater dialogue at the science-policy interface, through environmental education and through multi-media outreach to wider communities interested in more sustainable development. In addition, it is intended that the social-ecological inventory may be adapted for widespread cross-scale adaptation for individuals, networks, governmental agencies, and organizations interested in applying this systematic approach in their own geographical or jurisdictional arenas outside and beyond the boundaries of biosphere reserves.

Project Goals

To convene a two-day scholarly exchange with Canadian and Swedish environmental scientists, social science scholars and researchers to share expertise in resilience, social-ecological inventories (SEI’s) and UNESCO's Biosphere Reserve governance and evaluation metrics.

Project Outcomes

Final Workshop Report uploaded to this site.

RA Workbook Annex uploaded to http://www.resalliance.org/index.php/resilience_assessment.

Status Updates

Final report now available.

Links

Brock University Environmental Sustainability Research Unit
http://brocku.ca/brock-environmental-sustainability-research-unit RA Workbook Annex by Lisen Shultz, Ryan Plummer and Samantha Purdy
The Annex is entitled: Applying a Social-Ecological Inventory: A workbook for finding the key actors and engaging them
http://www.resalliance.org/index.php/resilience_assessment

Documents

BESRU_2011_SEI_Workshop_Report.pdf
Social-Ecological Inventories: Building Resilience to Environmental Change within Biosphere Reserves - A Climate Change Adaptation Workshop at Brock University BESRU 7-8 March, 2011
Socio-ecological Inventories: Building Resilience to Environmental Change within Biosphere Reserves.