An essential variable approach for integrated social-ecological systems monitoring to determine sustainability in a South African catchment
Date
2024-05
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
Abstract
This thesis presents an essential variable (EV) approach tailored for integrated social ecological systems (SES) monitoring within the Tsitsa River Catchment (TRC) in South Africa. The study addresses the conceptual and methodological challenges inherent in SES integration and monitoring to provide insights into sustainable landscape management. The research methodology employed a transdisciplinary social learning process, integrating systems thinking and participatory research methods across three related publications. In the first publication, systems diagramming, qualitative interviews, and participatory data collection provided a systemic snapshot of the interconnected social and biophysical drivers of land degradation in the TRC. The findings underscored the dual benefits of changes in land use and grazing practices for landscape improvement and sustainable livelihoods, informing the identification of monitoring variables crucial for sustainable land management. In the second publication, a social learning process, termed participatory self-observation, explored approaches to enhance integration and monitoring of biophysical and social data for adaptive management. The process identified data integration, overload, scale, learning oriented monitoring, and relationship-building as key challenges in SES monitoring Recommendations included participatory approaches focusing on applied work, identifying essential data for SES monitoring, and improving transdisciplinary collaboration. In the third publication, a transdisciplinary process guided by EV development identified Essential Social-ecological System Variables (ESEVs) for the TRC, emphasising the relational connection between social and ecological aspects of SESs. ESEVs were prioritized based on essentiality scores and participant consensus, facilitating integrated planning and management at the catchment scale. The ESEVs identified for the TRC include 'soil erosion related to human actions on the land,' 'participation in natural resource governance,' 'grazing and rangeland sustainability,' and 'land cover and condition. Participants proposed three additional ESEVs, 'access to water,' 'local natural resource governance system,' and 'human well-being in the landscape'. The study concludes that collaborative learning informed by diverse transdisciplinary perspectives can guide adaptive monitoring approaches, with lessons from the TRC applicable to diverse contexts. The ESEV approach offers wider application value, addressing the question of the minimum variables needed for integrative landscape management in complex SESs. Overall, this thesis pioneers a transdisciplinary mixed-methods approach for efficiently monitoring social-ecological sustainability outcomes. Through advancements in conceptualizations of integrated, contextually grounded monitoring, it offers a novel perspective for understanding the implications of development interventions, bridging critical gaps in SES monitoring.
Description
Thesis Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy, to the Faculty of Science, School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024.
Keywords
Systems thinking, Social-ecological systems, Social learning, Transdiciplinary practices, Integrated landscape monitoring, Essential variables, Relationality, UCTD
Citation
Itzkin, Adela. (2024). An essential variable approach for integrated social-ecological systems monitoring to determine sustainability in a South African catchment. [PhD thesis, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg]. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/41487