A Conceptual Framework for Heuristic Progress in Exploring Management Regime Shifts in Biodiversity Conservation and Climate Change Adaptation of Coastal Areas

Raphaël Mathevet, Aurélien Allouche, Laurence Nicolas, Veronica Mitroi, Christo Fabricius, Chloé Guerbois and John M. Anderies
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Raphaël Mathevet: Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, UMR 5175, CNRS-Université de Montpellier-Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier-EPHE, 1919 route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier CEDEX 5, France
Aurélien Allouche: RESSOURCE, 3095 route de Boulbon, 13570 Barbentane, France
Laurence Nicolas: RESSOURCE, 3095 route de Boulbon, 13570 Barbentane, France
Veronica Mitroi: Institut d’Ecologie et Sciences de l’Environnement de Paris—iEES Paris, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 4 Place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France
Christo Fabricius: Sustainability Research Unit, Nelson Mandela University, P.O.Box 6531, George 6530, South Africa
Chloé Guerbois: Sustainability Research Unit, Nelson Mandela University, P.O.Box 6531, George 6530, South Africa
John M. Anderies: School of sustainability, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 875502, Tempe, AZ 85287-5502, USA

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 11, 1-18

Abstract: Social conflicts related to biodiversity conservation and adaptation policy to climate change in coastal areas illustrate the need to reinforce understanding of the “matters of concern” as well as the “matters of fact”. In this paper, we argue that we must rethink adaptation from a new perspective, considering that humans together function as both ecological actors and social actors. Using international examples from the UNESCO world biosphere reserve network, we show that an ontological perspective may provide a simple and compact way to think about coupled infrastructure systems and systematic formalism, allowing for understanding of the relational matrix between actors, institutions and ecosystems. We contend that our formalism responds to three challenges. First, it encompasses the different regional contexts and policies that rely on the same ontology. Second, it provides a method to relate any local adaptation plan to the conservation paradigms that originate from the ecological modernization of policies. Third, it facilitates the discovery of drivers and processes involved in adaptation and management regime shifts by highlighting the way contextual factors configure, determine the structure of the action situation of the Institutional Analysis and Development framework (IAD) (Ostrom 2005), and how it operates.

Keywords: ontology; IAD framework; adaptation; management regime; social–ecological system; biosphere reserves; Camargue; Danube; Garden Route (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:11:p:4171-:d:182408

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