Frameworks for sustainable management of catchment-coast social-ecological systems

Resumen

Adaptive environmental governance based on continuous learning process is recognized as the best way for sustainable utilization of natural resources. In order to understand both the ecological and the societal processes, analysis and assessment should be conducted on the functioning of social-ecological systems (SES). Therefore, a considerable number of frameworks have been developed and used for this purpose. This work deals mainly with three of the frameworks that can be used as tools for analyzing social-ecological systems, particularly related to the aquatic environment, with the objectives of developing adaptive management. The tools in point are the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response ( DPSIR) framework, the Social-ecological System Framework (SESF) and the Systems Approach Framework ( SAF). the SAF was used for the assessment of eutrophication management in the Ria Formosa, Portugal. The DPSIR was used to assess water uses and related water quality issues in the Alto and Media Dagua (AMDA) Community Council, Colombia. Following that, community-based water resources management system (CBWRM) was designed in AMDA based on an innovatively integrated water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) frameworks. Moreover, the application of DPSIR, SESF and the Ostrom's eight design principles (DPs) were reviewed and analyzed. Finally an integrated analytical framework (IAF) composed of the three frameworks including the strength-weakness-opprtunities and threats (SWOT) analysis was developed and tested in AMDA. The contribution of the study towards a sustainable management of catchment-coastal SESs is that it addresses the current status of both the frameworks and community-based resources management systems. This holds importance given the dynamic nature of the ecological, social, political and economic spheres. Our understanding of this dynamics is ever increasing revealing the complexities existing in an SES. Paradoxically, with an increase in our understanding of nature, these complexities reveal features difficult to untangle. So the important contributions of this work are the review and analysis of the selected frameworks, testing them and the development of integrated frameworks that can contribute to untangling some of the complexities in a given SES. The frameworks can be used not only in catchment-coastal systems but can be adapted for any SES. The usefulness of the frameworks is obvious to the extent that the required data are available. Modification and integration improves the strength of the frameworks supporting the hypothesis that they can be improved through modification and integration. It is believed that the study has fulfilled its objectives and answered the research questions. However, this is not the stopping point: Further endeavour is needed to fine tuning such kind of studies that correspond to ever evolving interactions and outcomes existing within an SES.