Where do participatory approaches meet social learning systems in the context of environmental decision making?

About the book: Changes in market organisation, climatic conditions and societal demands on food quality, animal welfare and environmental quality have created new conditions for farming families as well as for researchers and policy makers. New social, technical and economic solutions are needed for farming and rural areas. This book presents new perspectives for farms, farm products and rural areas, many of which were collectively developed by coalitions of farmers, farmer representatives, researchers, civilians and/or policy makers. Contributions are made from those involved in crop and animal production worldwide offering sections on natural resources management, development of sustainable rural systems, future perspectives for farming families, knowledge systems in transition and learning processes in multi-stakeholder processes. This unique collection of contributions, presenting insights from biophysical as well as social sciences, shows where practice meets analysis and reflection and offers new perspectives for rural areas throughout the world

Learning participation as systems practice

We describe an evolving praxeology for Systems Practice for managing complexity built on 30 years of developing supported open learning opportunities in the area of Systems within the curriculum of The Open University (UK). We ground this description in two specific examples of how notions of participation are incorporated conceptually and practically into a learners programme of study by considering: (i) the postgraduate course 'Environmental Decision Making. A Systems Approach' (T860) and (ii) the undergraduate course 'Managing complexity. A systems approach' (T306)

Epilogue

The Environmental Responsibility Reader is a definitive collection of classic and contemporary environmental works that offers a comprehensive overview of the issues involved in environmental responsibility, steering the reader through each development in thought with a unifying and expert editorial voice. This essential text expertly explores seemingly intractable modern-day environmental dilemmas - including climate change, fossil fuel consumption, fresh water quality, industrial pollution, habitat destruction, and biodiversity loss. Starting with "Silent Spring" and moving through to more recent works the book draws on contemporary ideas of environmental ethics, corporate social responsibility, ecological justice, fair trade, global citizenship, and the connections between environmental and social justice; configuring these ideas into practical notions for responsible action with a unique global and integral focus on responsibility

River basin planning project: social learning (Science Report SC050037/SR1)

This report documents the findings of a 12-month Environment Agency science project on social learning for river basin planning. Our aim was to use social learning approaches and soft system methods to inform the development of the River Basin Planning Strategy and improve the effectiveness of the Environment Agency's Water Framework Directive (WFD) Programm

Supporting Water Governance and Climate Change Adaptation Through Systemic Praxis

Understanding and working with multiple perspectives on issues of change is an essential part of managing “common pool” water resources. In uncertain and complex situations arising from changes in human settlements and climate, both lives and livelihoods can be at stake. One individual’s or group’s choices can adversely affect others and traditional processes of participation and legislation are often inadequate. Discourse on environmental law recognises that noncompliance with legislation is associated with weak national governance structures. A systemic approach to managing change is required to appreciate interconnections among issues at various levels and to mediate different stakeholdings. Yet there are no blueprints for effecting systemic transformations of complex situations. This paper explores how the implementation of climate change adaptation can be supported when grounded in situations, such as water governance. It draws on the authors’ experiences of systemic praxis in the water sector

Learning systems and communities of practice for environmental decision making

This thesis explores learning for environmental decision making (EDM), from the viewpoints of what and who provide necessary support, and how and why practitioners engage in learning for EDM. Learning systems and communities of practice (CoPs) are the two main concepts used to frame and interpret the research. The empirical focus is on the experiences of practitioners involved in a UKbased Masters level course and a European research project, from a 'learning for EDM' perspective. The study draws on a range of learning and systems theories and is informed by analysis of discourses of environmental and social learning. Conducting two main inquiries – one course-based, the other project-based – proved to be an effective way of researching in the multiorganisational contexts that are characteristic of EDM. Commonalities are identified among different individuals' professional and personal learning for EDM and means of support. Leverage points are recognised where future support might usefully be deployed and design for learning focused. Three models of learning systems are developed to help explore dynamic processes of learning. These are (i) a model of interdependent levels of change (ii) an extension of Vickers' appreciative systems model and (iii) trajectory diagrams. A theoretical framework for systemic analysis of learning for EDM is also proposed, including a generic form. The study reveals the importance of the direct study of learners' perspectives, the incremental nature of social learning over time and that engagement with environmental issues is mediated by transformations that are socially negotiated. Both learning systems and CoPs perspectives highlight the interconnections and relationships of importance to learning for EDM. They also provide a means for considering practices and practitioners as a duality. The thesis concludes that both learning systems and CoPs offer 'know-how' that is required to support learning for EDM in future

Embedding sustainability through systems thinking in practice: some experiences from the Open University

One initiative that has emerged during the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) through the work of the Open University Systems group has been its postgraduate programme in Systems Thinking and Practice (STiP). Built on some forty years’ experience of systems teaching and research at the Open University (OU), this open learning, distance taught programme is designed to develop students’ abilities to tackle complex messy situations, to provide skills to think more holistically and to work more collaboratively to avoid systemic failures. This paper critically reviews the trajectory of this programme –its past, present and future. It discusses the STiP programme’s many boundaries with other programmes and across sectors. Challenges of epistemology, ethics and purpose are explored, in relation to education for sustainability. The programme’s many and varied teaching and learning processes are explicated. The pedagogy of the STiP programme is grounded in a diverse range of students’ experiences and needs that by no means all focus explicitly, or primarily, on sustainability or sustainable development. Many OU students study part-time alongside their other commitments, both work and community-based. STiP students are all interested in systems and learning. But what STiP is a part of for them varies considerably. Students come mainly from the UK and rest of Europe. Many of their interactions are online through several different fora. A diverse, active and critical OU STiP alumni community has developed, initiated by the early graduates of the programme. Academics responsible for the programme also participate in this community’s deliberations, at the invitation of student alumni. In this paper, the authors build on their various experiences of the STiP programme and re-explore its contexts and boundaries from an ESD point of view. They use some of the systems heuristics that they teach, to critically reflect on both what is being achieved through this programme in relation to education for sustainability and what they and some of their past students and associate lecturers think ought to be occurring in this respect as they go forward

Two cultures? Working with moral dilemmas in environmental science

Grappling with ethical issues in environmental studies is notoriously challenging, particularly for those working in the scientific/technical domain. The divide between humanities and science was famously expressed in terms of two cultures by C.P.Snow in his 1959 critique of the prevailing dismissive attitude towards science within Government. An ensuing rebuke to Snow in the 1960s suggested that it was scientists that worked in a moral vacuum. Calls for more responsible science have since become even more urgent with increasing environmental risks. The paper describes a simple adaptable heuristic for professionals coming from a more scientific background to work with ethical issues of environmental responsibility. The heuristic, arising from over fifteen years of experience in teaching environmental ethics to mature part-time study fellows at The Open University mostly from a technical professional background, provides a practical means of bridging the divide between science and humanities. Three recurring and interrelated questions of responsibility are addressed – (i) what matters, in terms of issues, (ii) who matters (and how), in terms of agency, and (iii) why some matters and issues of agency are prioritised over others, in terms of justification. The heuristic can be adapted for dealing with moral issues of responsibility where caring for the environment whilst demonstrating accountability are regarded as important for developing professional and/or personal capacity. Some of the challenges that remain in using such a device for bridging the cultural divide are discussed