Editorial overview : theoretical traditions in social values for sustainability

This special feature provides an impression of the plurality of social values for sustainability, taking into account theoretical traditions within mainstream and heterodox economics; positive, social and environmental psychology; human geography; anthropology; sociology; religious and indigenous studies and business management. Papers in this issue respond to questions of: how do we conceptualise social values; how do we integrate or share social values; what are processes for learning about and mechanisms for forming and changing social values; and what are the associations between social values and behaviour or well-being? Consistent with post-normal science, we suggest that there is no one correct way of conceptualising, assessing, integrating or activating social values for sustainability. We present five arguments: (1) the plurality of social values can be conceptualised along many different dimensions, with reference to value, epistemic and procedural lenses; (2) values are nested in different hierarchies, resulting in the potential for different forms of value articulations and pathways of value expression; (3) not all social values are pre-formed and readily drawn upon, instead needing pathways of deliberation or intervention to be activated; (4) social values may change through different processes or pathways of intervention, and; (5) power matters in the formation and assessment of social values. We discuss the tensions that arise when attempting to integrate different perspectives and introduce the notion of ‘navigation’ to begin to address these tensions. Navigation requires scholars to adopt a more critical and reflexive approach to value enquiry than is currently espoused in sustainability science and practice.Non peer reviewe

Social learning as a link between the individual and the collective: evaluating deliberation on social values

The role of social learning in deliberative processes is an emerging area of research in sustainability science. Functioning as a link between the individual and the collective, social learning has been envisioned as a process that can empower and give voice to a diverse set of stakeholder viewpoints, contribute to more adaptive and resilient management decisions and foster broader societal transformations. However, despite its widespread use in the context of participatory management of natural resources, the empirical properties of social learning remain understudied. This paper evaluates the role of social interaction and social capital in achieving transformative learning in discussions about social values. We employ a longitudinal design involving three consecutive surveys of 25 participants of an expert workshop focused on social values, as well as approximately 12 hours of transcribed audio and video recordings of participant interactions. Our mixed methods approach demonstrates the potential of using changes in social networks and definitions of social values that emerge from qualitative coding as indicators of social learning. We find that individuals with a weaker conceptual understanding of social values are more likely to change their definitions of the concept after deliberation. Though slight, these changes display a shift towards definitions more firmly held by other group members.Peer reviewe

Social and Ecological Dimensions of Tropical Peatland Restoration: Foreword

Tropical peatlands in Indonesia have attracted international and domestic attention and concern in recent decades. Indonesian peatlands provide globally significant climate regulation and biodiversity provisioning ecosystem services and are central to the lives of local communities, yet they have undergone significant degradation via drainage and fire. There is a growing call for scientific knowledge of the social, environmental and practice dimensions of peatland restoration in Indonesia. This Special Volume of Mires and Peat is a collaborative effort by an Indonesian and Australian team of biophysical and social scientists to showcase primary research and systematic reviews that engage with the complexity of tropical peatland fire, conservation and restoration in Indonesia. We explore lives above ground (people and plants) and below ground (microbes, plants and the dynamic peat itself) and identify the following four themes that cut across the individual articles: 1) Livelihoods and land use; 2) Community engagement; 3) Bringing together multiple knowledges; and 4) Carbon; and draw out globally applicable lessons. We suggest that these themes highlight future directions for research which engage with the complexity of tropical peatland restoration in Indonesia, while centring the voices of local communities to support equity and sustainability in the transition to rewet peatlands

Identifying a shared vision for peatland restoration: adapting the Delphi method to enhance collaboration

In this article we propose and apply a methodology for collaboratively creating and reaching agreement over a shared vision for peatland restoration. The purpose is to identify a shared understanding of the various parts of a just, inclusive and sustainable restored peatland as well as productive tensions between and across divergent disciplinary domains focused on peatland restoration. We involved an interdisciplinary group of researchers and practitioners working on various aspects of tropical peatland restoration and management in Indonesia, where there is a recognised need for clearer goals and/or definitions of restoration outcomes to focus manifold stakeholder efforts. To increase opportunities for participation and interaction between participants, our methodology built on and adapted a well-established Delphi survey method by combining it with focus group discussions. This allowed multiple points of view to be considered and new knowledge to emerge. The vision produced through this process bridges across different disciplinary tensions to fulfil ecological and social outcomes. While the vision is specific to the complex political economic and socio-ecological context of Indonesia’s tropical peatland, the phased methodology for collaborative visioning can be adapted for application to other social ecological challenges, or to guide planning and practice by other stakeholder groups aiming to articulate a desired future state

Loving the mess: navigating diversity and conflict in social values for sustainability

This paper concludes a special feature of Sustainability Science that explores a broad range of social value theoretical traditions, such as religious studies, social psychology, indigenous knowledge, economics, sociology, and philosophy. We introduce a novel transdisciplinary conceptual framework that revolves around concepts of ‘lenses’ and ‘tensions’ to help navigate value diversity. First, we consider the notion of lenses: perspectives on value and valuation along diverse dimensions that describe what values focus on, how their sociality is envisioned, and what epistemic and procedural assumptions are made. We characterise fourteen of such dimensions. This provides a foundation for exploration of seven areas of tension, between: (1) the values of individuals vs collectives; (2) values as discrete and held vs embedded and constructed; (3) value as static or changeable; (4) valuation as descriptive vs normative and transformative; (5) social vs relational values; (6) different rationalities and their relation to value integration; (7) degrees of acknowledgment of the role of power in navigating value conflicts. In doing so, we embrace the ‘mess’ of diversity, yet also provide a framework to organise this mess and support and encourage active transdisciplinary collaboration. We identify key research areas where such collaborations can be harnessed for sustainability transformation. Here it is crucial to understand how certain social value lenses are privileged over others and build capacity in decision-making for understanding and drawing on multiple value, epistemic and procedural lenses.Peer reviewe

Reconciling contradictory narratives of landscape change using the adaptive cycle: a case study from southeastern Australia

This paper addresses the methodological challenge of exposing and reconciling contradictory narratives of change in a social-ecological system (SES). Our research occurred in the Ovens Valley in southeastern Australia. Other studies have used the adaptive cycle to interpret change, but those efforts have been based on researcher-derived interpretations. We drew on the Factors Actors Sectors framework as a structure for coding qualitative interview data provided by key informants. Our analysis suggested that interpretations of SES change fell into three groups: farmers, employees of government and local organizations, and local politicians. Those narratives were then overlaid on the adaptive cycle as a way of exposing and interpreting the narratives. To farmers, the SES was based on agriculture and approaching collapse, and intervention was required to prevent a collapse. Employees of government and local organizations thought the SES had already collapsed, and local people were struggling to identify a prosperous new trajectory. The local politicians also thought the system had collapsed but unlike the other stakeholders, considered the SES as having already reorganized. We then drew on a range of secondary data to reconcile those contradictory narratives and form a consolidated interpretation of landscape change. Our synthesis of the primary and secondary data suggested that the SES had collapsed and reorganized as a multifunctional landscape. We suggest our approach may be useful to others attempting to interpret landscape change using a resilience framework. The case study also illustrates the importance of exploring multiple perspectives of landscape change as a way of exposing the role of power as a force shaping discourse and, therefore, policy and planning

Facing the gap: exploring research on local knowledge of insect-provided services in agroecosystems

Sustainable agroecosystems must be managed to support biodiversity conservation and food production, which occur at the interface of regional/national policy frameworks, and local knowledge and perspectives. This paper examines the current breadth of research examining farmer knowledge of beneficial insect activities that provide ecosystem services (or benefits) in agroecosystems. We identify patterns and gaps in the literature and opportunities for future research. We found 34 studies that explicitly focused on and documented local knowledge of how insect taxa provided ecosystem services in agroecosystems, the majority of which were immediately observable in farmers’ daily practice: pest control (n = 26), pollination (n = 4). We suggest that there is a need for greater investigation of local knowledge of the breadth of ecosystem services provided by insects and identify key research areas that are opportunities for investigation

Ways forward for resilience thinking: lessons from the field for those exploring social-ecological systems in agriculture and natural resource management

Resilience thinking appears to offer a holistic approach that can be used by social researchers to interpret past and contemporary conditions and identify possible futures for social-ecological systems (SES). Resilience thinking is shaping contemporary environmental policy and its implementation in Australia, Europe, and North America. At the same time, social researchers have raised concerns about the limitations of resilience thinking, particularly in its handling of human agency, power relationships, social thresholds, and the social construction of SES definitions. We argue for a reflexive turn in resilience thinking as a way to address these concerns. We draw on lessons from three Australian case studies where a reflexive application of resilience thinking generated insights for research and practice. We propose six areas for reflexive inquiry: (1) focal scale and level, (2) SES definition, (3) narratives of change, (4) processes of knowledge production, (5) social transition trajectories, and ( 6) social thresholds. In so doing, the assumptions of resilience thinking are politicized and problematized, which improves its theoretical analytical utility, and in practice generates new insights into social processes. Reflexivity offers opportunity for greater cross-disciplinary dialogue between resilience thinking and the social sciences, while allowing methodologies with differing ontologies and epistemologies to be applied in a complementary manner

Value-based scenario planning: exploring multifaceted values in natural disaster planning and management

The multifaceted dynamics of values underpin many social-ecological challenges, but there are limited approaches for grappling with them. Participatory scenario planning can be a useful tool to explore and evaluate different approaches in natural disaster management. We developed value-based scenario planning as a general framework and process and applied it to the context of bushfire management in Victoria, Australia. From our application, three scenarios resulted: developing self-reliant people and communities; a safe society: separating people and fuel; and living with nature and bushfire. We found that values could guide the development of relatable scenarios and that value-based scenarios supported the understanding of complex relationships between abstract and concrete values and natural disaster management and planning. We found that scenarios led people to think outside of their area of comfort and fostered reflection, discussion, and consideration for how to bridge value differences. Future applications of value-based scenarios could support communication between decision-making agencies and the public in the face of uncertainty, complexity, and value conflict

Does a working knowledge of learning theory relate to improved horse welfare and rider safety?

Training and riding directly effects horse welfare, highlighting the potential for training methods to improve both horse welfare and human safety. Learning theory is considered the most appropriate scientific foundation for horse training methods, yet equestrians’ knowledge of learning theory is reportedly low. The relationship between equestrians’ knowledge of learning theory terminology (LT) and horse welfare and rider safety was investigated to determine if rider knowledge of LT contributes to improved horse welfare and human safety. A sample of 394 Australian recreational and sport horse riders completed an online survey. Ridden horse welfare was assessed using validated husbandry and behavioral indicators. Rider safety was assessed by asking participants about ridden accidents and injuries. Rider knowledge of LT was assessed by asking participants to correctly identify scenarios that depicted three key operant conditioning terms: negative and positive reinforcement, and punishment. Only 24.6% of the sample correctly identified all three terms (the criteria for having a basic knowledge of LT), suggesting knowledge of LT has increased among equestrians but remains low. However, rider knowledge of LT was not significantly related to improved horse welfare or rider safety. It is uncertain why knowledge of LT remains so low among equestrians and why rider knowledge of LT did not translate to welfare and safety benefits as predicted. In facilitating the development of workable solutions to address the dual issues of poor horse welfare and human safety, we explore several possibilities, including a proposed new horse training framework that may enable learning theory to be leveraged more fully and deliver expected benefits