Understanding social-ecological transformations: the role of governance and institutions

Institutions and governance mediate and shape land-use and access to NCP by different stakeholders. However, there is a lack of understanding on how institutions and governance affect local NCP supply from a SES perspective. Furthermore, methodologies and concepts that help to identify and evaluate transformative potential of institutions and governance are largely missing. Addressing these gaps in the highly heterogeneous SES context of Kilimanjaro provides a unique research opportunity.

Objectives

Against this background, SP5 is dedicated to advancing a methodology which combines systems analysis of social-ecological systems (SES) with the analysis of polycentric governance. By combining these two approaches, we aim to understand how polycentric governance and institutions function within complex, multi-level SES, and how they affect resilience, sustainability, and transformation. The project pays particular attention to hybrid institutional constellations offering a nuanced understanding of how governance evolves in practice.

Empirically, the project focuses on two systems of NCP production: first, on local food systems, where different farm types —defined by shared resource bases, enterprise patterns, and livelihood constraints—are embedded in dynamic environments. Second, we will analyse forest conservation and restoration systems at Mount Kilimanjaro that operate across local, regional, and tele-coupled global arenas. We will analyse the role of particular institutional arrangements and governance arrangements in transforming agricultural production and forest conservation and restoration on Kilimanjaro in more sustainable and resilient ways.

Outcome

The outcomes of SP5 will contribute to a better understanding on i) the local resilience and sustainability of NCP production in relation to agricultural production and forest conservation and restoration; on i) how local social-ecological practices are embedded into a multi-level SES; and on iii) the institutional and governance-related leverage points for system transformation. With these results, we also aim to contribute to advance the institutional and governance dimension of the IPBES framework.

Team members

Prof. Dr. Andreas Thiel (Principal Investigator)
Prof. Dr. Katrin Rehdanz (Co-Principal Investigator)
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Schmidt (Co-Principal Investigator)
Prof. Dr. Suzanne, Jacobs (Co-Principal Investigator)
Prof. Dr. Razack Lokina (Tanzanian Co-Principal Investigator)
Dr. Richard Mbunda (Tanzanian Co-Principal Investigator)
Dr. Nora Schütze (PostDoc)
Verena Hackmann (PhD student, Phase 1)
Wivina Byera Msebeni (PhD student, Phase 1)
Manuel Diaz (PhD student)
Nassir Millao (PhD student)

(for more information see People page)