Why are sustainable practices often elusive? The role of information flow in the management of networked human-environment interactions
Analyzing the spatial and temporal properties of information flow with a multi-century perspective could illuminate the sustainability of human resource-use strategies. This paper uses historical and archaeological datasets to assess how spatial, temporal, cognitive, and cultural limitations impact...
Published in: | Global Environmental Change |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2023
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://research.vu.nl/en/publications/272313ee-00a0-46dc-bae8-7ff43e94dcea https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2022.102597 https://hdl.handle.net/1871.1/272313ee-00a0-46dc-bae8-7ff43e94dcea http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85148956491&partnerID=8YFLogxK http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85148956491&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
id |
ftvuamstcris:oai:research.vu.nl:publications/272313ee-00a0-46dc-bae8-7ff43e94dcea |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftvuamstcris:oai:research.vu.nl:publications/272313ee-00a0-46dc-bae8-7ff43e94dcea 2024-09-30T14:39:44+00:00 Why are sustainable practices often elusive? The role of information flow in the management of networked human-environment interactions Crabtree, Stefani A. Kahn, Jennifer G. Jackson, Rowan Wood, Spencer A. McKechnie, Iain Verhagen, Philip Earnshaw, Jacob Kirch, Patrick V. Dunne, Jennifer A. Dugmore, Andrew J. 2023-01 https://research.vu.nl/en/publications/272313ee-00a0-46dc-bae8-7ff43e94dcea https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2022.102597 https://hdl.handle.net/1871.1/272313ee-00a0-46dc-bae8-7ff43e94dcea http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85148956491&partnerID=8YFLogxK http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85148956491&partnerID=8YFLogxK eng eng https://research.vu.nl/en/publications/272313ee-00a0-46dc-bae8-7ff43e94dcea info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Crabtree , S A , Kahn , J G , Jackson , R , Wood , S A , McKechnie , I , Verhagen , P , Earnshaw , J , Kirch , P V , Dunne , J A & Dugmore , A J 2023 , ' Why are sustainable practices often elusive? The role of information flow in the management of networked human-environment interactions ' , Global Environmental Change , vol. 78 , 102597 , pp. 1-14 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2022.102597 Archaeology Ecology Human impacts Sustainable resource management Traditional ecological knowledge /dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/responsible_consumption_and_production name=SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production article 2023 ftvuamstcris https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2022.102597 2024-09-12T00:17:37Z Analyzing the spatial and temporal properties of information flow with a multi-century perspective could illuminate the sustainability of human resource-use strategies. This paper uses historical and archaeological datasets to assess how spatial, temporal, cognitive, and cultural limitations impact the generation and flow of information about ecosystems within past societies, and thus lead to tradeoffs in sustainable practices. While it is well understood that conflicting priorities can inhibit successful outcomes, case studies from Eastern Polynesia, the North Atlantic, and the American Southwest suggest that imperfect information can also be a major impediment to sustainability. We formally develop a conceptual model of Environmental Information Flow and Perception (EnIFPe) to examine the scale of information flow to a society and the quality of the information needed to promote sustainable coupled natural-human systems. In our case studies, we assess key aspects of information flow by focusing on food web relationships and nutrient flows in socio-ecological systems, as well as the life cycles, population dynamics, and seasonal rhythms of organisms, the patterns and timing of species’ migration, and the trajectories of human-induced environmental change. We argue that the spatial and temporal dimensions of human environments shape society's ability to wield information, while acknowledging that varied cultural factors also focus a society's ability to act on such information. Our analyses demonstrate the analytical importance of completed experiments from the past, and their utility for contemporary debates concerning managing imperfect information and addressing conflicting priorities in modern environmental management and resource use. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU): Research Portal Global Environmental Change 78 102597 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU): Research Portal |
op_collection_id |
ftvuamstcris |
language |
English |
topic |
Archaeology Ecology Human impacts Sustainable resource management Traditional ecological knowledge /dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/responsible_consumption_and_production name=SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production |
spellingShingle |
Archaeology Ecology Human impacts Sustainable resource management Traditional ecological knowledge /dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/responsible_consumption_and_production name=SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production Crabtree, Stefani A. Kahn, Jennifer G. Jackson, Rowan Wood, Spencer A. McKechnie, Iain Verhagen, Philip Earnshaw, Jacob Kirch, Patrick V. Dunne, Jennifer A. Dugmore, Andrew J. Why are sustainable practices often elusive? The role of information flow in the management of networked human-environment interactions |
topic_facet |
Archaeology Ecology Human impacts Sustainable resource management Traditional ecological knowledge /dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/responsible_consumption_and_production name=SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production |
description |
Analyzing the spatial and temporal properties of information flow with a multi-century perspective could illuminate the sustainability of human resource-use strategies. This paper uses historical and archaeological datasets to assess how spatial, temporal, cognitive, and cultural limitations impact the generation and flow of information about ecosystems within past societies, and thus lead to tradeoffs in sustainable practices. While it is well understood that conflicting priorities can inhibit successful outcomes, case studies from Eastern Polynesia, the North Atlantic, and the American Southwest suggest that imperfect information can also be a major impediment to sustainability. We formally develop a conceptual model of Environmental Information Flow and Perception (EnIFPe) to examine the scale of information flow to a society and the quality of the information needed to promote sustainable coupled natural-human systems. In our case studies, we assess key aspects of information flow by focusing on food web relationships and nutrient flows in socio-ecological systems, as well as the life cycles, population dynamics, and seasonal rhythms of organisms, the patterns and timing of species’ migration, and the trajectories of human-induced environmental change. We argue that the spatial and temporal dimensions of human environments shape society's ability to wield information, while acknowledging that varied cultural factors also focus a society's ability to act on such information. Our analyses demonstrate the analytical importance of completed experiments from the past, and their utility for contemporary debates concerning managing imperfect information and addressing conflicting priorities in modern environmental management and resource use. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Crabtree, Stefani A. Kahn, Jennifer G. Jackson, Rowan Wood, Spencer A. McKechnie, Iain Verhagen, Philip Earnshaw, Jacob Kirch, Patrick V. Dunne, Jennifer A. Dugmore, Andrew J. |
author_facet |
Crabtree, Stefani A. Kahn, Jennifer G. Jackson, Rowan Wood, Spencer A. McKechnie, Iain Verhagen, Philip Earnshaw, Jacob Kirch, Patrick V. Dunne, Jennifer A. Dugmore, Andrew J. |
author_sort |
Crabtree, Stefani A. |
title |
Why are sustainable practices often elusive? The role of information flow in the management of networked human-environment interactions |
title_short |
Why are sustainable practices often elusive? The role of information flow in the management of networked human-environment interactions |
title_full |
Why are sustainable practices often elusive? The role of information flow in the management of networked human-environment interactions |
title_fullStr |
Why are sustainable practices often elusive? The role of information flow in the management of networked human-environment interactions |
title_full_unstemmed |
Why are sustainable practices often elusive? The role of information flow in the management of networked human-environment interactions |
title_sort |
why are sustainable practices often elusive? the role of information flow in the management of networked human-environment interactions |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://research.vu.nl/en/publications/272313ee-00a0-46dc-bae8-7ff43e94dcea https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2022.102597 https://hdl.handle.net/1871.1/272313ee-00a0-46dc-bae8-7ff43e94dcea http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85148956491&partnerID=8YFLogxK http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85148956491&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_source |
Crabtree , S A , Kahn , J G , Jackson , R , Wood , S A , McKechnie , I , Verhagen , P , Earnshaw , J , Kirch , P V , Dunne , J A & Dugmore , A J 2023 , ' Why are sustainable practices often elusive? The role of information flow in the management of networked human-environment interactions ' , Global Environmental Change , vol. 78 , 102597 , pp. 1-14 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2022.102597 |
op_relation |
https://research.vu.nl/en/publications/272313ee-00a0-46dc-bae8-7ff43e94dcea |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2022.102597 |
container_title |
Global Environmental Change |
container_volume |
78 |
container_start_page |
102597 |
_version_ |
1811642342682132480 |