Quarterly Newsletter by the Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society
To keep the PECS community updated, the PECS Programme Office established a quarterly newsletter: In the newsletter you will find information on PECS and PECS related activities, updates on PECS working groups, regional networks, and affiliated cases, as well as publications, job opportunities, upcoming events, and more.
To subscribe to the newsletter, please use the form here.
If you have any questions concerning the content or if you want to contribute to the newsletter, feel free to get back to the Programme Office.
Newsletter
Quarterly Newsletter by the Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society – April 2023
News:
The Programme Office is planning the first in-person meeting within 4 years: The PECS 2023 Working Group Meeting, organized in the Cape Winelands, South Africa, in June 2023. The meeting will be an opportunity to advance working group activities, discuss cross-cutting themes, and advance the broader PECS agenda. The general frame of this meeting is set by the four themes developed by the PECS scientific committee. Find the themes here.
Updates on:
Working groups:
- Nature-based transformations: Evolving human-nature interactions under changing climate: Workshop in France on adapting innovations to climate emergencies. See pictures here & here.
Projects:
- BioKultDiv: Podcast “Voces Indígenas Chiquitanas“.
Networks:
- SAPECS: Publication highlighting the work that the team has been doing over the past decade: Biggs, R., et al. (2023). The Southern African Program on Ecosystem Change and Society: an emergent community of practice. Ecosystems and People, 19(1).
… Did you know?
… the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) Network’s webinar series ‘Transformative conversations’? The next webinar “Justice-based approaches to living and thriving with nature“ will take place on April 13. Find more info here. Register here.
News from Future Earth:
- Scientific experts sought for the Earth Commission: Call for Nominations, deadline 10 April 2023. Find information and instructions to nominate here.
- Future Earth nominations are open for participation in IPBES 10, which will be held from 28 August to 2 September 2023 in Bonn, Germany. Information and contact: Natalie Chong.
- Call for proposals is now open for the 2023 Pathways Communication Grants. Deadline: 15 June 2023. More details here.
Upcoming events:
- Biodiversity Convention – From Science to Implementation that will take place from 25 June to 29 June 2023, at the incomparable Monte Verità conference venue, Ticino, organized by the URPP Global Change and Biodiversity and the Blue-Green Biodiversity research initiative. Find the agenda and more details here.
Job opportunities:
- The EqualSeaLab group seeks for candidates with initiative, creativity, and team-working ability to apply for a MSCA-2023 Postdoctoral Fellowship in transformations of seafood systems.
- Postdoc on inter- and transdisciplinary sustainability education, Utrecht University. Apply by 7 April 2023.
- Postdoctoral researcher to lead a participatory modelling study that analyses the vulnerability of Spanish rural communities, SUSTAIN Project.
- Postdoctoral research position on plural values and equity in biodiversity and ecosystem services governance, Basque Centre for Climate Change.
Publications & other:
- Burke, L., et al. (2023). Indigenous and local knowledge in biocultural approaches to sustainability: a review of the literature in Spanish. Ecosystems and People, 19(1).
- Goodwin, S., et al. (2023). Global mapping of urban nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation. Nature Sustainability, 1-12.
- Hughes, A. C., et al. (2023). Smaller human populations are neither a necessary nor sufficient condition for biodiversity conservation. Biological Conservation, 277, 109841.
- Gianelli, I., et al. (2023). Sensitivity of fishery resources to climate change in the warm-temperate Southwest Atlantic Ocean. Regional Environmental Change, 23(2), 49.
- Morrison, T. H., et al. (2023). Building blocks of polycentric governance. Policy Studies Journal.
- Obasi, O., et al. (2023). An approach to measuring individual endorsement of social-ecological resilience of water systems. Environmental and Sustainability Indicators, 100249.
- Raschke, A. B., et al. (2023). Learning from sticky variables in cross-case analyses of collaboration in social-ecological systems. Ecosystems and People, 19(1).
- Riechers, M., et al. (2022). Reviewing relational values for future research: insights from the coast. Ecology and Society, 27(4).
- Sandström, C., et al. (2023). Mainstreaming biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people in Europe & Central Asia: insights from IPBES to inform the CBD post-2020 agenda. Ecosystems and People, 19(1).
- Torrez, V., Benavides-Frias, C., Jacobi, J., & Speranza, C. I. (2023). Ecological quality as a coffee quality enhancer. A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 43(1), 19.
- Unnikrishnan, H., et al. (2023). Unpacking dynamics of diverse nested resource systems through a diagnostic approach. Sustainability Science, 1-28.
- Walker, B., et al. (2023). Response diversity as a sustainability strategy. Nature Sustainability, 1-9.
The newsletter is provided by the Programme Office
Newsletter
Quarterly Newsletter by the Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society – January 2023
News:
Happy New Year! We hope you all are having a wonderful start to the new year. For PECS, 2023 is full of plans to bring together researchers to advance place-based, social ecological research across scale and time So stay tuned!
Updates on:
- Working groups:
- Collaborative governance and management: New webinar online with Larissa Koch on the social dynamics of co-management; Anahí Ocampo-Melgar on water governance in Chile; Marta Berbés-Blázquez on urban futures and environmental justice; and Chanda Meek on Ranked Choice Voting.
Talks by researchers associated with PECS:
- Patty Balvanera (SC member) talked about the values of nature in the #Thursdaystalks at Equalsealab.
- Micaela Trimble (LAPECS) presented on transformative participatory processes and governance transitions toward small-scale fisheries co-management in a V2V Global Partnership webinar.
- Gustavo García López (Collaborative governance WG) delivered a presentation on the Latin American commons at the International Association for the Study of the Commons (IASC) 2022 World Commons Week.
- A special session at the Special Summit UNGA 77 on “Socioenvironmental conflicts related to water in South America: tensions around access, use, and management” was co-organized by Micaela Trimble and included as presenters Anahi Ocampo and Paul Cisneros, all PECS members of the Collaboration Management Working Group. Presentations in Spanish and Portuguese available.
- The TV and digital program Report by @NCCIberoamerica spoke with Anahí Ocampo, @GaiaObserver, about: Chile, drought and climate change.
… Did you know?
… the Science for Africa Foundation announced an open call for proposals for innovative approaches to enhance climate adaptation for agriculture in Africa. Apply by 15th January. More details here.
Job opportunities:
- Appointment of Chair in Transformative Sustainability Governance, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University. Apply by 9th January.
- Policy Officer (Remote), The Global Resilience Partnership. Apply by 13th January.
- Chief of Section (Ocean Observations and Services), Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), Unesco, Paris. Apply by 20th January.
- Assistant Professor in the area of Conservation Science, Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley (UCB). Apply by 2nd February.
Upcoming events:
- Evidence Synthesis for Agri-food Systems Transformation Spring School in April 2023, hosted by the Social-Ecological Research Lab at the University of Almeria.
- The University of Copenhagen in collaboration with Future Earth invites researchers and practitioners to participate in the process Transformation Labs, Researching Pathways towards Sustainable Development – A laboratory for testing ideas, problems, and proposals that can fast-track research for sustainable development. Find more details here.
Publications & other:
- Aho, K., Parsons, S., Castro, A. J., & Lohse, K. A. (2022). Mapping socio‐ecological systems in Idaho: Spatial patterns and analytical considerations. Ecosphere, 13(10).
- Anderies, J. M., Cumming, G. S., Clements, H. S., Lade, S. J., Seppelt, R., Chawla, S., & Müller, B. (2022). A framework for conceptualizing and modeling social-ecological systems for conservation research. Biological Conservation, 275, 109769.
- Bartelet, H. A., Barnes, M. L., & Cumming, G. S. (2022). Microeconomic adaptation to severe climate disturbances on Australian coral reefs. Ambio, 1-15.
- Kamdar, A., Baishya, H., Nagendra, H., Ratnam, J., Smith, D., & Sekar, N. (2022). Human–elephant conflict mitigation as a public good: what determines fence maintenance?. Ecology and Society, 27(3).
- Loos, J., Benra, F., Berbés-Blázquez, M., Bremer, L. L., Chan, K., Egoh, B., … & Winkler, K. J. (2022). An environmental justice perspective on ecosystem services. Ambio, 1-12.
- Mosnier, A., Schmidt-Traub, G., Obersteiner, M., Jones, S., Javalera-Rincon, V., DeClerck, F., … & Wang, X. (2022). How can diverse national food and land-use priorities be reconciled with global sustainability targets? Lessons from the FABLE initiative. Sustainability Science, 1-11.
- Ocampo-Melgar, A., Barría, P., Chadwick, C., & Rivas, C. (2022). Cooperation under conflict: participatory hydrological modeling for science policy dialogues for the Aculeo Lake. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 26(19), 5103-5118.
- Ocampo, A., Lutz-Ley, A., Zuñiga, A., Cerda, C., & Goirán, S. (2022). Latin American drylands: Challenges and opportunities for sustainable development. Metode Science Studies Journal, (13).
- Ocampo-Melgar, A., Barria, P. A., Chadwick, C., & Diaz-Vasconcellos, R. (2022). Rural transformation and differential vulnerability: Exploring adaptation strategies to water scarcity in the Aculeo Lake basin (Chile). Frontiers in Environmental Science, 1851.
- Riechers, M., Betz, L., Gould, R., Loch, T., Lam, D., Lazzari, N., … & Sala, J. (2022). Reviewing relational values for future research: insights from the coast. Ecology and Society, 27(4).
- Sen, A., & Nagendra, H. (2022). Rethinking inclusivity and justice agendas in restoration of urban ecological commons: A case study of Bangalore lakes. Lakes & Reservoirs: Research & Management, 27(4).
- Weber, R., Haase, A., & Albert, C. (2022). Access to urban green spaces in Hannover: An exploration considering age groups, recreational nature qualities and potential demand. Ambio, 1-16.
The newsletter is provided by the Programme Office
Newsletter
Quarterly Newsletter by the Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society – October 2022
News:
Have you checked out our website yet & discovered all the new groups associated with PECS? You can learn more here. We will meet with the new groups again soon and have plans for an in-person meeting next year. So stay tuned!
Updates on:
Regional networks:
- NAPECS/RESNET has published a special collection in the journal FACETS: The collection picks up on many of themes from the broad literature on place-based ecosystem service science, and presents a collection of essays, research papers, and perspective pieces drawn from the first two years of work by a team of researchers funded by the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada called ResNet. ResNet’s work is unfolding through a series of six exemplar land- and seascapes across Canada. In each of these model landscapes, it has launched a series of co-designed investigations into the provision, modelling, and governance of multiple ecosystem services. ResNet also features three themes, which apply theory and compare and contrast landscapes to build knowledge about governance, modelling, and monitoring of ecosystem services. Ultimately, the network hopes to synthesize the knowledge generated across regions and themes to produce tools to manage these ecosystems beyond the research area and at larger scales. You can learn more at the website.
- SAPECS: New paper drawing on work linked to members of the Southern African Program on Ecosystem Change and Society (SAPECS) and synthesizing emerging insights on SES dynamics that can inform actions and advance research to support sustainability transformations specifically in the southern African context: Biggs, R. et al. (2022). Social-ecological change: insights from the Southern African Program on Ecosystem Change and Society. Ecosystems and People, 18(1), 447-468.
Working groups:
- Collaborative governance and management: New webinar online on collaboration in river basin governance with Bridget McGlynn and Julia Baird.
- BioKultDiv: New blogpost on biocultural terminology.
… Did you know?
… Biosphere Futures? It‘s a global collection of social-ecological scenarios to promote scenario planning for sustainable development of the Biosphere. Learn more on the website and twitter.
… the Beyond the Academy Network? The network has spent the last three years exploring how universities are reforming their systems and structures in ways that promote action-oriented research and practices that respond to society’s needs. Their new Guidebook for the Engaged University summarizes the review and gives the academy a roadmap to this more impactful future. Download the Guidebook to learn about how universities are adopting: Reforms to tenure and promotion practices, alternative metrics of research impact, innovations in graduate training, best practices in recruiting and retaining engaged scholars.
Job opportunities:
- Postdoc to work across two Horizon EU projects on ecosystem services and biodiversity values in planning and policy-making, Apply by October 7.
- 3 KLI Postdoctoral Fellowships on evolutionary theory in interdisciplinary context, Deadline: December 15.
- Director of Communications for Natural Capital Project, based in Palo Alto at the Stanford Campus, USA.
Publications & other:
- Cumming, G. S. (2022). A mechanistic framework for social-ecological mismatches. National Science Review.
- Bennett, N. J. et al. (2022). Social sustainability and equity in the blue economy. One Earth, 5(9), 964-968.
- Brillinger, M. et al. (2022). Deliberating options for nature-based river development: Insights from a participatory multi-criteria evaluation. Journal of Environmental Management, 317, 115350.
- Frazão Santos, C. et al. (2022). A sustainable ocean for all. Ocean Sustainability, 1(1), 1-2.
- Horcea-Milcu, A. I. (2022). Values as leverage points for sustainability transformation: two pathways for transformation research. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 57, 101205.
- Horcea-Milcu, A. I. et al. (2022). The relationship between values and knowledge in visioning for landscape management: relevance for a collaborative approach. Ecosystems and people, 18(1), 498-513.
- Lam, D. P. et al. (2022). Amplifying actions for food system transformation: insights from the Stockholm region. Sustainability Science, 1-17.
- Lliso, B. et al. (2022). Nature’s disvalues: what are they and why do they matter?. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 56, 101173.
- Olafsson, A. S. et al. (2022). Comparing landscape value patterns between participatory mapping and geolocated social media content across Europe. Landscape and Urban Planning, 226, 104511.
- Shurety, A. L. et al. (2022). Insights from twenty years of comparative research in Pacific Large Ocean States. Ecosystems and People, 18(1), 410-429.
- Trimble, M. et al. (2022). How do basin committees deal with water crises? Reflections for adaptive water governance from South America. Ecology and Society, 27(2).
The newsletter is provided by the Programme Office
Newsletter
Quarterly Newsletter by the Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society – July 2022
News:
We are excited to announce the launch of new working groups/network. In June, we met online with the new members for the first time . It was fantastic to hear about the plans of the groups to dig into exciting topics and an exchange of cross cutting themes has already started. Every Monday, we will now introduce a new group on the PECS website and twitter, so check out #PECSWorkingGroup . Thanks to all the ones being involved and contributing to move PECS and place based social ecological research forward. The new groups are:
• Ocean equity for sustainable futures (led by M. Riechers & S. Villasante
• Decolonizing conservation led by L. Sandroni & M. Mabele );
• Trade-offs and synergies in multifunctional landscapes ( led by F. Turkelboom , J. Desair , S. Jacobs, M. Torralba, & C.
• Future governance for just sustainability transitions led by T. Muñoz Erickson, M. Berbés Blázquez, K. Wijsman , & L. Caughman
• Nature based transformations (led by S. Lavorel , B & Locatelli);
• Transdisciplinarity for transformation led by M. Sellberg , D. P. M. Lam, & J. Cockburn);
• Incorporating institutional dynamics (led by G. Cumming & G. Epstein);
• Collective and care full transformations for sustainability science ( led by J. Haider, A. Rawluk , C. Quintas Soriano, G. Caniglia, S. Kosanic , & I. Díaz Reviriego
• Transforming charcoal sectors for sustainable energy futures led by . T. H Mwampamba & M. Mabele );
• Nurturing sustainable agricultural and water transitions (led by J. Baird & C. Febria);
• SES methods training resource (led by A. de Vos & J. van Velden);
• Scaling transformative seeds of change (led by N. Magadzire & J. van Velden);
• Collaborativ governance and management (led by M. Schoon, J. Cockburn, & A. Ocampo Melgar);
• Telecoupling and equity (led by O. Selomane N. Sitas)
• Latin American Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society (led by M. Trimble & R. Caldéron Conteras).
Updates on:
PECS working groups:
- Collaborative governance and management : New webinars online on with Miranda Bernard on Marine Social Science , Cécile Barnaud on discourse
analysis and role playing games . - Ocean Equity for Sustainable Futures : blog post on the Science For Sustainability blog by social ecological researchers at Leuphana University
Updates from Future Earth: 
- Check out the Future Earth’s monthly newsletter, featuring the latest news, events, and opportunities in global sustainability research.
- Call for Expressions of Interest: Pathways Postdoctoral Grants, deadline to submit is 11 September 2022, 23:59 CEST. Read more here.
- Conference by the University of Exeter: Tipping points – from climate crisis to positive transformation, 12 – 14 September 2022
- Global Risks Perceptions Report 2021 is now available in four languages – English, Spanish, French, and now Japanese
- Webinar Series on Global Sustainability: Navigating DRR Solutions for Securing Resilient Futures, July 4.
… Did you know?
… Ecology and Society is undergoing a new adaptive cycle: new webpage, new Editors in Chief, new Subject Editors, revised guidelines for contribution. Take a look! Plus, check out the open call for the special feature ‘Meaningful Trans-disciplinary Collaborations for Sustainability: Local, Artistic, and Scientific Knowledge’. See more here.
Job opportunities:
- Postdoctoral Research Scholar, School of Complex Adaptive Systems, Arizona State University. Deadline: June 30, 2022 (applications will continue to be accepted on a rolling basis for a reserve pool).
- Six faculty positions in climate science, climate impact and climate adaptation, Utrecht University.
- Research Assistant (Experienced PhD/early postdoctoral researcher) in Shaping Interdisciplinary Research for Sustainability Transformation, Institute of Global Change Research of the Czech Academy of Science Deadline: July 8, 2022.
Publications & other:
- Brillinger, M., Scheuer, S., Albert, C. Deliberating options for nature-based river development: Insights from a participatory multi-criteria evaluation. Journal of Environmental Management (2022).
- Lam, D.P.M., Jiménez-Aceituno, A., Guerrero Lara, L. et al. Amplifying actions for food system transformation: insights from the Stockholm region. Sustainable Science (2022).
- Leadly, P., Gonzalez, A., Obura, D., et al. 2022. Achieving global biodiversity goals by 2050 requires urgent and integrated actions. One Earth (2022).
- Pingarroni, A., Castro, A. J., Gambi, M. et al. Uncovering spatial patterns of ecosystem services and biodiversity through local communities’ preferences and perceptions. Ecosystem Services (2022).
- Schmitt, T. M., Riebl, R., Martín-López, B., et al. Plural valuation in space: mapping values of grasslands and their ecosystem services. Ecosystems and People (2022).
- Zurek, M., Hebinck, A., Selomane, O. Climate change and the urgency to transform food systems. Science (2022).
The newsletter is provided by the Programme Office
Newsletter
Quarterly Newsletter by the Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society – April 2022
News:
It is with great joy that we announce and welcome nine new working groups in PECS. The topics range from transdisciplinarity for transformation, to sustainable energy, governance, care, seeds of change, ocean equity, multifunctional landscapes, decolonializing conservation and nature-based transformations. We will soon start to introduce the new groups on our website and twitter – so stay tuned!
Updates on:
PECS working groups:
- Collaborative governance and management: New webinars online on Environmental Philanthropy with Rebecca Gruby, multiple-evidence based approach for indigenous-led conservationwith Cathy Robinson, and on institutions and hydropower with Maria Claudia Lopez
PECS cases:
- BioKultDiv: New blogposts on the topic ‘Developing pathways to sustainable futures’ and the webinar series ‘A Global Conversation: What is biocultural diversity, and why should we care?’
- MigSoKo: Animation video presenting key results of the MigSoKo project: How can we understand the complex relationship between environmental change and human migration?
Updates from Future Earth:
- 2nd annual Land Data Assimilation Community Virtual Workshop ‘New Directions in Land Data Assimilation,’ June 13-15.
- Early-Career Fellowship, offered by the Future Earth China Global Hub.
- NRF South Africa to Host the Africa Future Earth Global Secretariat Hub
… Did you know?
…The IDRC (International Development Research Centre) funding for new Seeds of Good Anthropocenes project, “Seeds of good Anthropocenes: fostering food system transformation in Africa”
The project aims to enhance foresight capacity to guide future investments and response options that support transformation of African food systems towards more just, sustainable, and resilient futures. The project will identify examples of innovative food-related projects – which are called ‘seed initiatives’- across three coastal urban regions of Africa. The researchers will conduct interviews and participatory scenario workshops with these seed initiatives to identify strategies to support the emergence, development and scaling of initiatives that have the potential to contribute to transformation of the food system within the African context. They also aim to better understand the potential synergies and fault lines that affect the potential for collaboration among initiatives.
The project will advance foresight methods and support transformative change in developing country contexts by enhancing the ability to identify transformative seed initiatives, developing new understanding of how such initiatives may be supported to develop, grow and collaborate, and supporting networking and peer-to-peer learning among seed leaders. The researchers will produce a set of scientific papers, a booklet and video to communicate the insights from the project to researchers, policy-makers, innovators and practitioners to enhance their actions to support sustainability transformations.
Lead PI: Oonsie Biggs
Other PIs: Nyasha Magadzire, Nadia Sitas, Sandra Boatemaa, Laura Pereira, Garry Peterson, Elena Bennett
Job opportunities:
- Post-Doc Social Science/Social Ecology, Leuphana University, Germany
- Mountain Research Initiative Communication Officer, Centre for Development and Environment, University of Bern, Switzerland.
- Executive Director of the Earth System Governance Project, Utrecht University
Publications & other:
Special Issue celebrating 10 years of PECS
- The collection in Ecosystems and People is still growing. The latest publications are:
- Felipe-Lucia, M. R., Frutos, A. de, & Comín, F. A. (2022). Modelling landscape management scenarios for equitable and sustainable futures in rural areas based on ecosystem services.
- Fischer, J., Abson, D. J., Dorresteijn, I., Hanspach, J., Hartel, et al. (2022). Using a leverage points perspective to compare social-ecological systems: a case study on rural landscapes.
- Meacham, M., Norström, A. V., Peterson, G. D., Andersson, E., Bennett, et al. (2022). Advancing research on ecosystem service bundles for comparative assessments and synthesis.
Debut fiction novel by PECS SC Member Harini Nagendra
- The Bangalore Detectives Club is the first in a charming, joyful crime series set in 1920s Bangalore, featuring sari-wearing detective Kaveri and her husband Ramu who solve a murder in the gorgeous setting of colonial Bangalore, garden city of India. The city’s social-ecological setting, with its botanical parks, zoo, lakes and the people who depend on the ecology of the city for their livelihoods, such as the milkmen, play a prominent role throughout the book. Perfect for fans of Alexander McCall Smith’s The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, this books brings the social-ecological history of the colonial Indian city to life. Releasing on 28 April in the UK and India with Little, Brown/Hachette, and 3 May in the USA with Pegasus Books.
Further publications:
- Vinke-de Kruijf, J., Verbrugge, L., Schröter, B., den Haan, R. J., Cortes Arevalo, J., et al. (2022). Knowledge co-production and researcher roles in transdisciplinary environmental management projects. Sustainable Development.
The newsletter is provided by the Programme Office
Newsletter
Quarterly Newsletter by the Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society – January 2022
News:
Update on the call for new Working Groups (WG): We are happy to announce that we received a great number of diverse proposals from all over the world for new PECS WGs. In January, the Programme Office together with the Scientific Committee are going to assess the proposals. In a next step, we will announce successful WGs in early 2022 and initiate an introductory virtual meeting of all working groups.
Missed the deadline? There are other ways of participating in PECS:
- Going forward, we plan to have annual call for working groups
- Working groups will mostly be open; you can contact the working group leader(s) to participate
- You can also a suggest a place-based case you are working on, to affiliate with PECS. Contact us for details.
Updates on:
PECS working groups:
- Collaborative governance and management: New webinars online on Polycentric Governance and Power Dynamics with Praneeta Mudaliar, on Institutional Grammar with Saba Siddiki, on Other Effective Conservation Measures (OECMs) with Georgina Gurney, and Social and ecological success of participation in protected areas with Jule Huber and Jacqueline Loos.
PECS cases:
- BioKultDiv: New blogposts on the topic of Discussing positive futures for the Muttama Creek Catchment area and Using the Three Horizons framework to explore the future of farming and biodiversity
- MigSoKo: New webinar online on Migration and Environment – Which Feedback Loops?
PECS networks:
- SAPECS is looking for participants to complete an online about nature-based ‘solutions’ and social equity in Southern Africa. Find out more here.
Updates from Future Earth:
- Request for Proposals: Future Earth Pathways Communication Grants. Researchers are invited to submit proposals for communication pro-ducts that aim to disseminate outcomes developed in inter- and/or transdisciplinary research projects, and that are addressed to the broader public. Deadline 31 January 2022.
- Submit session proposals for the Sustainability Research & Innovation Congress 2022 (SRI2022): This call is open to anyone working in sustainability science and practice, including research, government, business, philanthropy, art and civil society. Deadline 5 February 2022
- 10 New Insights in Climate Science: A year of climate-related science in review. For more updates follow #10ClimateInsights on Twitter.
- Second Edition of the Global Risks Perceptions Report launched – Future Earth, Sustainability in the Digital Age and the International Science Council are pleased to share the findings of the second annual survey of scientists’ perceptions of risks in the Global Risks Perceptions Report 2021.
… Did you know?
… The Postdoc Academy for Transformational Leadership? The Robert Bosch Stiftung collaborates with four leading academic research centers to unite expert knowledge and educate the next generation of leading sustainability and transformation scholars. Apply until 15 February 2022
Job opportunities:
- 5 Writing-up Fellowships on “Cognition and Knowledge: Between Evolution and Sustainability”, Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research (KLI), Austria
- Communications Officer in Press and Engagement (temporary employment) at Stockholm Resilience Center, Sweden
- 12 open PhD positions on conservation of forest biodiversity, University of Freiburg, Germany.
- Associate Programme Management Officer – Scientific Affairs (P2), to be based in the IPBES Secretariat Office in Bonn. Apply by 9 February 2022.
Publications & other:
- Calderón-Contreras, R., Balvanera, P., Trimble, M., Langle-Flores, A., Jobbágy, E., Maass Moreno, M., … & Velázquez, M. (2022). A regional PECS node built from place-based social-ecological sustainability research in Latin America and the Caribbean. Ecosystems and People, 18(1), 1-14.
- Unnikrishnan, H., & Nagendra, H. (2021). Building climate resilient cities in the global South: assessing city adaptation plans in India. The Round Table, 110(5), 575-586.
- Bennett, E. M., Baird, J., Baulch, H., Chaplin-Kramer, R., Fraser, E., Loring, P., … & Lapen, D. (2021). Ecosystem services and the resilience of agricultural landscapes. In Advances in ecological research (pp. 1-43). Academic Press Inc..
- Bennett, E. M., Biggs, R., Peterson, G. D., & Gordon, L. J. (2021). Patchwork Earth: Navigating pathways to just, thriving, and sustainable futures. One Earth, 4(2), 172-176.
- Quintas-Soriano, C., Brandt, J., Baxter, C. V., Bennett, E. M., Requena-Mullor, J. M., & Castro, A. J. (2021). A framework for assessing coupling and de-coupling trajectories in river social-ecological systems. Sustainability Science, 1-14.
- Wang, J., Rienow, A., David, M., & Albert, C. (2021). Green infrastructure connectivity analysis at multiple spatiotemporal scales: A transferable approach in Ruhr Metropolitan Area, Germany.Science of The Total Environment, 152463.
The newsletter is provided by the Programme Office
Newsletter
Quarterly Newsletter by the Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society – April 2021
News:
- Chair replacement: Elena Bennett (right) stepped in as co-Chair of the PECS Scientific Committee (SC), after Berta Martín- López (left) stepped down due to health. Berta will remain member of the SC.
- Special Issue: PECS is launching a special issue celebrating its 10th birthday in Ecosystems & People, stay updated for coming papers.
- The Programme Office and the SC are currently working to update the science plan. Check out a short summary here and stay tuned!
Updates on:
- PECS working groups: ‘Collaborative governance and management‘, New webinars online on adaptive water governance with Micaela Timbre and on machine learning and community-based natural resource management with Graham Epstein
- PECS regional networks: Introduction to ResNet, a community-engaged, transdicsiplinary research programme with the focus on monitoring, modeling and managing ecosystem services across Canada. Find out more here.
- PECS affiliated projects: MigSoKo– Human migration and global environmental change: A vicious cycle?
- In October 2020 MigSoKo hosted an online workshop titled “Place-based socio-ecological research in times of covid-19”. Together with about 20 participants from a range of socio-ecological research fields the group exchanged ideas about possible strategies and alternatives for place-based research to cope with the current global challenges of the pandemic. A publication with re-commendations prepared by the workshop group will be available in GAIA soon.
- Hot of the press as part of the PECS special issue paper: Groth, J. et al. (2021) ‘Investigating environment-related migration processes in Ethiopia – A participatory Bayesian network’, Ecosystems & People.
Updates from Future Earth:
- SRI Talks in April on ‘Advocating Knowledge-to-Action‘ and in May on ‘Integrated action for the SGDs‘
- Attend the 17th meeting of the Climate Technology Centre & Network Advisory Board. This opportunity is provided through RINGO, the NGO constituency in which Future Earth is represented at the UNFCCC. Find out more here.
- The Civil Society Unit from UNEP presents the first workshop of the year called Friends of Governance for Sustainable Development: How do we Accelerate the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
- The ISC and BBC collaborate in producing a new series exploring the role of science in solving humankind’s most complex challenges. Future Earth can help you to get your GRPs or KANs work featured in BBC Storyworks.
… Did you know?
… the online database of participatory social-ecological scenarios biosphereFutures.net? 
The database offers a global collection of place based social-ecological scenario case studies—the initiators invite all (PECS) researchers to contribute their scenario planning work that bridges people and nature, @biosphereFuture
… the project ENVISION, a research project on inclusive conservation? ENVISION is a 3-year international project that aims to develop & apply inclusive approaches to the management of protected areas, including identifying different visions and navigating tensions for how nature should be conserved. Recent publications include:
- Cebrián-Piqueras, M. A. et al. (2020). Scientific and local ecological knowledge, shaping perceptions towards protected areas and related ecosystem services. Landscape Ecology, 35(11), 2549–2567.
- López-Rodríguez et al. (2020). Delineating participation in conservation governance: Insights from the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (Spain). Environmental Science & Policy, 114, 486–496.
Job offers:
- Two Full-time Faculty Positions at Universidad del Rosario (Bogota Colombia): Socio-Ecological Systems and Microbial Biotechnology
- 3-year Postdoc position on urban food systems in Africa at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Amsterdam)
- For early career researchers: Check out the Future Earth Early Career Professionals group here
Publications & other:
- Bennett, E., Biggs, R. Peterson, G. D., Gordon, L. J. (2021): Patchwork Earth: navigating pathways to just, thriving, and sustainable future. One Earth, 4 (2), 172-176. The authors suggest how science and policy can increase capacity to navigate towards a sustainable future by envisioning diverse desirable futures, nurturing seeds of sustainability, and navigating emerging pathways to sustainable and just futures. Read the paper here.
- Harini Nagendra (SC member) & Seema Mundoli win Publishing Next Printed Book of the Year (English) with ‘Cities and Canopies: Trees in Indian Cities’.
- New online blog: People • Nature • Landscapes reports stories and research updates from the Social-Ecological Interactions Group based at the Universities of Göttingen & Kassel; especially concerning rural landscapes, ecosystem services, and sustainable land use.
The newsletter is provided by the Programme Office
Newsletter
Quarterly Newsletter by the Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society – July 2021
News:
- The much anticipated opus involving various members of the PECS Scientific Committee and the PECS community is out now: The Routledge Handbook of Research Methods for Social Ecological Systems. The handbook provides a synthetic guide to the range of methods that can be employed in social ecological systems (SES) research. Thanks to support from the USAID Resilient Waters Program, this handbook is open access.
Updates on:
- PECS working groups:
- Collaborative governance and management: New webinars online on online teaching with Ramiro Berardo; on opening up the co-production black box for ecosystem sustainability with Josie Chambers; and on networks and environmental governance with Örjan Bodin
- PECS affiliated projects:
Upcoming events:
- Wed 7 July, 7 8 am EDT, 4.30 5.30 pm IST: Promise of the Commons for Sustainable and Equitable Food Systems “. Side event of the UN Food Systems Summit 2021. Free registration.
- Fri 2 July: Future Earth Taipei Early Career Researchers invites to discuss Assessment and accounting for ecosystem services: theoretical
basis and practical applications ” with Dr. Yuan Mei Hua; Language: Chinese. Register here.
… Did you know?
… the Restoration Stewards Program The Youth in Landscapes Initiative (and the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) are launching the second
edition of the Restoration Stewards program to support and highlight the work of five young restoration practitioners and their team. Find out
more here Besides , the two organisations are now accepting applications by representatives of regional youth organizations for E-Regional Dialogues Digital conversations leading up to GLF Amazon”. For more info see here.
… the Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development e.V. V.(IOER) is inviting applications to Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions
Postdoctoral Fellowships as a host organisation . They are looking for applicants aiming to undertake cutting edge research in the spatial
sustainability sciences. For more details see here.
… Land just launched a call for a Special Issue on “The Transformative Potential of Transdisciplinary Research in Land Systems Science“. Deadline 1 September 2021. For more info see here.
Job offers:
- Tenure Track Position Assistant Professor in Environmental Economics, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
- 3 year Academic Associate in various thematic areas related to development, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru, India.
- 3 year Post Doc position (100% TV L E13) in Process based modelling of ecosystem stability and resilience, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.
- Postdoc fellowship on Managing Invasive Species , Centre for Sustainability Transitions , Stellenbosch, South Africa.
- Up to 2 Postdoctoral Research Scholar positions in Urban Equity and/or Environmental Justice, Arizona State University, USA.
Publications & other:
- New paper of the upcoming PECS Special Issue : L. Pereira et al. (2021). Advancing a toolkit of diverse futures approaches for global environmental assessments. Ecosystems and People, 17:1, 191 204.
- C. Ofoegbu , & Chinwe Ifejika Speranza (2021). Making climate information useable for forest based climate change interventions in South Africa. Environmental Sociology.
- M. Egerer, D. Haase, T. McPhearson , N. Frantzeskaki , E. Andersson, H. Nagendra & A. Ossola (2021). Urban change as an untapped opportunity for climate adaptation. Nature Sustainability.
- P. Choksi , D. Singh, J. Singh, P. Mondal , H. Nagendra , J. Urpelainen , R. DeFries (2021). Sensitivity of seasonal migration to climatic variability in central India. Environmental Research Letters, 16.
- A. Rao, H. Unnikrishnan & H. Nagendra (2021). Restoration of urban water commons: navigating social ecological fault lines and inequities. Ecological Restoration. 39(1-2), 120-129.
- 2 educational works co-authored by SC member Harini Nagendra
- An illustrated book for primary school children that she and her colleague Seema Mundoli wrote on leaves , from a social ecological
perspective , available free online – So Many Leaves – StoryWeaver – currently translated into four languages (English, Italian , Hindi,
Marathi) with gorgeous illustrations that showcase the daily importance of leaves in our lives . Published by Pratham Books. - Where have all our gunda thopes gone? An English Kannada bilingual illustrated story on wooded groves as social ecological systems also
written with Seema Mundoli . Published by Azim Premji University. 6500 copies of this book have been distributed to Government school
libraries across the state of Karnataka, along with an 8 page booklet of activities that school children can do with teachers in these groves .
We’re happy to share these with anyone who may be interested in taking this to other contexts to different parts of the world.
- An illustrated book for primary school children that she and her colleague Seema Mundoli wrote on leaves , from a social ecological
The newsletter is provided by the Programme Office
Newsletter
Quarterly Newsletter by the Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society – October 2021
News:
- Call for new Working Groups: It is with great excitement that we announce the call for new working groups (WG) for PECS. 10 years since its incep-tion, PECS is looking to broaden its scope based on the lessons of the past decade. With this call for WGs, we would like to engage new members and enhance participation of existing members. WGs within PECS are collaborative initiatives that aim to advance SES science and should align with the new thematic areas of PECS. The themes, developed with the scientific committee, lay out the broad fron-tiers for SES science within PECS for the coming decade. More details can be found on our website. Application deadline: October 1st and December 15th, 2021. For more information and any questions about the process, please con-tact us on pecs.science@gmail.com
Updates on:
- PECS working groups:
- Collaborative governance and management: New webinars online on Collaborative and Indigenous Science with Pia Harkness and on Indigenous Futures Thinking with Julia van Velden
- PECS affiliated projects:
- BioKultDiv: New blogposts on the topic of ‘The diversity around the term ‘biocultural’ in the Spanish scientific literature’ and ‘The diversity around the term ‘biocultural’ in the English scientific literature’, as well as ‘Participating Digitally in a Workshop in a Collaborative Case Study in Bolivia from Germany during a Pandemic’
Updates from Future Earth:
- Ceck out the Future Earth initiative Science-based Pathways for Sustainability which aims to be an inclusive and integrative response to the pressing need to produce knowledge and understanding in systemic interactions, competing development agendas, and transformations in concrete contexts. The initiative is still looking for new members!
- INNOVATE4CITIES 2021 conference, 11th -15th October, online. The con-ference programme will be built around the core themes of the Global Research and Action Agenda on the Cities and Climate Change Science developed at the 2018 Cities and Climate Change Science Con-ference, Edmonton Canada. Find out more here.
… Did you know?
… The Journal Ecosystems and People is looking to create a database of Early Career Researchers (ECRs) who would be interested in reviewing for the journal. If you’re interested, see here.
… The International Association for the Study of the Commons hosts their General Conference online this year, 11th -15th October. Find out more about the Our Commons Future IASC 2021 here or look out for the hashtag #IASC2021.
… The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation invites to apply for the International Climate Protection Fellowship, Application Deadline 1st February. Find more details for the ‘Fellowship for prospective leaders working academically or practically’ here.
Job offers:
- Director of the Ostrom Workshop’s Commons Governance Program, Indiana University, USA. Deadline 15th October
- Postdoctoral research assistant to investigate the socioeconomic and ecological outcomes of different pathways to achieving net zero in the UK, University of Oxford, Deadline 22nd October
- Postdoctoral Researcher in Marine Community Ecology, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and Sorbonne Université (SU), France, Deadline 22nd October
- PhD, Improving food security by enhancing women’s empowerment, University of Groningen, The Netherlands. Deadline 6th October
- Data Science and Supply Chain Mapping Technical Contractor, Global Land Programme, National Wildlife Federation, Deadline 13th October
- Future Earth vacancies: Science Officers, Paris Hub of the Future Earth Secretariat , France, Deadline 31st October
Publications & other:
- PECS Special Issue: Celebrating 10 years of the Program on Eco-system Change and Society you can find the collection in progress here. The collected papers represent a sample of the new theories, approaches, methods and evidence that social ecological systems research can generate to confront the challenges of the Anthropocene.
- CLIMATE ADAPTATION – Accounts of Resilience, Self-Sufficiency and Systems Change (2021) edited by the Arkbound Foundation: Case studies and models from 16 authors around the world show ways that we can build adaptation and resilience.
- Landscapes of High Value — Changing Dynamics of Agro-forestry on the Iberian Peninsula: With the Dehesa and Montado, Spain and Portugal host some of the most ex-citing European agroforestry landscapes. Today, these landscapes and the manifold services they provide are more and more under threat. In a recent synthesis, a team of re-searchers has reviewed the existing literature on dehesa conservation on the basis of the DPSIR model, thus providing overarching insights into the changing dynamics of dehesa landscapes. Read the full blog entry here.
The newsletter is provided by the Programme Office