SP7: Synthesis

• Applicants: Professorin Dr. Katrin Böhning-Gaese; Professorin Dr. Berta Martín López; Dr. Dirk Zeuss
• Subject Area: Ecology and Biodiversity of Animals and Ecosystems, Organismic Interactions ; Ecology and Biodiversity of Plants and Ecosystems
• Term: since 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 428658210

Understanding social-ecological systems (SES) and their drivers requires interdisciplinary collaboration. It also requires integrating data that span a range of units, scales, and disciplines. The interdisciplinary framework and data collection in the Kili-SES research unit present an unprecedented opportunity to develop a holistic understanding of how major components of a social-ecological system operate and interact, and what the system’s social and ecological potential for transformation is. Achieving this understanding is the goal of SP7: Synthesis. In Kili-SES-1, we brought together data from across the research unit to characterize the SES in terms of the supply of Nature’s Contributions to People (NCP). We synthesized data through the NCP multifunctionality framework to characterize 13 habitat types in the Kilimanjaro SES in terms of multifunctionality. We then upscaled NCP supply data across the SES and researched the drivers of multifunctionality across scales. In Kili-SES-2, we foresee four work packages (WP) in SP7. In WP1, we build further systems knowledge, i.e., knowledge on how the SES functions. Specifically, we assess and upscale NCP demand and associated access filters through a Public Participation Geographic Information System (PPGIS) approach and develop models of NCP supply-demand (mis)matches, which we then relate to independently measured human well-being data. In WP2, we build target knowledge, i.e., knowledge on possible futures of the SES, and assess to what degree those futures are desired by various stakeholder groups as well as how different futures would affect system outcomes. Data-driven scenarios that combine systems knowledge with governance-relevant land-use, conservation, and restoration options will let us explore possible changes within the Kilimanjaro SES and will inform participatory scenario planning, where Nature Futures - developed in the IPBES Nature Futures Framework - explicitly incorporate value perspectives of various stakeholders. In WP3, we develop transformation knowledge, i.e., the knowledge necessary to achieve transformation. We synthesize insights on leverage points for transformative change across individuals (based on SP4 outcomes), initiatives (SP3), and institutions (SP5) and link them to pathways for sustainable and just Nature Futures. This endeavor examines natural and social drivers and effects and pinpoints to pathways for transformative change. In WP4, we strengthen integrated long-term data management following FAIR and CARE principles and train project members in state-of-the-art data handling and analysis. In summary, SP7 integrates data and knowledge from across the Kili-SES research unit to create novel systems, target, and transformation knowledge. This will show how major components of a SES operate and interact, what the social and ecological potential for transformation is, and which leverage points and pathways enable transformation towards sustainable and just futures.

• DFG Programme: Research Units
• Subproject of: FOR 5064: The role of nature for human well-being in the Kilimanjaro Social-Ecological System (Kili-SES)
• International Connection: Switzerland, Tanzania
• Partner Organisation: Schweizerischer Nationalfonds (SNF)
• Cooperation Partners: Professor Dr. Markus Fischer; Neema Robert Kinabo; Angela Nyaki
• Co-Investigator: Dr. Susann Adloff