Social-ecological systems research is interventionist by nature. As a subset of sustainability science, social-ecological systems research aims to generate knowledge and introduce concepts that will bring about transformation. Yet scientific concepts diverge in innumerable ways when they are put to work in the world. Why are concepts used in quite different ways to the intended purpose? Why do some appear to fail and others succeed? What do the answers to these questions tell us about the nature of science-society engagement, and what implications do they have for social-ecological systems research and sustainability science? This thesis addresses these questions from an interpretive perspective, focusing on the meanings that shape human actions. In particular, the thesis examines how meaning, interpretation and experience shape the enactment of four action-oriented sustainability concepts: adaptive management, biosphere reserves, biodiversity corridors and planetary boundaries/reconnecting to the biosphere. In so doing, the thesis provides in-depth empirical applications of three interpretive traditions – hermeneutic, discursive and dialogical – that together articulate a broadly interpretive approach to studying social-ecological complexity. In the hermeneutic tradition, Paper I presents a ‘rich narrative’ case study of a single practitioner tasked with enacting adaptive management in an Australian land management agency, and Paper II provides a qualitative multi-case study of learning among 177 participants in 11 UNESCO biosphere reserves. In the discursive tradition, Paper III uses Q-method to explore interpretations of ‘successful’ biodiversity corridors among 20 practitioners, scientists and community representatives in the Cape Floristic Region, South Africa. In the dialogical tradition, Paper IV reworks conventional understandings of knowledge-action relationships by using three concepts from contemporary practice theory – ‘actionable understanding,’ ‘ongoing business’ and the ‘eternally unfolding present’ – to explore the enactment of adaptive management in an Australian national park. Paper V explores ideas of human-environment connection in the concepts planetary boundaries and reconnecting to the biosphere, and develops an ‘embodied connection’ where human-environment relations emerge through interactivity between mind, body and environment over time. Overall, the thesis extends the frontiers of social-ecological systems research by highlighting the meanings that shape social-ecological complexity; by contributing theories and methods that treat social-ecological change as a relational and holistic process; and by providing entry points to address knowledge, politics and power. The thesis contributes to sustainability science more broadly by introducing novel understandings of knowledge-action relationships; by providing advice on how to make sustainability interventions more useful and effective; by introducing tools that can improve co-production and outcome assessment in the global research platform Future Earth; and by helping to generate robust forms of justification for transdisciplinary knowledge production. The interventionist, actionable nature of social-ecological systems research means that interpretive approaches are an essential complement to existing structural, institutional and behavioural perspectives. Interpretive research can help build a scientifically robust, normatively committed and critically reflexive sustainability science. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Manuscript. Paper 4: Manuscript.</p>

Model Forests were developed to bridge the gap between the emerging policy and the practice of sustainable forest management (SFM) in the early 1990s and, as such, to facilitate uptake of research findings into practice. The purpose of this study was to explore mechanisms that may explain why some research results are used in the policy and practice of SFM and others are not. Based on interviews in three Model Forests in Canada, the most prominent factors influencing research utilization identified were (1) relevance of the research findings to users’ needs, (2) effective research design and scientific credibility, and (3) user involvement in the research process. However, it was evident that there is no one factor that influences uptake, but rather a combination dependent upon the circumstances of each situation. This study also deepens understanding of the science–practice/policy interface by exploring the notion of Model Forests as boundary organizations.

The relationship between the energy-food-water nexus and the climate is non-linear, multi-sectoral and time sensitive, incorporating aspects of complexity and risk in climate related decision-making. This paper seeks to explore how knowledge co-production can help identify opportunities for building more effective, sustainable, inclusive and legitimate decision making processes on climate change. This would enable more resilient responses to climate risks impacting the nexus while increasing transparency, communication and trust among key actors. We do so by proposing the operationalization of an interdisciplinary approach of analysis applying the novel methodology developed in Howarth and Monasterolo (2016). Through a bottom-up, participative approach, we present results of five themed workshops organized in the UK (focusing on: shocks and hazards, infrastructure, local economy, governance and governments, finance and insurance) featuring 78 stakeholders from academia, government and industry. We present participant's perceptions of opportunities that can emerge from climate and weather shocks across the energy-food-water nexus. We explore opportunities offered by the development and deployment of a transdisciplinary approach of analysis within the nexus boundaries and we analyse their implications. Our analysis contributes to the current debate on how to shape global and local responses to climate change by reflecting on lessons learnt and best practice from cross-stakeholder and cross-sectorial engagement. In so doing, it helps inform a new generation of complex systems models to analyse climate change impact on the food-water-energy Nexus.

The need to protect diverse biological resources from ongoing development pressures is one of today's most pressing environmental challenges. In response, "ecosystem services" has emerged as a conservation framework that links human economies and natural systems through the benefits that people receive from nature. In this dissertation, I investigate the science-policy interface of ecosystem services in order to understand the use of ecosystem service decision support tools and evaluate the pathways through which ecosystem services knowledge impacts decisions. In the first paper, I track an ecosystem service valuation project in California to evaluate how the project changes the social capacity to make conservation-oriented decisions and how decision-makers intend to use ecosystem services knowledge. In a second project, I analyze a global sample of cases and identify factors that can explain the impact of ecosystem services knowledge on decisions. I find that the perceived legitimacy of knowledge (whether it is unbiased and representative of many diverse viewpoints) is an important determinant of whether the knowledge impacts policy processes and decisions. For the third project, I focus on the global use of spatial ecosystem service models. I analyze country-level factors that are associated with use and the effect of practitioner trainings on the uptake of these decision support tools. Taken together, this research critically evaluates how ecosystem service interventions perform. The results can inform the design of boundary organizations that effectively link conservation science with policy action, and guide strategic efforts to protect, restore, and enhance ecosystem services.

A complexidade dos problemas socioambientais atuais enfrentados pela humanidade tem demandado abordagens mais participativas de produção científica, como a Ciência Pós-Normal, e de gestão, como a Gestão Baseada em Ecossistemas e a Gestão Costeira Integrada. Todas essas abordagens têm como um de seus princípios a Interdisciplinaridade, reconhecendo que o desenvolvimento de pesquisas científicas que busquem integrar diversas disciplinas, múltiplos sistemas de conhecimento e aproximar ciência e gestão são de fundamental importância em prover soluções às complexas questões postas pela sociedade. Apesar disso, a prática da interdisciplinaridade ainda encontra resistência no meio político-acadêmico onde se insere. Assim, o presente trabalho buscou abordar os desafios e as potencialidades de se desenvolver esse tipo de ciência, com foco em ecossistemas marinhos e costeiros, a partir de duas escalas de planejamento e execução científicas (top-down e bottom-up, respectivamente): i) da perspectiva de agências de fomento à pesquisa no Brasil; e ii) da análise de um projeto de pesquisa oceanográfico que objetivou ter uma abordagem interdisciplinar, como estudo de caso. A partir de entrevistas e análises documentais, buscou-se ainda fornecer subsídios ao desenvolvimento de futuros projetos científicos interdisciplinares e aprimoramento da interface ciência-gestão costeira. / The complexity of current socioenvironmental problems faced by humanity has pushed scientific endeavors towards more participative approaches, such as Post-Normal Science, and management, such as Ecosystem Based Management and Integrated Coastal Management. Interdisciplinarity is understood as one of the key elements of these approaches. Thus developing scientific researches that intend to integrate different disciplines, multiple knowledge systems and bring together policy and science is essential to provide answers to the complexities of societal issues. Nevertheless, the development of interdisciplinary research still faces many political and academic obstacles. Therefore, this study presents the challenges and potential of developing integrated science, focusing on coastal and marine ecosystems. We did that from two different planning and execution scales (top-down and bottom-up, respectively): i) from the perspective of research funding agencies; and ii) from the perspective of researchers of an oceanographic research project that intended to work in an interdisciplinarity manner as a study case. From interviews and document analyses, we provide contributions to the development of future interdisciplinary scientific research projects and to the improvement of science-policy interfaces in coastal zones.

A complexidade dos problemas socioambientais atuais enfrentados pela humanidade tem demandado abordagens mais participativas de produção científica, como a Ciência Pós-Normal, e de gestão, como a Gestão Baseada em Ecossistemas e a Gestão Costeira Integrada. Todas essas abordagens têm como um de seus princípios a Interdisciplinaridade, reconhecendo que o desenvolvimento de pesquisas científicas que busquem integrar diversas disciplinas, múltiplos sistemas de conhecimento e aproximar ciência e gestão são de fundamental importância em prover soluções às complexas questões postas pela sociedade. Apesar disso, a prática da interdisciplinaridade ainda encontra resistência no meio político-acadêmico onde se insere. Assim, o presente trabalho buscou abordar os desafios e as potencialidades de se desenvolver esse tipo de ciência, com foco em ecossistemas marinhos e costeiros, a partir de duas escalas de planejamento e execução científicas (top-down e bottom-up, respectivamente): i) da perspectiva de agências de fomento à pesquisa no Brasil; e ii) da análise de um projeto de pesquisa oceanográfico que objetivou ter uma abordagem interdisciplinar, como estudo de caso. A partir de entrevistas e análises documentais, buscou-se ainda fornecer subsídios ao desenvolvimento de futuros projetos científicos interdisciplinares e aprimoramento da interface ciência-gestão costeira. / The complexity of current socioenvironmental problems faced by humanity has pushed scientific endeavors towards more participative approaches, such as Post-Normal Science, and management, such as Ecosystem Based Management and Integrated Coastal Management. Interdisciplinarity is understood as one of the key elements of these approaches. Thus developing scientific researches that intend to integrate different disciplines, multiple knowledge systems and bring together policy and science is essential to provide answers to the complexities of societal issues. Nevertheless, the development of interdisciplinary research still faces many political and academic obstacles. Therefore, this study presents the challenges and potential of developing integrated science, focusing on coastal and marine ecosystems. We did that from two different planning and execution scales (top-down and bottom-up, respectively): i) from the perspective of research funding agencies; and ii) from the perspective of researchers of an oceanographic research project that intended to work in an interdisciplinarity manner as a study case. From interviews and document analyses, we provide contributions to the development of future interdisciplinary scientific research projects and to the improvement of science-policy interfaces in coastal zones.