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Achieving the SDGs by 2030 requires transformative change and significant financial investments. Impact investing (II) is a nascent investment practice with the intention of creating positive social and environmental impact alongside financial return. In 2022, the impact investing industry was valued at $1.164 trillion. The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) positions impact investing as a tool for addressing the world’s most pressing challenges and the field is generally touted as a means to direct much-needed financial resources towards the achievement of the SDGs. This study explores whether and how impact investing contributes to the needed transformations, using qualitative content analysis of the impact reports from a sample of 13 GIIN Investors’ Council members on a framework that combines key principles of social-ecological resilience and transformative investment for equity and justice. The findings from applying the framework suggest that some impact investors are contributing to resilience, particularly by approaching social and environmental issues as long-term and systemic challenges. II actors who primarily use equity-funding and focus their activities in the Minority World appear to be contributing less to resilience and none of the actors meet the principles for transformative investment. However, existing frameworks from SES resilience seem insufficient to fully investigate the complex dynamics of impact-focused financial interventions in social- ecological systems. Despite claiming to address systemic issues, findings also indicate that impact investing takes a superficial, reductionist and instrumentalist approach to what it considers impact and does not radically redirect resource flows to benefit groups identified as vulnerable and marginalized, which has been suggested as necessary to deliver on the SDGs. Furthermore, there is little indication that impact investment addresses and seeks to change the dominant power structures and belief systems that give rise to unsustainable practices, with concerning signs that they may actually be cementing these current systems.

Climate change-related vulnerabilities in Loíza are prevalent in both physical and social dimensions. The social-ecological systems indicate that a change in one component will trigger an effect in the other regardless if physical or not, suggesting that the examination of vulnerabilities cannot be done overlooking one dimension. Such is the case of transportation, as climate change vulnerabilities in Puerto Rico are exacerbated due to the capacity of the Island to recover from a disaster, mainly because there are nearly no options for mobility aside from a private vehicle. This research intended to describe the social vulnerabilities of the population and asses the physical vulnerabilities of the transportation infrastructure of Loíza to understand how resilience is threatened using the social-ecological systems approach. This study found that the transportation infrastructure is exposed and sensitive to sea level rise, flooding, and strong winds, mainly because these climate stressors cause damage to the roadways and inhibit the flow and traffic of people throughout the main roadway and evacuation route, the PR-187. The study also identified that Loíza is socially vulnerable. Many people belong to one of the described vulnerable groups, indicating that its population may experience hurdles in preparing for and recovering after a natural disaster primarily because the available resources greatly condition the level of preparedness and capacity to cope. It was evidenced that transportation plays an enormous role in decreasing or increasing resilience in Loíza, as it will determine how fast people can access supplies and necessary services to reconstruct and recover from a natural disaster. Adaptation strategies should be outlined alongside the community to ensure an equitable and inclusive approach, as well as ensure assertive and effective outcomes for all the residents of Loíza. / Master of Urban and Regional Planning / Climate change-related vulnerabilities in Loíza are presented in both physical and social aspects. The social-ecological systems indicate that a change in one thing will trigger an effect in the other regardless if physical or not, suggesting that the study of vulnerabilities cannot be done overlooking one aspect. Such is the case of transportation, as climate change vulnerabilities in Puerto Rico are aggravated due to the capacity of the Island to recover from a natural disaster, mainly because there are nearly no options to move around other than an automobile. This research intended to describe the social vulnerabilities of the population and asses the physical vulnerabilities of the transportation infrastructure of Loíza to understand how resilience is threatened using the social-ecological systems approach. This study found that the transportation infrastructure is exposed and sensitive to sea level rise, flooding, and strong winds, mainly because these climate stressors cause damage to the roadways and stop the flow and traffic of people throughout the main roadway and evacuation route, the PR-187. The study also identified that Loíza is socially vulnerable. Many people belong to one of the described vulnerable groups, indicating that its population may experience problems in preparing for and recovering after a natural disaster primarily because the available resources greatly determine the level of preparedness and capacity to cope. It was evidenced that transportation plays an enormous role in decreasing or increasing resilience in Loíza, as it will indicate how fast people can access supplies and necessary services to reconstruct and recover from a natural disaster. Adaptation strategies should be outlined alongside the community to ensure an equitable and inclusive approach, as well as ensure assertive and effective outcomes for all the residents of Loíza.

Environmental governance is a challenging topic in development contexts. On the one hand, the traditional development paradigm is based on economic growth through environmental exploitation; on the other, environmental degradation reduces vulnerable populations’ options for development. In the last thirty years numerous attempts to integrate environmental concerns in development policies have proved unsuccessful, raising questions as to whether the current governance system can address the challenge. The literature on environmental management has focused on identifying rules for successful governance, leaving little space to explore the complexities of the interactions between actors and their environments, wherein the reasons for sustained degradation might lie. The questions that this thesis asks are: How do diverse groups of actors rationalize and interact with degraded ecosystems? And what role does the governance system play in codifying these interactions? To answer these questions, the thesis engages in an institutional study of Lake Titicaca, between Peru and Bolivia. The lake has witnessed a degradation of its bay in the last thirty years, as a result of urban and mining development in the region. A complex web of organizations that go from the bi-national to the community level manages Lake Titicaca. The investigation of the questions asked is particularly relevant in the current context, as the countries to which the lake belongs put forward significantly different visions of the environment. By drawing on the strengths of social-ecological systems frameworks proposed by the two mains schools – the Resilience Alliance and Bloomington Workshop – and filling some of their deficiencies using insights from the sociological literatures on negotiation and justification, I hope to have created a composite framework with which to give an insightful account of the complexity and diversity at play in the field. The thesis adopts a broad range of qualitative methods (observation, interviews, document analysis) completed with descriptive statistics for budget analysis. The thesis argues that the actors’ approaches to the ecosystem are complex, diverse and constitutive of social-ecological systems wherein relationships are negotiated between actors, between actors and the ecosystem and ‘within’ actors as they hold competing visions and strategies. Some of the variables shaping these negotiations are crafted through the interaction between social and ecological elements, which also influence the actors’ understanding of the system. Others are determined by parameters crafted in the social sphere, and the ways in which social-ecological interactions fit with those. Policy interventions to improve the condition of Lake Titicaca need a more sophisticated understanding of these social-ecological systems.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A study of the sustainability journey of Spier Holdings, a well known wine and leisure business in South Africa, offers a unique opportunity for interrogating corporate drivers for a lower carbon future. The business has established sustainability as a brand identity, declared carbon neutrality as a macro organisational goal in response to the global challenge of climate change, and sought scientifically and technologically appropriate ways of addressing this challenge. A preliminary analysis revealed various initiatives that are in place for measuring and reducing the business’ environmental impact, including carbon emissions. However, an in-depth study of the establishment’s environmental performance over two decades showed inconsistencies in year-on-year reporting, delays in shifting the supply chain, and gaps in implementation, particularly in the area of energy efficiency and adoption of renewable energy technology. Understanding and interrogating the business’ sustainability journey through a systems ecology and corporate citizenship framework proved inadequate. The case highlights that organizational goals for environmental performance areas, including the aim of carbon neutrality, and sustainability reporting are not sufficient catalysts for change. A complexity-based resilience approach allowed the business to be understood as an adaptive system. The sustainability story tracks different phases of a modified adaptive renewal cycle, which also determine the dominant management paradigms, strategic responses and forms of collaboration during each phase. Spier’s sustainability journey was found to be underpinned by a quest for corporate resilience which includes the resilience of the business (enterprise resilience) and of the social-ecological system within which it resides (SES resilience). The business responded to interdependent risks and uncertainties in its internal and external contexts, through investment strategies in key areas of corporate environmental performance. As a contribution to new knowledge, this thesis proposes an integrated corporate resilience framework for building enterprise resilience and ecological sustainability. This framework, and the accompanying mapping tool, reveals deep, ecological drivers for Spier’s environmental performance across corporate areas of lower carbon emissions, water sustainability, wastewater treatment, solid waste recycling and ecological custodianship. The framework is recommended for use by similar businesses, eager to configure their relationship with natural resources and ecosystem services, and by scholars, for investigating corporate performance towards environmental sustainability. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: ʼn Studie van die volhoubaarheidsonderneming van Spier Holdings, ʼn bekende wyn- en ontspanningsaak in Suid-Afrika, bied ʼn unieke geleentheid vir die ondersoek van korporatiewe aandrywers vir ʼn laer koolstoftoekoms. Die onderneming het volhoubaarheid as ʼn handelsmerkidentiteit gevestig, koolstof-neutraliteit as ʼn makro- organisatoriese doel verklaar in reaksie op die wêreldwye uitdaging van klimaatsverandering, en het wetenskaplik en tegnologies gepaste wyses gesoek om hierdie uitdaging die hoof te bied. ʼn Voorlopige analise het verskeie inisiatiewe wat gereed is vir meting en vermindering van die onderneming se omgewingsimpak aan die lig gebring, met inbegrip van koolstofvrystellings. ʼn Dieptestudie van die instelling se omgewingsprestasie oor twee dekades heen het egter inkonsekwenthede in jaar-tot-jaar-verslagdoening, vertragings in die verandering van die aanvoerketting, en gapings in implementering, in die besonder op die gebied van energiedoeltreffendheid en die ingebruikneming van hernubare energietegnologie getoon. Begrip en ondersoek van die onderneming se volhoubaarheidsonderneming aan die hand van ʼn raamwerk vir sisteemekologie en korporatiewe burgerskap het onvoldoende blyk te wees. Die geval beklemtoon dat organisatoriese doelstellings vir omgewingsprestasiegebiede, met inbegrip van die oogmerk van koolstofneutraliteit, en volhoubaarheidsverslagdoening nie voldoende katalisators vir verandering is nie. ʼn Kompleksiteitgebaseerde veerkragtigheidsbenadering het dit moontlik gemaak dat die onderneming as ʼn aanpassingstelsel beskou kan word. Die volhoubaarheidsverslag gaan verskillende fases van ʼn gewysigde aanpassings- hernuwingsiklus, wat ook die dominante bestuursparadigmas, strategiese reaksies en vorme van samewerking gedurende elke fase bepaal, na. Daar is bevind dat Spier se volhoubaarheidsonderneming onderstut word deur ʼn soeke na korporatiewe veerkragtigheid wat die veerkragtigheid van die onderneming (ondernemingsveerkragtigheid) en van die sosiaal-ekologiese stelsel waarbinne dit gesetel is (SES-veerkragtigheid) insluit. Die onderneming het op onderling afhanklike risiko’s en onsekerhede in sy interne en eksterne samehange gereageer deur beleggingstrategieë in sleutelgebiede van korporatiewe omgewingsprestasie. As ʼn bydrae tot nuwe kennis, doen hierdie tesis ʼn geïntegreerde korporatiewe veerkragtigheidsraamwerk vir die opbou van ondernemingsveerkragtigheid en ekologiese volhoubaarheid aan die hand. Hierdie raamwerk, en die gepaardgaande beskrywingsinstrument, lê diep, ekologiese aandrywers vir Spier se omgewingsprestasie oor korporatiewe gebiede van laer koolstof-vrystellings, watervolhoubaarheid, die behandeling van afloopwater, herbenutting van vaste afval en ekologiese bewaring bloot. Die raamwerk word aanbeveel vir gebruik deur soortgelyke ondernemings wat graag aan hulle verhouding met natuurlike hulpbronne en ekostelseldienste vorm wil gee, en deur vakkundiges vir die ondersoek van korporatiewe prestasie met betrekking tot omgewings-volhoubaarheid.

<p>The present study is one of the first attempts to analyze the societal importance of seagrasses (marine flowering plants) from a Natural Resource Management perspective, using a social-ecological systems (SES) approach. The interdisciplinary study takes place in East Africa (Western Indian Ocean, WIO) and includes in-depth studies in Chwaka Bay, Zanzibar, Tanzania. Natural and social sciences methods were used. The results are presented in six articles, showing that seagrass ecosystems are rich in seagrass species (13) and form an important part of the SES within the tropical seascape of the WIO. Seagrasses provide livelihoods opportunities and basic animal protein, in from of seagrass associated fish e.g. Siganidae and Scaridae. Research, management and education initiatives are, however, nearly non-existent. In Chwaka Bay, the goods and ecosystem services associated with the meadows and also appreciated by locals were fishing and collection grounds as well as substrate for seaweed cultivation. Seagrasses are used as medicines and fertilizers and associated with different beliefs and values. Dema (basket trap) fishery showed clear links to seagrass beds and provided the highest gross income per capita of all economic activities. All showing that the meadows provide social-ecological resilience. Drag-net fishery seems to damage the meadows. Two ecological studies show that artisanal seaweed farming of red algae, mainly done by women and pictured as sustainable in the WIO, has a thinning effect on seagrass beds, reduces associated macrofauna, affects sediments, changes fish catch composition and reduces diversity. Furthermore, it has a negative effect on i.a. women’s health. The two last papers are institutional analyses of the human-seagrass relationship. A broad approach was used to analyze regulative, normative and cultural-cognitive institutions. Cooperation and conflict take place between different institutions, interacting with their slow or fast moving characteristics, and are thus fundamental in directing the system into sustainable/unsustainable paths. Ecological knowledge was heterogeneous and situated. Due to the abundance of resources and high internal control, the SES seems to be entangled in a rigidity trap with the risk of falling into a poverty trap. Regulations were found insufficient to understand SES dynamics. “Well” designed organizational structures for management were found insufficient for “good” institutional performance. The dynamics between individuals embedded in different social and cultural structures showed to be crucial. Bwana Dikos, monitoring officials, placed in villages or landing sites in Zanzibar experienced four dilemmas – kinship, loyalty, poverty and control – which decrease efficiency and affect resilience. Mismatches between institutions themselves, and between institutions and cognitive capacities were identified. Some important practical implications are the need to include seagrass meadows in management and educational plans, addressing a seascape perspective, livelihood diversification, subsistence value, impacts, social-ecological resilience, and a broad institutional approach.</p>

Small-scale fisheries employ many millions of people around the world, and are particularly important in developing countries, where the dependency on marine resources is high and livelihood diversification options are scarce. In many areas of the world however, small-scale fisheries are at risk which threatens the food security and wellbeing of coastal people. Small-scale fisheries management has in many cases been insufficient and new comprehensive approaches are recommended to achieve social-ecological sustainability in the long-term. The aim of this thesis is to analyze empirically how social-ecological elements of seagrass-associated small-scale fisheries in the Western Indian Ocean region can be addressed for a transformation from the current mostly degraded state to more sustainable social-ecological systems and secure future livelihoods. The main method used was semi-structured interviews with local fishers. The main findings show the crucial contributions seagrass-associated small-scale fisheries make to food security and income generation and highlight the need to acknowledge the social-ecological importance of seagrasses in the seascape (Paper I). A discrepancy between low societal gains of the fishing of sea urchin predator fish species and their crucial importance in the food web (in controlling sea urchin populations and the associated grazing pressure on seagrasses) was identified (Paper II). These results suggest catch-and-release practice of sea urchin predator fish species, which could contribute to more balanced predator – sea urchin – seagrass food webs in the long run. The use of illegal dragnets was identified as a major threat to local seagrass meadows (Paper IV). Institutional elements influencing the use of such destructive dragnet were identified to be normative, cultural-cognitive and economic, which constitutes an institutional misfit to the current emphasis on regulative elements in a hierarchical manner (Paper III). Concerning future co-management initiatives, gear restrictions and education were the favoured management measures among all fishers (Paper IV). A majority of fishers were willing to participate in monitoring and controls, and most fishers thought they themselves and their communities would benefit most from seagrass-specific management. These findings highlight the need for actions on multiple scales, being the local-, management-, policy- and governance levels. The suggested actions include: education and exchange of ecological and scientific knowledge, gear management including the cessation of dragnet fishing, strengthening of local institutions, an active participation of fishers in enforcement of existing rules and regulations and an introduction of adequate alternative livelihood options. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 1: Manuscript. Paper 4: Manuscript.</p>

Coastal Indigenous Peoples worldwide have relied on fish and other marine resources for millennia, and continue to do so despite recent degradation of ocean systems. Their traditional ecological knowledge, comprised of experiences, observations, beliefs, and lifeways, is relevant for modern marine management and conservation. This thesis explores the utility of traditional and local ecological knowledge for extending an understanding of changes over time for places or periods in which scientific data are unavailable. This thesis had three goals: 1) undertake research that is collaborative and inclusive, and that addresses priorities established by participating First Nations; 2) contribute to fisheries management and conservation recommendations by focusing on a species of cultural importance and exploring the applications of traditional and local ecological knowledge to species-level understandings; and 3) contribute a marine social-ecological case study that investigates the use of traditional and local ecological knowledge to understand change over time and provides appropriate context. Two main objectives allowed me to accomplish my goals: 1) demonstrate the application of traditional and local ecological knowledge to establish historical baselines that extend farther back in time than scientific surveys, and investigate reasons for changes, and 2) investigate the utility of a social-ecological trap framework in assessing impacts to a social-ecological system and identifying ways to escape such a trap. My case study occurred in collaboration with four First Nations (as many Indigenous Peoples of Canada are called) on the Central Coast of British Columbia, Canada. My methods included semi-structured interviews with knowledge holders to examine traditional and local ecological knowledge of a culturally and economically important species, Yelloweye rockfish (Sebastes ruberrimus). In this study, I interviewed First Nations fishers and Elders (n=43), asking about: observed changes to the body sizes (length) and abundance of this species over the last ~60 years, the factors driving these changes, stewardship principles or traditional management strategies, concerns for marine resources, and perceived opportunities for cultural revitalization. I then quantified the interview participants’ current and historical estimates of size and abundance, compared interview data to current biological survey data, and qualitatively analyzed responses regarding stewardship, culture, perceived threats, and cultural solutions. I utilized the framework of a social-ecological trap to analyze responses about stewardship, traditional stories or management, and threats to culture, selecting illustrative quotes to contextualize the lived experiences of participants. Overwhelmingly, respondents had observed a decrease in Yelloweye rockfish body sizes since the 1980s. Median historical length observed by participants was nearly twice the modern length. Participants reported substantial decrease in Yelloweye rockfish abundance since the 1980s, and most stated that this change was evident in the early 2000s. Sizes of modern Yelloweye rockfish estimated by participants resembled measurements from ecological data recorded concurrently at the study region. Thus, my study extends baseline historical data of Yelloweye rockfish reliably by about 50 years. Questions about traditional stories and culture revealed the presence of a social-ecological trap created and reinforced by the interplay between species decline and colonization (e.g. the residential schooling system). When asked about traditional management or stewardship practices, only one participant could remember specific traditional stories about Yelloweye rockfish, though all participants expressed adherence to the stewardship principles of taking only what is needed and respecting all life. Though participants expressed concern about the muting of traditional ecological knowledge, culture, and language, they also highlighted key ways towards revitalization and Indigenous resurgence. The ubiquitous presence of stewardship principles suggests there are ways beyond the social trap: participants described on-going cultural revitalization efforts, recovery of depleted species and ecosystems, and the reassertion of Indigenous management rights as ways to overcome problems inherent to the social-ecological trap. My research adds to a growing body of literature that supports the use of traditional and local ecological knowledge in marine management and conservation science. Adding to this literature, my work suggests the significant value of traditional and local ecological knowledge for filling gaps in historical scientific data or in data-poor regions, and highlights the importance of appropriately contextualizing Indigenous knowledge. To overcome the social-ecological trap of knowledge loss and to achieve informed marine management, reassertion of Indigenous management rights and application of traditional management strategies to modern fisheries management is vital. / Graduate / 0326 / 0768 / 0416 / eckertleckert@gmail.com

O presente trabalho buscou reproduzir, a partir de simulação computacional utilizando modelagem baseada em agentes, a dinâmica do sistema sócio-ecológico que conecta comunidades quilombolas do Vale do Ribeira, São Paulo, ao palmito jussara (Euterpe edulis Martius), espécie considerada ameaçada de extinção e cuja exploração, atualmente, pode ser descrita como uma Tragédia dos Comuns. Com base na teoria acumulada de recursos comuns, em dados empíricos do sistema social quilombola e na dinâmica populacional do palmito, simulamos o impacto de duas políticas públicas distintas de gestão do recurso: a primeira é a proibição estatal de exploração do mesmo, que criminaliza os palmiteiros e não está surtindo os efeitos desejados de preservação; a segunda, projeta um cenário hipotético no qual o Estado flexibiliza as regras de exploração e permite que a comunidade gerencie o recurso. Ao comparar o estoque final de palmito jussara para diversos cenários, concluimos que existe um grande potencial para que a gestão comunitária do recurso traga benefícios econômicos às famílias quilombolas, ao mesmo tempo em que contribui para a preservação do mesmo na natureza. / This study intended to use agent-based modeling to reproduce the dynamics of the social-ecological system that connects the quilombola communities that live in the Ribeira Valley, São Paulo, to the palm tree Euterpe edulis Martius, an endangered species highly valued for its heart of palm, which has being heavily harvested and can be considered an example of a Tragedy of the Commons. Based on the theory on common-pool resources, empirical data regarding the quilombola social system and on the palm tree population dynamics, we simulate the impact of two different public policies towards the palm tree conservation: the first scenario is the current total-prohibition of extraction policy, which marginalize harvesters and is not working prom an environmental perspective; the second scenario simulates a hypothetical situation in which allows the community to explore and manage the resource. After comparing the final stock of Euterpe edulis for many conditions, we may conclude that there is a great possibility that community-level management is more able to bring economic benefits to the quilombola families, while also help to preserve the species.

O presente trabalho buscou reproduzir, a partir de simulação computacional utilizando modelagem baseada em agentes, a dinâmica do sistema sócio-ecológico que conecta comunidades quilombolas do Vale do Ribeira, São Paulo, ao palmito jussara (Euterpe edulis Martius), espécie considerada ameaçada de extinção e cuja exploração, atualmente, pode ser descrita como uma Tragédia dos Comuns. Com base na teoria acumulada de recursos comuns, em dados empíricos do sistema social quilombola e na dinâmica populacional do palmito, simulamos o impacto de duas políticas públicas distintas de gestão do recurso: a primeira é a proibição estatal de exploração do mesmo, que criminaliza os palmiteiros e não está surtindo os efeitos desejados de preservação; a segunda, projeta um cenário hipotético no qual o Estado flexibiliza as regras de exploração e permite que a comunidade gerencie o recurso. Ao comparar o estoque final de palmito jussara para diversos cenários, concluimos que existe um grande potencial para que a gestão comunitária do recurso traga benefícios econômicos às famílias quilombolas, ao mesmo tempo em que contribui para a preservação do mesmo na natureza. / This study intended to use agent-based modeling to reproduce the dynamics of the social-ecological system that connects the quilombola communities that live in the Ribeira Valley, São Paulo, to the palm tree Euterpe edulis Martius, an endangered species highly valued for its heart of palm, which has being heavily harvested and can be considered an example of a Tragedy of the Commons. Based on the theory on common-pool resources, empirical data regarding the quilombola social system and on the palm tree population dynamics, we simulate the impact of two different public policies towards the palm tree conservation: the first scenario is the current total-prohibition of extraction policy, which marginalize harvesters and is not working prom an environmental perspective; the second scenario simulates a hypothetical situation in which allows the community to explore and manage the resource. After comparing the final stock of Euterpe edulis for many conditions, we may conclude that there is a great possibility that community-level management is more able to bring economic benefits to the quilombola families, while also help to preserve the species.