Assessing Social-Ecological Indicators in California State Agency Monitoring Programs

There is a growing interest in integrating social science into ecosystem-based management approaches, for reasons ranging from improving design of programs that more effectively motivate conservation behaviors, to improving learning and coordination between actors, to integrating equity and improved stakeholder engagement throughout planning and implementation processes. Yet, there remains a lack of understanding of when and where social-ecological ecosystem management approaches are being implemented, what the barriers and opportunities for this integration look like, and how effective these programs are at achieving desired goals. This project explores environmental and natural resource management agencies in California that are integrating social-ecological based management programs.

 

Specifically, the project reviews programs that have developed and integrated social and ecological indicators into their monitoring efforts and evaluates how the indicators were developed, how social and ecological indicators are being integrated, and what outcomes are being tracked to assess the efficacy of using social and ecological indicators for more holistic ecosystem-based management.

 

If you are working in a natural resource management agency or involved with monitoring programs, we would love to talk with you to better understand your views on progress toward or opportunities for holistic social-ecological monitoring. Please reach out to Erin (esatterthwaite@ucsd.edu) or Jess (jrudnick@ucsd.edu).