Academic literature on the topic 'Socio-ecologic systems'

The article reviews topical socio-natural and socio-ecologo-economic models designed in overseas countries during the last decade with the help of the method of agent imitation modeling, which is successfully used to resolve a wide range of tasks connected with researching the character of mutual impact of components of socio-natural systems and assessment of consequences of socio-natural interaction, as well as searching for optimal strategies of sustainable economic development in regions observing the principles of ecologic security. It analyzes constructive features of agent-oriented and multi-agent models and on the basis of its results it puts forward the classification of models, according to which it is possible to combine them in two groups, each of them includes several sub-types depending on the purpose and specific conceptual idea of building the imitation process. The 1st group embraces models, which reproduces the structure of interconnected components of the system ‘nature-society’ and imitates anthropogenic processes within the frames of territories (regions) being researched, the 2nd one – models, with the help of which it is possible to design systems for interactive monitoring and control over the environment quality, to imitate processes of environment contamination with harmful matters and to assess the impact of ecological conditions on health of the population living on territories (regions) being researched. Examples of models designed by geo-informational and information-telecommunication technologies are provided. Further development of advanced methods of scientific analysis and forecasting, modeling of large-scale highly-detailed systems and processes connected with studying socio-ecological problems of interaction of society and nature and design of intellectual systems of managing the quality of the environment is directly connected with the aim of increasing model productivity, whose resolving can be promoted by passing-over from imitation modeling to parallel and distributed one, as well as using specialized program-apparatus means and super-computer resources to provide parallel calculations.

Abstract. The complex interactions and feedbacks between humans and water are critically important issues but remain poorly understood in the newly proposed discipline of socio-hydrology (Sivapalan et al., 2012). An exploratory model with the appropriate level of simplification can be valuable for improving our understanding of the co-evolution and self-organization of socio-hydrological systems driven by interactions and feedbacks operating at different scales. In this study, a simplified conceptual socio-hydrological model based on logistic growth curves is developed for the Tarim River basin in western China and is used to illustrate the explanatory power of such a co-evolutionary model. The study area is the main stream of the Tarim River, which is divided into two modeling units. The socio-hydrological system is composed of four sub-systems, i.e., the hydrological, ecological, economic, and social sub-systems. In each modeling unit, the hydrological equation focusing on water balance is coupled to the other three evolutionary equations to represent the dynamics of the social sub-system (denoted by population), the economic sub-system (denoted by irrigated crop area ratio), and the ecological sub-system (denoted by natural vegetation cover), each of which is expressed in terms of a logistic growth curve. Four feedback loops are identified to represent the complex interactions among different sub-systems and different spatial units, of which two are inner loops occurring within each separate unit and the other two are outer loops linking the two modeling units. The feedback mechanisms are incorporated into the constitutive relations for model parameters, i.e., the colonization and mortality rates in the logistic growth curves that are jointly determined by the state variables of all sub-systems. The co-evolution of the Tarim socio-hydrological system is then analyzed with this conceptual model to gain insights into the overall system dynamics and its sensitivity to the external drivers and internal system variables. The results show a costly pendulum swing between a balanced distribution of socio-economic and natural ecologic resources among the upper and lower reaches and a highly skewed distribution towards the upper reach. This evolution is principally driven by the attitudinal changes occurring within water resources management policies that reflect the evolving community awareness of society to concerns regarding the ecology and environment.

The Kilombero wetland in Tanzania is affected by advancing land use and land cover changes (LULCC), where we observe a conflict between development interests and the necessity of conservation measures to maintain the functionalities of the ecosystem. Thus, assessing patterns of LULCC is crucial to foresee potential future developments and to develop sustainable future management strategies. In this study, we use a multi-method scenario approach to assess the spatial implications and underlying driving forces of potential change by (1) developing a System Dynamics Causal Loop Diagram (CLD) to disentangle the underlying socio-economic and ecologic driving forces, (2) deriving a qualitative business-as-usual (BAU) and a conservation scenario from participatory narratives elaborated during a stakeholder workshop, and (3) quantifying the spatial implications of these scenarios with the Land Change Modeler (LCM). Results indicate that under the BAU assumption only 37% of the natural vegetation is expected to persist until 2030 in the wetland. In contrast, strict enforcement of protected areas (conservation scenario) halts further conversion of the wetland. However, both scenarios pinpoint considerable expansions of cropland in the western highlands with potentially serious impacts on catchment-wide hydrological processes. The produced qualitative and quantitative outputs reveal hotspots of possible future change and starting points for advisable further research and management interventions.

Topicality. The actuality of problem of �green� business stimulation and creation of favourable climate rises nowadays because of the necessity of additional resources engaging in socio-economic development of Ukraine and due to the reform progress that causes new possibilities for communities �green� business. At the period of active global modernization of humanity in scientific and political circles, issues related to the "green" business began to be discussed more and more, in which the necessity of intensifying the development of the branches of the national economy, creation and increase of natural capital was foreseen. Aim and tasks. The article is devoted to defining features of �green� business and the basic tools of transformation in social-oriented system. The contradictions of its forming have been reflected. The perspectives of development of �green� business as functional form of �green� economy have been defined. Using three groups of tools: economic, marketing and corporate are proposed to improve the implementation of the basic principles of �green� business. Research results. Developed a conceptual model of development of entrepreneurship in the sphere of �green� business and as a result of the region whose main idea is to increase the level of interest in the development of business, government, based on certain criteria, through the promotion of entrepreneurship in the regions, as well as the result of which is the elimination of inconsistencies of socio-ecologic-economic development of regions by applying organizational and economic levers of influence. Usually, economic development, based on the principles of the "green" economy, is quite difficult to fulfill, since in the world models of megaeconomics and assess of their effectiveness are already formed. In global and domestic practice, the "green" business is becoming increasingly competitive every year. "Green" business is not only the refinement of income from the production of environmentally friendly products and the provision of environmental services, but also the preservation of the environment and natural resources. Conclusion. The article substantiates the expediency of the principles of sustainable development to preserve the environment and minimize environmental risks in the country's national strategy, regional development programs and strategies in Ukrainian companies. Green "business can be considered as a business activity, which is based on the recognition of the principle of non-alternative environmental activities. At the same time it is necessary to assimilate the potential of the natural environment in the form of expanded reproduction of business resources, and the most important criteria are the formation of systems for assessing the quality of the product, competitive advantages, investment attractiveness and the effectiveness of business activities in general.

O presente estudo analisou a pescaria direcionada ao camarão-sete-barbas no Litoral Norte do Estado de São Paulo como um Sistema Sócio Ecológico, tendo sido descritas suas variáveis, interações e resultados. Foram realizados estudos específicos sobre a frota pesqueira, a economia envolvida e o perfil socioeconômico do pescador. Os resultados do estudo pesqueiro indicaram a existência de três grupos distintos de embarcações, que pescam da mesma maneira e nos mesmos pesqueiros, são fiéis às localidades de desembarque e apresentam rendimento diferenciado. O estudo econômico indicou que o óleo diesel foi a maior fonte geradora de despesas quanto ao custo de operação, para todos os grupos e, que a pequena diferença encontrada entre o lucro obtido por pescadores que atuam através de uma cooperativa em relação aos não cooperados, não apresenta vantagens diretas que estimulem adesões ao cooperativismo. O estudo socioeconômico salientou a alta dependência do pescador em relação ao recurso alvo, pois é sua principal fonte de renda. A aplicação do método de Sistema Sócio Ecológico evidenciou as medidas de desempenho social e a resiliência como indicadores de sustentabilidade deste sistema e também os pontos positivos e negativos que tendem a manter, aumentar ou reduzir a sustentabilidade do mesmo
The present study evaluated the sea bob shrimp [Xiphopenaeus kroyeri (Heller, 1862)]-directed fishery off São Paulo State, Brazil as a socio-ecologic system. Research efforts included surveys on the inherent variables, interactions and results, including the related economic aspects and the socio-economic profiling of the fishers engaged in this fishery. Results indicated that there are three distinct fleets. Those fleets operated in similar ways, shared the same fishing grounds and landed the production at the same landing sites, but had differences regarding income. It was found that the fuel had the highest impact on the economic cost of the fishing operations for all fleets, and the small profit difference per fisher found between vessels associated to fishing cooperatives in relation to those independently funded do not encourage coop adherence. The socio-economic survey indicated that fishing profits represent the main source of income for the fishers households. The outputs of the socio-ecologic system method applied to the data suggest that social performance actions plus the regional ecosystem resilience are the leading indicators of the sustainability of this system. In addition, the positive and negative points that maintain, increase or decrease the sustainability were also identified

In the waste management system of Peru, there is a lot to fix, change and improve from households areas. In this report is presented why and how necessary is the construction of landfills to have an appropriate place to dispose the waste of the collection .At the same time, the report shows how profitable can be from social, economic and ecologic way, with the investment of treatment plants that use biogas from the landfills to produce energy. Differents solutions – vehicle fuel production, electricity generation etc – are discussed in light of the different economy, geography and social situation in three selected cases.