Masterson, V. A., R. C. Stedman, J. Enqvist, M. Tengö, M. Giusti, D. Wahl, and U. Svedin. 2017. The contribution of sense of place to social-ecological systems research: a review and research agenda. Ecology and Society 22(1):49. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-08872-220149

Cities are rapidly increasing in importance as a major factor shaping the Earth system, and therefore, must take corresponding responsibility. With currently over half the world’s population, cities are supported by resources originating from primarily rural regions often located around the world far distant from the urban loci of use. The sustainability of a city can no longer be considered in isolation from the sustainability of human and natural resources it uses from proximal or distant regions, or the combined resource use and impacts of cities globally. The world’s multiple and complex environmental and social challenges require interconnected solutions and coordinated governance approaches to planetary stewardship. We suggest that a key component of planetary stewardship is a global system of cities that develop sustainable processes and policies in concert with its non-urban areas. The potential for cities to cooperate as a system and with rural connectivity could increase their capacity to effect change and foster stewardship at the planetary scale and also increase their resource security.

Barthel, S., C. L. Crumley, and U. Svedin. 2013. Biocultural refugia: combating the erosion of diversity in landscapes of food production. Ecology and Society 18(4): 71.http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES-06207-180471

This chapter begins with a short description of “the problem of fit” and the relationship between human and biophysical systems in the ecosystems as detailed in the research of the Institutional Dimensions of Global Environmental Change. It goes on to represent the misfits between environmental institutions and biophysical and socioecological systems. A major part of the chapter discusses the correlation and the anatomy of misfits between biophysical, environmental, and resource regimes with reference to the governance systems. The challenges involved in the governance systems cover the subsequent parts of the chapter, which also explores the emergence and evolution of knowledge-producing systems from the “problem of fit.” The concluding part of the chapter briefly explains the possible ways of dealing with the disturbing misfits between biophysical systems and governance, and also states that the fit between the preceding systems can be enhanced but with attention to the broader governance systems.