How to build science-action partnerships for local land-use planning and management: lessons from Durban, South Africa

Cockburn, J and Rouget, M and Slotow, R and Roberts, D and Boon, R and Douwes, E and O’Donoghue, S and Downs, C. T. and Mukherjee, Shomen and Musakwa, W and Mutanga, O and Mwabvu, T and Odindi, J and Odindo, A and Procheş, S and Ramdhani, S and Ray-Mukherjee, Jayanti and Sershen, . and Schoeman, M. C. and Smit, A. J. and Wale, E and illows-Munro, S (2016) How to build science-action partnerships for local land-use planning and management: lessons from Durban, South Africa. Ecology and Society, 21 (1).

[img] Text - Published Version
Restricted to Repository staff only

Download (1MB) | Request a copy

Abstract

The gap between scientific knowledge and implementation in the fields of biodiversity conservation, environmental management, and climate change adaptation has resulted in many calls from practitioners and academics to provide practical solutions responding effectively to the risks and opportunities of global environmental change, e.g., Future Earth. We present a framework to guide the implementation of science-action partnerships based on a real-world case study of a partnership between a local municipality and an academic institution to bridge the science-action gap in the eThekwini Municipal Area, South Africa. This partnership aims to inform the implementation of sustainable land-use planning, biodiversity conservation, environmental management, and climate change adaptation practice and contributes to the development of human capacity in these areas of expertise. Using a transdisciplinary approach, implementation-driven research is being conducted to develop several decision-making products to better inform land-use planning and management. Lessons learned through this partnership are synthesized and presented as a framework of enabling actions operating at different levels, from the individual to the nterorganizational. Enabling actions include putting in place enabling organizational preconditions, assembling a functional well-structured team, and actively building interpersonal and individual collaborative capacity. Lessons learned in the case study emphasize the importance of building collaborative capacity and social capital, and paying attention to the process of transdisciplinary research to achieve more tangible science, management, and policy objectives in science-action partnerships. By documenting and reflecting on the process, this case study provides conceptual and practical guidance on bridging the science-action gap through partnerships.

Item Type: Article
Authors: Cockburn, J and Rouget, M and Slotow, R and Roberts, D and Boon, R and Douwes, E and O’Donoghue, S and Downs, C. T. and Mukherjee, Shomen and Musakwa, W and Mutanga, O and Mwabvu, T and Odindi, J and Odindo, A and Procheş, S and Ramdhani, S and Ray-Mukherjee, Jayanti and Sershen, . and Schoeman, M. C. and Smit, A. J. and Wale, E and illows-Munro, S
Uncontrolled Keywords: biodiversity conservation; boundary organization; climate change adaptation; collaboration; environmental management; sustainable development; transdisciplinary research.
Subjects: Social sciences > Economics > Economics of land & energy
Natural Sciences > Life sciences; biology > Ecology
Divisions: Azim Premji University > School of Arts and Sciences
Full Text Status: Restricted
Related URLs:
URI: http://publications.azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/id/eprint/220
Publisher URL: https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol21/iss1/art28...

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item