Faced with accelerating environmental challenges, research on social-ecological systems is increasingly focused on the need for transformative change towards sustainable stewardship of natural resources. This paper analyses the potential of rapid, large-scale socio-political change as a window of opportunity for transformative change of natural resources governance. We hypothesize that shocks at higher levels of social organization may open up opportunities for transformation of social-ecological systems into new pathways of development. However, opportunities need to be carefully navigated otherwise transformations may stall or lead the social-ecological system in undesirable directions. We investigate (i) under which circumstances socio-political change has been used by actors as a window of opportunity for initiating transformation towards sustainable natural resource governance, (ii) how the different levels of the systems (landscape, regime and niche) interact to pave the way for initiating such transformations and (iii) which key features (cognitive, structural and agency-related) get mobilized for transformation. This is achieved through analyzing natural resource governance regimes of countries that have been subject to rapid, large-scale political change: water governance in South Africa and Uzbekistan and governance of coastal fisheries in Chile. In South Africa the political and economic change of the end of the apartheid regime resulted in a transformation of the water governance regime while in Uzbekistan after the breakdown of the Soviet Union change both at the economic and political scales and within the water governance regime remained superficial. In Chile the democratization process after the Pinochet era was used to transform the governance of coastal fisheries. The paper concludes with important insight on key capacities needed to navigate transformation towards biosphere stewardship. The study also contributes to a more nuanced view on the relationship between collapse and renewal.

中文翻译：

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可持续发展转型：将社会政治冲击作为治理转型的机会。

面对日益严峻的环境挑战，对社会生态系统的研究越来越侧重于对向自然资源的可持续管理转型的需求。本文分析了快速，大规模的社会政治变革作为自然资源治理变革变革的机会之窗的潜力。我们假设社会组织高层的冲击可能会为将社会生态系统转变为新的发展道路打开机遇。但是，需要谨慎地把握机会，否则转变可能会停滞不前或导致社会生态系统向不希望的方向发展。我们调查（i）在什么情况下，参与者将社会政治变化用作启动向可持续自然资源治理转变的机会之窗；（ii）系统的不同层次（景观，政权和利基）如何相互作用。为启动此类转变铺平了道路，并且（iii）动员了哪些关键特征（认知，结构和与代理相关）进行了转变。这是通过分析经历了快速，大规模政治变革的国家的自然资源治理制度来实现的：南非和乌兹别克斯坦的水治理和智利的沿海渔业治理。在南非，种族隔离政权结束后的政治和经济变化导致了水治理体制的转变，而在苏联解体后的乌兹别克斯坦，无论是在经济，政治规模还是在水治理体制内，变革都还是肤浅的。在智利，皮诺切特时代之后的民主化进程被用来改变沿海渔业的治理。本文以对生物圈管理转型的关键能力有重要见解。该研究还有助于对崩溃和更新之间的关系有更细致的了解。在智利，皮诺切特时代之后的民主化进程被用来改变沿海渔业的治理。本文以对生物圈管理转型的关键能力有重要见解。该研究还有助于对崩溃和更新之间的关系有更细致的了解。在智利，皮诺切特时代之后的民主化进程被用来改变沿海渔业的治理。本文以对生物圈管理转型的关键能力有重要见解。该研究还有助于对崩溃和更新之间的关系有更细致的了解。