This paper takes a new look on transition processes in social-ecological systems, identified based on household use of direct ecosystem services in a case study in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It builds on the assumption that high dependence on local ecosystems for basic needs satisfaction corresponds to a “green loop” type of system, with direct feedbacks between environmental degradation and human well-being. Increasing use of distant ecosystems marks a regime shift and with that, the transition to “red loops” in which feedbacks between environmental degradation and human well-being are only indirect. These systems are characterized by a fundamentally different set of sustainability problems as well as distinct human-nature connections. Through the analysis of a case study in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, the paper contributes to existing research that has so far only identified and mapped social-ecological systems with cross-sectional data. The results show that direct ecosystem service use is inherently dynamic and associated with socio-economic and political change, underpinning the relevance of transdisciplinary research. The proposed theoretical concept and methodology can be applied to other contexts to study variegated human-nature relationships in the context of transformative change.

中文翻译：

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使用直接生态系统服务使用数据了解社会生态系统的制度变化

本文根据南非夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省的案例研究中家庭对直接生态系统服务的使用情况，重新审视了社会生态系统的转型过程。它建立在这样一个假设之上，即高度依赖当地生态系统来满足基本需求对应于“绿色循环”类型的系统，在环境退化和人类福祉之间具有直接反馈。越来越多地使用遥远的生态系统标志着制度的转变，随之而来的是向“红色循环”的过渡，其中环境退化和人类福祉之间的反馈只是间接的。这些系统的特点是一系列根本不同的可持续性问题以及不同的人与自然联系。通过对南非夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省的案例研究的分析，该论文有助于现有的研究，这些研究迄今为止仅使用横截面数据识别和绘制社会生态系统。结果表明，直接使用生态系统服务本质上是动态的，并与社会经济和政治变化相关，支持跨学科研究的相关性。所提出的理论概念和方法可以应用于其他背景，以研究变革性变化背景下的各种人与自然关系。