Most conservation and development initiatives assume that rules limiting resource extraction are necessary for ecological sustainability. While this is often true, in some social–ecological systems, unpredictable ecosystem dynamics and limited exploitation technology make it unlikely that people will overstep the ecological threshold, precluding the need for management rules. Here, two kinds of systems can emerge: open access systems in which individuals can meet their needs without cooperating with others, and a cooperative open access system in which social rules are required though management rules are not, because individuals need to cooperate to survive and to prevent erosion of cooperation by free-riders. We provide three brief case studies illustrating cooperative open access: Pantaneiro fishers, Agta hunter-gatherers, and Maasai pastoralists. We conclude that understanding these exceptions is pivotal for a better theoretical understanding of social–ecological systems, and can be valuable in building a strategic approach to conservation.

中文翻译：

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社会生态系统的可持续性：社会规则与管理规则的区别

大多数保护和发展倡议都假设限制资源开采的规则对于生态可持续性是必要的。虽然这通常是正确的，但在一些社会生态系统中，不可预测的生态系统动态和有限的开发技术使人们不太可能超过生态阈值，从而排除了管理规则的需要。在这里，可以出现两种系统：一种是个人无需与他人合作就可以满足自己需求的开放获取系统，另一种是需要社会规则但不需要管理规则的合作式开放获取系统，因为个人需要合作才能生存和发展。防止搭便车破坏合作。我们提供了三个说明合作开放获取的简短案例研究：Pantaneiro 渔民、Agta 狩猎采集者、和马赛牧民。我们得出的结论是，理解这些例外对于更好地理解社会生态系统的理论至关重要，并且对于构建保护战略方法很有价值。