Transcript What are Soft Systems? - Plymouth Environmental Research Centre

Soft Systems:
an Interdisciplinary Method
Dr Karen Bowler
Marine and Coastal Policy Research Group
School of Earth, Ocean and Environmental Sciences
The Irish Sea: a socio-ecological system
• Marine management
• Sustainability:
‘Meeting the needs of the present
generation without compromising
the ability of future generation s to
meet their own needs.’
Brundtland 1987
• Ecosystem wellbeing fundamental
• Humans are part of the
ecosystem.
The Problem –
Why is marine conservation failing to deliver?’
• D-P-S-I-R
• Science-policy gap
• Barriers to change
Ecosystem
PRESSURES
Societal
DRIVERS
• ESRC/NERC
• Multiple disciplines
involved
• Which methods?
Societal
RESPONSES
Environmental
STATE
CHANGES
IMPACTS
on Society
Disciplines
INTERDISCIPLINARITY
Academia
‘Disciplinary silos’
Civil society
‘Sage on stage’
After Brand, R & Karvonen A, 2007
Soft systems
Why use soft systems?
• Current focus – marine science and human activities
framed exclusively within the scientific paradigm.
• These approaches therefore necessarily fail to consider
the ultimate, societal, causes of environmental
degradation.
Advantages:
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‘messy’ situations
‘soft’/multiple problem definitions
Context sensitive
Include many kinds of information
Clarify assumptions, values, purpose
Critical system for action (Ulrich, W)
Soft systems
What is a system?
• A ‘Holon’ -Greater than sum of parts
• Structured by its components, interactions and feedbacks
• Persistent in face of change
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What are Soft Systems?
A ‘thinking tool’, ‘a sense-making approach’ (Checkland P, 1981)
A process of enquiry using systems tools and thinking
‘holons’ developed to structure debate, compare with real
world, consider changes
• Can be issue-based or task-based (O.R.)
• Ideally – with multiple stakeholders
• Iterative learning cycle
7-step method –
iterative, refined, results of several cycles
Step 3
Step 4
Model development
Step 2
Model analyses
Screening system boundaries
probs/opps
Step 5
Ongoing evaluation
Step 1
Interpretation of
results
Scoping Explore the context
START
Step 6
Take Action
Step 7
After Checkland, 1981
Context – Rich Pictures
From: Karen Bowler
Problems/Opportunities:
A ‘Mess’
• Marine environmental damage/degradation
• Scientific uncertainty
• Multiple legislatory challenges: Marine Protected Areas,
shipping, fishing, tourism, conservation,
• Conflicting interests: high population, high consumption
levels, energy demands, economic competitiveness,
global links
• Sustainability – economic? social?
• Root Definition: Transformation of a non-sustainable Irish
Sea into a sustainable Irish Sea?
Scale, Boundaries,
Irish Sea
OSPAR
UNCLOS
MARPOL
System Environment
Wider circulation
- NAO, Gulf stream
Climate change
Irish Sea
Marine monitoring
-populations,
species, habitats
Regional
circulation patterns
Marine activities
regulation
Land-based
activities regulation
Nutrients and
pollutant emission
regulations
Multiple-cause diagram 1
Multi-Cause Diagram
Energy
Trade
Urbanisation
Agriculture
Shipping
Industry
Fisheries
Inadequate
legislation
land
appropriation
Ineffective
legislation
Inadequate farm
management
Poor waste
treatment
Physical
disturbance
Inadequate
modelling
airborne
emissions
Poor technology use
emissions of pollutants
Noise
Excess nutrients
eutrophication
Mortalities
Non-sustainable Irish Sea
Management failures highlighted in red
Multiple-cause diagram 2
shipping
extractive activities and sea use
population
OSPAR
energy
industry
accidents
KYOTO
agriculture
operational
discharges
CO2
radioactivity
oil pollution
TBT
climate changes
pollutants
noise,
disturbance
dredging and
dumping
Habitat degradation
ecosystem quality
legislation
Non-sustainable Irish Sea
population and species losses
nature conservation
fishing effort
marine
conservation
strategy
fisheries management
Points of intervention shown in red
Influence diagram
Influences on the Irish Sea
National government policies
European Union
International Conventions
Energy
Environment Agencies
Trade and Industry
Fisheries
Agriculture
NGOs
Coastal
management
Shipping
Economic growth
Non–sustainable Irish Sea
Long-term
interests
Future generations
Recreational
sea users
Global
externalities
Coastal
Fora
General
population
Short-term
interests
Overshoot
Critical System
Critical components identified:
Causes: Failures in Legislation, Management,
Modelling, Technology use
Influences: Feedback loops
Economic growth-energy-trade
Externalities-short-termism-Overshoot
Critical areas for action e. g. Strengthen weakly
interacting feedback at long-term interests
Wider discussion
• The Irish Sea itself does not comprise a
holon.
• Scientifically defined ‘ecosystem’
• Politically divided
• Statistical data at national level
• Subject to multiple influences from system
environment
• A sustainable Irish Sea is a long way from
reality.
Conclusions
Soft systems methods provide a key link in developing our
understanding of complex, trans-disciplinary issues.
They:
• Extend understanding to multiple, underlying causes eg
advertising, outside usual consideration
• Construct a holistic picture of context and
interrelationships which influence (non)-sustainability
• As a learning cycle, could offer much more if practiced
on the ground in stakeholder fora.
DPSIR and Data
Natural Sciences
Quantity
PRESSURES
‘ WHAT HAPPENS’
Speed
Needs
Wants
Volume
STATE
CHANGES
DRIVERS
Power
Social Sciences
‘WHY IT HAPPENS’
Area
Beliefs,
Values
RESPONSES
Size
Feelings
IMPACTS
DPSIR and Epistemologies
Natural Sciences
PRESSURES
Value Neutral
‘Rational’
More Data
Reduce uncertainty
DRIVERS
Social Sciences
Value Pluralism
Empathy
STATE
CHAGES
Relationships
Context
Consensus
Pattern
Process
RESPONSES
IMPACTS
Respect
‘Non-Rational’
Commitment,
Vision
Current basis for marine
sustainability
‘…based on sound science’ – as opposed to unsound science
Resource
management
Chemistry
Fisheries
Science
Conservation
of habitats and
species
Oceanography
Biology
Ecology
Extended basis for marine
sustainability
‘…based on sound science’ – but only as a basis – cultural values
Context, advertising, global economy,
unequal distribution of benefits, trade-offs,
advertising, short term benefit v ultimate aims,.
Where are we really going?
Is it good or bad – beyond science
Scientific Basis
Resource
management
Chemistry
Fisheries
Science
Conservation
of habitats and
species
Oceanography
Biology
Ecology