Study says weighing social factors can help sustain resources

April 18, 2016

Human factors like culture and equity are often a missing piece in environmental research, but an international team of social scientists is aiming to change that. Their findings could help guide sustainable management of Alaska fisheries.

In an article published this month in the journal Science, members of a working group called the Social Well-being Indicators for Marine Management team identified seven social factors that are critical to maintaining sustainable environments and communities: well-being, culture, values, equality, justice, power and agency (self-determination).

“This paper is meant to lay out some key concepts from the social sciences that promote human well-being across disciplines,” said Courtney Carothers, associate professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences and a contributing author to the paper. “These concepts are especially important to consider in places like Alaska where we have great cultural diversity and human well-being is so clearly linked to the environment.”

As one of the team’s anthropologists, Carothers thinks about how these factors may affect the sustainability of Alaska fisheries. Currently, management often focuses only on biological and economic considerations. Carothers argues that sustainable fisheries should also incorporate social and cultural dimensions. This could include developing strategies to make it easier for Alaskans to get involved or stay involved in Alaska fisheries, or programs that keep more local fish in state.

Additionally, many fishermen in Alaska have cultural ties to fishing based on generations of practice rather than an interest in maximizing profits.

The researchers indicate that integrating the seven concepts into environmental management plans will help protect the environment and its resources while ensuring that the well-being of the people who rely on these resources is also protected.

“These dimensions are important for thinking about how to manage fisheries and our marine systems equitably and sustainably,” said Carothers. “It is really important that everyone understands the social factors that can greatly affect sustainability.”

While research is typically done with a group of natural scientists and only one or two social scientists, Carothers explains, this project is unique because it brings together social scientists from different disciplines including anthropology, geography and political science.

The group has several other papers in the works, which will discuss how to better measure and evaluate social and cultural factors in environmental management. Developing indicators to measure the social concepts could make it easier to incorporate these concepts into research and decision-making about Alaska fisheries or any other changing system.

ON THE WEB: Read the paper in Science at http://bit.ly/1X3SVdM.