Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Marine social-ecological systems (SES) face unprecedented pressures, demanding approaches designed to create more sustainable interactions within and between those systems. Transformation theory offers frameworks for understanding and documenting systemic change, but its empirical testing in marine contexts remains limited. This study analyzes three case studies involving marine transformations in the Western Indian Ocean region: bycatch mitigation in South African fisheries, fisheries co-management in Tanzania, and regional pelagic fisheries’ management. Each process was documented following Olsson's framework (preparing for change, navigating transition, and building resilience) and characterized using selected transformation attributes. Our findings show that the type of outcome a transformation produces is closely linked to its entry point (practices, views, and structures). Practices-oriented transformation achieved rapid, measurable gains, but limited spillover into underlying values. Views-oriented transformation achieved broader, deeper change across dimensions but unfolded more slowly. Structures-oriented transformation, in the absence of shared values among actors, produced the shallowest and most contested change. Local and national initiatives achieved deeper transformation than regional governance, which faced greater barriers from competing interests and institutional inertia, highlighting the role locally-driven action can play in advancing transformation.
Source: Sustainability Science
Authors: Rachel E. Bitoun, Adrien Comte, Nathan J. Bennett, Patricia Charvet, Joachim Claudet, Fabien Forget, Patrice Guillotreau, Janne B. Haugen, Rebecca Horan, Robert Katikiro, Rocío López de la Lama, Shauna Mahajan, Kolobe Mmonwa, Ryan O’Connor, Laura Pereira, Samantha Petersen, Andrea D. Phillott, Ethan Prall, Quentin Schull, Mariana Tolotti, Rodolphe Devillers
Institutions: Université de Montpellier, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Ifremer, Laboratoire des Sciences de l'Environnement Marin, University of British Columbia, World Wildlife Fund, International Union for Conservation of Nature, IUCN Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy, Universidade Federal do Ceará, École Pratique des Hautes Études, Centre de Recherches Insulaires et Observatoire de l'Environnement, Marine Biodiversity Exploitation and Conservation, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Duke University, University of Dar es Salaam, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Stanford University, Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, University of the Witwatersrand, Flame University, University of Miami
Language: English
Subfield: Global and Planetary Change
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life below water
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,890
OpenAlex ID: W7223082412