Top 40 questions in coupled human and natural systems (CHANS) research
Understanding and managing coupled human and natural systems (CHANS) is a central challenge of the 21st century, but more focus is needed to pursue the most important questions within this vast field given limited research capacity and funding. We present 40 important questions for CHANS research, i...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Resilience Alliance
2017-06-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Society |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol22/iss2/art44/ |
| _version_ | 1818580391757348864 |
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| author | Daniel Boyd. Kramer Joel Hartter Angela E. Boag Meha Jain Kara Stevens Kimberly A. Nicholas William J. McConnell Jianguo Liu |
| author_facet | Daniel Boyd. Kramer Joel Hartter Angela E. Boag Meha Jain Kara Stevens Kimberly A. Nicholas William J. McConnell Jianguo Liu |
| author_sort | Daniel Boyd. Kramer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Understanding and managing coupled human and natural systems (CHANS) is a central challenge of the 21st century, but more focus is needed to pursue the most important questions within this vast field given limited research capacity and funding. We present 40 important questions for CHANS research, identified through a two-part crowdsourcing exercise within the CHANS community. We solicited members of the International Network of Research on Coupled Human and Natural Systems (CHANS-Net) to submit up to three questions that they considered transformative, receiving 540 questions from 207 respondents. After editing for clarity and consistency, we asked the network's members to each evaluate a random subset of 20 questions in importance on a scale from 1 (least important) to 7 (extremely important). Questions on land use and agriculture topped the list, with a median importance ranking of 5.7, followed by questions of scale, climate change and energy, sustainability and development, adaptation and resilience, in addition to seven other categories. We identified 40 questions with a median importance of 6.0 or above, which we highlight as the current view of researchers active in the field as research questions to pursue in order to maximize impact on understanding and managing coupled human and natural systems for achieving sustainable development goals and addressing emerging global challenges. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-16T07:16:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-183e7b96b00243d699192b28a189f461 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1708-3087 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-16T07:16:51Z |
| publishDate | 2017-06-01 |
| publisher | Resilience Alliance |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Society |
| spelling | doaj.art-183e7b96b00243d699192b28a189f4612022-12-21T22:39:45ZengResilience AllianceEcology and Society1708-30872017-06-012224410.5751/ES-09429-2202449429Top 40 questions in coupled human and natural systems (CHANS) researchDaniel Boyd. Kramer0Joel Hartter1Angela E. Boag2Meha Jain3Kara Stevens4Kimberly A. Nicholas5William J. McConnell6Jianguo Liu7Michigan State University, James Madison College and Department of Fisheries & WildlifeEnvironmental Studies Program, University of Colorado, BoulderEnvironmental Studies Program, University of Colorado, BoulderSchool of Natural Resources and Environment, University of MichiganNational Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationLund University Centre for Sustainability StudiesCenter for Global Change and Earth Observations, Michigan State UniversityMichigan State University, Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability, Department of Fisheries & WildlifeUnderstanding and managing coupled human and natural systems (CHANS) is a central challenge of the 21st century, but more focus is needed to pursue the most important questions within this vast field given limited research capacity and funding. We present 40 important questions for CHANS research, identified through a two-part crowdsourcing exercise within the CHANS community. We solicited members of the International Network of Research on Coupled Human and Natural Systems (CHANS-Net) to submit up to three questions that they considered transformative, receiving 540 questions from 207 respondents. After editing for clarity and consistency, we asked the network's members to each evaluate a random subset of 20 questions in importance on a scale from 1 (least important) to 7 (extremely important). Questions on land use and agriculture topped the list, with a median importance ranking of 5.7, followed by questions of scale, climate change and energy, sustainability and development, adaptation and resilience, in addition to seven other categories. We identified 40 questions with a median importance of 6.0 or above, which we highlight as the current view of researchers active in the field as research questions to pursue in order to maximize impact on understanding and managing coupled human and natural systems for achieving sustainable development goals and addressing emerging global challenges.http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol22/iss2/art44/coupled human and natural systemshorizon scanhuman-environment systemssocial-ecological systemssustainability sciencetop questions |
| spellingShingle | Daniel Boyd. Kramer Joel Hartter Angela E. Boag Meha Jain Kara Stevens Kimberly A. Nicholas William J. McConnell Jianguo Liu Top 40 questions in coupled human and natural systems (CHANS) research Ecology and Society coupled human and natural systems horizon scan human-environment systems social-ecological systems sustainability science top questions |
| title | Top 40 questions in coupled human and natural systems (CHANS) research |
| title_full | Top 40 questions in coupled human and natural systems (CHANS) research |
| title_fullStr | Top 40 questions in coupled human and natural systems (CHANS) research |
| title_full_unstemmed | Top 40 questions in coupled human and natural systems (CHANS) research |
| title_short | Top 40 questions in coupled human and natural systems (CHANS) research |
| title_sort | top 40 questions in coupled human and natural systems chans research |
| topic | coupled human and natural systems horizon scan human-environment systems social-ecological systems sustainability science top questions |
| url | http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol22/iss2/art44/ |
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