A social–ecological systems framework for adaptive management of pastoral rangelands

Abstract

Adaptive pastoral rangeland management is increasingly challenged by the need to sustain ecological integrity, livestock production, and human well-being under changing environmental and socio-economic conditions. Conventional rangeland management approaches have largely addressed ecological, socio-cultural, and governance dimensions independently, limiting their ability to account for the interactions that shape resilient pastoral rangeland systems. This review synthesises the role of the social–ecological systems (SES) framework in strengthening adaptive pastoral rangeland management and proposes a conceptual framework that integrates adaptive management, knowledge integration, and adaptive and participatory governance. A structured literature review was conducted to examine the application of the SES framework in pastoral rangelands. The review shows that the limitations of conventional rangeland management arise largely from treating ecological, socio-cultural, and governance dimensions separately rather than as interacting components of a single system. It further shows that adaptive pastoral rangeland management, knowledge integration, and adaptive and participatory governance work together to strengthen resilience, adaptive capacity, and collaborative decision-making. The review concludes that the proposed framework provides an integrated perspective for understanding and strengthening adaptive pastoral rangeland management while recognising that its application should be tailored to different ecological, institutional, and socio-economic contexts. It also identifies priorities for future research, including evaluating the framework across diverse pastoral systems, developing practical indicators of resilience and adaptive capacity, and translating SES principles into practical management and policy.