Social-ecological change: insights from the Southern African Program on Ecosystem Change and Society

Social-ecological systems (SES) research has emerged as an important area of sustainability
\nscience, informing and supporting pressing issues of transformation towards more sustainable,
\njust and equitable futures. To date, much SES research has been done in or from the Global
\nNorth, where the challenges and contexts for supporting sustainability transformations are
\nsubstantially different from the Global South. This paper synthesises emerging insights on SES
\ndynamics that can inform actions and advance research to support sustainability transformations
\nspecifically in the southern African context. The paper draws on work linked to members
\nof the Southern African Program on Ecosystem Change and Society (SAPECS), a leading SES
\nresearch network in the region, synthesizing key insights with respect to the five core themes of
\nSAPECS: (i) transdisciplinary and engaged research, (ii) ecosystem services and human wellbeing,
\n(iii) governance institutions and management practices, (iv) spatial relationships and
\ncross-scale connections, and (v) regime shifts, traps and transformations. For each theme, we
\nfocus on insights that are particularly novel, interesting or important in the southern African
\ncontext, and reflect on key research gaps and emerging frontiers for SES research in the region
\ngoing forward. Such place-based insights are important for understanding the variation in SES
\ndynamics around the world, and are crucial for informing a context-sensitive global agenda to
\nfoster sustainability transformations at local to global scales.