SP4: Understanding the transformation potential of individuals: The role of preferences, perceptions and social relationships

• Applicants: Dr. Susann Adloff; Professorin Dr. Katrin Rehdanz
• Subject Area: Economic Policy, Applied Economics
• Term: since 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 428658210

The aim of SP4 in Kili-SES-1 was to analyze the relationship between the provision of nature's contributions to people (NCP) and human well-being in the socio-ecological system (SES) of Mount Kilimanjaro. In particular, we examined how economic preferences, socio-economic characteristics, and market interactions influence this relationship. Kili-SES-2 complements this analysis by examining the willingness of individuals to change their interaction patterns with nature. As the SES is subject to constant change due to factors such as climate change and population dynamics, these changes are crucial for the system's resilience. The impulse to adapt to ecological changes in the SES can come from institutions, initiatives, or individuals within a community. In SP4, the focus remains on the role of individuals, whose transformation potential is examined through two guiding questions: How do people in the SES respond to changes in the NCP provision, and what potential do they have to influence others in the SES to also change their behavior?To answer the first question, we investigate individual factors influencing the willingness to change interaction patterns with nature. Specifically, we consider the role of characteristics of the NCP change (e.g., increase vs. decrease in supply) and characteristics of solution paths (marginal vs. transformative change). Answering the second question requires an understanding of how individual changes can lead to societal changes, considering not only a person's socio-demographic characteristics, but particularly their embedding in the social network.We will analyze these questions in three interconnected work packages (WPs). In WP1, a multifactorial vignette experiment is used to investigate individual willingness to change behavior due to a change in NCP provision, depending on the characteristics of the NCP change and the possible solution paths. In WP2, a questionnaire survey building on the experiment is conducted, analyzing the role of problem perception, solution paths, and available resources in addition to socio-demographic characteristics. Finally, in WP3, an experiment and the analysis of the individual's social network will examine who is particularly suitable to spread changes within the community.Overall, our research will provide comprehensive information for assessing how individuals in the Kili SES respond to ecological change, thus significantly contributing to the understanding of dynamics within the SES. SP4 thereby provides important system and transformation knowledge for the work of the research unit.

• DFG Programme: Research Units
• Subproject of: FOR 5064: The role of nature for human well-being in the Kilimanjaro Social-Ecological System (Kili-SES)
• International Connection: Switzerland, Tanzania
• Cooperation Partners: Dr. Dominic Martin; Dr. Jennifer Kasanda Sesabo
• Co-Investigators: Professorin Dr. Berta Martín López; Professor Dr. Ulrich Schmidt