Significance of telecoupling for exploration of land use change

Hallie Eakin, Ruth Defries, Suzi Kerr, Eric F. Lambin, Jiangou Liu, Peter J. Marcotullio, Peter Messerli, Anette Reenberg, Ximena Rueda, Simon R. Swaffield, Birka Wicke, Karl Zimmerer

87 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Land systems are increasingly infl uenced by distal connections: the externalities and unintended consequences of social and ecological processes which occur in distant locations, and the feedback mechanisms that lead to new institutional developments and governance arrangements. Economic globalization and urbanization accentuate these novel telecoupling relationships. The prevalence of telecoupling in land systems demands new approaches to research and analysis in land science. This chapter presents a working defi nition of a telecoupled system, emphasizing the role of governance and institutional change in telecoupled interactions. The social, institutional, and ecological processes and conditions through which telecoupling emerges are described. The analysis of these relationships in land science demands both integrative and diverse epistemological perspectives and methods. Such analyses require a focus on how the motivations and values of social actors relate to telecoupling processes, as well as on the mechanisms that produce unanticipated outcomes and feedback relationships among distal land systems.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationRethinking global land use in an urban era
EditorsKaren C. Seto, Anette Reenberg
Number of pages21
Place of PublicationCambridge, MA
PublisherMIT Press
Publication date1 Jan 2014
Pages141-162
Chapter8
ISBN (Print)978-0-262-02690-1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2014
SeriesStrungmann Forum reports
Volume14

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