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EDITORIAL 
 

Nature and Socio-economic Systems: A Narrative of 
Conflict and Adaptation  
 

Kanchan Chopra  
 
At the outset of the fourth year of publication of this journal, the pandemic 
continues to loom over the collective imagination of humankind. As a 
consequence, the past few months, and indeed, almost the entire year, have 
been characterized by extraordinary change and, perhaps, deep reflection.  

The pandemic reminds us of the frailty of the human condition and the 
many threads that weave us together to create either a rich tapestry or an 
unmitigated disaster. In whichever part of the world we live, the pandemic 
currently overshadows what we do and how we use our capabilities. 
Meanwhile, another common unifying force, nature, remains unheeded in 
many ways. For it binds us in an unobtrusive manner. All of our economic 
activities and social institutions operate within the ecological realities of the 
planet that we live on. As such, scholars have tried to provide pointers for 
determining a “safe operating space” for humanity. In simple words, it is 
the room that we have to function in to improve our individual and 
collective well-being, if the threats of biodiversity loss, climate change, and 
so on are to be averted.  

What happens when we do not respect these limits to operating space? Is 
the pandemic nature’s way of reminding us about the need to live within its 
limits? Maybe yes or maybe no; perhaps this line of reasoning appears too 
far-fetched. Note, however, that studies have shown that land use change 
contributes in a non-trivial way to the emergence of vector borne and 
zoonotic diseases. Nevertheless, we need to understand the implications of 
such linkages more clearly. 

                                                        
 Coordinating Editor (2020–21). Former Director and Professor, Institute of Economic 
Growth, University of Delhi, North Campus, Delhi 110007. choprakanchan14@gmail.com. 

Copyright © Chopra 2021. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 
4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC 4.0) by the author.  

Published by Indian Society for Ecological Economics (INSEE), c/o Institute of Economic 
Growth, University Enclave, North Campus, Delhi 110007.  

ISSN: 2581-6152 (print); 2581-6101 (web). 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37773/ees.v4i1.403   

https://doi.org/10.37773/ees.v4i1.403


Ecology, Economy and Society–the INSEE Journal [2] 

Socio-ecological systems, which are complex and adaptive, are shaped by a 
set of fast-moving variables, (typically, but not always, economic in nature, 
such as capital movements across continents and rapidly changing 
consumption patterns) and another set of slow-moving ones (such as land 
use changes, species extinction, and climate change). Some of these have 
the potential to shift the system to an altogether different state on reaching 
a tipping point. From the viewpoint of nature, there is not much to choose 
between these different states. Each state is characterized by the dominance 
of some species or life forms and certain kinds of environments. For 
humans, however, a shift to a different state may have profound 
implications for the manner in which they define and access the 
wherewithal for their well-being. The waters get muddied as humans have 
prior notions of the level and kind of well-being they aspire to and the 
global population which it should ideally reach.  

The question inevitably arises: are we moving permanently or even 
temporarily into a state that will make reaching these goals difficult or 
impossible? Such questions are difficult to answer. Yet, we strive in little 
ways, approaching the problem from the varying perspectives of different 
disciplines. A commentary in this issue of the journal highlights the manner 
in which one such effort brought together evolutionary ecology and the 
social sciences to understand complex socio-ecological systems. While 
pointing out the commonalities between ecological and socio-economic 
systems, and the need for the latter to adapt through self-organization, the 
author interestingly concludes, “Dealing with the commons is at the centre 
of the partnership that must grow between biology and the social sciences 
in the coming decades”. I could not agree more. It is also opportune that 
the special guest edited section in this issue of the journal revisits the 
commons while celebrating the life of N. S. Jodha, a pioneer in research on 
common property resources in South Asia. The papers in this section 
review the literature on the commons in South Asia and offer suggestions 
for directions of future research. 

Other contributions examine the impact of the pandemic and its 
management on the environment, ecology, and livelihoods. A thematic 
essay analyses the implications of a model that arrives at the 
counterintuitive result that reducing the mobility of people from high- to 
low-risk areas can increase, not reduce, the total number of infections. 
Another piece warns us to be careful about overstating the benefits to the 
environment (based on limited information) that result from reduced 
economic activity due to the concurrent impacts on livelihoods and equity.  

One contribution reviews the work of Lonergan (known primarily for his 
work on the foundations of science), who viewed the economic process as a 



[3] Kanchan Chopra 

part of human living, (in support of human welfare) in which cultural 
context is of great significance. He supports a paradigm-shifting movement, 
from a focus on economic growth and prices towards socio-ecological 
economics. Still another paper examines the role of market-based 
instruments in promoting organic farming. The books reviewed in this issue 
also provide insights into socio-ecological systems by dealing with the 
challenges associated with land ownership, coal mining, and oil extraction. 

The journal continues its journey of examining the environment in relation 
to human society and development through different methodological 
lenses. This issue helps readers understand the spectrum of analytical 
methods available and offers ways into interdisciplinarity and even the 
elusive field of transdisciplinarity. 

Finally, the Editorial Board of EES and the Executive Committee of 
INSEE would like to express grateful thanks to the Foundation for 
Ecological Security for a generous grant that has supported the publication 
of this volume of the journal. 


