Time, Cycles and Tempos in Social-ecological Research and Environmental Policy

ABSTRACT. The execution of successful social-ecological research and the formulation of effective environmental policies crucially depend on a deep knowledge of the temporal complexity of the interactions between social and biophysical systems. To promote a keener awareness of the relevance of time, cycles, and tempos, this study assembles examples drawn from a range of disciplines to delineate the ways temporality enters into human behavior, resource management, and the conduct of social-ecological research. Anthro-pological and historical studies document the culturally embedded temporal subjectivities that shape the way humans exploit or conserve natural resources. Analyses of environmental policy show how temporal considerations enter into intervention strategies via such concepts as discount rates, property rights and the precautionary principle. The centrality of temporal assumptions is further evi-denced by the time-dependent foundations of disciplinary specializa-tions. The likelihood of temporal mismatches between the specializations that participate in interdisciplinary research and between the scientific findings and environmental policy can be mitigated by giving attention to temporal grain, temporal fallacy and temporal extent. KEY WORDS environment; hierarchy; interdisci-plinary; precautionary principle; social-ecological system; temporal extent; temporal fallacy; temporal grai