Taking Human Institutions Seriously in the Study of Coastal Social-Ecological Systems

Human institutions are now recognized as an important dimension to consider in our effort to understand, assess, and reform social-ecological systems. Human institutions, are defined as the formal and informal rules and social norms that govern what actions are allowed, permitted, and/or forbidden in a given social interaction.  Under this lens, marine ecosystem management constitutes a particular type of institutional arrangement, determining the mays, must, and must-nots affecting the who’s, what’s, when’s, and where’s of what takes place in a particular seascape. The particular rules and norms defining the social interactions of humans within a marine ecosystem also govern the way that management goals are constructed, perceived, and attained. Understanding how those formal and informal rules and norms are construed and defined, and how interactions with the biophysical setting itself influence them, is key towards building knowledge about the likelihood that human groups will successfully organize and achieve particular social and biological objectives (i.e., equity, efficiency or sustainability) for marine ecosystems. To illustrate how the study of human institutions can lead to better understandings of the prospects of ecosystem-based management in coastal fishing social ecological systems, I will describe some of the main lessons learnt working in the Gulf of California, Mexico.