Evaluating social–ecological fit in urban stream management: The role of governing institutions in sustainable urban ecosystem service provision

The ecosystem services provided by urban rivers are often severely degraded. Although studies have examined why rivers are degraded, little is known about the social and natural dimensions of rivers in urban settings from an integrative systems approach. Such an approach would improve our understanding of the interplay between humans and nature with regard to the sustainable management of urban rivers. To address this research gap, this study posed two questions: (1) What is the social–ecological fit in current urban river management settings? (2) What contextual attributes could promote a better social–ecological fit to enable the sustainable provision of ecosystem services from urban rivers? In this study, we used an integrative approach to devise proxy indicators of social–ecological fit, based on an empirical case study in Taiwan. Three recursive human–nature coevolutionary scenarios were identified based on key observations: (1) social–ecological temporal misfit scenario; (2) social–ecological functional fit scenario; and (3) ecosystem service trade-offs scenario. For each scenario, the corresponding contextual attributes were proposed to enable social–ecological systems sustainability, namely, (a) building social resilience; (b) the diversification of infrastructure investment; and (c) a comprehensive ecosystem service monitoring mechanism. The policy and practical implications of this study call for the building of an institutional environment to foster adaptive change and remind local governments and actors of their pivotal role in the governance of urban rivers.