ROSA: an Andean Network of Social–Ecological Observatories

Introduction

This paper presents the Andean Social–Ecological Observatory Network (ROSA, for Red de Observatorios Socioecologicos Andinos), a continent-wide monitoring initiative established to address major challenges in the management of knowledge on social–ecological systems (SES) in the Andes. The Andes, the longest mountain chain in the world, provide key ecosystem services for human wellbeing across the continent. However, the region faces multiple impacts associated with climate change and land-use change related to demographic transitions, and thus long-term monitoring is key for developing adaptation strategies to this environmental change.

It details the conceptual and methodological proposals for the creation, consolidation, and operationalization of ROSA in a governance framework, and describes the establishment of ROSA, which involved an analysis of gaps in existing SES monitoring efforts in the Andean region, as well as dialogues with scientists and stakeholders. It then discusses the consolidation process, which included the definition of ROSA’s structure and agenda, the challenges addressed, and a first assessment of the progress of the nodal observatories that have joined the network.

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The ROSA Initiative

ROSA was created to gather information on social and ecological patterns and dynamics into observatories, integrating this information and making it available to decision-makers for the sustainable management of Andean SES. ROSA has adopted a bottom-up approach of consolidating and integrating existing ecological and socioeconomic monitoring initiatives in the Andes into regional mountain observatories. The aim of this integration is to refine a common conceptual framework, conduct regional analyses, and define protocols for collecting comparable social–ecological data.

The consolidation phase of ROSA included 3 workshops and a webinar in 2023 with the goal to exchange information and ideas with 25 experts working in Andean SES. In 2 virtual workshops, a draft map of Andean SELS and the variables to be included in their definition were presented and discussed, existing monitoring networks in the Andes and other mountains identified, and the creation of ROSA outlined. In the third, face-to-face workshop, held in Tucuman, Argentina, ROSA members, the provincial government, and local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) presented their experiences with SES monitoring sites throughout the Andes. The participants discussed the operational structure and functioning of ROSA and identified priority lines of research to address social–ecological challenges, generating an explicit space for science–policy dialogue and commitment by the participants to the sustainability of the network.

The main objectives of Rosa are to:

1. Gather, systematize, and combine monitoring efforts across the Andes into a network of nodal observatories
   focused on the main Andean SES, identify geographic and thematic knowledge gaps, and publish the information.
2. Connect the knowledge derived from integrated and co-designed monitoring to decision-making processes and
   the sustainable management of Andean SES.
3. Enhance South–South cooperation among researchers and institutions from Andean countries involved in ROSA, facilitating collaboration, capacity building, knowledge coproduction, and communication on a continental scale. This aims to foster science–policy dialogue, promote the integration and sustainability of the monitoring processes developed in each observatory, and articulate them with governance processes.

Highlights and conclusions

ROSA is an Andean regional collaborative initiative that aims to synthesize, systematize, and integrate different sources of information to understand the dynamics of social and ecological systems across the region, filling the existing knowledge gaps. The Andes provide common ground and opportunities relevant to global mountain science, despite, and because of, the complex and heterogeneous nature of this long and diverse mountain chain at different scales. There are institutions and stakeholders interested in consolidating the ROSA initiative, including a motivated group of researchers, local communities, and governments associated with observatories with shared interests and principles (transparency, objectivity, commitment), working in a transdisciplinary approach, with institutional support. They offer reliable monitoring sites as prospective nodal observatories; these efforts combine the value of past monitoring systems and knowledge of environmental history with the progressive inclusion of modern methods and approaches.

ROSA is supported by the background and experience of several pre-existing networks that have collaborated across the Andes, using standard protocols and sharing information and approaches for more than a decade (e.g. GLORIA, RBA). It also has the support of regional/international organizations and scientific societies (CONDESAN, GLP). During the process of establishing and consolidating ROSA, different challenges faced by regional networks were considered. Throughout this article, ways of addressing these challenges have been discussed, but, in some cases, the authors acknowledge that there is still a long way to go. The main challenges include effectively integrating social and ecological research efforts; circumventing biases associated with different scales and variable types and sources of information; generating mechanisms to answer questions that society (particularly local stakeholders) considers relevant to effectively manage SES; and understanding how these questions change based on emerging needs.

Suggested citation

Carilla et al. ROSA: An Andean Network of Social–Ecological Observatories (ROSA: an Andean Network of Social–Ecological Observatories). Mountain Research and Development, Vol 44, No 4, Nov 2024, 
https://doi.org/10.1659/mrd.2023.00048