A concept used in a variety of analytical approaches intended to examine the relationship between people and nature as inter-linked, recognizing that humans should be seen as a part of, not apart from, nature, and nature as inter-linked to social systems.

A bio-geo- physical unit and its associated social actors and institutions. Socio-ecological systems are complex and adaptive and are delimited by spatial or functional boundaries surrounding particular ecosystems and their specific context.

Social-ecological systems are complex adaptive systems in which people and nature are inextricably linked, in which both the social and ecological components exert strong influence over outcomes. The social dimension includes actors, institutions, cultures and economies, including livelihoods. The ecological dimension includes wild species and the ecosystem they inhabit.

Dynamic mosaics of habitats and land uses where the harmonious interaction between people and nature maintains biodiversity while providing humans with the goods and services needed for their livelihoods, survival and well-being in a sustainable manner.

Dynamic mosaics of habitats and land uses where the harmonious interaction between people and nature maintains biodiversity while providing humans with the goods and services needed for their.

Values shared by people in groups and/or values that inform shared identity of a particular group.

Aggregations of people involved in persistent social interactions or sharing geographical or social territories, often with individual political authorities and dominant cultural expectations.

The capacity of a social-ecological system to absorb or withstand perturbations and other stressors such that the system remains within the same regime, essentially maintaining its structure and functions. It describes the degree to which the system is capable of self-organization, learning and adaptation.

The condition of a society emphasizing happiness and contentment; social welfare relates to how individuals use their relationships to other actors in societies for their own and for the collective good; it has both material elements and wider spiritual and social dimensions.

Social values refer to value indicators at a social scale, such as social willingness to pay in economics. They can be established by aggregation from individual values through analytical procedures, or through social processes, such as deliberative valuation, that lead to shared social values.