As the global community confronts escalating environmental crises, conventional adaptation strategies are insufficient to address the complex, interconnected challenges of biodiversity loss, land degradation, and climate change. A paradigm shift is needed. There is growing recognition that transformative adaptation—entailing fundamental, system-wide changes in human-environment interactions—is necessary to build genuine, long-term sustainability and resilience. Such transformations require not only technical or infrastructural solutions but also deep changes in social values, institutional arrangements, governance structures, and political priorities.

To clarify our conceptual foundation, we adopt the following definitions:
o Resilience: The capacity of a system (ecological, social, or coupled) to absorb disturbances while retaining its essential structure, function, and identity.
o Socio-ecological Resilience: A focus on the dynamic interplay and co-adaptive capacity between human societies and the ecosystems they depend upon.
o Transformative Adaptation: Fundamental, systemic changes across technological, institutional, and social dimensions that realign development pathways toward sustainability.

These transformations are most urgently needed at the local level, where the consequences of environmental degradation are most acutely felt. It is also at this scale that place-based knowledge, collective action, and cultural values can offer powerful, context-specific solutions. However, empirical evidence of such transformations at the local level remains notably limited.

This special issue aims to fill this critical gap by advancing conceptual clarity and presenting grounded case studies that illustrate how transformative adaptation is being initiated, navigated, and sustained across diverse socio-ecological and cultural landscapes. Our goal is to foster a productive dialogue between science, policy, and practice by highlighting locally embedded processes of transformation—including their barriers, enablers, and long-term outcomes.

This special issue will feature interdisciplinary research that investigates how transformative adaptation operates across ecological, institutional, and socio-political dimensions. We seek to curate a collection of diverse, context-rich case studies of conservation-led transformations that have measurably enhanced socio-ecological resilience.

The primary objectives are:
o To advance theoretical understanding of transformative adaptation by examining its conceptual foundations and practical applications.
o To present empirical evidence from case studies that highlight transferable strategies, community engagement, and the role of collective agency in overcoming ecological and social crises.
o To foster critical dialogue on the future of conservation and resilience policy through insightful perspective and commentary articles.
o To centre equity and justice by exploring how transformative adaptation can address systemic inequalities and empower marginalized communities.

We strongly encourage submissions that integrate perspectives from fields such as political ecology, conservation biology, sustainability transitions, and climate justice. Contributions that incorporate indigenous and local knowledge, model future scenarios (e.g., using the IPBES Nature Futures Framework), or address the role of collective healing and recovery in socio-ecological systems are particularly welcome.

We invite submissions of original research articles, case studies, perspectives, and commentaries addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

Concepts & Frameworks
• Transformative adaptation & socio-ecological systems
• Monitoring frameworks for transformative adaptation
• Collective trauma & recovery in ecosystem regeneration
• Ecosystem service trade-offs under adaptation

Case Studies & Applications
• Conservation leading to measurable transformation
• Community-based conservation & resilience outcomes
• Indigenous stewardship & biocultural resilience
• Scenario modelling & transformative biodiversity futures

Governance & Policy
• Policy mechanisms enabling transformation
• Cross-scalar governance & institutional learning
• Equity, justice & inclusion in resilience strategies
• Natural capital, finance & transformative conservation

Are you interested in contributing a manuscript to this Research Topic?

Employing Adaptive Transformation for Socio-Ecological Resilience: Perspectives, Research and Community Case Studies.