摘要：Interdependent human and biophysical systems are highly complex and behave in unpredictable and uncontrollableways. Social and ecological challenges that emerge from this complexity often defy straightforward solutions, and efforts toaddress these problems will require not only scientific and technological capabilities but also learning and adaptation.Scenarios are a useful tool for grappling with the uncertainty and complexity of social-ecological challenges because they enableparticipants to build adaptive capacity through the contemplation of multiple future possibilities. Furthermore, scenarios providea platform for social learning, which is critical to acting in the face of uncertain, complex, and conflict-laden problems. Westudied the Minnesota 2050 project, a collaborative project through which citizens collectively imagined future scenarios andcontemplated the implications of these possibilities for the adaptability of their social and environmental communities.Survey and interview data indicate that these participatory scenario workshops built and strengthened relationships, enhancedparticipants' understanding of other perspectives, and triggered systemic thinking, all of which is relevant to collective effortsto respond to social-ecological challenges through sustainable development activities. Our analysis shows that participatoryscenarios can stimulate social learning by enabling participants to engage and to discuss options for coping with uncertaintythrough collaborative actions. Such learning can be of value to participants and to the organizations and decisions in which theyare engaged, and scenario processes can be effective tools for supporting collaborative sustainable development efforts.
关键词：adaptive capacity; collaborative action; participatory scenarios; social-ecological challenges; social learning;sustainable development
