Unravelling the role of social innovation for fostering socio-ecological resilience in Mediterranean fire-prone territories

Using the concept of social innovation as a starting point, this research will shed light on collective action revolving around pressing socio-ecological challenges observed in the Mediterranean. The concept of social innovation looks at how society reveals and addresses unmet needs (Moulaert et al., 2012), and, by doing so, a qualitative improvement of social relations and other modes of coordination is triggered . This research will mobilise the concept of social innovation and tailor it to the analyses of the socio-ecological transformations and challenges faced by Mediterranean rural areas. This thesis will examine the relationship between social innovation and the socio-ecological resilience of Mediterranean forested landscapes, in particular relating to wildfire. Being, as it is, one of the most pressing issues in the region. The main goal is to analyse the impact of existing social innovation cases on the socio-ecological resilience of the systems where they belong. This research will look from different angles the role that social innovation can play in different cases in Catalonia, where fire is the most pressing issue for forested landscapes. This thesis will also analyse the current Catalan institutional and socio-political environment within which these three case studies unfold. How social innovation on forest fires relates with socio-political structures and dynamics at higher spatial scales is an important dimension analysed in this PhD thesis, notably to further reflect on improved governance mechanisms from which social innovation can be included in more holistic strategies that can tackle the issue not only from a technical perspective, but also a societal one. To achieve this aim, we proceed according to the following steps. First, we build a theoretical framework connecting the concepts of social innovation and socio-ecological resilience, in general, and applied to forested landscapes, in particular. Second, we apply this framework to the analysis of selected social innovation cases, and lastly we will look into the governance system in which these case studies unfold.