SESMAD

This page contains all of the variables that are available for use in the SESMAD database. Each of these variables is viewable in its own page via the table below. In addition to providing the variables that are measured in the cases of the SESMAD database, this page serves as a library of many of the concepts and variables that have proven to be most important in the study of human-environment interactions. Each variable is described by a set of properties, including the following:

Type: Whether the variable is measured at the (1) interval, (2) ordinal, (3) categorical, or (4) open-text level.

Component Type: What type of component (e.g. actor group) the variable describes.

Theme: What broad thematic category (e.g. institutions) the variable belongs to.

Question: What question is posed to the user when they are measuring the variable for a case.

Select options: The range of values that the variable can take on.

Unit: For interval variables, the unit of measurement.

Role: Records whether the variable describes components with a particular role (e.g. commons users)

Importance: Describes the theoretical importance of the variable

Definition: provides a basic definition of the variable.

Sector: Records what sector(s) (e.g. fisheries) the variable is associated with, if it is specific to a particular sector.

Variables can be added by users to help them describe their own type of case. Through the sector property, variable can be made specific to different sectors (e.g. fisheries), such that only those cases that are also assigned to that sector will be asked about that variable. In this way the database tailors the questions asked of a user to the type of system they are examining.

Name	Data Type	Component Type	Attachment	Sector	Project(s)	Theme
Actor adaptive capacity	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Outcomes
Actor debt	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Incentives
Actor effect	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Outcomes
Actor group boundary clarity	Categorical	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Institutions
Actor group boundary fuzziness	Categorical	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Institutions
Actor group coordination	Categorical	Actor	Case Component		SESMAD	Institutions
Actor group size	Interval	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Incentives
Actor group trust	Ordinal	Actor	Case Component		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Social Capital
Actor scientific knowledge	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Knowledge And Uncertainty
Actor traditional knowledge	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Knowledge And Uncertainty
Actor vulnerability	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Institutional Biophysical Linkage
Age of PHC	Interval	Governance System	Component Interaction		Fiji fisheries	Institutional Biophysical Linkage
Basin switch	Categorical	Natural Resource Unit, Natural Resource System	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Outcomes
Begin date	Text	Governance System	Case Component		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Basic
Beginning condition	Ordinal	Environmental Common	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Outcomes
Biodiversity trend	Ordinal	Natural Resource System	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Outcomes
Biotic	Binary	Natural Resource Unit	Case Component		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Basic
Black market scale	Categorical	Natural Resource Unit, Natural Resource System	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Institutions
Black markets	Binary	Natural Resource Unit, Natural Resource System	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Institutions
Causal level	Ordinal	Governance System	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Causation
Centralization	Ordinal	Governance System	Case Component		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Institutions
Climate change	Binary	Natural Resource Unit, Natural Resource System	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	External
Collective action	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Outcomes
Commercial Harvest Percent	Ordinal	Local Resource User Group	Component Interaction		Fiji fisheries	Incentives
Commons accessibility	Ordinal	Environmental Common	Case Component		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Spatial
Commons actions	Categorical	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Institutions
Commons aggregation	Categorical	Natural Resource Unit	Case Component		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Basic
Commons alternatives	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Incentives
Commons boundaries	Ordinal	Environmental Common	Case Component		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Biophysical
Commons boundary negotiability	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Institutions
Commons condition trend	Ordinal	Environmental Common	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Outcomes
Commons feedback speed fix	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Incentives
Commons feedback speed use	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Incentives
Commons feedback visibility fix	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Incentives
Commons feedback visibility use	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Incentives
Commons heterogeneity	Ordinal	Environmental Common	Case Component		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Spatial
Commons indicator	Categorical	Natural Resource Unit	Case Component		SESMAD	Biophysical
Commons low cost technology	Binary	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Technology
Commons mobility	Ordinal	Pollutant, Natural Resource Unit	Case Component		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Spatial
Commons political power	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Context
Commons renewability	Ordinal	Environmental Common	Case Component		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Resource Renewability
Commons scarcity	Ordinal	Natural Resource Unit, Natural Resource System	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Biophysical
Commons spatial extent	Interval	Environmental Common	Case Component		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Spatial
Commons unit size	Ordinal	Pollutant, Natural Resource Unit	Case Component		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Biophysical
Commons use proportion	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Context
Commons user mobility	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Incentives
Community Participation	Ordinal	Local Resource User Group	Case Component		Fiji fisheries	Social Capital
Compliance	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Enforcement
Condition confidence	Ordinal	Environmental Common	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Outcomes
Conflict resolution	Binary	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Enforcement
Costs of exit	Binary	Actor	Case Component		SESMAD	Incentives
Cultural dependence	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Incentives
Cultural heterogeneity	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Heterogeneity
Cultural services condition	Ordinal	Natural Resource Unit, Natural Resource System	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Outcomes
Dams	Binary	Natural Resource Unit, Natural Resource System	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Technology
Dams role	Categorical	Natural Resource Unit, Natural Resource System	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Technology
Distance to markets	Ordinal	Governance System	Case Component		SESMAD	Institutions
ES market Scale	Categorical	Environmental Common	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Institutions
Ecological resilience	Ordinal	Environmental Common	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Biophysical
Economic dependence	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Institutional Biophysical Linkage
Economic heterogeneity	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Heterogeneity
Economic status	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Incentives
Ecosystem service management	Categorical	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Institutions
Ecosystem services markets	Binary	Natural Resource Unit, Natural Resource System	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Institutions
Effect confidence	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Outcomes
End Date	Text	Governance System	Case Component		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Basic
End condition	Ordinal	Environmental Common	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Outcomes
Environmental commons scientific knowledge	Ordinal	Environmental Common	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Knowledge And Uncertainty
Environmental medium	Categorical	Environmental Common	Case Component		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Biophysical
Environmental monitoring	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Enforcement
External Ecological Connectivity	Ordinal	Natural Resource System	Case Component		SESMAD	Biophysical
External monitoring	Binary	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Enforcement
External recognition	Ordinal	Governance System	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	External
External sanctions	Binary	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Enforcement
External support	Ordinal	Governance System	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Institutions
Flexible rights	Binary	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Institutions
Governance knowledge use	Categorical	Governance System	Case Component		SESMAD	Institutional Biophysical Linkage
Governance scale	Categorical	Governance System	Case Component		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Basic
Governance strictness trend	Ordinal	Governance System	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Institutions
Governance system age	Text	Governance System	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Theories	Basic
Governance system description	Text	Governance System	Case Component		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Basic
Governance system effect	Categorical	Governance System	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Outcomes
Governance system spatial extent	Text	Governance System	Case Component		SESMAD	Spatial
Governance trigger	Categorical	Governance System	Case Component		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Basic
Horizontal coordination	Categorical	Governance System	Case Component		SESMAD	Institutions
Human population size change	Ordinal	Environmental Common	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	External
Incentive type	Categorical	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Institutions
Infrastructure	Text	Natural Resource Unit, Natural Resource System	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Technology
Institutional diversity	Ordinal	Governance System	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Institutions
Inter annual predictability	Ordinal	Environmental Common	Case Component		SESMAD	Knowledge And Uncertainty
Inter-group trust	Ordinal	Governance System	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Social Capital
Interest heterogeneity	Ordinal	Actor	Case Component		SESMAD	Heterogeneity
Internal Ecological Connectivity	Ordinal	Natural Resource System	Case Component		SESMAD	Biophysical
Intra annual predictability	Ordinal	Environmental Common	Case Component		SESMAD	Knowledge And Uncertainty
Invasives	Binary	Natural Resource Unit, Natural Resource System	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	External
Leadership	Categorical	Actor	Case Component		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Leadership
Leadership accountability	Ordinal	Actor	Case Component		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Leadership
Leadership authority	Ordinal	Actor	Case Component		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Leadership
Leakage	Categorical	Environmental Common	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	External
Live coral cover	Interval	Environmental Common	Case Component		Fiji fisheries	Biophysical
Livelihood alternatives	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Incentives
MPA IUCN somewhat strict zones	Interval	Governance System	Case Component	Marine protected areas	SESMAD	Institutions
MPA IUCN sustainable zones	Interval	Governance System	Case Component	Marine protected areas	SESMAD	Institutions
MPA budget	Interval	Governance System	Case Component	Marine protected areas	SESMAD	Institutions
MPA connectivity	Ordinal	Governance System	Case Component	Marine protected areas	SESMAD	Institutions
MPA internal natural boundaries	Ordinal	Governance System	Case Component	Marine protected areas	SESMAD	Biophysical
MPA migratory benefit	Binary	Governance System	Case Component	Marine protected areas	SESMAD	Outcomes
MPA migratory life history	Text	Governance System	Case Component	Marine protected areas	SESMAD	Biophysical
MPA migratory threats and redux	Text	Governance System	Case Component	Marine protected areas	SESMAD	Institutions
MPA motivation	Categorical	Governance System	Case Component	Marine protected areas	SESMAD	Institutions
MPA primary goal (in practice)	Categorical	Governance System	Case Component	Marine protected areas	SESMAD	Institutions
MPA protection	Categorical	Governance System	Case Component	Marine protected areas	SESMAD	Institutions
MPA threats	Text	Governance System	Case Component	Marine protected areas	SESMAD	Context
MPA threats to migratory sp	Categorical	Governance System	Case Component	Marine protected areas	SESMAD	Biophysical
Market scale	Categorical	Natural Resource Unit, Natural Resource System	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Institutions
Markets	Binary	Natural Resource Unit, Natural Resource System	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Institutions
Metric diversity	Ordinal	Governance System	Case Component		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Institutions
Monitoring technology	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Enforcement
Multiple levels	Categorical	Governance System	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Institutions
Natural storage	Categorical	Natural Resource Unit, Natural Resource System	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Technology
Outsider exclusion	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Enforcement
Outsiders	Ordinal	Local Resource User Group	Component Interaction		Fiji fisheries	Institutions
Over-capitalization	Binary	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Technology
PA CAR principles	Ordinal	Governance System	Case Component	Marine protected areas	SESMAD	Institutional Biophysical Linkage
PA IUCN strict zones	Interval	Governance System	Case Component	Marine protected areas	SESMAD	Institutions
PHC Compliance	Ordinal	Local Resource User Group	Component Interaction		Fiji fisheries	Enforcement
PHC Harvest Frequency	Interval	Governance System	Component Interaction		Fiji fisheries	Institutional Biophysical Linkage
PHC Harvest Interval	Interval	Governance System	Component Interaction		Fiji fisheries	Institutional Biophysical Linkage
PHC Management Scale	Categorical	Governance System	Case Component		Fiji fisheries	Spatial
Participation in PA siting	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Context
Participation in PA zoning	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Context
Participation in environmental monitoring	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Enforcement
Participation in rule making	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Context
Participation in social monitoring (enforcement)	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Enforcement
Past collaboration	Ordinal	Actor	Case Component		SESMAD	Social Capital
Personal communication	Ordinal	Actor	Case Component		SESMAD	Social Capital
Perverse incentives	Binary	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Incentives
Point/Nonpoint	Categorical	Pollutant	Case Component		SESMAD	Spatial
Policy instrument	Categorical	Governance System	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Institutions
Price of rights	Categorical	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Institutions
Productivity	Ordinal	Natural Resource Unit, Natural Resource System	Case Component		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Resource Renewability
Property heterogeneity	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Institutions
Property regime	Categorical	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Institutions
Property security	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Institutions
Proportionality (of costs and benefits)	Binary	Actor	Case Component		SESMAD	Incentives
Provision services condition	Ordinal	Natural Resource Unit, Natural Resource System	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Outcomes
Regulating services condition	Ordinal	Natural Resource Unit, Natural Resource System	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Outcomes
Remote communication	Ordinal	Actor	Case Component		SESMAD	Social Capital
Residence Time	Ordinal	Pollutant	Case Component		SESMAD	Biophysical
Resource market value	Ordinal	Natural Resource Unit, Natural Resource System	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Institutions
Right heterogeneity	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Institutions
Rights granting process	Categorical	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Institutions
Rights type	Categorical	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Institutions
Roads	Binary	Natural Resource Unit, Natural Resource System	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Technology
Roads role	Categorical	Natural Resource Unit, Natural Resource System	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Technology
Roving bandit	Binary	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Incentives
Runoff input	Binary	Natural Resource System	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	External
Scale match	Binary	Governance System	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Institutions
Science-based policy	Ordinal	Formal System	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Institutions
Self Sanctions	Categorical	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Enforcement
Self monitoring	Binary	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Enforcement
Social-ecological fit	Ordinal	Governance System	Case Component		SESMAD	Institutions
Spatial extent of PHC	Interval	Environmental Common	Case Component		Fiji fisheries	Spatial
Technical storage	Categorical	Natural Resource Unit, Natural Resource System	Component Interaction		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Technology
Technical substitute	Binary	Environmental Common	Case Component		SESMAD	Technology
Technology role	Categorical	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Technology
Toxicity	Ordinal	Pollutant	Case Component		SESMAD	Biophysical
Transaction costs	Ordinal	Governance System	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Institutions
Type of formal governance	Categorical	Formal System	Case Component		SESMAD, Fiji fisheries	Basic
User group external support	Binary	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Institutions
User group well-being change	Ordinal	Actor	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Outcomes
User-commons proximity	Binary	Local Resource User Group	Component Interaction		SESMAD	Incentives
Name	Data Type	Component Type	Attachment	Sector	Theme

Social-Ecological Systems Meta-Analysis Database: Variables