ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses that any strategy developed to enhance the socio-ecological transition is unlikely to yield strong results unless the resources of regional and local actors are mobilised and complex interactions between central policy initiatives and their regional and local implementation are taken into account. Local actors operate in the political, economic, and civil society realm of society. The chapter follows thesis that a socio-ecological transition is not feasible without realising and incorporating civil society's innovative potential. Socio-ecological problems are highly complex, uncertain, and shaped on a multilevel scale. The fundamental aim of the socio-ecological transition is to arrive at sustainability. The complexity of the socio-ecological transition requires concept of sustainability to be lived and thus transformed into habits and action. Sustainable development has to meet the needs of individuals and society while protecting the natural environment. The societal innovation described here has some core characteristics: decentralisation, reflexive localisation, participation, self-organisation, and knowledge production for responsible citizenship and resilient communities.
