A New Vocabulary, A New Paradigm: Socio-Ecological Systems Theory (SES)

I've been searching for a long time for a theory that explains the interactions between humans and nature. Since August 2014 I feel like I have been on a giant Easter Egg hunt, picking up random pieces of information here and there. It started with a lecture from Jesse Ausubel and the founders of The Breakthrough Institute. The next thing that really shifted my thought was a talk from Peter Kareiva of The Nature Conservancy. Then Dr. Sanjayan released an amazing documentary series called Earth: A New Wild. And, finally, in the summer of 2015 I read Tim Merton's books and became convinced that there is an exciting way to not separate humans and nature but see them rather as inhabiting the same place; the Mesh, as Merton calls it. But I came across a theory to explain all of these thoughts: Socio-Ecological Systems Theory (SES). It works well to conceptualize the various thought processes involved. Before I go into it more, the following talk by Dan Barber explains SES theory perfectly:

The wikipedia explanation of SES is pretty comprehensive and I am looking forward to exploring more theorists' work: Socio-Ecological System Theory. In the meantime, some of the particulars of Complexity Theory, Nonlinearity, Emergence, and Resilience and how they relate to Adaptive Governance and Sustainable Development are what I am drawn to. 

As I understand it, SES is a paradigmatic shift in managing natural resources in concert with human needs. Beyond just ensuring both proceed harmoniously, the two interact and benefit the other in concert with each other. Much like Veta La Palma in Dan Barber's talk above, SES is making sure the wetlands flourish while we extract delicious fish, sustainably and resiliently, from them.

Some of the questions I have are:

• Is there a formal SES equation that I can apply to a given piece of land to see if it meets certain criterion?
• Does SES apply equally well to marine and terrestrial environments?
• How does SES apply to the Kardashev scale of human civilization? Or, can I use SES to help transcend the Infinity barrier that David Deutsch sets out?
• Does SES work within an urban setting as well as it does with a remote wilderness?
• Are there practical and pragmatic SES techniques that could be useful for conservation land (or MPA) managers? 

Considering that I just found the vocabulary to explain this concept, this phenomenon, this new paradigm of understanding land management, I don't know the answers to these questions. I'm excited to find out though.