Community Based Natural Resources Management

Determinants of livelihood strategy variation in two extractive reserves in Amazonian flooded and unflooded forests

by Pete Newton

Authors: Newton, P., Endo, W., Peres, C.A.
Journal: Environmental Conservation
Volume: 39
Pages: 97-110

Extractive reserves account for a significant proportion of the remaining intact forest within Brazilian Amazonia.... more Extractive reserves account for a significant proportion of the remaining intact forest within Brazilian Amazonia. Managers of extractive reserves need to understand the livelihood strategies adopted by rural Amazonians in order to implement projects that benefit the livelihoods of local residents whilst maintaining forest integrity. Whilst resident populations are often descended from immigrant rubber-tappers, dynamic economic and social conditions have led to a recent diversification of land-use practices. This two-year study in two large contiguous extractive reserves encompassing both unflooded (terra firme) and seasonally flooded (várzea) forest, shows the degree to which local livelihood strategies of different settlements are heterogeneous. Extractive offtake of forest products and fish catches and agricultural activities, together with income from sales, for 82 households in 10 communities were quantified in detail by means of weekly surveys. The survey data were combined with interviews to examine the demographic and wealth profile, and engagement in alternative activities, in 181 households across 27 communities. All households and communities were engaged in all three subsistence activity types, but there was large variation in engagement with income-generating activities. Households within a community showed considerable congruence in their income-generating activity profiles, but there was significant variation among communities. Yields from agriculture and fishing were more temporally stable than extraction of highly-seasonal forest products. Generalized linear mixed models showed that forest type was consistently important in explaining yields of both agrarian and extractive products. Communities with greater access to terra firme forest were inherently more agricultural, and strongly committed to manioc production. Communities with greater access to flooded forest, however, showed a greater dependence on fishing. Conservation should be more attuned to the diversity and dynamism of livelihood strategies in protected areas; in particular, reserve managers and policy makers should account for the effect of local variation in physical geography when designing sustainable development projects.

Spatial, temporal and economic constraints to the commercial extraction of a non-timber forest product: copaíba (Copaifera spp.) oleoresin in Amazonian reserves

by Pete Newton

Authors: Newton, P., Watkinson, A.R., Peres, C.A.
Journal: Economic Botany
DOI: 10.1007/s12231-012-9198-z

The increasing prevalence of government- and NGO-sponsored programs to encourage commercial non-timber forest product... more The increasing prevalence of government- and NGO-sponsored programs to encourage commercial non-timber forest product (NTFP) extractivism in the humid tropics has highlighted the need for ecological and socioeconomic appraisal of the viability of extractive industries. We adopted a novel, integrative approach to examining NTFP resource potential and produced credible landscape-scale estimates of the projected value of an economically important Amazonian NTFP, the medicinal oleoresin of Copaifera trees, within two large contiguous extractive reserves in Brazilian Amazonia. We integrated results derived from previous spatial ecology and harvesting studies with socioeconomic and market data, and mapped the distribution of communities within the reserves. We created anisotropic accessibility models which determined the spatial and temporal access to Copaifera trees in permanently unflooded (terra firme) and seasonally-flooded (várzea) forest. Just 64.9% of the total reserve area was accessible, emphasizing the distinction between the actual resource stock and that which is available to extractors. The density of productive tree species was higher in várzea forest but per tree productivity was greater in terra firme forest, resulting in similar estimates of oleoresin yield per unit area (64 – 67 ml ha–1) in both forest types. A greater area of várzea forest was accessible within shorter travel times of ≤250 min; longer travel times allowed access to increasingly greater volumes of oleoresin from terra firme forest. The estimated total volume of oleoresin accessible within the two reserves was 38,635 liters for an initial harvest, with projected offtake for a subsequent harvest falling to 8,274 liters. A household that extracted just two liters of oleoresin per month could generate 5% of its mean income; market data suggested that certification could increase the value of the resource five-fold. Our approach is valuable in that it incorporates a range of methodologies and quantitatively accounts for the numerous constraints to the commercial viability of NTFP extraction.

Cultural perspectives on knowledge management in central and eastern Europe: The SECI model of knowledge conversion and ‘ba’

by Matthew Jelavic

Jelavic, M., & Ogilvie, K. (2010). Cultural perspectives on knowledge management in central and eastern Europe: The SECI model of knowledge conversion and ‘ba’. Journal of Information & Knowledge Management, 9(2), 161 – 169.

This research discusses the SECI Model of Knowledge Conversion as it relates to the 10 Central and Eastern European... more This research discusses the SECI Model of Knowledge Conversion as it relates to the 10 Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) that are now part of the European Union (EU). The socio-economic conversion from socialism to capitalism of these societies is unique in historical precedence, whereby utilising the contextual models in knowledge conversion are applicable for understanding the implications of such a phenomenon. The results indicate that there is a unique set of variables that need to be considered within this context and for future similar situations.

Keywords: SECI; knowledge conversion; national culture; Ba; central and eastern Europe.

Knowledge Management Views in Eastern and Western Cultures: An Integrative Analysis

by Matthew Jelavic

Jelavic, M., & Ogilvie, K. (2010). Knowledge management views in eastern and western cultures: An integrative analysis. Journal of Knowledge Globalization, 3(2), 51 – 69.

Traditional eastern and western views of knowledge continue to influence the knowledge management practices in today’s... more Traditional eastern and western views of knowledge continue to influence the knowledge management practices in today’s global workplace. Based on these views, several dominant theories have emerged on how to best manage in the international work environment. This research illustrates contradictions in these theories and extracts a new perspective from the dynamic literature stream. This innovative perspective provides an opportunity to leverage cultures and relationships holistically for effective knowledge transfer and cross-cultural understanding, and hence for effective management

Keywords: Knowledge, Culture, International Management, Knowledge Management, Hofstede Framework

Socio-Technical Knowledge Management and Epistemological Paradigms: Theoretical Connections at the Individual and Organisational Level

by Matthew Jelavic

Jelavic, M. (2011). Socio-technical knowledge management and epistemological paradigms: Theoretical connections at the individual and organisational level. Interdisciplinary Journal of Information, Knowledge, and Management, 6(1), 1 – 16.

This paper provides an evaluation of the literature pertaining to the autopoietic, connectionist, and cognitivist... more This paper provides an evaluation of the literature pertaining to the autopoietic, connectionist, and cognitivist epistemological paradigms. These paradigms exist at the individual and organisational level through diametrically opposed functionalist versus interpretive and integrative socio-technical knowledge management perspectives. The alignments of individual and organisational epistemologies are essential to the effectiveness of a knowledge management system. Knowl-edge management should consider the roots of knowledge theoretically in order to share or man-age knowledge dissemination successfully in organisations. The term ‘knowledge sharing’ has been emphasised and discussed comprehensively through its epistemological influential factors. This paper concludes the development of a Knowledge Management Epistemological Synthesis Model (KM-ES Model) and a comprehensive discussion and conclusion section focussing on the implications of epistemological influences on the knowledge management system of an organisa-tion. The results from this study provide both researchers and academicians with a clear under-standing of the interplay between epistemologies and a foundation for establishing an effective organisational knowledge management system.

Keywords: socio-technical, knowledge management, knowledge sharing, epistemology, cognitiv-ist, connectionist, autopoietic, functionalist, interpretive, KM-ES Model

Multidisciplinary Technical Teams: A Case Study

by Matthew Jelavic

Ogilvie, K., & Jelavic, M. (2009). Multidisciplinary technical teams: A case study. Canadian Manager, 33(3), 18 – 19.

Interorganizational Macrocultures in the North American Automotive Manufacturing Industry

by Matthew Jelavic

Jelavic, M., & Ogilvie, K. (2009). Interorganizational macrocultures in the North American automotive manufacturing industry. Canadian Manager, 34(2), 20 – 21.

Maslow and Management: Universally Applicable or Idiosyncratic?

by Matthew Jelavic

Jelavic, M., & Ogilvie, K. (2010). Maslow and management: Universally applicable or idiosyncratic? Canadian Manager, 34(4), 16 – 17.

Globalization, Knowledge Workers and the Expanding European Union: A Lesson for North America?

by Matthew Jelavic

Jelavic, M., & Ogilvie, K. (2010). Globalization, knowledge workers and the expanding European Union: A lesson for North America? Canadian Manager, 35(1), 26 – 27.

Effects of small, Fijian community-based marine protected areas on exploited reef fishes

by Cody Clements

Co-authored with: Victor Bonito, Rikki Grober-Dunsmore, and Milika Sobey
Published in: Marine Ecology Progress Series (2012)

No-take marine protected areas (MPAs) are commonly applied in community-based management schemes to sustain and... more No-take marine protected areas (MPAs) are commonly applied in community-based management schemes to sustain and enhance coral-reef fisheries. However, many MPAs in Fiji and the South Pacific are relatively small (≤1 km2), and few data exist regarding the effects of these MPAs on populations of exploited species. We used hook-and-line fishing surveys to assess whether 4 relatively small (<1 km2) community-based MPAs in Fiji (3 current, 1 former) were providing any commonly sought benefits to exploited reef-fish stocks. All of the MPAs had maintained no-take status for over 4 yr, although the former MPA was opened to fishing 4 mo before this study. The current MPAs exhibited significantly greater catch and biomass per unit effort, individual fish biomass, and/or percentage of reproductive-size fish than paired, adjacent fished areas, while this was not the case with the former MPA. Sites with intact MPAs also exhibited greater catch diversity than the former MPA site. Additionally, tag and recapture data from the 17 recaptured of 2650 tagged fish suggest site fidelity of these fishes, although fishes initially captured in the MPA at all 4 sites were later caught in fished areas, indicating that there is movement of fishes from the MPAs to fished areas. While the combination of these findings supports the utility of even relatively small MPAs as effective tools for the conservation of certain target species, it also suggests that MPA benefits may be quickly depleted and that even closures of extended duration may be insufficient for long-term fisheries management if the MPAs are not maintained.

Tribal and state ecosystem management regimes influence forest regeneration

by Nick Reo

Nick Reo and Jason Karl, Forest Ecology and Management 2010

Wild ungulates such as white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are highly valued wildlife assets that provide... more Wild ungulates such as white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are highly valued wildlife assets that provide subsistence, economic and cultural benefits to hunters and rural communities. Yet, high density populations of these herbivores can contribute significantly to regeneration failures in a wide range of forest types. Pre-European settlement white-tailed deer densities were estimated to have been approximately 2-4 deer km-2, and similar densities have been recommended to balance contemporary forest regeneration and wildlife objectives.

We studied northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.) regeneration on neighboring tribal and state forests where socio-cultural differences have led to distinct hunting management practices and subsequent differences in wildlife-plant interactions. Tribes such as the Lac du Flambeau Chippewa have kept deer populations relatively low on reservation lands through active hunting practices. We used an observational study approach to compare in situ ungulate herbivory under low (2-3 deer km-2) and high (>10 deer km-2) population densities. We measured northern red oak regeneration on tribal and state forests in two management unit types: contiguous stands of oak >15 ha in area and small residual “pockets” of oak < 3 ha left by foresters as a source of seed and wildlife mast. Herbivory levels were significantly higher on state forests than tribal forests and were closely correlated with the density of larger seedlings, particularly in oak pockets. If herbivory levels are too high, even with adequate light, our results suggest that seedlings may not survive in densities sufficient to maintain northern red oak as a co-dominant species in mixed forests. However, when deer densities are kept at 2-4 deer km-2, our results suggest that northern red oak seedlings can survive beyond browseable heights in sufficient numbers for maintaining oak. Tribal lands can provide contemporary examples of longstanding low to intermediate deer densities and sustainable deer-forest relationships.

Importance of Belief Systems in Traditional Ecological Knowledge

by Nick Reo

Greening in the red zone: disaster, resilience and community greening (hardback)

by Keith Tidball

Co -edited with Marianne Krasny

Makes a first foray into the intriguing and potentially important field of "greening."

Paints a... more Makes a first foray into the intriguing and potentially important field of "greening."

Paints a comprehensive picture of how greening might be useful after major disasters.

Gathers renowned experts and practitioners from around the world.


Access to green space and the act of creating green spaces is well understood to promote human health, especially in therapeutic contexts among individuals suffering traumatic events. Less well understood, though currently being studied, is the role of access to green space and the act of creating and caring for such places in promoting neighbourhood health and well being as related to social-ecological system resilience. An important implication of Greening in the Red Zone lies in specific instances of greening and the presence of greened spaces in promoting and enhancing recovery, and perhaps resilience, in social-ecological systems disrupted or perturbed by violent conflict or other catastrophic disaster. This edited volume provides illustration and interpretation of these phenomena through a series of cases and examples. The contributions to this volume also use a variety of research and policy frameworks to explore how access to green space and the act of creating green spaces in extreme situations might contribute to resistance, recovery, and resilience of social-ecological systems.

Greening in the Red Zone takes important steps in advancing our understanding of what makes communities bounce back from disaster or violent conflict. The authors’ findings that creating and caring for green space contributes positively to recovery and resilience add to the toolkit of those working in disaster and conflict zones.

William C. Banks, Director,
Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism,
Syracuse University

Greening in the Red Zone" is an important and highly relevant book. It provides theoretical understanding and scientific evidence of the healing and therapeutic power of contact with nature, especially during times of crisis, sickness and loss. At a time when society is more separated than ever from the natural world, it offers additional reason why our ongoing experience of nature is essential for the human body, mind and spirit. This book is both instructive and inspiring.

Stephen R. Kellert,
Tweedy Ordway Professor Emeritus,
Senior Research Scholar,
Yale University

Greening in the Red Zone is a fascinating book that greatly elevates our understanding of how the perspective of humans as an integrated part of nature may contribute to the resilience discourse. This multi-authored volume provides numerous examples of how greening and the presence of green spaces in areas that have experienced large disturbances or catastrophic events may reduce trauma among individuals and enhance recovery and resilience in human communities. I warmly recommend this book to anyone interested in how we may prepare ourselves for an increasingly uncertain future, building resilience in social-ecological systems.

Thomas Elmqvist,
Department of Systems Ecology, and
Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University

Fereydoon Kenar Community Participation and Development of Local Environment Programmes through Community-based Organizations

by Saeid Nouri Neshat

The paper has been submitted within the framework of the UNEP/GEF Siberian Crane Wetland Project, and published in the Project Completion Workshop Proceedings held in Harbin, China October 14-15, 2009.

To achieve sustainable and systematic management regimes at the sites of the UNEP/GEF Siberian Crane Wetlands Project... more To achieve sustainable and systematic management regimes at the sites of the UNEP/GEF Siberian Crane Wetlands Project (SCWP) in Iran, the national consultant on community participation put much more efforts into building the capacity of local stakeholders in terms of developing community-based
organizations in Fereydoon Kenar, as local groups that can act as facilitators during the process of empowerment. In the present paper, while trying to define the concept of local participation in conservation activities in general, the author will try to open up a debate on empowerment at different levels in Fereydoon Kenar site in Iran, focusing more on Community-based organizations as local groups that can play the role of facilitators in the process of local participation.
In Fereydoon Kenar, the process of empowerment entered into a new phase when such small community groups shaped through using action research methodologies in villages, however the groups are yet to be more empowered to play an active
facilitating role in near future.

Balancing the powers in Makuleke land

by Conrad Steenkamp

APPLICATION OF THE “TRIANGULAR ECO-KINEMATICS THEORY” (TEKT) (PART I) - THE PARADIGM OF ECOLOGY, PUBLIC HEALTH AND ECONOMY AS A SYNERGISTIC EFFECT UPON HUMAN RIGHTS

by Adrian Toader-Williams

Presented at the International Conference "Human Ecology: Health, Culture and Quality of Life, Oct. 26-27, 2011, Moscow, Russian Federation and Published in the "Herald of the International Academy of Science, Russian Section", 2011, Vol 1, ISSN 2221-7479 Full article [22 pages] in English with a Russian abstract and English abstract. Free download at http://www.heraldrsias.org/online/2011/1/203/
Upcoming updates on TEKT are on the way. Introductory presentation made during conference excerpts at http://youtu.be/kZkGKkbnGKE Comments and collaboration proposals are welcome. Thank you!

The laws governing natural economic flow are recommended to be used as model for a sustainable anthropogenic economy.... more The laws governing natural economic flow are recommended to be used as model for a sustainable anthropogenic economy. Life can't be monopolized. Biodiversity has a paramount importance to sustainable development. This article is intended to be the first in a series of applicative works based on the Triangular Eco-Kinematics Theory «TEKT» proposed here as foundation for global cooperation mechanisms. It is an urgent call for global anthropogenic economic reforms. Planet Earth can sustain a maximum population load if it's properly managed. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights needs to be revised. A Life Equivalent Etalon [LEE] as currency reference is proposed. Key words: natural rights, Life Equivalent Etalon, LEE, gold, energy, protein, organization equilibrium theory, monetary system, entropy, antientropy, negentropy, syntropy, UNESCO, intangible commodities, economics, religion, protein, amino acids, seed germination, carbon dioxide, oxigen, dinitrogen, nitrogen, air, global warming, occupy wall street, occupy movement, evolution, macroeconomics.
Introduction.
Ecological issues should not be separated from economic issues or from public health concerns as they correlate. The global crises have their beginnings back in the history of mankind. Lately they are acutely identified and discussed as our natural resources are depleting visibly. Furthermore, the strong polarization of wealth, abusive exploitation of natural resources and excessive material accumulation do not just hinder the free economic flow, but are also unethical. It conducts to social segregation and conflicts; the expanding “occupy movement” is just one of the latest examples. With this paper, I am also calling for an urgent and closer look at Human Rights principles. Human Rights need to be a section of a future Universal Declaration of Natural Rights.
This paper (as part 1) is an attempt to address several interconnected issues in a fashion such as an overture to an upcoming series of work (work is in progress) with the belief that readers have a fairly strong natural inducement to co-operate [20] with the author in order to build and consolidate the proposed model, the presently included applications and the upcoming ones as well.
Fighting Nature is a historical human endeavor for which we just recently started to see the beginning of its outcome. Public health, ecological systems and global economics, being intimately interconnected, undergo a cycle of crises that I take the freedom to call “The Bermuda Triangle of Human Endeavors”. Planet Earth offers us as Humanity the means to support our very material existence. Health and ecology together are the primary life supporting elements that form the structures of a sustainable social and economic development.
Deprivation of proper living conditions represents an acute denial of Human Rights. No one has the right to deprive others from the inherited Natural Rights, the rights to exist. The economic principles need to be brought up to date and restructured such as to observe the non-monetary values going beyond Human Rights. For the economic system to be sustainable it needs to use a currency that has a sustainable etalon as reference. Life Equivalent Etalons (LEE) can assure economic and international stability as they are fixed and indispensable.
Each one of us is responsible for the global economy as it is an expression of human endeavor and its dynamics, more so in the context of globalization. I’ll tailor my work in a way to make it accessible to most people. It does not matter how good are whatever ideas one may have if they are not well understood by the intended audience, in this particular case, Humanity at large.The M.A.Sholokhov Moscow State University of Humanities is a great place to present this paper addressing ecological issues; such subjects are only about Humanity and concerns Humanity at large. What can be more human than human activity and its overall outcome?
Primary conclusions – Life’s properties and limitations
1) Acute and severely disastrous possible outcomes are due, a total collapse of the system is expected if one living entity is lowering its entropy (increasing anti-entropy) and comes too close to exhausting its own life support, regardless of the energy that may be available. Outgrowing life’s support capacity induces the destruction of the entire system, its entire collapse to decay possibly into lifeless while keeping the energy tightly locked into a stinky slime form of existence.
2) If our planet was to be populated only by forests and plants, cyanobacteria and green algae, Earth could have exhausted its life support and its destiny would have been limited to a continuous energy and structural accumulation up to the point when a total decay would have follow, perhaps a slimy world. Strange as it may appear my statement, we’ve seen in the above experimental example that as long as there are living entities consuming oxygen, ready synthesized sugars and proteins, having CO2 as waste on which the plants can feed on, the cycle of life can continue as long as the relative organizational equilibrium is being kept to a sustainable level or why not a sustainable rapport as represented by TEKT.
3) Based on the above, the biological classifications are forming two major groups:
a) The self-sustaining, food independent living entities (i.e. cyanobacteria, plantae),
b) The by-sustaining, food dependent living entities (i.e. animalia, etc.)
4) Thermodynamically, utilization of energy is not a mere “emerging property” of life, it is Life itself. Utilization of energy by living forms of existence is a self organizing and a conducting mechanism that “knows” to use energy efficiently. It knows when and how to accumulate the dissipated free energy, to “pump it” in the re-assembled structures. It concentrates energy reserves; it creates protective resistant ergonomic structures. The Life forms of material existence have as main property (as opposed to emerging property) the thermo-dynamical ability to act as heat energy pumps; Life forms of material existence are structures of concentrated energy ready to be used. A small seed has the ability to act as a heat energy pump concentrating dissipated free energy into a chemical structure with energy ready to use (i.e. burning wood producing heat).
5) The minerals and vitamins play a key roll in the kinematics of the Life phenomena, the energy, the dynamics of it, but the mother of all dynamics is the mystery of Life, the low entropy or high anti-entropy of information encoded in the DNA folds confers the ability to use and further concentrate more energy into a structural body, into the high anti-entropy of the newly grown living entity, the plants, the trees with their fruits and byproducts holding enormous incorporated energy as well. The high anti-entropy of information has the ability to concentrate low negentropy (high entropy) into high anti-entropy, ready to use concentrated forms of energy, a real gift of Life.
The ability to self-acquiring, holding, using and transmitting information we can also identify it as being a main property of Life.
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See the full article [ free PDF DOWNLOAD ] from
http://www.heraldrsias.org/online/2011/1/203/
Comments and contributions are welcome.

Building Capacity for Market Based Instruments

by John Mackenzie

Co-authored with Derec Davies. Published by the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Water for the Market Based Instruments Pilot
Programme and the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality (2007).

The National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality identified a need to build capacity of policymakers and... more The National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality identified a need to build capacity of policymakers and catchment and regional natural resource management (NRM) bodies to design and implement market-based instruments (MBIs). To meet this need, a capacity building program to address communication, skills development, evaluation and program management, and institutional arrangements was proposed. The capacity building program would target two key challenges: how to effectively
mainstream MBIs into the range of policy tools used by government; and how to improve the application of MBIs by catchment and regional NRM groups.

This scoping study outlines the findings of research undertaken through 54 targeted interviews with MBI practitioners and potential program participants across the country. Levels of experience with market approaches varied widely among the staff from the government policy arenas, catchment and regional natural resource management groups, and peak industry and conservation groups interviewed. These findings represent an indicative amalgam of perceptions from the target audience of the
proposed capacity building program.

This report provides an indication of stakeholder perceptions about the use of market-based instruments to natural resource management. Specifically, it summarises what respondents perceive to be the advantages, opportunities, challenges and
impediments to MBIs, and what support would be needed to improve the current use of MBIs for NRM.

Respondents provided a clear indication about the preferred measures that would usefully improve the capacity of policymakers and regional NRM groups to design and
implement MBIs. They suggested that a useful capacity building program would:

• develop consistent language and terminology;
• assist in identifying situations where MBIs could be applied to address NRM issues;
• provide sufficient scope for integrating community preferences for NRM outcomes into the design of MBIs;
• employ flexible delivery mechanisms to account for and address varying levels of experience and engagement across regions;
• engender a ‘learn by doing’ model in which economic design and science experts work with policymakers and implementers to transform theory into practice;
• allow forums to share information and experience through workshops, focus groups, and other mechanisms; and
• build on existing networks and provide access to networks of experts in economics, science and the practical application of market approaches.

Power, Science, and Nature in The Great Bear Rainforest: An Actor-Network Analysis of an Integrated Natural Resource Management Project

by Justin Page

This dissertation explores the potential contribution of actor-network theory to the investigation of power and... more This dissertation explores the potential contribution of actor-network theory to the investigation of power and hierarchy, science and politics, and the relationship between nature and society in integrated natural resource management (INRM) projects. INRM consists of natural resource management approaches that seek to devolve power and authority from governments and experts to stakeholders, take account of people as part of ecosystems, and directly link conservation and development. While INRM projects represent an important evolution in resource management, they come with particular sets of problems. Specifically, (1) the devolution of decision-making authority to communities provokes issues of power and hierarchy as groups vie to ensure that their interests are adequately taken into account, (2) critiques of expert-led processes shift responsibility for knowledge production to stakeholder groups, thus raising questions about the relationship between science and politics, and (3) attempts to link ecology and economy require a difficult re-conceptualization of the link between nature and society. Actor-network theory (ANT) avoids presuppositions about power, science, nature, and society in order to study how they are produced as effects of networks, thus offering unique conceptual tools to study INRM as a complex, contingent, and innovative network-building process. A qualitative case study of the “Great Bear Rainforest” agreement on British Columbia’s west coast is undertaken to explore these issues in INRM. Analysis of interviews with 34 individuals from environmental organizations, forestry companies, First Nations, consultancies and local and provincial governments, as well as analysis of textual material, reveals how environmentalists (1) generated power by building a network of activists, bears, forest products customers and forestry companies, (2) simultaneously deployed science and politics in their network-building activities and (3) moved away from attempts to purify networks into “nature” and “society,” working instead to directly link ecosystem integrity and human well-being in a new, common “collective” of humans and nonhumans. The research provides significant detail and analysis of a particular case of INRM that will be of use to INRM practitioners, advocates and activists. Additionally, the research demonstrates the applicability of ANT to the investigation of power, science, and nature in INRM projects.

"Why we fight": Policy & Planning in India's Tribal Areas and the Search for 'Inclusive Growth

by Satbir Singh

Nominated for Edgar Graham Memorial Prize, 2011 (Winner to be announced)

THIS paper seeks to understand the dynamics of exclusion and conflict among India’s Ādivāsīs or Scheduled Tribes... more THIS paper seeks to understand the dynamics of exclusion and conflict among India’s Ādivāsīs or Scheduled Tribes (STs). At 8.4% of the population, STs are India’s most marginalised socio-economic group (Das 2011; Rath 2006). As double-digit economic growth sweeps India, Ādivāsīs have been largely left behind. Compounding socio-economic marginalisation, STs confront displacement and the undermining of distinctive cultures, identities and ancient livelihood patterns.

As 160 of India’s 604 districts fall prey to a vi
cious conflict, this paper argues that it is not just deprivation or displacement precipitating violence. Recourse to violence is instead prompted by both privation and the manner in which it is perpetuated: through the denial of citizen voice. To make this case, three hypotheses will be tested:

1. Development and rehabilitation policies fail because they do not respond to the felt-needs of tribal communities.
2. These shortcomings reflect the absence of tribal voices in the policy process.
3. Processes of primitive accumulation additionally involve the wilful denial of rights, emasculating tribals both economically and politically.

It is thus posited, a fortiori, that the armed campaign is a tragic response to a more insidious form of violence: a political-economic system in which the costs of rapid industrialisation are borne by marginal groups, who are in turn denied the benefits of this ‘development’ and the means to counter these privations through non-violent forms of resistance.
 

Dissertation: Shaping Topographies of Home: A Political Ecology of Migration

by Carylanna Taylor

Final version submitted to ProQuest.

Even from afar, transnational migrants influence how their households and communities of origin use natural resources.... more Even from afar, transnational migrants influence how their households and communities of origin use natural resources. This study depicts the circulation of people, funds, and ideas within transnational families that extend from a Honduran village to the United States.  Developing a “political ecology of migration” approach, I show how these circulations can reshape resource use practices and the socio-economic and bio-physical topographies of emigrants’ former homes. The project advances anthropological thought by linking rich literatures on political ecology and transnationalism through a multi-method ethnography of transnational families. The study is also relevant to emigrants, community members, and practitioners interested in incorporating emigrants and remittances into development and conservation projects.

The multi-sited project is anchored in a 380-household Honduran village, located in Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park, and encompasses the movement and practices of its residents and emigrants, including two secondary study sites in the United States. Research began with four focus groups. These formed the basis for 51 household village-wide structured interviews on experiences, practices, and beliefs related to remitting, migration, communication, farming, and natural resource use.  I worked closely with four of these families in Honduras and at their emigrant family members’ homes in south Florida and Long Island, New York. Through in-depth interviews, participant observation, and diaries tracking remittances and discourse through phone conversations, the multi-sited project traces transnational flows of funds, people, and ideas within the families.
The ethnography highlights factors that shape, encourage, or impede emigrants’ participation in natural resource management and development activities, as well as unintended socio-economic and environmental consequences of their actions.

Study participants spend remittances not only on more commonly documented health, education, housing, and food, but also on a number of areas that directly impact the socio-natural landscape:  farm inputs, cattle-ranching, land, labor, firewood collection, and a village-wide potable water project.  How money is earned, sent, and spent is affected by emigrants’ perceptions of home – perceptions shaped by phone calls, visits, nostalgia, precarious economic and immigration status, plans to return, and dreams of a better future for themselves and their children. Some environmental impacts are directly related to spending decisions, such as the decision to buy agrochemicals. In other cases, impacts arise from  nonmonetary relationships, such as lending land.

The study’s political ecology of migration approach shows how emigrants’ remitting and communication practices within transnational family networks translate into material, landscape impacting practices in their households and village of origin.
The study contributes to a more nuanced treatment of material practices and places in migration research and provides political ecology with a network based approach to capturing transnational dynamics impacting local livelihoods and landscapes. Ethnographic understanding of these dynamics has the potential to assist researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to take migrants into account in development of interventions and as well as to understand how their practices and beliefs shape and reshape the topographies of their current and original homes.