Natural Resources

What is the Problem: Usefulness, the Cultural Turn, and Social Research for Natural Resource Management

by Nicholas Gill

2006, Australian Geographer, 37(1), 5-17.

One strand of criticism of the ‘cultural turn’ in geography and other disciplines is that it produces research that is... more One strand of criticism of the ‘cultural turn’ in geography and other disciplines is that it produces research that is of limited ‘usefulness’ and has disarmed academics. This paper argues that elements of the critique of the cultural turn are overstated. It then argues that criticism of the ‘usefulness’ of cultural research rests on simplistic assumptions concerning the relationship of the social research to users such as policy makers. The problem is depicted as largely related to the nature of the information flowing to ‘users’. Such assumptions are critiqued through discussing the concept of ‘use’, influences on the use of research, and models of relationships between ‘users’ and researchers. Finally, the paper argues that a key issue in the relationship between policy making and social sciences is the users’ expectations. A recent example from research in natural resource management (NRM) policy making shows that ‘users’ of social science research can have a questionable foundation from which to assess social research. This example also points to clear roles for cultural research in NRM. The problem of connecting with policy makers is multidimensional. It is one for social researchers as a whole and it includes the norms and practices regarding nature and natural resources of potential‘users’.

Stewardship among lifestyle oriented rural landowners

by Nicholas Gill

With Peter Klepeis and Laurie Chisholm, 2010, Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 53(3). 317-334

Changes in landownership associated with amenity migration are affecting the
demographic, cadastral and... more Changes in landownership associated with amenity migration are affecting the
demographic, cadastral and ecological conditions of rural landscapes. These
changes and concerns about their impacts on natural resource management,
including ecological conservation, relate to both the structural consequences of landownership change, land subdivision and to the motivations, management ability and attitudes of lifestyle oriented rural landowners. Based on an Australian case study near Sydney, NSW, this paper examines the motivations and practices of such landowners, assesses potential consequences for vegetation and characterises the landowners according to three stewardship types

Resources, Rights and Global Justice: A Response to Kolers

by Chris Armstrong

This is a response to Avery Kolers's paper 'Justice, Territory and Natural Resources.' Both that paper, and my response, are forthcoming in Political Studies.

Lessons from South Africa on the management and development of water resources for inclusive and sustainable growth

by Mike Muller

This paper traces the way in which water development has accompanied and supported broader economic and social... more This paper traces the way in which water development has accompanied and supported broader economic and social development and how South Africa has dealt with its water resource constraints, with its growing emphasis on environmental sustainability. It identifies key initiatives that provided the foundation for present developments as well as the political economy of their adoption.

It served as a background paper to the European Report on Development 2011/2012: Confronting scarcity: Managing water, energy and land for inclusive and sustainable growth. The European Report on Development was prepared by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) in partnership with the Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) and the European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM).

Diversity of bats in two protected limestone areas, Sarawak, Borneo. 2010b. Ridwan_et_al_SMJ

by M.T. Abdullah, PhD

This paper updates that of Hall et al 2004. Found new records. This paper updates that of Hall et al 2004. Found new records.

Mammals of Lanjak Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary, Malaysian Borneo. 2011

by M.T. Abdullah, PhD

Some important species observed during the expedition.

We observed some species of small mammals  of Lanjak Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary, Malaysian Borneo.
2011.... more We observed some species of small mammals  of Lanjak Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary, Malaysian Borneo.
2011. Malaysian Academy of Science

A Study on the Inter-Relation between Armed Conflict and Natural Resources and its Implications for Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding

by Andrea Edoardo Varisco

Published in Journal of Peace, Conflict and Development, Issue 15, March 2010, pp. 38-58

The article investigates the inter-relation between armed conflict and natural resources and its implications for... more The article investigates the inter-relation between armed conflict and natural resources and its implications for conflict resolution and peacebuilding. The first part discusses and clarifies the nexus between natural resources and armed conflict, arguing that the former have a strong link with the latter only when natural resources have particular natural and geographical
characteristics and when a country experiences peculiar political, societal and economic situations. The article shows how this inter-relation is various and diverse, at the point that even scholars who studied it have sometimes disagreed on their researches. The second part analyses the implications for conflict resolution and peacebuilding. Since changing the natural
and geographical characteristic of natural resources is almost impossible, the article argues that conflict resolution and peacebuilding policies should be aimed to reduce those political,
societal, and economic situations that, if inter-related with the presence of natural resources in a country, can affect armed conflicts. The analysis discusses how the presence of natural
resources should be addressed during the resolution of a conflict and should be considered during the post-conflict peacebuilding phase. Finally, it tries to identify how international actors can have an effective role in conflict resolution and peacebuilding when natural resources are at stake.

Cross-scale variation in the density and spatial distribution of an Amazonian non-timber forest resource

by Pete Newton

Authors: Newton, P., Peres C.A., Desmoulière, S.J.M., Watkinson, A.R.
Journal: Forest Ecology and Management
Volume: 276
Pages: 41-51

Successful management of tropical forest resources depends upon an understanding of their patterns of density and... more Successful management of tropical forest resources depends upon an understanding of their patterns of density and spatial distribution, since these affect the potential for harvesting. The variation in these patterns across different spatial scales has rarely been explored. We assessed the extent to which different spatial scales are useful in understanding resource distribution, using the example of an economically significant tropical tree genus, Copaifera, which is valued across Brazilian Amazonia for its medicinal oleoresin. We mapped the spatial distribution of Copaifera trees at three nested spatial scales: basin-wide (across Brazilian Amazonia), landscape (across two contiguous extractive reserves) and local (within a 100-ha plot). Using data from our own study and an Amazon-wide forest inventory (Projeto RADAMBRASIL), we quantified the population distribution, density and size structure at the genus and species level at all three scales, relating these to two environmental variables – forest type and elevation. Spatial statistics were used to further characterize the resource at the landscape and local levels. The distribution, density and adult population structure differed between species and forest types at all three spatial scales. Overall tree densities ranged from 0.37 ha–1 (basin-wide scale) to 1.13 ha–1 (local scale) but varied between forest types, with várzea containing a Copaifera tree density just 43% of that in terra firme forest at the landscape scale. Spatial distribution analyses showed significant clumping of some species, especially C. multijuga which averaged 61 m between neighbouring trees. We compare our cross-scale density estimates and discuss the relative merits of studying the distribution of non-timber forest products (NTFP) at more than one spatial scale. Our results have implications for the management and extraction of this important Amazonian forest resource.

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.

2009 Extractive Orders. Transnational Mining Companies in the Nineteenth and in the Twenty-First Century in the Central African Copperbelt, in: Southall, Roger/Melber, Henning (eds.): A New Scramble for Africa, Scottsville: KZN Press, pp. 274-298.

by Jana Hönke

2010 New political topographies. Mining companies and indirect discharge in Southern Katanga (DRC), Politique Africaine N° 120, December 2010.

by Jana Hönke

For analysing current reconfigurations of political order in Africa in a new way, this article suggests a focus on... more For analysing current reconfigurations of political order in Africa in a new way, this article suggests a focus on particular socio-economic spaces. It analyses how multinational companies govern security in the copper and cobalt mining region of Southern Katanga (DRC). The article argues that the extended role of companies in managing political order in Southern Katanga can be understood as a new form of indirect discharge by the host and the home states of multinational companies in such a way as to quasi-outsource local governance. It engenders political topographies different from those of corporate security governance in the XIXth-XXth centuries.

Extraterrestrial Materials and Humans: Can Space Resources Save Our Civilization?

by Pleasant P V

Current global resource utilization depends on a closely-knit economy, society and
environment. However,... more Current global resource utilization depends on a closely-knit economy, society and
environment. However, effective limits exist on biosphere’s capability to absorb pollutants while
providing resources and services (Adams). This paper describes why in the light of issues in
sustainability of Earth’s resources and growing human population it is imperative to expand
utilization to extraterrestrial resources to save our civilization.

Foreign Visitors in Riparian Corridors of the American Southwest: Is Xenophytophobia Justified?

by Matt Chew

Ch. 11 in Tellman, Barbara (ed) 2002. Invasive Exotic Species in the Sonoran Region. University of Arizona Press.

[From CAB Abstracts] Riparian areas in southwestern American deserts support native plant communities that are more... more [From CAB Abstracts] Riparian areas in southwestern American deserts support native plant communities that are more dense, structurally complex, productive and species-rich than those of the adjacent xeric uplands. Riparian areas attract human settlement and, as a result, riparian exotic plants have become an issue. The factors that have facilitated the influx of exotics into riparian corridors and the ways in which riparian ecosystem functions have been affected are discussed (with the impact of saltcedars (Tamarix spp.) as an example). High exotic abundance may be aided by flooding (enhancing dispersal and establishment opportunities), the introduction of grazing animals and other anthropogenic influences, e.g. road development and agriculture. Some woody exotics are now widespread and locally abundant in southwestern riparian areas, including Elaeagnus angustifolia, Ailanthus altissima, Tamarix spp. and Nicotiana glauca. There are probably over 100 naturalized exotic herbaceous species, the most successful of which are probably the grasses, e.g. Cynodon dactylon, Sorghum halepense, Polypogon monspeliensis and Bromus spp. Constructive options for restoring functionality to southwestern desert riparian ecosystems are discussed.

Recension: BONIN. 2010. La justice internationale et la répartition des ressources naturelles.

by Simon Guertin-Armstrong

XXVIII

by A Nonomura

Co-authored with Andrew A. Benson and Barry A. Cullen
Published in Advances in Photosynthesis, 2012, Intech, ISBN 978-953-307-928-8

A Thoroughly Modern Resource Curse?: The New Natural Resource Policy Agenda and the Mining Revival in Peru

by Javier Arellano-Yanguas

'Asia's Wicked Environmental Problems' (2012), Howes and Wyrwoll

by Paul Wyrwoll

Asian Development Bank Institute Working Paper

Natural resources and development strategy after the crisis

by Otaviano Canuto

D.B. Tindall, Howard Harshaw, and J.M. Taylor. 2011. “The Effects of Social Network Ties on the Public's Satisfaction with Forest Management in British Columbia, Canada.” Pp. 147-179 in Örjan Bodin and Christina Prell (editors), Social Networks and Natural Resource Management: Uncovering the Social Fabric of Environmental Governance. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

by David Tindall

The objective of this chapter is to examine the effects of personal network ties on people’s satisfaction with forest... more The objective of this chapter is to examine the effects of personal network ties on people’s satisfaction with forest management.  More specifically, it will examine whether having ties to environmentalists, and to forestry professionals is associated with one’s level of satisfaction with forest management. Our findings demonstrate that there are effects for weak ties and strong ties to environmentalists on the public’s satisfaction with forest management.  However, there were no corresponding statistically significant effects for ties to forestry professionals.  This suggests that regarding the subject of satisfaction with forestry, environmentalists are more influential than foresters are.

Korea's Search for a Global Role between Hard Economic Interests and Soft Power

by Thomas Kalinowski

Co/authored with Hyekyung Cho, published in "European Journal of Development Research" 24(2)

South Korea has been a rising economic power for some decades. It exhibits several behavioral traits associated with... more South Korea has been a rising economic power for some decades. It exhibits several behavioral traits associated with rising powers such as issue leadership and opportunity seeking. Korea aims to be an issue leader in the field of development, although it seeks to secure the foundations for further sustained economic growth. In this article, we investigate Korea's global strategy since the 1990s, aiming to translate its economic clout into global political influence. The focus is placed on a critical evaluation of the approach under the current Lee Myung Bak administration since 2008. This article examines the domestic factors that have led Korea to pursue its strategies of securing influence, including most notably the legacy of the mercantilist developmental state. The article raises cautionary concerns about the capacity of Korea to adopt a foreign policy that moves beyond economic self-interest and plays an active role in the creation of global public goods.