Comparative capitalism and sustainable development: Stakeholder capitalism and co-management in the Kenyan fisheries sub sector

This paper argues that stakeholder capitalism is more appropriate to natural resource management and rural development in Africa than other varieties of capitalism. It examines different management arrangements in Kenyan Lake Victoria fisheries resources to argue that whilst stakeholder capitalism is still far from being the mainstream model of capitalism in Kenya, theoretically and empirically, it is more appropriate to sustainable development than the Anglo‐Saxon variety of capitalism that the country inherited from its British colonizers. The paper demonstrates that the concepts of ownership and management rights are social, economic and political constructs that are continuously contested, with huge implications for sustainable development and natural resource management.     

The common property resource problem and the fisheries of Barbados and Jamaica

Common property resources (CPR) tend to be particularly susceptible to depletion and degredation. This creates problems for sustainable development and for resource stewardship in general since many of the key global resources are common property. The article explores the different definitions of CPR and the traps associated with the harvesting of CPR without understanding the social, economic, and environmental costs related to their exploitation. The commons problem may be approached in terms of a private property solution, the allocation of individual quotas to fishermen, or a communal property solution in which communities of fishermen basically manage their own fisheries. The offshore fishery of Barbados lends itself to the private property solution, and the inshore fishery of Jamaica, to the communal property solution.Drawing from case studies of Jamaica and Barbados fisheries, four principles of CPR use are proposed: (a) the solution of the CPR problem starts with the control of access to the resource, (b) increasing production from a CPR depends on the conservation of the resource base, (c) the sustainable utilization of a CPR is closely connected to the use of technology appropriate for the harvest, and (d) local-level management improves prospects for the sustainable use of a CPR. The case studies illustrate that there may be local, national, and international levels of interest over the resource. Hence, the successful management of such resources as Barbados and Jamaica fisheries requires that conflicting demands for the resources be taken into account, perhaps using a cooperative management approach.     

Valuing natural resources and the implications for land and water management

New models of sustainable development stress the importance of the efficient management of resources, including labour, capital equipment and natural resources. Overuse of the resource base today will lead to shortages tomorrow; yet it can be a difficult task persuading politicians and planners in developing countries of the importance of resource management. This paper suggests methodologies for doing so and argues the urgency of the task.     

Applying Integrated Urban Water Management Concepts: A Review of Australian Experience

This article explores recent Australian experiences in the application of the concept of integrated urban water management (IUWM) to land development sites through the review of 15 case studies. It discusses lUWM’s emergence and comments on the success or otherwise of Australian experience in its application. The understanding of IUWM is maturing within the Australian water industry, an occurrence that has been facilitated by demonstration sites such as those reviewed. Successes include the translation of IUWM concepts into well-functioning operational urban developments, significant reductions in the impact of the urban developments on the total water cycle, and the increasing acceptance of the concept within the water and land development industries. However, there is still room for greater integration of the water supply, stormwater, and wastewater components of the urban water cycle, improved dissemination of knowledge, enhancement of skills in both public and private organisations, and monitoring the performance of systems and technologies.     

Dynamics of fisheries that affect the population growth rate coefficient

Conventional surplus production models indicate that destruction of fish populations by overfishing is difficult, if not impossible, but catastrophic declines in abundance of exploited populations are common. Surplus production models also do not predict large continuing fluctuations in yield, but large fluctuations in yield are common. Conventional surplus production models assume that fisheries do not impact the population's capacity to increase, but changes in age structure or a decrease in age-specific fecundity resulting from fishing can decrease the coefficient of increase. A surplus production model is developed in which fishing reduces the capacity of a population to increase; the model is applied to describe the fluctuations observed in yield of lake herring (Coregonus artedii) from the upper Great Lakes. The fisheries of the Great Lakes were decimated by the combined effects of heavy fishing and a changing environment. For some species, yield increased to high levels and then the fisheries collapsed; for other species, yield and effort fluctuated greatly.     

Doubling sockeye salmon production in the Fraser River—Is this sustainable development?

We evaluate a proposal to double sockeye salmon production from the Fraser River and conclude that significant changes will be required to current management processes, particularly the way available catch is allocated, if the plan is to be consistent with five major principles embodied in the concept of sustainable development. Doubling sockeye salmon production will not, in itself, increase economic equity either regionally or globally. Developing nations may actually be hindered in their attempts to institute other, nonsalmon fisheries in the North Pacific Ocean as a result of the possible interception of salmon. Further, other users of the Fraser River basin will have to forgo opportunities so that salmon habitat can be conserved. If doubling sockeye salmon production is to meet the goal of doing more with less, it will be necessary to develop more efficient technologies to harvest the fish. If increasing salmon production is to reflect the integration of environmental and economic decision making at the highest level, then a serious attempt must be made to incorporate environmental assets into national economic accounting. Finally, to promote biodiversity and cultural self-sufficiency within the Fraser River basin, it will be important to safeguard the small, less-productive salmon stocks as well as the large ones and to allocate a substantial portion of the increased production to the Native Indian community.     

Environmental assessment of mercury dispersion, transformation and bioavailability in the Lake Victoria Goldfields, Tanzania

Environmental dispersion and transformation of mercury discharged from gold mining operations has been investigated in field and laboratory studies in order to provide better understanding of the degree of mercury (Hg) pollution and bioavailability in the Lake Victoria goldfields (LVGF) ecosystems. This paper reviews results already published elsewhere and presents additional data on Hg dynamics in the LVGF. Studies conducted at the Mugusu and Rwamagaza artisanal mines indicated different degrees of Hg contamination and dispersion in environmental matrices. Mercury concentration in contaminated river sediments near the Mugusu mine varied from 6.0 to 0.5 mg/kg on a dry weight basis. The highest Hg contamination levels (165-232 mg/kg) were associated with mine tailings at the Rwamagaza mine. Mercury concentrations in fish representing different dietary habits on the southwestern shore of Lake Victoria at the Nungwe Bay were very low (2-35 microg/kg) and thought to represent background levels. These and other results suggested that the use of Hg in gold extraction in the LVGF has not caused high Hg levels in lake fish. The study of Hg in lichens showed Parmelia lichen to be an effective bioindicator for atmospheric Hg contamination due to Hg emissions from gold-amalgam firing and purification operations. The Hg levels in the lichens around the Mugusu mine ranged from 3.1 to 0.1 microg/g; the highest levels were recorded in the lichens sampled close to gold-amalgam processing sites. The regional background level in the Parmelia lichen was 0.05-0.10 microg/g, with a mean level of 0.07 microg/g. Studies of Hg transformation in the mine tailings revealed unexpectedly high methylmercury (MeHg) levels in the tailings (629-710 ng/g), which indicated that oxidation and methylation of metallic Hg in the tailings occurred at significant levels under tropical conditions. Re-equilibration of the tailings with freshwater (FW) indicated the MeHg was firmly bound in the tailings and therefore very little MeHg was released to the water column (0.2-1.5 ng/L). The methylation of Hg in tropical loamy clay soil contaminated with HgCl(2) (5 mg Hg/kg) yielded MeHg concentrations of 11 and 14 ng/g when inundated with seawater and FW, respectively, for 4 weeks. Little MeHg was transferred from the soil to the equilibrated water (< or = 0.4 ng/L). Atmospheric exposure of the soil pre-inundated with FW resulted in net degradation of MeHg during the 1st week of exposure, followed by net production and accumulation of MeHg in the soil (up to 15.5 ng/g) during atmospheric desiccation. Mercury uptake by fish from the Hg(0)-contaminated aquatic sediment-tailings system in the aquarium experiment was found to be low, suggesting the low availability of MeHg for bioaccumulation in the system. These and other results provide useful insights into Hg transformation, mobility and bioavailability in tropical aquatic systems affected by Hg pollution from gold mining operations.     

The Decision Analysis Interview Approach in the Collaborative Management of a Large Regulated Water Course

There are always conflicting goals in the management of large water courses. However, by involving stakeholders actively in the planning and decision-making processes, it is possible to work together toward commonly acceptable solutions. In this article, we describe how we applied interactive multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) in a collaborative process which aimed at an ecologically, socially, and economically sustainable water course regulation policy. The stakeholders' opinions about the alternative regulation schemes and the relative importance of their impacts were elicited with the HIPRE software. Altogether, 20 personal interactive decision analysis interviews (DAIs) were carried out with the stakeholders. Our experience suggests that the DAIs can considerably improve the quality and efficiency of the collaborative planning process. By improving communication and understanding of the decision situation in the steering group, the approach helped to develop a consensus solution in a case having strong conflicts of interest. In order to gain the full benefits of the MCDA approach, interactive preference elicitation is vital. It is also essential to integrate the approach tightly into the planning and decision-making process. The project's home pages are available to the public at http://www.paijanne.hut.fi/.     

Resource management as a key factor for sustainable urban planning

Due to fast urbanization and increasing living standards, the environmental sustainability of our global society becomes more and more questionable. In this historical review we investigate the role of resources management (RM) and urban planning (UP) and propose ways for integration in sustainable development (SD). RM follows the principle of circular causation, and we reflect on to what extent RM has been an element for urban planning. Since the existence of the first settlements, a close relationship between RM, urbanization and technological development has been present. RM followed the demand for urban resources like water, energy, and food. In history, RM has been fostered by innovation and technology developments and has driven population growth and urbanization. Recent massive resource demand, especially in relation to energy and material flows, has altered natural ecosystems and has resulted in environmental degradation. UP has developed separately in response to different questions. UP followed the demand for improved living conditions, often associated to safety, good manufacturing and trading conditions and appropriate sanitation and waste management. In history UP has been a developing research area, especially since the industrial era and the related strong urbanization at the end of the 18th century. UP responded to new emerging problems in urban areas and became increasingly complex. Nowadays, UP has to address many objectives that are often conflicting, including, the urban sustainability. Our current urban un-sustainability is rooted in massive resource consumption and waste production beyond natural limits, and the absence of flows from waste to resources. Therefore, sustainable urban development requires integration of RM into UP. We propose new ways to this integration.     

Urban Environmental Management in Shanghai: Achievements, Problems, and Prospects

This article critically reviews the evolution of urban environmental management in Shanghai since 1978. Established in a transitional postsocialist economy and shaped by a spectacular urban redevelopment process, the current environmental management framework of Shanghai has succeeded in mitigating major industrial pollution and improving urban amenities with unprecedented pace and magnitude. However, it generally failed to take social equity and environmental justice issues into consideration. Based on Haughton’s models of sustainable urban development, this article proposes four priorities and five principles within the framework of a fair shares cities model for the future environmental management of Shanghai and briefly discusses their policy implications and implementation issues. The authors argue that Haughton’s approach is relevant to Shanghai’s case because the essence of his argument—the multidimensional equity principles—is the core of the concept of sustainable development.     

Islands at a glance

Islands have many problems in common with certain continental areas. Yet, at the same time they provide a special case in development, largely owing to specific characteristics of their natural resources, their economies, and their culture. The rational management of small island ecosystems (less than 10,000 sq km, population 50,000 or less) is one of the main aspects of the multidisciplinary research project promoted by the “Man and the Biosphere” Program (MAB) of UNESCO. This article aims to shed light on some important methodological and conceptual issues confronted during almost two decades of fieldwork.     

Effectiveness of participatory planning for community management of fisheries in Bangladesh

This study provides statistical evidence that support for community-based management of resources was more effective when initiated through a process known as participatory action plan development (PAPD). Thirty-six sites were studied where community management of fisheries was facilitated by NGOs. All involved community participation and establishing local fisheries management institutions. However, communities were able to take up more conservation-related interventions and faced fewer conflicts in the 18 sites where a PAPD was the basis for collective action and institution development. This indicates the value and effectiveness of adopting good practice in participatory planning, such as PAPD, which helps diverse stakeholders find common problems and solutions for natural resource management.     

Focusing biodiversity research on the needs of decision makers

The project on Biodiversity Uncertainties and Research Needs (BURN) ensures the advancement of usable knowledge on biodiversity by obtaining input from decision makers on their priority information needs about biodiversity and then using this input to engage leading scientists in designing policy-relevant research. Decision makers articulated concerns related to four issues: significance of biodiversity; status and trends of biodiversity; management for biodiversity; and the linkage of social, cultural, economic, legal, and biological objectives. Leading natural and social scientists then identified the research required to address the decision makers' needs and determined the probability of success. The diverse group of experts reached consensus on several fundamental issues, helping to clarify the role of biodiversity in land and resource management. The BURN participants identified several features that should be incorporated into policy-relevant research plans and management strategies for biodiversity. Research and assessment efforts should be: multidisciplinary and integrative, participatory with stakeholder involvement, hierarchical (multiple scales), and problem- and region-specific. The activities should be focused regionally within a global perspective. Meta-analysis of existing data is needed on all fronts to assess the state of the science. More specifically, the scientists recommended six priority research areas that should be pursued to address the information needs articulated by decision makers: (1) characterization of biodiversity, (2) environmental valuation, (3) management for sustainability—for humans and the environment (adaptive management), (4) information management strategies, (5) governance and stewardship issues, and (6) communication and outreach. Broad recommendations were developed for each research area to provide direction for research planning and resource management strategies. The results will directly benefit those groups that require biodiversity research to address their needs—whether to develop policy, manage natural resources, or make other decisions affecting biodiversity.     

Demonstration of GIS Capabilities for Fisheries Management Decisions: Analysis of Acquisition Potential Within the Meramec River Basin

/ Geographic information systems (GIS) allow users to explore possible spatial relations that may exist within their data. At the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), GIS data is being used to help make management decisions. Thirteen geographic data layers of the Meramec River Basin, Missouri, were used to help demonstrate the usefulness of GIS for making fisheries management decisions. The data were used to help identify potential acquisition areas within the Meramec River Basin. The basin was separated into 22 strata based on ecoregion boundaries, watershed boundaries, and stream order. Suitability for acquisition was determined for each stratum based on species richness, habitat characteristics, percent of public land, and number of human impacts, such as gravel and ore mining. Eleven strata scored high enough to be recommended as potential acquisition areas. After further evaluation of the 11 strata, three were chosen as areas where available land and willing sellers should be considered. Four strata needed more sampling before land within them should be considered for acquisition. The final four were considered low priority because there was already a considerable amount of public land present in the strata. The analysis was helpful in allowing managers to focus in on a smaller area for acquisition consideration; 91% of the area was eliminated from the analysis. Instead of having to survey every parcel of land that becomes available, parcels that don't fall within the recommended strata can be eliminated without further investigation.