Capital assets and intercultural borderlands: socio-cultural challenges for natural resource management

In their design or implementation, many natural resource management (NRM) programs ignore critical socio-cultural dimensions of the challenge to advance sustainability. Building on particular ideas about culture and human ecosystems, we combine the strengths of the capital assets model of sustainability and the idea of intercultural borderlands to respond to this gap. To advance our thesis about the utility of these tools, we critically reviewed and analysed a cross-disciplinary literature relating to the socio-cultural dimensions of NRM. This paper stems from that labour and examines particular tensions that arise in land management as a result of Australians' specific colonial and postcolonial legacies. These tensions--related to ethnicity, gender, population, age and health--are among the threads in the larger tapestry that comprises the socio-cultural dimensions of NRM. For the Australian case, they are central, longstanding and persistent, and thus worthy of analysis; and they are applicable in general terms to other places with similar histories of settlement and land use.     

Lenses for learning: visual techniques in natural resource management

In this study, we explored the use of selected visual techniques (e.g. video, photography, diagramming) in facilitating learning among Indigenous communities living in remote protected areas at sites in Vietnam and Australia. The techniques were employed during interviews and workshops aimed at accessing and enhancing local peoples' perspectives on their landscape and on specific natural resource management issues. The effectiveness of the different techniques for enabling learning varied markedly with the context, highlighting the need for facilitator skill and flexibility in application of techniques. Visual techniques helped to engage participants; encourage unrestrained and lateral thinking; provide opportunities for self-expression and reflection; and to expose participants to perspectives of other community members. Valuable insights emerged on broad aspects of learning and these were incorporated into a simple model that highlights three types of conceptualisation found to be important in these processes.     

Learning for sustainability: participatory resource management in Cambodian fishing villages

Considerable attention is now being given to the role and importance of education and learning implications of participatory resource and environmental governance. The contention is that such learning has the potential to transform behaviour, and in the case of resource management, may help change current patterns in resource use towards a more sustainable social-ecological system. Our purpose is to establish the opportunities for learning afforded to those participating in local level resource management committees in two Cambodian fishing communities and consider the learning outcomes from such opportunities. Our approach was qualitative and used a case study design. The findings establish a wide range of committee resource management activities that resulted in both instrumental (e.g., learning about administrative procedures) and communicative (e.g., insights into the need to conserve mangroves) learning. It was revealed that such learning can lead to changes in behaviour at the community level (e.g., managing local waste). Our findings also indicated a number of motivators and enablers of learning such as opportunities for dialogue, leadership and the presence of declining resources.     

Rural market imperfections and the role of institutions in collective action to improve markets for the poor

Many countries in sub‐Saharan Africa have liberalized markets to improve efficiency and enhance market linkages for smallholder farmers. The expected positive response by the private sector in areas with limited market infrastructure has however been very limited. The functioning of markets is constrained by high transaction costs and coordination problems along the production‐to‐consumption value chain. New kinds of institutional arrangements are needed to reduce these costs and fill the vacuum left when governments withdrew from markets in the era of structural adjustments. One of these institutional innovations has been the strengthening of producer organizations and formation of collective marketing groups as instruments to remedy pervasive market failures in rural economies. The analysis presented here with a case study from eastern Kenya has shown that marketing groups pay 20–25% higher prices than other buyers to farmers while participation was also positively correlated with adoption of improved dryland legume varieties, crops not targeted by the formal extension system. However the effectiveness of marketing groups is undermined by external shocks and structural constraints that limit the volume of trade and access to capital and information, and require investments in complementary institutions and coordination mechanisms to exploit scale economies. Successful groups have shown high levels of collective action in the form of increased participatory decision making, member contributions and initial start‐up capital. Failure to pay on delivery, resulting from lack of capital credit, is a major constraint that stifles competitiveness of marketing groups relative to other buyers. These findings call for interventions that improve governance and participation; mechanisms for improving access to operating capital; and effective strategies for risk management and enhancing the business skills of farmer marketing groups.     

Climate change and indigenous natural resource management: a review of socio-ecological interactions in the Alinytjara Wilurara NRM region

This article examines key socio-ecological interactions identified during a climate change vulnerability assessment in the Alinytjara Wilurara natural resources management (NRM) region of South Australia. The complex local socio-ecological interactions are highlighted to guide a response to the challenge of adapting to climate change within the region. Recognising several key desert drivers which perpetuate degraded socio-ecological systems, this article recommends that a range of strategies be employed simultaneously to enhance local environmental management in association with remote indigenous communities, including: linking people and NRM more closely; tracking funding but ensuring systems can withstand periods of limited financial support; developing cross-sectoral and cross-institutional links; empowering and engaging communities; communicating effectively; and actively supporting local and traditional environmental knowledge. Unless climate change adaptation responses within the region are conceptualised and enacted within the context of complex local socio-ecological systems, NRM will not improve and social vulnerability will increase.     

Assessing the value of information for water quality management in the North Sea

Global Earth Observation (GEO) is one of the most important sources of information for environmental resource management and disaster prevention. With budgets for GEO increasingly under pressure, it is becoming important to be able to quantify the returns to informational investments. For this, a clear analytical framework is lacking. By combining Bayesian decision theory with an empirical, stakeholder-oriented approach, this paper attempts to develop such a framework. The analysis focuses on the use of satellite observations for Dutch water quality management in the North Sea. Dutch water quality management currently relies on information from 'in situ' measurements but is considering extending and deepening its information base with satellite observations. To estimate returns to additional investments in satellite observation, we analyze the added value of an extended monitoring system for the management of eutrophication, potentially harmful algal blooms and suspended sediment and turbidity in the North Sea. First, we develop a model to make the potential contribution of information to welfare explicit. Second, we use this model to develop a questionnaire and interpret the results. The results indicate that the expected welfare impact of investing in satellite observation is positive, but that outcomes strongly depend on the accuracy of the information system and the range of informational benefits perceived.     

A Framework of Lessons Learned from Community-Based Marine Reserves and Its Effectiveness in Guiding a New Coastal Management Initiative in the Philippines

Community-based coastal resource management has been widely applied within the Philippines. However, small-scale community-based reserves are often inefficient owing to management inadequacies arising because of a lack of local support or enforcement or poor design. Because there are many potential pitfalls during the establishment of even small community-based reserves, it is important for coastal managers, communities, and facilitating institutions to have access to a summary of the key factors for success. Reviewing relevant literature, we present a framework of lessons learned during the establishment of protected areas, mainly in the Philippines. The framework contains summary guidance on the importance of (1) an island location, (2) small community population size, (3) minimal effect of land-based development, (4) application of a bottom-up approach, (5) an external facilitating institution, (6) acquisition of title, (7) use of a scientific information database, (8) stakeholder involvement, (9) the establishment of legislation, (10) community empowerment, (11) alternative livelihood schemes, (12) surveillance, (13) tangible management results, (14) continued involvement of external groups after reserve establishment, and (15) small-scale project expansion.These framework components guided the establishment of a community-based protected area at Danjugan Island, Negros Occidental, Philippines. This case study showed that the framework was a useful guide that led to establishing and implementing a community-based marine reserve. Evaluation of the reserve using standard criteria developed for the Philippines shows that the Danjugan Island protected area can be considered successful and sustainable. At Danjugan Island, all of the lessons synthesized in the framework were important and should be considered elsewhere, even for relatively small projects. As shown in previous projects in the Philippines, local involvement and stewardship of the protected area appeared particularly important for its successful implementation. The involvement of external organizations also seemed to have a key role in the success of the Danjugan Island project by guiding local decision-makers in the sociobiological principles of establishing protected areas. However, the relative importance of each component of the framework will vary between coastal management initiatives both within the Philippines and across the wider Asian region.Published on line     

Implementing Sustainability: the Use of Natural Channel Design and Artificial Wetlands for Stormwater Management

Sustainability is a concept that has been widely embraced both politically and intellectually but has not been addressed in terms of practical application. In most resource sectors, the features of a sustainable future remain unclear and there are few examples that give practical expression to sustainability. This is especially true in the case of water resources management which has been conspicuous in its absence from the majority of the literature. This paper attempts to address this deficiency on two counts. First, it provides a discussion of sustainability and the application of the concept to the management of water resources. Second, the paper illustrates how the concept can be utilized for the management and planning of urban stormwater. The paper concludes by offering research opportunities to investigate the feasibility of adopting natural channel design and artificial wetlands for sustainable stormwater management.     

Solid waste management in urban areas: Development and application of a decision support system

A decision support system (DSS) developed to assist the planner in decisions concerning the overall management of solid waste at a municipal scale is described. The DSS allows to plan the optimal number of landfills and treatment plants, and to determine the optimal quantities and the characteristics of the refuse that has to be sent to treatment plants, to landfills and to recycling. The application of the DSS is based on the solution of a constrained non-linear optimization problem. Various classes of constraints have been introduced in the problem formulation, taking into account the regulations about the minimum requirements for recycling, incineration process requirements, sanitary landfill conservation, and mass balance. The cost function to be minimized includes recycling, transportation and maintenance costs. The DSS has been tested on the municipality of Genova, Italy, and the results obtained are presented.     

Environmental management policy in a coastal tourism municipality: the case study of Cervia (Italy)

The sustainability concept applied to human activities implies the need to harmonise the protection of environment with a satisfactory economic and social development. This is particularly true for tourism development: a misuse of the natural resources can cause a degradation of the tourist appeal of the destination, bringing it finally to its economic decline. This problem is particularly important in coastal tourism destinations. The implementation of an environmental management system is a powerful way for progressing towards better environmental performances. In this paper, the main results obtained in applying the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme procedure to the municipality of Cervia, a well-known tourist destination located on the Adriatic coast of Italy are described. This research puts into evidence that the main environmental pressures in the summer season are related to the supply of potable water, the production of solid wastes and wastewater air pollution and noise, etc. However, if correctly planned and managed, tourism can also contribute to environmental protection, to the conservation of biodiversity and to a sustainable use of natural resources.     

Livelihood change and livelihood sustainability in the uplands of Lembang subwatershed, West Sumatra, Indonesia, in a changing natural resource management context

This paper analyzes livelihood change and livelihood sustainability of households in the upland part of the Lembang subwatershed, West Sumatra, in response to changes in the natural resource management context during the last decade. Using the sustainable livelihood framework (SLF), we measured livelihood changes at two separate points in time, 1996 and 2006, and assessed their environmental, economic, social, and institutional sustainability. We found that people with a low income had less access to capital assets than people from middle- and high-income groups. Our analysis revealed, however, that access to capital assets increased over time, and that poor households experienced economic improvement, indicating an overall increase in economic sustainability. Environmental sustainability, however, is threatened by intensive agricultural practices such as high agrochemical input and intensive soil tillage on steep slopes, leading to pollution and soil erosion. Social sustainability is also a matter of concern: while social exclusion has been reduced, income inequity has increased. Institutional sustainability is likely to remain uncertain, as local institutions for natural resource management are still weak, despite the fact that decentralization has been implemented during the last 8 years. External facilitation is needed to improve the livelihood of upland people while, at the same time, enhancing the sustainability of watershed management. Strengthening local institutions, conserving natural resources, and promoting environmentally sound agricultural practices are the three most important policies to be promoted within the watershed.     

Priority screening of toxic chemicals and industry sectors in the U.S. toxics release inventory: a comparison of the life cycle impact-based and risk-based assessment tools developed by U.S. EPA

Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) and Risk Assessment (RA) employ different approaches to evaluate toxic impact potential for their own general applications. LCIA is often used to evaluate toxicity potentials for corporate environmental management and RA is often used to evaluate a risk score for environmental policy in government. This study evaluates the cancer, non-cancer, and ecotoxicity potentials and risk scores of chemicals and industry sectors in the United States on the basis of the LCIA- and RA-based tools developed by U.S. EPA, and compares the priority screening of toxic chemicals and industry sectors identified with each method to examine whether the LCIA- and RA-based results lead to the same prioritization schemes. The Tool for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemical and other environmental Impacts (TRACI) is applied as an LCIA-based screening approach with a focus on air and water emissions, and the Risk-Screening Environmental Indicator (RSEI) is applied in equivalent fashion as an RA-based screening approach. The U.S. Toxic Release Inventory is used as the dataset for this analysis, because of its general applicability to a comprehensive list of chemical substances and industry sectors. Overall, the TRACI and RSEI results do not agree with each other in part due to the unavailability of characterization factors and toxic scores for select substances, but primarily because of their different evaluation approaches. Therefore, TRACI and RSEI should be used together both to support a more comprehensive and robust approach to screening of chemicals for environmental management and policy and to highlight substances that are found to be of concern from both perspectives.     

Sound management of brominated flame retarded (BFR) plastics from electronic wastes: State of the art and options in Nigeria

Management of flame retarded plastics from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) has been posing a major challenge to waste management experts because of the potential environmental contamination issues especially the formation of polybrominated-dioxins and -furans (PBDD/F) during processing. In Nigeria, large quantities of electronic waste (e-waste) are currently being managed—a significant quantity of which is imported illegally as secondhand electronics. As much as 75% of these illegal imports are never reused but are rather discarded. These waste electronic devices are mostly older equipment that contains brominated flame retardants (BFRs) such as penta-brominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) which are presently banned in Europe under the EU WEEE and RoHS Directives. Risk assessment studies found both to be persistent, bio-accumulative and toxic. The present management practices for waste plastics from WEEE in Nigeria, such as open burning and disposal at open dumps, creates potential for serious environmental pollution. This paper reviews the options in the environmentally sound management of waste plastics from electronic wastes. Options available include mechanical recycling, reprocessing into chemicals (chemical feedstock recycling) and energy recovery. The Creasolv^® and Centrevap^® processes, which are the outcome of the extensive research at achieving sound management of waste plastics from WEEE in Europe, are also reviewed. These are solvent-based methods of removing BFRs and they presently offer the best commercial and environmental option in the sound management of waste BFR-containing plastics. Because these developments have not been commercialized, WEEE and WEEE plastics are still being exported to developing countries. The industrial application of these processes and the development of eco-friendlier alternative flame retardants will help assure sound management of WEEE plastics.     

Public support for river restoration. A mixed-method study into local residents' support for and framing of river management and ecological restoration in the Dutch floodplains

In many European countries, accommodating water has become the dominant paradigm in river management. In the Netherlands, extensive river restoration projects are being implemented, many of which draw serious opposition from the public. To investigate the causes of such opposition, a comprehensive study of public attitudes towards river restoration was conducted in three floodplains, both before and after river restoration. The study combined quantitative questionnaires (N = 562) with open interviews (N = 29). This paper describes how local residents perceive the effects of river restoration on landscape quality and how residents and protest groups use landscape quality in combination with other arguments to strategically frame river management policies. Results show that measurement of the perceived outcomes of nature restoration needs to be complemented by a more dynamic type of research, focusing on the social processes of the framing of restoration plans. Theoretically, the paper aims to contribute to the development of a rigorous research strategy to study framing processes in environmental management, using a mixed-methods approach.