CAPRi technical workshop on Watershed Management Institutions: a summary paper

The System-wide Program for Collective Action and Property Rights (CAPRi) sponsored a workshop on Watershed Management Institutions, March 13-16, 1999 in Managua, Nicaragua. The workshop focused on methodologies for undertaking research on watersheds, particularly those issues and tools that enable a more thorough understanding of the complex interactions between the biophysical factors and socioeconomic institutions of watersheds. Both social and biophysical scientists from CGIAR and other research institutions were brought together to present research and participate in focused discussions on methodologies for addressing collective action and property rights, scale, participation, and impact assessment. The forum also provided an opportunity for participants to visit and learn from a watershed project being implemented by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), and to discuss one another's ongoing watershed research project experience and explore opportunities for collaboration.International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Impact assessment,

Watershed management in New South Wales, Australia: a case of constrained decentralisation?

Decentralization includes different types of policy reforms aiming to shift powers from centralized to more localized institutions, such as sub-national units of administration, local government, the civil society and/or local user groups. It has gained increasing support, particularly in the realm of natural resources management (NRM). Moving towards more decentralized forms of NRM can, however, involve remarkable institutional challenges. Understanding the factors that can facilitate and/or constrain decentralization is, therefore, critical in overcoming such institutional challenges, as well as (re)designing and implementing more suitable policies. In Australia, catchment management – a watershed management initiative – is an example of moving decision-making for NRM from the State to the catchment (watershed) level. New South Wales (NSW) was the first Australian State to adopt catchment management as a state-wide statutory policy, in the late 1980s. Catchment management has since undergone a number of institutional changes. Specific legislation, for instance, have been introduced and reformed, such as the Catchment Management Act 1989, the Catchment Management Regulation 1999, and the Catchment Management Authorities Act 2003. Consequently, Catchment Management Committees, which operated in the 1990s were replaced by Catchment Management Boards in 2000, which in turn, have recently been replaced with Catchment Management Authorities. This paper presents preliminary findings from a broader study on the NSW catchment management initiative. The paper examines decentralized approaches to NRM as part of such a NSW initiative. Catchment management institutions are analyzed by applying the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework in combination with the recent theorizing on decentralization of NRM

CRFM Consultancy Report on Review of Existing Policy, Legal and Institutional Arrangements for Governance and Management of Flyingfish Fisheries in the Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem

Many of the marine resources in the Caribbean are considered to be fully or overexploited. A Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis identified three priority transboundary problems that affect the CLME: unsustainable exploitation of fish and other living resources, the degradation and modification of natural habitats, pollution and contamination. The fourwing flyingfish fishery is the single most important small pelagic fishery in the southern Lesser Antilles. It is a shared resource, which has been traditionally exploited by seven different States, i.e. Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago. With expanding fleet capacity and limited cooperation among the States exploiting the flyingfish, there is concern that the resource may become overfished. While the flyingfish fishery is a directed fishery, it is at the same time part of a multi-species, multi-gear fishery, which also targets regional large pelagic species.This case study identifies and analyses the priority transboundary problems and issues. The policy, legal and institutional reforms needed to address such transboundary issues and achieve long-term conservation and sustainable use of the resources are also identified. A major and necessary component of the case study is an evaluation of the existing policy cycles and linkages among the countries and institutions involved with the flyingfish fishery

Collaborative Learning And Land Use Tools To Support Community Based Ecosystem Management: A Final Report Submitted To The NOAA/UNH Cooperative Institute For Coastal And Estuarine Environmental Technology (CICEET)

This project developed a model conservation plan for local land use decision making that engaged diverse stakeholders in discussions about conservation values, ecosystem services and strategies to balance conservation and economic development. This locally focused action research case study tested the application of ecosystem based management (EBM), Collaborative Learning and land use technology tools to land use planning. Lessons learned were scaled up to create capacity building training for land use decision makers and coastal managers to increase interdisciplinary skills for implementing ecosystem based management. Collaborative Learning and EBM Tools were tested and evaluated for their contribution to implementing EBM in the context of local land use. EBM is a holistic approach to managing coupled ecological and social systems that incorporates the knowledge and perspectives of diverse stakeholders into a shared vision of desired future outcomes (Meffee, et al 2002). The long term goal of EBM is to sustain the provision of valued goods and services provided by ecological systems (MacLeod and Leslie, 2009). Community based ecosystem management (CBEM) shares the principles and theoretical foundation of EBM with an added focus on actions that make the places where people live, work and play noticeable better today and in the future (Meffe et al., 2002). The place-based focus of CBEM combined with the stakeholder engagement practices of Collaborative Learning provided an adaptable and practical framework for development of Headwaters – A Collaborative Conservation Plan for Sanford, Maine

How institutions elude design: river basin management and sustainable livelihoods.

YesThis paper challenges ideas that it is possible to `get the institutions right¿ in the management of natural resources. It engages with the literature and policy specifying `design principles¿ for robust institutions and uses data from a river basin management project in Usangu, Tanzania, to illustrate the complexity of institutional evolution. The paper draws on emerging `post-institutionalist¿ perspectives to reject over-formalised managerial approaches in favour of those that accept the dynamic nature of institutional formation, and accommodate a variety of partial and contingent solutions. Data from Usangu suggests that external `crafting¿ is inevitably problematic because, to a certain extent, institutions elude design

Land tenure dynamics and integrated watershed management

The thesis investigates land tenure dynamics and integrated watershed management. We consider integrated watershed management as a process and act of holistically managing the environment in a given delineated spatial unit, considering both upstream and downstream systems connectivity for social and ecological systems sustainability. Integrated watershed management incorporates several implementation approaches, including integrated water resources management. In the research's first primary objective, we survey the state of integrated watershed management in dynamic land tenure contexts. The second main objective, we examine the relationship between land tenure and integrated watershed management. Proactively, the third objective assesses the relevant land and related resources legislation responsiveness to integrated watershed management and the land tenure dynamic and conceptualises for reforms. Analysing and acquiring data involves qualitative and quantitative methods. The methods include primary data collection through catchment surveys, questionnaires administration, focus group discussions, interviews, and catchment reconnaissance observation. Complimentary data consists of systematic literature reviews, secondary satellite imagery and other Geographical Information System (GIS) data. The methods applied produced both unit and spatial data, with unit data mostly from households as the primary units of analysis and interaction. The data is managed and analysed using GIS tools like ArcMap, QGIS and statistical tools in Ms Excel, SPSS, and R. The study mainly draws case studies from the global south, targeting catchments in the Victoria and Albert basin lakes in Eastern Africa. The main findings and tentative conclusions include (a) integrated watershed management approaches improve water resources governance and resource management amidst land tenure dynamics. The evidence shows a significant difference in the performance of water resources governance markedly better in the catchment with integrated water resources management practices than in the base catchment unaffected by these practices. The finding contributes to the aspirations for promoting integrated watershed management approaches for improved resource governance and the concept that resource management measures depend on governance effectiveness. However, the potential of integrated watershed management encounters limiting social factors such as land tenure. According to the comprehensive literature review (b), land tenure relates to various aspects of integrated watershed management, including driving land use and cover changes. As such, we confirm a relationship between land use and cover changes proportional areas losses ranging between 80% - 95% of woodland and indigenous forests in the case study area in the Lake Victoria basin. This degree of land use and land cover change, the functionality of other change driving factors perceived and the degree of adopting sustainable practices depends on the prevailing land tenure. Achieving integrated watershed management, conversant of the land tenure role, requires an enabling legal and institutional environment. However, the research findings for main objective (c) show the prevailing legislation needs to be more responsive to allow effective integrated watershed management. As such, we suggest reforms and provide model legislation provisional suggestions. We recommend several areas for future research, including assessing the legal feasibility of integrated watershed management and land tenure responsive legislation and the needed land administrative reforms to deliver on ensuring sustainability and sustainable development. The research enhances our understanding of the potential and possibilities of land tenure during integrated watershed management. The study also furnishes scholars, resource managers, policymakers, and program evaluators with more information for decisions.Untersucht wird die Dynamik zwischen Landbesitz und integriertem Management von Flusseinzugsgebieten vergleichend am Beispiel von drei Flusseinzugsgebieten im Gebiet des Lake Victoria/Uganda. Das integrierte Management von Flusseinzugsgebieten ist ein Prozess des ganzheitlichen Managements der Umwelt in einer abgegrenzten räumlichen Einheit, wobei sowohl die vorgelagerte als auch die nachgelagerte Systemkonnektivität berücksichtigt werden, um die Nachhaltigkeit sozialer und ökologischer Systeme zu gewährleisten. Das integrierte Flusseinzugsgebietsmanagement umfasst mehrere Ansätze zur Umsetzung, einschließlich des integrierten Wasserressourcenmanagements. In einem ersten Schritt wird der Stand der Forschung zu Themen des integrierten Flusseinzugsgebietsmanagements in dynamischen Landbesitzkontexten erarbeitet. In einem zweiten Schritt wird die Beziehung zwischen Landbesitz und integriertem Management von Flusseinzugsgebieten betrachtet. In einem dritten Schritt wird die Reaktionsfähigkeit der relevanten Gesetze in Ugandabewertet sowie die damit verbundenen Ressourcen in Bezug auf integriertes Flusseinzugsgebietsmanagement, Landbesitzdynamik und auf die Konzipierung von Reformen. Die zur Anwendung gekommenen Methoden umfassen die Erhebung von Primärdaten im Flusseinzugsgebiet, Fokusgruppendiskussionen, Interviews und Erkundungsbeobachtungen im Einzugsgebiet. Die ergänzenden Daten umfassen Satellitenbilder und flächendifferenzierte Daten zu den lokalen Umweltbedingungen. Die Verarbeitung der flächendifferenzierten Daten erfolgte mit Hilfe Geographischer Informationssysteme, die statistische Datenanalyse erfolgte mit Hilfe von Ms Excel, SPSS und R. Die Studie stützt sich hauptsächlich auf drei Fallstudien aus den Einzugsgebieten von Lake Victoria und Lake Albert, Ostafrika. Zu den wichtigsten Ergebnissen gehört, dass integrierte Managementansätze für Flusseinzugsgebiete die regionale Ressourcenmanagement verbessern. Die Befunde zeigen einen signifikanten Unterschied in der Leistung der Wasserressourcenbewirtschaftung, die deutlich besser in Einzugsgebieten mit integrierten Wasserressourcenmanagementpraktiken sind als in Einzugsgebieten, die von diesen Praktiken unbeeinflusst sind. Die Ergebnisse tragen dazu bei eine verbesserte Ressourcenverwaltung für integrierte Flusseinzugsgebietsmanagementansätze anzustreben und konzeptionell zu berücksichtigen. Das Potenzial eines integrierten Flusseinzugsgebietsmanagements stößt jedoch auf einschränkende soziale Faktoren wie Landbesitz. Entsprechend den Ergebnissen der Literaturrecherche bezieht sich Landbesitz auf verschiedene Aspekte des integrierten Managements von Flusseinzugsgebieten, einschließlich von Landnutzungs und Landbewirtschaftung. In den Fallstudien deuten Landnutzungsänderungen auf proportionale Flächenverluste hin, die zwischen 80% und 95% der von einheimischen Wäldern bewachsenen Flächen betreffen. Dieser Grad der Landnutzungsänderung, die Funktionalität der steuernden Faktoren und der Grad der Übernahme nachhaltiger Landnutzungspraktiken hängen im Wesentlichen von den vorherrschenden Landbesitzverhältnissen ab. Um ein integriertes Flusseinzugsgebietsmanagement zu erreichen das auch die Rolle des Landbesitzes berücksichtigt, ist ein entsprechendes rechtliches und institutionelles Umfeld erforderlich. Die Analyse der bestehenden Gesetzeslage zeigt, dass die geltende Gesetzgebung für die Berücksichtigung von Landbesitzverhältnissen bei der Umnweltplanung im weiteren Sinne offener gestaltet sein muss, um ein effektives integriertes Flusseinzugsgebietsmanagement zu ermöglichen

Assessing the Benefits of Public Research Within an Economic Framework: The Case of USDA's Agricultural Research Service

Evaluation of publicly funded research can help provide accountability and prioritize programs. In addition, Federal intramural research planning generally involves an institutional assessment of the appropriate Federal role, if any, and whether the research should be left to others, such as universities or the private sector. Many methods of evaluation are available, peer review—used primarily for establishing scientific merit—being the most common. Economic analysis focuses on quantifying ultimate research outcomes, whether measured in goods with market prices or in nonmarket goods such as environmental quality or human health. However, standard economic techniques may not be amenable for evaluating some important public research priorities or for institutional assessments. This report reviews quantitative methods and applies qualitative economic reasoning and stakeholder interviewing methods to the evaluation of economic benefits of Federal intramural research using three case studies of research conducted by USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS). Differences among the case studies highlight the need to select suitable assessment techniques from available methodologies, the limited scope for comparing assessment results across programs, and the inherent difficulty in quantifying benefits in some research areas. When measurement and attribution issues make it difficult to quantify these benefits, the report discusses how qualitative insights based on economic concepts can help research prioritization.Agricultural Research Service, Federal intramural research, publicly funded research, Environmental Economics and Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Livestock Production/Industries, Productivity Analysis,