Fostering Transformative Change for Sustainability in the Context of Socio-Ecological Production Landscapes and Seascapes (SEPLS)

This open access book is a compilation of case studies that provide useful knowledge and lessons that derive from on-the-ground activities and contribute to policy recommendations, focusing on the relevance of social-ecological production landscapes and seascapes (SEPLS) to “transformative change.” The concept of “transformative change” has been gaining more attention to deal with today’s environmental and development problems, whereas both policy and scientific communities have been increasingly calling for transformative change toward sustainable society. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has planned to start the so-called “assessment on transformative change” if approved by the IPBES plenary to be held in 2021. At present, the idea of transformative change, including its scope, methodologies, approaches and strategies, are yet to be clarified. By bringing together all of the different concerns and interests in the land/seascape, SEPLS approaches could provide practical and experience-based insights for understanding and gauging transformative change and identifying determinants of such change. This book explores how SEPLS management relates to the idea of transformative change to further the discussion of sustainable transitions in advancing sustainability science. The introductory chapter is followed by case study chapters offering real-world examples of transformative change as well as a synthesis chapter clarifying the relevance of the case study findings to policy and academic discussions. It will be of interest to scholars, policymakers and professionals in the fields related to sustainable development

Property Rights Conservation and Development: An Analysis of Extractive Reserves in the Brazilian Amazon

The economic literature of property rights has been assessing the impact of different community based arrangements on the efficiency of natural resource management of specific areas. Differently, other strands of development economics and policy-oriented research have been concerned with issues such as poverty alleviation, technological progress and the capability to compete in market economies, which go beyond the local areas where traditional communities live and include the wider economy. The extractive reserves in the Brazilian Amazon offer perhaps one of the most interesting cases for investigating the connections between these two approaches in the context of tropical forests. It is based on the idea that the combination of public property with collective use in particular forest areas can generate competitive and, at the same time, sustainable exploitation of its natural resources. This paper aims to analyse whether the existing property rights support the joint objective of conservation and development. Our main result is that current property rights systems are efficient only with respect to competition in markets for existing extractive products. This finding points out to a fundamental contradiction between the static structure of the property rights systems and the dynamic nature of two most promising development paths, namely the discovery of new products and the supply of biological inputs for plantations. The current model of extractive reserves based on the design of internal property rights fails to taken into account the broader economic context where the reserves must generate a viable revenue stream. We conclude therefore that under the current set of institutions, the development objectives inherent in the extractive reserves model are likely to face probably considerable challenges to be accomplished in the future.Property rights, Extractive reserves, Environment and Development

International conference on policy and institutional options for the management of rangelands in dry areas: workshop summary paper

"The System-wide Program for Collective Action and Property Rights (CAPRi) sponsored an International Conference on Policy and Institutional Options for the Management of Rangelands in Dry Areas, May 7-11, 2001 in Hammamet, Tunisia. The conference focused on institutional aspects of rangeland management and brought together policy makers and researchers from North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and West Asia to discuss sustainable rangeland production strategies and livelihood of pastoral communities in dry areas. This conference summary paper contains summaries of the CAPRi sponsored research findings on institutional options for rangeland, policy makers' interventions and reactions as well as the synthesis of discussion groups. These working groups evaluated outcomes of policies and institutions guiding rangeland management in terms of their impact on livelihoods and environmental sustainability, and explored alternative policies and institutional strategies in light of their capacity to reduce poverty and enhance food security. " Author's AbstractDry areas, Rangelands, Pastoralism, Livelihoods, Environmental sustainability, Poverty reduction, food security, natural resources management, Collective action, case studies, Institutions, Property rights, Capacity,

Fostering Transformative Change for Sustainability in the Context of Socio-Ecological Production Landscapes and Seascapes (SEPLS)

This open access book is a compilation of case studies that provide useful knowledge and lessons that derive from on-the-ground activities and contribute to policy recommendations, focusing on the relevance of social-ecological production landscapes and seascapes (SEPLS) to “transformative change.” The concept of “transformative change” has been gaining more attention to deal with today’s environmental and development problems, whereas both policy and scientific communities have been increasingly calling for transformative change toward sustainable society. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has planned to start the so-called “assessment on transformative change” if approved by the IPBES plenary to be held in 2021. At present, the idea of transformative change, including its scope, methodologies, approaches and strategies, are yet to be clarified. By bringing together all of the different concerns and interests in the land/seascape, SEPLS approaches could provide practical and experience-based insights for understanding and gauging transformative change and identifying determinants of such change. This book explores how SEPLS management relates to the idea of transformative change to further the discussion of sustainable transitions in advancing sustainability science. The introductory chapter is followed by case study chapters offering real-world examples of transformative change as well as a synthesis chapter clarifying the relevance of the case study findings to policy and academic discussions. It will be of interest to scholars, policymakers and professionals in the fields related to sustainable development

Paradox incentive structures and rules governing sharing of coastal and marine data in Kenya and Tanzania: Lessons for the Western Indian Ocean

Comprehensive and timely data-sharing is essential for effective ocean governance. This institutional analysis investigates pervasive data-sharing barriers in Kenya and Tanzania, using a collective action perspective. Existing data-sharing rules and regulations are examined in respect to boundaries, contextuality and incentive structures, compliance and settlement mechanisms, and integration across scales. Findings show that current institutional configurations create insufficient or incoherent incentives, simultaneously reducing and reproducing sharing barriers. Regional harmonisation efforts and strategically aligned data-sharing institutions are still underdeveloped. This article discusses proposals to increase capacities and incentives for data-sharing, as well as the limitations of the chosen analytical framework. The debate is extended to aspects beyond institutional issues, i.e., structural data-sharing barriers or ethical concerns. Key recommendations include the establishment of more compelling incentives structures for data-sharing, increased funding of capacity-building and sharing infrastructure, and further awareness creation on the importance of data-sharing

Annual Report 2018-19

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority’s Annual Report 2018–19 complies with the requirements for annual reports outlined by the Australian Government Department of Finance in its Resource Management Guide No. 135: Annual reports for non-corporate Commonwealth entities. This annual report includes the Authority’s annual performance statements, detailing its performance against criteria as published in the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy Portfolio Budget Statements 2018–19 and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority Corporate Plan 2018–19 (Corporate Plan)

Linking indigenous territorial autonomy and environmental sustainability: a case study of the resguardo El Duya in Colombia

The aim of this dissertation is to understand the contributions of indigenous autonomous institutions to environmental sustainability in indigenous territories in Colombia. Past research has neglected to account for the role of indigenous territorial autonomy in spatial environmental planning and the overall goal of environmental sustainability. This gap is approached through the institutional design principles theory, informed by indigenous planning literature and the social-ecological systems framework. This research uses a case study, the resguardo El Duya, and a qualitative approach, where data collection was made through interviews, observation and document analysis. The results for this resguardo are presented in the context of Orinoquia region, which is analysed using the concept of frontier. This research asks about the way in which indigenous institutions mediate the relation of humans and the territory, finding that they have been going through a process of institutional change with several milestones characterised by external disturbances produced by non-indigenous actors. Currently, two institutional arrangements coexist in El Duya, customary and novel institutions, for which the analysis shows that the majority of design principles are present and some of them exhibit implementation problems. Thus, indigenous institutions have kept the integrity of ecosystems; despite changes in the social-ecological system and environmental impacts caused by oil extraction-related activities. This research further asks about spatial environmental planning, finding that it has been implemented by indigenous and non-indigenous actors, where the latter includes external governmental authorities and oil companies. This has resulted in an asymmetrical planning setting, in which the Salia people are deprived from significant planning powers in their territory. Furthermore, non-indigenous environmental authorities have contributed poorly in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystems of El Duya, under a frame in which the notion of environmental sustainability is not used by the people of this resguardo and is understood variably by governmental actors. Finally, this research asks about territorial autonomy concerning nature, which has been found to be partially exercised, since authority, decision-making and their enforcement are hindered by the intervention of environmental authorities. This corresponds to a jurisdictional encroachment over indigenous authorities, enabled by the Colombian State arrangement. Consequently, indigenous institutions do contribute to environmental sustainability in El Duya; however, this should be understood in terms of novel aspects enabled by the distinctiveness of Salia institutions and current territorial autonomy limitations.:Contents 1 Introduction 1.1 Rationale of the research 1.2 Outline of the dissertation 2 Indigenous territories: essentials for their study 2.1 The colonial inheritance 2.1.1 The early years and the disruption of territoriality 2.1.2 Republics and the enthronement of private property 2.2 Current state of indigenous territories in Colombia 2.2.1 Indigenous territorial rights in Colombia 2.2.2 The spatial relevance of indigenous territories 3 Literature review 3.1 Indigenous territories 3.1.1 The rights approach 3.1.2 Boundary-making and indigenous territories 3.2 Environmental sustainability and indigenous territorial autonomy 3.2.1 Subnational arrangements, self-government and autonomy 3.2.2 Indigenous territorial autonomy 3.2.3 The concept of environmental sustainability 3.2.4 Types of sustainability 3.2.5 Indigenous management of natural resources 3.2.6 Environmental planning in indigenous territories 3.3 Research questions 4 Theoretical framework 4.1 Institutional design principles 4.2 The social-ecological systems framework 4.3 Indigenous planning principles 4.4 Dissertation’s approach 5 Methodology 5.1 Research design 5.1.1 Case study research 5.1.2 Unit of analysis and type of case study 5.1.3 Research design limitations 5.2 Methods 5.2.1 Document analysis 5.2.2 Interviews 5.2.3 Qualitative observations 6 Study area: variables in the social-ecological system framework 6.1 Social, economic and political settings; related ecosystems 6.1.1 Economic development; demographic trends; political stability; climate patterns; pollution patterns; flows into and out of focal SES 6.1.2 External governance systems 6.2 Resource systems 6.2.1 Sector; clarity of systems’ boundaries; size of resource system; location. 6.2.2 Human constructed facilities 6.2.3 Equilibrium properties (stable state). 6.2.4 Predictability of system dynamics 6.3 Actors 6.3.1 History or past experiences 6.3.2 Number of relevant actors; socioeconomic attributes; social capital 6.3.3 Location; knowledge of SES (mental models) 6.3.4 Technologies available 6.4 Governance systems 6.4.1 Indigenous organisation; network structure 6.4.2 Property rights systems 6.5 Action situations 6.5.1 Harvesting; importance of resource 6.5.2 Information sharing 6.5.3 Conflicts 6.5.4 Investment activities 6.5.5 Lobbying activities 6.5.6 Networking activities 7 The relation between humans and territory 7.1 The period before the titling of the resguardo 7.1.1 Salia customary rules 7.1.2 Design principles in the customary arrangement 7.2 The period after the titling of the resguardo 7.2.1 Organisational structures 7.2.2 Authorities in El Duya 7.2.3 Rules for natural resources appropriation 7.3 Drivers of institutional transformation 7.3.1 Design principles in El Duya 7.3.2 Robustness of the SES 8 Environmental planning in indigenous territories 8.1 Spatial environmental planning in Colombia 8.2 Planning in El Duya 8.3 Oil exploration and extraction concerning El Duya 8.3.1 Projects of interest for El Duya 8.3.2 Authority over activities related to hydrocarbons 8.4 Environmental sustainability: multiple understandings 8.4.1 State view: a blurry concept 8.4.2 Indicators for environmental sustainability 8.4.3 The ecological function of property 8.4.4 Indigenous view: ‘pervivencia’ 9 Autonomy over ecosystems in El Duya 9.1 Distribution of powers with regard to ecosystems in El Duya 9.2 Authority exercise over ecosystems in El Duya 9.3 Decision-making and agency over ecosystems in El Duya 9.4 Indigenous territorial autonomy in El Duya 10 Discussion of results 10.1 Human-nature relations in El Duya and institutional change 10.1.1 Law of origin, Mother Earth and indigenous ontologies 10.1.2 Salia institutions and change 10.1.3 Interpreting institutional design principles 10.2 Environmental planning: a question of institutional jurisdiction 10.2.1 Indigenous planning, order and territory 10.2.2 Salia way of planning 10.2.3 Looking after the territory 10.2.4 Indigenous jurisdiction and extractive industries 10.2.5 The concept of environmental sustainability in indigenous territories 10.3 Territorial autonomy: the need for further conceptualisation 10.3.1 Authority and decision-making as a component of autonomy 10.3.2 Indigenous territorial autonomy in Colombia 10.3.3 Planning and autonomy 11 Conclusions 11.1 Human relationship with the territory 11.2 Indigenous environmental planning 11.3 Indigenous territorial autonomy and nature 11.4 Contributions to environmental sustainability 11.5 Further research 12 References 13 Appendices 13.1 Appendix A 13.2 Appendix B 13.3 Appendix C 13.4 Appendix D 13.5 Appendix E 13.6 Appendix F 13.7 Appendix G 13.8 Appendix

Using Ostrom’s DPs as Fuzzy Sets to Analyse How Water Policies Challenge Community-BasedWater Governance in Colombia

Ostrom’s design principles have been broadly used to analyse the governance of common pool resources. However, they are normally assessed as present or absent. We challenge this assumption by considering them as fuzzy sets where membership scores range from 0 to 1, because, in real situations, the design principles can be present at a certain level. We define categories to assess the level of membership and apply it to a single case study analysing how changes in water policy can affect the community-based management of the Water User Association of Mondomo (Colombia). In rural areas of Colombia, most water and sanitation services are provided by water user associations, wherein civil society has developed governance systems based on active citizen involvement and community-based management. Some of these associations have been operating for decades and are essential pillars of the local social fabric. However, recent changes in the country’s policy and legal framework threaten these long-lasting governance systems. The results show that most of the design principles would suffer important changes that undermine the governance system. Essential principles for sustainable community-based governance, such as the congruence of the rules with local conditions, the local monitoring and sanctioning capacities, the internal conflict-resolution mechanisms and the recognition of the rights to organize, are dramatically reduced after the policy implementation

Rockefeller Foundation - 1999 Annual Report

Contains statement of mission and vision, president's message, program information, grants list, financial statements, and list of board members and staff