115 research outputs found
âConclusion: Youth aspirations, trajectories, and farming futures
This book commenced with a question of global importance: in a world in which farming populations are ageing, who is going to provide the planetâs peoples with the âsufficient, safe and nutritious foodâ that is needed to meet the âdietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy lifeâ (FAO 2006)? In other words, where are the people who are needed to generationally renew farming? As explained in the introduction, addressing this question meant going against the grain of much research on youth and agriculture. Rather than seeking to understand youthâs apparent disinterest in farming and their exodus from the countryside, the research teams focused on those youth and young adults who stayed in, returned, or relocated to rural areas and were involved in farming (often alongside various other economic activities). Thereby, the case studies presented in this book have put in the spotlight the next generation of farmers. In this concluding chapter, we draw out some important issues emerging from across the chapters and reflect on key differences. This way, we reiterate the various pathways of becoming a farmer, the main challenges experienced by these young farming women and men, and the roles that policies and organizations could play in facilitating the process of becoming a farmer
Natural or anthropogenic variability? A long-term pattern of the zooplankton communities in an ever-changing transitional ecosystem
The Venice Lagoon is an important site belonging to the Italian Long-Term Ecological Research Network (LTER). Alongside with the increasing trend of water temperature and the relevant morphological changes, in recent years, the resident zooplankton populations have also continued to cope with the colonization by alien species, particularly the strong competitor Mnemiopsis leidyi. In this work, we compared the dynamics of the lagoon zooplankton over a period of 20 years. The physical and biological signals are analyzed and compared to evaluate the hypothesis that a slow shift in the environmental balance of the site, such as temperature increase, sea level rise (hereafter called âmarinizationâ), and competition between species, is contributing to trigger a drift in the internal equilibrium of the resident core zooplankton. Though the copepod community does not seem to have changed its state, some important modifications of structure and assembly mechanisms have already been observed. The extension of the marine influence within the lagoon has compressed the spatial gradients of the habitat and created a greater segregation of the niches available to some typically estuarine taxa and broadened and strengthened the interactions between marine species
Relationship between synoptic circulations and the spatial distributions of rainfall in Zimbabwe
This study examines how the atmospheric circulation patterns in Africa south of the equator govern the spatial distribution of precipitation in Zimbabwe. The moisture circulation patterns are designated by an ample set of eight classified circulation types (CTs). Here it is shown that all wet CTs over Zimbabwe features enhanced cyclonic/convective activity in the southwest Indian Ocean. Therefore, enhanced moisture availability in the southwest Indian Ocean is necessary for rainfall formation in parts of Zimbabwe. The wettest CT in Zimbabwe is characterized by a ridging South Atlantic Ocean high-pressure, south of South Africa, driving an abundance of southeast moisture fluxes, from the southwest Indian Ocean into Zimbabwe. Due to the proximity of Zimbabwe to the Agulhas and Mozambique warm current, the activity of the ridging South Atlantic Ocean anticyclone is a dominant synoptic feature that favors above-average rainfall in Zimbabwe. Also, coupled with a weaker state of the Mascarene high, it is shown that a ridging South Atlantic Ocean high-pressure, south of South Africa, can be favorable for the southwest movement of tropical cyclones into the eastern coastal landmasses resulting in above-average rainfall in Zimbabwe. The driest CT is characterized by the northward track of the Southern Hemisphere mid-latitude cyclones leading to enhanced westerly fluxes in the southwest Indian Ocean, limiting moist southeast winds into Zimbabwe
'Young Farmersâ Access to Land: Gendered pathways into and out of farming in Nigara and Langkap (West Manggarai, Indonesia)â (with Charina Chazali, Aprilia Ambarwati, and Ben White)
This chapter describes rural young men and womenâs pathways out of and (back) into farming in two villages in West Manggarai district, Flores island, Eastern Indonesia. The chapter has seven sections. First, we describe the methodology and our sample in the two sites. The second section then provides the geographical and social context and describes livelihood patterns in the research villages. Next, we present illustrative cases of young peopleâs pathways out of and (back) into farming, both young men and women, followed by an account of the tensions arising through the process of land transfer between generations in the fourth section. The fifth and sixth sections focus on young peopleâs farming practices and how the government supports young farmers. In the final section, we reflect on how gender, generation, and class combine to shape the pathways of young farmers out of and (back) into farming and their access to agrarian resources
Indigenous Arctic Fish Skin Heritage: Sustainability, Craft and Material Innovation
The use of fish skin(1) for the construction of garments and accessories is an ancient tradition shared by coastal Arctic societies as a subsistence lifestyle(2) depending on aquatic resources for food and clothing. Arctic Indigenous(3) Peoples(4) need formidable resourcefulness to thrive in inhospitable ecosystems; fish skins provide them physical and spiritual protection(5). During the last century, they resisted not only colonisation and repression by humans but also dramatic ecological changes in seafood security. Fish skin craft became a way to communicate traditional knowledge where practical benefits combined cultural resilience(6). As market goods have replaced traditional fish skin clothing, the need for the skills required to create these items have diminished. The decrease of local natural resources also threatens the craft.
The focus of this research is primarily to propose a vision of sustainability as an anthropological study of the resourcefulness and resilience of the Arctic Indigenous Peoples, their lifestyles, and fish skin practices. Secondarily it identifies the historical, cultural, environmental, and socioeconomic importance of fish skin as an innovative sustainable material, explored through the study of materials, processes and artefact analysis. Thirdly, the application of fish skin materials and craft practices has been tested through participatory workshops to explore how this material and the skill transmissions can contribute to sustainability practices in fashion.
The contribution to knowledge is firstly the mapping of fish skin craft participatory practices with Artic Indigenous communities as this is the first time that such a survey has been undertaken. The material study of fish skin and its contribution to fashion sustainability forms a secondary contribution.
1 Within this thesis, the terms fish skin and fish leather are used to indicate different processes of the same material. Fish skin. Skin indicates the superficial dermis of an animal. In the thesis fish skin is referred as the historical raw material tanned following traditional methods: mechanical, oiling, smoking, bark, brain, urine, fish eggs and corn flour tanning. Fish Leather is used to indicate that the fish skin has passed one or more stages of industrial vegetable or chrome tanning production and is ready to be used to produce leather goods.
2 Subsistence activities of hunting, herding, fishing and gathering continue to be of major significance to the Indigenous Peoples of the Arctic in providing food, social relationships and cultural identity.
3 Indigenous Peoples are descent from the populations which inhabited a geographical region at the time of colonisation and who retain some or all of their own social, economic, cultural and political institutions. In this thesis, I use the terms âIndigenousâ and âNativeâ interchangeably. In some countries, one of these terms may be favoured over the other.
4 The specific Arctic Indigenous groups with historical evidence of fish leather production are the Inuit, Yupâik and Athabascan of Alaska and Canada; the various Siberian peoples, such as the Nivkh and Nanai; the Ainu from the Hokkaido Island in Japan and Sakhalin Island, Russia; the Hezhe from northeast China and the Saami of northern Scandinavia.
5 Arctic Indigenous Peoples believed that humans, animals and nature shared spiritual qualities. Arctic seamstresses decorated huntersâ fish skin clothing with motifs imbued with spirits, which gave protection from danger.
6 Arctic Indigenous Peoples have become a symbol of cultural resilience, actively adapting to colonisation, place dislocation due to land dispossession and resettlement, challenging the persistence of Indigenous knowledge systems
Landscape and Tourism, Landscapes of Tourism
Landscape is central to tourism. It is key to the development, marketing/promotion, and consumption of tourism destinations, to triggering and sustaining tourism markets, and to enticing tourist dreams, fantasies, and behaviors. From âsight-seeingâ practicesâat the basis of all tourism activitiesâlandscape figures prominently all the way to the overall spatial planning and management of a destination for tourism development. The intertwined relationship between tourism and landscape comes with a series of costs and benefits, in the context of tourism landscapes. Landscapes of tourism reflect and stage recreational trends, multifunctional livelihood systems, conflicts and opportunities for employment and income generation, as well as human, cultural, and natural resource management and use. This Special Issue aims to enhance the interdisciplinary scientific dialogue on these issues and challenges, while highlighting their range and significance for tourism and the landscape, in terms of theory, empirical practice, approach, policy, ethics, and future prospects. Some of the questions posed for consideration here are: What are landscapes of tourism, for whom and how/why? What is the role of the landscape in tourism promotion, attraction, and experience? How does tourism affect the landscape? What lessons do the history and geography of tourism have to offer to tourism landscape stewardship? How may we best plan for and manage the landscape in the context of various forms of tourism growth and spread, at various scales? Scholarly advances in the past few decades have steadily built on a diverseâbut spread-out and not adequately connectedâbibliographical basis for future research. Much remains to be understood and exchanged as landscape and tourismâtwo highly complex and multifaceted scientific areasâcome together in the scope of this Special Issue in a variety of ways across time, space, and culture
Sustainable Mobility and Transport
This Special Issue is dedicated to sustainable mobility and transport, with a special focus on technological advancements. Global transport systems are significant sources of air, land, and water emissions. A key motivator for this Special Issue was the diversity and complexity of mitigating transport emissions and industry adaptions towards increasingly stricter regulation. Originally, the Special Issue called for papers devoted to all forms of mobility and transports. The papers published in this Special Issue cover a wide range of topics, aiming to increase understanding of the impacts and effects of mobility and transport in working towards sustainability, where most studies place technological innovations at the heart of the matter. The goal of the Special Issue is to present research that focuses, on the one hand, on the challenges and obstacles on a system-level decision making of clean mobility, and on the other, on indirect effects caused by these changes
'Sustainability' of what, for whom? Unfolding China's sustainability transitions and green modernisation
Today, we face two widespread crises: the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. Tackling these twin threats requires extensive cooperation and system change. The crisis is also a catalyst for reforms toward more 'sustainable' futures. However, most discussion of transiting to a more sustainable future is theoretical or niche-based. Moreover, the consensus has not been reached on many fundamental transition questions such as what is the future after transition, how we transit, and is the proposed transition desirable for everyone. Many studies also end up by underscoring the need for collective actions to tackle complex, dynamic and diverse socio-ecological challenges in sustainability transition. To fill the gaps outlined above, this research aims to focus on China, the pioneer of practising sustainability transition and uncover the structural changes during sustainability transitions. This research asked 'What sustainability is China building? And whom do China's sustainability transitions benefit?' To answer these questions, this thesis by compilation followed the grounded theory to examine China's sustainability from international-national scale, regional scale to local scale. At the international-national scale, this research assesses the integration and interplay of sustainability transitions in China's national development strategies and discusses how do sustainability transitions support China's global ambitions. On an international platform, China's eco-development and eco-civilisation logics help China take more and increasingly prominent roles in UN sustainability councils and other global environmental and developmental organisations. At the national level, China values natural resources based on its nation-state and party's interests. By over-emphasising a shared bright future or great mission, the task of solving individual problems and concerns of specific groups is overlooked. At a regional scale, this research examines China's adjustments and changes in policy in coordinating regional development and transitions. In China, radical policy reform triggered by external perturbations and shocks is competing with incremental policy change through policy-oriented learning. An "double-mountain" theory has been proposed by Xi Jinping since 2005 and has become the dominant strategy instructing China's sustainable development plans. Empirical research was undertaken at the local scale discovering the outcomes and effects of sustainability transitions on local people. China's logic of sustainability transitions has unified complicated relations and interactions among different groups in a society under a single set of all-encompassing terms and principles. By overlooking social differentiation, the Chinese Communist Party can avoid solving tricky problems. In China, sustainability transitions are integral to nation-state stability and party legitimacy rather than a sustainable development of a broad community as envisioned by many other sustainability agendas, such as the sustainable development goals. China's case reminds us that the broader the concepts of sustainability transitions are, the more space powerful stakeholders have to manipulate development to favour their demands. However, there do not have to be negative consequences from sustainable development transitions. Politicisation and pluralisation of sustainability transitions could diminish perverse outcomes and unlock positive social outcomes. The key to sustainable development is not co-developing humans and nature because this has happened for millions of years. To live more sustainably, we need to first figure out how humans can live longer, better and happier without depriving everyone's inalienable rights to own life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Sustainability transitions should be human-centred and the management of competing values among actors in transitions should be decided through a just and transparent approach
Deserts and Desertification
A desert is an ecosystem in an arid zone in which sand dunes cover the land and sandstorms often occur. Although desert vegetation is sparse, it plays an important role in ecosystem structure and function. Desertification is one of the most severe environmental problems today. Land desertification can be controlled through many measures, such as eco-villages, eco-agriculture, biodiversity conservation, and the combination of engineering and biology. This edited volume provides new insights into the pattern of desert ecosystems and the progress of desertification control. It is a useful resource for researchers in ecology, forestry, and land desertification control
- âŠ