Towards a holistic understanding of pastoralism

Pastoralism is a globally-important livelihood, with large social, environmental and economic importance across much of our planet. Yet, it is also a vulnerable practice with widespread crises, urgently calling for better systemic understanding. The current disciplinary compartmentalization of research not only hampers this but allows perpetuation of unfortunate misconceptions. Furthermore, a long-standing marginalization of the livelihood prevails, with pastoralism being largely overlooked in international environmental and economic forums or sustainability agendas. Here we call for transformative approaches to pastoralism research that can advance an integrated understanding of these social-ecological systems through a comparative lens. We develop a framework that uses: i) timescales from the distant past to the present, ii)social, economic and environmental dimensions, and iii) diverse geographic contexts and scales, to capture emerging properties allowing for cross-cultural comparisons. We provide specific guidelines for formally developing a coherent set of sustainability indicators that are transferable across time and space, and can track sustainability. In an exploratory exercise, we also show that very distinct pastoralist systems have undergone similar transitions across time, approaching critical thresholds and then either collapsing or recovering. An integrated view of the interactions between the environmental, social and economic dimensions of these transitions allows for an improved understanding of potential tipping points, hence supporting more proactive and informed decision-making. We conclude that the need for a paradigm shift in pastoralism science and policy is pressing. Determining when, where and how is pastoralism not only sustainable, but also the most adaptive livelihood, has become a priority. This paper is based on Manzano et al. (2021).Peer reviewe

Local Environment but Not Genetic Differentiation Influences Biparental Care in Ten Plover Populations

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Convergences and divergences between scientific and Indigenous and Local Knowledge contribute to inform carnivore conservation

There is increasing recognition that diverse knowledge systems can work in mutually enriching ways and that Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK) can enhance biodiversity conservation. However, studies using scientific knowledge and ILK in a complementary manner, and acknowledging convergent and especially divergent insights have remained limited. In this study, we contrasted proxies of abundances and trends of threatened and conflict-prone carnivores (caracal, cheetah, jackal, lion, leopard, spotted hyaena, striped hyaena) derived separately from scientific knowledge and ILK. We conducted camera trapping, track surveys and semi-structured interviews with local pastoralists from northern Kenya. We found convergences highlighting the need for conservation action and divergences suggesting scientific ecological sampling limitations or underlying socio-psychological phenomena. Overall, our study shows that complementing scientific knowledge and ILK as separate sources of information and opening up space for discrepancies can enrich our understanding of the status and trends of carnivores, as well as recognizing human-carnivore relationships.Peer reviewe

Landowner preferences and conservation prioritization : response to Nielsen et al

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Continuous cover forestry is a cost-efficient tool to increase multifunctionality of boreal production forests in Fennoscandia

Earlier research has suggested that the diversification of silvicultural strategies is a cost-efficient tool to ensure multifunctionality in production forests. This study compared the effects of continuous cover forestry and conventional rotation forestry on ecosystem services and biodiversity in boreal forests in Finland. We simulated over 25,000 commercial forest stands for 100 years under continuous cover and rotation forest management. Forests without management were used as a reference. We compared the effects of silvicultural practices over space and time on ecosystem services, biodiversity indicators and multifunctionality. Our results revealed that continuous cover forestry was better than rotation forest management in terms of timber net present value, carbon sequestration, bilberry production, scenic beauty and the number of large trees. It provided higher habitat availability for indicator species dependent on deciduous trees and mature forest structure. Rotation forest management was better than continuous cover forestry in terms of harvested tree biomass, cowberries, mushrooms, and species dependent on high tree volume. In general, multifunctionality was higher in continuous cover forests than in rotation forests. Therefore, continuous cover forests may have a greater potential to produce simultaneously multiple benefits from forests. However, unmanaged forests often provided the highest levels of services and biodiversity making their role indispensable in delivering forest related ecosystem services and, especially, in the maintenance of biodiversity. Continuous cover forestry does not itself guarantee the maintenance of all ecosystem services and biodiversity in commercial forests but it can be an important part of a successful progression towards more sustainable forestry.peerReviewe

Biocultural conflicts: understanding complex interconnections between a traditional ceremony and threatened carnivores in north Kenya

Biological and cultural diversity are inextricably linked and rapidly eroding worldwide. As a response, many conservation efforts foster synergies between cultural and biological diversity agendas through biocultural approaches. However, such approaches do not always address biocultural conflicts, where certain cultural practices can lead to biodiversity loss and, in turn, threaten the continuance of such practices. In this study, we examined a biocultural conflict in the Dimi ceremony, the most important rite of passage of the Daasanach agro-pastoralists of north Kenya, in which skins from threatened carnivore species are used extensively as traditional ornaments. We quantified the current use of skins in Dimi as well as changes in the cultural ceremony that exacerbate its impacts on wildlife. We collected field-based data on the context of the use of skins through structured interviews, focus-group discussions, participant observation and counts of skins in two Dimi ceremonies. We counted a total of 121 skins of four carnivore species being used in a single ceremony. We also found that Dimi has become environmentally unsustainable, threatening distant cheetah Acinonyx jubatus and leopard Panthera pardus populations and local species with spotted skins (African civet Civettictis civetta, common genet Genetta genetta and serval Leptailurus serval). The young Daasanach are deeply concerned about the lack of availability of skins in their area, as well as the prohibitive prices, and they are calling for alternatives to the use of skins in Dimi. Overall, our study shows that acknowledging biocultural conflicts and opening space for dialogue with local communities are essential for the maintenance of both biological and cultural diversity.Peer reviewe

Changing forest stakeholders’ perception of ecosystem services with linguistic nudging

Forest owners and professionals are key in facilitating transition to sustainable forest management as they can influence the processes of future forest practices and use. Recently, an emerging literature has examined the effects that viewing different types of information may have on stakeholder perceptions in the context of forest management. These studies have demonstrated a link between information interventions and preference change, but only to some degree. Therefore, there is a need to further explore individuals’ reactions to information on forest-based (ES) and to link these reactions to the design of policy instruments. Contributing to this gap, we explore whether Finnish forest owners’ and forestry professionals’ perceptions could be nudged towards more sustainable management by adjusting a policy text’s metaphorical content. In Finland, the official instructions recommend even-aged rotation forest management (RFM). Yet, owners and professionals have flexibility in choosing their management practices, and they could, for example, apply continuous-cover forest (CCF) practices, which in some areas and contexts have been shown to offer more ES and yield significantly less negative impacts on biodiversity than RFM [1]. We set up a nationwide survey, gathering 2113 responses from private forest owners and 1452 from forest professionals. The survey included a questionnaire collecting background information and the nudge. In the nudge part, the participants were asked to read a short text written by an expert on various aspects related to RFM and CCF. We designed four versions of the text presented, each of them with a different metaphorical emphasis, either business-as-usual, neutral, minor favouring towards CCF and major emphasis towards CCF. Each participant read one version and was then asked to rate the preference (worth striving for), plausibility (convincing, feels real, realistic) and understandability of the text (clear, coherent, well written). We investigated the effect of respondent characteristics and the effect of nudge on reported stance on CCF. Professionals provided more negative feedback on CCF than owners and this more negative as one increased the nudging in favor of CCF, while the forest owners’ opinion became more positive. The results also indicate that age and gender are determining variables in the nudge. Age affects in different manners between the stakeholder groups. Women, regardless of being professionals or owners, showed higher stance on CCF than men. Our study highlights the existing opinion divide towards CCF between key private forest owners and forest professionals in Finland. The opposite reaction of the stakeholder groups to the nudge highlights challenges of one-fits-all policy instruments to make policies more palatable. 1. Peura, M., et al. Continuous cover forestry is a cost-efficient tool to increase multifunctionality of boreal production forests in Fennoscandia. Biol. Conserv. 217 (2018).peerReviewe