Mechanisms of Weak Governance in Grasslands and Wetlands of South America

Weak governance is a major threat to sustainable development, especially in rural contexts and within ecosystems of great social and economic value. To understand and compare its arrangement in the grasslands and wetlands of the Colombian Llanos and the Paraguayan Pantanal, we build upon the Institutional and Development Framework (IAD) as we explore the role of political, economic, and social institutions and combine components of the theory of common-pool resources (CPR) and new institutional economics (NIE). This hybrid conceptualization provides a synthesis of how top-down hierarchical and market-based systems of community-based and natural resource management negatively affect sustainable development in both study areas. Our findings suggest three underlying mechanisms causing a situation of weak governance: centralized (economic and political) power, the role of central and local governments, and social exclusion. Understanding these multidimensional contextual mechanisms improves the understanding that institutional structures supporting arrangements that handle grasslands and wetlands in a sustainable way are needed to protect the ecosystem’s social and economic values, especially in rural and marginalized contexts.Peer Reviewe

Planning nature-based solutions: Principles, steps, and insights

Nature-based solutions (NBS) find increasing attention as actions to address societal challenges through harnessing ecological processes, yet knowledge gaps exist regarding approaches to landscape planning with NBS. This paper aims to provide suggestions of how planning NBS can be conceptualized and applied in practice. We develop a framework for planning NBS by merging insights from literature and a case study in the Lahn river landscape, Germany. Our framework relates to three key criteria that define NBS, and consists of six steps of planning: Co-define setting, Understand challenges, Create visions and scenarios, Assess potential impacts, Develop solution strategies, and Realize and monitor. Its implementation is guided by five principles, namely Place-specificity, Evidence base, Integration, Equity, and Transdisciplinarity. Drawing on the empirical insights from the case study, we suggest suitable methods and a checklist of supportive procedures for applying the framework in practice. Taken together, our framework can facilitate planning NBS and provides further steps towards mainstreaming. © 2020, The Author(s)

An environmental justice perspective on ecosystem services

Mainstreaming of ecosystem service approaches has been proposed as one path toward sustainable development. Meanwhile, critics of ecosystem services question if the approach can account for the multiple values of ecosystems to diverse groups of people, or for aspects of inter- and intra-generational justice. In particular, an ecosystem service approach often overlooks power dimensions and capabilities that are core to environmental justice. This article addresses the need for greater guidance on incorporating justice into ecosystem services research and practice. We point to the importance of deep engagement with stakeholders and rights holders to disentangle contextual factors that moderate justice outcomes on ecosystem service attribution and appropriation in socio-political interventions. Such a holistic perspective enables the integration of values and knowledge plurality for enhancing justice in ecosystem services research. This broadened perspective paves a way for transformative ecosystem service assessments, management, and research, which can help inform and design governance structures that nourish human agency to sustainably identify, manage, and enjoy ecosystem services for human wellbeing

Governance models for nature-based solutions: Seventeen cases from Germany

Nature-based solutions (NBS) for mitigating climate change are gaining popularity. The number of NBS is increasing, but research gaps still exist at the governance level. The objectives of this paper are (i) to give an overview of the implemented NBS for flood risk management and mitigation in Germany, (ii) to identify governance models that are applied, and (iii) to explore the differences between these models. The results of a hierarchical clustering procedure and a qualitative analysis show that while no one-size-fits-all governance model exists, polycentricism is an important commonality between the projects. The study concludes by highlighting the need for further research on traditional governance model reconversion and paradigm changes. We expect the findings to identify what has worked in the past, as well as what is important for the implementation of NBS for flood risk management in future projects.Horizon 2020 Framework Programme http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100010661Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100002347Horizon 2020 http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100007601Horizon 2020 ()Technische Universität München (1025)Peer Reviewe

Participatory research in times of COVID-19 and beyond: Adjusting your methodological toolkits

Solving grand environmental societal challenges calls for transdisciplinary and participatory methods in social-ecological research. These methods enable co-designing the research, co-producing the results, and co-creating the impacts together with concerned stakeholders. COVID-19 has had serious impacts on the choice of research methods, but reflections on recent experiences of "moving online"are still rare. In this perspective, we focus on the challenge of adjusting different participatory methods to online formats used in five transdisciplinary social-ecological research projects. The key added value of our research is the lessons learned from a comparison of the pros and cons of adjusting a broader set of methods to online formats. We conclude that combining the adjusted online approaches with well-established face-to-face formats into more inclusive hybrid approaches can enrich and diversify the pool of available methods for postpandemic research. Furthermore, a more diverse group of participants can be engaged in the research process

Comparative studies on water governance: a systematic review

Governance is key to tackle water challenges and transform water management under the increasing pressures of competing water uses and climate change. Diverse water governance regimes have evolved in different countries and regions to regulate the development and management of water resources and the provision of water services. Scholars and policy analysts have been comparing these water governance regimes to analyze elements and processes, to assess performance, or to draw lessons. While the number of such studies has increased over the past decades, no comprehensive synthesis exists. This paper aims to present such a synthesis through conducting a systematic review of the emerging field of comparative water governance studies, and critically reflecting on how water governance is defined, conceptualized and assessed in different contexts. Based on the insights that this review brings about, we identify four areas for future research: 1) improving the balance between small-N, medium-N and large-N studies that are applied for comparative studies on water governance, 2) conducting longitudinal comparisons of water governance in order to identify temporal governance trends and patterns 3) expanding the geographical coverage of the comparisons to include underrepresented countries and regions, focusing more broadly on the Global South 4) addressing the issues of justice, equity and power, which are becoming increasingly important in tackling the water governance challenges that are exacerbated by the impacts of climate change, industrialization and urbanization

News Accuracy in Switzerland and Italy

Nearly 80 years of accuracy research in the United States has documented that the press frequently errs, but empirical study about news accuracy elsewhere in the world is absent. This article presents an accuracy audit of Swiss and Italian daily regional newspapers. Replicating US research, the study offers a trans-Atlantic perspective of news accuracy. To compare newspaper accuracy in Switzerland and Italy to longitudinal accuracy research in the United States, the study followed closely the methodology pioneered by Charnley (1936) and adapted by Maier (2005). News sources found factual inaccuracy in 60 percent of Swiss newspaper stories they reviewed, compared to 48 percent of US and 52 percent of Italian newspapers examined. The results show that newspaper inaccuracy—and its corrosive effect on media credibility—transcends national borders and journalism cultures. Nowadays, digitization offers new ways of implementing correction policies. Media organizations need, however, to adapt to these changes and to adapt their structures in particular to new forms of participative and interactive two-way communication

Das Ökosystemleistungskonzept in der räumlichen Planung: zehn Thesen

Das Konzept der Ökosystemleistungen kann helfen, Umsetzungsdefizite der räumlichen Planung zu bewältigen und den Schutz und die nachhaltige Nutzung von Natur und Landschaft zu fördern. Die vielfältigen Erkenntnisse zur Anwendung in Deutschland wurden bisher jedoch noch nicht systematisch zusammengebracht und ausgewertet. Der vorliegende Beitrag stellt Thesen für einen Einsatz des Konzepts der Ökosystemleistungen in der räumlichen Planung und für eine nachhaltige Raumentwicklung vor. Die Thesen führen den Stand des Wissens zusammen und geben Empfehlungen für den Einsatz in der Praxis und für weitere Forschung. Sie sind in drei thematische Bereiche gegliedert: Thesen zum generellen Nutzen des Konzepts, zu Hemmnissen und Potenzialen des Einsatzes wie der Anbindung an Planungsinstrumente sowie Thesen zu Handlungsbedarfen in Forschung und Planung. Sie sollen Wissenschaft und Praxis motivieren, das Konzept der Ökosystemleistungen in relevanten Planungskontexten einzusetzen, es für besseren Schutz und die nachhaltige Entwicklung von Natur und Landschaft zu nutzen und somit Transformationsprozesse zu einer nachhaltigen Entwicklung zu unterstützen

Ökosystemleistungen in der räumlichen Planung einsetzen: Chancen und Handlungsoptionen

Das Konzept der Ökosystemleistungen bietet eine Möglichkeit, um Natur und Landschaft zu schützen und nachhaltig zu nutzen. In Planungsprozessen kann es genutzt werden, um die Leistungen des Naturhaushaltes zu bewerten, mit anderen Interessen abzuwägen und transparentere Grundlagen für Entscheidungen bereitzustellen. Wenn Ökosystemleistungen als zentrale Bestandteile in Strategien der räumlichen Planung aufgenommen würden, könnten sie die Umsetzung und Wirkung der Planungen im Sinne des Ressourcenschutzes verbessern. Das vorliegende Positionspapier verdeutlicht anhand von zehn Thesen, wie das Konzept der Ökosystemleistungen in der räumlichen Planung genutzt werden kann. Der Arbeitskreis "Ökosystemleistungen in der räumlichen Planung" der ARL hat diese Empfehlungen erarbeitet und benennt zu den Themen "Nutzen", "Einsatzoptionen" und "Handlungsbedarfe" konkrete Ansätze für einen besseren Schutz von Natur und Landschaft. Die Thesen sollen dazu motivieren, das Konzept der Ökosystemleistungen in der Raumplanung einzusetzen und so Transformationsprozesse zu einer nachhaltigen räumlichen Entwicklung anzustoßen.The concept of ecosystem services represents an approach to support the protection and sustainable use of nature and landscapes. In planning processes, it can be used to assess the contributions ecosystems provide to human well-being, to weigh them against other interests, and to support transparent decision-making. If ecosystem services were central in spatial planning, they could improve the protection of natural resources. This position paper presents ten propositions that illustrate how the concept of ecosystem services can be used in spatial planning. The ARL working group "Ecosystem Services in Spatial Planning" has developed these recommendations and suggests specific approaches for better protection of nature and landscape. They address three topics: Benefits, Implementation options, and Actions required. The propositions shall motivate the implementation of the ecosystem services concept in spatial planning and initiate transformative processes towards sustainable spatial development

Analog, digital - Opposition oder Kontinuum? : zur Theorie und Geschichte einer Unterscheidung

Forschungsprojekt gefördert durch die DFGDie Opposition der 'neuen digitalen' zu den 'alten analogen' Medien findet sich in Werbung, Popkultur, Wirtschaft, Politik und Wissenschaft. Offenbar hat sich die Unterscheidung analog/digital zur paradigmatischen Leitdifferenz des späten 20. und frühen 21. Jahrhunderts entwickelt. Doch was bedeutet 'analog' bzw. 'digital' in verschiedenen Kontexten genau und gibt es nicht auch Übergänge zwischen beiden Formen? Wann taucht die Unterscheidung auf und in welchem Zusammenhang? Indem sich die Anthologie mit diesen und anderen Fragen aus verschiedenen Perspektiven beschäftigt, räumt sie ein erhebliches Forschungsdefizit nicht nur in den Medienwissenschaften aus