A multi-method approach to explore environmental governance: a case study of a large, densely populated dry forest region of the neotropics

Semiarid regions are often secondary on the national to global (scientific) agenda, especially if abundant vegetation elsewhere draws attention and the local population is considered backwards thinking and poverty-stricken. The Caatinga, our case study, is such a region, home to millions of Brazilians and a vast biodiversity. Unfortunately, a widely uncoordinated land use change and biodiversity decline are happening, while farmers’ livelihoods are at risk. We hypothesize substantial weaknesses in the current governance practices. To explore governance of the less noticed region, we conducted interviews and field visits and complemented the findings with the literature and internet resources. Our multi-method approach combines the social–ecological systems framework with constellation analysis and dynamic modeling. The aim was to understand the current state of governance in the region and identify clues for more sustainable land management. The use and conservation of Caatinga are negotiated at multiple levels, which are only sporadically interlinked. The conversion of forest land into alternative land uses shifts and shares responsibility among different sectors, while cross-sectoral cooperation is rarely observed. The region and its population face massive prejudices. Obstructing attitudes, such as thinking in dichotomies, and paternalistic and opportunistic approaches, are being addressed by some new coalitions taking alternative action. It is unlikely that these isolated initiatives will converge by themselves to a larger transformation toward sustainable resource use. There is a need to bring the dispersed actions in a more focused and coordinated approach, integrating socioeconomic and ecological concerns, values, and partnerships.</p

Organic and alike farming in Latin America: state and relevance for small-scale livestock keepers

While the organic movement is growing, its contribution to small-scale livestock farm-ing in Latin America is contentious. Secondary literature and available statistics were used for this study. Farms and area under certified organic agriculture are rising, but small-scale livestock farming is little represented. The latter is yet to be found in non-certified organic-like farms, offering locally adapted paths to securing livelihoods

Good Governance: A Framework for Implementing Sustainable Land Management, Applied to an Agricultural Case in Northeast-Brazil

Land management needs to cope with persistent environmental and societal changes. This requires functional governance systems. The purpose of this research is to develop a good governance framework for the implementation of sustainable land management. Good governance theory is extensive, although its operationalization remains difficult. We derived a set of good governance attributes from the literature: (i) the functionality of the regulatory framework, (ii) the legitimacy and accountability of the actors, (iii) the fairness and transparency of the decision-making processes, and (iv) quality control and adaptiveness. These constitute a framework which, supported by guiding questions, facilitates the evaluation of governance attributes to assess sustainable land management practices. We applied the scheme to a case study in Northeast Brazil regarding sustainable land management where biological pest control is considered to be a biodiversity-related ecosystem service. Since its adoption often falls short of expectations, we scrutinized its governance system. First, experts answered our guiding questions, and second, we involved local stakeholders in the discussion of good governance attributes through the participatory approach of constellation analysis. Trust in agricultural consultants and issues of the practical application of pest control turned out to be crucial. The workshop participants requested a model farm to build more trust and experience. There was considerable demand for policy at the national planning level to formulate and monitor the content of the agricultural advisory program. Our conceptualized framework of good governance questions provides systematization for planning and steering the implementation of sustainable land management practices.BMBF, 01LL0904A, Verbundvorhaben INNOVATE: Nachhaltige Nutzung von Stauseen durch innovative Kopplung von aquatischen und terrestrischen Ökosystemfunktionen - Teilvorhaben 1: Verbundkoordination, Grüne Leber und ÖkonomieBMBF, 01LL0904E, Verbundvorhaben INNOVATE: Nachhaltige Nutzung von Stauseen durch innovative Kopplung von aquatischen und terrestrischen Ökosystemfunktionen - Teilvorhaben 5: BiodiversitätDFG, 414044773, Open Access Publizieren 2019 - 2020 / Technische Universität Berli

Ending Hunger is Possible – Institutional Change Matters

First paragraphs: Jahi Chappell continuously begs the question: “Who benefits?” He shares his thoughts about hunger and our food systems in his book Beginning to End Hunger: Food and the Environment in Belo Hori­zonte, Brazil, and Beyond. In six chapters, he outlines his analytical background and tells the story about an extraordinary effort to end hunger in the city of Belo Horizonte and its surrounding villages. The book is preceded by a foreword by Frances Moore Lappé, who encourages us to rethink common assumptions as part of the solution. In the introduction (chapter 1), Chappell introduces institutions and epistemology, and coins the terms Minority World (for instance, wealthier areas such as the U.S. and the E.U.—where rela­tively few people live) and Majority World (where the majority of the world’s population lives, in economies such as Brazil’s). He reminds us to be careful when adopting food security indicators: do not take information out of context, but account for the multifaceted and intertwined nature of the subject. Then he shares a list of eight basic propo­sitions about global food systems (although he unfortunately does not reveal how he arrived at these). The major message is: there is enough food in most places at most times, and perceived scarcity and unhealthy patterns are often a question of profitability and the institutions (the rules, norms and values) that govern societal behavior...

Cattle as live stock : A concept for understanding and valuing the asset function of livestock

Where the main purpose of cattle keeping is not for meat and milk production, their valuation should be based on other functions, which may be deduced from the origin and meaning of the term 'live stock'. By way of example, the monetary value was calculated of the market and non-market functions of cattle kept on Amazonian smallholdings. These cows were kept primarily for savings and financing

BALANCING ECOSYSTEM SERVICES AND SOCIETAL DEMANDS IN A HIGHLY MANAGED WATERSHED: SETUP AND PROGRESS OF A COMPREHENSIVE RESEARCH PROJECT

The INNOVATE project, a comprehensive Brazilian-German research collaboration, addresses sustainable land management in the São Francisco watershed and its Itaparica reservoir. The project studies management options, which promote sustainable ecosystem services and economic viability in climate change conditions. At basin scale, questions of water quantity and quality prevail, including resource allocation and governance. Local and regional studies investigate natural land processes and water resources in addition to their management post dam construction. Consortium researchers are confronted with a multitude of expectations, ranging from knowledge production to interacting with stakeholders and scientists of different disciplines and cultures. As an overview, we predicted potential changes of studied ecosystem services under different conditions within possible scenarios. Further integration of results is ongoing, as is the conversion of scientific results into guidance for stakeholders

Sinais de um problema crônico: a governança hídrica carece promover os comitês de bacias, coordenar planos e gerir informações

A atual governança Hídrica no Brasil contribui para o aumento dos problemas oriundos da escassez hídrica na bacia do São Francisco, majorando os conflitos pelo uso da água. Este artigo tem o objetivo de avaliar alguns desafios e oportunidades da governança hídrica na bacia do São Francisco com base numa robusta coleta e análise de dados nos mais diversos órgãos e instituições em escalas nacional, estadual e de bacia. A metodologia inclui a análise da interação interinstitucional através do exame da coordenação dos planos de recursos hídricos, a análise da implementação dos comitês de bacias dos rios afluentes e a quantidade e qualidade acessível de dados relativos à gestão de águas. A maioria dos planos dos rios afluentes vigentes foi elaborada pelo poder público e consequentemente, boa parte dos planos analisados apresentam propostas com divergências regionais em suas diferentes escalas de planejamento e apresentam falhas na sinergia entre as ações dos diversos planos. Além disso, a região semiárida padece com a baixa implantação dos comitês de bacias de rios afluentes e a bacia como um todo sofre com a falta de um mecanismo apropriado de produção, atualização e compartilhamento de informações relevantes para a gestão hídrica. Portanto, faz-se necessário aprimorar o mecanismo de articulação entre os planos com o uso de ferramentas de avaliação integrada e de contexto decisório, fortalecer a participação pública através de comitês de rios afluentes e a adoção de uma plataforma de dados colaborativa donde se possa compartilhar informações geradas em diferentes setores da sociedade

Unraveling the water and land nexus through inter- and transdisciplinary research : sustainable land management in a semi-arid watershed in Brazil’s Northeast

For decades, large reservoirs have been built for hydropower plants in Brazil’s São Francisco River Basin. Rural development has been a simultaneous goal with a primary focus on irrigation. Irrigated agriculture, however, has suffered from poor soils, insufficient water management strategies, and a disregard for integrating grazing-based smallholdings outside of the irrigation schemes. Recurrent droughts are distressing all sectors. This synthesis assessed sustainable land management options by investigating the aquatic and terrestrial land use systems alongside their underlying ecosystem functions and services. Decisions about the allocation of scarce water proved to be both the major issue of land use discourses and driver of practices. The primarily hydroelectricity-focused water management practice cannot be maintained at the same level in the long run, as it has become ever more adverse towards competing water usages. The increasing use of the water and adjacent land also constitutes a major potential threat to water quality. Managed water level fluctuations should generally mimic natural patterns. Wind and solar power generation are suitable complements to agricultural land use. Cycling scarce nutrients between aquatic and terrestrial sectors is ambitious but promising, ultimately improving the generally poor soils in the area. Smart management of biodiversity can foster intensively-irrigated cropping, although the non-irrigated Caatinga ecosystem needs better management of its conflicting uses. Aims and responsibilities of multi-level planning and management require clarification and coordination between sectors, while practices of public participation should be revised in order to better support a comprehensive and transparent transition towards sustainability

Urban sheep keeping in West Africa : Can socioeconomic household profiles explain management and productivity?

Rapid urbanization in Africa leads to a spatial concentration of people with different cultural origins and socioeconomic backgrounds resulting in a great diversity of life styles and livelihood strategies. One common strategy in Maroua/Cameroon and Bobo-Dioulasso/Burkina Faso is urban sheep keeping. Cluster analyses identified distinct socioeconomic groups with similarities between the towns: Traditional livestock keepers, households headed by well educated government employees or traders, and more vulnerable groups formed of households headed by females, retired people or people with limited formal education. The household types in Bobo varied in their perception of the importance and the development of urban sheep keeping and their future plans. Those in Maroua differed in management intensity and in the potential to adapt their practices to the urban environment. Development interventions to reduce environmental pollution and risks for human health associated with urban sheep keeping need to account for these differences in the target group