Sowing New Ideas: An investigation of anthropology’s contribution to rural development in S.E. Sri Lanka

This thesis is a study of rural development resulting from ethnographic research carried out in the villages of Mediriya, Therrapahuwa and Walamatiara in Moneragala, Sri Lanka. As rural villages are being drawn into increasingly complex relations governed by forces of globalisation, this study develops an understanding of the significance of these interactions within the context of development. In Sri Lanka, current (worldwide) concerns for 'sustainable’ development based on 'participation' in order to alleviate 'poverty' and 'empower' local people, must be examined against a historical backdrop in order to appreciate the significance of rural intervention today. I examine issues of knowledge and power emphasising how a variety of stakeholders negotiate, manipulate and form relationships in order to gain access to resources. This thesis tackles development issues on multiple levels. As part of a DFID (Department for International Development) funded natural resources project, focussing on the high density intercropping of banana with rubber, my role was to provide an in-depth study of livelihood strategies and factors influencing farmer decision-making within home gardens and smallholdings. I reflect on the advantages of Indigenous Knowledge Research, which provides a greater insight into how local people identify and tackle problems than previous 'top- down' efforts. However, the fine line between involving local people in development and 'extraction' are also highlighted. My experiences of working within a multidisciplinary team prompted me to reflect on the whole context surrounding the research process and consider the role of anthropology in development. It is argued here that while the involvement of anthropologists in development is not without its dilemmas, anthropology can usefully contribute using a holistic approach to examine the processes of development, placing natural resources research within a wider social and political context and highlighting the difficulties involved in trying to understand something about Others

Understanding Tree Health under Increasing Climate and Trade Challenges: Social System Considerations

Tree and forest health is increasingly influenced by climate change as well as growing globalisation and trade. Climate change enables species to colonise new environments, and species that previously were constrained by native predators are now able to flourish in these new environments with little or no resistance. Additionally, the growing trade in live plants and wood products results in the inadvertent movement of species (such as pests or fungi in soil) from far away areas of the globe. As a result, new forest and tree risks may occur with the potential for significant impacts on forest and tree health. However, managing these impacts through legislation and policy is a challenge, particularly in terms of balancing a predominant free trade policy alongside substantial biosecurity concerns. This Special Issue highlights the social system considerations around forest health: the ways in which specific legislative and policy systems, at the national, regional or local level, aim at regulating or managing increasing invasive species risks and outbreak events; the ways in which policy instruments, technologies or management practices can be developed to manage tree pests and pathogens; and the socioeconomic and cultural implications of pest or disease outbreaks. It illustrates the possibilities and limitations in specific socioeconomic and political systems to manage and limit the impacts of increasing challenges to forest health under climate change and globalisation

Prioritising stakeholder engagement for forest health, across spatial, temporal and governance scales, in an era of austerity

Tree health is a major concern for forest managers as well as others who enjoy the benefits of trees, woods and forests. We know that stakeholder engagement can help define what people find important about forests and woodlands, assist in the development of better management approaches, enhance buy-in of strategies proposed and create a stronger democratic dialogue. However, tree health offers particular challenges for stakeholder engagement because of the wide range of stakeholders potentially involved and budget tightening under economic austerity. Stakeholders are present at different spatial scales (local, place specific; regional; national and international) and need to be engaged cyclically and over different temporal scales, sometimes in immediate decision making but also in planning over longer timescales, for which decisions have implications for woodlands in the long term future. Hence, we need to know not only with whom we could engage, but also with whom we must engage. Our research questions are: with whom, why and how should we engage across spatial, temporal and governance scales and with limited resources to achieve philosophical and practical goals regarding tree health? How do we prioritise engagement efforts to obtain ‘best value’? We undertook two tree health projects, both using and investigating the concept of ‘stakeholder engagement’ in the UK: (1) exploring the concept of resilience with tree health stakeholders; (2) exploring how stakeholder engagement could enhance technology development for the early detection of tree pests and pathogens. We carried out interviews and experiential interactive activities and ran workshops and collaborative field trips with a range of stakeholders. We found that mapping stakeholders identified a complex network of hybrid individuals and roles overlaid on a projectscape that spanned multiple research and practice initiatives. It was clear that as well as undertaking discrete engagement activities, it was important to develop ongoing collaborative conversations, facilitated through networks and alliances. Stakeholder engagement was more effective when interactive, innovative or experiential means were employed. There was a tension between recognition of the value of communication and the time and resources required for engagement. Whilst the state is attempting to devolve responsibility, structural constraints, resource restrictions and knowledge gaps are limiting the capacity of others to fulfil these expectations. It was concluded that, despite economic austerity, investment is required to support relationships and networks, promoting normative and substantive forms of engagement and countering the audit culture, rather than focusing merely on instrumental, easily measurable, short term gains

Technology development for the early detection of plant pests : a framework for assessing Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) in environmental science

This work was supported by a grant funded jointly by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Forestry Commission, the Natural Environment Research Council and the Scottish Government, under the Tree Health and Plant Biosecurity Initiative.Innovation in environmental fields such as plant health is complex because of unbounded challenges and lack of certainty of commercial uptake. In this paper we present a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) framework, specifically to assist with assessment of technologies to support detection of tree pests and pathogens, but also for wider potential adaptation. Biosecurity can be enhanced by improved early detection of pests and pathogens, but development and deployment of new technologies requires robust scrutiny. We critically analyse the concept, practice and applicability of TRLs. Interviews revealed scientist perspectives during the development process of five novel early plant pest and pathogen detection technologies. A retrospective, collective narrative of one technology from concept to commercial deployment was undertaken. We then developed a calculator tool for assessment of biosecurity TRLs. Our findings illustrate the iterative process of technology development, the challenges in final TRLs of acquiring funding to move from proven success to viable product, inefficiencies created through the need for multiple projects for each technology and the imperative to consider the wider socio-ecological technical landscape, including policy context. End user engagement was particularly valuable at beginning and end of the TRL scale. We conclude that the TRL framework comprises a robust approach to assess technologies in that it facilitates progress tracking, evaluation of success likelihood and identification of opportunities for investment. However, its potential will only be realised for environmental management if it is integrated into the socio-ecological technical landscape and wider discussions regarding knowledge co-production and valuing nature.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Are we defending the indefensible? Reflecting on policy and practice around ‘the border’ in plant biosecurity for tree health

Funding: UK BBSRC grant BB/L012030/1 for the project New approaches for the early detection of tree health pests and pathogens.The challenges to forest health from climate change, globalization, contemporary trade practices and new recreational patterns require effective biosecurity. We asked: How is the biosecurity border for tree health understood and enacted by state and non-state actors? What are the consequences for tree health? Semi-structured interviews (N = 10) were conducted with scientists and other relevant actors (N = 21). The border was understood variously as: a biophysical boundary, often the coast; a geopolitical boundary, usually of the European Union; the points of main inspection focus; dispersed nodes of inspection; a ‘pre-border’ outside of UK; or by the location of detection activities. A wide range of state, non-state and hybrid groups are engaged in border practices. These practices have been altered due to trade and climate changes, are subject to cost and resource priorities and reflect particular knowledge flows and the biological nature of the agents. We suggest that there is an ‘everyone’ as well as ‘everywhere’ border that demands clarification of risks, roles and responsibilities, and we offer practical recommendations. We conclude that tree health border challenges are a manifestation of wider sustainability issues that enable us to explore human–nature relationships, democratic engagement and the pursuit of more sustainable futures.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Who has a stake in ash dieback? A conceptual framework for the identification and categorisation of tree health stakeholders

Stakeholder engagement is increasingly recognised as an essential component of environmental management. But what does it mean to have a ‘stake’ in tree health? In this chapter we use case-study analysis to explore the stakeholder concept in relation to tree health. We develop a framework to underpin better understanding of the stakeholder landscape in tree health and through which to categorise individuals and groups within it. This chapter highlights how the framework can facilitate more effective engagement and communication that is sensitive to the particular needs of different stakeholder groups, with a specific focus on the case of ash dieback (Hymenoscyphus fraxineus) in Great Britain. We use it both to improve understanding of how the outbreak developed over time, and to identify the roles of a diverse range of stakeholders as they became involved at different points in the outbreak. Critical reflection enables lessons to be learned for future stakeholder engagement, such as recognition of how stakeholder engagement changes over the course of an outbreak, identification of potential key stakeholder groups that may be overlooked or difficult to access, and which stakeholders are likely to be most influential in driving or facilitating behaviour change

Ethical dilemmas when using citizen science for early detection of invasive tree pests and diseases

The early detection of tree health pests and disease is an important component of biosecurity to protect the aesthetic, recreational and economic importance of trees, woodlands and forestry. Citizen science is valuable in supporting the early detection of tree pests and diseases. Different stakeholders (government, business, society and individual) will vary in their opinion of the balance between costs and benefits of early detection and consequent management, partly because many costs are local whereas benefits are felt at larger scales. This can create clashes in motivations of those involved in citizen science, thus leading to ethical dilemmas about what is good and responsible conduct for the use of citizen science. We draw on our experience of tree health citizen science to exemplify five dilemmas. These dilemmas arise because: the consequences of detection may locally be severe (e.g. the destruction of trees); knowledge of these impacts could lead to refusal to make citizen science reports; citizen science reports can be made freely, but can be costly to respond to; participants may expect solutions even if these are not possible; and early detection is (by definition) a rare event. Effective engagement and dialogue across stakeholders, including public stakeholders, is important to properly address these issues. This is vital to ensure the public’s long-term support for and trust in the use of citizen science for the early detection of tree pests and diseases

Working with decision-makers for resilient forests: a case study from the UK

Improving resilience in forests relies on an understanding of the values, knowledge and practices associated with forests. In this paper, based on a case study from the UK, we present qualitative data on how the concept of resilience is understood by decision-makers, the effectiveness of existing policy tools to promote resilient forests and the current boundaries and social acceptability of different management options. Our research reveals that the articulation of actual, possible and needed policy responses reflects the challenge that resilience is a multifaceted concept with an array of potential implications, connected with a diverse set of forest ecosystems. Our research suggests that the collaborative development and promotion of an overarching vision for resilience, which recognises the needs and contexts of different owners and managers in the sector, might begin to overcome the current challenge of fragmented policy and lack of policy tools. This will necessarily involve discussion and coordination across different areas of government and involve those agencies and organisations responsible for the science behind resilience approaches and applications. In particular, there is a need to contextualise and communicate resilience in line with stakeholder needs, and to articulate the uncertainty associated with resilience measures in a range of situations so public agencies, forest owners and managers can make informed choices

The role of the social sciences and economics in understanding and informing tree biosecurity policy and planning: a global summary and synthesis

Increased global biosecurity threats to trees, woods and forests have been strongly linked to the upsurge in worldwide trade and the expansion of tourism. A whole range of social, economic and political actors are implicated and affected by the movement of pests and diseases along these international pathways. A number of factors affect the actions of stakeholders, and wider public, including their values and motivations, how risks are perceived and acted upon, their ability to act, as well as the existing regulatory and economic environment. Understanding these factors is key to any future attempts to improve biosecurity policy and practice, and we present available evidence on six key dimension: (1) the role of different stakeholders and the broader public within tree health; (2) levels of knowledge and awareness of tree pests and diseases amongst the variety of end-user ‘stakeholder’ groups, and influences on their attitudes and practices; (3) social acceptability of management approaches; (4) the impact of formal and informal governance arrangements; (5) risk communication; (6) economic analyses on the impact of tree pests. We conclude by identifying evidence gaps and emphasising the need for better integration within the social sciences and between the social and natural sciences to promote effective interdisciplinary and policy-relevant contributions to tree health