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Faure E, Levrel H, Quétier F. Economics of rewilding. AMBIO 2024:10.1007/s13280-024-02019-2. [PMID: 38850468 DOI: 10.1007/s13280-024-02019-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2023] [Revised: 11/22/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 06/10/2024]
Abstract
Rewilding, a concept often defined as an open-ended approach to ecological restoration that aims to establish self-sustaining ecosystems, has gained much interest in recent conservation science and practice. The economic dimensions of rewilding remain understudied, despite repeated calls for research, and we find that synthetic or programmatic contributions to the scientific literature are still missing. Here, we mined Scopus and Web of Science databases through a systematic review, looking for "rewilding" with various economic terms in the peer-reviewed literature, in the English language. We then screened out a 257 references-rich corpus with 14 variables, including the position of rewilding regarding positive and negative economic effects in specific sectors, and geographical or ecological foci. Our corpus amounts to ca. 40% of recent rewilding literature, with a clear emphasis on European study sites and the economic consequences of rewilding initiatives. Rewilding studies often refer to positive economic impacts on tourism and hunting, e.g., through higher income and employment rates, although very few studies properly quantify these. Conversely, most authors find rewilding harms farming, which is threatened by abandonment and damages by wildlife, raising interest in potential EU subsidy regimes. We highlight the surprising paucity of rewilding literature truly focusing on economics and/or providing detailed quantification-with remarkable exceptions. While rewilding's ecological relevance is no longer in question, demonstrating its economic benefits and sustainability will undoubtedly help scaling up. Thus, we advise rewilders to systematically measure and report investments and outcomes of rewilding initiatives, and to adopt common standards for cost and benefit assessments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emmanuel Faure
- Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine, CNRS - Univ. Grenoble Alpes - Univ. Savoie Mont-Blanc, Grenoble, France
- Université Paris-Saclay, Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement, AgroParisTech - Cirad - CNRS - EHESS - Ecole des PontsParisTech, Nogent-sur-Marne, France
| | - Harold Levrel
- Université Paris-Saclay, Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement, AgroParisTech - Cirad - CNRS - EHESS - Ecole des PontsParisTech, Nogent-sur-Marne, France.
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Āboliņa L, Osvalde A, Karlsons A. Habitat Characteristics and Mineral Nutrition Status of Rubus chamaemorus L. in Latvia. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 12:528. [PMID: 36771613 PMCID: PMC9920050 DOI: 10.3390/plants12030528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2022] [Revised: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
In Latvia, cloudberries are considered a valuable delicacy and have aroused interest in the possibility of commercial cultivation, as currently, they are collected only in the wild. A complex study was carried out to provide insight into the growth conditions of wild cloudberry in Latvia. The knowledge gained would provide a basis for the development of cloudberry cultivation technologies in the hemiboreal zone. Habitat characteristics, composition of surrounding vegetation, and plant mineral nutrition status were investigated in 18 study sites. Overall, the species composition of cloudberry study sites corresponded to two plant community classes: Cl. Vaccinio-Piceetea and Cl. Oxycocco-Sphagnetea. The most common species were Sphagnum magellanicum, Vaccinium myrtillus, and Oxycoccus palustris. The results clearly indicated acidic peat soils with high organic matter content and low degree of decomposition as being most suitable for cloudberry cultivation. High nutrient uptake capacity was found for wild cloudberry growing in nutrient-poor environments, as most of the leaf nutrients corresponded to the optimal levels determined for different cultivated berries. However, balanced fertilization to ensure successful plant vegetative and root growth would be recommended. The first results on wild cloudberry in Latvia indicated that optimization of P, S, B, and Mo should be the main focus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Āboliņa
- Institute of Biology, University of Latvia, LV-1004 Rīga, Latvia
- Faculty of Agriculture, Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies, LV-3001 Jelgava, Latvia
| | - Anita Osvalde
- Institute of Biology, University of Latvia, LV-1004 Rīga, Latvia
| | - Andis Karlsons
- Institute of Biology, University of Latvia, LV-1004 Rīga, Latvia
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Stryamets N, Mattalia G, Pieroni A, Sõukand R. "Mushrooms (and a cow) are A Means of Survival for Us": Dissimilar Ethnomycological Perspectives among Hutsuls and Romanians Living Across The Ukrainian-Romanian Border. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2022:10.1007/s00267-022-01619-6. [PMID: 35352199 PMCID: PMC8964239 DOI: 10.1007/s00267-022-01619-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2021] [Accepted: 02/27/2022] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Sustainable forest management highlights the multipurpose use of all forest resources, including the use of wild mushrooms, by a variety of forest users and especially for rural livelihoods. To achieve sustainable forest management, among others, decision-makers and forest managers need to identify the important elements for the livelihoods of local communities dependent on forests. Therefore, our aim is to analyse the importance of contemporary use of wild mushrooms for daily livelihoods in rural areas of the Carpathian Mountains by comparing two ethnic groups, Hutsuls and Romanians, living in a similar ecological environment and formerly belonging to the historical region of Bukovina, but currently split by the border between Ukraine and Romania which have different governments and economic situations. One hundred and twenty-one face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted in the summers of 2018 and 2019. We compared the Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) of Romanians and Hutsuls living, respectively, in lowlands and mountain areas on both sides of the border. Our results demonstrated the homogenous use of mushroom species for cultural purposes (e.g. ritual foods). Yet, we detected a remarkable difference in the role mushrooms play in providing income: Hutsuls in Ukraine use forest products as a main (rarely additional) source of income, while Romanian Hutsuls use them solely as additional income. Romanians on both sides considered mushrooms mainly as food and did not sell them (probably due in part to less abundance in the area). We also documented the fear of local residents that forest management and protected areas could suppress the right to collect wild mushrooms. The use of mushrooms is an important aspect of local TEK and needs to be considered as a part of sustainable forest management and as a means of poverty reduction in the region.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Stryamets
- Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155, Venice, Italy.
- Nature reserve "Roztochya", Sitchovuh Strilciv 7, 81070, Ivano-Frankove, Ukraine.
| | - G Mattalia
- Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155, Venice, Italy.
| | - A Pieroni
- University of Gastronomic Sciences, Piazza Vittorio Emanuele 9, 12042, Pollenzo, Bra (Cn), Italy
- Medical Analysis Department, Tishk International University, 44001, Erbil, Iraq
| | - R Sõukand
- Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155, Venice, Italy
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Stryamets N, Fontefrancesco MF, Mattalia G, Prakofjewa J, Pieroni A, Kalle R, Stryamets G, Sõukand R. Just beautiful green herbs: use of plants in cultural practices in Bukovina and Roztochya, Western Ukraine. JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY AND ETHNOMEDICINE 2021; 17:12. [PMID: 33663565 PMCID: PMC7931611 DOI: 10.1186/s13002-021-00439-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2020] [Accepted: 02/10/2021] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The use of plants in rituals is a little explored corner of biocultural diversity which has developed through time within a complex socio-ecological system. Indeed, rituals are complex interactions between humans and biodiversity shaped by history, culture, and ethnic belonging. Yet, in Western Ukraine, such rituals were forbidden for over 50 years (1939-1991). The current revival of rituals by rural inhabitants is an untapped reservoir of local ecological knowledge. The aim of the present study was to identify the ritual use of wild and cultivated plants in two regions of Western Ukraine, Bukovina and Roztochya, and to compare the findings with historical data. Moreover, we analyzed attitudes toward the ritual use of plants and interactions with the local environment. METHODS We conducted 31 in-depth semi-structured interviews among Orthodox Hutsuls of Bukovina and 16 interviews among Greek Catholic rural inhabitants of Roztochya during summer 2018 focusing on the ritual uses of plants. RESULTS We documented 28 plant taxa among Bukovinian Hutsuls and 58 plant taxa among inhabitants in Roztochya that were used in 7 religious festivals (of which two were celebrated differently in the two communities). Plants were mainly used in bouquets, but also for decorating churches and houses or in fruit baskets. In both communities, almost 25% of the interviewees could not name the plants they collected for bouquets, but rather referred to "just beautiful green herbs" one can get in meadows, forests, and gardens. Comparison with historical data shows a smaller number of taxa currently used (wild taxa have been lost), yet the persistence of 18 taxa used both now and a century ago. CONCLUSIONS Contemporary practices concerning the use of plants in Christian rituals in Bukovina and Roztochya can be contextualized in the broader phenomenon of the revitalization of traditional environmental knowledge and practices that have characterized Europe over the past 30 years and in particular Eastern Europe after socialism. The current religious use of plants is to a certain extent the revitalization of historical rituals supported by various internal (knowledge from older generations) and external (church authorities and fashion in the region) drivers. Further research should address changes in regions with longer and more severe prohibition of religious practices and their revival.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Stryamets
- Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino, 155, Venice, VE, Italy.
| | - M F Fontefrancesco
- University of Gastronomic Sciences, Piazza Vittorio Emanuele 9, 12042, Bra, Pollenzo, CN, Italy
- Durham University, South Rd, DH1 3LE, Durham, UK
| | - G Mattalia
- Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino, 155, Venice, VE, Italy
| | - J Prakofjewa
- Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino, 155, Venice, VE, Italy
| | - A Pieroni
- University of Gastronomic Sciences, Piazza Vittorio Emanuele 9, 12042, Bra, Pollenzo, CN, Italy
- Medical Analysis Department, Tishk International University, Erbil, Kurdistan Region, 44001, Iraq
| | - R Kalle
- University of Gastronomic Sciences, Piazza Vittorio Emanuele 9, 12042, Bra, Pollenzo, CN, Italy
| | - G Stryamets
- Nature reserve "Roztochya", Sitchovyh Strilciv 7, Ivano-Frankove, Lviv region, 81070, Ukraine
| | - R Sõukand
- Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino, 155, Venice, VE, Italy
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Stryamets N, Mattalia G, Pieroni A, Khomyn I, Sõukand R. Dining Tables Divided by a Border: The Effect of Socio-Political Scenarios on Local Ecological Knowledge of Romanians Living in Ukrainian and Romanian Bukovina. Foods 2021; 10:foods10010126. [PMID: 33430148 PMCID: PMC7827627 DOI: 10.3390/foods10010126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2020] [Revised: 01/01/2021] [Accepted: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Local cuisine is an important reservoir of local ecological knowledge shaped by a variety of socio-cultural, economic, and ecological factors. The aim was to document and compare the current use of wild and semi-cultivated plant food taxa by Romanians living in Romania and Ukraine. These two groups share similar ecological conditions and historically belonged to the same province, but were divided in the 1940s by the creation of a state border. We conducted 60 semi-structured interviews with rural residents. The contemporary use of 46 taxa (plus 5 cultivated taxa with uncommon uses), belonging to 20 families, for food consumption were recorded. Romanians in Romanian Bukovina used 27 taxa belonging to 15 families, while in Ukraine they used 40 taxa belonging to 18 families. Jams, sarmale, homemade beer, and the homemade alcoholic drink "socată" are used more by Romanians in Southern Bukovina, while tea, soups, and birch sap are used more in Northern Bukovina. We discuss the strong influence of socio-political scenarios on the use of wild food plants. Cross-ethnic marriages, as well as markets and women's networks, i.e., "neighbors do so", may have had a great impact on changes in wild food use. In addition, rapid changes in lifestyle (open work market and social migration) are other explanations for the abandonment of wild edible plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nataliya Stryamets
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155, 30172 Venice, Italy; (G.M.); (R.S.)
- Correspondence: or ; Tel.: +38-097-960-3016
| | - Giulia Mattalia
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155, 30172 Venice, Italy; (G.M.); (R.S.)
| | - Andrea Pieroni
- University of Gastronomic Sciences, Piazza Vittorio Emanuele 9, 12042 Pollenzo, Bra, Italy;
- Medical Analysis Department, Tishk International University, Erbil 44001, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
| | - Ihor Khomyn
- Nature Reserve “Roztochya”, Sitchovuh Strilciv 7, 81070 Ivano-Frankove, Ukraine;
| | - Renata Sõukand
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155, 30172 Venice, Italy; (G.M.); (R.S.)
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Rediscovering the Contributions of Forests and Trees to Transition Global Food Systems. FORESTS 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/f11101098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The importance of forests to safeguard agricultural production through regulating ecosystem services such as clean water, soil protection, and climate regulation is well documented, yet the contributions of forests and trees to provide food for the nutritional needs of the increasing human population has not been fully realized. Plants, fungi, and animals harvested from forests have long provided multiple benefits—for nutrition, health, income, and cultural purposes. Across the globe, the main element of “forest management” has been industrial wood production. Sourcing food from forests has been not even an afterthought but a subordinate activity that just happens and is largely invisible in official statistics. For many people, forests ensure a secure supply of essential foods and vital nutrients. For others, foraging forests for food offers cultural, recreational, and diversified culinary benefits. Increasingly, these products are perceived by consumers as being more “natural” and healthier than food from agricultural production. Forest-and wild-sourced products increasingly are being used as key ingredients in multiple billion dollar industries due to rising demand for “natural” food production. Consumer trends demonstrate growing interests in forest food gathering that involves biological processes and new forms of culturally embedded interactions with the natural world. Further, intensifying calls to “re-orient” agricultural production provides opportunities to expand the roles of forests in food production; to reset food systems by integrating forests and trees. We use examples of various plants, such as baobab, to explore ways forests and trees provide for food security and nutrition and illustrate elements of a framework to encourage integration of forests and trees. Forests and trees provide innovative opportunities and technological and logistical challenges to expand food systems and transition to a bioeconomy. This shift is essential to meet the expanding demand for secure and nutritious food, while conserving forest biodiversity.
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Hanspach J, Jamila Haider L, Oteros‐Rozas E, Stahl Olafsson A, Gulsrud NM, Raymond CM, Torralba M, Martín‐López B, Bieling C, García‐Martín M, Albert C, Beery TH, Fagerholm N, Díaz‐Reviriego I, Drews‐Shambroom A, Plieninger T. Biocultural approaches to sustainability: A systematic review of the scientific literature. PEOPLE AND NATURE 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/pan3.10120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jan Hanspach
- Faculty of Sustainability Leuphana University Lüneburg Lüneburg Germany
| | | | - Elisa Oteros‐Rozas
- Chair on Agroecology and Food Systems University of Vic – University of Central Catalunya Barcelona Spain
| | - Anton Stahl Olafsson
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management University of Copenhagen Copenhagen Denmark
| | - Natalie M. Gulsrud
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management University of Copenhagen Copenhagen Denmark
| | - Christopher M. Raymond
- Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS)University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
- Ecosystems and Environment Research Programme Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
- Department of Economics and Resource Management Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
| | - Mario Torralba
- Faculty of Organic Agricultural Sciences University of Kassel Kassel Germany
| | | | - Claudia Bieling
- Institute of Social Sciences in Agriculture University of Hohenheim Stuttgart Germany
| | - María García‐Martín
- Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development University of Göttingen Göttingen Germany
| | | | - Thomas H. Beery
- Man and Biosphere Health Research Group Kristianstad University Kristianstad Sweden
| | - Nora Fagerholm
- Department of Geography and Geology University of Turku Turku Finland
| | | | | | - Tobias Plieninger
- Faculty of Organic Agricultural Sciences University of Kassel Kassel Germany
- Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development University of Göttingen Göttingen Germany
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Conserving Biocultural Diversity through Community–Government Interaction: A Practice-Based Approach in a Brazilian Extractive Reserve. SUSTAINABILITY 2018. [DOI: 10.3390/su11010032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
We examined how community–government interaction may promote or hinder the conservation of biocultural diversity. Research was done with the extractive community of the Reserva Extrativista Riozinho da Liberdade, located in the state of Acre, Brazil. The reserve is governed by ICMBio, a Brazilian governmental organisation overseeing reserve policy implementation. This paper describes the interaction between ICMBio and the inhabitants of Riozinho da Liberdade. A Practice-Based Approach was used as a theoretical scope to look at the interaction on a practical level. It was found that ICMBio tried to develop the living standards of community members in various ways, for example, by offering suggestions for the improvement of livelihoods, and by proposing alternatives for consumptive behaviour. Although the relationship between ICMBio and the community was generally valued by community members, this did not always equal compliance with ICMBio’s rules, or responsiveness to ICBMIO’s suggestions for development. Our results show that although compliance was often suboptimal from a government perspective, biocultural diversity may still be reproduced through close interaction between community and government, and thus conserved. As such, our investigation provides counterweight to the abundant empirical evidence on the harmful social consequences of government interference in local nature governance. A main methodological insight of our work is that a Practice-Based Approach enabled us to detect (non-)compliant behaviour that would have otherwise likely gone unnoticed.
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Online and Offline Representations of Biocultural Diversity: A Political Ecology Perspective on Nature-Based Tourism and Indigenous Communities in the Brazilian Pantanal. SUSTAINABILITY 2018. [DOI: 10.3390/su10103643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The concept of biocultural diversity is confronted with contemporary changes that impact on local communities, such as globalization and digital transformations. Engaging the conceptual flexibility of ‘biocultural diversity’, we studied nature-based tourism at the intersection of indigenous communities and the digital realm. We employed a political ecology perspective to examine online and offline representations of biocultural diversity in the Brazilian Pantanal, one of the biggest wetlands in the world, and home to groups of peoples known as the Pantaneiros. Data from interviews with 48 stakeholders in the tourist sector were structured along three ‘myths’—the Uncivilised, Unrestrained, and Unchanged—for which we have also constructed counter narratives. Each myth denoted the primacy of biodiversity, and ignored broader dimensions of the Pantanal as a bioculturally diverse landscape. The relationships of the Pantaneiros with their environment were found to be intricate and had clear repercussions for tourism, but ironically, reference to the Pantaneiro culture in nature-based tourism was superficial. Moreover, thriving on the myths, this form of tourism perpetuates skewed power structures and social inequalities. Lower-class Pantaneiros likely suffer most from this. We recommend stakeholder engagement with a biocultural design that facilitates the integration of other-than-biodiversity values, and that thereby promotes sustainability of the entire social-ecological system.
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