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Clark M, Hamad HM, Andrews J, Hillis V, Mulder MB. Effects of perceptions of forest change and intergroup competition on community-based conservation behaviors. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2024; 38:e14259. [PMID: 38571448 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.14259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2023] [Revised: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024]
Abstract
Approximately one quarter of the earth's population directly harvests natural resources to meet their daily needs. These individuals are disproportionately required to alter their behaviors in response to increasing climatic variability and global biodiversity loss. Much of the ever-ambitious global conservation agenda relies on the voluntary uptake of conservation behaviors in such populations. Thus, it is critical to understand how such individuals perceive environmental change and use conservation practices as a tool to protect their well-being. We developed a participatory mapping activity to elicit spatially explicit perceptions of forest change and its drivers across 43 mangrove-dependent communities in Pemba, Tanzania. We administered this activity along with a questionnaire regarding conservation preferences and behaviors to 423 individuals across those 43 communities. We analyzed these data with a set of Bayesian hierarchical statistical models. Perceived cover loss in 50% of a community's mangrove area drove individuals to decrease proposed limits on fuelwood bundles from 2.74 (forest perceived as intact) to 2.37 if participants believed resultant gains in mangrove cover would not be stolen by outsiders. Conversely, individuals who believed their community mangrove forests were at high risk of theft loosened their proposed harvest limits from 1.26 to 2.75 bundles of fuelwood in response to the same perceived forest decline. High rates of intergroup competition and mangrove loss were thus driving a self-reinforcing increase in unsustainable harvesting preferences in community forests in this system. This finding demonstrates a mechanism by which increasing environmental decline may cause communities to forgo conservation practices, rather than adopt them, as is often assumed in much community-based conservation planning. However, we also found that when effective boundaries were present, individuals were willing to limit their own harvests to stem such perceived decline.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matt Clark
- Human-Environment Systems, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho, USA
- Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Haji Masoud Hamad
- Department of Forestry, Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar, Wete, Tanzania
| | - Jeffrey Andrews
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Vicken Hillis
- Human-Environment Systems, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho, USA
| | - Monique Borgerhoff Mulder
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
- Department of Anthropology, Evolutionary Wing, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of bristol, Bristol, UK
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2
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Mahajan SL, Obiene S, Ojwang L, Olwero N, Valdivia A, Wosu A, Adrid E, Andradi-Brown DA, Andriamalala G, Ban NC, Bennett NJ, Blythe J, Cheng SH, Darling E, De Nardo M, Drury O'Neill E, Epstein G, Fidler RY, Fisher K, Geldmann J, Gill DA, Kroner RG, Gurney G, Jagadish A, Jonas HD, Lazuardi ME, Petersen S, Ranarivelo VV, Rasoloformanana L, Rasolozaka TM, Read DJ, Mwaiteleke ES, Ahmadia G. Introducing Elinor for monitoring the governance and management of area-based conservation. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2024; 38:e14213. [PMID: 37904666 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.14213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2023] [Revised: 10/02/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/01/2023]
Abstract
Monitoring the governance and management effectiveness of area-based conservation has long been recognized as an important foundation for achieving national and global biodiversity goals and enabling adaptive management. However, there are still many barriers that prevent conservation actors, including those affected by governance and management systems from implementing conservation activities and programs and from gathering and using data on governance and management to inform decision-making across spatial scales and through time. We explored current and past efforts to assess governance and management effectiveness and barriers actors face in using the resulting data and insights to inform conservation decision-making. To help overcome these barriers, we developed Elinor, a free and open-source monitoring tool that builds on the work of Nobel Prize winner Elinor Ostrom to facilitate the gathering, storing, sharing, analyzing, and use of data on environmental governance and management across spatial scales and for areas under different governance and management types. We consider the process of codesigning and piloting Elinor with conservation scientists and practitioners and the main components of the assessment and online data system. We also consider how Elinor complements existing approaches by addressing governance and management in a single assessment at a high level for different types of area-based conservation, providing flexible options for data collection, and integrating a data system with an assessment that can support data use and sharing across different spatial scales, including global monitoring of the Global Biodiversity Framework. Although challenges will continue, the process of developing Elinor and the tool itself offer tangible solutions to barriers that prevent the systematic collection and use of governance and management data. With broader uptake, Elinor can play a valuable role in enabling more effective, inclusive, and durable area-based conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shauna L Mahajan
- Global Science, World Wildlife Fund, Washington, DC, USA
- Ocean Conservation, World Wildlife Fund, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Samson Obiene
- Coastal Oceans Research and Development, Indian Ocean (CORDIO), Mombasa, Kenya
| | - Lenice Ojwang
- Coastal Oceans Research and Development, Indian Ocean (CORDIO), Mombasa, Kenya
- Fauna & Flora International, Cambridge, UK
| | - Nasser Olwero
- Global Science, World Wildlife Fund, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Abel Valdivia
- Ocean Conservation, World Wildlife Fund, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Adaoma Wosu
- The Landscapes and Livelihoods Group, Edinburgh, Scotland
| | - Emily Adrid
- Global Science, World Wildlife Fund, Washington, DC, USA
- School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | | | | | - Natalie C Ban
- School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Nathan J Bennett
- Global Science, World Wildlife Fund, Washington, DC, USA
- The Peopled Seas Initiative, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- People and the Ocean Specialist Group, Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy, International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Gland, Switzerland
- EqualSea Lab, University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago, Spain
| | - Jessica Blythe
- Environmental Sustainability Research Centre, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Emily Darling
- Emily Darling, Marine Program, Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx, New York, USA
| | | | | | - Graham Epstein
- School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - Robert Y Fidler
- Institute of Environment and Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, North Miami, Florida, USA
| | - Kim Fisher
- Emily Darling, Marine Program, Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx, New York, USA
| | - Jonas Geldmann
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - David A Gill
- Duke University Marine Laboratory, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Beaufort, North Carolina, USA
| | - Rachel Golden Kroner
- Ocean Conservation, World Wildlife Fund, Washington, DC, USA
- Moore Center for Science, Conservation International, Arlington, Virginia, USA
| | - Georgina Gurney
- College of Arts, Society and Education, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Arundhati Jagadish
- Moore Center for Science, Conservation International, Arlington, Virginia, USA
| | - Harry D Jonas
- Conservation Areas Initiative, WWF, Washington, DC, USA
| | | | - Samantha Petersen
- Southwest Indian Ocean Seascape Program, WWF Madagascar, Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | | | | | - Tojo M Rasolozaka
- Results-Based Management Unit, WWF Madagascar, Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | - Daniel J Read
- Global Science, World Wildlife Fund, Washington, DC, USA
| | | | - Gabby Ahmadia
- Ocean Conservation, World Wildlife Fund, Washington, DC, USA
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Fariss B, DeMello N, Powlen KA, Latimer CE, Masuda Y, Kennedy CM. Catalyzing success in community-based conservation. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2023; 37:e13973. [PMID: 35796041 PMCID: PMC10087706 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2021] [Revised: 05/19/2022] [Accepted: 05/21/2022] [Indexed: 04/13/2023]
Abstract
Efforts to devolve rights and engage Indigenous Peoples and local communities in conservation have increased the demand for evidence of the efficacy of community-based conservation (CBC) and insights into what enables its success. We examined the human well-being and environmental outcomes of a diverse set of 128 CBC projects. Over 80% of CBC projects had some positive human well-being or environmental outcomes, although just 32% achieved positive outcomes for both (i.e., combined success). We coded 57 total national-, community-, and project-level variables and controls from this set, performed random forest classification to identify the variables most important to combined success, and calculated accumulated local effects to describe their individual influence on the probability of achieving it. The best predictors of combined success were 17 variables suggestive of various recommendations and opportunities for conservation practitioners related to national contexts, community characteristics, and the implementation of various strategies and interventions informed by existing CBC frameworks. Specifically, CBC projects had higher probabilities of combined success when they occurred in national contexts supportive of local governance, confronted challenges to collective action, promoted economic diversification, and invested in various capacity-building efforts. Our results provide important insights into how to encourage greater success in CBC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brandie Fariss
- Global Protect Oceans, Lands, and Waters Program, The Nature Conservancy, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
- Global Conservation in Partnership with Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Program, The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, Virginia, USA
| | - Nicole DeMello
- Global Conservation in Partnership with Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Program, The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, Virginia, USA
| | - Kathryn A Powlen
- Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Christopher E Latimer
- Global Protect Oceans, Lands, and Waters Program, The Nature Conservancy, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Yuta Masuda
- Global Science, The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, Virginia, USA
| | - Christina M Kennedy
- Global Protect Oceans, Lands, and Waters Program, The Nature Conservancy, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
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Steenbergen DJ, Raubani J, Gereva S, Naviti W, Arthur C, Arudere A, Ham J, Joy L, Lalavanua W, Neihapi P, Seko A, Terashima H, Andrew NL. Tracing innovation pathways behind fisheries co-management in Vanuatu. AMBIO 2022; 51:2359-2375. [PMID: 36138263 PMCID: PMC9510257 DOI: 10.1007/s13280-022-01788-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2022] [Revised: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Co-management approaches have become a core part of coastal fisheries policy and planning practice in Vanuatu. With a long history of supporting community based fisheries management (CBFM), we trace its evolution in Vanuatu to understand how new structures and processes become adopted at scale. A theory of scaling for CBFM guides the analysis of regime shifts over time. We discuss planning for sustained spread under a national programme by categorising multiple drivers of change through three intervention pathways focussed, respectively, on developing (i) an enabling environment, (ii) institutional and individual capacity, and (iii) focussed innovative action in smaller targeted constituencies. Whilst we argue that local fisheries co-management institutions balance competing interests, and so differ amongst places, we also recognise the importance of connectivity and continuity. The realisation of a national programme therefore requires patchworks of siloed projects to be knitted together into coordinated programmatic approaches that strategically integrate activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dirk J. Steenbergen
- Australian Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS), University of Wollongong (UOW), North Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500 Australia
| | - Jacob Raubani
- Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), Honiara, Solomon Islands
| | - Sompert Gereva
- Vanuatu Fisheries Department, Mingkai Building, Teoma Street, PO Box 9045, Port-Vila, Vanuatu
| | - William Naviti
- Vanuatu Fisheries Department, Mingkai Building, Teoma Street, PO Box 9045, Port-Vila, Vanuatu
| | - Christopher Arthur
- Vanuatu Fisheries Department, Mingkai Building, Teoma Street, PO Box 9045, Port-Vila, Vanuatu
| | - Ajay Arudere
- Vanuatu Fisheries Department, Mingkai Building, Teoma Street, PO Box 9045, Port-Vila, Vanuatu
| | - Jayven Ham
- Vanuatu Fisheries Department, Mingkai Building, Teoma Street, PO Box 9045, Port-Vila, Vanuatu
| | - Lucy Joy
- Vanuatu Fisheries Department, Mingkai Building, Teoma Street, PO Box 9045, Port-Vila, Vanuatu
| | - Watisoni Lalavanua
- Pacific Community-Fisheries Aquaculture and Marine Ecosystem Division (SPC-FAME), CPS B.P. D5, 98848 Nouméa, New Caledonia
| | - Pita Neihapi
- Vanuatu Fisheries Department, Mingkai Building, Teoma Street, PO Box 9045, Port-Vila, Vanuatu
| | - Akiya Seko
- IC Net Limited, Land Axis Tower, 27th Floor 11-2 Shintoshin, Chuo-ku, Saitama-shi, Saitama 330-6027 Japan
| | - Hiroaki Terashima
- IC Net Limited, Land Axis Tower, 27th Floor 11-2 Shintoshin, Chuo-ku, Saitama-shi, Saitama 330-6027 Japan
| | - Neil L. Andrew
- Australian Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS), University of Wollongong (UOW), North Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500 Australia
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Cheng SH, Costedoat S, Sterling EJ, Chamberlain C, Jagadish A, Lichtenthal P, Nowakowski AJ, Taylor A, Tinsman J, Canty SWJ, Holland MB, Jones KW, Mills M, Morales-Hidalgo D, Sprenkle-Hyppolite S, Wiggins M, Mascia MB, Muñoz Brenes CL. What evidence exists on the links between natural climate solutions and climate change mitigation outcomes in subtropical and tropical terrestrial regions? A systematic map protocol. ENVIRONMENTAL EVIDENCE 2022; 11:15. [PMID: 35465308 PMCID: PMC9017726 DOI: 10.1186/s13750-022-00268-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 03/22/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Natural climate solutions (NCS)-actions to conserve, restore, and modify natural and modified ecosystems to increase carbon storage or avoid greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions-are increasingly regarded as important pathways for climate change mitigation, while contributing to our global conservation efforts, overall planetary resilience, and sustainable development goals. Recently, projections posit that terrestrial-based NCS can potentially capture or avoid the emission of at least 11 Gt (gigatons) of carbon dioxide equivalent a year, or roughly encompassing one third of the emissions reductions needed to meet the Paris Climate Agreement goals by 2030. NCS interventions also purport to provide co-benefits such as improved productivity and livelihoods from sustainable natural resource management, protection of locally and culturally important natural areas, and downstream climate adaptation benefits. Attention on implementing NCS to address climate change across global and national agendas has grown-however, clear understanding of which types of NCS interventions have undergone substantial study versus those that require additional evidence is still lacking. This study aims to conduct a systematic map to collate and describe the current state, distribution, and methods used for evidence on the links between NCS interventions and climate change mitigation outcomes within tropical and sub-tropical terrestrial ecosystems. Results of this study can be used to inform program and policy design and highlight critical knowledge gaps where future evaluation, research, and syntheses are needed. METHODS To develop this systematic map, we will search two bibliographic databases (including 11 indices) and 67 organization websites, backward citation chase from 39 existing evidence syntheses, and solicit information from key informants. All searches will be conducted in English and encompass subtropical and tropical terrestrial ecosystems (forests, grasslands, mangroves, agricultural areas). Search results will be screened at title and abstract, and full text levels, recording both the number of excluded articles and reasons for exclusion. Key meta-data from included articles will be coded and reported in a narrative review that will summarize trends in the evidence base, assess gaps in knowledge, and provide insights for policy, practice, and research. The data from this systematic map will be made open access. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13750-022-00268-w.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha H. Cheng
- Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY USA
| | | | - Eleanor J. Sterling
- Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY USA
| | | | | | | | - A. Justin Nowakowski
- Moore Center for Science, Conservation International, Arlington, VA USA
- Working Land and Seascapes, Conservation Commons, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC USA
| | - Auset Taylor
- Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY USA
| | - Jen Tinsman
- Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY USA
| | - Steven W. J. Canty
- Working Land and Seascapes, Conservation Commons, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC USA
- Smithsonian Marine Station, Fort Pierce, FL USA
| | - Margaret B. Holland
- Department of Geography & Environmental Systems, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Kelly W. Jones
- Human Dimensions of Natural Resources Department, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO USA
| | | | - David Morales-Hidalgo
- Forestry Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy
| | | | | | - Michael B. Mascia
- Moore Center for Science, Conservation International, Arlington, VA USA
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Durable Freshwater Protection: A Framework for Establishing and Maintaining Long-Term Protection for Freshwater Ecosystems and the Values They Sustain. SUSTAINABILITY 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/su13041950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Long-term protection is needed to secure threatened freshwater ecosystems and the social and biodiversity values they provide. In the face of existing and future pressures, current approaches to freshwater protection are often inadequate for maintaining ecosystem values into the future. While terrestrial and marine ecosystem protection are well recognized and have area-based protection goals in global conventions, freshwater ecosystem characteristics have remained poorly represented in these goals. Freshwater ecosystems are commonly secondary or unaddressed components of area-based terrestrial protection. The design and management for terrestrial-based protection are generally inadequate for addressing freshwater ecosystem processes and attributes critical for maintaining their natural patterns and the values they provide to people and nature. Given that freshwater-dependent species are declining at a faster rate than marine and terrestrial species, and the reliance and use of freshwater ecosystems by people living around such areas, approaches to protect them must balance the needs of people and nature and accommodate these complexities.
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Salerno J, Romulo C, Galvin KA, Brooks J, Mupeta‐Muyamwa P, Glew L. Adaptation and evolution of institutions and governance in community‐based conservation. CONSERVATION SCIENCE AND PRACTICE 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/csp2.355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Salerno
- Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, Graduate Degree Program in Ecology Colorado State University Fort Collins Colorado USA
| | - Chelsie Romulo
- Department of Geography, GIS, and Sustainability University of Northern Colorado Greeley Colorado USA
| | - Kathleen A Galvin
- Department of Anthropology and Geography, The Africa Center Colorado State University Fort Collins Colorado USA
| | - Jeremy Brooks
- School of Environment and Natural Resources Ohio State University Columbus Ohio USA
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