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Journal Article Eviction for Conservation: A Global Overview(2006) Brockington, Dan; Igoe, James"Displacement resulting from the establishment and enforcement of protected areas has troubled relationships between conservationists and rural groups in many parts of the world. This paper examines one aspect of displacement: eviction from protected areas. We examine divergent opinions about the quality of information available in the literature. We then examine the literature itself, discussing the patterns visible in nearly 250 reports we compiled over the last two years. We argue that the quality of the literature is not great, but that there are signs that this problem is primarily concentrated in a few regions of the world. We show that there has been a remarkable surge of publications about relocation after 1990, yet most protected areas reported in these publications were established before 1980. This reflects two processes, first a move within research circles to recover and rediscover protected areas' murky past, and second stronger enforcement of existing legislation. We review the better analyses of the consequences of relocation from protected areas which are available and highlight areas of future research."Journal Article Learning, Signaling, and Social Preferences in Public-Good Games(2006) Janssen, Marco A.; Ahn, Toh-Kyeong"This study compares the empirical performance of a variety of learning models and theories of social preferences in the context of experimental games involving the provision of public goods. Parameters are estimated via maximum likelihood estimation. We also performed estimations to identify different types of agents and distributions of parameters. The estimated models suggest that the players of such games take into account the learning of others and are belief learners. Despite these interesting findings, we conclude that a powerful method of model selection of agent-based models on dynamic social dilemma experiments is still lacking."Journal Article The Network Structure of Adaptive Governance: A Single Case Study of a Fish Management Area(2010) Sandström, Annica; Rova, Carl"The challenge of establishing adaptive management systems is a widely discussed topic in the literature on natural resource management. Adaptive management essentially focuses on achieving a governance process that is both sensitive to and has the capacity to continuously react to changes within the ecosystem being managed. The adoption of a network approach that perceives governance structures as social networks, searching for the kind of network features promoting this important feature, has been requested by researchers in the field. In particular, the possibilities associated with the application of a formal network approach, using the tools and concepts of social network analysis (SNA), have been identified as having significant potential for advancing this branch of research. This paper aims to address the relation between network structure and adaptability using an empirical approach. With the point of departure in a previously generated theoretical framework as well as related hypotheses, this paper presents a case study of a governance process within a fish management area in Sweden. The hypotheses state that, although higher levels of network density and centralisation promote the rule-forming process, the level of network heterogeneity is important for the existence and spread of ecological knowledge among the actors involved. According to the empirical results, restricted by the single-case study design, this assumption is still a well-working hypothesis. However, in order to advance our knowledge concerning these issues and test the validity of the hypotheses, more empirical work using a similar approach in multiple case study designs is needed."Journal Article Salmon Sans Borders(2009) Pedersen, Steinar"Fishing for salmon along the Deatnu or Tana river has long been fundamental to the culture of the indigenous Sámi people along the Finland-Norway border."Journal Article Decentralization and REDD+ in Brazil(2011) Toni, Fabiano"Recent discussions on REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, plus conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks) have raised optimism about reducing carbon emissions and deforestation in tropical countries. If approved under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), REDD+ mechanisms may generate a substantial influx of financial resources to developing countries. Some authors argue that this money could reverse the ongoing process of decentralization of forest policies that has spread through a large number of developing countries in the past two decades. Central states will be accountable for REDD+ money, and may be compelled to control and keep a significant share of REDD+ funds. Supporters of decentralization argue that centralized implementation of REDD+ will be ineffective and inefficient. In this paper, I examine the relation between subnational governments and REDD+ in Brazil. Data show that some state governments in the Brazilian Amazon have played a key role in creating protected areas (PAs) after 2003, which helped decrease deforestation rates. Governors have different stimuli for creating PAs. Some respond to the needs of their political constituency; others have expectations to boost the forest sector so as to increase fiscal revenues. Governors also have led the discussion on REDD+ in Brazil since 2008. Considering their interests and political power, REDD+ is unlikely to curb decentralization in Brazil."Journal Article Embracing Ecological Learning and Social Learning: UNESCO Biosphere Reserves as Exemplars of Changing Conservation Practices(2013) Reed, Maureen G.; Massie, Merle M. M."Biosphere reserves were first created in 1976 to help scientists, managers, and communities better understand how to conserve biodiversity and improve human-environment interactions. Since then, biosphere reserves have evolved from a primary focus on 'ecological learning' to a broader orientation that includes 'social learning'. The purpose of this paper is to trace how this shift became intertwined with changing expectations about the purpose and philosophy, criteria for site selection, and assessment of effectiveness of biosphere reserves as exemplars of conservation and sustainable development. Drawing on academic reports, policy and other archived documents from the international and Canadian programs, and interviews of key participants, this paper examines how international priorities changed and became expressed on the ground in designation processes and research practices of Canadian biosphere reserves. Our research indicates that social dimensions of learning have been added to earlier ecological objectives. This addition has had a dual impact. While laudably broadening perspectives on research, learning, and learners to include social scientists and local people more effectively, a heightened emphasis on social dimensions has increased the complexity of anticipated outcomes tied to governance and social goals. Biosphere reserves must now establish research and management approaches that encompass both ecological and social dimensions of learning reflecting collaborative and interdisciplinary research and practice that include local perspectives and assessment goals. These changes may require improved clarity for determining where future biosphere reserves should be created and how they should be managed."Journal Article Democracia y Desarrollo: La Busqueda Compartida de Soluciones(2004) Gijsbers, Wim"Leon Janssen es integrante de una consultoria, que asesora al gobierno de Holanda en planeacion ambiental, mientras que su colega Marco Janssen -tambien holandes, pero no familia- es investigador, colaborando con la doctora Elinor Ostrom en la Universidad de Indiana, EUA. Participando en la conferencia mundial sobre Recursos de Uso Comun, el pasado mes de agosto en Oaxaca, ambos visitaron comunidades de la Sierra Norte, hechos que les hicieron reflexionar sus propios criterios sobre participacion, motivacion y desarrollo. Leon: 'En Nuevo Zoquiapam, los campesinos buscan un equilibrio en el uso de sus recursos naturales, como el bosque, agua, peces y su agricultura. No se consideran pobres. Esta actitud solo ocurre con una motivacion interna, que acepta ciertas diferencias en bienestar.' Marco esta impactado por los logros en los Pueblos Mancomunados, resultado de un orgullo y una coherencia social. "Los dos investigadores buscan entender el por que de cambios economicos, ambientales y sociales dentro de la globalizacion mundial. Leon quien visita Oaxaca por segunda vez, observa cambios fuertes aqui: 'Al parecer, los oaxaquenos son mas ricos que hace diez anos. Hay mas carros, 'todo el mundo' tiene television y telefono celular, cosas materiales que en Holanda tambien queremos. Sin embargo, Ã?¿como se relacionan estos logros materiales con las perdidas culturales y ambientales?' Estos nuevos valores y desarrollos tienen consecuencias para las ciencias, suponiendo un compromiso social que estas tengan. Marco: 'Tenemos que mostrar a los estudiantes la diversidad de respuestas que encontramos entre los distintos pueblos en el mundo.'"Journal Article An Empirical Analysis of the Social and Ecological Outcomes of State Subsidies for Small-Scale Fisheries: A Case Study from Chile(2011) Mondaca, Carolin; Aburto, Jaime; Cundill, Georgina; Lancellotti, Domingo; Tapia, Carlos; Stotz, Wolfgang"Small-scale fisheries, which are often associated with low levels of income and poor infrastructure, receive substantial funding from governmental institutions worldwide. Very few empirical studies have explored the outcomes of these investments for people and ecosystems. This paper presents the findings of a study aimed at assessing the social and ecological outcomes of government subsidies for small-scale fisheries through an analysis of 32 fishing villages, referred to as caletas, in Chile over a 12-year period. Findings suggest that the funding appears to be higher for those caletas with the highest value landings and is unrelated to socioeconomic need or poverty; that caletas in rural areas receive less investment than their urban counterparts; that funding did not lead to a positive improvement in either the landings or income for fishers; and, finally, that funding appears to be a consequence of, rather than a reason for, the ecological and productive history of fisheries. These findings challenge two assumptions informing the debate about subsidization in small-scale fisheries: first, that subsidization will lead to over-exploitation, and second, that subsidies are supplied to alleviate poverty."Journal Article Fundamental Re-thinking of Our Association is needed...(2007) Capistrano, Doris"The IASC is indeed a remarkable association; and it has been quite successful. Established with the modest goals of encouraging exchange of knowledge and experience among disciplines, between scholarship and practice, and promoting appropriate institutional design, it ended up contributing to the establishment of a new field of study on the commons. An unmistakable mark of the Association's success is the mainstreaming of its flagship themes and topics in professional conferences and disciplinary associations, including economics."Journal Article Lost in Development's Shadow: The Downstream Human Consequences of Dams(2010) Richter, Brian D.; Postel, Sandra; Revenga, Carmen; Scudder, Thayer; Lehner, Bernhard; Churchill, Allegra; Chow, Morgan"The World Commission on Dams (WCD) report documented a number of social and environmental problems observed in dam development projects. The WCD gave particular emphasis to the challenges of properly resettling populations physically displaced by dams, and estimated the total number of people directly displaced at 40-80 million. Less attention has been given, however, to populations living downstream of dams whose livelihoods have been affected by dam-induced alterations of river flows. By substantially changing natural flow patterns and blocking movements of fish and other animals, large dams can severely disrupt natural riverine production systems – especially fisheries, flood-recession agriculture and dry-season grazing. We offer here the first global estimate of the number of river-dependent people potentially affected by dam-induced changes in river flows and other ecosystem conditions. Our conservative estimate of 472 million river-dependent people living downstream of large dams along impacted river reaches lends urgency to the need for more comprehensive assessments of dam costs and benefits, as well as to the social inequities between dam beneficiaries and those potentially disadvantaged by dam projects. We conclude with three key steps in dam development processes that could substantially alleviate the damaging downstream impacts of dams."