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Now showing 1 - 10 of 55
  • Working Paper
    Systems Perspective on the Interrelations between Natural, Human-made and Cultural Capital
    (1993) Berkes, Fikret; Folke, Carl
    "In recent years substantial progress has been achieved in the field of ecological economics for clarifying human-nature interrelations. The fundamental role of the life-support functions of the environment (Odum, 1975) for economic development and sustainability has entered from ecology into economics, and has started to be theoretically as well as empirically analyzed. This has, in part, given rise to the terminology of natural capital and human-made capital. In contrast to the assumptions of standard economic theory, ecological economists regard human-made capital and natural capital as fundamentally complementary. Natural capital and its derived goods and services are the preconditions or the basis for economic development. It is not possible for human ingenuity to create human-made capital without support from natural capital (e.g. Daly, 1990). Moreover, it is not possible to approach sustainability by only focusing on these two factors, natural capital and human-made capital interrelations. We need a third dimension, what we refer to as cultural capital, as well. From a systems perspective, we emphasize that the three types of capital are strongly interrelated and form the basis for guiding society towards sustainability."
  • Journal Article
    The Scientist as Facilitator or Adaptive Co-Manager?
    (2005) Berkes, Fikret
    "Doug Wilson's commentary addresses the crucial problem of building the knowledge commons we need to be able to care for the environment. The example he uses is the fishery, he commons with which he is most familiar. But he could easily have used other commons such as wildlife, forests, or rangelands. In building the argument, he discusses different forms of knowledge, and analyzes the reasons why certain kinds of knowledge sway more power, while making the important point that there are, in fact, many different knowledge cultures (and not just the two kinds, Western scientific vs. informal local knowledge)."
  • Working Paper
    Cultural Capital and Natural Capital Interrelations
    (1992) Folke, Carl; Berkes, Fikret
    "The importance of natural capital and the relationships between natural capital and human-made capital are of fundamental interest in ecological economics. But a consideration of these two kinds of capital alone fall short of providing the essential elements for the analysis of sustainability. A more complete conceptualization of the interdependency of the economy and the environment requires attention to social/cultural /political systems as well. We use the term cultural capital to refer to factors that provide human societies with the means and adaptations to deal with the natural environment. Cultural capital, as used here, includes factors such as social/political institutions, environmental ethics (world view) and traditional ecological knowledge in a society. The three types of capital are closely interrelated. Natural capital is the basis for cultural capital. Human-made capital is generated by an interaction between natural and cultural capital. Cultural capital will determine how a society uses natural capital to create human-made capital. Aspects of cultural capital, such as institutions involved in the governance of resource use and the environmental world view, are crucial for the potential of a society to develop sustainable relations with its natural environment."
  • Journal Article
    Combining Science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Monitoring Populations for Co-Management
    (2004) Moller, Henrik; Berkes, Fikret; O'Brian Lyver, Philip; Kislalioglu, Mina
    "Using a combination of traditional ecological knowledge and science to monitor populations can greatly assist co-management for sustainable customary wildlife harvests by indigenous peoples. Case studies from Canada and New Zealand emphasize that, although traditional monitoring methods may often be imprecise and qualitative, they are nevertheless valuable because they are based on observations over long time periods, incorporate large sample sizes, are inexpensive, invite the participation of harvesters as researchers, and sometimes incorporate subtle multivariate cross checks for environmental change. A few simple rules suggested by traditional knowledge may produce good management outcomes consistent with fuzzy logic thinking. Science can sometimes offer better tests of potential causes of population change by research on larger spatial scales, precise quantification, and evaluation of population change where no harvest occurs. However, science is expensive and may not always be trusted or welcomed by customary users of wildlife. Short scientific studies in which traditional monitoring methods are calibrated against population abundance could make it possible to mesh traditional ecological knowledge with scientific inferences of prey population dynamics. This paper analyzes the traditional monitoring techniques of catch per unit effort and body condition. Combining scientific and traditional monitoring methods can not only build partnership and community consensus, but also, and more importantly, allow indigenous wildlife users to critically evaluate scientific predictions on their own terms and test sustainability using their own forms of adaptive management."
  • Conference Paper
    Building Knowledge about Variability in the Abundance and Distribution of Natural Resources: A Case Study on Berry Harvesting from Northern Canada
    (2004) Parlee, Brenda; Berkes, Fikret; Teetlit Gwichin Renewable Resources Council
    "Local and traditional knowledge is disappearing at an alarming rate, however, there are examples in many parts of the world, including northern Canada, where new knowledge is being created. This case study on berry harvesting provides valuable insight into how knowledge is generated; specifically knowledge about variability in the abundance and distribution of a common pool resource. Knowledge is created when observations about changes are interpreted and shared from year to year within a family group, the community or across the region. When this knowledge is shared and interpreted over many generations, traditional knowledge is generated. It is argued that the success of berry harvesting in any given year, is dependent upon feedback between what is observed and interpreted and the decisions women make about where, when and with whom to harvest."
  • Conference Paper
    Community-Based Use of Mangrove Resources in St. Lucia
    (1992) Smith, Allan H.; Berkes, Fikret
    "The sustainable use of mangrove forests can effectively contribute to their conservation. The experience with an integrated conservation-development project in St. Lucia showed that charcoal producers using mangrove fuelwood resources in a Marine Reserve Area have successfully changed their harvesting practices, reversing a trend of mangrove destruction. The conditions under which this change occurred included strengthening the organization of local users and their resource-use rights, and building a community-based management system, leading to the avoidance of open-access conditions. Surveys of the mangrove, undertaken before and after management intervention, showed that while the mean stand diameter of the fuelwood trees did not change significantly, there was an increase in the density of stems and in total basal area of timber."
  • Journal Article
    Can Partnerships and Community-Based Conservation Reverse the Decline of Coral Reef Social-Ecological Systems?
    (2014) Frey, James Barclay; Berkes, Fikret
    "The marine aquarium trade has played an important role in shaping the ecological state of coral reefs in Indonesia and much of the Asia-Pacific. The use of cyanide by ornamental fishers in Buleleng District, Bali, in the 1980s and 1990s has resulted in a precipitous decline in the ecological health of reefs. Cyanide-free harvesting techniques were introduced after 2000, along with reef restoration measures. This paper examines social and ecological processes in the fishing village of Les, Bali, in ending the use of cyanide and the resulting ecological restoration. An emphasis on conservation-development (with livelihood objectives) was important in securing interest and cooperation across stakeholder groups. Adaptive approaches to governance and knowledge co-production were also important. The strategy used at Les is now being exported to other communities across Indonesia, and provides a promising example of a marine resources-based conservation-development initiative that may be implemented at other, similar communities."
  • Journal Article
    Commons in a Multi-level World
    (2008) Berkes, Fikret
    "This special issue of the International Journal of the Commons considers a variety of conceptual perspectives and lessons from cases to deal with the problems of a globalized, multi-level world. It aims to contribute to extending and elaborating commons theory; understanding the issue of scale and institutional linkages; and understanding multi-level governance of a commons with state, private and civil society actors. The issue is based largely on papers presented at the 2006 Biennial Conference of IASC in Bali, Indonesia. Papers investigate partnerships, networks, and cross-scale institutional linkages in commons management, using a grassroots perspective, while taking into account multi-level governance. The issue includes both conceptual and case study papers (and those combining the two), providing examples from a range of geographical areas and resource types, and using interdisciplinary perspectives, in keeping with IASC ideals."
  • Conference Paper
    The Interface Between Natural and Social Systems
    (1993) Berkes, Fikret
    "This is a background paper on the focus area, interface between social and natural systems. Following definitions, the paper attempts to present some perspectives on the linkage between social and natural systems, and to cover some aspects of the state of knowledge about how natural resource systems and social systems interact under different property rights regimes, and how that interaction affects the performance of natural resource systems."
  • Conference Paper
    Resilience and the Co-Evolution of Ecosystems and Institutions
    (1995) Folke, Carl; Berkes, Fikret
    "Resilience is the ability of a system to cope with change without collapsing. It is the capacity to absorb external perturbations, by actively adapting to an ever changing environment. Reduction in resilience means that vulnerability increases, with the risk that the whole system flips from one equilibrium state to another. Such flips are often a consequence of the misuse of the environment and the inertia of institutions to change. Smaller unpredictable perturbations that previously could be handled turn into major crises when extreme events intersect with internally generated vulnerability due to loss of resilience. To avoid such situations there is a need for institutions with the ability to respond to and manage environmental feedbacks, institutions that can cope with unpredictable perturbations before they accumulate and challenge the existence of the whole social-ecological system. This implies that it is not enough to only understand the institution in question. The dynamics of the ecosystems that form the biophysical precondition for the existence of the institution need to be taken into account as well. This study focuses on the linked social-ecological system, and its dynamic interrelationships. We regard it as one system with its social and ecological components co-evolving over time. It is in this context that we study traditional and newly-emergent social-ecological systems. We are analyzing 1) how the local social system has adapted to and developed a knowledge system for dealing with the dynamics of the ecosystem(s) including the resources and services that it generates, 2) specifically, how the local system maintains ecosystem resilience in the face of perturbations, and 3) those combinations of property rights arrangements, institutions, and knowledge systems which accomplish the above successfully. Examples will be presented from the Cree Indians of the Canadian eastern subartic and their resource management, and pastoral herders and rangeland management in semi-arid Africa."