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Now showing 1 - 10 of 10970
  • Conference Paper
    The Tragedy of the Commoners: The Decline of the Customary Marine Tenure System of Tonga
    (2001) Malm, Thomas
    "The purpose of this paper is to outline how a rapid process of modernization, in combination with urbanization and population growth, have resulted in a breakdown of the traditional marine tenure systems and an over-exploitation of marine organisms. Although there are cases in Oceania where marine areas adjoining villages have remained under communal control even after having become legal Crown or state property in modern times, Tonga exemplifies how Crown/state ownership has come to replace communal ownership but been less able than the local communities to regulate the use of the marine resources."
  • 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."
  • Conference Paper
    Comparing Forest Commons in Norway and Sweden Part I: What is to be Compared
    (1996) Berge, Erling
    "The paper will outline the history and legal foundation of a property rights regime to natural resources in Norway called 'Bygde Commons.' It will be contrasted with a different system of 'State Commons' and with the system in Sweden."
  • 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, �¿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.'"
  • Conference Paper
    Government Intervention into Saami Reindeer-Management in Norway: Has it Prevented or Provoked 'Tragedy of the Commons'?
    (1995) Berg, Bard A.
    "In this paper I have nevertheless chosen to follow Otar Brox's recommendation: To apply the CPT as a constructed, analytical tool (while always having the problem mentioned above in the back of my mind). The test of this tool must obviously be whether it can be used a) to detect and explain important empirical differences, or b) to construct viable practical solutions to real problems of a 'commons'. "Being a Saami, working for a Saami research institute, I might be expected to use the CPT to advocate Saami reindeer-management interests. I do not consider my scientific findings 'objective' (in a Weberian sense), and I accept that my reasons for doing research in this particular field, my choice of methods, interview objects etc. to a large extent depends on the fact that I am a Saami, and wish to do research that gains my people."