Enhancing Community-scale Social Resilience: what is the connection between healthy communities and healthy waterways?

Qualitative research undertaken in a regional centre of northern Queensland revealed how community members with an interest in water quality see themselves and others being pro-active in maintaining healthy waterways. Interview analysis revealed that respondents saw social resilience to changing water quality as contingent upon personal perceptions of water quality; the ability of a whole community to respond to changes in water quality; and individual behaviour change. Many participants explained that, in general, individuals would not take responsibility for maintaining healthy waterways unless there were personal consequences for not acting. We relate these data to current literature linking individual attitudes to community pro-environmental behaviour. We conclude that certain conditions usually prevail before a whole community will take up environmentally responsible behaviour. These conditions include a latent level of social capital, collective social learning, agency coordination, sufficient resources, and personal significance.     

Collaborative Management of Public Rangeland in Wyoming: Lessons in Co-Management

Collaborative processes are gaining acceptance as a means to integrate different values and interests in the management of natural resources. This paper examines one form of collaboration, Coordinated Resource Management (CRM), as it is being applied to public rangeland management in Wyoming. The study included personal and telephone interviews of participants in CRM groups, document review, and personal observation to understand how the process works to achieve consensus among diverse stakeholders. Groups used five mechanisms to deal with different values and interests in their processes: (1) elimination of unnecessary or “overlay” conflict; (2) limitation of values and visions considered; (3) use of broad goals to guide actions; (4) casting value differences as disagreement over facts; (5) a search for and faith in win-win solutions. These mechanisms vary in their usefulness for achieving co-management ideals. Where interests or values have come into open conflict, as in some conflict-resolution groups, CRM has had limited success. This paper suggests that successful co-management requires more than power-sharing structures. We have yet to develop highly effective processes that can work with conflicting interests. It is also argued that struggles among various interests for greater recognition (and hence power) will continue to undergird the power-sharing collaborative and co-management processes.     

Assessing participatory GIS for community-based natural resource management: claiming community forests in Cameroon

This paper critically reviews and analyses participatory GIS (PGIS) and participatory mapping applications within participatory spatial planning for community-based natural resource management in developing countries. There is an often implicit assumption that PGIS use is effective, in that it meets content needs, satisfies underlying local stakeholder interests and therefore is a tool for better governance. The analytical framework looks at participatory spatial planning performance with respect to key dimensions of governance, especially the intensity of community participation and empowerment, equity within communities and between 'governed' and 'governing', respect for indigenous knowledge, rights, ownership, legitimacy, and effectiveness. Specific development focus is given by a case study using participatory mapping and PGIS in community forest legitimization, planning and management in Tinto, Cameroon. 'Good governance' criteria are applied ex-post to the implementation procedures, the geo-information outputs, and the longer-term outcomes of the PGIS processes. Impacts of incorporating PGIS were examined in terms of the types and degrees of participation in the process; access to, and the uses made of, the geographic information; whether the information outputs met stakeholders' requirements; and the overall changes in equity and empowerment in the community. It was found that PGIS/participatory mapping processes contributed – positively, though not comprehensively – to good governance, by improving dialogue, redistributing resource access and control rights – though not always equitably – legitimizing and using local knowledge, exposing local stakeholders to geospatial analysis, and creating some actor empowerment through training. PGIS promoted empowerment by supporting community members' participation in decision-making and actions, and by enabling land use planning decisions beyond community forestry itself.     

Resource Struggles and the Politics of Place in North Lampung, Indonesia

This paper considers the difficulties inherent in countering the negative effects of globalisation in Indonesia through an enhanced recognition of place-based cultural communities, which are seen to offer an alternative and more progressive path towards development. Focusing on the local history of resource struggles involving Javanese migrants and local people in North Lampung, the paper examines the ways that different groups of migrants and local Lampung people have dealt with changing resource control mechanisms in the context of the local transmigration ( Translok ) programme and large-scale agro-industrial development in the region. Whilst elites have been able to develop their personal wealth by capitalising on political and economic uncertainty, poor people from both groups have had to contend with conflict and increasing livelihood vulnerability that, if anything, has been intensified through the reassertion of place-based cultures of resource control. In challenging populist narratives of resistance to transmigration that pit migrants against "indigenous" local people, the paper identifies the class-related ambivalences towards development and structures of authority that cut across community and locality in the Translok zone     

Confidence and Trust in Public Institution Natural Hazards Management: Case Studies in Urban and Rural China

This research aims to investigate the extent to which urban and rural residents trust grassroots-level institutions and how this might affect community resilience to environmental change in China. It focuses on the commitments of institutional actors and their capacities to manage natural hazards and coordinate the community's response. Semistructured interviews were conducted with megacity (Tianjin) and remote village (Wolong) residents in China. We found that public confidence in grassroots-level institutions is limited due to inherent constraints on resources and power. Residents of Wolong tend to recognize the commitment and role of those institutions in connecting individuals with one another, whereas their urban counterparts in Tianjin remain skeptical. Issues of solidarity might account for this difference. These findings will have implications for state–society cooperation and disaster risk comanagement in both urban and rural China.     

On The Waterfront: Globalization and Urbanization in Singapore

Although many cities aspire to "global-city status," few have been as explicit as Singapore in its quest to create urban landscapes to project its global aspirations. This paper presents the case of the Singapore River development zone as a "hyper-symbol" of Singapore's global urbanism. By creating a world-class riverfront not unlike the acclaimed waterfronts of London, Sydney, or San Francisco, Singapore's urban planners hope to project the city as a venue worthy of world-class tourism and leisure activities, an important node in international circuits of capital, and a vibrant city for both foreign visitors and local residents. Our paper, however, also argues that local forces and influences play a significant role in the waterfront's development. The Singapore River landscape is the negotiated outcome of both globalism and localism—a dialectical landscape formed by dominant global influences on the one hand, and emerging local processes on the other. Fieldwork comprising a questionnaire survey, in-depth interviews, and on-site observations provide evidence of such global-local interactions. The paper contends that the challenges at the river are symptomatic of the broader Singapore experience as the city-state grapples with issues of national identity, local empowerment, and community rights in the midst of a global convergence of tourists, capital, people, and cultures.     

Expanding Women's Choices through Employment? Community-Based Natural Resource Management and Women's Empowerment in Kwandu Conservancy,Namibia

Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) has been heralded for promoting development by creating employment in rural areas. However, limited scholarly attention has been given to the effects of CBNRM-derived employment on individual women. We use an empowerment lens to evaluate claims that CBNRM benefits communities because it creates formal employment for women. A case study of Kwandu Conservancy, located in Namibia's Caprivi region, generated 49 interviews of a wide range of female conservancy residents. Data were also collected through participant observation, document review, and 20 key informant interviews. Data analysis revealed that employment has a mixed impact on women's choices and their empowerment, bringing both costs and benefits to female employees. Understanding this range of experiences allows us to consider how CBNRM efforts can be structured to enhance employment opportunities more broadly within the social structures of a conservancy while anticipating and mitigating negative effects on women.     

Environmental education and learning communities: The case of Kaikorai Stream,Dunedin, New Zealand

This paper discusses a secondary school education initiative focussing on environment and sustainability centred on a small urban stream. This initiative has passed through an engagement stage, involving the community and other schools, and is now being embedded in curriculum learning. A cross‐curricular learning programme has been trialled and points the way toward new types of educational models within secondary schools in accord with opportunities offered by the new school curriculum. Moreover, these opportunities have wider benefits across the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors as well as within the community. These benefits include vertically structured place‐based education, win‐win partnerships, rationalising of local resources and leadership and networking. Further developments within the context of integrated catchment management are ongoing.     

POACHING STATE POLITICS IN SOCIALIST CHINA: UXIN JU'S GRASSLAND CAMPAIGN, 1958–1966*

ABSTRACT. This study explores the local experience of a state‐initiated campaign to improve the grassland in Uxin Ju, a Mongolian community in northern China, from 1958 to 1966. The contrast between the local experience and the official representation reveals great discrepancies and attests to the ability of local people to utilize state policies to meet local needs, transforming socialist ideologies into local rationales. Applying Michel de Certeau's theory of everyday practice that sees book reading as poaching and the use/consumption of political and cultural discourses as a process of creative empowerment, I examine how the Mongols in Uxin Ju “poached” state politics to their own advantages and appropriated the grassland campaign in the making of the local landscape. This poaching further elucidates James Scott's concept of ideological resistance by focusing on the creative use of nonoppositional nature, which is an important way in which local people could express their agency in the oppressive regime of socialist China. This article calls attention to how nonsubversive co‐optation of state policies can function as an expression of agency in the making of local human‐environmental history, even on the part of individuals who are actively accommodating to the ideology of the dominant regime.     

社区增权视角下文化遗产地治理路径优化

以湖南省龙山县惹巴拉村寨为例,采用文本分析法与深度访谈法,基于社区增权视角,优化文化遗产地治理路径。结果发现：1）文化遗产地社区失权体现在经济失权、心理失权、社会失权及政治失权4个方面。2）文化遗产地通过权力合作、权力共有及权力激励等社区赋权方式再分配资源、权益及资本。3）权力共有路径下,强化政策透明度和社区话语权,有助于社区主体参与治理;权力合作路径下,扩充资源分配渠道、强化主体合作关系,有助于社区治理渠道扩展;权力激励路径下,规范治理主体、治理对象及监管方式,有助于社区治理政策细化。文章借助“社区增权”理论,将旅游引发的“社区失权”改进为“社区增权”,补充完善文化遗产地治理研究,可为其他少数民族文化遗产地的治理提供参考。     

Integrated,Regional, Natural Resource and Environmental Planning and the Natural Heritage Trust Phase 2: a case study of the Northern Agricultural Catchments Council,Western Australia

Since 2002, the Australian Natural Heritage Trust Phase 2 (NHT2) has required community groups seeking funds for natural resource management projects to have developed nationally accredited regional strategies and investment plans. This case study reports on the progress of one such regional (and sub-regional) group, examining in particular the perceptions of the community group members and other stakeholders of the overall process. Through interviews, participant observation and document analysis in 2004–05, the process of developing a regional strategy and an investment plan by the Northern Agricultural Catchments Council in Western Australia, and the involvement of regional stakeholders in the process, were examined. While the concept of regional-scale management was perceived favourably by community interviewees, their concerns related to increasing bureaucracy, the need for further local involvement, more on-ground action instead of further planning, the relevance of the regional Council to local communities, and the motives of Council members. Communication with regional stakeholders was extensive in preparing the regional strategy, but fell short during the development of the investment plan. The success of the regional planning process will be evidenced by whether members of the regional community actively implement regional priorities, and whether long-term funding and support from the State and Australian governments are provided.     

Exploring “Deep Roots”: Politics of Place and Groundwater Management Practices in the Pajaro Valley,California

Groundwater is one of the most critical natural resources in an era of climate change, yet groundwater depletion is extensive in many parts of the world. The Pajaro Valley, an agricultural region in Central California, exemplifies the common challenges to sustainably manage a groundwater basin. This article draws on materialist conceptions of power and political economy, and humanist conceptions of place identity and dependence, to illuminate how both can influence groundwater management practices. Through ethnographic observation and interviews with self-identified groundwater users, we find that social character, economic interactions, and dominant understandings of culture and community all work together to define personal and collective meanings of and attachments to place. We suggest that using a “politics of place” approach can provide a deeper understanding of why particular groundwater management practices occur, and that this can aid in shaping future sustainability efforts.     

Changing Rural Spaces: Deregulation and the decline of tobacco farming in the Mareeba-Dimbulah Irrigation Area,Far North Queensland

The growing of tobacco was one of the most tightly regulated industries in Australia, until deregulation in 1995. Commonwealth regulations controlled the area cultivated with tobacco, the number of growers (i.e. quota holders) and marketing arrangements for tobacco leaf. This paper begins by outlining the nature and historical development of controls in the tobacco-growing industry, and discusses how the Commonwealth government removed the industry's regulatory and protective framework in 1995. The third part of the paper examines how deregulation has impacted upon the Mareeba-Dimbulah Irrigation Area, Far North Queensland, where small farmers produced 60 per cent of Australia's tobacco in 1995. The discussion will show that the agricultural landscape once dominated by tobacco has been transformed, as local farmers abandoned growing tobacco in favour of sugar cane, avocadoes, mangoes, macadamia nuts and other small vegetable crops (e.g. navy beans, pumpkins). Tobacco, once promoted by the Queensland government as a crop to facilitate closer settlement in the Mareeba-Dimbulah Irrigation Area, will have almost vanished from the landscape by 2002.     

赋权视角下的乡村规划社区参与及其影响分析——以陈庄为例

面向乡村振兴的规划需要真正的社区参与,已有研究多聚焦于规划技术改进,对村民参与主动性关注不足,更受制于村民较弱的参与能力。本文从赋权理论激发弱势群体权能的新视角出发,以江苏省句容市陈庄的社区参与乡村规划试验为例,结合社区心理学行为分析的“认知-情感-互动”逻辑,构建乡村规划赋权作用于社区参与行为的分析框架,并从模拟参与选择、活动参与度和组织化程度三方面测度社区参与行为及其变化。研究通过三年半共计84次跟踪调研的参与式观察、访谈和问卷调查,收集村民、规划团队、政府言行的全过程资料,分析得出：针对不同规划阶段社区参与的特定目的,规划采用差异化的赋权策略,对社区进行了很高程度的信息、教育和制度赋权。尽管规划中后期的实际参与率稍低于初期模拟的参与意愿,但赋权仍维持了较高的社区参与广度,且显著提升了社区参与深度,包括村民参与动机的转变以及个体学习、集体行动等参与能力的提高。赋权的作用,通过增加村民的信息与知识、增强村民的信心和责任,进而改变村民对规划、社区发展和自身的认知、情感以及互动能力这一传导路径得以实现。研究深化对乡村规划社区参与行为的认识,并对激发村民参与积极性与能力具有借鉴意义。     

Helge Ingstad 1899-2001

The article aims to determine the degree of sociocultural change resulting from the return of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), how the changes have impacted on the workers' original communities, and the various reintegration challenges posed by those communities. The theoretical framework of the article is built upon concepts of transnationalism and habitus. The methodology employed included field research conducted in 2010 and a village community approach. The study revealed that changes in the personal identities and social behaviour of the returnees are significant. However, the returnees' family ties and attitudes towards religion were largely the same as before they went overseas, and some had grown even closer to their families and become more religious. Further, the changes in their local community that occurred subsequent to their return revealed both positive and negative influences. Several sociocultural factors impeded the reintegration of returnee OFWs, and this called for action at all levels of government in the Philippines as well as from local communities and the returnees themselves.     

Local provenance in rehabilitation of degraded landscapes: a case study from the Hawkesbury–Nepean catchment, Australia

Throughout Australia thousands of volunteers are engaged in Landcare projects that should help rehabilitate degraded landscapes. Many of these projects involve tree planting, but their seed is not necessarily of local provenance. Based on a survey of 85 Landcare groups working in the Hawkesbury–Nepean catchment, data were collected about Landcare groups' knowledge of their seed source, understanding of local provenance and the ecosystem in which they were planting trees and the source of funding for their projects. The findings from the study indicate that about one in five (21%) of the groups surveyed that introduced plant material were not aware of local provenance issues. Indirect indications were that a large number of Landcare groups state-wide may be doing more harm than good to the landscape while trying to rehabilitate it. The data also showed that one in seven (13%) of the groups funded by the Australian Government through the Natural Heritage Trust (NHT) had limited awareness of local provenance issues. With millions of dollars being spent on 'works on the ground', it would be prudent to allocate some funds to document and monitor current Landcare activities, so that the environmental outcomes can be quantified and more effective Landcare policies can be developed in the future.     

社区营造进程中的乡村地方性建构特征与机制 ——以台湾中和社区为例

以台湾中和社区为案例,采用访谈法与介入式观察法,通过社会建构与人文主义两种视角,关注宏观社会结构与个体行动者两种力量对地方性形成的影响,探讨了社区营造的地方性特征及其建构机制。研究表明：中和社区营造的地方性表现在都市近郊的区位、社区营造实践地点及活动、参与者与观光者的地方感3个方面;中和地方性建构过程则经历3个阶段：首先,弱地方性引起了社区营造参与者与广大社会的反身性;其次,在社区营造政策的推动下,社区营造参与者在日常生活中推动社区营造,促进地方性的生产与再生产;最后,地方性的营造结果吸引了社会资本与人力资本的再投入,强化了地方性的持续生产,并创造了进步的地方性,也间接强化了乡村自治能力。     

Funding and Facilitation: implications of changing government policy for the future of voluntary Landcare groups in Western Australia

Landcare groups in Australia work to increase biodiversity, eliminate invasive species and promote sustainable land-use practices. With the implementation of the Rudd government's ‘Caring for our Country’ policy during 2008–09, financial and organisational resources available to these groups diminished. This paper examines whether the National Landcare Program's initial intentions—that agency support could be provided to ‘kick-start’ the community groups into action with the Landcare groups quickly becoming independent bodies—are ultimately realistic. The results show that the majority of Landcare groups continue to be reliant on government-sourced funding and Landcare facilitators, and that those groups which do not have access to support have reduced their activity levels accordingly. Landcare groups were suffering from a reduced volunteer base, with static or decreasing numbers of participants, an inability to set regular meetings and a lack of volunteers to take up leadership positions. The reliance of Landcare groups on government support suggests that Landcare was an unsuccessful form of state-sponsored community participation, making Landcare groups similar to other volunteer organisations in terms of their functional characteristics and reliance on externally sourced funds.     

An Integrated Moral Obligation Model for Landowner Conservation Norms

This study applies an integrated moral obligation model to examine the role of environmental and cultural values, and beliefs in the activation of landowner conservation norms. Data for this study were collected through a self-administered survey of riparian landowners in two Minnesota watersheds: Sand Creek and Vermillion River watersheds. Study findings suggest that collectivistic and biospheric–altruistic values form the bases for the activation of personal norms. Further, beliefs about local responsibility and ability to act influence personal norms to protect water resources. Findings suggest that landowners’ personal norms of water conservation are more likely to be activated by conservation strategies that appeal to biospheric–altruistic and collectivistic values, emphasize adverse consequences of water pollution, highlight water resource protection as a local responsibility, and provide the resources needed to protect water resources.     

Killing Carp (Cyprinus carpio) as a Volunteer Practice: implications for community involvement in invasive species management and policy

Community engagement is understood to be one of the keys to successful environmental programs—‘the social pillar’ of management. In this paper we examine community engagement where volunteers participate by killing invasive animals. Most research to date focuses on the biological or management implications of volunteer efforts for the invasive species, with little attention to the people involved or the social acceptability of killing animals in this context. Here, we report on a survey and participant observations of community fishing events in south-eastern Australia, where volunteers fish for and kill carp (Cyprinus carpio). We examine who takes part in these events, their motivations for being involved and the implications for ongoing community engagement. Survey respondents were predominantly well-educated Australian-born men, motivated to fish by a desire to spend time in nature. However, we also noted a strong response from overseas-born men with different motivations. Our survey elicited complex responses regarding killing, illustrating contradictory, sometimes conflicted experiences, which jar with personal motivations. The implications are that questions of ethics must extend to the human volunteers, and that more direct communication of program outcomes and the proposed benefits for volunteers be more rigorously assessed. We argue that invasive species management must contend with the experiences of volunteers, otherwise meaningful dialogue and program objectives risk being undermined.