PCLG Digest
April 2018
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The April 2018 edition of PCLG digest features 38 newly published resources. This is also your LAST CHANCE to reconfirm your subscription to PCLG Digest. if you haven’t yet updated your profile you will no longer hear from us. In other news, nominations are open for early career experts to the IPBES Fellowship Programme.
– Francesca (pclg@iied.org)
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1. Bocci C, et al. (2018) The impact of community forest concessions on income: an analysis of communities in the Maya Biosphere Reserve. World Development. DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2018.02.011
This study examines the effect of community-managed forest concessions on income in the context of the Maya Biosphere Reserve in northern Guatemala. The results show that the effects of participating in a forest concession on income are generally positive, although there is significant heterogeneity among communities with different socioeconomic characteristics.
2. García-López GA (2018) Rethinking elite persistence in neoliberalism: Foresters and techno-bureaucratic logics in Mexico’s community forestry. World Development. DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2018.03.018
The author looks at the role of foresters as elite actors in community forestry using a case study of the state of Durango, Mexico. They argue that argue that foresters’ persistent capture of inter-community forestry associations is related to multi-layered power inequalities and persistent democratic deficits reproduced by techno-bureaucratic forestry and authoritarian logics.
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Conflict and conservation
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3. Mason A et al. (2018) Wicked conflict: Using wicked problem thinking for holistic management of conservation conflict. Conservation Letters. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12460 (Open access)
The authors explore the suitability of wicked problems‐inspired management, using eight contemporary conflict case studies. They find that conservation conflict is managed predominantly using conventional approaches not well suited to deal with wicked problems. They recommend that managers develop strategies combining distributed decision‐making, diverse opinions, pattern‐based predictions, trade‐off‐based objectives, and reporting of failures.
4. Baynham-Herd Z, et al. (2018) Conservation conflicts: Behavioural threats, frames, and intervention recommendations. Biological Conservation. DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2018.04.012 (Open access)
The authors review trends in behavioural intervention recommendations across conflict contexts globally. Analysing 100 recent articles, they find: technical interventions are significantly associated with conflicts involving wildlife control and human-wildlife conflict; enforcement-based interventions are significantly associated with conflicts over illegal resource use; and stakeholder-based interventions are associated with the human-human conflict and very highly developed countries.
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5. Cooper NA, and KA Kainer (2018) To log or not to log: local perceptions of timber management and its implications for well-being within a sustainable-use protected area. Ecology and Society. DOI: 10.5751/ES-09995-230204 (Open access)
The authors explore local perspectives in the Brazilian Amazon of legal timber commercialization in select extractive reserves. They find that participating households are significantly less economically well-off and were more educated than nonparticipating households.
6. Warnholtz G and D Barking (2018) Development for whom? Tourism used as a social intervention for the development of indigenous/rural communities in natural protected areas. In: Tourism and Ethnodevelopment: Inclusion, Empowerment and Self-determination. De Lima B and V King (eds). Routledge.
A book chapter exploring questions what Indigenous Peoples represent for the future of the world’s natural and cultural heritage, and the factors considered for the inclusion of tourism as an effective tool to improve their livelihoods.
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Culture, religion, tradition and conservation
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7. Murray G and A Agyare (2018) Religion and perceptions of community-based conservation in Ghana, West Africa. PLOS ONE. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0195498 (Open access)
This article presents results on how and why religious identity is related to perceptions of the performance of several Community Resource Management Areas (CREMAs) in Ghana. Using importance-satisfaction analysis, large-scale survey results show that respondents that identify as Christians consistently assign greater importance to CREMA outcomes.
8. Osterhoudt SR (2018) Community Conservation and the (Mis)appropriation of Taboo. Development and Change. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dech.12413
Drawing from ethnographic work in Madagascar, this article highlights how the simplification of cultural taboos can exasperate already fraught relationships between communities and conservation organizations and undermine the very environmental outcomes that groups seek to promote.
9. Water S, Bell S and JM Setchell (2018) Understanding Human-Animal Relations in the Context of Primate Conservation: A Multispecies Ethnographic Approach in North Morocco. Folia Primatol. DOI: 10.1159/000480079
The authors examine the relationships shepherds, living on the periphery of the mixed oak forest of Bouhachem in northern Morocco, have with animals in the context of a conservation project for Barbary macaques. The results illustrate the different and complex ways shepherds perceive species. Some shepherds show intrinsic interest in the macaques.
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Ecosystem services and people
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10. Howe C, Corbera E, Vira B and D Brockington (2018) Distinct positions underpin ecosystem services for poverty alleviation. Oryx. DOI: 10.1017/S0030605318000261 (Open access)
Modelling this paper on an earlier essay about conservation and poverty, the authors explore the different views that underlie ecosystem services and poverty alleviation. They identify five positions that reflect different mixes of concern for ecosystem condition, poverty and economic growth.
11. Westlund L, et al. (2018) Marine protected areas: Interactions with fishery livelihoods and food security. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper. Available online (pdf): http://www.fao.org/3/a-i6742e.pdf (Open access)
Building on work presented at the IUCN World Parks Congress held in Australia (2014) this document explores experiences with aquatic protected areas (PAs), marine PAs and PAs in inland waters. It includes: ten papers reporting on the interface of PAs with livelihoods and food security, based on case studies in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania.
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Equitable - just conservation
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12. Friedman RS, et al. (2018) How just and just how? A systematic review of social equity in conservation research. Environmental Research Letters. DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/aabcde (Open access)
This review explores how social equity is conceptualised and assessed in conservation research. Results show that empirical research on social equity in conservation is rapidly growing. Equity within conservation research is skewed toward distributional concerns and to a lesser extent procedural issues, with recognition and contextual equity receiving little attention.
13. Lehman I, Martin A and JA Fisher (2018) Why Should Ecosystem Services Be Governed to Support Poverty Alleviation? Philosophical Perspectives on Positions in the Empirical Literature. Ecological Economics. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.03.003 (Open access)
The authors find that empirical studies of the social trade-offs in ecosystem services governance present specific notions of justice. For those notions of justice identified - sufficientarianism, egalitarianism and participatory approaches – the authors draw on philosophical justice to better articulate the normative arguments that could support them and to be more precise about the kind of actions and expectations that they invoke.
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14. Alonso-Problacion and SV Siar (2018) Women’s participation and leadership in fisherfolk organisations and collective action in fisheries – a review of evidence on enablers, drivers and barriers. FAO. Available online (pdf): http://www.fao.org/3/I8480EN/i8480en.pdf (Open access)
The authors present a desk based study to understand the barriers and constraints women face when participating in fisher organisations; to identify opportunities where women have successfully participated in fisher organisations; to identify good practices that promote and strengthen women’s participation.
15. Biswas N (2018) Towards gender-equitable small-scale fisheries governance and development. A handbook. FAO. Available online (pdf): http://www.fao.org/3/I7419EN/i7419en.pdf (Open access)
An FAO handbook with three parts: understanding gender and the role of women in small-scale fisheries; responsible fisheries and sustainable development through a gender lens; and ensuring an enabling environment for gender equality and supporting implementation.
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Governance and conservation
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16. Nunan F (2018) Navigating multi‐level natural resource governance: an analytical guide. Natural Resources Forum. DOI: 10.1111/1477-8947.12149 (Open access)
The author presents the development of a guide for the analysis of the complex governance systems of renewable natural resources. The guide consists of three dimensions: multiplicities of levels, actors and institutions; the existence, opportunities for, and challenges of, interactions within and between levels; and an assessment of governance performance. The guide is applied to a case study of mangrove forests in Kenya.
17. Rodriguez Solorzano C and F Fleischman (2018) Institutional legacies explain the comparative efficacy of protected areas: Evidence from the Calakmul and Maya Biosphere Reserves of Mexico and Guatemala. Global Environmental Change. DOI: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2018.04.011 (Open access)
The authors use a comparative analysis of pathways of institutional development in Calakmul and Maya Biosphere Reserves. They find that differences in land tenure systems results in a lower population density, greater tenure security, and greater economic and political equality in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve. All of these factors positively influence forest conservation at Calakmul.
18. Schultz L, et al. (2018) Learning to live with social-ecological complexity: An interpretive analysis of learning in 11 UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Global Environmental Change. DOI: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2018.03.001
The authors provide a cross-case analysis of learning in 11 UNESCO Biosphere Reserves. The authors discuss their results in terms of their contribution to learning on: (i) power and politics (ii) intermediaries and bridging organizations in multi-level governance, and (iii) reflexivity and knowledge-action relationships.
19. Song a, et al. (2018) Intersectorality in the governance of inland fisheries. Ecology and Society. DOI: 0.5751/ES-10076-230217 (Open access)
This paper explores the topic of intersectoral governance and outlines an approach to analysing sector relationships. By drawing on examples of inland fisheries from around the world, the paper proposes four broad discursive mechanisms that can structure the study of the intersectoral dynamics, i.e., system characterization, valuation, power relations, and vertical policy interaction.
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20. Edmond J, et al. (2018) Exploring Cross-Sector Linkages between Population, Health, Environment, Nutrition and Food Security: A Review of Best Practices and Lessons Learned - literature review. USAID. Available online: http://www.abcg.org/document_details?document_id=842 (Open access)
The authors undertook a desk based review and key informant interviews to explore the interrelationships and interdependencies between population, health and the environment. They identify best practices including considering nutrition sensitive agriculture and food security when designing population-health-environment interventions
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Hunting (subsistence, traditional, trophy)
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21. Batavia C, et al. (2018) The elephant (head) in the room: A critical look at trophy hunting. Conservation Letters. DOI: 10.1111/conl.12565 (Open access)
The authors identify the central act of wildlife “trophy” taking as a potential source of ethical discomfort and public opposition. Situating this practice in a Western cultural narrative of chauvinism, colonialism, and anthropocentrism, they argue trophy hunting is morally inappropriate. They argue that alternative strategies for conservation and community development should be explored and decisively ruled out as viable sources of support before the conservation community endorses trophy hunting.
22. Marrocoli S, el al. (2018) Environmental Uncertainty and Self-monitoring in the Commons: A Common-pool Resource Experiment Framed Around Bushmeat Hunting in the Republic of Congo. Ecological Economics. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.03.020
The authors use a lab-in-the-field common pool resource experiment framed around a bushmeat hunting system to assess the potential value of self-monitoring schemes. They find that self-monitoring was associated with a lower level of hunting and lower rate of resource decline. However, contrary to expectations, communication alone was not enough to lower hunting levels.
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Interesting methodological approaches
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23. Bélisle AC, Asselin H, LeBlanc P, and S Gauthier (2018) Local knowledge in ecological modelling. Ecology and Society. DOI: 10.5751/ES-09949-230214 (Open access)
The authors analyse how 23 published studies deal with methodological challenges to integrating local ecological knowledge (LEK) into ecological modelling. They observe that LEK reaches its full potential when involved at all steps of the research process. They suggest that Bayesian networks and fuzzy rule-based models are well suited to include LEK.
24. Braasch M, et al. (2018) TRUE GRASP: Actors visualize and explore hidden limitations of an apparent win-win land management strategy in a MAB reserve. Environmental Modelling and Software. DOI: 10.1016/j.envsoft.2018.03.022
Government permission for smallholder farmers to extract and sell resin from a pine savanna biosphere-reserve in Mexico has settled long disputes but compromises forest production and conservation. In light of this, the authors present and analyse the outcomes of four simulation workshops, where farmers and external-actors better grasp the complex ecological interactions involved in conserving and using pines.
25. Gonzalez Carman V and M Carman (2018) A coexistence of Paradigms: Understanding Human–environmental Relations of Fishers Involved in the Bycatch of Threatened Marine Species. Conservation and Society. DOI: 10.4103/cs.cs_17_45 (Open access)
The authors study the interaction between a fishing community and a group of conservation experts who seek to protect vulnerable species (marine mammals and turtles). Through an interdisciplinary ethnographic approach, they find that although fishers classify species according to their capacity to be exploited, they may also be willing to become strategic conservationists.
26. Magliocca NR, et al. (2018) Closing global knowledge gaps: Producing generalized knowledge from case studies of social-ecological systems. Global Environmental Change. DOI: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2018.03.003 (Open access)
Concerns over rapid widespread changes in social-ecological systems and their consequences for biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, food security, and human livelihoods are driving demands for globally comprehensive knowledge. ‘Generalized knowledge claims’ (GKCs), are typically produced by a synthesis of evidence. The authors propose a typology of GKCs and propose a standardized approach to assess their quality and commensurability.
27. Margulies JD and B Bersaglio (2018) Furthering post-human political ecologies. Geoforum. DOI: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2018.03.017
This critical review aims to facilitate explicit, ongoing consideration for how post-human geographies and political ecology stand to benefit one another empirically and theoretically. The authors draw on tiger conservation research in India to illustrate how post-human political ecologies might further engage with the politics and power asymmetries embedded in conservation science and practice.
28. Zabala A, Sandbrook C and N Mukherjee (2018) When and how to use Q methodology to understand perspectives in conservation research. Conservation Biology. DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13123 (Open access)
The authors discuss empirical applications of Q in conservation based on a structured literature review. They identify 52 studies and find that Q has been used for four main types of conservation questions: addressing conflicts, devising management alternatives, understanding policy acceptability, and critically reflecting on the values that implicitly influence research and practice.
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Payments for ecosystems services
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29. Bétrisey F, Bastiaensen J and Mager C (2018) Payments for ecosystem services and social justice: Using recognition theories to assess the Bolivian Acuerdos Recíprocos por el Agua. Geoforum. DOI: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2018.04.001
The authors use the notion of recognition as an analytical tool to assess a Bolivian scheme. They show how PES transform recognition relationships between upstream service providers and service consumers by creating new narratives and channels of recognition. The authors also highlight the fragility of this process as well as the persisting misrecognition of the poorest of the poor
30. Blundo-Canto G, et al. (2018) The Different Dimensions of Livelihood Impacts of Payments for Environmental Services (PES) Schemes: A Systematic Review. Ecological Economics. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.03.011 (Open access)
A systematic review of peer-reviewed and grey literature to analyse the evidence of the livelihood impacts of PES schemes. The assessments present more positive livelihood impacts than negative ones, while non-monetary and non-material impacts of PES are largely understudied. The review yields examples where participants lost from their participation.
31. Bottazzi P, et al (2018) Payment for Environmental “Self-Service”: Exploring the Links Between Farmers' Motivation and Additionality in a Conservation Incentive Programme in the Bolivian Andes. Ecological Economics. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.03.032 (Open access)
The authors categorise the outcome of contracts aiming to reduce cattle grazing and deforestation by Bolivian farmers. They suggest that the programme is partly acting as ‘payment for environmental self-service’; i.e. the external incentives enable changes in behaviour motivated by farmers' perceptions of environmental benefits they receive from the management changes incentivised.
32. Enrici AM, and K Hubacek (2018) Challenges for REDD+ in Indonesia: a case study of three project sites. Ecology and Society. DOI: 10.5751/ES-09805-230207 (Open access)
The authors present the results of a case study of three REDD+ project sites to identify important criteria at the root of success or failure. Challenges identified include a lack of sufficient funding opportunities, corruption, and lack of a solid plan for involving communities.
33. Howson P (2018) Slippery Violence in the REDD+ Forests of Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Conservation and Society. DOI: 10.4103/cs.cs_16_150 (Open access)
Focusing on the Sungai Lamandau REDD+ project of Central Kalimantan, the authors discusses how, for some of Sungai Lamandau's landless farmers, REDD+ is accelerating the very violence and environmentally destructive behaviours it claims to discourage. Farmers are becoming embroiled in other ongoing processes, pushing them towards illicit livelihood strategies.
34. Liu Z and A Kontoleon (2018) Meta-Analysis of Livelihood Impacts of Payments for Environmental Services Programmes in Developing Countries. Ecological Economics. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.02.008
The authors undertake a meta-analysis of causal statistical studies on the effects of PES on the livelihoods of environmental service (ES) suppliers in the developing world. The findings suggest that PES programmes are likely to have positive but modest livelihood impacts. Several institutional characteristics of PES are found to be correlated with more favourable livelihood impacts, such as high payments, high degree of voluntary participation and low transaction costs.
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Social impacts of conservation
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35. Green J, et al (2018) Local costs of conservation exceed those borne by the global majority. Global Ecology and Conservation. DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2018.e00385 (Open access)
The authors develop, for a high priority conservation area, spatial models of two local costs that arise from protected areas: foregone agricultural opportunities and increased wildlife damage. The authors then map these across the study area and compare them to the direct costs of reserve management, finding that local costs exceed management costs.
36. Lunstrum E and M Ybarra (2018) Deploying Difference: Security Threat Narratives and State Displacement from Protected Areas. Conservation and Society. Conservation and Society. DOI: 10.4103/cs.cs_16_119 (Open access)
The authors claim that community eviction from protected areas is being authorised by security concerns and logics and hence not merely conservation concerns. They ground this claim by drawing upon empirical work from two borderland conservation areas: Mozambique's Limpopo National Park and Guatemala's Maya Biosphere Reserve.
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Wildlife trade (legal and illegal)
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37. Flecther R (2018) License to Kill: Contesting the Legitimacy of Green Violence. Conservation and Society. DOI: 10.4103/cs.cs_16_148 (Open access)
This article explores how green violence has been discussed and contested among state and non-state actors. At stake in this discussion is the essential questions of when, and by whom, green violence can be legitimately exercised? And who can legitimately employ ‘biopower’ when both state and non-state actors commonly justify green violence?
38. Pennaz KA, et al (2018) Not Seeing the Cattle for the Elephants: The Implications of Discursive Linkages between Boko Haram and Wildlife Poaching in Waza National Park, Cameroon. Conservation and Society. DOI: 10.4103/cs.cs_16_153 (Open access)
Using Waza National Park in the Far North Region of Cameroon as a case study, the authors show that wildlife declines in the park long preceded the appearance of Boko Haram. The authors argue that the “poacher-as-terrorist” narrative obscures complex, historically embedded reasons for insecurity in northern Cameroon as well as massive losses of biodiversity in this region.
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