Community Based Natural Resources Management

The sustainability of tourism in the Gili Tramena (Trawangan, Meno, Air) is under serious threat due to environmental damage from waste, sewage, and overexploitation of resources. This study aims to explore collaboration among stakeholders in sustainable tourism and ecological resilience. Using a qualitative approach with observation, in-depth interviews, and NVivo analysis. The results show that collaboration through routine activities such as a recycling tour, Friday cleanup, integrated waste processing, and coral reef restoration using biorock technology has helped improve ecological conditions. The resilience strategies are regulatory strengthening, empowerment of community organizations, environmental education, active participation of business actors, and stakeholder communication forums. To strengthen the role of stakeholders in enhancing ecological resilience, the GITEC (Gili Tramena Ecology and Tourism Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration) framework was developed with three main elements: steering element, a technical management element, and a supervisory board.

Wildlife diseases, such as Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) are growing in prevalence in ungulates in western Canada with many questions being asked about the impact on ecosystems and peoples. A collaborative research project involving a university and a regional Indigenous organization was initiated in 2007 to explore how CWD risk is being communicated to Indigenous peoples, how associated risk is being interpreted and the extent to which information about CWD and perceived risk is affecting harvest and food security. Data collected between 2008-2018 with 105 harvesters from 22 northern Alberta communities reporting about hunting in roughly 61 management units (WMU) confirm previous research about the importance of moose, white-tailed deer and mule deer to the diets of Indigenous peoples. Findings affirm the significance of ungulates to the food security of Indigenous peoples in western Canada with over 97 % of respondents reporting their motivation for harvest of moose (Alces alces), white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) being food. Insights about risk communication and perception of CWD are also highlighted with the most significant finding being the high level of concern of harvesters in all areas and all years of the study. A second key finding relates to the relationship between information received about CWD which declined from 2008 to 2018 despite significant increases in the number of positive cases of CWD in Alberta. A third key finding is the importance of Indigenous Knowledge; over 97 % of respondents shared indicators of healthy moose and deer which they use to assess animals in hunting. This high degree of confidence in their own knowledge may suggest Indigenous knowledge is a mediator of risk perception (i.e., hunters are confident they can find and harvest a health animal despite the rising number of CWD cases). Although Indigenous right to lands and resources including wildlife harvesting have been little respected in the past, recognition of such rights, as well as Indigenous knowledge, is key to moving forward and developing more collaborative approaches to monitoring and managing the growing threat of CWD and other wildlife disease.

In 2024, a landmark judicial ruling in Mexico formally recognized
the ecological value of bees, setting a precedent for eco-centric
legal interpretations of biodiversity. This decision responded to
a long-standing struggle led by Indigenous and peasant bee
keepers from the Yucatán Peninsula, who opposed the expansion
of the agro-industrial model into established agroecological land
scape. Rather than treating bees as livestock or wildlife, the ruling
acknowledged their embeddedness in long-standing socio-
ecological relationships and the cultural and territorial practices
of Mayan communities. This article reconstructs the legal and
epistemological turn catalyzed by the social mobilization that
enabled this outcome, and uses it to engage a broader explora
tion of questions: What meanings and legal implications does an
“ecological turn” acquire in biodiversity-rich countries where rural
life is largely shaped by Indigenous and peasant worldviews?
How are contested ecological debates, particularly those invol
ving interspecies dynamics and socio-ecosystem transformations,
translated into, reflected by, or addressed through legal frame
works? The article examines how conflicts over its ecological role
and its interactions with native bees, Mayan agricultural systems,
and rapidly shifting environments are negotiated in law and
policy. In doing so, the article challenges utilitarian, conservation
ist and atomistic views of biodiversity and property within the
Mexican legal framework

In 2024, a landmark judicial ruling in Mexico formally recognized the ecological value of bees, setting a precedent for eco-centric legal interpretations of biodiversity. This decision responded to a long-standing struggle led by Indigenous and peasant beekeepers from the Yucatán Peninsula, who opposed the expansion of the agro-industrial model into established agroecological landscape. Rather than treating bees as livestock or wildlife, the ruling acknowledged their embeddedness in long-standing socioecological relationships and the cultural and territorial practices of Mayan communities. This article reconstructs the legal and epistemological turn catalyzed by the social mobilization that enabled this outcome, and uses it to engage a broader exploration of questions: What meanings and legal implications does an "ecological turn" acquire in biodiversity-rich countries where rural life is largely shaped by Indigenous and peasant worldviews? How are contested ecological debates, particularly those involving interspecies dynamics and socio-ecosystem transformations, translated into, reflected by, or addressed through legal frameworks? The article examines how conflicts over its ecological role and its interactions with native bees, Mayan agricultural systems, and rapidly shifting environments are negotiated in law and policy. In doing so, the article challenges utilitarian, conservationist and atomistic views of biodiversity and property within the Mexican legal framework.

Pollinators play a crucial role in ecosystem functioning, agricultural productivity, and food security, yet their populations are declining globally. While the drivers of pollinator decline are well documented in the Global North, less attention has been given to how local governance systems shape pollinator health in the Global South. In Sub-Saharan Africa, pollinator decline is increasingly linked to climatic variability, habitat degradation, bushfires, and the expansion of agrochemical use. In Ghana, Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) is implemented through the Community Resource Management Area (CREMA) model, a decentralized governance approach that empowers rural communities to manage biodiversity and natural resources. Although previous studies have examined CREMA's contributions to forest conservation and rural livelihoods, its implications for pollinator health remain underexplored. In this study, pollinator health is conceptualized through farmers' experiential observations of pollinator diversity, abundance, activity patterns, and mortality within agroecosystems, reflecting local interpretations of ecological change. To examine how conservation governance shapes these perceptions, this study employed a qualitative comparative design involving 64 farmers from eight rural communities in the Upper West and Savannah Regions of northern Ghana, including four CREMA and four non-CREMA communities. Using participatory photovoice grounded in political ecology, farmers documented and narrated their experiences of pollinators and environmental change. Thematic analysis revealed seven key themes: declining pollinator diversity, altered activity patterns, pollinator mortality, agrochemical exposure, habitat loss, local ecological knowledge, and community adaptation strategies. The findings demonstrate the importance of integrating farmers' experiential ecological knowledge into pollinator conservation and decentralized environmental governance in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Pesticides have been one of the most extensively used throughout the world. In low- and middle-income countries, pesticides are extensively used in agriculture. Agriculture is Cambodia’s most important economic sector. Around 80% of the population lives in rural areas and is mainly involved in subsistence farming. Cambodian farmers use synthetic pesticides to protect their agricultural products from pest infestation. The increase in agricultural products and the rapid population growth have led to the rise of farming pesticides, which causes concerns about the negative impact on environmental issues and food security in Cambodia. The routes of exposure, toxicity, and pesticide residues in daily food intake are all ambiguous in Cambodia. The scientific reports available in Cambodia could be more extensive and consistent. Therefore, this report provides an overview of the current status of pesticide practices in Cambodia and relates knowledge of pesticide use among local farmers. The contents described the risk assessment of pesticide contamination based on the Cambodian local market. In the same way, the pesticides that farmers use were considered extremely hazardous, highly hazardous, or moderately hazardous by the World Health Organization. This study also discussed the integrated pesticide use management approach and the future perspectives for pesticide practices in Cambodia. The review’s findings raised serious concerns regarding environmental safety and human health. Although some pesticides have been banned, most local farmers still use them for agriculture. The study strongly recommends that the Royal Government of Cambodia be provided with a concrete public health policy on pesticide management and suitable training on pesticide applications.

This article explores the utility of the ‘planetary health’ framework for identifying and solving problems of social-environmental health and wellbeing. While we value the planetary health agenda, we question the framework’s efficacy in producing health. We outline three problems that it shares with other kinds of ‘globalocentric thinking’: an over-emphasis on quantitative styles of reasoning, the compression of needs and erasure of the (political) relations that matter. These problems obfuscate social, political and ecological specificities critical to creating health. Based on ethnographic and ecological research with land stewards in Maui, HI, and building on scholarship about biocultural stewardship and sustainability transformations, we call for alternative frameworks. We introduce ‘interscalar health’ as a theoretical lens to guide research, advocacy and governance toward supporting the embodied social-ecological and political relations that produce and propagate health across interacting systems and scales.

This paper provides an analytical description of the emerging Kenyan Strategic Environmental assessment (SEA) system as an example from Sub-Sahara Africa, focusing on its form, purposes and implementation. Three features are of particular interest: first, the extent to which the Kenyan SEA operates within a formally recognized regulatory framework of protected rights; second, the policies and institutions which act as agencies of the SEA system; and third, the procedural and substantive requirements of the Kenyan SEA process. It is concluded that the current political and decision-making context, following the new constitution, has created a well-protected and enforceable regulatory system for SEA. However, the successful development of SEA in Kenya will likely depend on 1) internalization and subsequent innovative application of the existing framework; 2) the effective integration of SEA at both the national and regional levels; 3) the level of commitment SEA will get from the emerging political and decision-making cultures; and 4) continuous use of empirical and evaluatory feedback to evolve the system.

″O Estado é a comunidade humana que reivindica, com sucesso, o monopólio do uso legítimo da força″ =Max Weber= Resumo O presente artigo analisa a intervenção do Estado na economia e o regime jurídico das empresas públicas em Angola, com especial enfoque na interferência política na governação do sector empresarial público. Parte-se da compreensão de que o Estado desempenha um papel fundamental na dinamização da economia, na promoção do desenvolvimento e na prossecução de interesses colectivos, recorrendo às empresas públicas como instrumentos estratégicos de actuação económica. O estudo examina os principais instrumentos de intervenção económica do Estado, nomeadamente o planeamento, as políticas económicas e sociais e o Orçamento Geral do Estado, demonstrando que a intervenção estatal se justifica pela necessidade de assegurar estabilidade económica, justiça social e satisfação das necessidades públicas essenciais. No plano jurídico, procede-se à análise da evolução histórica do regime jurídico das empresas públicas em Angola, desde a Lei das Unidades Económicas Estatais até à actual Lei de Bases do Sector Empresarial Público, destacando-se os aspectos relacionados com a constituição, gestão, superintendência, controlo, responsabilidade e extinção das empresas públicas. O artigo aborda igualmente os princípios da governança corporativa aplicáveis ao sector empresarial público, com destaque para a transparência,

Ghana's Western North and Central Regions are biodiversity-rich landscapes. Cocoa is a major commodity produced in these two regions, accounting for over 50% of Ghana's cocoa output. As part of the efforts to further improve productivity and ecological health of the landscape, the Government of Ghana initiated the Cocoa Disease and Pests Control Programme primarily to control cocoa pests and diseases, including the use of pesticides. In recent times, however, there has been an upsurge in the use of highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) that have far-reaching consequences on human and ecological health of the cocoa production landscape. To gain a better understanding of pesticide-use patterns on cocoa farms and address HHP-driven biodiversity loss, Conservation Alliance International (CA) conducted a study within the landscape. The study was based on both qualitative and quantitative research approaches to understand pesticide use and resulting impacts on human and ecological health. In all, 306 cocoa farmers were surveyed. Analysis of the data revealed that about 81% of the cocoa farmers use pesticides to address pests and diseases, causing visible impacts on humans and the environment, including skin irritation, eye irritation, and death of pollinators. Pesticide use was exacerbated by the adverse economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Policymakers are therefore advised to take steps to phase out HHPs, promote integrated pest management, and tackle the spread of COVID-19 infections.

This is the second in a series on wolf management, institutional capture, and the gap between ecological science and wildlife governance in North America. The first article, "Managed to Death," addressed the science/policy mismatch and the discipline gap between game biology and ecology.

Women constitute approximately 70% of the fisheries workforce in coastal Tanzania, yet they continue to experience systematic marginalisation within the formal governance institutions overseeing these resources. Employing a mixed-methods design, this research incorporates structured surveys of 243 respondents from five Beach Management Units in Mkinga District, Tanga Region; 28 semi-structured interviews; and observations of 14 BMU plenary sessions. It explores procedural facets of Blue Justice in a mainland coastal setting that has received scant scholarly attention. Quantitative techniques, descriptive statistics, Likertscale aggregation, and multiple linear regression indicate that female gender, cultural normative constraints, and restricted informational access serve as the most potent negative predictors of perceived procedural engagement. Qualitative insights uncover three exclusionary processes: patriarchal control of agendas; informational gatekeeping, which withholds timely regulatory updates from women; and the reduction of formal committee positions to symbolic rather than substantive roles, dubbed "quota presence without deliberative power". These results cast doubt on seat-based gender quotas and urge reforms aimed at informal power dynamics that entrench procedural disparities. Policy proposals encompass gender-sensitive BMU constitutions, formalised deliberative procedures, and community-led information sharing through women processors' associations.

Evaluación diagnóstica 1 1 Importancia del acceso a mercados para la resiliencia económica de los ejidos 1 2 Tipos de mercados: local, regional, nacional e internacional 1 3 Principales desafíos para los ejidos al acceder a mercados forestales 1.4 Estrategias para identificar y entrar a nuevos mercados 1 5 El papel de la cooperación y las alianzas en el acceso a mercados Evaluación final Unidad 2. Comercialización de productos forestales maderables Evaluación diagnóstica 2 1 Estrategias de diferenciación de productos maderables para mejorar su valor en el mercado 2.2 Identificación de mercados de nicho para productos maderables certificados 2 3 Calidad mínima en productos forestales maderables 2 4 Cumplimiento de normativas y acuerdos nacionales e internacionales para productos maderables 2 5 Claves para la negociación efectiva y la formalización de acuerdos comerciales 2 6 Análisis de costos de producción y comercialización Evaluación final 10 Elementos clave para una comercialización forestal sostenible y equitativa Guía Educativa Analiza el papel estratégico del acceso a mercados forestales como mecanismo para fortalecer la resiliencia económica, la autonomía y la sostenibilidad de los ejidos, reconociendo su vínculo con la mejora del bienestar comunitario y la conservación de los recursos naturales Distingue las características, requisitos, ventajas y desventajas de los distintos niveles de mercado forestal (local, regional, nacional e internacional), evaluando su pertinencia en función del tipo de producto, la capacidad productiva del ejido y las oportunidades de valor agregado Identifica y analiza los principales obstáculos que enfrentan los ejidos para insertarse en mercados forestales competitivos, comprendiendo las implicaciones del financiamiento, la infraestructura, la capacitación, la intermediación y las regulaciones, para proponer soluciones contextualizadas Diseña estrategias para el acceso a nuevos mercados forestales, integrando acciones como la investigación de mercado, asociaciones entre ejidos, certificación, diversificación, mejora logística y uso de tecnologías digitales, con enfoque en sostenibilidad y beneficio colectivo. Valora la cooperación y las alianzas estratégicas como herramientas clave para superar barreras comerciales y fortalecer las capacidades de acceso a mercados de los ejidos, identificando actores relevantes, modelos exitosos y mecanismos de colaboración justa y sostenible 11 Unidad 1.

This study examined the efficacy of community-level fishery co-management organizations called Beach Management Units (BMUs) along the Kenyan shores of Lake Victoria. BMUs were established to enhance sustainable Lake Victoria fishery management through increasing the level of community participation to assist in the administration of fisheries rules and regulations by, and for, the fishers. Inefficiencies have emerged, however, inhibiting the effective execution of sustainable fisheries management by the BMUs. Data were collected from 36 BMUs along the Kenyan shores of Lake Victoria. Descriptive and inferential analyses were performed using SPSS Version 20.0. The results indicated that BMUs are successful at educating fishers and that they are aware of fishing rules and regulations. Nevertheless, high violation rates were also observed, suggesting BMUs have limited impact on fisher decisions to comply with regulations. Data suggest that the failure to comply may be due to lack of adequate financial and equipment resources for monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) operations, making them unable to control illegal fishing in their areas of jurisdiction. Furthermore, financial mechanisms, which would allow BMUs to sustainably fund their administrative and MCS operations, are weak, thereby reducing the BMUs ability to effectively function. The data from this study highlight two activities illustrating significant indices of good performance, namely resolving disputes and receiving visitors. The data also suggest the creation of BMUs has not ensured successful implementation of co-management of Lake Victoria fisheries. BMUs are successful at activities of a social nature, but have poorly undertaken their core functions related to enforcement and compliance with fishing rules.

This systematic literature review examines leadership capacity and governance practices in local government institutions across Southeast Asia, with particular emphasis on the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Timor-Leste. It investigates how leadership shapes governance processes,

Parler de développement aujourd'hui, c'est un peu comme porter la conversation sur un ancêtre lointain dont on ne pourrait jamais faire le deuil : il possède en effet cette double caractéristique d'être à la fois éculé et actuel. Sans doute, sa capacité à embrasser un vaste espace sémantique explique-t-elle cette résurrection continuelle car il permet de développer à peu près tous les aspects de la vie sociale : des photos, une masse musculaire, l'intelligence, un portefeuille d'actions… Et c'est justement parce qu'il a traversé des époques différentes, qu'il mélange l'ancien et le nouveau, qu'il paraît tendanciellement atemporel et naturel. De ce fait, il pose un voile d'opacité sur les réalités sociales, politiques et économiques hétérogènes qu'il recouvre. Si le terme est aujourd'hui encore utilisé, c'est parce qu'il fait référence à un imaginaire, à un ensemble de symboles,

Responsável pela edição do documento final: Andréa Martini, antropóloga.
Estes são os resultados do Levantamento Participativo de Recursos
Naturais da Terra Indígena Katukina do Campinas, no estado do Acre. O
objetivo deste estudo é observar e descrever as formas, conceitos e práticas ditos tradicionais, de utilização dos recursos florestais, entre os moradores, na TI Katukina do Campinas. À partir da pesquisa, os moradores e a consultora apontam recomendações e indicativos para ações e políticas públicas, com base neste “retrato socioecológico”. As recomendações orientam-se para a melhoria da capacidade nutricional, fortalecimento de ações cooperativas e alternativas de renda viáveis, compatíveis com as fórmulas locais de organização e distribuição de recursos, com vistas à autonomia política, econômica e administrativa das sociedades indígenas.  Tal pesquisa é parte integrante do chamado "Plano de Mitigação de Impactos"  das estradas federais BR’s 364 e 317, proposto pelo Governo do Estado do Acre, com recursos do Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social(BNDES).

Trata-se de uma avaliação sobre os chamados "Levantamento Etnoecológicos" 1 realizados no âmbito do PPTAL/Fundação Nacional do Índio (Funai), após doze anos de funcionamento do PPTAL e em vias do término do projeto, previsto, na ocasião do contrato, para dezembro de 2007. O prazo para a realização desta consultoria é de 120 dias, findos no mês de outubro do ano 2007 2. O objetivo central deste estudo é avaliar os aspectos metodológicos, a aplicabilidade e os possíveis procedimentos para internalização dos resultados pela Funai. Dentre os objetivos específicos da consultoria constam: (a) Verificar a aplicação dada à Metodologia para Levantamentos Etnoecológicos em cada levantamento realizado pelo PPTAL; (b) Identificar as demandas apontadas pelos levantamentos (resultados gerados; recomendações apontadas; termos para gestão; possibilidades concretas das comunidades indígenas envolvidas se beneficiarem dos resultados gerados; etc.); (c) Apontar as possibilidades de apropriação ou aplicação da Metodologia, enquanto ferramenta, pela Funai e as condições ou meios de implementar a Metodologia, no âmbito da instituição, além das possibilidades concretas de utilização dos resultados gerados; (d) Fomentar a reflexão por parte dos envolvidos, através de encontros a serem planejados, tendo em vista, além da internalização da Metodologia pela Funai, a possibilidade de auxílio a organizações indígenas no desenvolvimento de ferramentas 1 Neste trabalho, utilizaremos a sigla LEE. 2 Este "Relatório Final" (Quarto Produto) refere-se, portanto, a um período de pesquisa de quatro meses, entre julho e outubro de 2007. Sua finalidade é pormenorizar os resultados desta consultoria. semelhantes, bem como a possibilidade de gerar projetos a partir dos resultados oriundos dos LEE's já realizados no âmbito do PPTAL (Cf. Anexo A, opus cit.). 1.1. Atividades realizadas Um breve histórico desta consultoria é apresentado a seguir, seguido do plano de atividades previsto no termo de referência e um resumo das principais atividades desenvolvidas. No período de 18 a 25 de Junho de 2007, inicio minhas atividades de consultoria junto ao PPTAL, com uma reunião técnica em Brasília, coordenada pela antropóloga Izabel Gobbi, responsável pelos LEE e pela presente consultoria, com a participação da também antropóloga Juliana Sellani, técnica responsável pelo componente de monitoria do PPTAL. Após a assinatura do contrato e pormenorização do Termo de Referência, iniciamos as reuniões preparatórias referentes à consultoria propriamente dita, que se realizaram entre os dias 19 e 23 de junho de 2007. Neste período inicio a leitura do material documental e visito órgãos públicos, como o Ministério do Meio Ambiente (MMA) e Projetos Demonstrativos para os Povos Indígenas (PDPI/MMA). No decorrer das visitas tomei conhecimento de diagnósticos e levantamentos correlatos aos Levantamentos Etnoecológicos e fiz contato com alguns técnicos responsáveis por experiências similares 3. Pude, ainda, inteirar-me dos procedimentos técnicos relativos às contratações de consultores, como termos de referência, processo de seleção e andamento dos produtos relativos aos LEE's. Em Brasília, estão as principais fontes documentais desta consultoria. Com apoio de Izabel Gobbi e Juliana Sellani, obtive, junto aos arquivos do PPTAL/Funai, relatórios técnicos, bancos de dados e imagens, relatórios síntese, a serem repassados para as comunidades co-autoras, além de fontes secundárias, materiais informativos sobre o PPTAL/FUNAI e informações prévias sobre a constituição administrativa da

Climate Change Information regarding adaptation strategies for ensuring
sustainable agriculture and maximising crop yields has gained global concern; however, its effects on smallholder crop farmers’ activities remain inadequate. This study employed the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to examine the effects of climate change information on the adaptation techniques used by smallholder crop farmers in Ghana’s Sissala East Municipality. A mixed method approach was utilised to gather quantitative and qualitative data from 306 crop farmers and 23 key informants, respectively to explore how farmers receive, understand, and act on climate information, focusing on three main factors – attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control. The findings show that smallholder crop farmers’ accessibility to climate change information increases their knowledge, preparation, and chance of using adaptation tactics in their farming activities. Notably, factors such as gender, education level, age, and farm size impacted access to various forms of climatic information. The findings further indicate that radio and agricultural extension personnel are the most prominent and trusted sources of climate change information, with social interactions and personal experiences serving as major methods for processing the information. Statistical analysis with the Multivariate Probit Model and chi-square tests revealed that climate change knowledge strongly predicts farmers’ adaptation measures. The study backs up TPB’s thesis that farmers’ behavioural intentions, influenced by their beliefs, norms, and self-efficacy, are critical to understand their adaptive behaviours in the face of climatic unpredictability.

Food waste is one of the most critical global challenges, contributing to environmental degradation and food insecurity [5], [6]. A significant portion of edible food is wasted daily due to inefficient distribution systems, lack of coordination, and absence of real-time communication between food donors and recipients [1]. This paper presents the design and implementation of a Food Waste Redistribution System that connects restaurants, NGOs, and volunteers through a centralized digital platform. The system is developed using Java, Spring Boot, and MySQL, following the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture to ensure scalability and maintainability. The proposed system provides features such as food listing, real-time browsing, claim management, pickup scheduling, expiry tracking, and notification handling. Experimental observations show improved efficiency, reduced wastage, and better coordination. The system is scalable and suitable for real-world deployment.

Food waste is one of the most critical global challenges, contributing to environmental degradation and food insecurity [5], . A significant portion of edible food is wasted daily due to inefficient distribution systems, lack of coordination, and absence of real-time communication between food donors and recipients . This paper presents the design and implementation of a Food Waste Redistribution System that connects restaurants, NGOs, and volunteers through a centralized digital platform. The system is developed using Java, Spring Boot, and MySQL, following the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture to ensure scalability and maintainability. The proposed system provides features such as food listing, real-time browsing, claim management, pickup scheduling, expiry tracking, and notification handling. Experimental observations show improved efficiency, reduced wastage, and better coordination. The system is scalable and suitable for real-world deployment.