Natural Resource Management Problems Research Articles

Community Level Natural Resource Management Institutions Work in (Game) Theory as Well as in Practice: Lottery Allocation of Fishing Sites Implements Correlated Equilibrium

The Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) literature led by Elinor Ostrom concludes that Nash equilibrium predictions are empirically falsified in the social dilemmas found in community-level natural resource management problems. However, Nash equilibrium is not the only solution concept within noncooperative game theory. Here we demonstrate the power of Correlated Equilibrium (CE) to explain lotteries for the allocation of fishing sites as enduring community-level natural resource management institutions. Such CE-implementing lotteries are procedurally fair, equitable, and increase total expected fishery value. This modeling approach also reveals the nature of the interdependence between the size and spacing of fishing sites and the in-use characteristics of fishing gear on the one hand, and the degree of formalization of property rights and the structural features of the natural resource management institution on the other hand. When appropriately applied, noncooperative game theory offers a powerful explanatory complement to the IAD literature on community-level natural resource management.

Community-level natural resource management institutions: A noncooperative equilibrium example

The Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) literature finds that Nash equilibrium predictions are empirically falsified in the social dilemmas that arise in community-level natural resource management problems. However, Nash equilibrium is not the only solution concept within noncooperative game theory. Here we demonstrate the power of Correlated Equilibrium (CE) to explain lotteries for the allocation of fishing sites as enduring community-level natural resource management institutions. Such CE-implementing lotteries are procedurally fair, equitable, and increase total expected fishery value.This modeling approach clarifies two further sets of relationships. It reveals the nature of the interdependence between the size and spacing of fishing sites and (a) the in-use characteristics of fishing gear, as well as (b) the degree of formalization of property rights and the structural features of the natural resource-management institution. When appropriately applied, noncooperative game theory offers a powerful explanatory complement to the IAD literature on community-level natural resource management.

Natural Resource Problems and Suggestions for resolving these problems in Fırtına Watershed

One of the most important socio-economic problems in rural areas is inequality in income distribution and poverty, which is also the cause of conflicts in direct resourceuse. There is no doubt that struggling with poverty is not an effort to increase incomes alone. The fight against poverty, of course, including protection of natural resources as well as the use of natural resources, requires planning with integrated and longrange applications. In other words, especially if natural resource management does not include sustainable implementations of basin-based integrated plans, resources are entering the process of extinction. Fighting poverty and raising rural prosperity in the rural area, of course, it is necessary to use natural and cultural resources. On the other hand, it is the most basic problem that resource management needs to solve the use of natural resources should be kept at a level that does not jeopardize the existence of resources and the natural resource management should be based on an approach which emphasizes protection. If natural resources are to be used to provide job and income opportunities in an area, the sustainability of these jobs and revenues will, of course, be limited to the power of resources protection. The most important dilemma in today's resource management plans is the conflict between use and protection of natural resources. Conflicts; It may be due to the excessive use of natural resource by the people living in a region and some times by the opposition of the local people against the investments for development, that is their motivation of resource conservation. Two goals have been identified in working with these assessments. These are; To identify of natural resource management problems and to create strategies and solutions to solve these problems in Fırtına Watershed. Data used in the study were obtained from field studies carried out since the long run in the Fırtına watershed; face to face interviews with local residents, public and private sectore presentatives; information obtained from the applied surveys and studies conducted by different researchers related to the Fırtına Basin. According to this study: Despite the significant investments being made, the planning and strategies of natural resources management to support the rural development is not well enough; The necessity for the innovative research works to provide multiple use of forest and pasture resources in Fırtına valley is inadequate and should be initiated immediately; Kaçkar Mountains National Park, which has a great potential for tourism and which is located in the Fırtına basin, does not have sufficient number and quality stuff to protect it sresources; The consequences of developing inadequate or inadequate capacities of institutions in administrative activities in the Fırtına basin have emerged, and the strategies and evaluations for resolving these problems have been put forward.

Group Development and Integration in a Cross-Disciplinary and Intercultural Research Team.

Cross-disciplinary research is necessary to solve many complex problems that affect society today, including problems involving linked social and environmental systems. Examples include natural resource management or scarcity problems, problematic effects of climate change, and environmental pollution issues. Intercultural research teams are needed to address many complex environmental matters as they often cross geographic and political boundaries, and involve people of different countries and cultures. It follows that disciplinarily and culturally diverse research teams have been organized to investigate and address environmental issues. This case study investigates a team composed of both monolingual and bilingual Chilean and US university researchers who are geoscientists, engineers and economists. The objective of this research team was to study both the natural and human parts of a hydrologic system in a hyper-arid region in northern Chile. Interviews (n = 8) addressed research questions focusing on the interaction of cross-disciplinary diversity and cultural diversity during group integration and development within the team. The case study revealed that the group struggled more with cross-disciplinary challenges than with intercultural ones. Particularly challenging ones were instances the of disciplinary crosstalk, or hidden misunderstandings, where team members thought they understood their cross-disciplinary colleagues, when in reality they did not. Results showed that translation served as a facilitator to cross-disciplinary integration of the research team. The use of translation in group meetings as a strategy for effective cross-disciplinary integration can be extended to monolingual cross-disciplinary teams as well.

Modern Natural Resource Management and Geoecological Problems in the Central Part of the Kola Peninsula

Modern Natural Resource Management and Geoecological Problems in the Central Part of the Kola Peninsula

Turning Contention into Collaboration: Engaging Power, Trust, and Learning in Collaborative Networks

ABSTRACTGiven the complexity and multiplicity of goals in natural resource governance, it is not surprising that policy debates are often characterized by contention and competition. Yet at times adversaries join together to collaborate to find creative solutions not easily achieved in polarizing forums. We employed qualitative interviews and a quantitative network analysis to investigate a collaborative network that formed to develop a resolution to a challenging natural resource management problem, the conservation of vernal pools. We found that power had become distributed among members, trust had formed across core interests, and social learning had resulted in shared understanding and joint solutions. Furthermore, institutions such as who and when new members joined, norms of inclusion and openness, and the use of small working groups helped create the observed patterns of power, trust, and learning.

Managing wicked natural resource problems: The collaborative challenge at regional scales in Australia

Collaborative processes have become instruments of choice in many programs of natural resource management (NRM) internationally. Collaborative approaches to wicked NRM problems appear attractive, given the difficulty of the issues, the wide range of stakeholders, and the dispersed responsibilities for NRM. This study of Australia’s use of collaboration to tackle wicked NRM problems at regional scales examines four diverse case studies. We analyse and contrast the challenges of specific wicked problems, the historical emergence of collaborative forms, and the benefits and challenges encountered within each of four large regions. In addition to specific organizational and financial difficulties within each collaborative arrangement, we found several common challenges (and opportunities) over relatively long timeframes. These included: managing the intersection of diverse competing interests and mandates; navigating significant issues despite uncertain knowledge; maintaining focus and effort over long periods; building local and regional momentum and continuity while adjusting to policy changes at other levels of governance; recognizing opportunities for collaboration and adaptive change; and generating collaborative platforms for linking science-policy-community leadership. We reflect on what can be learned by comparing diverse attempts at the regional scale to utilize collaboration as an instrument for managing wicked socio-ecological policy problems over long timeframes.

Exploring Local Responses to a Wicked Problem: Context, Collective Action, and Outcomes in Catchments in Subtropical Australia

ABSTRACTGenerating effective local responses to natural resource management problems within multilevel resource governance systems is a major challenge. This challenge is highlighted for the “wicked problem” of managing non-point-source pollution, which is increasingly urgent globally for the sustainability of natural water systems. The article explores how local responses to this problem arose in a case study in South East Queensland, Australia. It inductively analyzes three contrasting local catchment cases considering contextual factors (e.g., human–biophysical setting, drivers of change, management arrangements), forms of collective action (e.g., types, mechanisms, and modes of action), and outcomes and adaptation needs (e.g., environmental, social, institutional). Local responses emerged in different ways across the three cases, despite all being situated within the same broader regional governance system. Findings demonstrate innovative practical responses to a regional scale problem, and contribute to better understanding of how local collective action responses emerge for wicked catchment and NRM problems.

Can computer models be used for social learning? A serious game in water management

Computer simulation models are increasingly used to support solving complex problems in natural resource management, with social learning as subsidiary goal of the solution process. In this research, a serious game on water management is used where participants receive feedback on consequences of their choices from an Integrated Assessment Meta Model. This study aims to determine if and how social learning takes place and explores the role of the model in social learning. Group discussions were qualitatively analysed to uncover and understand the mechanisms in this process. Results show that social learning took place in 10 of the 12 game sessions. Though model feedback was an important driver for social learning, social learning was driven most by the team's reflection on their perspective. We conclude that using a model can facilitate social learning in a serious-game setting, in particular in combination with reflection on teams' perspectives.

Implementation of a framework for multi-species, multi-objective adaptive management in Delaware Bay

Decision analytic approaches have been widely recommended as well suited to solving disputed and ecologically complex natural resource management problems with multiple objectives and high uncertainty. However, the difference between theory and practice is substantial, as there are very few actual resource management programs that represent formal applications of decision analysis. We applied the process of structured decision making to Atlantic horseshoe crab harvest decisions in the Delaware Bay region to develop a multispecies adaptive management (AM) plan, which is currently being implemented. Horseshoe crab harvest has been a controversial management issue since the late 1990s. A largely unregulated horseshoe crab harvest caused a decline in crab spawning abundance. That decline coincided with a major decline in migratory shorebird populations that consume horseshoe crab eggs on the sandy beaches of Delaware Bay during spring migration. Our approach incorporated multiple stakeholders, including fishery and shorebird conservation advocates, to account for diverse management objectives and varied opinions on ecosystem function. Through consensus building, we devised an objective statement and quantitative objective function to evaluate alternative crab harvest policies. We developed a set of competing ecological models accounting for the leading hypotheses on the interaction between shorebirds and horseshoe crabs. The models were initially weighted based on stakeholder confidence in these hypotheses, but weights will be adjusted based on monitoring and Bayesian model weight updating. These models were used together to predict the effects of management actions on the crab and shorebird populations. Finally, we used a dynamic optimization routine to identify the state dependent optimal harvest policy for horseshoe crabs, given the possible actions, the stated objectives and our competing hypotheses about system function. The AM plan was reviewed, accepted and implemented by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission in 2012 and 2013. While disagreements among stakeholders persist, structured decision making enabled unprecedented progress towards a transparent and consensus driven management plan for crabs and shorebirds in Delaware Bay.

Alternatives and decision-making in natural resource management in degraded dryland areas

El manejo de los recursos naturales tanto en las zonas áridas como en cualquier otra área, debe estar respaldado por un adecuado análisis de las necesidades reales del sitio. El objetivo del presente estudio fue identificar y evaluar diferentes alternativas de manejo de recursos naturales, con la finalidad de desarrollar opciones de manejo que permitan mejorar las condiciones físicas del suelo en los agostaderos y a la vez, contribuir con las actividades productivas de la población. El estudio fue llevado a cabo en la localidad Roma-Texas que se encuentra a 25° 52’ 25.83” N y 103° 43’ 33.8” W a una altitud de 1,168 m. El presente estudio se llevó a cabo mediante recorridos de campo, para identificar la principal problemática de los recursos naturales en el área. Con el uso de la herramienta RMS Planningtool – SWAPA se definieron probables alternativas que se pueden aplicar en el sitio, mientras que con ayuda de expertos relacionados con el manejo de recursos naturales y la herramienta DSS Facilitator, se procedió a la evaluación y definición de las mejores alternativas para contribuir a la resolución de problemas relacionados al manejo de recursos naturales. Considerando los aspectos físico, social, económico y ambiental, las prácticas mejor evaluadas por su factibilidad, viabilidad y facilidad, fueron: el establecimiento de plantas leñosas (Prosopis spp), y de pastoreo, particularmente el pasto buffel (Cenchrus ciliarisL.), que son capaces de adaptarse a las condiciones de aridez de la zona.

Extension Agents and Conflict Narratives: A Case of Laikipia County, Kenya

Purpose: This work investigated the narratives of development extensionists in relation to natural resource conflict, in order to understand the competing discourses surrounding the wicked problems of natural resource management in Laikipia County, Kenya.Methodology: Q methodology was used to elicit the conflict narratives present among extension professionals. A concourse of 221 statements were devised from interviews and group discussions with key informants and a final sample of 49 statements was used for the sorting. Thirteen Q-sorts were undertaken with among rural extension professionals from government, non-government, faith-based and private organizations.Findings: Four factors were elicited from the data, labelled—A: ‘Improved Leadership’; B: ‘Resource-centred conflict’; C: ‘Improved Governance’; and D: ‘Improved Management’.Practical Implications: Narratives of neo-Malthusianism and pastoral ‘backwardness’ persist among extension professionals in Laikipia, thereby perpetuating the received wisdom of natural resource conflict. However, narratives of the human dimension of conflict are also evident where power, politics and socio-economic inequalities are at the fore of natural resource conflict.Originality: This work contributes to a growing body of literature interested in the role of extension agents in conflict management. By applying Q methodology, this work has shown that while extension agents are involved in conflict management, their perceptions of these conflicts are subjective and have the potential to exacerbate conflict. Conflict management processes need to explicitly consider the conflicting and overlapping world views of extension agents if they are to act as process facilitators.

Enabling and enacting 'practical action' in catchments: responding to the 'wicked problem' of nonpoint source pollution in coastal subtropical Australia.

Enabling and enacting 'practical action' (i.e., purposeful and concerted collective action) in catchments is a key challenge in responding to a wide range of pressing catchment and natural resource management (NRM) issues. It is particularly a challenge in responding to 'wicked problems,' where generating action is not straightforward and cannot be brought about solely by any single actor, policy or intervention. This paper responds to the critical need to better understand how practical action can be generated in catchments, by conducting an in-depth empirical case study of efforts to manage nonpoint source (NPS) pollution in South East Queensland (SEQ), Australia. SEQ has seen substantial concerted efforts to manage waterway and catchment issues over two decades, yet NPS pollution remains a major problem for waterway health. A novel framework was applied to empirically analyze practical action in three local catchment cases embedded within the broader SEQ region. The analysis focuses on 'enabling capacities' underpinning practical action in catchments. Findings reveal that capacities manifested in different ways in different cases, yet many commonalities also occurred across cases. Interplay between capacities was critical to the emergence of adaptive and contextual forms of practical action in all cases. These findings imply that in order to enable and enact practical action in catchments, it is vital to recognize and support a diversity of enabling capacities across both local and regional levels of decision making and action. This is likely to have relevance for other 'wicked' catchment and NRM problems requiring local responses within broader multiscalar regional problem situations.

Special Issue on Three-Dimensional Structural Modeling

Three-dimensional (3D) structural models are generalizations of geological maps and cross-sections used by geologists for the last 200 years. They describe the geometry and layout of rock units in 3D space by honoring available observations, measurements and geological concepts. They are used on a daily basis in industry and academia to improve one’s understanding of an area, to quantify geological processes and to address natural resource management problems (oil and gas, mining, geothermal energy, ground water). This area of research raises interesting questions concerning the ways to build these models and to appropriately describe, analyze and reduce the associated uncertainty. For these ends, new conceptual models relating to geological processes and geometric parameters are needed. This issue gathers contributions regarding all of these aspects. In preparing this special issue, we have received a total of 25 paper proposals and 13 full papers, of which 5 are published in the present issue and 2 are still in revision. We would like to thank all the authors for their contributions and the reviewers for both their help and remarks, which have been essential to the editorial process. 3D structural modeling emerged in the 1970s by generating computerized depth maps with contouring techniques. These methods are very effective and are still in use today for the processing and analysis of topographic surfaces and depth maps. However, they raise problems when it comes to fault management, or when dealing with complex surfaces having several Z-values for the same geographic coordinate (e.g., recumbent folds, salt tops). This limitation motivated the development of techniques

Human encroachment into protected area networks in Zambia: implications for large carnivore conservation

Large carnivores are declining globally, with strong direct and indirect ecological impacts on protected area networks (PANs). Human encroachment on ecosystems is a global threat for large carnivores, particularly in savanna Africa, where increasing human resource demands continue to degrade the connectivity and viability PANs. Zambia has a regionally significant role in large carnivore conservation, given that it borders eight countries, includes three transfrontier conservation areas (TFCAs), and manages nearly 40 % of its land for wildlife. Deforestation in general and encroachment in particular are recognized problems in Zambian natural resource management. However, specific impacts on PANs are poorly understood owing to a lack of adequate mapping of encroachment, deriving from widespread difficulty in mapping cultivation and clearing in fire-prone savannas, and severe inaccuracy in several previous land cover data sets. Using simple manual interpretation of diverse and carefully chosen remote sensing imagery, we evaluated land use change from 1965 to 2011 in Zambia, primarily in the Luangwa Valley. We found widespread encroachment extending toward national parks from major roads as fast as 2 km/year and averaging 18 hectares per hour of daylight throughout a 159,805 km2 study area, eliminating designated buffer zones in some areas, decreasing connectivity, and potentially eliminating viable TFCAs. At current rates, Zambia’s PANs would be expected to be reduced into small isolated pockets primarily centered on national parks, with substantial human edge effects threatening the viability of wildlife populations in the region, particularly wide-ranging, low density, and threatened large carnivores such as African wild dogs, cheetah, and lion. It is thus critical that encroachment is accurately mapped across the entire region and that land use plans are developed, implemented, revised where necessary, and enforced with strong governmental support, enabling protection of these areas and the communities that depend upon them.

English

The world population will hit the nine billion mark by 2050. Environmentally sustainable agriculture developed in a way that safeguarded the Earth and still could feed all nations is needed. All things being considered, the fact remains that the entire species on Earth share a single interconnected ecosystem. Finding acceptable solutions for the environmental and natural resource management problems and at the same time curbing hunger is the goal. But, it requires analysis of many environmental issues done from cross-cultural, multinational, multidisciplinary, combinations of methods and comparative perspective. It is within this view that a development, analysis and discussion is made on the thorny but highly interesting subject of genetically engineered plants (GEP). It employed data search and literature perusal that helped in the interrogation of GEP world perspective. The geographical information system (GIS) analysis and mapping of the development of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in USA from 1987 to 2003 was made. The results were suggestions on how knowledge on GMOs could better disseminated for informed worldwide view and curb scepticism based on fears of GMOs perceived risks of impacts which might be imposed on the environment. GMOs started in 1992 and today, USA has taken the lead in 45 States. The same crops planted with modern technology are still grown in areas designated by the Native Americans who used primitive methods that were totally dependent on the natural climatic conditions.   Key words: Dominant social paradigm (DSP), anthropocentric, unsustainable resource use, the new environmental paradigm (NEP), NEO-Luddites, Brownlash view, Lomborg school of thought, genetically engineered plants, biotechnology, genetic engineering, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), geographical information systems (GIS), traditional ecological knowledge (TEK).

The role of governance in delivery of natural resource management programmes – a case study involving the restoration of freshwater fish communities in the Murray‐Darling Basin

SummaryGood governance is crucial in the effective management of complex natural resources issues. There are many elements of effective governance, with recent work proposing eight principles relevant to natural resource management. In this study, we consider the Native Fish Strategy (NFS) – a long‐term plan for restoration and protection of native fish in the Murray‐Darling Basin (MDB) – as a case study to explore how these eight principles supported the programme's governance, and in particular, outcomes achieved for stakeholder engagement, knowledge generation and programme delivery. We present a scalable governance model derived from the examined case study, which we believe effectively, links science, management and community participation and would be useful for tackling natural resource management problems at a range of scales in other situations.

A decision framework for management of conflicting production and biodiversity goals for a commercially valuable invasive species

The management of introduced species that are both invasive and commercially valuable is contentious. While such species provide substantial economic benefits to some, they pose considerable costs to others due to negative impacts on ecosystems. We propose a decision framework to help balance conflicting objectives and support the management of commercially valuable invasive species. We illustrate our framework using the buffel grass (Pennisetum ciliare syn. Cenchrus ciliaris L.) invasion in Australia. In rangelands worldwide, buffel grass is amongst a suite of commercially valuable invasive species, highly valued by some graziers as a pasture species but widely unpopular among those concerned with the threat it poses for native biodiversity. The framework comprises four components. First we develop a state and transition model to represent the invasion dynamics of buffel grass and the effect of management actions. Second we construct utility functions to represent the relative values of buffel grass cover in terms of production and biodiversity utilities (indicative of grazier’s and conservationist’s relative ‘happiness’ regarding buffel grass cover). We draw on expert and empirical data for the construction of the model and utility functions. Third, we present management strategies that minimize losses in production and biodiversity utilities in the absence of budget constraints. We use stochastic dynamic programming and multi-criteria decision analysis which explicitly account for trade-offs between production and biodiversity conservation concerns. Finally, we conduct a sensitivity analysis to assess the impact of assumptions of the model and utility functions. Management complexity arises from biodiversity-production trade-off situations in which the desirable state of buffel grass cover and effective actions to achieve this state depend on the utility functions. Management solutions were particularly sensitive to the shape of the utility functions for biodiversity. Solutions were less sensitive to uncertainty surrounding the effectiveness of management actions. We found in most biodiversity-production trade-off situations a compromise solution led to management for an intermediate level (>0–50%) of buffel grass cover. However, when maximal values for both biodiversity and production are high, it may be more practical to manage for one value rather than find a compromise solution where concessions from both sides are high. Our decision framework does not attempt to optimize economic outcomes but provides a guide for formulating trade-offs between opposing views, something that is relevant to the management of any natural resource management problem where there are conflicting objectives.

Addressing structural and observational uncertainty in resource management

Most natural resource management and conservation problems are plagued with high levels of uncertainties, which make good decision making difficult. Although some kinds of uncertainties are easily incorporated into decision making, two types of uncertainty present more formidable difficulties. The first, structural uncertainty, represents our imperfect knowledge about how a managed system behaves. The second, observational uncertainty, arises because the state of the system must be inferred from imperfect monitoring systems. The former type of uncertainty has been addressed in ecology using Adaptive Management (AM) and the latter using the Partially Observable Markov Decision Processes (POMDP) framework. Here we present a unifying framework that extends standard POMDPs and encompasses both standard POMDPs and AM. The approach allows any system variable to be observed or not observed and uses any relevant observed variable to update beliefs about unknown variables and parameters. This extends standard AM, which only uses realizations of the state variable to update beliefs and extends standard POMDP by allowing more general stochastic dependence among the observable variables and the state variables. This framework enables both structural and observational uncertainty to be simultaneously modeled. We illustrate the features of the extended POMDP framework with an example.

Managing Understory Vegetation for Maintaining Productivity in Black Spruce Forests: A Synthesis within a Multi-Scale Research Model

Sustainable management of boreal ecosystems involves the establishment of vigorous tree regeneration after harvest. However, two groups of understory plants influence regeneration success in eastern boreal Canada. Ericaceous shrubs are recognized to rapidly dominate susceptible boreal sites after harvest. Such dominance reduces recruitment and causes stagnant conifer growth, lasting decades on some sites. Additionally, peat accumulation due to Sphagnum growth after harvest forces the roots of regenerating conifers out of the relatively nutrient rich and warm mineral soil into the relatively nutrient poor and cool organic layer, with drastic effects on growth. Shifts from once productive black spruce forests to ericaceous heaths or paludified forests affect forest productivity and biodiversity. Under natural disturbance dynamics, fires severe enough to substantially reduce the organic layer thickness and affect ground cover species are required to establish a productive regeneration layer on such sites. We succinctly review how understory vegetation influences black spruce ecosystem dynamics in eastern boreal Canada, and present a multi-scale research model to understand, limit the loss and restore productive and diverse ecosystems in this region. Our model integrates knowledge of plant-level mechanisms in the development of silvicultural tools to sustain productivity. Fundamental knowledge is integrated at stand, landscape, regional and provincial levels to understand the distribution and dynamics of ericaceous shrubs and paludification processes and to support tactical and strategic forest management. The model can be adapted and applied to other natural resource management problems, in other biomes.