Transboundary Natural Resource Management Research Articles

Integrating importance- performance analysis into transboundary natural resource management of water trails: Case study at the Chattahoochee river national recreation area water trail in Atlanta, GA (USA)

Despite growth in National Water Trail designations year after year along with paddlesports popularity, there is little research on water trail users' experiences within transboundary managed water trail systems. Specifically, there is a lack of evidence regarding which experiential attributes paddlers' find important and how these transboundary zones perform on those attributes. This is problematic because the entities managing transboundary water trail zones do not know if there are common attributes that are important to all water trail users and if they are providing satisfactory water-based recreational experiences based on these expectations. With this gap in mind, this research integrates the domain of Transboundary Natural Resource Management for National Water Trail Systems with the analytical method of Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) to explicitly compare paddlers’ perceptions (n = 360) of 12 water trail attributes between two different management zones (city park vs. federal National Park Service) of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area Water Trail in Atlanta, GA (USA). Results revealed that paddlers within both management zones place high importance on the biophysical attribute of water quality yet are equally dissatisfied with the performance of water quality, a reported decades long issue for the Chattahoochee River. Additionally, paddlers within the National Park Service zone expressed greater dissatisfaction with the lack opportunities available for quiet spaces and paddling in undeveloped areas. Results also indicated that water trail visitors had various levels of expectations and perceptions of river setting attributes that differed by management zones. A focused understanding of how physical, social, and managerial attributes of National Water Trails are perceived by recreational users (e.g., paddlers) aids transboundary natural resource efforts in collaborative decision making to better balance river conservation and recreation management for the future sustainability of National Water Trails. Management implications•The increasing popularity of river-based recreation and National Water Trail Systems spanning multiple jurisdictional zones justifies the need to proactively discuss transboundary visitor use management and collaboration across resource management entities (e.g., federal, municipal, private, state, etc.).•Importance-Performance Analyses (IPA) are a cost-effective and relatively intuitive method for managers across multiple jurisdictions to collaboratively manage the satisfactory performance of recreational setting attributes, while also allowing visitors to express their opinions and perspectives on current and future managerial elements.•Managers can gain a stronger understanding of the process to evaluate river setting indicators through analytical methods (e.g., IPA) that may save them time and money, as well as provide a logical decision-making pathway to prioritizing action within the Interagency Visitor Use Management Framework (IVUMF) for parks, rivers, and other protected areas.

The need for transboundary natural resource management and adaptation for environmental sustainability and human well-being in the Ethiopia-Kenya borderland

The need for transboundary natural resource management and adaptation for environmental sustainability and human well-being in the Ethiopia-Kenya borderland

Building indicators for trans-boundary natural resource management in the Cambodia–Laos–Vietnam Development Triangle Area based on experts’ opinion using Delphi method

Building indicators for trans-boundary natural resource management in the Cambodia–Laos–Vietnam Development Triangle Area based on experts’ opinion using Delphi method

Climate finance and peace—tackling the climate and humanitarian crisis

Climate finance and peace—tackling the climate and humanitarian crisis

Accounting emergy-based sustainability of crops production in India and Pakistan over first decade of the 21st century

Agriculture is one of the main assets of Pakistani and Indian economies, employing in both countries about 50% of the total labour force. Thus, improving agricultural sustainability in the Indo-Pak region has important implications for the local population as well as the rest of the world that relies on food imports from these countries. This article investigates the drivers and consequences of changes in crop production sustainability in India and Pakistan from an emergy-based perspective, from 2001 to 2011. However, due to the numerous crops cultivated in these regions, a detailed calculation of unit emergy values (UEVs) for each crop was not possible, therefore the paper presents a balance at country level (based on literature data for the crops' UEVs), rather than a canonical emergy accounting.The emergy perspective was chosen to holistically evaluate and compare the environmental pressures caused by crop production in both countries. Emergy-based indicators were calculated based on the real time series of input renewable and non-renewable sources. The major findings of the work revealed that purchased renewable inputs, such as irrigating water, and purchased non-renewable inputs, such as agricultural labor, are the largest contributors among the total inputs in both countries. Labor accounted for 46.79% and 60.59% of total emergy input for crop production in India and Pakistan respectively. Overall, the production efficiency in India was greater than that in Pakistan. Emergy of crop production in Pakistan witnessed an increase of only 23%, whereas India saw an increase of 42% during the study period. Despite the lack of data on each specific agricultural process, this trend is an evidence of the fact that, if on one side the agricultural activities in the two countries were intensified to supply an increasing population, on the other side, although India performed better than Pakistan, the sustainability of the agricultural practices (from a nature-oriented perspective as assessed with emergy analysis) in both countries did not improve. . Trends of carrying capacity indicated that intensive means of agricultural production are threatening natural resources in both countries. This study empirically demonstrates the need to conserve natural resources, especially water, which have been rapidly declining in these two countries. Since both countries share these resources, this study represents an evidence for the need to cooperate for transboundary natural resource management.

跨界自然保护区——实现生物多样性保护的新手段

Interest is rapidly growing in transboundary natural resource management(TBNRM),due to the increasing emphasis in recent years on regional cooperation and conducting landscape conservation at larger scales.Transboundary protected areas(TBPAs) are commonly used in TBNRM and have become an important subject for research into protected area management and biodiversity conservation. TBPA studies in China are limited to the conflicts caused by the development of tourism resources and administrative integration,while TBPAs measures have received relatively less attention.In particular,a large proportion of China′s nature reserves span two or more administrative regions,but no conclusions have reached on how the experiences of cross-border conservation in developed countries can be usefully applied to these protected areas.Therefore,in this paper we reviewed the benefits,costs and factors influencing TBPA success or failure on the basis of relevant research review.This analysis indicated that establishing TBPAs might be an effective means to fulfill the objectives of ecosystem management and biodiversity conservation at larger scale.The current status and existing problems during transboundary protected area management are identified,and the necessity of building TBPAs across different administrative boundaries in China is discussed.Finally,we propose potential future research activities and the following recommendations: (1) While transboundary protection has received greater attention and TBPAs studies are becoming more in-depth,a theoretical explanation is urgently needed to explain what triggeres cross-boundary administrative responses,including how to protect cross-border ecosystems or coordinate transboundary cooperation practices.(2) At present,most TBPA studies consider international boundaries,and there are fewer studies focusing on administrative regions within one country.Therefore,it is important to strengthen TBPA research and management at the sub-national level.For China′s TBPAs,the problem may be potential cross-border impacts emanating from the whole protected area system.Therefore,it is essential to establish an identification system,analyze the possibility and necessity of cross-border cooperation,consider the costs and benefits,and determine the priority protection areas.In addition,conflicts and serious difficulties have occurred in some local cross-border protected areas Feasibility analysis for TBPAs should be established so as not to complicate the problem in areas where it is not appropriate.(3) Evaluating effectiveness is a hot topic of TBPA research.Many countries have developed detailed evaluation systems to ensure the effective management of TBPAs and the sustainable development of large-scale ecological systems.However,these evaluation systems are not sensitive to different sets of cross-border indicators,and do not necessarily reflect the conservation achievements.Therefore,the establishment of a cross-border management performance evaluation system and analysis methods would be of great significance for the effective management and protection of TBPAs.(4) Although co-management methods are diverse,it is a huge challenge to achieve effective cooperation between different countries with different languages,different political systems and cultural backgrounds.Because each TBPA is unique it cannot be copied.In the absence of a successful reference model,cross-border managers and decision makers should develop appropriate ways for their own cross-border nature reserve management based on their specific circumstances.

Factors influencing transboundary wildlife management in the North American ‘Crown of the Continent’

Jurisdictional boundaries and borders are rarely coincident with ecological systems. The long-term persistence of viable wildlife populations and habitats, especially for highly mobile and migratory species, is contingent upon effective management that transcends administrative boundaries. Although transboundary natural resource management has emerged as a topic of academic and professional discourse, implementation has been hampered by a host of barriers that include institutional, administrative, financial and contextual factors. The Crown Managers Partnership, a collaborative initiative of public land managers in the transboundary Rocky Mountains of Canada and the United States, is exploring the approaches to overcome these barriers. This paper reports on the results of interviews to identify the factors that influence the management of transboundary wildlife and provides a series of recommendations that are specific to the study area context, but are also transferable to other regions. Formalizing the existing partnership, exploring options for expanding participation in the partnership to include non-government interests, engaging third party facilitation, using non-traditional data sources, applying metapopulation ecology theory, and interdisciplinary problem solving are all elements recommended for improved transboundary management and of wildlife in the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem.

Rivers as resources, rivers as borders: community and transboundary management of fisheries in the Upper Zambezi River floodplains

This article examines the recent convergence of community‐based and transboundary natural resource management in Africa. We suggest that both approaches have potential application to common‐pool resources such as floodplain fisheries. However, a merging of transboundary and community‐based management may reinforce oversimplifications about heterogeneity in resources, users, and institutions. A scalar mismatch between the ecosystem of concern in transboundary management and local resources of concern in community‐based management, as well as different colonial and post‐colonial histories contribute to this heterogeneity. We describe a fishery shared by Namibia and Zambia in terms of hybrid fisheries management. We examine settlement patterns, fishermen characteristics, sources of conflict, and perceptions regarding present and potential forms of fisheries management in the area. We also consider the implications that initiatives to manage resources on the local and ecosystem scale have for these fishing livelihoods. Our findings indicate that important social factors, such as the unequal distribution of population and fishing effort, as well as mixed opinions regarding present and future responsibility for fisheries management will complicate attempts to implement a hybrid community‐transboundary management initiative.

Transboundary Conservation: The Politics of Ecological Integrity in the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park*

Recent years have witnessed the emergence of an ostensibly surprising coalition of interests around the notion of Transboundary Natural Resource Management (TBNRM) in Southern Africa. Deep green 'bioregionalists', conservation biologists and neo-liberal development advocates have found common cause in espousing the re-establishment of ecological integrity across 'artificial' frontiers and administrative boundaries. TBNRM has effects far beyond the realms of biodiversity protection and 'natural resource management'. It is bound up with regional debates on national sovereignty, land reform and poverty alleviation. This article explores the ideological, political and economic rationales for TBNRM with particular reference to Zimbabwe's involvement in the flagship Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park initiative, spanning Zimbabwe, South Africa and Mozambique. It investigates the competing agendas, and points of conflict surrounding the initiative at global, national and local levels, and explores the potential impact on agrarian livelihoods.