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Community forest organizations and adaptation to climate change in British Columbia

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Ella Furness at Cardiff University
Ella Furness
Harry Nelson at University of British Columbia
Harry Nelson
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The effects of climate change in many regions are expected to be significant, and likely to have a detrimental effect on the health of forests and the communities that often depend on those forests. At the same time climate change presents a challenge as it requires changes in both forest management, and the institutions and policies developed that govern forest management. In this paper, we report on a study assessing how Community Forests Organizations (CFOs) in British Columbia (BC), which were developed to manage forests according to the needs and desires of local communities and First Nations, are approaching climate change and whether or not they are responding to, or preparing for, its impacts. There are practical steps that CFOs can take to improve their ability to cope with future conditions such as planting a wider variety of species, practising different silvicultural techniques and increasing monitoring and observation of the forest. This paper gives an overview of what current capabilities exist in CFOs and suggests potential areas for targeted development.
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Community forest organisations and adaptation to climate change in British Columbia
Citation: Accepted Author Manuscript. Furness, E. and Nelson, H. 2012. Community
forest organizations and adaptation to climate change in British Columbia. Forestry
Chronicle 88(5), pp. 519-524.There may be minor typographical differences between
this manuscript and the final published version. Published version available via The
Canadian Institute of Forestry: DOI: 10.5558/tfc2012-099
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO
Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA.
*Ella Furness
FurnessEJ@cardiff.ac.uk
Harry Nelson
Harry.nelson@ubc.ca
Faculty of Forestry, Forest Sciences Centre, University of British Columbia, 2424 Main
Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
*Corresponding author at: Sustainable Places Research Institute, Cardiff University, 33
Park, Place, Cardiff, CF10 3BA, UK. Tel.: + 44 7963 039937.
Abstract
The effects of climate change in many regions are expected to be significant, and likely to
have a detrimental effect on the health of forests and the communities that often
depend on those forests. At the same time climate change presents a challenge as it
requires changes in both forest management, and the institutions and policies
developed that govern forest management. In this paper, we report on a study assessing
how Community Forests Organizations (CFOs) in British Columbia (BC) which were
developed to manage forests according to the needs and desires of local communities
and First Nations, are approaching climate change and whether or not they are
responding to, or preparing for, its impacts. There are practical steps that CFOs can take
to improve their ability to cope with future conditions such as planting a wider variety of
species, practicing different silvicultural techniques and increasing monitoring and
observation of the forest. This paper gives an overview of what current capabilities exist
in CFOs and suggests potential areas for targeted development.
Introduction
The predicted impacts of climate change are becoming a reality for forest managers in
BC. There are steps that those managers could take which may reduce the negative
impacts of climate change in the future, however those steps need to be taken soon if
they are to offer any protection. Community Forest Organisations (CFOs) usually have
area based tenures which give people an opportunity to manage some of their
neighbouring forest and distribute the benefits locally. If CFOs begin to implement
adaptations to climate change soon, they may avoid some impacts in their forests and
organisations and continue to provide existing benefits to communities. This article
describes a study that investigated CFO’s thoughts and actions about climate change in
BC and gives us some insights into what resources may enable the organisations’
adaptation to changing circumstances.
The impacts of climate change on forests in British Columbia
Canada's forests are already impacted by climate change, with increases in the large
scale disturbance patterns of drought, insect attack, disease and fire (Williamson et al.
2009; Daniels et al. 2011). These increases in disturbance are likely to persist, putting
pressure on local communities by affecting timber quality and production, watersheds
and water availability, and increasing risk to health from smoke and fire. The impact of
the mountain pine beetle epidemic has been partially caused by climate change, (Carroll
et al. 2006, Cudmore et al. 2010, Woods et al. 2010), and gives us an indication of some
of the impacts which forest dependent communities will need to contend with in the
future. Specifically forests in British Columbia can expect to see increased biotic damage
and disease, as well as an increased frequency and intensity of droughts in the southern
interior, species migration, and loss of habitat in high-elevation forests. How forest
managers anticipate and respond to these changes will affect the future of forestry in BC
and have significant impact on rural forest dependent communities (Williamson et al.
2009). Whether forest managers adapt or not, the only certainty is that the future
landscape of British Columbia will differ significantly from its current state (Hamann and
Wang 2006).
Community forests and adaptation to climate change
CFOs are of particular interest in terms of assessing how communities can best address
the impacts of climate change because of their direct relationship with the forest. As the
climate in BC is changing and community forests are, or will be, strongly affected by
these changes, how they plan for and respond to change could have a significant
influence upon whether they avoid or reduce the negative impacts of climate change on
their organisations and communities (Ogden & Innes 2009). Top-down, rigid and
centralized processes have been shown to be limited in their ability to deal with the
impacts of local environmental change, and there are suggestions that local
participatory governance structures such as community forests may be more effective in
building resilience in face of stressors such as climate change (Ostrom et al. 1999,
Brondizio et al. 2009, Eakin et al. 2011). Run by voluntary boards for the benefit of the
whole community, CFOs could play a lead role in helping forest dependent communities
in BC adapt to climate change by improving the adoption of adaptation strategies
(Ogden & Innes 2009, Chapin et al. 2010). However, research also shows that
communities and organizations vary widely in their ability to adapt to changing
conditions, and that community forests are far from a panacea (Bradshaw 2003; Reed &
McIlveen 2006; Bullock & Hanna 2007, Bullock et al. 2009).
Adaptations
Given the difficulties in producing accurate predictions of future climate and its impact
upon forests in BC, it is hard to create robust prescription for adaptation. However,
there are some potential adaptations that could be made; while some are in areas of
research and technology, at the policy level, or require landscape scale co-ordination,
others are adaptations that could be made by community forest managers. For example
in the area of operations, managers may need to be prepared to increase the amount of
salvage logging they are carrying out in the future and expect a reduced winter harvest
due to difficulties in accessing trees in non-freezing conditions (Williamson et al. 2010).
There is now enough evidence of the probability of increasing fire risk to develop
increasingly ‘fire-smart’ landscapes and communities (Williamson et al. 2010). Managers
should expect to see an increasingly variable timber supply and begin to include
changing climate variables in their growth and yield models and long term timber supply
analysis. They could also be adopting risk assessment and adaptive management
principles into their planning and day to day management decisions and including
climate change considerations when planning, constructing, or replacing infrastructure
(Williamson et al. 2010).
In terms of research, managers could expand their ecological monitoring and pathogen
surveillance (Papadopol 2000), and at the stand level, managers can employ a variety of
techniques depending on their particular location and expected impacts. For example,
CFOs could use thinning to reduce moisture stress in trees and increase the growth of
residual trees. They could also shorten rotations and reduce regeneration delays which
can maintain or re-establish the CO2 sequestration capacity of the land as well as
reducing erosion where it is a problem (Papadopol 2000). In addition, organisations
could develop and maintain a mosaic of species and age classes to try to spread the risk
associated with dependency on only one or two commercial species (Cudmore et al.
2010), or experiment with planting alternative genotypes or new species in anticipation
of future climate (Papadopol 2000, Aitken et al. 2008).
Challenges Facing Community Forests
Community forests in BC are charged with a myriad of responsibilities, amongst them
creating employment, the development of value added products and non-timber forest
products; conflict mitigation and resolution over ecosystem services, environmental
stewardship, and valuable environmental resources; the sharing of First Nations
traditional territories and areas under negotiation as part of treaty negotiations; as well
as increasing community empowerment, implementing ecosystem based forestry, and
the restoration of community links with the environment (Bullock et al. 2009; Berkes
2010). This wide range of expectations has been criticised as unrealistic and
undeliverable (Bradshaw 2003), indeed, community forests are expected to provide for
many different and competing needs, including those of government, industry,
community and First Nations stakeholders (Bullock et al. 2009). Community forests also
actively attempt the incorporation of different worldviews and different types of
knowledge into their management of forest ecosystems, something which to a great
extent is not expected from their competitors in the forest industry. Adaptation to
climate change is yet another demand upon the resources of these small organisations
which represent only a very small part of BC’s forest industry as a whole.
Method
The project studied members of the British Columbia Community Forest Association
(BCCFA) and was conducted in collaboration with the BCCFA using a survey approach to
detail organizations' awareness of and response to climate change, as well as any
adaptation techniques they have embarked upon. The survey sample included all
organisations that were members of the BCCFA and had an active tenure agreement
with the BC Ministry of Forests. Sixteen members of the BCCFA do not have a tenure
agreement and are in the early stages of forming a community forest organisation,
meaning they are not yet actively managing a forest. Eight holders of Community Forest
Agreement holders in BC are not members of the BCCFA and were not approached in
this research (see Figure 1). The findings of the study are not generalizable beyond the
membership of the BCCFA and it is worth noting that further research may be beneficial
in this area. The sample frame was obtained through the BCCFA, with contact telephone
numbers accessed through a record of their membership database (as it stood in
November 2011). This gave a population of 38 organisations, all of which were included
in the sample.
Results
At the outset, there was little existing research to suggest whether or not CFOs in BC
would be familiar with the concept of adaptation. All 38 of the organisations included in
the sample responded to the survey, giving us a 100% response rate, and our results
established that the concept of adaptation was both salient and relevant to many of the
organisations. Indeed, just under half (45%) were already researching adaptation (Stage
1 Adaptors). Just under a third (32%) were already integrating adaptation techniques
into their work (Stage 2 Adaptors). Of the remaining organisations some were not
adapting (Non adaptors), and a small minority were unsure. Figure 2 illustrates the
adaptation progress of all of the organisations in the sample.
Figure 1 CFOs in BC: 62 organisations; 46 have active operations and 54 are members of the BCCFA,
38 are members with active operations..
Figure 2 Adaptation progress among the 38 CFOs
In terms of the impacts of climate change that CFOs were experiencing or anticipating,
we found that forest pathogens were the most commonly experienced or expected
(82% of CFOs overall), extreme events were also frequently observed or expected, and
species changes and warmer winters less so (Table 1 shows these results in more detail).
Table 1 Non-Adaptors, Stage 1 Adaptors and Stage 2 Adaptors: observation and
expectation of climate change
Non-Adaptors (16 CFOs)
Stage 1 Adaptors (17 CFOs)
Stage 2 Adaptors (12
CFOs)
11 (69%) have observed or
expect to observe an
increase in extreme events.
13 (76.5%) have observed
or expect to observe an
increase in extreme events
10 (83%) have observed or
expect to observe extreme
events
12 (74%) have observed or
expect to observe an
increase in pathogens in
the forest.
16 (94%) have observed or
expect to observe an
increase in pathogens in
the forest.
11 (92%) have observed or
expect to observe an
increase in pathogens in
the forest.
3 (18%) have observed or
11 (65%) have observed or
8 (67%) have observed or
expect to observe warmer
winters
expect to observe warmer
winters
expect to observe warmer
winters
9 (56%) have not observed
and do not expect to
observe warmer winters
3 (18%) have not observed
and do not expect to
observe warmer winters
2 (17%) have not observed
and do not expect to
observe warmer winters
6 (40%) have observed or
expect to observe species
change
12 (71%) have observed or
expect to observe species
change
8 (67%) have observed or
expect to observe species
change
Attitude towards climate change was substantially different among Non-Adaptors and
Adaptors, with the Adaptors more concerned about global climate change, and more
likely to have observed or expected to observe the impacts of climate change (based on
Table 2).
Table 2 Non-Adaptors, Stage 1 Adaptors and Stage 2 Adaptors: attitude to climate
change
Non-Adaptors (16 CFOs)
Stage 1 Adaptors (17 CFOs)
Stage 2 Adaptors (12
CFOs)
7 (44%) are concerned
about global climate
change
14 (82%) are concerned
about global climate
change
11 (92%) concerned about
global climate change
3 (19%) not concerned
about global climate
change
1 (6%) not concerned about
global climate change
1 (8%) not concerned about
global climate change
7 (44%) are concerned
about the impacts of
climate change on their
CFO.
12 (73%) are concerned
about the impacts of
climate change on their
CFO.
8 (67%) are concerned
about the impacts of
climate change on their
CFO
2 (12.5%) have an
understanding of likely
climate change impacts
12 (71%) have an
understanding of likely
climate change impacts
9 (75%) have an
understanding of likely
climate change impacts
10 (62.5%) have no
understanding of likely
climate change impacts
2 (12%) have no
understanding of likely
climate change impacts
2 (17%) has no
understanding of likely
climate change impacts
1 (6%) has an
understanding of risk
reduction
12 (71%) have an
understanding of risk
reduction
10 (83%) have an
understanding of risk
reduction
13 (81%) have no
understanding of risk
reduction
4 (23.5%) have no
understanding of risk
reduction
2 (17%) have no
understanding of risk
reduction
Some of the attitudes about climate change amongst respondents are illustrated by the
comments below:
“The older group (on our board) haven't bought into climate change; it's not a
high concern, although we don't plant cedar anymore because it dries out.”
(CFO 34: Non-Adaptor)
“Climate change is too uncertain; it’s based on opinions, not knowledge.”
(CFO 30: Non-Adaptor)
“Climate change all boils down to what side you're on. We haven't talked about
climate change.” (CFO 26: Non-Adaptor)
“Climate change is something way off on the horizon and worrying about it is
premature. It is not driving decision-making.” (CFO 23: Stage 2 Adaptor)
“In general people don't connect Mountain Pine Beetle with climate change, the
board are not thinking about it, though the area based tenure is a huge incentive
to plant for the future.” (CFO 5: Stage 1 Adaptor)
40% of CFOs had an understanding of the likely impacts of climate change on their
forest and 37% had an understanding of risk reduction. While this is encouraging, it
indicates a significant gap in the understanding of the majority of organisations and a
lack of appreciation of the probable impacts and potential adaptations that could be
made to minimise vulnerability to climate change. Targeting this knowledge
requirement may enable CFOs to better adapt, in fact there were suggestions directly
from respondents about the role that education and training may be able to play in
increasing the adaptability of CFOs (see below). Clear recommendations for actions that
could spread the risk or minimise the impacts of climate change are essential, with 63%
of organisations not knowing what to do.
“A high education among the population here means that people are aware of
climate change.” (CFO 1: Stage 1 Adaptor)
“We have a heightened knowledge and interest in climate change because of a
conference here put on by a graduate student from Simon Fraser University.”
(CFO 12: Stage 1 Adaptor)
“A lack of cold snaps has increased the spread of the Mountain Pine Beetle - 70%
of our pine is dead. We’re thinking about climate change, but we have a lack of
understanding about what to do about it.” (CFO 8: Non-Adaptor)
Limitations to adaptation
It was common for CFOs to defer to government expertise, especially if lacking the time
or money to invest in their own research, but it was also common for CFOs to complain
about standards that government had imposed:
“With our stocking standards we default to the government standards, we expect
them to inform us on climate change, as they have been researching it. The major
impacts are planting the wrong stuff - but really it's up to the Province, they are
modelling it. We only have an AAC of 20,000M3. We can't afford scientists - start-
up costs are expensive.” (CFO 31: Non-Adaptor)
“The Ministry of Forests needs to loosen up the preferred species.”
(CFO 17: Non-Adaptor)
“We're limited by silvicultural rules, we can't be as experimental as we'd like.”
(CFO 19: Non-Adaptor)
“There's no way to adapt, provincial stocking standards mean it’s not possible to
change.”
(CFO 34: Non-Adaptor)
“We’re constrained by prescribed species.” (CFO 35: Stage 1 Adaptor)
“Based on how the area has been hit now [by Mountain Pine Beetle], it is hard to
plan for the future, BC Timber Sales [a government department which sets cost
and price benchmarks for timber harvested from public land in British Columbia]
have hampered progress, and law changes have not helped, overall the laws are
not helpful.” (CFO 38: Non-Adaptor)
Discussion and Conclusions
Previous to beginning this study it was unclear whether any organisations would be
adapting to climate change, given the complexity and challenges there are in making
changes. Having established that a significant minority of CFOs are adapting, it is
worthwhile improving understanding of how their experience can inform further
adaptation, not only among CFOs but in the broader system of forest management.
In terms of policy development, balancing demands for support and guidance from
government with autonomy for communities to make their own decisions is an essential
and very difficult task. Previous research suggests that community organisations
involved in natural resources management have often been hampered by fractious
relationships with government; it seems that successful community management is
more likely to occur when local decision-making processes are free from government
intervention and include a wide range and large number of participants (Bullock and
Hanna 2007). There is still a salient role for government and institutional involvement in
adaptation though, and there was distinct approval from CFOs about projects like the
Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions and the Government of Canada’s Regional
Adaptive Collaborative, which suggests that there are already government and research
initiatives which are on the right track and can be built upon or extended to support
CFOs and improve local capacity for climate change adaptation.
Research carried out with Swedish foresters suggests that information about the
practical tasks of risk reduction and adaptation may be more important than
information on the possible impacts of climate change (Blennow and Pearson 2008).
Although needs may be different in BC and further research into what forest managers
and communities want could be beneficial to confirm that any future programs are
addressing the needs of CFOs. In the survey more adaptive CFOs reported positive
training experiences, with staff and board members attending workshops and seminars
on climate change provided by government bodies, universities or other research
initiatives as well as working alongside external organisations to improve their ability to
adapt, this research indicates that continuing and widening these initiatives could
increase the adaptive capacity of CFOs.
As well as access to education and training, the size of the tenures was an issue, some
respondents pointed out that community forests are so small that their decisions have
comparatively little impact on the landscape, so whether or not they begin to try to
adapt to climate change has little real implication for forests as a whole. Some
suggested larger community forests as a solution to this, or the development of
partnerships between CFOs and government and industry to collaborate on adaptation;
some CFOs already had experience of creating partnerships with industry for research.
“We have been involved in a study with [a large logging company] looking into
under planting with Douglas fir, researching erosion control and increasing
evapotranspiration on an old Mountain Pine Beetle site.” (CFO 36)
“When talking about scale of impacts the community forest is ‘small potatoes’,
they only control 5% of the surrounding area.” (CFO 24)
Finally, the willingness of some CFOs to explore and undertake adaptive actions shows
the innovation that will be necessary in making more broad scale changes to our forest
management system. Not only should their experiences be evaluated and
communicated more broadly, for the wider knowledge they can generate, but it will also
be interesting to explore how this innovation may be transmitted across organizations
as well. Rogers’ (1983) theory of the diffusion of innovation uses a diffusion curve
(which resembles a normal curve) to explain how innovations (in this case adaptation to
climate change) are adopted within a population. He suggested that this is done first by
a small (2.5%) group of the population termed the Innovators, secondly by a larger
proportion (13.5%) termed the Early Adopters, and progressively an Early Majority
(34%), a Late Majority (34%) and eventually Laggards (16%). Rogers’ extensive research
in this area suggested descriptions for each group: for example Innovators are defined
as being willing to take risks, having good access to finances, being very social and
having access to scientific sources, and well as interaction with other innovators (Rogers
1962). This conceptualisation of the adoption of innovation could help better
understand not only how different ideas and practices can be shared but how
organizations more generally can start addressing climate change.
Conclusion
Being mindful of the variety of values, governance arrangements and level of
understanding seen in these organisations, community forest organisations are certainly
well placed to promote local climate change adaptation. Community forests in BC are
some of the most advanced community governed forest management arrangements in
the world and have built up a level of expertise which make them well placed to deliver
on local climate change adaptation. Building on CFOs’ initial adaptation efforts in order
to develop success local preparation for climate change requires the evolution of a
supportive policy environment. Community forests would need to have the right
balance of autonomy and support from government and other institutions, as well as
targeted training, funding and equipment to match the size and breadth of the task.
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... These include political views (Ameztegui et al. 2018), information campaigns (Mostegl et al. 2017), education (Blennow et al. 2016), and sector traditions, personal habits or perceptions (Andersson et al. 2017). Previous research also provided evidence of varying forester attitudes about risk, perceived effects, related adaptation measures (Petr et al. 2014, Furness & Nelson 2012, Lenart & Jones 2014, Nelson et al. 2016, and species choice (Yousefpour & Hanewinkler 2015). On the other hand, small-scale owners may rely more on native diversity and related species, while commercial advisors prefer to use new exotics (Lawrence & Marzano 2014), implying that land ownership conditions could determine adaptation measures. ...
... The most consistent answers arose in questions about snow cover days and blurring seasons (Fig. 2). This result is country-specific; different results emerged in other regions (Furness & Nelson 2012, Detten & Faber 2013, Sousa-Silva et al. 2016). Fig. 3 shows the result of the climate-deterioration index. ...
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... Hasonlóképpen a klíma bizonytalanság, illetve -kockázatok eltérő felfogásaira, adaptációban játszott szerepére mutatott rá Nagy-Britannia-szerte Petr et al. (2014). Furness & Nelson (2012) Kanadában, British Columbiában kutatták az érzékelés és a válaszadás kérdését, helyi közösségi erdészeti szervezetek kérdőíves vizsgálatával, ugyanitt készült Nelson et al. (2016) tanulmánya, amely az erdészeti szakemberek adaptációs hajlandóságát elemezte. Lenart & Jones (2014) pedig a klímaváltozásba vetett hit szerepét vizsgálta a cselekvési hajlandóságban az USA-ban, kimutatva az összefüggést. ...
... Nyilván ez az eredmény meglehetősen ország-specifikus, más helyszíneken eltérő eredmények adódtak (vö. Furness & Nelson 2012;Detten & Faber 2013;Sousa-Silva et al. 2016) A módszertanban jelzett háromféle erdő-csoportosításban a válaszadók átlagos klíma-romlás-indexét a 2. ábra mutatja. Ez jelzi már azt, hogy a legnagyobb különbségek a regionális és az erdőtípus szerinti bontásban mutatkoztak, ezeket érdemes hát közelebbről is megvizsgálni, amikor az érzékelés és a hely kapcsolatát vizsgáljuk, hiszen a domborzati típusok kapcsán a hegyvidékekre és a síkvidékekre is számos esetben igaz, hogy valamelyest kisebb mértékben tapasztalják a problémákat. ...
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... Elsewhere, the effect of policy developments that support greater local decision making in forest management in Canada have encouraged adaptation efforts. This is why community-based adaptation to the effects of climate change on forest resources has been more common in Canada than in the United States (Furness and Nelson, 2012), especially where those forest managers do not have to work across multiple jurisdictions (as these forests are on crown lands) and have flexibility in developing practices (within British Columbia). Although these communities have more limited resources and face challenges in ensuring their operations are financially sustainable, the forests are typically managed for multiple values beyond timber with an explicit focus on sustainability over the long term; consequently, many of them have actively incorporated considerations related to climate change into planning and practices (Furness and Nelson, 2012). ...
... This is why community-based adaptation to the effects of climate change on forest resources has been more common in Canada than in the United States (Furness and Nelson, 2012), especially where those forest managers do not have to work across multiple jurisdictions (as these forests are on crown lands) and have flexibility in developing practices (within British Columbia). Although these communities have more limited resources and face challenges in ensuring their operations are financially sustainable, the forests are typically managed for multiple values beyond timber with an explicit focus on sustainability over the long term; consequently, many of them have actively incorporated considerations related to climate change into planning and practices (Furness and Nelson, 2012). ...
Adapting forest management to climate change: The state of science and applications in Canada and the United States
Article
  • Mar 2018
  • FOREST ECOL MANAG
Over the last decade, considerable progress has been made in developing vulnerability assessment tools and in applying these methodologies to identify and implement climate change adaptation approaches for forest ecosystems and forest management organizations in Canada and the United States. However, given that adaptation processes are in early stages, evaluation of approaches across agency, organizational, and geographic boundaries is critical. Thus, we conducted a qualitative comparison of three conceptual frameworks for climate change vulnerability assessment and adaptation efforts in the Canadian and United States forestry agency contexts. We focus our comparison on components of the conceptual frameworks, development process, intended users, similarities and differences in institutional contexts (geographic and organizational), and implementation. Finally, we present case studies to illustrate how the frameworks have been implemented on the ground and in different contexts. Despite different trajectories of development, the Canadian and US forest agencies have developed similar conceptual frameworks for vulnerability assessment and adaptation. We found that key components of the conceptual frameworks included: establishing a science-management partnership; evaluating current forest conditions and management objectives; conducting detailed science-based vulnerability assessments; developing adaptation approaches and on-the-ground tactics; implementing adaptation tactics; and monitoring outcomes and adjusting as needed. However, the contexts in which these frameworks are implemented vary considerably within and between countries, mostly because of differences in land ownership, management norms, and organizational cultures. On-the-ground applications, although slow to develop, are beginning to proliferate, providing examples that can be emulated by others. A strategy for accelerating implementation of adaptation in Canada and the United States is suggested, building on successes by federal agencies and extending to public, private, and crown lands.
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... With CFEs in British Columbia being based on an approach which is up front in promoting diversity of local values and meaningful adaptation to environmental sustainability and climate change (Devisscher et al., 2021;Furness & Nelson, 2012) individuals with a strong grounding in community engagement practices and environmental work will be well positioned to take on leadership roles in these organizations, as is already being demonstrated in qualitative studies that studied success factors in organizational governance and managerial processes in CFEs (Carias-Vega & Keenan, 2016;Engbring & Hajjar, 2021). ...
The Effect of Managers’ Personal Characteristics on the Performance of Community Forest Enterprises
Article
Full-text available
  • Oct 2022
This study examines the role of managers’ personal characteristics, namely, proactiveness, perceptions about work discretion, and social networking ability on the social, environmental, and financial performance of community forest enterprises (CFEs). Data obtained through a mail survey of CFEs located in the province of British Columbia, Canada, shows that CFEs’ social performance is associated with their managers’ perceptions about work discretion and managers’ social networking abilities. The environmental performance is associated with managers’ perceptions about work discretion. However, the financial performance is not associated with any of these personal characteristics. These findings have three critical implications. First, CFEs which seek to improve social performance must emphasize—at the time of hiring and through training programs—social networking abilities of managers. Second, those CFEs which seek to improve environmental performance should emphasize sense of self-empowerment among managers in making organizational decisions. That is, the more CFE managers think that they have discretion over organizational decisions, the more they can deliver on the environmental front. Third, CFEs seeking to improve financial performance should look beyond personal characteristics and hire specialized finance professionals.
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... While TEK, with 79%, was rather prominently found in NAPs, the topic of forest dependence was present in 63% of the NAPs. Interestingly, countries such as Canada, Ghana, and Indonesia did not emphasise forest-dependent people, yet participatory forest management and community forestry are often argued to be the most successful approach to climate change adaptation (Ayers and Forsyth 2009, Furness and Nelson 2012, Reid 2016. In other countries, such as Australia, Russia, and the USA, lower forest cover, numbers of forest-dependent peoples, land use, and other factors might define adaptation priorities in NAPs differently. ...
Adjustments in Indigenous peoples' forest use and management in the context of climate change -a global systematic literature review
Article
Full-text available
  • Jul 2022
The global diversity of forest use and management responses of forest-dependent Indigenous peoples to climate change remains poorly understood and lacks synthesis. Yet, such knowledge is essential for informed policy decisions and inclusive mitigation strategies. Through a systematic literature review, forest-dependent Indigenous peoples' responses to climate change and extreme weather events were analysed, including the prevalence of the strategies, their drivers, the role of sensitivity to climate change and the integration of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) in forest use and management. Also, an assessment was made of how forest dependence and traditional knowledge are acknowledged in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs). The results show knowledge clusters around coping and adaptation, mitigation, and joint strategies in North and South America and Asia. Multiple Correspondence Analysis showed that articles documenting adaptation strategies were associated to a reactive response time, Indigenous peoples as drivers and the integration of TEK and information on their climate sensitivity. The diversity of applied strategies found, mostly related to non-timber forest products (NTFPs), comprised ecologically sustainable and unsustainable practices. Mitigation strategies, mostly REDD+ projects, which were significantly associated with proactive and external initiatives, largely omitted information on the sensitivity of the studied Indigenous group and the involvement of traditional knowledge. Joint strategies seem to be a good compromise of participatory efforts and were largely linked to integrating Indigenous peoples' traditional knowledge. Knowledge gaps include evidence of forest-related resilient livelihood strategies. Future research should focus on participatory and sustainable climate measures, the role of TEK and the drivers for the success of forest-related climate responses, as well as the potential effectiveness of joint adaptation-mitigation measures for forest-dependent Indigenous peoples on a global scale. Ajustements de l'utilisation et de la gestion des forêts par les peuples Indigènes dans le contexte du changement climatique: une étude systématique de la littérature globale T. BAUER La diversité de l'utilisation des forêts et des réponses de gestion au changement climatique par les peuples Indigènes dépendantes de la forêt demeure peu comprise à l'échelle globale et n'a pas connu de synthèse à ce jour. Or, une telle connaissance est nécessaire pour informer les décisions de politique et les stratégies d'atténuation proportionnelle. Les réponses des peuples Indigènes dépendant de la forêt au changement climatique et aux évènements climatiques extrêmes ont été analysées à l'aide d'une étude systématique de la littérature, en incluant la prévalence des stratégies, des agents de celles-ci, le rôle de la sensibilité au changement climatique et à l'intégration de la connaissance écologique traditionnelle (TEK) dans l'utilisation et la gestion de la forêt. Une évaluation du degré auquel la dépendance à la forêt et la connaissance traditionnelle ont été reconnues dans les Contributions déterminées nationalement (NDCs) et les Plans d'adaptation nationaux a été également dressée. Les résultats indiquent des regroupements autour de l'adaptation et de la lutte, de l'atténuation et des stratégies jointes en Amérique du nord et du sud, et en Asie. Une analyse de correspondances multiples montrait que les articles documentant les stratégies d'adaptation étaient 2 T. Bauer associés à un temps de réponse réactive, aux motivations des peuplades Indigènes à l'intégration de la TEK et de l'information sur leur sensibilité de ceux-ci au climat. La diversité des stratégies appliquées relevées, liées pour la plupart aux produits forestier non ligneux (PFNL), comprenaient des pratiques soutenables écologiquement, mais également non-durables. Les stratégies d'atténuation, pour la plupart des projets de la REDD+, étaient associées majoritairement à des initiatives extérieures et proactives, et laissaient majoritairement de côté les informations sur la sensibilité des groupes indigènes étudiés et sur la part faite aux connaissances traditionnelles. Les stratégies jointes semblent former un compromis acceptable des efforts participatifs et sont largement liées à une intégration de la connaissance traditionnelle des peuples Indigènes. Les hiatus dans la connaissance incluent le manque de preuves quant aux stratégies pour obtenir des revenus durables liés à la forêt. La recherche future devrait se concentrer sur des mesures climatiques participatives et durables, le rôle de la TEK et les motivations conduisant au succès des réponses climatiques, ainsi que sur l'efficacité potentielle de mesures jointes d'adaptation/atténuation pour les peuples Indigènes dépendantes de la forêt à l'échelle globale. Ajustes en el uso y la gestión de los bosques por parte de los Pueblos Indígenas en un contexto de cambio climático-una revisión bibliográfica sistemática global T. BAUER La diversidad global del uso de los bosques y las respuestas de gestión de los Pueblos Indígenas dependientes de los bosques al cambio climático sigue siendo poco conocida y carece de síntesis. Sin embargo, este conocimiento es esencial para tomar decisiones políticas informadas y estrategias de mitigación inclusivas. El estudio hizo una revisión bibliográfica sistemática para analizar las respuestas de los Pueblos Indígenas dependientes de los bosques al cambio climático y a los fenómenos meteorológicos extremos, que incluyó la prevalencia de las estrategias, sus impulsores, el papel de la sensibilidad al cambio climático y la integración de los conocimientos ecológicos tradicionales (CET) en el uso y la gestión de los bosques. Asimismo, evaluó cómo se reconocen la dependencia de los bosques y los conocimientos tradicionales en las Contribuciones Determinadas a Nivel Nacional (CDN) y los Planes Nacionales de Adaptación (PNA). Los resultados muestran grupos de conocimientos similares en torno a las estrategias de respuesta y adaptación, mitigación y conjuntas en América del Norte y del Sur y en Asia. Un Análisis de Correspondencias Múltiples mostró que los artículos que documentaban las estrategias de adaptación estaban asociados a un tiempo de respuesta reactivo, a los Pueblos Indígenas como impulsores y a la integración de los CET y la información sobre su sensibilidad climática. La diversidad de las estrategias aplicadas encontradas, en su mayoría relacionadas con los productos forestales no maderables (PFNM), incluyó prácticas ecológicamente sostenibles y no sostenibles. Las estrategias de mitigación, en su mayoría proyectos REDD+, que se asociaron significativamente con iniciativas proactivas y externas, omitieron en gran medida la información sobre la sensibilidad del grupo Indígena estudiado y la participación del conocimiento tradicional. Las estrategias conjuntas parecen ser un buen compromiso a los esfuerzos participativos y están vinculadas en gran medida a la integración de los conocimientos tradicionales de los Pueblos Indígenas. Entre las lagunas de conocimiento están la evidencia sobre estrategias de medios de vida resilientes relacionadas con los bosques. La investigación futura debería centrarse en las medidas climáticas participativas y sostenibles, en el papel de los CET y en los factores impulsores de éxito en las respuestas climáticas relacionadas con los bosques, así como en la eficacia potencial a escala mundial de las medidas conjuntas de adaptación y mitigación para los Pueblos Indígenas dependientes de los bosques.
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... The second approach seeks to improve management practices of CFEs with a focus on advancing plural goals in the community. Here, encouraging collaboration and promoting resource sharing with other local organizations are viewed essential for CFEs to improve their performance (Bullock et al., 2009;Furness & Nelson, 2012;Villavicencio Valdez et al., 2012). In this research, we explore a third potential approach by turning to the literature on competitive strategy (Porter 1980;Allen and Helms 2006) and examining whether competitive choices of CFEs are associated with their performance. ...
How does strategic choice affect the performance of community forest enterprises? A study in the Cascadia region
Article
Full-text available
  • Sep 2021
Proponents of decentralized forest governance make a compelling case that community forest enterprises (CFEs) can aid in sustainable and equitable utilization of forest resources. The effectiveness of CFEs is thus dependent on their ability to balance social, environmental, and financial performance. In this paper, we examine the relationship between a commonly recommended differentiation strategy and CFE effectiveness. Using data obtained through a survey administered on 51 CFEs located in the Cascadia region (British Columbia province of Canada; and Oregon and Washington states of the United States), we find that CFEs pursuing a differentiation strategy are able to balance social, environmental, and financial objectives. Further, recognizing that all CFEs cannot pursue a differentiation strategy, and some may not even have a defined strategic orientation, the paper compares social, environmental, and financial performance of CFEs pursuing a differentiation strategy, a hybrid strategy (a combination of differentiation and cost leadership strategy), and no defined strategy. This analysis reveals that CFEs pursuing a hybrid strategy deliver better financial performance than those with no defined strategy but are similar to those pursuing a differentiation strategy.
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... To date, however, climate change adaptation research and policy in rural contexts have primarily focused on technical solutions and physical infrastructure (Reed et al., 2014). Research in agriculture, for example, has emphasized the technical aspects of production, such as soil management and drought resistant cropping techniques (e.g., Kang and Banga, 2013), while research in forestry has focused on topics such as assisted migration of tree species (e.g., Gray et al., 2011) and physical infrastructure in forestry-dependent communities (e.g., Furness and Nelson, 2012;Reed et al., 2014). ...
Social dimensions of climate hazards in rural communities of the global North: An intersectionality framework
Article
  • Dec 2019
  • J RURAL STUD
Livelihood, employment, subsistence, and recreational practices of rural and Indigenous communities in the global North are increasingly impacted by climate hazards such as wildfire, floods, and drought. However, communities are often viewed as homogenous entities, with little recognition to how diverse individuals within those communities experience and respond to such hazards. Intersectionality, a concept derived from feminist theory, offers a promising lens for delineating how power relationships and interacting social characteristics such as gender, race, ethnicity, class, location, and age influence context specific experiences of climate hazards. In this paper, we relate our findings from a rapid literature review identifying how intersectionality is currently being approached in climate hazards research of the global North. With these findings, along with insights from theoretical intersectionality scholarship, we then develop an analytical framework composed of five attributes to guide empirical research on the social dimensions of climate hazards in rural communities of the global North. The framework offers a means for comparative intersectional research, contributing to an enhanced understanding of socially equitable and culturally appropriate adaptive responses, outcomes, and decision-making. https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1Z~z62eyKFZfl~
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... Still, the province and communities could consider whether using the CTA for FireSmart programming could be useful. Although environmental benefits are a focus within the community forestry literature (e.g., the incorporation of community values, balancing ecological management with economic demands, and stewardship) (Furness and Nelson 2012;Maryudi et al. 2012;Teitelbaum 2014), the low score in this category is indicative of the potential of the CTA and the positive effects that communities may experience as involvement increases, rather than a negative performance review. ...
Indigenous control and benefits through small-scale forestry: a multi-case analysis of outcomes
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2019
Growing international awareness of the need to recognize Indigenous rights and interests is reflected in Canada’s changing forestry culture. Across Canada, government and industry historically dominated the forest sector, resulting in the exclusion of Indigenous peoples from decision-making and benefits. Today, public forest licensing agreements can be a strategic tool for increasing Indigenous access to decision-making control and forest-based economic benefits. In Manitoba, Community Timber Allocations (CTAs) are granted to First Nation, Métis, and northern communities. This research examines the implementation and outcomes of the CTA and its possible significance in elevating Indigenous involvement in forestry from 2005 to 2015. Perspectives from Indigenous communities, industry, and the provincial government are explored through semi-structured interviews and site visits. While this allocation offers flexible access to timber and benefits through local training and business opportunities, its design structure offers little decision-making control for communities to implement traditional values or objectives on the landscape.
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Forest conservation and management practices in Cameroon: Case study of Bimbia-Bonadikombo Community Forest and Takamanda National Park
Thesis
  • Sep 2019
Cameroon’s forest is one of the richest ecosystems in the Congo Basin and in Africa as a whole in terms of its biodiversity. These forest types are currently subjected to multiple categories of threats. By enacting a new forestry law in 1994, the government of Cameroon intended to intensify efforts toward the protection and conservation of this rich biodiversity. This study aimed to compare two forest management systems, a state management system (the case of Takamanda National Park) and a community-based management system (the case of Bimbia- Bonadikombo Community Forest), to determine which management system better conserves and protects the forest against biodiversity loss. The study applied a methodological framework that made use of selected indicators and criteria to evaluate the extent of sustainability of the two forest management systems and challenges faced in implementing them. Both quantitative and qualitative results were realized through the administration of questionnaires, semi-structure interview and in-depth contents analysis of Law No.94-1 of 20th January 1994 that lays down forestry, wildlife and fisheries regulations and the 1996 Environmental Management Law that directs Cameroon’s compliance to the international standard of protecting the environment.Results indicated that community-based system of forest management is a much more sustainable approach of forest management than a state management system. Based on the criterion of cultural values attributed to natural resources in the community-based management zone (Bimbia- Bonadikombo Community Forest), 78.2% of the local communities were more willing to protect biodiversity as opposed to 48.3% from state management zone (Takamanda National Park). This study found that the level of participation in the community-based management system was much more inclusive and transparent. On the other hand, in the state management system, a high level of corruption, lack of transparency, delayed and irregular salaries of forest guards and minimal participation of local communities in forest management decision-making was noted and likely responsible for the ineffectiveness and unsustainable management efforts in this system. The study recommends the adoption and implementation of a more inclusive, transparent and accountable management in the state managed system (Takamada national park), particularly the full involvement of respected Elites, Chiefs and Traditional Councils.
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Reimagining energy in the Canadian boreal zone: policy needs to facilitate a successful transition to a low-carbon energy future
Article
Full-text available
Canada will be unable to meet its greenhouse gas pledges—of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30% over 2005 levels by 2030—without transitioning away from the current high-carbon economy. This transition will bring new challenges, especially to the Canadian boreal zone. The boreal zone continues to experience intensive natural resource activities including the extraction of forest, mining, oil and gas, and renewable energy products, which in combination with climate change, is placing the future sustainability of the boreal zone at risk. We explored policy options to reduce the risk to the future sustainability of the boreal zone in light of the inevitable energy transition to either a higher or a lower dependence on carbon and the uncertainty of society’s capacity to adapt to change. Current policies are putting us on a path towards failure to achieve sustainability of the boreal zone. While current policies may be moving us towards a low-carbon future, they lack a shared vision of what the energy transition will be and engagement by those members of society most impacted; they are top-down, prescriptive, and fragmented, and they lack capacity, accountability, and enforcement. Together these limitations create barriers to society’s capacity to adapt to the low-carbon future. Sustainability of the boreal zone will not only require a transition to a low-carbon economy but will require policies that overcome these barriers and create a higher capacity for society to adapt.
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Learning from community forestry experience: Challenges and lessons from British Columbia
Article
Full-text available
  • Mar 2009
A multiple case study approach is used to investigate community forest implementation challenges in British Columbia, Canada. Stakeholder interviews, document review and visits to the case sites (Denman Island, Malcolm Island, Cortes Island and Creston) were used to collect data on events occurring between 1990 and 2005. In addition to case-specific challenges, our analysis confirmed common challenges related to a lack of support, consensus, and organizational resources as well as poor forest health and timber profiles, resistance from conventional forest management, and competition for land and tenures. Development pressure emerged as a challenge for communities without land use decisionmaking authority. The final section offers some lessons and recommendations.
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Forest health and climate change: A British Columbia perspective
Article
Full-text available
  • Jul 2010
BC's forests have already faced two simultaneous, globally significant, epidemics linked to climate change; the Doth-istroma needle blight epidemic in NW BC and the massive mountain pine beetle epidemic throughout the BC Interior. Building on these experiences, we have compiled our best estimates of how we believe other forest health agents may behave as climate change continues to influence our forests. We have drawn on literature from around the world but have focused on the situation in BC. We have made management recommendations based on what we have seen so far and what we expect to come. RÉSUMÉ Les forêts de la C.-B. ont déjà subi simultanément deux épidémies significativement importantes liées aux changements climatiques: la brûlure en bande rouge à l' état d' épidémie dans le nord-ouest de la C.-B. et l'infestation massive par le den-droctone du pin ponderosa relevé partout dans la zone intérieure de la C.-B. À partir de ces situations, nous avons bâti nos meilleurs estimés de ce qu'il nous semble sera le comportement d'autres ravageurs forestiers alors que les changements climatiques continuent de modifier nos forêts. Nous avons consulté des documents de partout dans le monde, mais nous nous sommes attardés à la situation vécue en C.-B. Nous avons établi des recommandations portant sur l'aménagement d'après ce que nous avons constaté à ce jour et selon ce que nous prévoyons pour l'avenir.
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Community Forestry: Mitigating or Creating Conflict in British Columbia?
Article
Full-text available
In British Columbia, Canada, interest in community forests has steadily increased over the last decade. In part this may be a response to pervasive conflict over forest management. This article outlines three broad bases of conflict: communicative, personal dynamics, and process issues; these are used to create a framework for discussion of issues and perspectives seen in the community forestry literature. There can be a tendency to view community-based resource management as a panacea in conflict settings, but community forests have the potential to both mitigate and create conflict, and in some places their would-be success may be diminished by excessive expectations.
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Impacts of climate warming on forests in Ontario: Options for adaptation and mitigation
Article
  • Feb 2000
This paper summarizes current knowledge about the optical properties of greenhouse gases and general climate-warming influences. It explains the influence of this new phenomenon on the major ecosystems of the world, and considers the process of deforestation. It then analyzes the warming trends in Ontario based on data from two weather stations with continuous records of more than 120 years, to determine the rate of warming in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Region. The results indicate a temperature increases of about 0.76°C per century and an 8% increase in annual total precipitation. Current climate change models indicate that for a scenario of 2 x CO2 levels some general, probable prognoses can be made, including a temperature increase of up to 4.5°C, which might be disastrous for existing forest ecosystems. Specifically, the consequences of climate warming on (a) northward shifts of ecological conditions, (b) forest productivity, and (c) forest physiology and health, are examined. In the context of global warming, the paper then recommends practical management measures necessary to ensure adaptation of existing forest ecosystems to the warming that is already developing. These measures are intended to provide a no-risk environment for existing forests until rotation age. Next, a wide range of mitigative measures is examined with a view to securing the long-term preservation of forest ecosystems to avoid major ecological disruptions and, gradually, to reverse climate warming. Application of these measures requires international consensus, but countries that apply these recommendations first have a chance to profit from them due to the 'CO2 fertilization' effect.
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Berkes F. Devolution of environment and resources governance: Emerging and future trends. Environmental Conservation
Article
  • Dec 2010
  • ENVIRON CONSERV
How can the governance of environment and resources be devolved in a way that incorporates effective user participation and feedback learning? Approaches that use the idea of adaptive management or learning-by-doing, combined with co-management, are particularly promising. Using an interdisciplinary literature covering many types of resources, and a conceptual model with three phases (communicative action, self-organization and collective action), the paper identifies some of the major processes leading to adaptive co-management. These include deliberation, visioning, building social capital, trust and institutions, capacity-building through networks and partnerships, and action-reflection-action loops for social learning. Such adaptive co-management is not simply a theoretical possibility but something that has been documented in a number of forestry, fisheries, wildlife, protected area, and wetland cases from both developed and developing countries. However, the experience with the decentralization reforms of the 1990s is largely negative for a number of reasons. Effective devolution takes time, requiring a shift in focus from a static concept of management to a dynamic concept of governance shaped by interactions, feedback learning and adaptation over time. Sharing of governance responsibilities and an ability to learn from experience are among the emerging trends in environmental management.
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Adaptive Capacity Deficits and Adaptive Capacity of Economic Systems in Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment
Article
  • Jan 2010
  • FOREST POLICY ECON
This paper considers two ways that economic concepts inform adaptive capacity assessments within the context of climate change vulnerability analysis. First, using an economics framework, there are rational and logical reasons why different individuals and different organized human systems have different levels of adaptive capacity and these differences do not necessarily correlate to differences in vulnerability. An alternative approach is to determine where there are factors leading to socially inequitable or economically sub-optimal investment in adaptive capacity assets or reduced effectiveness of adaptive capacity assets resulting in adaptive capacity deficits. Factors contributing to adaptive capacity deficits include cases of irrational agent behaviour and cases where there are political, social, and economic system failures. A second way current adaptive capacity constructs can be enhanced is by taking explicit account of the adaptive capacity of economic systems. Economic system properties such as scale, diversity, relative mix of the private and public sectors, innovation, organizational/managerial capital, substitutability of inputs, factor mobility, liquidity of assets, etc. will affect the capacity of economic systems to adapt.
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Toward a Pluralistic Civic Science?: Assessing Community Forestry
Article
  • Aug 2006
While stakeholder involvement in environmental management is now common, we suggest that stakeholders can contribute to a pluralistic civic science that incorporates local knowledge directly into environmental decision making and research. We consider how insights from feminist scholarship might help us to understand the influence of power relations among our subjects of study and in determining how scientific knowledge is defined and used. We pay particular attention to how knowledge is produced, how participation is constrained, and to what extent community participants and researchers would benefit from critical reflection in their work. We apply these elements to an assessment of a community forestry pilot project in Burns Lake, British Columbia, Canada. Our findings suggest that while local participants have considered community forestry effective, practices have not met the ideals of a pluralistic civic science. We identify some of the reasons for this discrepancy and provide suggestions for future practice.
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Direct and indirect impacts of climate change on forests: Three case studies from British Columbia
Article
  • Apr 2011
Climate is an important driver of forest dynamics. In this paper, we present three case studies from the forests of British Columbia to illustrate the direct and indirect effects of climatic variation and global warming on forest composition and function. (1) Tree mortality rates in old forests of western North America have doubled in recent decades. Regional warming and water deficits directly affected tree death rates or indirectly increased insect and pathogen activity and wind storms causing tree deaths. Concurrently, tree density and basal area declined significantly, indicating lagged growth responses of surviving trees or long-term decline of these forests. (2) Yellow-cedar decline along coastal British Columbia and Alaska shows that small changes in average climatic conditions, coupled with extreme weather events, can have large ecological effects. A small persistent increase in mean temperatures has reduced snow-cover depth and duration. Coupled with extreme cold events which damage unprotected tree roots, these climatic changes are considered the primary cause of widespread yellow-cedar mortality. (3) Interactions between climate and disturbance are complex in the mountain forests of the East Kootenay region. Understanding historic climate–fire interactions is key to anticipating future frequent and severe fires. Here, climate change effects may be exacerbated by the cumulative effects of human land use, fire exclusion and mountain pine beetle outbreaks. We conclude that understanding past climate variation and its effects on forests help us to anticipate the potential effects of global warming.
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Questioning the credibility and capacity of community-based resource management
Article
  • Jul 2003
  • CAN GEOGR-GEOGR CAN
This paper reviews and critiques a potential innovation in resource and environmental management as a means of stimulating further research and refinement. Given the perceived limitations of top‐down, centralized management of natural resources, calls for the devolution of authority for local resources to local communities have increasingly been expressed. Proponents of community‐based resource management argue that, situating decision‐making closer to the place of resource use and subjecting decision‐makers to the repercussions of their decisions creates the potential for more flexible and prudent resource management. Further, by empowering communities to develop their own strategies for local economic development, greater community stability may be achieved. However, neither of these potentials will be realized if the credibility and capacity of communities are assumed rather than interrogated . These hypothesized contingent conditions of effective community‐based resource management are described and illustrated based on two examples in western Canada in which communities have been empowered to determine the use of local resources: the siting of a hazardous‐waste treatment facility near the town of Swan Hills, Alberta; and the development of the Community Forest Pilot Project in British Columbia. These examples raise a series of concerns and questions that suggest a need for further, in‐depth investigation. Ultimately, by identifying barriers to effective community‐based resource management, a more refined model of this potentially innovative approach can be fostered . Cette dissertation étudie et critique une innovation potentielle quant à la gestion de l’environnement et des ressources dans le but de stimuler des recherches plus approfondies et d’affiner les résultats. Étant donné les limitations perçues d’une gestion centralisée et descendante des ressources naturelles, on demande de plus en plus fréquemment que les collectivités locales soient responsables de la gestion des ressources locales. Les partisans d’une gestion des ressources par les collectivités avancent qu’en rapprochant la prise de décision du lieu d’utilisation des ressources et en soumettant les décideurs aux répercussions de leurs décisions, on favorise potentiellement une gestion plus souple et plus prudente des ressources. De plus, en habilitant les collectivités à déterminer leurs propres stratégies de développement économique local, une plus grande stabilité des collectivités est possible. Toutefois, ni l’un ni l’autre de ces potentiels ne seront réalisés si l’on admet sans les mettre en question la crédibilité et la capacité de gestion de ces collectivités . Ces conditions contingentes d’une gestion efficace des ressources par les collectivités sont décrites et illustrées par deux exemples provenant de l’Ouest du Canada, où les communautés ont toute discrétion quant à l’utilisation des ressources locales : l’implantation d’un centre de traitement des déchets dangereux près de la ville de Swan Hills, dans l’Alberta, et l’exécution du Community Forest Pilot Project (projet pilote de forêt domaniale) en Colombie britannique. Ces exemples soulèvent une série de questions et de préoccupations qui suggèrent le besoin de nouvelles recherches plus approfondies. En fin de compte, en identifiant ce qui s’oppose à une gestion efficace des ressources par les collectivités, on pourra stimuler l’élaboration d’un modèle plus perfectionné de cette démarche potentiellement innovante.
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Connectivity and the Governance of Multilevel Social-Ecological Systems: The Role of Social Capital
Article
  • Nov 2009
We discuss the challenges confronting environmental governance caused by the increasing connectivity of resource-use systems and the growing functional interdependencies of ecological and social systems. We take as a point of departure the case of the Xingu Indigenous Park (PIX) in Brazil and its surrounding agro-industrial region. This case provides a basis for reviewing the literature on resource governance, including both points of consensus and contentious issues. We argue that no fixed spatial or temporal level is appropriate for governing ecosystems and their services sustainably, effectively, and equitably. We point to the need to recognize the multilevel nature of such problems and the role of institutions in facilitating cross-level environmental governance as an important form of social capital that is essential for the long-term protection of ecosystems and the well-being of different populations.
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