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Item Open Access A comparison of traditional plant knowledge between students and herders in northern Kenya(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016-10-13) Bruyere, Brett L., author; Trimarco, Jonathan, author; Lemungesi, Saruni, author; BioMed Central Ltd, publisherBackground: The Samburu region of northern Kenya is undergoing significant change, driven by factors including greater value on formal education, improvements in infrastructure and development, a shift from community to private ownership of land, increased sedentary lifestyles and global climate change. One outcome of these changes are an increasingly greater likelihood for adolescent boys to be enrolled in school rather than herding livestock on behalf of the family in a landscape shared with numerous native vegetation and wildlife species. Methods: This study compared identification and knowledge of native plant species between boys enrolled in school with boys of similar age but primary responsibility as herders, called moran. Study participants walked an approximately 100 m path with 10 flagged points in which they were asked to identify any plant species at that point and associated facts of each species, within a 1 m radius. Results: On average, moran identified 38 species compared to 20 for students, including nearly 13 (of a possible 15) species considered to have high cultural significance. Students identified an average of 8.6 culturally-significant plants. Further, moran shared nearly 18 correct facts about the plants, compared with ten for students. In addition, herding frequency was the only significant predictor of plant identification in a linear regression. Conclusion: The results demonstrate that while formal education undoubtedly provides benefits to students, attendance in school in lieu of the traditional role of herders has consequences on young men in Samburu related to ability to identify native and culturally-significant plants. This further shows the importance for communities like those in Samburu undergoing change need to develop alternative options to transmit local traditional knowledge to its younger generations.Item Open Access Characterizing social conflict over wolf reintroduction in Colorado: a theoretical model of intergroup conflict(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Gonzalez, Mireille N., author; Heid, Taylor N., author; Niemiec, Rebecca, author; John Wiley & Sons Ltd, publisher1. Context: Wolf restoration is a highly divisive issue in the American West, with stakeholder conflict driven by value and identity-based disagreements. Research suggests that such conflicts require reconciliation to repair intergroup relations before negotiations to address the issue can begin, yet, in the conservation and natural resource management fields, stakeholder processes about divisive issues typically focus only on negotiations. There is a gap in the literature on how to identify and target the drivers of value and identity-based conflicts. 2. Approach: We interviewed stakeholders highly engaged in the issue of proposed wolf reintroduction in Colorado to gain insight on the drivers of the conflict and to inform reconciliation interventions. We pulled from conflict and peace-building theories to frame our analysis, specifically suggestions that conflict is fueled by four categories of perceptions, including perceptions of: the group one is in conflict with, one's own social group, the relationship between groups, and the nature of the conflict. 3. Key Findings: We found that all interviewees discussed perceptions that can fuel conflict within each of these four categories. However, interviewees who identified as 3rd parties to the conflict primarily discussed the relationships between those in conflict and engaged in thoughtful perspective-taking, an activity that can help reduce conflict. Conversely, both those strongly in support of reintroduction and strongly opposed to reintroduction most commonly described negative perceptions about individuals they are in conflict with and positive perceptions about themselves and their social group. For example, when discussing others, both groups described each other as acting in unjust and unfair ways, as being incapable of or unwilling to change, and as misinformed. When describing positive perceptions of themselves, both those in support and those in opposition viewed their own goals as just and themselves as victims of outgroup members' actions. 4. Synthesis and applications: Based on our findings, we suggest various reconciliation interventions that may assist wildlife managers in reducing the conflict about wolf reintroduction in Colorado. These recommendations may also be applicable to wildlife managers working on other issues with high stakeholder conflict.Item Open Access Informing the design of a payment for ecosystem services program in western Panama(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Duke, Esther Alice, author; Goldstein, Joshua, author; Finchum, Ryan, author; Huber-Stearns, Heidi, author; Pitty, Jorge, author; Rodríguez P., Gladys Beatriz, author; Rodríguez, Samuel, author; Sánchez, Luis Olmedo, author; Colorado State University, publisherPayments for ecosystem services (PES) have emerged as an incentive based tool to protect and restore ecosystem-service flows, which are being degraded at regional and global scales. This study examines the potential for PES to address conservation and livelihood issues in the buffer-zone of La Amistad Bi-national World Heritage Site in Western Panama, and provides insight for the equitable architecture of such a program. We conducted a survey of 344 farmers regarding their interest in a set of hypothetical PES programs. Many expressed interest in participating; interest was greatest for the agroforestry and forest conservation scenarios. Using logistic regression analysis, we identified explanatory factors which predict willingness to participate in a PES program. Several factors were related to household socioeconomic status. We also investigated distributional concerns including how potential PES program design factors related to minimum enrolled area, land tenure, and land characteristics (e.g., slope) might affect eligibility of low-income households. In relation to access, respondents who ranked lower on our constructed socioeconomic scale were less likely to be eligible to enroll in a PES program despite the fact that many are willing to participate. Our research contributes to a key piece of the PES design puzzle by proactively exploring ways to ensure that landowners across the socioeconomic spectrum (particularly the poor) are able to participate. Understanding trade-offs is important for guiding PES program architecture to achieve rural development and poverty alleviation goals in tandem with conservation outcomes.Item Open Access A global assessment of Indigenous community engagement in climate research(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2018-12-13) David-Chavez, Dominique M., author; Gavin, Michael C., author; IOP Publishing, publisherFor millennia Indigenous communities worldwide have maintained diverse knowledge systems informed through careful observation of dynamics of environmental changes. Although Indigenous communities and their knowledge systems are recognized as critical resources for understanding and adapting to climate change, no comprehensive, evidence-based analysis has been conducted into how environmental studies engage Indigenous communities. Here we provide the first global systematic review of levels of Indigenous community participation and decision-making in all stages of the research process (initiation, design, implementation, analysis, dissemination) in climate field studies that access Indigenous knowledge. We develop indicators for assessing responsible community engagement in research practice and identify patterns in levels of Indigenous community engagement. We find that the vast majority of climate studies (87%) practice an extractive model in which outside researchers use Indigenous knowledge systems with minimal participation or decision-making authority from communities who hold them. Few studies report on outputs that directly serve Indigenous communities, ethical guidelines for research practice, or providing Indigenous community access to findings. Further, studies initiated with (in mutual agreement between outside researchers and Indigenous communities) and by Indigenous community members report significantly more indicators for responsible community engagement when accessing Indigenous knowledges than studies initiated by outside researchers alone. This global assessment provides an evidence base to inform our understanding of broader social impacts related to research design and concludes with a series of guiding questions and methods to support responsible research practice with Indigenous and local communities.Item Open Access Nature and health researcher needs assessment: investigating the state of evidence among researchers to better inform practitioners(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2025) Merfeld, Julia, author; Tamlyn, Kaiya, author; Johnson, Sharde, author; Terol, Silvia, author; Collins, Sara Ashley, author; Farwell, Josie, author; Zarestky, Jill, author; Walker, Sarah, author; LoTemplio, Sara, authorItem Open Access Nature and health practitioner needs assessment: investigating organizational capacity to leverage science for impact(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Tamlyn, Kaiya, author; Johnson, Sharde, author; Collins, Sara Ashley, author; Farwell, Josie, author; Zarestky, Jill, author; Walker, Sarah, author; LoTemplio, Sara, authorItem Open Access Migration-land systems model: a theoretical agent-based model(2023) Warrier, Rekha, author; Boone, Randall, author; Salerno, Jonathan, authorThree specifications of MLSM that illustrate both model functionality as well as key interactions between migration decisions and land function change are included. The examples were developed using the agent-based modeling platform NetLogo (https://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/) and rendered into HTML formats using NetLogo Web (https://www.netlogoweb.org/). No software installation is needed. Open the HTML files using a web browser and follow instruction included in the 'Model Info' tab at the bottom of the page. The full model is publicly available in Modeling Commons: https://modelingcommons.org/browse/one_model/7156#model_tabs_browse_info.Item Open Access The challenges of maintaining indigenous ecological knowledge(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014) McCarter, Joe, author; Gavin, Michael C., author; Baereleo, Sue, author; Love, Mark, author; Resilience Alliance, publisherIncreased interest in indigenous ecological knowledge (IEK) has led to concern that it is vulnerable amidst social and ecological change. In response, multiple authors have recommended the establishment of programs for the maintenance and revitalization of IEK systems. However, few studies have analyzed the methods, opportunities, and challenges of these programs. This is a critical gap, as IEK maintenance is challenging and will require layered and evidence-based solutions. We seek to build a foundation for future approaches to IEK maintenance. First, we present a systematic literature review of IEK maintenance programs (n = 39) and discuss the opportunities and challenges inherent in five broad groups of published approaches. Second, we use two case studies from the Republic of Vanuatu to illustrate these challenges in more depth. The first case study takes a community-based approach, which has inherent strengths (e.g., localized organization). It has, however, faced practical (e.g., funding) and epistemological (changing modes of knowledge transmission) challenges. The second case study seeks to facilitate IEK transmission within the formal school system. Although this model has potential, it has faced significant challenges (e.g., lack of institutional linkages). We conclude that supporting and strengthening IEK is important but that serious attention is needed to account for the social, situated, and dynamic nature of IEK. In closing, we use the review and case studies to propose four principles that may guide adaptive and flexible approaches for the future maintenance of IEK systems.