Spring 2012
Permanent URI for this collection
Browse
Recent Submissions
Item Open Access Environmental governance in multicultural areas: lessons learned from two Colombian communities(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012-05-01) Velasco, Marcela, speakerMost Latin American countries have recognized the right to local political autonomy of ethnic communities as well as their potential to conserve important natural resources. Unfortunately, national and sub-national authorities and institutions have more often than not failed to live by these reforms as a result of conflict, lack of political will, or disinclination to collaborate with local authorities. The study looks at Colombia, where Black and Indian communities have legal rights to over 25 million hectares of tropical forestland, making them authorities of 38% of the country's forest reserves which constitute about 2% of the world's tropical rainforests. However, as of 2007 only 18% of the country's indigenous territories were benefiting from the legal framework that enabled them as local authorities, while the land rights of Afro-Colombians have been limited by violence and historical discrimination. This constitutes a problem for the welfare of Indian and Black communities in general and for conservation in particular. Local autonomy was promoted by Indian and Black social movements as a strategy to protect their cultures, environments and economies, and some of the more successful local organizations are now sharing knowledge and experience on local governance to support their peers from regions facing ethnic governance problems. In my work as a CCC fellow, I supported a field exchange where an indigenous community recovering 1,300 hectares of deforested land in Cristianía (Antioquia) shared its governance experience with leaders from an Afro-Colombian community addressing the environmental effects of a hydroelectric company in the Anchicayá River(Valle). The experience reveals firsthand information about leadership and local governance in multicultural regions and intra-institutional relations in general, and about the challenges facing black communities living in remote areas as their lands are forcefully included in badly devised economic agendas that fail to consider the community's voice.Item Open Access Are we prepared to lose our precious land? Community approaches to pasture and cropland restoration in Marigat District, Kenya(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012-04-03) Lenachuru, Clement Isaiah, speakerGlobal concerns about deforestation caused by fuelwood shortages, prompted introduction of in Lake Baringo area early 1980's. is on IUCN's new list of 100 world's worst invasive alien species. has survived where other tree species have failed and in many cases become a major nuisance. In Baringo, is reported to depress the growth and survival of indigenous vegetation around it, and farmers claim to have lost their farmlands, reduce grazing potential and space of pasture lands. Its invasion in Baringo area in the last 10-15 years has attracted national attention and contradictory responses from responsible agencies. Unlike in other parts of the world where it has been introduced, potential benefits have not been realized. Strong local calls for eradication and replacement appears to be well justified. problem is further compounded by the fact that the land is communally owned. Thus, where land is held under common property arrangements, management responses to the invasive species require cooperation among affected individuals. This project plans to actively engage on regular basis and mobilize the local community to work cooperatively in checking the spread of this shrub, at the same time seek alternative land uses that will help to control any further invasions.Item Open Access The role of collaboration in stewardship contracting(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012-03-06) Mattor, Kathie, speakerStewardship contracting was introduced over 10 years ago as a way to simultaneously address national forest management goals and community needs through collaborative processes. However we do not have clear measures of the extent to which collaboration is used in these processes, the outcomes associated with varying levels of collaboration, or the actors influencing the use of collaboration in stewardship contracting. This presentation will provide an overview of stewardship contracting on US national forests and research findings on the extent to which collaboration has been used in these processes. I will outline specific details of collaboration in stewardship contracting - including the number of interests involved, the role of the community, the outreach mechanisms used, and the perceived levels of collaboration and associated outcomes by participants - over time and across regions. This understanding contributes to further research identifying the outcomes of and the contextual factors influencing the use of collaboration in U.S. Forest Service stewardship contracts. A better understanding of these factors will help inform the development of environmental governance approaches that seek to simultaneously achieve resource management and community objectives.Item Open Access Volunteer tourism and sustainable livelihoods: the case of CSU alternative breaks in Achiote, Panama(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012-04-17) Eddins, Emily Anne, speakerVolunteer tourism has become a multi-faceted and useful development tool connecting diverse socio‐ecological systems from global to local scales. However, collaborative processes among primary stakeholders in volunteer tourism are not well understood, but better understanding these processes is vital to successful, sustainable outcomes of volunteer tourism projects. For this study, I investigate the impacts of volunteer tourism in a rural Panamanian community with experience hosting volunteers. By looking at a current, long‐standing collaboration between CSU's Alternative Break Program, a Panamanian-based NGO, and a locally-based ecotourism group, I explore the interrelationship between volunteer tourism and sustainable livelihoods, with a particular focus on host community perspectives. By giving voices to each member of the partnership, this study aims to provide multi-scale perspectives of collaboration in volunteer tourism and create a dialogue among stakeholders to better identify, implement, and manage projects that maximize benefits of volunteer projects in host communities.Item Open Access Food sovereignty and home gardens in northern Nicaragua(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012-03) Boone, Karie, speaker; Unidentified speakerCentral America stands out not only for its great concentration of endemic animal and plant species, but also for its large variety of climates and ecosystems. This biodiversity has historically contributed to rich soils for agricultural production that allow local farmers to create and sustain their livelihoods. However, impacts of climate change are expected to decrease productive capacity of coffee and staple crops that farmers depend on to meet their daily caloric needs. Non-governmental organizations and participatory researchers share concerns about increasing food insecurity in local communities due to the impacts of climate change on coffee growing regions throughout Nicaragua. As a potential strategy to mitigate the projected negative impacts of climate change while affording more farmer control over their food system, home gardens are being promoted by development organizations in this region. This presentation will share preliminary findings from my research on home gardens as a potential food sovereignty strategy. I will ask if farmers are interested in achieving food sovereignty and if home gardens are an effective strategy for doing so. I give an overview of a model for international collaborative conservation, highlighting my encounter with the model's challenges and opportunities in practice.Item Open Access Development of an ecosystem services marketplace in northern Colorado(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012-02) Flynn, Patrick, speaker; Unidentified speakerEcosystem service markets are emerging as a new tool for conservationists to use for protecting critical landscapes and natural resources. The goal of these markets is to properly value the landscapes and natural resources upon which human communities rely on for vital services such as clean water and climate regulation. In Northern Colorado, a group of concerned citizens is spearheading an effort to develop a voluntary ecosystem services marketplace, called the Colorado Conservation Exchange. The mission of the Colorado Conservation Exchange is to create a marketplace where community members support land stewards who conserve and enhance nature's ability to provide clean and abundant water, healthy food, productive soils, carbon storage, wildlife habitat, and inspiring open spaces. This talk will detail the collaborative effort undertaken by this group thus far to engage a broad group of community stakeholders and develop a vision for implementing the marketplace.Item Open Access Challenges for sustainable nature-based tourism: Vilsandi National Park, Saaremaa Island, Estonia(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012-02) Raadik-Cottrell, Jana, speaker; Cottrell, Stuart, speaker; Unidentified speakerThe first protected area in the Baltic countries, Vilsandi National Park (VNP) is located near the west coast of Saaremaa Island, Estonia. As an archipelago, the area was designated a protected area at the beginning of the 20th century, became a national park in 1993, and designated as a wetland of international importance in 1997. VNP faces many challenges including a decentralized management structure, disjointed conservation plan, and lack of a visitor management plan. The purpose of the CCC fellowship is to enhance VNP and stakeholder capacity to manage nature conservation collaboratively, enhance sustainable livelihoods among tour operators via tourism to the park and to enhance the visitor experience. Data have been gathered via an onsite survey among international visitors, two initial workshops with VNP stakeholders and a second home owner survey conducted in summer/fall 2012. The project links conservationists, tourism specialists, NGOs, INGOs (PAN Parks, WWF), local municipal governments, and universities (Kuresaare College) in a collaborative process for conservation and tourism development. This presentation will highlight key findings of the various phases of the project thus far as well as challenges posed due to ongoing institutional changes protected area agencies face in Estonia.Item Open Access Connecting human dimensions research to place-based collaboration through science delivery(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012-01) Clement, Jessica, speaker; Unidentified speakerConnecting human dimensions research to on-the-ground applications is a subject for ongoing experimentation for social scientists. In this case data collected in the context of forest planning on the Bridger Teton National Forest in Wyoming was used to create science delivery mechanisms, in turn aiding the initiation of place-based, targeted collaboration efforts or helping to redirect and re-energize existing but flagging collaborative efforts. These science delivery mechanisms also helped unearth additional areas requiring human dimension exploration. These efforts also appear to be energizing agency morale through greater understanding of data collection methods and therefore the relevance of the data to their work. This understanding may help to create greater connectivity between agency staff, their constituents and the landscape they are conserving. Jessica Clement has used CCC funds and USFS funds to create these science delivery mechanisms and to explore the use of previously collected social science data to place-based collaboration and will discuss in this presentation the approach taken and the results.