Community Conservation Research Network | https://www.communityconservation.net Exploring the connection between communities, livelihoods and conservation Mon, 11 Jul 2022 17:57:21 +0000 en-US hourly 1 The Power of Community: Effective Conservation and Sustainable Livelihoods https://www.communityconservation.net/the-power-of-community-effective-conservation-and-sustainable-livelihoods/ Thu, 23 Nov 2017 15:40:55 +0000 https://www.communityconservation.net/?p=4131 This webinar presents some of the insights coming from the work of the Community Conservation Research Network (CCRN) over the past six years. Tony Charles, CCRN Director, explores the linkages of Communities, Conservation and Livelihoods by drawing on the network’s case studies of communities around the world, the environmental and livelihood challenges they face, and their efforts to respond to those challenges. The webinar highlights three big messages. (1) A diverse ‘portfolio’ of environmental stewardship is used by communities worldwide to safeguard local economies and livelihoods. (2) There is a crucial positive feedback of local communities engaging in environmental stewardship, producing healthier environments that contribute to community well-being and resilience. (3) Government support is important for the success of community conservation, and hence deserves greater attention in both policy and practical terms. The webinar includes an invitation to contribute to Communities in Action – CCRN’s global project to ‘put communities on the map’ by crowdsourcing stories of community conservation and sustainable livelihoods.

]]> Power and Politics in Community Conservation https://www.communityconservation.net/power-and-politics-in-community-conservation/ Wed, 22 Nov 2017 21:49:43 +0000 https://www.communityconservation.net/?p=3913 Issues of power and politics are at the heart of community conservation which in turn influences its ultimate success and failure. Power is central to understanding processes and structures associated with resource and environmental conservation. This may be particularly important in the case of community conservation which is widespread throughout the world. Despite its importance, there remains limited empirical attention to the actual workings of power in environmental settings, and particularly with regards to conditions determining the success and failure of community conservation (i.e. lack of attention to the complex and dynamic economic, social, historical, cultural and political conditions). A limited attention to empirical analysis of power is also apparent in fisheries and coastal management. For example, power is considered an understated and understudied issue in coastal and fisheries management, and there is in reality little discussion on what it means and how it manifests. Drawing from these insights, I will focus on power and politics as they relate to community conservation with specific reference to the strategies and tactics used by various actors either to grab power or ways in which communities in conservation respond to forces causing disempowerment. I plan to provide some initial insights on possible methods and tools used by the community conservation groups to realize their rights, deal with injustices, and gain power to further livelihood and conservation objectives. My reflections in this webinar be largely based on the contents of a paper on which several CCRN members are currently working.

]]> Balancing social justice and conservation concerns in an era of expanded protected area targets https://www.communityconservation.net/balancing-social-justice-and-conservation-concerns-in-an-era-of-expanded-protected-area-targets/ Mon, 20 Nov 2017 21:48:08 +0000 https://www.communityconservation.net/?p=3911 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are increasingly recognised across the world as an important strategy for protecting marine resources, conserving biodiversity, rebuilding threatened fish stocks and restoring degraded habitats. The value of MPAs has been discussed at various global gatherings such as the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 and the Fifth World Parks Congress in Durban in South Africa in 2003, as well as various Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) meetings. Furthermore, several conservation and fisheries development agencies have also called for action to speed up the process of marine protection and have encouraged governments to establish MPAs and MPA networks. Various conventions, protocols and agreements, all recognise the importance of the conservation of coastal and marine resources and areas, but they also highlight the need to take account of the socio-economic and cultural rights and interests of local communities living in and adjacent to such areas. Governments are faced with calls to expand MPAs and establish a representative network of MPAs but also to address the potential impacts of MPA’s, on rights, livelihoods and social wellbeing of coastal communities. This webinar explores the tensions between efforts to manage existing and extend protected areas and requirements to respect rights and livelihoods of local communities living in and adjacent to such areas. It draws on cases from South Africa to illustrate some of the tensions and challenges on the ground and explores possible shifts – in thinking, values and approaches – required to move towards an approach to marine conservation that embraces social justice principles.

]]> International Environmental Law in the Context of Communities, Conflict, Conservation and Peace by Britta Sjöstedt and Elaine Hsiao https://www.communityconservation.net/international-environmental-law-in-the-context-of-communities-conflict-conservation-and-peace/ Sat, 18 Nov 2017 21:47:14 +0000 https://www.communityconservation.net/?p=3909 Nature conservation and protected areas have had a complex history with violence, conflict and peace. The advent of fortress model conservation created a legacy of disenfranchisement, coercion and human rights abuses, while wildlife wars are creating a new trend towards armament in the call to save endangered species. International environmental law has sought to support sustainable development and international cooperation through protected areas and conservation and may also have an important role in cultivating peace in war-torn States. However, the impact of applying international environmental law on the lives and livelihoods of local communities is not always straightforward. In fact, it can lead to militarization of protected areas involving strategies that drive local communities out. Thus, conservation activities may even destabilise peacebuilding processes.

Britta Sjöstedt’s presentation will focus on the World Heritage Convention and its application to World Heritage Sites during and after armed conflicts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Elaine Hsiao further explores this and other issues around conservation and conflict focusing on transboundary protected areas of the Greater Virunga Landscape between DRC, Rwanda and Uganda and the Kidepo Landscape between South Sudan and Uganda. Together, in this webinar by Britta Sjöstedt and Elaine Hsiao, we have an opportunity to look at the community dimensions of conflict and conservation in protected areas and to discuss opportunities for conflict transformation and ecological peacebuilding.

]]> Indigenous Engagement in Conservation by Larry McDermott https://www.communityconservation.net/indigenous-engagement-in-conservation/ Tue, 14 Nov 2017 21:44:27 +0000 https://www.communityconservation.net/?p=3905 What are the fundamental principles of engagement of First Nations governments, organizations and peoples in community conservation, land use and resource management issues? How can these principles, such as respect, guide process and action?

This talk will cover these questions, as well as what reconciliation means in this context. Much has been written about the importance of reconciling Traditional Knowledge with Western Natural and Social Sciences. How to reconcile the natural world with cross-cultural capacity development for equitable and sustainable conservation and livelihoods outcomes, however, is less clear. Connected people leads to healthy communities – so what needs to happen for true reconciliation to occur?

]]> Rights-based approaches for community co-managed coastal resources by Juan Carlos Seijo & Minerva Arce-Ibarra https://www.communityconservation.net/rights-based-approaches-for-community-co-managed-coastal-resources/ Wed, 08 Nov 2017 21:43:14 +0000 https://www.communityconservation.net/?p=3903 This webinar has two aims; firstly, it gives account of historical traits of the origin as well as on current debates on Rights Based Approaches (RBA) to the management of coastal resources; secondly, it addresses the context of RBA of three Mexican Caribbean case studies – Punta Allen, Mahahual and Xcalak in which RBA to coastal resources are currently in place. The analysis is based on FAO’s rights-based use and management approach (Orensanz and Seijo 2013). Our results show that the case studies include a diversity of use and management rights including: (1) rights of use and community co-management to particular fishing areas; (2) rights of access to particular snorkeling and SCUBA areas for tourism; and (3) rights to use coastal resources (e.g., discarded shells) to make arts and crafts. The recorded RBAs have been evolving, from open access to community co-managed access rights during the last four decades. The three case studies analyzed show different institutional arrangements responding either to the presence or absence of natural protected areas in place, local contexts, status of coastal marine resources, and governance capacities in place.

]]> Conservation, Indigenous Livelihoods and Environmental Justice by Sadie Beaton https://www.communityconservation.net/conservation-indigenous-livelihoods-and-environmental-justice/ Wed, 08 Nov 2017 21:41:00 +0000 https://www.communityconservation.net/?p=3899 Join researcher and environmental activist Sadie Beaton as she describes her journey to better understand the meaning and motivations for environmental justice in Mi’kma’ki, the indigenous Mi’kmaq lands on Canada’s Atlantic coast. This multimedia presentation will focus on a current environmental justice issue – resistance to a natural gas storage project threatening the Sipekne’katik River – that has Mi’kmaq communities asserting their rights to fisheries, and allying with non-indigenous Nova Scotians. Beaton has been involved in this resistance work as part of a CCRN case study that takes the form of a radio interview series and podcast, alongside on-the-ground efforts to incorporate an environmental justice lens into her work with the environmental organization Ecology Action Centre.

]]> Community Resilience by Fikret Berkes https://www.communityconservation.net/community-resilience/ Wed, 08 Nov 2017 21:37:28 +0000 https://www.communityconservation.net/?p=3897 Dr. Fikret Berkes is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Natural Resources Institute at the University of Manitoba and a core member of the Community Conservation Research Network team. Dr. Berkes is a leader in developing and applying the approaches of social-ecological systems, resilience, community-based management, adaptive co-management, indigenous knowledge and the commons.

In this webinar, Dr. Berkes explores the significance of community resilience. After first describing the ideas of resilience and the importance of studying resilience through a social-ecological systems lens, he presents a framework for addressing community resilience, and approaches for strengthening resilience within local communities. Dr. Berkes then engages in a conversation with CCRN Director Dr. Anthony Charles, exploring further questions arising on community resilience.

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