• Energy Research

Identifying and characterizing ecosystem services (ES) has been shown to have an important role in sustainable natural resource management. However, understanding communities’ perspectives is critical in determining opportunities and constraints for ES management in multi-use landscapes. To do so, a study was conducted around Mt. Marsabit forest, a multiuse landscape in Kenya. Using stratification, participants from 11 administrative locations adjacent to the forest were selected. A total of 265 households were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaires. The study analyzed local communities’ perceptions of ES derived from the forest and their involvement in its management. Respondents identified trees, forage, water, fallback land cultivation, aesthetic enjoyment, and shade as key services derived from the forest. However, overexploitation of forest resources has led to degradation. Degradation and insecurity were perceived as the major threats to the ecosystem. The local communities were minimally involved in developing governance structures or management of this forest. Family size, education level, and age were important predictors of level of involvement in management. Lack of involvement in the forest management may have largely contributed to the unsustainable extraction of resources by local communities. We suggest that meaningful engagement of communities in the management of this forest will be critical to its sustainability.

Equity has become a major concern in efforts to conserve nature. However, in the Global South, inequitable social impacts of conservation usually prevail. We investigate barriers to equitable governance of four protected areas through an innovative approach linking the tri-dimensional framing of environmental justice with the notion of telecoupling. We conceptualize the creation, support, and implementation of protected areas as telecoupling processes that involve flows, actors, and action situations, and assess them based on a set of indicators of procedural justice, distributive justice, and recognition. We perform the analysis for parallel or competing telecoupling processes that affect the areas and we then investigate the scope and reach of resistance actions to attain more equitable outcomes. Identified barriers include dependence of the PAs on transnational financial flows, presence of competing extractive demands, negative narratives on local practices, wilderness and Malthusian framings, authoritarian rule, narrow development options, and socio-cultural discrimination. These combined barriers create multiple forms of exclusion. Resistance actions are likely to succeed when actors can mobilize alliances and resources across distance. We conclude that justice framings can make power relationships in telecouplings more visible, and that considering distant interactions can elucidate causes of (in)equity in conservation.

In an increasingly interconnected world, human–environment interactions involving flows of people, organisms, goods, information, and energy are expanding in magnitude and extent, often over long distances. As a universal paradigm for examining these interactions, the telecoupling framework (published in 2013) has been broadly implemented across the world by researchers from diverse disciplines. We conducted a systematic review of the first five years of telecoupling research to evaluate the state of telecoupling science and identify strengths, areas to be improved, and promising avenues for future study. We identified 89 studies using any derivation of the term telecoupling. These works emphasize trade flows, information transfer, and species dispersal at international, national, and regional scales involving one or a few countries, with China, Brazil, and the United States being the most frequently studied countries. Our review showed a rising trend in publications and citations on telecoupling, with 63% of identified telecoupling studies using the framework’s specific language (e.g., “flows”, “agents”). This result suggests that future telecoupling studies could apply the standardized telecoupling language and terminology to better coordinate, synthesize, and operationalize interdisciplinary research. Compelling topics for future research include operationalization of the telecoupling framework, commonalities among telecouplings, telecoupling mechanisms and causality, and telecoupled systems governance. Overall, the first five years of telecoupling research have improved our understanding of human–environment interactions, laying a promising foundation for future social–ecological research in a telecoupled world.

La promesse d'une coproduction pour relever des défis complexes en matière de durabilité est convaincante. Pourtant, la coproduction, le tissage collaboratif de la recherche et de la pratique, englobe divers objectifs, terminologies et pratiques, avec peu de clarté sur leurs implications. Pour explorer cette diversité, nous avons systématiquement cartographié les différences dans la façon dont 32 initiatives de 6 continents coproduisent divers résultats pour le développement durable des écosystèmes à l'échelle locale et mondiale. Nous avons constaté des variations dans leur objectif d'utilisation de la coproduction, de compréhension du pouvoir, d'approche de la politique et de voies d'impact. Une analyse par grappes a identifié six modes de coproduction : (1) la recherche de solutions ; (2) l'autonomisation des voix ; (3) le pouvoir de courtage ; (4) le pouvoir de recadrage ; (5) la gestion des différences et (6) l'agence de recadrage. Aucun mode n'est idéal ; chacun possède un potentiel unique pour atteindre des résultats particuliers, mais pose également des défis et des risques uniques. Notre analyse fournit un outil heuristique aux chercheurs et aux acteurs de la société pour explorer de manière critique cette diversité et naviguer efficacement dans les compromis lors de la coproduction de la durabilité. La coproduction comprend divers objectifs, terminologies et pratiques. Cette étude explore cette diversité en cartographiant les différences dans la façon dont 32 initiatives de 6 continents coproduisent divers résultats pour le développement durable des écosystèmes à l'échelle locale et mondiale. La promesa de la coproducción para abordar los complejos desafíos de sostenibilidad es convincente. Sin embargo, la coproducción, el tejido colaborativo de la investigación y la práctica, abarca diversos objetivos, terminologías y prácticas, con poca claridad sobre sus implicaciones. Para explorar esta diversidad, mapeamos sistemáticamente las diferencias en cómo 32 iniciativas de 6 continentes coproducen diversos resultados para el desarrollo sostenible de los ecosistemas a escala local y global. Encontramos variaciones en su propósito de utilizar la coproducción, la comprensión del poder, el enfoque de la política y los caminos hacia el impacto. Un análisis de clústeres identificó seis modos de coproducción: (1) investigar soluciones; (2) empoderar las voces; (3) poder de intermediación; (4) poder de replanteamiento; (5) navegar las diferencias y (6) replantear la agencia. Ningún modo es ideal; cada uno tiene un potencial único para lograr resultados particulares, pero también plantea desafíos y riesgos únicos. Nuestro análisis proporciona una herramienta heurística para que los investigadores y los actores sociales exploren críticamente esta diversidad y naveguen eficazmente por las compensaciones al coproducir sostenibilidad. La coproducción incluye diversos objetivos, terminologías y prácticas. Este estudio explora dicha diversidad mediante el mapeo de las diferencias en la forma en que 32 iniciativas de 6 continentes coproducen diversos resultados para el desarrollo sostenible de los ecosistemas a escala local y global. The promise of co-production to address complex sustainability challenges is compelling. Yet, co-production, the collaborative weaving of research and practice, encompasses diverse aims, terminologies and practices, with poor clarity over their implications. To explore this diversity, we systematically mapped differences in how 32 initiatives from 6 continents co-produce diverse outcomes for the sustainable development of ecosystems at local to global scales. We found variation in their purpose for utilizing co-production, understanding of power, approach to politics and pathways to impact. A cluster analysis identified six modes of co-production: (1) researching solutions; (2) empowering voices; (3) brokering power; (4) reframing power; (5) navigating differences and (6) reframing agency. No mode is ideal; each holds unique potential to achieve particular outcomes, but also poses unique challenges and risks. Our analysis provides a heuristic tool for researchers and societal actors to critically explore this diversity and effectively navigate trade-offs when co-producing sustainability. Co-production includes diverse aims, terminologies and practices. This study explores such diversity by mapping differences in how 32 initiatives from 6 continents co-produce diverse outcomes for the sustainable development of ecosystems at local to global scales. إن الوعد بالإنتاج المشترك لمواجهة تحديات الاستدامة المعقدة أمر مقنع. ومع ذلك، فإن الإنتاج المشترك، وهو النسيج التعاوني للبحث والممارسة، يشمل أهدافًا ومصطلحات وممارسات متنوعة، مع ضعف الوضوح بشأن آثارها. لاستكشاف هذا التنوع، قمنا بشكل منهجي بتحديد الاختلافات في كيفية مشاركة 32 مبادرة من 6 قارات في إنتاج نتائج متنوعة للتنمية المستدامة للنظم الإيكولوجية على المستويات المحلية إلى العالمية. وجدنا تباينًا في غرضهم من استخدام الإنتاج المشترك وفهم القوة ونهج السياسة ومسارات التأثير. حدد تحليل عنقودي ستة أنماط للإنتاج المشترك: (1) حلول البحث ؛ (2) تمكين الأصوات ؛ (3) قوة الوساطة ؛ (4) قوة إعادة الصياغة ؛ (5) التنقل في الاختلافات و (6) وكالة إعادة الصياغة. لا يوجد وضع مثالي ؛ يحمل كل منها إمكانات فريدة لتحقيق نتائج معينة، ولكنه يشكل أيضًا تحديات ومخاطر فريدة. يوفر تحليلنا أداة إرشادية للباحثين والجهات الفاعلة المجتمعية لاستكشاف هذا التنوع بشكل نقدي والتنقل بفعالية في المفاضلات عند المشاركة في إنتاج الاستدامة. يتضمن الإنتاج المشترك أهدافًا ومصطلحات وممارسات متنوعة. تستكشف هذه الدراسة هذا التنوع من خلال تحديد الاختلافات في كيفية مشاركة 32 مبادرة من 6 قارات في إنتاج نتائج متنوعة للتنمية المستدامة للنظم الإيكولوجية على المستويات المحلية إلى العالمية.

Myanmar has experienced profound transformations of land use and land governance, often at the expense of smallholders. Empirical evidence on the agency of actors included and excluded in land use decision-making remains scarce. This study analyses who influences land use decision-making, how they do this, and under what circumstances smallholders are included. Comparing three land use trajectories in southern Myanmar, we analysed actors’ agency—conceived as the meanings and means behind (re)actions—in land use decision-making using data from focus groups and interviews. Results showed that uneven distribution of means can lead to unequal decision-making power, enabling actors with more means to exclude those with less means: smallholders. However, this only applies in the case of top-down interventions with mutually exclusive actor interests regarding use of the same land. Where interests are compatible or a mediator supports smallholders in negotiations, actors are likely to develop a collaboration despite unequal means, leading to smallholders’ inclusion in decision-making. Transformation of current land governance towards sustainable development could be promoted by providing mediators to actors with few means, ensuring equal access for all to formal land tenure, engaging with brokers in the land governance network, and improving access to knowledge and financial capital for actors with few means.

Telecoupled flows of people, organisms, goods, information, and energy are expanding across the globe. Causes are integral components of the telecoupling framework, yet the rigor with which they have been identified and evaluated to date is unknown. We address this knowledge gap by systematically reviewing causal attribution in the telecoupling literature (n = 89 studies) and developing a standardized causal terminology and typology for consistent use in telecoupling research. Causes are defined based on six criteria: sector (e.g., environmental, economic), system of origin (i.e., sending, receiving, spillover), agent, distance, response time (i.e., time lapse between cause and effect), and direction (i.e., producing positive or negative effects). Using case studies from the telecoupling literature, we demonstrate the need to enhance the rigor of telecoupling causal attribution by combining qualitative and quantitative methods via process-tracing, counterfactual analysis, and related approaches. Rigorous qualitative-quantitative causal attribution is critical for accurately assessing the social-ecological causes and consequences of telecouplings and thereby identifying leverage points for informed management and governance of telecoupled systems.