Identifying,managing and monitoring conflicts between forest biodiversity conservation and other human interests in Europe

In this paper, circumstances where various human activities and interests clash with the conservation of forest biodiversity are examined, with particular focus on the drivers behind the conflicts. After identifying past and current human-related threats potentially leading to conflicts in forests, the paper will focus on conflict management and monitoring, with an emphasis on inclusionary stakeholder networks and a range of approaches towards sustainable land use. Three dimensions of conflicts are examined: substance (‘how things are’), procedure (‘how things are done’), and relationships (‘how people behave’). These relations will relate to three conflict management approaches: (1) technical, which may contribute to reduce or solve the conflict acting on the ‘substance’ dimension, (2) political, which may influence the ‘procedure’ dimension of the conflict establishing principles or rules, and (3) cultural, which may affect the ‘relationship’ dimension of the conflict. Finally, a general model of adaptive conflict management emphasising communication among the parties and a participatory approach that involves monitoring of the conflict resolution outcomes is proposed. The recognition that strong perceptions among stakeholders have the potential to aggravate conflicts is central to the concept of a inclusionary conflict management framework, improved communication between all stakeholders, and better awareness of the context of the conflicts is emphasised.     

天保地区森林资源保护与社会经济发展的冲突及其成因

天保工程的实施对天保地区的生态、经济与社会产生了综合影响，同时与利益相关者也产生了一些矛盾和冲突，主要表现在：天然林保护与森林经营者之间，天然林保护与林业管理体制之间，天然林保护与林区干部、职工、林农观念之间等。形成这些冲突的原因是错综复杂的。但从主要层面分析，天然林保护的外部性是冲突产生的客观原因，天然林保护理念的绝对化是冲突产生的根源，国家采取的强制性制度变迁是冲突产生的制度原因。此外，林业管理体制僵化和产权交易机制不健全则分别是国有和集体天然林地区冲突产生的关键。     

Identifying, managing and monitoring conflicts between forest biodiversity conservation and other human interests in Europe

In this paper, circumstances where various human activities and interests clash with the conservation of forest biodiversity are examined, with particular focus on the drivers behind the conflicts. After identifying past and current human-related threats potentially leading to conflicts in forests, the paper will focus on conflict management and monitoring, with an emphasis on inclusionary stakeholder networks and a range of approaches towards sustainable land use. Three dimensions of conflicts are examined: substance (‘how things are’), procedure (‘how things are done’), and relationships (‘how people behave’). These relations will relate to three conflict management approaches: (1) technical, which may contribute to reduce or solve the conflict acting on the ‘substance’ dimension, (2) political, which may influence the ‘procedure’ dimension of the conflict establishing principles or rules, and (3) cultural, which may affect the ‘relationship’ dimension of the conflict. Finally, a general model of adaptive conflict management emphasising communication among the parties and a participatory approach that involves monitoring of the conflict resolution outcomes is proposed. The recognition that strong perceptions among stakeholders have the potential to aggravate conflicts is central to the concept of a inclusionary conflict management framework, improved communication between all stakeholders, and better awareness of the context of the conflicts is emphasised.     

云南省自然保护区资源保护与利用冲突问题的法律研究

云南省内自然保护区资源保护与利用中存在的冲突,其在表征上是我国自然保护区法律规范之间存在冲突,内在实质是由于经济发展与环境生态之间、不同利益主体发展权之间以及现代生产生活方式与传统文化与知识之间的冲突.在现代法治社会中,正确认知与解决上述冲突需要完善相关法律指引,尤需对现有立法和行政理念进行修正,应以保护环境、维护生物多样性之完整为出发点,尊重本地社区的参与和发展等权利,实现自然资源的合理利用.     

灵长类冲突行为研究进展

冲突行为在灵长类中普遍存在,通过对灵长类动物冲突和冲突后行为的研究,可以了解灵长类的冲突管理和解决冲突的策略,并由此加深理解人类的冲突与和解行为的演化历史和渊源.通过观察并分析动物行为,发现攻击原因有:食物、婴儿和无特殊事件,社会因素也是引起冲突的原因之一.人们早期对冲突后行为的研究主要集中于对和解行为的研究.随着研究的深入,对转向攻击、安慰及替代和解等其他冲突后行为也有涉猎.对人类冲突行为的研究不及非人灵长类冲突行为的研究深入,但这个状况正在改变.对人类冲突行为的研究发现与对非人灵长类的研究发现有惊人的相似之处.     

Conflicts in conservation: Woodland key habitats,authorities and private forest owners in Sweden

Abstract

The process of protection (e.g. reserves, agreements) on the lands of non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners sometimes leads to conflicts (conflict: a perceived threat to needs, interests or concerns; in this study, “threat” was important). To investigate predictive factors for such conflicts in southern Sweden, a questionnaire was sent to 132 NIPF owners with woodland key habitat (WKH; identified biodiversity values). The response rate was 77% and conflict was reported by 22.5% of respondents, while 14% reported good relations with authorities. The respondents reported conflict due to rules for cutting, protection and compensation. Compared with other owners, those reporting conflict were younger (mean 54 versus 62 years old), had more negative opinion about the personal contact with the authority, had twice as large an area of WKH and had more negative opinion about the WKH. Logistic regression revealed four variables that predicted conflict: area of WKH on property, opinion about WKH, opinion about personal contact and, especially, age of respondent. Younger forest owners may be more dependent upon income from harvesting than older owners. Conflicts were frequent and the factors identified here should be taken into account in forest conservation work.     

The role of transfrontier conservation areas and their institutional framework in natural resource-based conflict management: A review

Contests over scarce and shared natural resources continue to headline conflicts across the world’s geographic regions. The transfrontier conservation areas (TFCAs) concept gained widespread acceptance as one of the promising conflict management strategies. However, following the establishment of TFCAs by various countries, questions about their contribution to conflict management and resolution are emerging. Motivated by the institutional work concept, the contribution of TFCAs and their institutional framework for peace and cooperation efforts was assessed. Using field experience and the archival method, 131 journal articles, books and reports on natural resources and conflict management were reviewed between 2010 and 2016. The review process focused mainly, but not limited to TFCAs and their institutional frameworks in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Findings indicate that TFCAs and their institutional frameworks are relevant to peace and cooperation efforts in SADC provided the stakeholders at various levels are committed to the actions agreed upon. However, making conclusive statements without further comprehensive studies on the contribution of other peace-promoting interventions within the SADC region besides TFCAs may be ill conceived. Governments and other key stakeholders are recommended to further harmonize conservation legislation, institutions and management practices to promote cooperation at the local and regional level.     

Stakeholder perceptions,management and impacts of forestry conflicts in southern Sweden

ABSTRACT

Forests are under increasing pressure with increasing risk of conflicts between stakeholder groups with different interests in sustainable forest management (SFM). This study investigated the different dimensions of conflict as perceived by private forest owners and other stakeholders, and the likely impact of these pressures on SFM in a southern Swedish context. Data were collected through a mixed methods approach using qualitative in-depth individual semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and a quantitative survey (n?=?6–161), with questions on present and past conflicts, actors, drivers, acting, management and solutions. Stakeholders felt that in the past the conflicts were more about technical dimensions of forestry practice, and today more about the political and cultural dimensions of forestry issues. The most frequently mentioned reason for forest conflict was forest protection, especially woodland key habitats. In all conflicts, forest owners emphasised the importance of knowledge, responsibility and emotions. Other stakeholders did too, but with emotions less emphasised. In managing conflict, meetings, adaptation and education were stressed by stakeholders. Dialogue arenas on different levels are needed for all stakeholders. Governing bodies also need to realise the implication different approaches and strategies have on forest owners management.     

林区道路无控交叉口冲突点延误分析

研究了林区道路无控交叉口冲突点处的交通运行状况，提出了无控交叉口相冲突车辆车流轮流占用冲突点资源的观点；从理论分析的角度提出了无控交叉口冲突点延误的计算模型。通过实例计算分析，认为无控交叉口冲突点延误主要与相冲突车辆的流量有关。     

The conflict over Veracel pulpwood plantations in Brazil — Application of Ethical Analysis

The large-scale pulp investment model, with its pressure on land, has created conflict and caused major disagreements and open hostility amongst the social movement and NGO networks, state actors, and the pulp and paper companies in Brazil. In this article, Ethical Analysis was applied in the assessment of the dynamics and possibilities of conflict resolution related to the expansion of pulpwood plantations in Brazil's Bahia State, particularly near Veracel Celulose. Ethical Analysis as a tool identifies the complex dynamics of contention through identifying bridges and rifts in the social, ecological and economic viewpoints of the main actors. The analysis was based on field research, interviews, and a review of existing literature. The results indicated that the conflict is marked by politics of power, and as long as this stage continues, the politics of cooperation and conflict resolution would be hard to achieve. The key actors have diverging interests, values and principles, and different ways of presenting their viewpoints. The current investment context is economically and institutionally peripheral and socially weak. Without a radical rethinking and emphasis on ethical and structural reworking of the investment model, the conflict will likely continue to deepen, aggravating investment risk for large-scale business and industrial forestry.     

国内外野生动物肇事现状及其防控措施

人类活动范围的不断扩张导致野生动物栖息地随之缩小。野生动物肇事现象日趋严重, 造成的农作物损失和人员伤亡事件日益增多, 破坏庄稼、伤害家禽与家畜、伤人是野生动物主要的3种肇事类型。如何防控野生动物肇事以及怎样减少人兽冲突是野生动物肇事相关研究中的热点。文中概述了各肇事类型中典型性动物的肇事现状, 归纳了野生动物肇事的5类防控措施, 包括物理防控、化学防控、生物防控、基因防控以及通过管理手段进行的防控, 并提出了研究展望, 以期加深对人类与野生动物冲突的认识, 并为野生动物防控技术的研发提供参考。     

Grievances,agency and the absence of conflict: The new Suzano pulp investment in the Eastern Amazon

In November 2013, Suzano Papel e Celulose, a Brazilian paper company, is projected to inaugurate the world's largest pulp mill in Imperatriz in the remote state of Maranhão, Eastern Amazon. This investment will further consolidate Brazil's position as the leading exporter of wood-pulp coming from vast, corporate-controlled industrial plantations. These inland forestry investments are a feature of the second wave of large pulp projects, extending inland from the best lands in the coastal belt via accessible rivers and railroad networks. This globally significant inland expansion has been poorly studied, if at all. No publications exist on this Suzano pulp project. Empirically, this article provides a baseline study on the political economic dynamics.The case is highly relevant for conflict theory. Generally, industrial tree plantation expansion has boosted grievances, but the resistance and conflicts have varied depending on the social actors' agency. In comparison to the high-intensity conflicts between the rural social movements such as the Brazilian Landless Movement (MST) and the pulp companies in most other new investments, there has been a rare absence of conflict in this case, as no movement has seized on local grievances. Conflicts cannot be studied in-depth by focusing only on conflict cases. Absence-cases open up an opportunity to revisit the question why conflicts arise. An analysis of this case allows an empirically rooted theoretical discussion on conflict causalities, which can answer several vexing questions in the study of conflicts. A new and generally applicable typology of different types of grievances is offered, and the grievances' causal relation to conflicts is examined. The importance of political dynamics and inter-personal relations in investment conflicts is emphasized. The way culture influences conflict dynamics is pondered upon by ethnography of the Brazilian conflict culture, where personal relations are more relevant in explaining conflict escalation than in the political systems with a stronger (impersonal) rule of law. The role of third parties such as other industries in the investment area is discussed. A qualitative comparative analysis of the major pulp project conflicts and their causes in Latin America is offered. Mobilization and thus conflict causality is explainable only when taking into account the types of grievances and the local, inter-personal, and organizational (state–business–movement) relations by which these are remediated and negotiated.     

Natural Resource Policy and the Paradox of Public Involvement

Summary

Immersed in natural resource policy approaches such as ecosystem management is the expectation that the best available science will be applied so that the best policy management decision will result. Citizens, like scientists and land managers, want natural resource management decisions based on good science rather than special interest group politics. Yet citizens also want to be involved in the decision process and are skeptical about the very science they claim must be the basis for policy actions.

Herein lies an apparent paradox. Citizens' want the best science to guide natural resource management decisions, but not to the exclusion of their input. Similarly, there seems to be a paradox in the sentiments expressed by natural resource management agency administrators and specialists. Agency personnel know they need meaningful citizen involvement in their management decisions, but they also want citizens to trust their scientific expertise.

This paper is about that paradox and innovative ways to work through it. We first discuss the nature of natural resource conflict, then address the paradox in some depth. A discussion of traditional public participation precedes innovative methods for working through the paradox.     

Reshaping forest management in southern Patagonia: a qualitative assessment

Abstract

The intensive forest use has caused a significant transformation around the world. Sustainable forest management (SFM) has emerged as an alternative to address concerns regarding resource use, conservation, and socioeconomic benefits. Evidence suggests that its application remains inconsistent. In Argentina, the national government passed a law addressing management aiming to provide guidelines and incentives to steer practices into a sustainable framework. The objectives were: (a) understand what the concept of SFM means to participants in Tierra del Fuego; (b) identify and assess how different factors influence the adoption of SFM; (c) review the stakeholder perceptions on recent regulatory changes; and (d) identify the steps required for improving management. We conducted 52 semi-structured interviews with stakeholders and parties at the national level. New regulatory arrangements were implemented for a short-time before this research was undertaken, and we could not evaluate the success of reform. The study provided deep insight into the policy-making process, and the views held by different stakeholders. The historical mismanagement of the resource, together with an unfavorable past relationship with authorities, has promoted short-term perspectives which resulted in behaviors inconsistent with SFM. Moreover, the characteristic demographic composition brings a social component not identified in the broader literature as relevant for SFM adoption.     

林业资源利用存在的冲突和缓解途径研究

本文阐述了林业可持续发展中林业资源利用容易产生的7种冲突类型，针对这些冲突类型，应用综合分析的方法，剖析了冲突产生的原因和冲突的形成过程，同时，指出林业可持续发展中缓解冲突的6种途径。     

关于林区如何实现资源优势向经济优势转化的思考

林区要缩小乃至消除与经济发达地区的差别,加快发展,就必须实现资源优势向经济优势转化,用资源开发的新观念去认识资源,确立正确的资源开发战略原则。所谓资源转换模式,就是将资源优势转化为经济优势,以带动整个地区经济发展的模式。这种模式的基本要求:一是要有比较丰富的资源,二是生产力水平比较低。     

森林生物灾害承灾体脆弱性分析:一个概念框架

森林向人类提供多种重要价值, 依其可拥有性的不同, 相关受益人群分为特定受益人、不特定受益人和人类整体3类。基于以上分析并借鉴自然灾害科学相关原理, 提出了森林生物灾害承灾体的概念并将其划分为特定承灾体、区域承灾体和全球承灾体3类, 分析了森林生物灾害承灾体脆弱性的来源和特点, 构建了基于物理暴露性(V_e)、灾损敏感性(V_s)和应灾能力(V_d)等指标的森林生物灾害承灾体脆弱性评估体系, 探讨了森林生物灾害承灾体脆弱性管理的特点以及针对3类承灾体脆弱性管理的具体对策。     

An approach to GIS-based multiple criteria decision analysis that integrates exploration and evaluation phases: Case study in a forest-dominated landscape

The increasing importance and complexity of land and natural resource management are creating a need for ecosystem-based management (EBM). Multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA) combined with geographic information systems (GIS) can integrate factors related to the triple bottom line of ecological, economic, and social perspectives required by EBM. However, GIS-based MCDA is limited in this role because (i) it rarely integrates or encourages an exploration phase in preparation for structured evaluation and (ii) inexperienced users may find MCDA methods and GIS software difficult to use. This paper presents a novel approach for (i) supporting an exploration phase to help structure a problem and (ii) integrating the exploration and evaluation phases in an easy-to-use software system. The approach was validated through a land-management case study in a forest-dominated landscape with a variety of stakeholders. Case-study participants used the approach to rate areas within a timber harvest plan based on their potential for conflict with conservation values. The case-study decision analysis determined that between 1.3% and 6.6% of the harvest plan area had a conservation rating of 0.30 or higher on a scale of 0–1. The system was made available to the forest industry and other stakeholders to support harvest plan adjustments, demonstrating how such tools can be used to improve and integrate our knowledge of forest ecology and management. Assessment of participant feedback reveals that an exploration phase is effective in helping understand a problem and prepare for multiple criteria evaluation (MCE).     

Strategies for Managing Protected Areas

Abstract

Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) has assumed increasing importance in protected area management throughout the developing world. Largely a response to previous state-centered protectionist policies, CBNRM seeks to simultaneously promote community development and biodiversity conservation. Where human populations exist within state-controlled protected areas, successful application of CBNRM requires a legal basis for community participation in resource decision-making. Community management agreements (CMAs) are one contractual mechanism that can provide this foundation. Their goals are to: (1) resolve issues of land tenure; (2) devolve authority and guarantee rights of access to communities; and (3) establish conditions that promote subsequent management planning and activities. This chapter examines three case studies involving the use of CMAs within the Cayambe-Coca Ecological Reserve (RECAY), part of the Condor Bioreserve of central Ecuador. CMAs were found to be successful in achieving the first two goals mentioned above, but had mixed success in achieving the third. CMAs should: (1) devolve decision-making, implementation, and conflict resolution powers to communities; (2) clearly define rights and responsibilities for all parties; and (3) guarantee continual government oversight and support. Although their applicability may be limited to certain circumstances, criteria should be developed to guide their future implementation in Ecuador and internationally.     

Communicative Action to Level the Playing Field in Forest Plantations in Indonesia

The government of Indonesia allocated state land to private companies to establish forest plantations. However, ownership of this land was contested by some Sumatran communities. The plantation company, endorsed by the government, quickly developed a partnership to resolve the conflict, but this was unclear and inequitable. Action research was carried out to facilitate communication among stakeholders. This communicative action changed some perceptions and shared values began to emerge. A forum was established, which contributed to equitability producing a better partnership. This research is a model for empowering local communities in climate change, bioenergy, and food security negotiations.