Adaptation and change in Queensland’s rangelands: Cell grazing as an emerging ideology of pastoral-ecology

Does the current global political economic framework, or more specifically, the cost–price squeeze associated with primary production, restrict the choices of Australian cattle graziers in moving to more sustainable practices? It has often been argued by primary producers and academics, alike, that current terms of trade have resulted in reduced profitability at the property level, and as such, have made it difficult for landholders to shift to practices which are environmentally sustainable. Whilst there is mounting evidence that this is case, there is also evidence that some graziers have been able to adapt to the prevailing market conditions through an ideological as well as ‘practice’ shift. Findings from qualitative research in Central Queensland, Australia, has highlighted how ‘cell grazing’ departs from the traditional or conventional aspects of grazing which can be described as productivist, to an approach closely approximating Lang and Heasman’s (2004) ‘ecologically integrated paradigm’ [Lang, T., Heasman, M., 2004. Food Wars: The Global Battle for Mouths Minds and Markets. Earthscan, London]. It is argued that cell grazing is, at present, a marginal activity that requires an ideological and cultural shift, as well as an investment in new infrastructure, however, current cell grazing activities may also demonstrate that beef grazing has the potential to be both economically and environmentally sustainable.     

Using participatory mapping and a participatory geographic information system in pastoral land use investigation: Impacts of rangeland policy in Botswana

Since the 1980s, the spatial extent of communal grazing lands in Botswana has been diminishing due to rangeland privatisation and fencing associated with animal health policies. Spatial comparisons of pastoral land use transformations are particularly important where accessibility to grazing and water resources remains at the core of sustainable pastoralism policies. Achieving success in pastoral development research requires a sound understanding of traditional pastoralists’ information systems, including the nature of local spatial knowledge. This study explores local spatial knowledge through participatory mapping and a Participatory Geographic Information System to understand and analyse pastoralists’ grazing patterns, spatial mobility and the impacts of subdivisions and privatisation policies in Botswana’s Ngamiland rangelands. The study uses focus group discussions, historical analysis through key informant interviews, and participatory mapping exercises along with community guided transect walks. The resulting maps provide insights into the traditional tenure patterns of land use and the impacts of rangeland policy on traditional livestock spatial mobility and access to grazing lands. Privatisation and rangeland enclosures have resulted in the restricted movement of livestock and overstocking of floodplains and riparian rangelands, with some natural water pans becoming inaccessible to local communities. We conclude that the integration of local spatial knowledge can be used to foster better articulation and understanding of pastoralists’ tenures, which are often lacking in communal land administration systems. Such integrated analysis can contribute to sustainable pastoral land management policy toolkits in semi-arid rangeland environments and enable better land tenure and management decision making for sustainable land management.     

Market-based grazing land transfers and customary institutions in the management of rangelands: Two case studies on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Beginning in the early 1990’s, grazing lands once held in common were contracted to individual households in the rangeland regions of China. The resulting fragmentation of rangelands has led to ecological and social problems. As China seeks to address intractable poverty and rangeland degradation, attention has turned to rental, or transfer, of contracted grazing land as a market-based approach to re-aggregating grazing land into larger units that support economies of scale. However, given that many pastoral regions still maintain community customary institutions, what the relationship between market mechanisms and local customary institutions should be in rangeland management needs further analysis. This paper applies comparative case studies of two types of relationships between market mechanisms and customary institutions: (1) market mechanisms that replace customary institutions in the case of Axi village, and (2) market mechanisms that are embedded within customary institutions in Xiareer village. This allows contrast of the impacts of differing approaches on livelihoods, livestock production, and wealth differentiation among pastoral households. We found that there is a higher level of livestock mortality, lower livestock productivity, and higher livestock production cost in Axi Village compared to Xiareer Village. In addition, household asset levels are higher and there is less income differentiation in Xiareer Village. It is concluded that embedding market mechanisms within customary institutions has had notable benefits for the herders of Xiareer Village, because it is a better fit to the coupled pastoral social-ecological system. Based on these findings, we argue that in pastoral communities where the rangeland transfer system for contracted grazing land has not yet been implemented, it is critical to reconsider China’s current policy approach to pay greater attention to the innovative management systems being developed in local regions. Instead of considering market-based approaches as oppositional to traditional institutions, options that derive from the interaction of market-based and customary institutions should be considered.     

Accelerated restructuring in rural China fueled by ‘increasing vs. decreasing balance’ land-use policy for dealing with hollowed villages

Rapid industrialization and urbanization in China has produced a unique phenomenon of ‘village-hollowing’, shaped by the dual-track structure of socio-economic development. This paper analyzes the phenomenon of ‘village-hollowing’, identifying the processes and influences that have driven their evolution, and highlighting the challenge that the locking-up of unused rural housing land in ‘hollowed villages’ presents for China in the context of concerns over urban development and food security. The paper examines the ‘increasing vs. decreasing balance’ land-use policy has been adopted by the Chinese government in response to the problem, which seeks to balance increases in urban construction land with a reduction in rural construction land. The implementation of the scheme is discussed through a case study of Huantai county in Shandong province, drawing attention to its contested and contingent nature. It is argued that the policy is a top-down approach to rural restructuring that necessarily requires the acquiescence of local actors. However, it is noted that failures to adequate engage with local actors has led to resistance to the policy, including violent protests against the demolition of housing. The paper suggests that lessons might be learned from Europe by incorporating elements of ‘bottom-up’ planning into the process. As such, the paper demonstrates that rural restructuring in China is a dynamic, multi-scalar and hybrid process that shares common elements and experiences with rural restructuring in Europe and elsewhere, but which is also strongly shaped by the distinctive political, economic, social and cultural context of China.     

Municipal commonage policy and livestock owners: Findings from the Eastern Cape,South Africa

The new African National Congress government announced after 1994 that municipal commonage would be a pillar of their land reform programme. The Department of Land Affairs spearheaded this by acquiring new land to complement the existing ‘old’ commonages. The aim of old commonage was to supplement the income of poor urban residents through the subsistence user system whereas new commonage was intended as a ‘stepping stone’ for emergent farmers. We investigated the differences between old and new commonage farmers as well as how they perceived the Makana local municipality's capacity to manage the commonage. The results showed that local institutions were weak. Only 46% of the old commonage farmers were members of a local livestock association whereas 74% of the new commonage farmers were members. Most old commonage farmers (59%) were dissatisfied with local government's management of the commonage. In contrast, only 37% of the new commonage farmers were dissatisfied with the management of the commonage. There were no differences between old and new commonage farmers in terms of livestock owners’ characteristics and mean annual net direct-use value of livestock. There were also no differences in the age of the two types of commonage farmers. Furthermore, there was no association between the type of commonage and level of education. The mean annual net direct-use value of livestock on old commonage was R6308 compared with R9707 on new commonage. Although the income from livestock for new commonage farmers varied slightly from that of old commonage farmers, the annual productive output per farmer on old commonage was R473 ha⁻¹, three times higher than that of new commonage farmers which was R134 ha⁻¹. We suggest that new land policy legislation is needed in which poverty as well as the legal arrangements between all stakeholders is clearly defined. Furthermore, national departments need to be more involved with local municipalities to increase local management capacity.     

Using visual products derived from community research to inform natural resource management policy

People living near remote protected areas seldom have their perspectives considered in decision-making on conservation and development. A consequent challenge for researchers and practitioners is engaging with policy-makers about local peoples’ perspectives, in ways that will capture their attention and influence the decisions they make. Some authors claim that visual products have potential for providing such a means, i.e. in communicating ‘local’ messages to policy-makers. In this study we used action research to explore the use of visual products - derived from participatory community research - to communicate local perspectives to policy. Hypermedia DVDs, containing videos, photos, diagrams and text, were used with policy-stakeholders in interviews and group activities. Most participants reacted positively to the DVDs and indicated that visual products provided credible and valuable insight into findings, grounded in local knowledge. The main strength of the DVDs was to provide engaging messages, in a format that allowed integration of knowledge co-constructed by local people and researchers. They were found to be a versatile medium for use with a range of viewers with different needs, as well as a valuable platform to enhance discussion and understanding needed in developing sound policy in natural resource management. We also found the ‘processes’, used in creating DVDs and presenting them to policy-makers markedly influenced the effectiveness of visual products. We suggest that in working with broad and complex areas in NRM, these types of visual products have the best potential in shifting conceptual thinking and generating ideas and awareness among policy-stakeholders, rather than as a means of recommending specific policy.     

Locating the adverse effects of rangeland enclosure among herders in eastern Ethiopia

This paper examines the effects of rangeland enclosure on herders’ livelihoods and property rights. The analysis is based on the household survey and focus group discussions among pastoral and agropastoral households (from three administrative districts in eastern Ethiopia) who have practiced enclosure and who have been affected by practices of others. Such an examination helps anticipate whether enclosure practice assists in attaining income security and ensuring household welfare by supporting livestock development. Results have shown that expansion of enclosure leads to the emergence of incompatible demands (conflict of interest) over the resource and unstable property rights to the grazing commons. Though private benefits from enclosure produce an incentive for households to practice it, its expansion does not generally increase the welfare of (agro-) pastoral community in the longer-term. Hence, land use policies that favor private use of the rangeland, using land enclosure as an entry point, can potentially harm pastoral livelihoods rather than supporting sustainable pastoral development.     

The interface between land use systems research and policy: Multiple arrangements and leverages

In recent years, interest in the policy-informing role of research organisations has grown considerably. It has been argued from within the science domain that the management of land, whether at the field, farm or regional scale, can benefit from computer-based systems analysis. This proposition was examined through 26 semi-structured interviews, by conducting a workshop on modelling support in policy decision-making and investigating 11 European-based cases of policy-oriented modelling research. On basis of these materials, we assess approaches towards policy-oriented modelling within the domain of agricultural production and other environmental services of land. First, we define the boundary arrangements for our field of interest, i.e. computer-based systems analysis of agricultural production and ecosystems services. Such ideotypical classification of boundary arrangements makes explicit the institutional space in which system scientists function. This space enables certain activities, and at the same time constrains other initiatives, dependent on who is perceived to initiate and/or control research activities and to formulate objectives, and whether it is considered appropriate to integrate scientific knowledge development with policy work. Five ideotypical boundary arrangements are proposed: ‘Civil mandate’; ‘Trickle out’; ‘Janus face’; ‘Critical participant’; and ‘Knowledge broker’. In a second step, a number of critical leverage points are identified based on the 11 cases and these are addressed in relation to the five boundary arrangements. The term ‘leverage point’ covers means, conditions and methods that foster use of modelling work that can be changed, and thus may be part of a strategy to increase the chances that a model is used. The leverage points were: reputation of research institute and/or scientists; raising and balancing expectations; communication about and investment in the scientific basis of the modelling work; participation in model development; heterogeneous and extensive social network in policy domain; institute mandate that secures availability of ‘stepping stones’. We conceive of two applications of our research for modellers who are interested in the use of their work in the policy sphere. First, the boundary arrangement classification helps to interpret the experiences of others and to assess the relevance of lessons and suggestions for their own context. Secondly, the combination of the boundary arrangement perspective and critical leverage points presents a basis to design an institutional pathway for enhancing impact of modelling research in the policy sphere. For those researchers functioning in a science-domain-oriented environment, the analysis in this paper suggests that there are more options than the frequently proposed ‘more participation’ for increasing the likelihood that their policy-oriented work is used. These include establishing contacts with research groups or institutes that are in a position to function as ‘stepping stones’, or engaging with others to develop a social network in the policy sphere.     

The contested environmental governance of Maori-owned native forests in South Island,Aotearoa/New Zealand

In this study we set out to critically examine the environmental governance of native forests owned and managed by the Maori in New Zealand, with a specific focus on ‘SILNA’ lands given to the South island Maori as compensation lands for lost ancestral tribal lands. We will interrogate reasons for different forestry pathways in terms of how the process of European colonisation unfolded politically and spatially, the response of the Maori SILNA forest owners to pressures linked to land allocation and land rights issues over time, and the repercussions of these responses for biodiversity preservation in indigenous forest management systems. In order to unravel the complex environmental governance processes at play in the New Zealand context, we will pay particular attention to ‘exogenous’ (i.e. propelling forces outside Maori communities) and ‘endogenous’ regulation mechanisms (i.e. regulation of native forest management within SILNA forest blocks). New Zealand is a particularly appropriate setting as Maori governance, forest management and land rights issues have come to the fore over the past decades. Our findings suggest that Maori SILNA forest owners have used the full spectrum of forest management pathways, ranging from outright clearfelling and associated biodiversity depletion to forest preservation. The study highlights the complex interplay between endogenous environmental governance processes (actor embeddedness with their land and the role played by trusts and committees in particular) and exogenous drivers, in particular through the influence of international logging companies, and the policy environment which has sent mixed, and at times confusing, messages to Maori SILNA native forest owners.     

Making the ‘rules of the game’: Constituting territory and authority in Nicaragua's indigenous communities

Indigenous communities, particularly in Latin America, are increasingly winning recognition of rights to lands and forests that they have managed or used historically under customary institutions. If property refers to ‘the rules of the game’, this article uses the constitution of indigenous communal territories in Nicaragua to examine the process of ‘making the rules’. Specifically, the recognition of rights by central governments leads to political contestations over both territory and authority as communities and indigenous political leaders vie for different configurations of both lands and new territorial authorities. That is, the process of constituting large collective territories is intimately related to the constitution of authority, as it involves not only the negotiation of physical boundaries but also the recognition of an existing authority structure – or the creation of a new entity – to represent the beneficiaries. In Nicaragua's North Atlantic Autonomous Region, then, the decision over ‘which configuration of territory’ is ultimately a political negotiation over which ‘authority’ will have the right to control and enforce access to which rights and benefits from land and natural resources.     

Conceptualising ‘shadow landscape’ in political ecology and rural studies

This paper develops the concept of ‘shadow landscape’ in order to describe the essential otherness and seemingly distinctive if ever contingent properties of in-between rural places characterised by historical depopulation and cultural marginalisation. It does so first of all through a critically sympathetic assessment of how these areas have been portrayed in the fields of political ecology and rural studies. In political ecology, reference has long been made to ‘depopulated areas’ whereas in rural studies there has been recently talk of ‘marginal cultures’. The result tends to be a ‘pre-given socio-spatial container’ (Zimmerer and Bassett, 2003) that often obscures more than it reveals about these distinctive locations. The paper thereafter outlines the concept of shadow landscape as a means by which to understand these areas, and does so via a discussion of marginality, scale, socio-nature and ‘cultures of depopulation’. In the process, some of the key material and discursive issues that surround these ‘imagined communities’ are brought into focus. The conclusion considers a future research agenda based on an understanding shaped by the concept of shadow landscape.     

Local sustainability initiatives in English National Parks: What role for adaptive governance?

Adaptive governance has assumed growing importance in natural resource management literatures, emphasising learning and adaptation among actors at different political administrative levels and geographic scales as a precondition for the emergence of sustainable development. Here we assess this claim by examining five case studies of ‘good practice’ in sustainability, drawn from a national survey conducted in English National Parks. Specifically, we evaluate whether (1) adaptive governance characteristics are present in these ‘good practice’ initiatives, and (2) what governance role, if any, National Park Authorities have played in mediating individual and collective activities and behaviours within these projects at different levels and scales. We conclude with a critical assessment of the capacity of the adaptive governance approach to furnish new understandings of sustainable development initiatives in English NPs.     

Attitudes of food entrepreneurs towards two grant schemes under the first England Rural Development Programme, 2000–2006

Grant schemes introduced under the first England Rural Development Programme (ERDP) (2000–2006) have been subjected to limited academic research and this paper aims to fill this gap by examining the attitudes of food entrepreneurs in two contiguous English regions to two key elements of the ERDP: the Processing and Marketing Grant (PMG) and the Rural Enterprise Scheme (RES). It does this through a qualitative analysis of data gathered from interviews with 20 ‘adopters’ and 20 ‘non-adopters’ of the two schemes in the South West and West Midlands regions of England. The analysis reveals that, despite the rural development rhetoric, neither the PMG nor the RES was particularly effective at funding enterprises beyond the farm gate; both schemes also appeared to attract what can be described as ‘serial adopters’ and to discriminate against those without experience of applying for government grants. Nevertheless, indirectly they did provide opportunities to safeguard and expand local and regional food production, processing and retailing in the two regions.     

Rainfall or price variability: what determines rangeland management decisions? A simulation-optimization approach to South African savannas

Savannas cover the greater part of Africa and Australia and almost half of South America and contribute to the livelihoods of more than 350 million people. With the intensification of land use during the second half of the 20th century, savannas have become increasingly degraded through bush encroachment as a consequence of increased grazing pressure. Research on rangeland dynamics, however, provides contradicting answers with regard to the causes and possible remedies of bush encroachment. In this article we present results from an application of a simulation-optimization model to the case of extensive rangeland management in South Africa. Our model differs from previous approaches in that it explicitly accounts for the influence of stochastic prices and rainfall on economically optimal management decisions. By showing the implications of neglecting price variation and stochasticity in rangeland models we provide new insights with regard to the determinants of bush encroachment and rangeland managers' economic return. We demonstrate that, in the case of South Africa, optimal rangeland management is likely to lead to bush encroachment that eventually makes livestock holding unprofitable. Yet, we identify the costs of fire management to be a limiting factor for managers to counteract bush encroachment and explore the impact of policy measures to reduce fire control costs on the ecological and economic sustainability of livestock holding.     

Implementing Pillar II of the Common Agricultural Policy in England: Geographies of the Rural Enterprise Scheme and Processing and Marketing Grant

This paper examines the geography of two policy instruments – the Rural Enterprise Scheme (RES) and the Processing and Marketing Grant (PMG) – that formed part of the second ‘pillar’ of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in England between 2000 and 2006. It starts by outlining the ongoing debate over the role of geography in policy research, an outcome of which has been a call for more empirical work that explores the ‘difference that place makes’ in the implementation of public funding mechanisms. The paper argues that the CAP is ripe for geographical analysis, as the Agenda 2000 reforms can be interpreted as moving it away from a ‘sectoral’ (agricultural) approach to a more ‘territorial’ (rural development) one. After outlining the place of the RES and PMG in the reformed CAP in England, the paper discusses three factors – farm size, proportion of land rented and location – that may have influenced their geographies. The distribution of grant approvals under these schemes is then mapped using location quotients. Following this, the potential influence of the factors outlined above is tested using the Kolmogorov–Smirnov statistic. The conclusion revisits the opening discussion by reflecting on the difference that place has made to the implementation of the PMG and RES.     

Sustainability and the multifunctional landscape: An assessment of approaches to planning and management in the Cairngorms National Park

Upland Scotland contains some of Britain's most prized areas of natural heritage value. However, although such areas may appear both ‘wild’ and ‘remote’, these are typically working landscapes which symbolise the interdependence of nature and society. The complexity of this relationship means that management responses will need to address a multitude of potentially conflicting priorities whilst at the same time ensuring that sufficient social and institutional capital exists to allow for the promotion of landscape integrity. The introduction of national parks to Scotland in the form of the National Parks (Scotland) Act 2000 allows for a high-level of protection for designated areas in upland Scotland. Yet, whilst the recent Act outlines the statutory purpose and direction national parks should take, it allows a significant degree of flexibility in the way in which the Act may be implemented. This level of discretion allows for significant local distinctiveness within the model but also raises questions about the potential effectiveness of chosen responses. In order to assess the potential implications of a model rooted in self-determination, we provide a case study review of the institutional basis of the Cairngorms National Park along with an assessment of the strategic character of the first National Park Plan. It is argued that whilst the Cairngorms National Park Authority has developed a significant level of stakeholder engagement, the authority may struggle to bridge the policy-implementation gap. Although a number of shortcomings are identified, particular concerns relate to the potential mismatch between strategic ambition and local level capacity.     

‘Forest governmentality’: A genealogy of subject-making of forest-dependent ‘scheduled tribes’ in India

This paper analyses the historical trajectories of both British colonial rule and independent India to categorise scheduled tribes and to appropriate and legalise forests in tribal areas. It builds upon Foucault's notion of governmentality to argue that the history of the scheduled tribes’ subject-making and the related history of forest demarcation is indispensable for understanding the current politics of decentralised forest management in India. Three dimensions of ‘forest governmentality’ - the history of categorisation, the politics of social identity, and the technologies of forest governance - are discussed to show how recent efforts to politicise forest tenure rights have reinforced political control over the scheduled tribes through new forms of authority, inclusion and exclusion. However, to claim their individual and community right to forestland and resources, the scheduled tribes have internalised their ‘new’ ethnic identity, thereby creating countervailing power and room to manoeuvre within the current forest governance regime. This is supported by a case study of the Bhil, a predominantly forest-dependent scheduled tribe in the semi-arid region of western India.     

Intermediate levels of property rights and the emerging housing market in Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam

Vietnam introduced a Policy of Renovation (‘Doi Moi’ Policy) to restructure the economy in 1986. Under this policy, the Land Use Right Certificate was introduced as a form of tenure for agricultural land and urban land, according to the Land Laws of 1987 and 1993, respectively. However, by 2001, most properties and/or land in Vietnam still did not have a legal title. Although Vietnam's land reforms in the 1990s provided some of the weakest private rights among the transition countries, big cities like Ho Chi Minh City are presently homes to thriving housing markets. Transactions of ‘property without a physical entity and legal title’ in the real estate market show how property ownership can be formed in order to operate within different institutional contexts. This paper highlights that ‘intermediate levels of property rights’ are the driving forces behind the thriving housing market in Ho Chi Minh City.     

Land suitability evaluation for development using a matter-element model: A case study in Zengcheng, Guangzhou, China

Land suitability evaluation can assist in the efficient use of land resources at a regional level. This is an important issue because of the pressures that an increasing population and economic growth have put on limited land resources. Matter-element theory, which was first put forward by the Chinese mathematician Cai Wen, has shown potential for solving incompatibility problems. Based on the matter-element model, this paper uses land use, roads, water bodies, population density, distance from center of the city, geodetic height, and slope as factors in modeling land suitability for development. Zengcheng, an urban-rural administration was used as a case study for applying the matter-element model to assessing the suitability of land for development. The model was cross referenced with local urban plans for verification and the results of this study show that the model constructed was effective at assessing the suitability of land for development. According to both the classification map created using the matter-element model and the statistics on the of land suitability classes, the study area was found to have a considerable amount of land which is highly suitable for development. After the category ‘highly suitable’, the next largest total land area was in the category of ‘not suitable’ for development, while there was relatively little land classified as moderately and marginally suitable. The percentage of the total land area of each class of suitability was 41.80%, 34.22%, 16.35% and 7.64%, respectively. Apart from this, the study also demonstrated the advantage of matter-element models over fuzzy theory, as they provide much more information. For example, all integrated degree of all classes in the paper had ranges from −1 to 1, but differed from each other by percentage. In the category of ‘highly suitable’ only 45.51% of matter-elements fully conformed to the criteria (those within a range of 0-0.5925), while the remainder (54.49%) did not corresponded to the requirements of the category, but did have the potential to do so with relatively few changes (those within a range of −0.3923-0 degrees). This data provides us with an understanding of the potential and limitation to development of the land in the region.     

Incentivizing sustainable rangeland practices and policies in Colombia’s Orinoco region

Livestock grazing, along with agriculture, are key drivers of deforestation and land degradation that subsequently affect ecosystem service provision in the tropics. Although environmental and agricultural policies may curtail these negative effects, information is needed on how specific programs and instruments could be used to incentivize ranchers into adopting rangeland practices to achieve land conservation. We examine what encourages livestock ranchers to adopt more sustainable rangeland practices with various technical and conservation attributes in Colombia’s Orinoco region. First, we analyze a management alternative based on an improved pasture (IP) approach traditionally used in tropical South America, and another practice that promotes silvopastoral systems (SP) that better sustain the long term provision of ecosystem services. Second, we assess the influence that technical assistance and conservation payment instruments can have on the adoption of the IP or SP programs. Using expert-based elicitation, questionnaires, choice experiments, and econometrics, we found that when either SP or IP management alternatives include a complete technical assistance program (CTAP), emphasizing forage or cattle production, the propensity to adopt the conservation focused SP alternative significantly increases. The SP alternative with CTAP for cattle production was valued by ranchers at $290 ha/year and the CTAP prioritizing forage production was valued at $233 per ha/year. Nonetheless, a basic technical assistance program for cattle production using the IP alternative was valued at $128, but when including the CTAP, the value increased to $262. Adopting conservation practices in the form of compensation payments for not grazing portions of their land in the SP was valued by ranchers at an average of $8 and $10 in the IP. Our findings show that decisions to adopt conservation oriented rangeland practices and policies are not strictly based on monetary payments for ecosystem services alone, but also on technical support.