Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Modification of Biosphere Reserves'

Les impacts environnementaux sont un défi global. Le programme sur l’Homme et la Biosphère de l’UNESCO (MAB) peut donner un appui international à un de ces défis que l’humanité doit relever : comment arriver à promouvoir un développement économique, social et politique tout en conservant les ressources naturelles limitées dont nous disposons. Cette thèse propose une vision historique du programme afin de comprendre son évolution et de mettre en avant la relation entre les sphères politique et scientifique qui l´ont dirigé. Les cas d´étude du Mexique, du Chili et de la République d´Haïti, mettront en lumière les défis que ces pays doivent relever et la manière dont le Programme a été adapté au niveau national. Deux groupes d´acteurs, scientifiques et instances politiques, ont façonné le programme tout au long de son histoire et maintenu le dialogue pour adapter les principes du Programme MAB dans les Réserves de Biosphère. Par ailleurs, la toute récente création d´une Réserve de Biosphère transfrontalière entre la République d´Haïti et la République Dominicaine est un exemple de la collaboration et du rôle qu´ont joué d´autres instances de l´UNESCO telles que les Commissions Nationales et les Délégations Permanentes<br>Environmental challenges have a significant impact. The Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme of UNESCO provides international support to one of the challenges facing humanity; that is how to achieve economic, social and political development and to promote the conservation of limited natural resources at the same time.This thesis takes into account a historical vision of the programme at the global level to understand its evolution and to highlight the relationship between the political and scientific spheres of the programme.On the other hand, it presents three study cases in different countries: Mexico, Chile and the Republic of Haiti to demonstrate how the programme has been adapted on the national level and the challenges they face. Two groups of actors have shaped the programme throughout its history, scientists and political bodies. They have maintained dialogues to adopt the principles of the MAB Programme in the Biosphere Reserves. Moreover, the recent creation of a Transboundary Biosphere Reserve between the Republic of Haiti and the Dominican Republic is an example of collaboration, but also it highlights the importance of other bodies of UNESCO such as the National Commissions and Permanent Delegations in policy-making

This research aimed to find strategic methods in community engagement related to regional sustainable development, specifically within the context of regions in Europe and North America that are applying for the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve designation. The Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development was presented as a planning framework that can fill gaps in the current Biosphere Reserve planning process. A tool for assessing community engagement based on the five Process Characteristics of transparency, cooperation, openness, inclusiveness, and involvement was created and used to explore community engagement practices in six UNESCO Biosphere Reserve regions in Sweden and Canada. The assessment of methods used in those six regions yielded a list of nine methods which stood out in contributing to community engagement.

UNESCO’s Biosphere Reserve model reflects a shift from segregating towards more integrating area protection. This is attempted to be achieved through combining environmental protection with sustainable development, acknowledging hereby also human interests. The model is conceptually appealing and gaining popularity, which is indicated by the growing number of reserves worldwide. However, to successfully implement the desired goals in practice is challenging and substantial evidence of the concept’s effects is scarce. The aim of this thesis is, therefore, to investigate on the basis of the Swedish Biosphere Reserves what actual effects they have on local development, with a special focus on tourism. This was accomplished through analysis of general development indicators and a negative binomial regression to investigate the effect of Biosphere Reserves on the number of guest nights in the municipalities. In addition, to determine if stakeholder perceptions and the obtained results coincide, a survey amongst stakeholders in the lodging sector of Kristianstad has been carried out. The results suggest that being a municipality with a Biosphere Reserve may have no effect on general development regarding the chosen key variables and no effect on tourism development in terms of guest nights. Regarding stakeholder perceptions in Kristianstad, the Biosphere Reserve did not seem to be perceived as such an important asset, rather the single tourist attractions located in the Biosphere Reserve area were of interest. Overall, the standpoint that Biosphere Reserves are an ideal concept for sustainable development has been challenged in regard to the studied aspects and an objective view in the future on the matter is advised.

Natural protected areas (NPAs) are created for the protection of biodiversity and natural resources. In NPAs, diverse social constructions of nature come together, representing the specific and often contrasting values of disparate interest groups. The establishment of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve in Campeche, Mexico fueled social conflict between groups in the region, because its borders cut across existing ejidos (communal lands). The incongruence of policies and actions related to land management in Calakmul presents a particular case where national and international interests are imposed upon local conservation and development concerns. Communities have responded in multiple ways, often resisting new policies or programs, but at times taking advantage of new resources, perspectives, or knowledge. This study analyzes how the differing attitudes of local populations and conservation-oriented NGOs toward conservation, tourism, and towards each other affect how sustainable development activities are carried out within this unique social space.

Thesis (MScConEcol)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.<br>ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Declines in natural capital, such as the degradation of ecosystems and loss of species, are the result of threats created by anthropogenic activities. The concept of sustainable development encompasses the economic and social growth of societies, with limited impacts on the natural environment. Sustainable development initiatives are being implemented in an attempt to mitigate the global decline in natural capital. Biosphere reserves, which are designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) Man and the Biosphere Programme, aim to be landscape-scale examples of sustainable development. UNESCO requires biosphere reserves to submit a periodic review every ten years to ensure they are meeting their goals. This requires that that they monitor and evaluate their progress towards their sustainable development goals. Sustainability indicators are tools used to assess progress towards ecological, social and economic goals, and can thus be useful tools for biosphere reserves to ensure they are achieving their goals. The Kogelberg and Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserves are both situated within the Cape Floristic Region (CFR). The CFR, located in the South-West of South Africa, has been identified as a biodiversity hotspot owing to its high plant diversity. About a fifth of the CFR is formally protected, while about three quarters has been transformed, mainly by cultivated lands, urban areas and alien vegetation. The socio-economic dimensions of the region are also diverse. A high percentage of its inhabitants have low incomes and live in informal settlements, while a smaller percentage have high incomes and live in middle to upper-class urban areas. Biosphere reserves aim to encourage their diverse stakeholders to collaboratively develop and work towards sustainable development goals. This research project applied an action research approach. The research objectives were achieved through collaboration with biosphere reserve stakeholders. The first objective was to develop sustainability indicator sets for the Kogelberg and Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserves. Following the introduction to the research provided in Chapter 1, Chapters 2, 3 and 4 of this thesis describe the stages of the research process undertaken to achieve this objective. With the aim of investigating monitoring and evaluation within biosphere reserves, Chapter 2 presents a systematic review of the peer-reviewed and grey literature and Chapter 3 presents the results of interviews with managers of South African biosphere reserves and a web-based survey of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves. Chapter 4 describes the collaborative process of conducting local stakeholder workshops and specialist focus groups to develop sets of sustainability indicators; one set each for the Kogelberg and Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserves. The second objective was to formulate a national protocol for the development of sustainability indicators for South African biosphere reserves. This was developed through a synthesis of the results and lessons learnt in Chapters 2 to 4. This national protocol was designed to be flexible enough to be adapted to the local circumstances and needs of individual South African biosphere reserves. The global review of the peer-reviewed and grey literature revealed that monitoring and evaluation studies in biosphere reserves are mostly conducted in the developing world by authors from the developed world and many of the studies and indicators that were developed focused on ecological dimensions. These results show that biosphere reserves need to enhance their local capacity for the development and implementation of improved monitoring and evaluation methods and frameworks. The outcomes of the interviews with representatives of the management of South African biosphere reserves and a survey of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves found that many biosphere reserves identified in this survey are reportedly implementing monitoring and evaluation, but few have developed sustainability indicators. It was found that there are many similar challenges with regards to monitoring and evaluation in biosphere reserves, most notably the lack of capacity and funding Lastly, the collaborative process used to develop sustainability indicators for the Kogelberg and Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserves proved to be useful and produced the desired outcomes. The local stakeholder workshops produced large sustainability indicator sets, with many indicators that were immeasurable, but most were relevant to the biosphere reserves. The specialist focus groups produced more focused and feasible indicator sets. The local stakeholder and specialist indicator sets were integrated to produce a final set for each biosphere reserve that was relevant to the social-ecological systems of the biosphere reserves, with indicators that could feasibly be implemented. The action research approach applied in this study delivered a pragmatic set of sustainability indicators that can be implemented by both biosphere reserves. The National Department of Environmental Affairs, and the Kogelberg and Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserve co-ordinators have encouraged and supported the development of the sustainability indicator sets and the national protocol. Supporting these with a social learning institution within each biosphere reserve will be required for ensuring their on-going utility.<br>AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Dalings in natuurlike kapitaal, soos die degradasie van ekosisteme en die verlies van spesies, is die gevolg van die bedreigings wat geskep word deur menslike aktiwiteite. Die konsep van volhoubare ontwikkeling behels die ekonomiese en sosiale ontwikkeling van samelewings, met beperkte impak op die natuurlike omgewing. Volhoubare ontwikkelings inisiatiewe word geïmplementeer in 'n poging om die afname in natuurlike kapitaal te verminder. Die doel van biosfeerreservate, wat aangewys is deur die Verenigde Nasies se Opvoedkundige, Wetenskaplike en Kulturele Organisasie (UNESCO) se Man en die Biosfeer-program, is om landskap-skaal voorbeelde van volhoubare ontwikkeling te wees. UNESCO vereis dat biosfeerreservate 'n periodieke hersiening elke tien jaar voor te lê om te verseker dat hulle op pad is om hul doelwitte te bereik. Dit vereis dat hulle moet hul vordering monitor en evalueer teenoor hul volhoubare ontwikkelingsdoelwitte. Volhoubaarheid aanwysers word gebruik om vordering ten opsigte van ekologiese, sosiale en ekonomiese doelwitte te bepaal, en kan dus nuttig wees vir biosfeerreservate om te verseker dat hulle hul doelwitte bereik. Die Kogelberg en Kaapse Weskus Biosfeerreservate is beide in die Kaapse Floristiese Omgewing (KFO) geleë. Die KFO, wat in die Suid-Wes van Suid-Afrika geleë is, is geïdentifiseer as 'n biodiversiteit-brandpunt as gevolg van sy hoë plant diversiteit. Oor 1/5 van die KFO is formeel beskerm terwyl ongeveer 3/4 omskep is, hoofsaaklik deur bewerkte landerye, stedelike gebiede en uitheemse plantegroei. Die sosio-ekonomiese aspekte van die omgewing is ook uiteenlopend. 'n Hoë persentasie van die bevolking het 'n lae inkomste en woon in informele nedersettings, terwyl 'n kleiner persentasie het 'n hoë inkomste en woon in middel tot bo-klas stedelike gebiede. Biosfeerreservate streef daarna om hul diverse rolspelers aan te moedig om saam volhoubare ontwikkelingsdoelwitte te ontwikkel. Hierdie navorsingsprojek het 'n aksie-navorsing nadering toegepas. Die navorsing doelwitte is bereik deur middel van samewerking met biosfeerreservaat rolspelers. Die eerste doelwit was om volhoubaarheid aanwyser stelle vir die Kogelberg en Kaapse Weskus Biosfeerreservate te ontwikkel. Na aanleiding van die Inleiding tot die navorsing wat in Hoofstuk 1, Hoofstuk 2, 3 en 4 van hierdie tesis beskryf die fases van die navorsing wat onderneem is om hierdie doelwit te bereik. Met die doel van die ondersoek van monitering en evaluering binne biosfeerreservate, Hoofstuk 2 bied 'n sistematiese hersiening van die eweknie-geëvalueerde en grys literatuur aan en Hoofstuk 3 bied die resultate van onderhoude met bestuurders van Suid-Afrikaanse biosfeerreservate en 'n web-gebaseerde ondersoek van die wêreld Netwerk van Biosfeerreservate aan. Hoofstuk 4 beskryf die saamwerkende proses van die uitvoer van plaaslike rolspeler werkswinkels en spesialis fokusgroepe stelle van volhoubaarheid aanwysers te ontwikkel; een stel elk vir die Kogelberg en Kaapse Weskus Biosfeerreservate. Die tweede doelwit is om 'n nasionale protokol vir die ontwikkeling van volhoubaarheid aanwysers vir Suid-Afrikaanse biosfeerreservate te formuleer. Dit is ontwikkel deur middel van 'n sintese van die resultate en lesse wat geleer is in Hoofstukke 2 tot 4. Hierdie nasionale protokol is ontwerp om buigsaam genoeg te wees om aangepas te word by die plaaslike omstandighede en behoeftes van individuele Suid-Afrikaanse biosfeerreservate. Die globale oorsig van die eweknie-geëvalueerde en grys literatuur het gewys dat monitering en evaluering studies in biosfeerreservate word meestal in die ontwikkelende wêreld uitgevoer deur die skrywers van die ontwikkelde wêreld en baie van die studies en aanwysers wat ontwikkel word is gefokus op ekologiese dimensies. Hierdie resultate dui aan dat biosfeerreservate hul plaaslike kapasiteit vir die ontwikkeling en implementering van monitering en evaluering metodes en raamwerke moet verbeter. Die uitkomste van die onderhoude met verteenwoordigers van die bestuur van die Suid-Afrikaanse biosfeerreservate en 'n ondersoek van die Wêreld Netwerk van Biosfeerreservate dui aan dat baie van die biosfeerreservate wat in hierdie ondersoek na berig word implementeer monitering en evaluering, maar min het volhoubaarheid aanwysers ontwikkel. Daar is gevind dat daar baie soortgelyke uitdagings met betrekking tot monitering en evaluering in biosfeerreservate, veral die gebrek aan kapasiteit en befondsing Ten slotte, die gesamentlike proses wat gebruik is om die volhoubaarheid aanwysers vir die Kogelberg en Kaapse Weskus Biosfeerreservate te ontwikkel het bewys om nuttig te wees en het die verlangde uitkomste gelewer. Die plaaslike rolspeler werkswinkels het groot volhoubaarheid aanwyser stelle geproduseer, met baie onmeetbare aanwysers, maar meeste van die aanysers was relevant tot die biosfeer-reservate. Die spesialis fokusgroepe het meer gefokusde en uitvoerbaar aanwyser stelle geproduseer. Die plaaslike rolspeler en spesialis aanwyser stelle is geïntegreer in 'n finale stel vir elke biosfeerreservaat wat relevant is tot die sosiaal-ekologiese stelsels van die biosfeer-reservate, met aanwysers wat uitvoerbaar is. Die aksie-navorsing benadering wat in hierdie studie toegepas is het 'n pragmatiese stel van volhoubaarheid aanwysers afgelewer wat sal deur beide biosfeerreservate geïmplementeer word. Die Nasionale Departement van Omgewingsake, en die Kogelberg en Kaapse Weskus Biosfeer Reservaat koördineerders het die ontwikkeling van die volhoubaarheid aanwyser stelle en die Nasionale Protokol aangemoedig en ondersteun. Ondersteuning van hierdie uitsette met 'n sosiale leer instelling binne elke biosfeerreservaat sal vereis wees om hul deurlopende nut te verseker.

Residential outdoor schools are multi-day learning camps that provide unique settings in which to deliver environmental education. However, such schools are also very complex to develop and difficult to maintain and operate. Within Canada though, there are many examples of successful outdoor school operations, three of which are considered here: the North Vancouver Outdoor School, the Olympic Park Institute and the Golden Ears Learning Centre. From these case studies lessons can be learned regarding issues such as: land tenureship, program design, staffing options, administrative systems, facility requirements, finance options and abilities to attract students. The discussion of these factors can then be applied to the development of a nation wide network of residential outdoor schools within the framework of Canadian Biosphere Reserves.<br>Currently there are ten Biosphere Reserves in Canada which, when analyzed, prove to be very adequate sites for environmental education from both physical and social stand points. The Canadian Biosphere Reserve Association is the coordinating body which fosters communication and cooperation between individual Reserves. If a network of residential outdoor schools were to be developed within this association framework, it would serve, both to fulfill the Canadian Biosphere Reserve Associations mandate to support environmental education and would help partially alleviate the lack of adequate environmental education facilities in Canada today.

A descriptive case study approach and 34 indicators was used to examine the socio-economic impacts of whale watching tourism in the Laguna San Ignacio (LSI) World Heritage Site - located within the El Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve in Baja California Sur, Mexico. The framework measured both the socio-economic changes, and the economic viability of the local and regional operators. This approach led to a detailed understanding of the underlying, and often complex, inter-related factors that shaped the ecotourism development in LSI between 1994 and 2002. It identified strengths and weaknesses of current ecotourism development making it a valid tool for evaluating and improving these activities in any biosphere reserve. More specifically the objectives were to examine: 1. How existing ecotourism operations and their activities in the LSI have changed since 1994; 2. Whether these changes have made ecotourism a more viable socio-economic development alternative for the local communities; and 3. Which strategies may be useful in overcoming identified barriers to further socio-economic benefits both from existing and future ecotourism activities. The results strongly suggested that the benefits from ecotourism improved significantly between 1994 and 2002. Economically this was reflected in growth of visitor numbers (50%), employment (100%) and local and regional revenue approximately 70% (or 55% in real terms adjusting for inflation). Social benefits were seen in more cooperation among previous antagonistic stakeholders; a wider distribution of ecotourism benefits; some improvement in living standards and increasing local support for the Reserve. Politically, local stakeholders became more empowered through involvement in tourism related management activities. The viability of the local and regional operators also improved significantly as they became more sophisticated in their product offerings, enhanced their facilities and gained a market share of ecotourism relative to the foreign operators. These improvements were particular true for the operators that sold package tours. However, the analyses also revealed a number of barriers with the most important ones being: • Unresolved historic land use conflicts over rights to land with ecotourism possibilities; • Lack of activities diversification possibilities outside the tourism season; • Stagnating visitor numbers; • Uneven business skills among operators; • Poor marketing and promotional efforts; • Insufficient ecotourism infrastructure; • A proposed ecotourism tax; • Low profit margin of the ecotourism operators; and • Lack of funding for further investments To alleviate these threats and barriers 13 general strategies were identified. An elaboration of these resulted in 39 concrete operational strategies on how potentially to implement them.

Natural protected areas are places intended to protect nature, but it is now accepted that their social impact must be compatible with the ideals of 'sustainable development': they must conserve nature while improving, or at least not injuring, the socio-economic status of human communities. In Mexico, recent conservation policy has emphasized the creation of biosphere reserves, a type of protected area designed as a practical application of the concept of sustainable development. Previous research has shown that in Mexico and elsewhere, such reserves are often created in areas that are environmentally marginal and where, therefore, the lives and livelihoods of inhabitants are precarious at best. This makes the dual challenges of protecting nature and aiding social and economic development particularly acute. This study explores these challenges by considering the socio-economic patterns within protected areas along the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt of central Mexico. The study measured sustainable development, as indexed by the Mexican government, at both the regional and local scales, combining census data and interviews with residents in the Sierra Gorda Reserve. This combination of methodologies allowed for a fuller description of the social impacts of protected areas at different scales. The study found that while overall the lives of residents in or near natural protected areas improved steadily between 1990 and 2000, these areas are also characterized by high migration levels and an aging population, which may threaten the future sustainability of these communities. The study concludes by suggesting that migration is a key factor which should be included in Mexico's assessments of sustainable development, and that the concept of a community's social resilience is extremely useful in informing future studies.

Environmental monitoring initiatives are typically conceived as strictly scientific affairs designed to provide support for managerial decision-making; as a consequence most initiatives are centered on a formal mandate or an overarching mission statement that provides direction for monitoring activity. But official frameworks tend to marginalize lay perspectives as experts pursue disciplinary rigor at the expense of public input, a situation not in keeping with the spirit of the biosphere reserve concept. This thesis argues that an alternative design approach that reaches beyond scientists and resource managers is necessary. Environmental monitoring under an ecosystem approach is subject to scientific, social, and bureaucratic demands that defy easy disentanglement. A medley of factors influence how data are collected, interpreted, and used; neglect of these 'soft' dimensions runs the risk of failing to win the enduring support of stakeholders. There is a need to coordinate activity and to partially align multiple perspectives-this is the 'soft underbelly' of integrated monitoring that gets short shrift in most designs. While there is much monitoring being done in and around the Long Point World Biosphere Reserve, there is little coordination among monitoring groups and no obvious way to combine disparate data sets in a meaningful way. This thesis describes the elements of a locally-sensible framework for monitoring practice that is mainly concerned with trying to make sense of confusing and ambiguous situations; it strives to integrate the 'why', 'what', and 'how' of monitoring in as transparent a manner as possible by crafting 'boundary objects' that help to congeal understanding and provide centers of coordination. Using principles of participatory design in the soft-systems tradition, the overall intent is to primarily support sense-making, not decision-making; to generate searching questions, not final solutions; to facilitate learning, not control.

<p>The loss of biodiversity is recognised as a tremendous threat to ecosystems, but its maintenance is challenging. One important issue is seen as decisive for its success: the integration of sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity that means to reconcile protective measures with different kinds of use. This study investigated management areas that explicitly emphasise this issue: UNESCO Man and Biosphere (MAB) Reserves that shall contribute to reconcile the conservation of biodiversity with its sustainable use and an initiative from the Swedish government called Regional Landscape Strategies that aims to find a balance between sustainable use and conservation on a landscape level. In three MAB Reserves in Germany and one Swedish county testing Regional Landscape Strategies semi-structured interviews were conducted. They aimed to detect the values and factors steering the decisions of biodiversity management and conservation as well as to identify obstacles for sustainable use, conservation and their integration in general. The interviews reveal that the connected terms and concepts can be interpreted in different ways and this exacerbates the work. Furthermore, the study detects some issues that can facilitate the integration of sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity in the respective areas and discussed their applicability on a larger scale. Examples are the establishment of a kind of forum involving local affected stakeholders and the creation of a connection point mediating the different sectors within the administration. These aspects could help to design the management of biodiversity more sustainable if they would be part of the mainstream management practises. Regarding the state of biodiversity that shall be achieved or maintained it can be mentioned that different factors and values steer the decisions; intrinsic values are underlying, but further issues seem crucial: practicability of the respective land use, aesthetic values, a high resilience of the system as well as the near-natural states.</p>

Starting with the idea that unsustainable practices contribute to issues of social justice and poverty as much as to ecological issues. Chapter 1 traces the origins of the terms sustainable and development individually to see how it is that they came together. Chapter 2 traces the major international conferences and documents and their use of the terms sustainable development. Chapter 3 takes a phenomenology approach to get a bit deeper into sustainable development. I examine the most commonly cited definition of sustainable development as well as a broader definition of sustainable development as a process of change. Chapter 4 examines the field of environmental ethics and argues that constant debates over value distract policy makers from the central question of what morally motivates people to support environmental ethics views. Chapter 5 examines the institution and regime building process, and the conclusion offers three questions to measure our progress.

In an increasingly complex, rapidly changing world, the capacity to cope with, adapt to, and shape change is vital. This thesis investigates how natural resource management can be organized and practiced to nurture this capacity, referred to as resilience, in social-ecological systems. Based on case studies and large-N data sets from UNESCO Biosphere Reserves (BRs) and the UN Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA), it analyzes actors and social processes involved in adaptive co-management on the ground. Papers I &amp; II use Kristianstads Vattenrike BR to analyze the roles of local stewards and bridging organizations. Here, local stewards, e.g. farmers and bird watchers, provide on-site management, detailed, long-term monitoring, and local ecological knowledge, build public support for ecosystem management, and hold unique links to specialized networks. A bridging organization strengthens their initiatives. Building and drawing on multi-level networks, it gathers different types of ecological knowledge, builds moral, political, legal and financial support from institutions and organizations, and identifies windows of opportunity for projects. Paper III synthesizes the MA community-based assessments and points to the importance of bridging organizations, leadership and vision, knowledge networks, institutions nested across scales, enabling policies, and high motivation among actors for adaptive co-management. Paper IV explores learning processes catalyzed by bridging organizations in BRs. 79 of the 148 BRs analyzed bridge local and scientific knowledge in efforts to conserve biodiversity and foster sustainable development, provide learning platforms, support knowledge generation (research, monitoring and experimentation), and frame information and education to target groups. Paper V tests the effects of participation and adaptive co-management in BRs. Local participation is positively linked to local support, successful integration of conservation and development, and effectiveness in achieving developmental goals. Participation of scientists is linked to effectiveness in achieving ‘conventional’ conservation goals and policy-makers enhance the integration of conservation and development. Adaptive co-management, found in 46 BRs, is positively linked to self-evaluated effectiveness in achieving developmental goals, but not at the expense of conservation. The thesis concludes that adaptive collaboration and learning processes can nurture resilience in social-ecological systems. Such processes often need to be catalyzed, supported and protected to survive. Therefore, bridging organizations are crucial in adaptive co-management.

Espaces emblématiques des dynamiques complexes entre l’homme et l’écosystème dans des aires protégées abritant des ressources naturelles commune, les îles Galápagos et le Yasuní en Équateur partagent une histoire de dégradation environnementale, conflits socio-environnementaux et chaos territorial. La présence de biens communs, source d’une rente économique liée à la biodiversité et aux hydrocarbures (Yasuní) attire depuis un demi-siècle les intérêts des industriels du pétrole et du tourisme qui ont systématiquement exercé un poids déterminant sur les décisions en matière d’aménagement et de gestion de ces espaces, influant également sur leur gouvernance. Cette réalité joue à l’encontre de politiques d’aménagement territorial pour les deux espaces, Réserves de la Biosphère de l’UNESCO, depuis des décennies. Les Galápagos et le Yasuní témoignent en même temps de la manière dont les gouvernements équatoriens ont eu recours à une « instrumentation » des politiques pour décider le sort des deux aires protégées. Cette thèse montre comment un problème structurel – l’absence d’une politique d’aménagement territorial – a facilité la mobilisation d’instruments de politique pour administrer les deux réserves naturelles. L’histoire du Yasuní est un exemple éloquent de cette pratique d’instrumentation de politiques. La création du parc en 1979, puis les modifications de ses limites et le découpage de la Réserve de la Biosphère Yasuní, dont le parc est le noyau, ont été tous réalisés par des instruments de politiques. De même, aux Galápagos la puissance publique a opéré ses choix en matière d’accès aux espaces protégés et d’utilisation de leurs ressources, en privilégiant les instruments de politique. La loi spéciale des Galápagos (LOREG) a de facto gouverné l’archipel depuis son entrée en vigueur en 1998. Dans les deux cas, l’absence d’une politique d’aménagement territorial a permis l’adoption de décisions top-down sur l’administration des deux espaces.La «révolution citoyenne» du président Correa, en dépit d’une profonde refonte institutionnelle et d’un nouveau paradigme de développement – le Buen Vivir, ou Sumak Kawsay – ne saura changer la manière d’aménager les espaces des deux aires protégées. La planification est élevée à politique d’État qui prime sur toute autre politique, mais dans cette vision l’aménagement du territoire devient un instrument au service de la planification étatique.Ce travail, conduit dans une perspective interdisciplinaire en utilisant une grille de lecture encore peu explorée (les instruments de politique publique) veut aussi contribuer à de nouvelles pistes de réflexion sur l’action publique en matière d’aménagement du territoire ainsi que sur la gouvernance d’aires protégées riches en ressources naturelles communes<br>Archetypes of the complex interactions between humans and ecosystems in protected areas rich in Common Pool Resources (CPR), the Galapagos Islands and the Yasuní in Ecuador share a history of environment degradation, socio-environmental conflicts and chaotic land development. The abundance of CPR, source of a lucrative rent from biodiversity and crude (in the Yasuní case) have attracted the interests of oil and tourism businesses over the last fifty years. These industries have consistently steered public decisions over the creation, spatial organisation and administration of these natural reserves, additionally affecting their governance, a reality which has hindered the implementation of land-use planning policies for these areas which are two UNESCO MAB Reserves. The Galapagos and Yasuní protected areas are also a powerful example of the peculiar way whereby Ecuador governments over the last five decades have “instrumented” policy making, preferring the use of policy tools to public policies to decide on the two areas’ fate. This thesis shows how a structural problem such as the absence of a land use planning policy, has thrust the practice of policy tools adoption, instead of policy making, to manage the two protected areas. The “revolución ciudadana” led by president Correa succeeded in re-founding State institutions and launching a new development paradigm (Sumak Kawsay or Buen Vivir) however, it did not advance on land-use management related issues particularly regarding the two areas. Correa has placed national planning at the heart of public policy making it the state policy – backed by a powerful bureaucratic structure – but in this process, land use planning is considered as an instrument in support of national planning. This research, carried out under an interdisciplinary perspective, using policy tools as analytical key, wishes to contribute new insights and methods of analysis on public land use planning and management, as well as governance of common pool resources in protected areas

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1991.<br>Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 143-154).

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. 24 March in Johannesburg, South Africa, 2014.<br>The Biosphere Reserve (BR) model of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) reflects a shift towards more socially accountable conservation, setting a basis for improving the relationships between people and their environment. The BR approach of dual ‘conservation’ and ‘sustainable development’ objectives is a long-term perspective that increases people’s ability to sustainably manage environmental resources into the future. By 2013 the MAB Programme had resulted in 621 sites designated globally since first inception in 1976, with 11 of these new listings since 2012. Yet regardless of this global spatial expansion, there are few examples of BRs successfully conforming to the MAB’s full criteria, as the reality of aligning conservation and development goals in this model has typically favoured one over the other, with examples of development objectives fuelling broad-scale landscape transformation and conservation objectives that have ignored socio-economic opportunities. However there are a number of case studies presented herein that have shown considerable success, and this thesis suggests that the potential opportunities inherent in the model may outweigh implementation challenges. This thesis critically reviews the history and evolution of the Programme internationally, and makes recommendations for the future of the MAB Programme. In the South African context, the BR model has been applied to a regional conservation landscape in the north-eastern part of the country. The Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Reserve (K2C) is a long-established land-use mosaic of socio-economic juxtapositions, where nationally important economic sectors and world-renowned protected areas (e.g. the Kruger National Park) neighbour extensive, mostly rural, human populations engaged in informal livelihood practices. These vast settlement expanses are artefacts of the former political system in South Africa, and have been prioritised by the South African National Government for urgent socio-economic upliftment. Given that understanding the underlying land-use mosaic is essential for successful implementation of the BR model in any landscape, this thesis assessed land-cover change across the BR (1993 – 2006 – 2012), through the creation of land-cover classification maps, analysing spatial changes in cover relative to the MAB theoretical aspirations. It focuses on three consolidated land-cover cover classes: Intact Vegetation, Impacted Vegetation and Settlement, that present a graduated scale of land-use intensities across the BR, acting as surrogates for the ‘environmental’ and ‘human utilisation’ aspects of the BR approach. Results indicate that the spatial distribution of land-cover change in K2C bears little regard for the theoretical BR zonation and the relative limitations on ‘use’ that typifies successful BR implementation. The spatial expansion of Settlement cover replaced adjacent Impacted Vegetation, which in turn encroached in original areas of Intact Vegetation cover, increasingly fragmenting Intact Vegetation across K2C. The expansion of Impacted Vegetation has resulted in the spatial consolidation of communal use areas, which has likely serious implications for the long-term sustainability of current harvesting levels. Anecdotal field observations have indicated community responses to these concerns with the formal fencing of rangelands to secure ownership and control access. Losses of Intact vegetation translate spatially into an area >400km2, with observed land-cover changes occurring beyond the transition zone, encroaching into the (fully-protected) core and (partially–protected) buffer zones. The increased rate of landscape change in the recent observation period (2.3%1993-2006 versus 5.7%2006-2012) poses challenges for landscape management, with future predictions of escalating transformation likely to undermine BR sustainability, as well as options for a regionally connected protected area network. Historical landscape trends predict a further 5.1% loss of intact vegetation in the next 6 years (2012 – 2018), yet this may over-estimate the potential for transformation in this landscape. However the possibility of a similar loss over a longer temporal period, i.e. 12 years, is not improbable, with the unprotected matrix landscape of the transition zone having experienced comparable losses since 1993, i.e. 4.17%. K2C has had substantial success with pilot socio-economic projects, and has received formal international recognition for the stakeholder engagement / alignment occurring in the subregion as a result of the BR’s listing here. Given these successes, and the considerable investment in its establishment, it is likely that the BR model here will endure. The results of this thesis contribute to improving implementation success long-term, informing policy and management priorities across the BR. These include contributions to i) a marketing approach for the BR, specifically the importance of a K2C ‘brand’ for enhancing co-operation and strengthening the BR’s regional identity, as well as ii) providing support for land-use planning and decisions related to land-use practices and BR sustainability.

This project describes and evaluates a method of assessing the suitability of 161 farms for inclusion in a biosphere reserve. Farms were chosen as a basic study unit over more ecologically based units because the decision to participate in the biosphere reserve rests with the landowner. The study area is located in northern KwaZulu-Natal, between Hlobane, near Vryheid, and the Itala Nature Reserve where local landowners are exploring the possibility of establishing a biosphere reserve. A brief review of the natural, social and economic contexts is given in order to identify local dynamics relevant to the establishment of a biosphere reserve. Farm suitability for inclusion was assessed with respect to its capability to fulfil the three main roles of a biosphere reserve as defined by the Man and Biosphere Programme of UNESCO. These are conservation, sustainable development and research. Ten factors were identified to determine farm suitability: vegetation, fauna and soil conservation, present land use, agricultural potential, tourism potential, education, settlement density and location. These were prioritised using the Analytical Hierarchy Process according to their impact on the main roles of the biosphere reserve.Each farm was given a factor score according to the expression of that factor on that farm. Overall farm suitability was taken as the sum of the weighted factor scores. The final scores for each farm were grouped into suitability classes and these were mapped. This map was then used to make recommendations on which farms should be considered for inclusion in the reserve. This method of assessing farm suitability for inclusion in a biosphere reserve, involving scoring the factors determining suitability and prioritising these factors was evaluated with respect-to its efficiency in identifying suitable properties. This was achieved by comparing the results of the assessment with the suitability class of farms with known suitability. The conceptual approach to the assessment was reviewed against published guidelines for integrated regional planning and rational resource planning. The accuracy of the project method in correctly identifying suitable farms was assessed against two other simplified methods of assessment, involving no weighting between factors, and a limited number of factors. Based on these analyses, conclusions have been drawn as to the strengths and weaknesses of both the method of farm assessment and the method of evaluation itself Recommendations were made for further research into and development of methods of assessing farm suitability for biosphere reserves. A procedure for the establishment of the proposed Itala Biosphere Reserve was suggested.<br>Thesis (M.Env.Dev.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1997.

Biodiversity loss is a current major environmental problem at a global level. However, given the complexity and interdependency between social-ecological systems, integrated strategies, that combine biodiversity conservation with other environmental and socio-economic goals, are necessary. Biosphere reserves are multifunctional landscapes, designated by UNESCO, that are ideally managed in a participatory way to promote biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. However, despite there are biosphere reserves designated all over the world, their realization has been limited. Research effectiveness has been mainly focused in investigating specific processes or only include the perspectives of experts. This work uses a more holistic approach to investigate the factors that are important for the success of biosphere reserves. Building on a systematic literature review of the scientific literature, I found that factors related with categories context, inputs, processes and outcomes that interact at different scales. Relationships between subcategories were analysed using multivariate statistics, and three groups of papers identified, which are associated with the goals of biosphere reserves: biodiversity conservation, sustainable development and capacity building. There were also identified gaps in the literature, which limit a more comprehensive understanding. In order to determine what lessons for the success of biosphere reserves can be drawn from the implementation of grassroot approaches, a multiple case-study research with 35 semi-structured interviews was conducted in the Paul do Boquilobo Biosphere Reserve, the Janas Ecovillage and Minga Multisector Cooperative. The analysis of how the initiatives started, their governance, management and outcomes allowed to conclude that the initiatives represent different sustainability pathways and to draw recommendations to increase the success of the biosphere reserve. This research provides important contributions for the management of social-ecological systems, including the conservation of biodiversity, and for the success of biosphere reserves: (1) at a conceptual level, the multi-dimensional framework developed allows to identify the trade-offs, synergies and conflicts associated with the management of social-ecological systems; (2) recommendations were developed for the implementation of the MAB Programme, the Paul do Boquilobo Biosphere Reserve, Janas Ecovillage and Minga Multisector Cooperative; and (3) a research agenda is proposed, to contribute to advance inquiry

Climate change is inevitable. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has forewarned the global community of the consequences of unrestrained burning of fossil fuels (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC], 2011, para. 2). Until there is an economically viable source of alternative energy that can meet current and future demands, consumption of fossil fuels will continue to rise unless abated by models of governance that can assure sustainable use (Homer-Dixon &amp; Garrison, 2010, p. 4). Climate change mitigation strategies take place in isolated cases where the resources and capability exist to address it. Biosphere reserves are governed as such. Each biosphere reserve has the ability to include climate change mitigation strategies within their mandates. Can these models of governance be used to demonstrate how to effectively address and mitigate climate change in other systems?

The feasibility of establishing the northeast coast of St. Lucia as a UNESCO-designated Biosphere Reserve was investigated. A Biosphere Reserve is a concept of sustainability that attempts to harmonize development, the welfare of the people, and the maintenance of a healthy ecological system while learning how to manage socio-ecological systems on the ground (UNESCO 1996a). The west coast of the island is heavily concentrated with commercial, tourism, and residential developments while the northeast coast of the island consists largely of dry forest and small, rural communities. The northeast is thus seen as the next frontier for development. However, in contrast to the west coast, conservation and habitat development in the dry forest on the east coast of the island remains possible because large scale tourism development is still in the planning stages there. This research investigates the feasibility of designating the northeast coast of St. Lucia as a Biosphere Reserve as one possible approach to sustainable development especially with regard to biodiversity conservation, tourism, and rural livelihoods. The dry forest is understudied in St. Lucia as are the concepts of sustainable development. The investigation of this study can highlight the sustainability deficiencies that could potentially hinder a biosphere reserve designation. Thus, this research focus and its findings have the potential to address a matter of key concern in St. Lucia’s sustainability planning efforts. Two hundred and fifty individuals participated in interviews and surveys which constituted the potential stakeholder groups of a Biosphere Reserve. They included community members, civil society, government officials, tour operators, tourists, developers, and private land owners. Qualitative analysis within the context of a sustainability framework revealed various themes pertinent to the designation of a Biosphere Reserve. The use of the statistical program NVIVO and Microsoft Excel were employed for such analysis. The results were analyzed using a combined sustainability framework of the Gibson sustainability assessment criteria (Gibson et al 2005) and the ecosystem-based approach (UNESCO 2000) which is promoted by the Conference of Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity (2000). The conceptual framework is the product of conceptualisation prior to the analysis of results as well as having emerged from the analysis as a piece of grounded theory. The sustainability criteria embraces the principles of socio-ecological integrity, precaution and adaption, livelihood sufficiency and opportunity, socio-ecological civility and democratic governance, inter- and intra-generational equity that must be integrated to achieve overall positive benefits towards sustainability (Gibson et al 2005). The ecosystem approach and the sustainability criteria overlap significantly however there are areas where they complement each other. The ecosystem approach espouses adaptive management principles to foster learning within unpredictable socio-ecological systems and promotes decisions that employ precaution but that also lead to better understanding of socio-ecological systems (UNESCO 2005). The ecosystem approach also espouses using economic incentives to protect biodiversity in opposition to market distortions that often undervalue ecosystem services. Major findings of the analysis included the weakness of the development process on the island; its lack of rigorous policies, the absence of a national land use plan and low public participation; all hindrances to sustainable development and to proper environmental management. Attempting to compete internationally while trying to maintain the island’s natural, cultural, and human resources has become an exceedingly difficult challenge and the island has often resorted to the high-density mass tourism route for economic development while the ideal aspiration has been for low-density, environmentally friendly and socio-culturally acceptable tourism. Furthermore, mass tourism impacts negatively on the environment and the majority of the economic benefits are repatriated to the countries of origin. Hence, there seems to be a disconnect between the relevant authorities who have the power to implement acts, laws and plans with the technocrats who prepare those plans and who are involved in research as well as with civil society and the general public who have concerns about the environmental toll and the overall direction of the tourism sector. People need development within their communities and see the dry forest as suitable for large scale development, more than likely of the tourism form. The ecosystems on the northeast coast which include the dry forest, mangroves, beaches, and the marine environment provide considerable ecosystem services to the people and to the island, such as natural hazard regulation, the provision of food, fuel, erosion control, water purification and waste treatment as well as the cultural services of sense of place, inspiration, and recreation. The northeast coast is therefore not yet ready to be designated a Biosphere Reserve as it must overcome certain challenges that impede sustainability. The major arguments point to the need for stronger policies for conservation, land use development, and equitable economic benefits for all from the tourism industry. The resolution of many of these issues lies in the structural changes of governance, constitutional reform, empowering the local citizenry through the building of human and social capital, and the creation of a democracy that is more participatory. Civil society and local governance are very weak within the communities and must therefore be built up in order for people to develop a sense of ownership and control over the development of their surroundings. People must be sensitized and educated about the dry forest as an important ecosystem that needs preservation. These are grand feats that will require a lot of time, vast amounts of effort, and a common vision before the designation of a Biosphere Reserve can be contemplated. Based on the research outcomes a preparatory phase of no less than 10 years to make the northeast coast an area suitable for a Biosphere Reserve is recommended. During this period of time significant gains should be made towards sustainable community economic and social development, environmental education concerning northeast coast ecosystems of the dry forest mangroves, and coastal systems, communities should be educated on Biosphere Reserves, small-scale sustainable tourism should be undertaken as well as other economic development initiatives in other sectors such as agriculture.

Sustainability has been characterized and explored mostly from an environmental standpoint, with relatively less attention paid to social and economic dimensions. Because many sustainability organizations have grown out of the environmental movement, they tend to emphasize environmental priorities and retain many of the organizational strategies that were pioneered when the focus was on environmental conservation. However, to attain a more socially and economically informed environmental practice, broader procedural aspects, including recognition and participation, and substantive aspects, including issues of social need, distribution of wealth, and economic opportunity, need to be addressed as these matters are intimately linked to environmental concerns. In this thesis, I examined sustainability organizations against the concept of ‘just sustainability’, with specific consideration paid to uniting the substantive concerns of sustainability with the procedural concerns of environmental justice. I focused my examination on model forests and UNESCO biosphere reserves located in the Maritime Provinces of Canada, an area of high economic vulnerability and low political power. By looking to governance directives from environmental justice, entrepreneurship, and community development, I conducted a multi-case study analysis with organizations that have a mandate to address the environmental, social and economic imperatives of sustainability. Through engaging these organizations in a comparative learning situation, I was able to achieve the following objectives, to: i) assess the governance strategies used within these organizations against just sustainability theory; ii) understand the challenges faced by place-based organizations and examine strategies to better improve local understanding, community empowerment, as well as sustainability outcomes; and iii) assess the feasibility - conceptually and empirically – of incorporating social entrepreneurship into the governance practices of sustainability organizations to bring together the benefits of both approaches. The findings of this thesis make valuable contributions to the empirical evidence needed to advance our understanding of just sustainability, both conceptually and in practice. Overall, my findings point to the importance of understanding and improving our practice of sustainability governance through identifying and offering examples of innovative governance arrangements that are better able to address procedural and substantive concerns. Findings show that the stakeholder model typically used by biosphere reserves and model forests contributes to systemic challenges that limit procedural justice in these organizations. By looking to other literatures, including community development and social entrepreneurship, and to lessons learned from other place-based organizations, I propose ways to adapt governance strategies to improve community engagement and organizational outcomes, including a framework to inform place-based governance for just sustainability and a “hybrid model” that captures the benefits of stakeholder representation and social enterprise. This study speaks to the need for researchers and practitioners seeking to advance sustainability governance to extend their understanding beyond environmental sustainability to embrace more social dimensions. This thesis demonstrates the value of looking to broad literatures and new models to inform sustainability governance and encourage the adoption of new ways of thinking, new strategies, and new tools to help advance sustainability.

A descriptive case study approach and 34 indicators was used to examine the socio-economic impacts of whale watching tourism in the Laguna San Ignacio (LSI) World Heritage Site - located within the EI Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve in Baja California Sur. Mexico. The framework measured both the socioeconomic changes, and the economic viability of the local and regional operators. This approach led to a detailed understanding of the underlying, and often complex. inter-related factors that shaped the ecotourism development in LSI between 1994 and 2002. It identified strengths and weaknesses of current ecotourism development making it a valid tool for evaluating and improving these activities in any biosphere reserve. More specifically the objectives were to examine: I. How existing ecotourism operations and their activities in the LSI have changed since 1994: 2. Whether these changes have made ecotourism a more viable socio-economic development alternative for the local communities: and 3. Which strategies may be useful in overcoming identified barriers to further socio-economic benefits both from existing and future ecotourism activities The results strongly suggested that the benefits from ecotourism improved significantly between 1994 and 2002. Economically this was reflected in growth of visitor numbers (50%), employment (100%) and local and regional revenue approximately 70% (or 55% in real te011S adjusting for inflation). Social benefits were seen in more cooperation among previous antagonistic stakeholders: a wider distribution of ecotourism benefits; some improvement in living standards and increasing local support for the Reserve. Politically, local stakeholders became more empowered through involvement in tourism related management activities. The viability of the local and regional operators also improved significantly as they became more sophisticated in their product offerings, enhanced their facilities and gained a market share of ecotourism relative to the foreign operators. These improvements were particular true for the operators that sold package tours. However, the analyses also revealed a number of barriers with the most important ones being: Unresolved historic land use conflicts over rights to land with ecotourism possibilities; Lack of activities diversification possibilities outside the tourism season; Stagnating visitor numbers; Uneven business skills among operators: Poor marketing and promotional efforts; Insufficient ecotourism infrastructure: A proposed ecotourism tax; Low profit margin of the ecotourism operators: and Lack of funding for further investments To alleviate these threats and barriers 13 general strategies were identified. An elaboration of these resulted in 39 concrete operational strategies on how potentially to implement them. Keywords: ecotourism evaluation; biosphere reserves, world heritage sites: whale watching, grey whale.<br>Science, Faculty of<br>Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES), Institute for<br>Graduate

A dissertation submitted to the faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Johannesburg 1997<br>South Africa has recently begun a number of conservation Initiatives which link conservation with the development of people This follows a worldwide trend in which it is acknowledged that conservation cannot be undertaker without the participation of local communities who are most affected by the establishment of protected areas The Thukela Biosphere Reserve In KwaZulu/Natal South Africa iS such an Initiative The research provides an assessment of the potential of the TBR to successfully introduce a sustainable land use strategy in the region This assessment is achieved through an investigation of the historical situation as well as local communities perceptions and attitudes toward the TBR and environmental degradation These attitudes are compared to a more scientific analysis of land degradation The research made use of participatory methodologies to assess these perceptions Findings indicate that local Afrrcan communities are intensely aware of environmental degradation in the TBR A number of factors however prevent them from accepting the TBR as an effective land use option These include oppressive historical polices leading[Abbreviated [ Abstract. Open document to view full version]

Parks and protected areas are crucial for the health of the biosphere and long-term sustainability of the planet. However challenges these areas face include: there are simply not enough of them, the existing ones are often too small and fragmented, and there is not always public support for them. Regional parks are specific types of protected areas that can help contribute to conservation and sustainability. The effectiveness of protected areas for conservation can be enhanced through a variety of strategies such as “biosphere reserves”. This research looks at stakeholder perceptions regarding potential benefits of the Mount Arrowsmith Massif Regional Park and the importance of the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Reserve Operating Framework. This study has contributed to the larger Protected Areas and Poverty Reduction (PAPR) research initiative as it discusses the flow of costs and benefits from protected areas and alternate forms of protected area governance.

No âmbito da discussão mundial sobre as questões do meio-ambiente os temas da biodiversidade e do desenvolvimento sustentável têm sido dos mais discutidos e analisados a nível global, em resultado de ambos terem uma forte relação com as questões do desenvolvimento económico. Integrado nesta questão da promoção e defesa da biodiversidade surgem as Reservas da Biosfera, orientadas e divulgadas pela UNESCO (o órgão das Nações Unidas para a ciência, cultura e educação). Partindo desta ideia neste meu trabalho procuro fazer uma abordagem à relação que se estabelece entre a população de uma pequena ilha atlântica, a ilha do Corvo, nos Açores, e um território que foi classificado como área protegida, como Reserva da Biosfera. Um dos objectivos foi também o de definir e delimitar um conjunto de conceitos relacionados, como sejam os de desenvolvimento sustentável, biodiversidade, áreas e reservas protegidas. Passou também por uma abordagem histórica, ainda que sucinta, do que foi o povoamento desta pequena ilha açoriana e tentar perceber de que forma as populações se foram relacionando com o território ao longo dos séculos.

This research focuses on the challenges and opportunities facing local governance agents in advancing an ecosystem approach to conceptualizing and governing community health in Norfolk County, Ontario. Norfolk County is a rural, agriculturally-based community dependent upon tobacco production. This industry has collapsed, triggering widespread socioeconomic impacts and community health pressures. The government is searching for alternative modes of economic development and tensions are high with respect to the direction and nature of these developments. Some citizens are concerned about the security of their rural livelihoods. Others are concerned about ecological integrity. Still others are convinced of the need for aggressive economic growth. Local decision-makers are struggling to meet all of these requirements. An ecosystem approach views health as part of the broader socio-ecological system, recognizing that health outcomes are by-products of complex biophysical, social, political and economic system interactions at nested spatial and temporal scales. The approach contrasts with conventional health models, which tend to be reactionary, narrowly focused, and short-sighted. Such models are typical of the hierarchical, technocratic nature of public administration which renders decision-making structures and processes ill equipped to deal with complex problems. More systemic, integrated, participatory and collaborative approaches to decision-making are needed in order to better address the complexities involved in facilitating healthy and sustainable community development. Additionally, governance agents must also be able to embrace and navigate these evolving approaches to health conceptualization and governance. An investigation into Norfolk County grounds this analysis by revealing the challenges and opportunities facing local governance agents in advancing an ecosystem approach. The case study research effectively tests the utility and feasibility of the ecosystem approach through a qualitative analysis. The research contributes criteria required for advancing an ecosystem approach to community health governance and practice and empirically tests them within the context of Norfolk County.