Andrea Berardi

Bridging indigenous and scientific knowledge

Local ecological knowledge must be placed at the center of environmental governance Indigenous land use practices have a fundamental role to play in controlling deforestation and reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Satellite imagery suggests that indigenous lands contribute substantially to maintaining carbon stocks and enhancing biodiversity relative to adjoining territory (1). Many of these sustainable land use practices are born, developed, and successfully implemented by the community without major influence from external stakeholders (2). A prerequisite for such community-owned solutions is indigenous knowledge, which is local and context-specific, transmitted orally or through imitation and demonstration, adaptive to changing environments, collectivized through a shared social memory, and situated within numerous interlinked facets of peoples lives (3). Such local ecological knowledge is increasingly important given the growing global challenges of ecosystem degradation and climate change (4).

Skills at Master's Level in Geography Higher Education: Teaching, Learning and Applying

The perceptions of ‘skills’ at taught Masters level between course directors (teaching of skills), alumni (learning and use of skills) and employers (the skills requirements) were compared within the field of development and environment studies. The findings underline some of the commonalities and discrepancies between what is taught, what is learnt and what is required in terms of skills. The results are discussed in relation to the growing diversity of students doing Masters courses, what constitutes Masters level, benchmark standards and employability. Furthermore, in light of the growing numbers of taught Masters courses, the paper also highlights the lack of pedagogic literature on taught postgraduate level teaching and learning, a need to improve benchmark standards for the teaching of skills at Masters level and support for staff development programmes.

Natural resource management and development discourses in the Caribbean: reflections on the Guyanese and Jamaican experience.

Abstract International discourses on environment and development help to shape global shared understandings of environmental issues. This paper describes the environment and development history of Guyana and Jamaica through pre-colonial, colonial, independence and market liberalisation stages. Two opposing discourses are used to frame this history: a dominant global environmental discourse characterised by technical and ‘scientific’ expertise and hierarchical governance; and a counter-discourse emphasising local control over natural resources. This analysis serves as a first step in surfacing and understanding the highly complex and multifaceted nature of environmental issues in these locations. However, we conclude with the recognition that further work should go beyond a bipolar analysis to one taking a critical, multidimensional approach, in order to promote more sustainable management of natural resources than has previously taken place.

Applying the system viability framework for cross-scalar governance of nested social-ecological systems in the Guiana Shield, South America

Linking and analyzing governance of natural resources at different scales requires the development of a conceptual framework for analyzing social-ecological systems that can be easily applied by a range of stakeholders whose interests lie at different scales, but where the results of the analysis can be compared in a straightforward way. We outline the system viability framework, which allows participants to characterize a range of strategies in response to environment challenges for maintaining the long-term survival of their particular system of interest. Working in the Guiana Shield, South America, and with a range of local, regional, and international stakeholders, our aim was to use system viability to (1) investigate synergies and conflicts between distinct scales of governance, (2) identify scale-related challenges, and (3) test the framework as a conceptual tool for supporting cross-scalar analysis for environmental governance. At the international and national levels, a number of civil society organizations explored system viability indicators that would measure the successful implementation of governance mechanisms relevant to sustainable development and natural resource management. At the local level, we used participatory video and photography within two indigenous territories to enable local participants to identify indicators of viability within community governance systems. A grounded theory approach was then used to identify common themes across the different scales of analysis. Five key themes emerged: land rights, leadership, partnerships, lifestyle, and identity. We found that although most categories of interest were theoretically aligned across scales, all perceived systems of interest were struggling to face up to various cross-scalar challenges undermining different system viability responses. In conclusion, we highlight how the system viability framework can be used with a disparate variety of stakeholders as a practical, participative and “big-picture” approach for facilitating the integrated governance of nested local and regional social-ecological systems.

Skills at Masters’ level in Geography Higher Education: teaching, learning and applying

Abstract The perceptions of ‘skills’ at taught Masters level between course directors (teaching of skills), alumni (learning and use of skills) and employers (the skills requirements) were compared within the field of development and environment. The findings underline the importance of peer learning, both within and outside the class setting, and also some discrepancies between what is taught, what is used and what is required in terms of skills. In light of the growing numbers of taught Masters courses, the paper also highlights the lack of pedagogic literature on taught postgraduate level teaching and learning, and the need for support for staff development programmes.

ASTROMOD: a computer program integrating vegetation dynamics modelling, environmental modelling and spatial data visualisation in Microsoft Excel

Abstract This paper describes the development of a software framework for predicting vegetation change within the Astroni crater, a state nature reserve near Naples, Italy. ASTROMOD (ASTROni MODel), is designed to allow the analysis of environmental and management scenarios in the crater, thus aiding the reserve’s manager in effective decision making. ASTROMOD comprises a vegetation dynamics model developed for forest ecosystems, combined with models of environmental determinants. It integrates a user-friendly interface for visualising spatial data, a parameter database and a series of programming modules within Microsoft Excel. This approach is a significant departure from other spatial biophysical modelling approaches which require costly and complex software tools.

Learning from one another: evaluating the impact of horizontal knowledge exchange for environmental management and governance

There is increasing advocacy for inclusive community-based approaches to environmental management, and growing evidence that involving communities improves the sustainability of social-ecological systems. Most community-based approaches rely on partnerships and knowledge exchange between communities, civil society organizations, and professionals such as practitioners and/or scientists. However, few models have actively integrated more horizontal knowledge exchange from community to community. We reflect on the transferability of community owned solutions between indigenous communities by exploring challenges and achievements of community peer-to-peer knowledge exchange as a way of empowering communities to face up to local environmental and social challenges. Using participatory visual methods, indigenous communities of the North Rupununi (Guyana) identified and documented their community owned solutions through films and photostories. Indigenous researchers from this community then shared their solutions with six other communities that faced similar challenges within Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela, Colombia, French Guiana, and Brazil. They were supported by in-country civil society organizations and academics. We analyzed the impact of the knowledge exchange through interviews, field reports, and observations. Our results show that indigenous community members were significantly more receptive to solutions emerging from, and communicated by, other indigenous peoples, and that this approach was a significant motivating force for galvanizing communities to make changes in their community. We identified a range of enabling factors, such as building capacity for a shared conceptual and technical understanding, that strengthens the exchange between communities and contributes to a lasting impact. With national and international policy-makers mobilizing significant financial resources for biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation, we argue that the promotion of community owned solutions through community peer-to-peer exchange may deliver more long-lasting, socially and ecologically integrated, and investment-effective strategies compared to top-down, expert led, and/or foreign-led initiatives.

Community owned solutions: identifying local best practices for social-ecological sustainability

Policies and actions that come from higher scale structures, such as international bodies and national governments, are not always compatible with the realities and perspectives of smaller scale units including indigenous communities. Yet, it is at this local social-ecological scale that mechanisms and solutions for dealing with unpredictability and change can be increasingly seen emerging from across the world. Although there is a large body of knowledge specifying the conditions necessary to promote local governance of natural resources, there is a parallel need to develop practical methods for operationalizing the evaluation of local social-ecological systems. In this paper, we report on a systemic, participatory, and visual approach for engaging local communities in an exploration of their own social-ecological system. Working with indigenous communities of the North Rupununi, Guyana, this involved using participatory video and photography within a system viability framework to enable local participants to analyze their own situation by defining indicators of successful strategies that were meaningful to them. Participatory multicriteria analysis was then used to arrive at a short list of best practice strategies. We present six best practices and show how they are intimately linked through the themes of indigenous knowledge, local governance and values, and partnerships and networks. We highlight how developing shared narratives of community owned solutions can help communities to plan governance and management of land and resource systems, while reinforcing sustainable practices by discussing and showcasing them within communities, and by engendering a sense of pride in local solutions.

Capacity building for adaptive management: a problem-based learning approach

As natural-resource issues become more complex, particularly in developing-world contexts, there is a growing need for adaptive management solutions. However, the skills necessary to deal with these increasingly complex situations are not always present in many low-income countries. There is also a growing recognition that many capacity-building activities are limited in their effectiveness. This article suggests a problem-based learning (PBL) approach to capacity building. Using the example of training courses developed to help natural-resource management in Guyana, this article illustrates how PBL can help to enhance the capabilities needed for adaptive management.

Indigenous identity and environmental governance in Guyana, South America

In an era of increasing access to digital technologies, Indigenous communities are progressively more able to present sophisticated and differentiated narratives in order to maximise their long-term survival. In this article, we explore how Indigenous communities use participatory video and participatory photography as tools of Indigenous media to enhance, adapt and/or reinforce their collective social memory. This social memory is key for identity formation and self-representation, and the ways in which Indigenous representations are performed promote particular interests and worldviews to the local, national and global scales. Working with the Makushi and Wapishana communities of the North Rupununi, Guyana, the current social memory ‘in use’ was surfaced through the participatory video and photography process led by the Indigenous community. Through an iterative process of analysing images (photos and video clips) and text (written material, narration and spoken word), we identified key narratives of the communities’ social memory. We show how communities provide different messages to different actors through the way they use participatory video and participatory photography, revealing how self-conscious multiple identities shape differing purposes. We suggest that our ability, as non-Indigenous stakeholders, to perceive, appreciate and act upon these more complex and nuanced narratives is critical to help address environmental governance in a rapidly changing social–ecological context.