Buddhist-Led Rural Community Rebuilding in the Republic of Korea from the Indra’s Net Perspective

This paper zeros in on Buddhist-led community rebuilding with a special reference to Sannae District in Namwon, Jeonbuk Province in the Republic of Korea (South Korea). Until the 1990s, the district witnessed the traditional sense of community rapidly disappearing along with tidal rural-urban migration and agricultural industrialisation. Since the late 1990s, Silsang-sa, an about 1200-year-old Buddhist monastery located in the rural district, has strived to help revitalise the rural community. Reverend Tobŏp, the head monk of the monastery, brought attention to the overarching Buddhist doctrines of ‘dependent arising’ and ‘Indra’s Net’ that every phenomenon arises only in relation to others. To start with, in 1998 Reverend Tobŏp set up an organic agriculture training camp on Silsang-sa Farm for prospective rural migrants. In 2001, he established Silsang-sa Small School, which is an alternative secondary school with Buddhist ecology and economics included in the curriculum. Owing to increasing in-migration, Sannae District has gradually evolved into a socially and economically vibrant and sustainable community in which a variety of social clubs and commercial cooperatives have burgeoned.

Post-War Cultural Heritage Preservation in Kosovo: Rethinking the Implementation of Ahtisaari Plan Annex V

Current works have focused on the role of urban heritage to sustainable development in postwar cities and have highlighted the significance of participatory and inclusive approaches that involve citizens and key stakeholders in the conservation and regeneration of heritage areas. However, this task is rather complex and challenging, especially in areas inhabited by multiple ethnic groups. Skills in negotiation and building trust are as important as skills in restoration and conservation of the physical fabric. However, the current literature lacks in-depth understandings of how negotiations in these contexts work and what we can learn from the past. The aim of this paper is to explore this issue by using a case study analysis, in particular, that of Kosovo. This paper looks at how the process developed during the implementation period of Annex V of the Comprehensive Proposal for the Kosovo Status Settlement (CSP) related to cultural heritage preservation. We analyze the sociocultural and political dynamics on the ground by focusing on Article 4 that deals with protective zones. With a critical examination of the approaches taken by stakeholders, including the public discourse and the example of the historic centre of Prizren, we suggest rethinking the implementation of Annex V as a sustainable option, rather than looking at other (beyond Annex V) alternatives that could potentially undermine the inter-community rebuilding efforts, and instead of creating the basis for sustainable cultural heritage preservation and reconciliation would eventually contribute to escalation and deepening of the conflict.

Community size spectra provide indicators of ecosystem recovery on the Newfoundland and Labrador shelf

Species- and size-selective overexploitation often have ecosystem-wide impacts that are evident in community size spectra. To both derive potential ecosystem targets for community rebuilding and assess contemporary indicators relative to these targets, we constructed theoretical size spectra to predict pristine biomass densities using a combination of species- and size-specific nitrogen stable isotope signatures and a range of trophic efficiencies and primary productivity estimates within and among 3 sub-regions of the Newfoundland and Labrador shelf. Theoretical size spectra were compared to empirically derived size spectra using trawl survey data. The descending slopes of the empirically determined size spectra were between 1.25 and 2.42 times steeper than the theoretical slopes. The percentage of the theoretical distribution represented by the empirical size structure ranged between 1.1 and 29.4%, with the closest and furthest estimates associated with the smallest- and largest-sized fishes, respectively, and strongly influenced by estimates of trophic efficiency and primary productivity. Regional variation was also observed, with southern regions reaching 1.3-32.3% of the theoretical biomass density and the northernmost region reaching only 0-8.3%. Importantly, the descending slopes varied depending on fish size, with biomass density of larger sizes decreasing faster than that of smaller sizes. Variations among sub-regions and fish guilds were also observed. These analyses provide a means to derive potential ecosystem targets and indicators through which recovery of fish communities can be monitored and assessed.

Older people and placemaking in post-disaster community rebuilding: An interdisciplinary action research in Sichuan, China

It is well known that China’s population is aging, more rapidly than almost any country in recent history. In 2018, 1.67 billion or 11.9% of the population was aged 65 or older ( China Daily, 2019 ). The effect of an aging population trend is not usually represented positively—“elderly as a burden”—whether in China or elsewhere. However, our action research project of post-disaster community rebuilding in Ya’an in Sichuan Province, China challenges this mainstream discourse of elderly people. In the process, we discovered the power of the elderly who did not passively accept external assistance following the earthquake, but actively participated in rebuilding their community. They were valuable human/cultural assets and able to make a great contribution to community development. This article provides an account of interdisciplinary action research in which social workers collaborated with elderly villagers to promote sustainable community development by integrating people’s social, cultural, and economic skills into long-term reconstruction following a major disaster. Most importantly, it emphasizes the contribution of older people and challenges the dominant discourse relating to older people.

Spirituality and beliefs of Colombian internal conflict survivors

Remarkable stories of resilience and forgiveness have been reported in the wake of the internationally recognised peace process in Colombia. From the perspective of Christian spirituality, this study seeks to understand the individual and communal values, beliefs and practices that made the reconciliation and restoration of a community possible after severe dislocation and violence, some of it of neighbour against neighbour. Interviews conducted in the field (in San Carlos, Antioquia, Colombia) and transcribed by the author were used as texts. Transcripts were studied taking into account cultural, geographic and historical contexts. I found that a deeply rooted family- and community-based Catholic culture, brought by the Spanish in the 16th century and continuing to influence this rural area, offered values, beliefs and devotional practices that gave meaning, strength and empowered the ability to forgive. Also, psychological and pastoral tools for grieving, together with sociological and political values about reconciliation and the rebuilding of a community’s fabric, intertwined with the religious values to deepen the capacity for reconciliation and community rebuilding. The experiences of these interviewees reveal a form of Christian spirituality lived through family and community ties that was augmented and empowered by values and practices of non-religious institutions, making possible significant personal and communal journeys of transformation and the concomitant remarkable resilience.

THE QUEST FOR DEVELOPMENT TRANSFORMATION IN NORTHERN UGANDA

This paper discusses the dynamics of development agencies’ support to conflict-affected northern Uganda in the period between 2006 and 2012, and its implications for post-conflict recovery and development. The study utilizes a mainly qualitative approach incorporating in-depth interviews with key informants, focus group discussions and secondary data review. Data was analyzed thematically using template analysis methods. Findings show that, at the height of the northern Uganda conflict between the year 2001 and 2006, the region was a beehive of ‘development agencies’ activities, with scores of development agencies supporting the affected communities. These agencies (including the UN agencies, civil society organizations and even private sector agencies complemented government efforts in the resettlement and reintegration process for communities affected by the conflict. Yet queries remain. For example, have the interventions been done right and conceived within the right assumptions? This paper, therefore, analyses the trends and dynamics of both state and non-state actors’ interventions within northern Uganda,especially the post-2006 period. It is posited that donor priorities, interests and preferences other than government and non–state actors’ interventions and situation of the target groups seem to be the driving force behind programme planning, funding and implementation. This revelation presents important lessons and experiences to actors and social planners working in the area of post-conflict development and reconstruction. The main lesson drawn from this study is that government and indigenous agencies should proactively take the initiative in community rebuilding process and not extensively rely on foreign donors.

Community rebuilding processes in a disaster-damaged area through community currency

Purpose Community currency (CC) is used as a tool for reviving local communities by promoting economic growth and facilitating the formation of social capital. Although the Japanese CC movement has stagnated since mid-2005, a new experiment, Fukkou Ouen Chiiki Tsuka (CC for supporting disaster recovery), was introduced across disaster-damaged areas after the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami of March 2011. Previous studies assessing the role of CC in these earthquake-damaged areas are rare; the purpose of this paper is to examine the micro processes of community rebuilding that underlie the transactional networks mediated by one of the experiments, Domo, in Kamaishi. Design/methodology/approach Using transactional records capturing residents’ CC activities during the five-month pilot period before actual implementation of Domo simultaneous investigation for empirical network analysis techniques identify the network configuration dynamics representing the multiple observed forms of social capital in this disaster-affected local community. Findings This study of the five-month pilot for the Domo system revealed: intensive dependence on the coordinating role of core members (i.e. the creation of weak ties), a lack of balanced support among members and the resulting uni-directional transactions (i.e. the avoidance of generalized exchanges), and the reinforcement of previous transactional ties via reciprocation or transitive triads (i.e. the formation of strong ties). Originality/value This study provides guidance for practitioners, researchers, and policy makers on how community residents’ engagement in CC activities could function as a potential tool for generating positive socio-economic effects for local communities in disaster areas.