Sustainable Rural Development and Water Resources Management on a Hilly Landscape: A Case Study of Gonglaoping Community, Taichung, ROC (Chinese Taipei)

The Gonglaoping community is located in Central Western Taiwan, with approximately 700 residents. The hilly landscape contains farmlands and sloping areas with abundant natural resources. Locals rely on the Han River system and seasonal rainfall for water supply for domestic use and irrigation. Uneven rainfall patterns and high demand for water has led to the overuse of groundwater and conflicts among the people. The surrounding natural forests provide important ecosystem services, including wildlife habitats and water conservation, among others; however, overlap with human activities has brought threats to biodiversity conservation. Considering these challenges, locals were determined to transform their community towards sustainability. The Gonglaoping Industrial Development Association (GIDA) and the Soil and Water Conservation Bureau (SWCB) joined hands to initiate the promotion of the Satoyama Initiative, playing catalytic roles in several implementations, such as establishing water management strategies based on mutual trust, rebuilding the masonry landscape, and economic development, forming partnerships with other stakeholders. This multi-stakeholder and co-management platform allowed the community to achieve transformative change, particularly in resolving conflicts of water use, restoring the SEPL, enhancing biodiversity conservation, and developing a self-sustaining economy.Achieving sustainability in a SEPL requires the application of a holistic approach and a multi-sector collaborating (community-government-university) platform. This case demonstrates a practical, effective framework for government authorities, policymakers and other stakeholders in terms of maintaining the integrity of ecosystems. With the final outcome of promoting a vision of co-prosperity, it is a solid example showing a win-win strategy for both the human population and the farmland ecosystem in a hilly landscape.

Degraded Landscape Transformed into Foodland and Woodland by Village Agroforestry

This case study shares the results and lessons learned from agroforestry practices to restore a degraded and abandoned landscape, the production of seedlings of native and endemic tree species for forest restoration, and a trial of autochthones species transplantation at the village level in Madagascar. Awareness-raising and facilitation carried out by the NGO team on landscape changes and their effects on local people’s lives, food and natural resources, were the initial drivers of this process. A farmer led the landscape restoration experimentation by taking part of his poor, degraded land that had been long abandoned, and giving the green light to use it as a ‘farmer field school’. The community decided to keep the other side of the field untouched to enable comparison. Community members learned from each other by periodically sharing experiences. Community capacity-building on family accounting, production and harvest management helped community members to make decisions regarding the choice of crops and landscaping types suited to their needs. The community started to see results from the third year and increased the landscaped areas to boost future production. Some native trees like Harina (Bridelia tuleasneana), a highly preferred tree usually harvested from the rainforest for building materials, adapted very well to the village. The villagers learned to plant them rather than harvest them from the natural forest. The commitment, patience and courage of the community, and their immense pride in what they have achieved, created a cascading effect leading to sustainability.

Transformative Change in Peri-Urban SEPLS and Green Infrastructure Strategies: An Analysis from the Local to the Regional Scales in Galicia (NW Spain)

Transformative change involves the integration of different social dimensions and the involvement of a multiplicity of actors resulting in high levels of complexity. Considering all this, our work addresses the development of green infrastructure (GI) to improve the conservation of biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services from two different approaches and scales: regional and local.From the regional level, a GI strategy was promoted by the regional government of Galicia (NW Spain) through institutional efforts following a multidisciplinary approach including public participation processes. On the other hand, a local, participative perspective is exemplified in the Neighbourhood Association of the Parish of Chapela (Redondela, Galicia), a peri-urban, coastal area where intensive forestry and urban expansion threatens the availability of accessible multifunctional ecosystems for the local communities.Both approaches are indicative of seeds for a transformative change yet to happen. Nevertheless, they differ in their visions, values and goals: the regional level is statutory-oriented and focused on the accomplishment of administrative objectives; the local level is based on the communities’ wellbeing aims and calls-for-action. Differences are also detected in the risks and barriers to transformative processes, from the inertia of administrative procedures to the limitations of local action to face environmental and developmental problems. Exploration of these contrasting perspectives leads to the identification of needs for institutional change, the emergence of new governance systems, and the development of new perspectives for strategic planning and management.

Reconciling Community Livelihood Needs and Biodiversity Conservation in Taita Hills Forests for Improved Livelihoods and Transformational Management of the Landscape

The fragmented forests of Taita Hills form an exceptional multi-functional socio-ecological production landscape with outstanding diversity of flora and fauna that provide ecosystem goods and services supporting human wellbeing and livelihood systems. However, these forests are threatened by illegal logging for wood products and encroachment for crop farming. A study was conducted in villages surrounding five forest fragments to establish the conservation programmes responsible for keeping these forests intact for provision of goods and services to the local communities. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect data from 250 respondents in 25 villages surrounding the five forest fragments. Twenty-five focus group discussions (FGDs) were held with key informants actively involved in conservation activities. Results showed that the Taita community conserves the forest fragments through management practices that integrate livelihood needs in conservation, such as butterfly farming, bee-keeping and ecotourism. Additionally, community tree nurseries have been established to produce seedlings for restoring degraded areas, and agroforestry belts have been established on the forests’ edges to provide wood products and protect the forests from encroachment. Likewise, village committees have been established to oversee conservation activities inside the village jurisdictional area. The integrated conservation and livelihood approach has reduced forest destruction, enhanced landscape connectivity for biodiversity conservation, increased incomes, enhanced capacity of the community to adapt to climate change, improved food security, enhanced carbon storage, strengthened traditional knowledge and practices, and ensured availability of clean water for the local population.

Social-Ecological Transformation Through Planting Mixed Tree Species on Abandoned Agricultural Land in the Hills of Nepal

A project entitled, “Building village economies through climate farming & forest gardening” (BeChange) was implemented in four municipality areas of the Tanahun and Lamjung districts of Nepal from May 2015. In order to assess changes in the social-ecological system that result from this project targeting abandoned agricultural lands, this case study was conducted using various methods: triad grouping, GPS point surveys, household surveys, focus group discussions (FGDs), field observation and reports. A participatory approach in reforestation on abandoned agricultural land with introduction of carbon credits has become a new livelihood strategy for local communities. It has not only attracted domestic and international tourists, but also helped to conserve biodiversity and local ecology. This activity also united village women and indigenous communities as triad groups for collaborative outcomes. A total of 42,138 seedlings of mixed tree species such as Michelia champaca, Elaeocarpus ganitrus, Bassia butyraceae, Bauhinia purpurea, and Cinnamon tamala were planted by 276 families on abandoned agricultural land between May 2015 and July 2018. However, as of 2020, this range has expanded to include 635 families with plantations of more than 65,000 seedlings. The set-up and maintenance of these forest gardens were financed with advanced payments for the carbon sink services of the planted trees. Farmers who succeeded with tree survival rates above 80% received an additional yearly carbon sink payment. The outcomes of the project show significant improvements in food security and tree biodiversity in the project villages. Of the total sampled households, almost half (45%) were under extreme poverty and had food sufficiency for only 3 months/year before the project. With the project, this percentage dropped to 22%, signals the emergence of seeds for transformative change.

Transformative Change Through Ecological Consumption and Production of Ancient Wheat Varieties in Tuscany, Italy

In the 2016 Volume 2 of the Satoyama Initiative Thematic Review (SITR), a summary of the activities of the Grani Antichi Association in Montespertoli, Tuscany, was introduced with a roll out plan for transformative change of the supply chain and possible replication of the project in other regions. The main goal of the project has been to restore and preserve ancient varieties of wheat, cultivate them sustainably and include a form of payment for the least compensated members of the production chain. The aims of the Association are to reduce the carbon footprint of modern agricultural practices and the landslides and soil erosion caused by them, to preserve biodiversity and most importantly, to improve farmers’ revenue, enabling them to safeguard the environment and improve health by cultivating healthy food. The preservation of social ties and local knowledge is an additional result. Markers of the project’s success include benefits that are equally distributed across the production chain, farmers who are motivated to cultivate ancient wheat varieties and the conversion of 500 ha of abandoned or conventionally cultivated land to a more sustainable and biodiverse system. The market economy system in place was dismantled, and farmers now have access to more economic benefits, which must be distributed fairly. Because the project provides a transformative model of production and consumption outside the traditional market economy system, it appears to function with a complete multi-sectoral chain, where producers, food processors and consumers agree on a set price for a defined product. This chapter provides a preliminary analysis of the successes and challenges related to the main project and to upscaling in different areas.

Improvement of Human and Environmental Health Through Waste Management in Antigua and Barbuda

Antigua and Barbuda is currently experiencing an expansion in integrated waste management driven by local community groups. These events are catalytic and transformational, fit well into SEPLS methodologies, and contribute to many of the biodiversity targets and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With waste being a direct driver of and major challenge for biodiversity, climate change and land degradation, many positive multi-dimensional impacts are being seen, realised and manifested that contribute positively to reducing land-based sources of pollution through community stewardship. Such local actions positively impact the sustainable management of natural resources and the protection of habitats. Likewise, they support land degradation neutrality, protection and safeguarding of the ecosystems that provide our soil, air and water resources, sustain livelihoods, and facilitate transfer of knowledge to children and youth.This attempt to pilot a circular economy approach is providing vocational and life skills training, as well as income generation for the local community, including new forms of capacity building and development, while reducing soil, water and air pollution. Public-private partnerships built through this project are motivating other groups to follow a similar path to biodiversity transformation. Changes in attitudes and behaviours, and the building of knowledge and capacities in the next generation, is taking place through school and community outreach programmes.The project has led to community empowerment in understanding that everyone has a role to play in sustainable development and that through collective actions, changes to improve public health can be made.

Long-Term Tracking of Multiple Benefits of Participatory Forest Restoration in Marginal Cultural Landscapes in Himalaya

The literature is abound with references to the potential of indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) for sustainable landscape management, but empirical on-the-ground efforts that demonstrate this potential are still lacking. To identify interventions for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of forest restoration, participatory trials were set out in the Indian Himalaya, where per capita degraded land far exceeds per capita cropped/healthy forest land. Treatments were designed based on pooled indigenous and scientific knowledge taking into account farm-forest-livelihood interactions in cultural landscapes. The multipurpose tree-bamboo-medicinal herb mixed restoration plantation reached a state of economic benefit/cost ratio >1 in the eighth year and recovered 30–50% of flowering plant species and carbon stock in intact forest. The communities maintained but did not expand restoration in the absence of policies addressing their genuine needs and aspirations. Transformative change for sustainable restoration would include (1) nesting restoration in participatory, long-term, adaptive and integrated landscape development programmes, (2) formally involving communities in planning, monitoring, bioprospecting, and financial management, (3) assuring long-term funding but limited to the inputs unaffordable for local people, (4) stimulating the inquisitive minds of local people by enriching ILK and cultural heritage, (5) convincing policymakers to provide the scientific rationale behind policy stands, to support the regular interactions of communities with researchers, traders, and industrialists, to commit to genuine payment for ecosystem services in unambiguous terms at multiple spatial (household, village and village cluster) and temporal (short, medium and long-term) scales, and to support long-term participatory action research for development of “landscape restoration models” in varied socio-ecological scenarios.

Climate Change Resiliency Through Mangrove Conservation: The Case of Alitas Farmers of Infanta, Philippines

Transformation, transition, and paradigm shift are increasingly applied concepts in literature on climate resiliency to describe changes in society and the environment. Here, we considered mangroves to be dynamic socio-ecological systems, subject to increasing anthropogenic pressures that present complex challenges for the design of effective coastal governance. Analysing these systems through a participatory approach, we consulted a community who lives in close relationship with mangroves, the Alitas farmers of Infanta, Quezon Province, Philippines. This community has improved decision-making processes for the development of adaptation strategies to climate change. In turn, a sustainably managed and conserved mangrove forest promotes human well-being and resilience, particularly for those households whose livelihoods are dependent on the resources that mangroves provide. This paper examined the importance of mangrove land management that addresses climate change hazards. We synthesised various perspectives on the importance of mangrove conservation for enhancing climate resiliency by: (1) describing the climate-related hazards that affect local communities and mangroves; (2) describing socio-institutional structures influencing effective mangrove conservation and local resilience; and (3) identifying climate change adaptation strategies that promote local development and mangrove conservation. This paper establishes a collaborative management framework for future risk-resilience management that operates alongside coastal communities within the Philippines and across the global stage.

Introduction

This chapter introduces the idea of transformative change for sustainability and its relevance to the concept and practices of socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes (SEPLS). First, it lays out the context where transformative change has been described as a way of fundamental, system-wide reorganisation of technological, economic and social factors to achieve the global goals of sustainability and nature conservation. Following a literature review, which offers the current state of knowledge concerning transformative change, the chapter discusses how SEPLS management relates to the idea of transformative change. In particular, it highlights the potentials of integrated approaches to managing SEPLS that can result in multiple benefits beyond biodiversity conservation and facilitate transformative change while addressing well-being needs and challenges specific to the local contexts. With this background and conceptual underpinning, the chapter provides the scope and objectives of the book as well as the key questions followed by the case study chapters. Finally, it introduces the organisation of the book and presents an overview of the case studies.