ID75: Transformational adaptation of social-ecological mountain systems

Abstract ID 603 | Date: 2022-09-13 10:08 – 10:16 | Type: Oral Presentation | Place: THEOLOGIE – Madonnensaal |

Peng, Heng

As the main part of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, the systematic study of Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) ecological environment has always been a hot and important topic. In the process of interaction with nature, the Tibetan people have formed a special comprehensive system of the relationship between human and nature, namely life system, livelihood system and ecosystem. These three systems are in an interactive triangular relationship, which are interrelated, restricted and integrated as a whole. The life system is related to traditional ideas and lifestyle, the livelihood system is related to economy, and the ecosystem is related to environmental security, which are connected by energy in the mountain region of TAR. The relationship between human and nature continues to change with the interaction of the three systems. Taking the case of middle altitude village in the valley region along the Yarlung Zangbo, Lhasa and Nyangqu Rivers in TAR as an example. This study explores the interaction between human and nature in the densely populated area of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau from the perspective of local deities’ system. It is found that it is a relatively closed valley region with clear boundaries, the geographical unit enables the interaction and operation of the three systems of life, livelihood and ecology. Furthermore, energy is the key to connect life system, livelihood system and ecosystem in the valley region. For example, the use of cypress smoke makes people connect with deities, and people make wishes for a better livelihood through smoke sacrifice, thus the use of cypress, smoke and wish forms an interactive mechanism of life, livelihood and ecosystem. Overall, when the three systems are in a good interactive state, the overall system of valley region will achieve sustainable development.

Abstract ID 580 | Date: 2022-09-13 10:16 – 10:24 | Type: Oral Presentation | Place: THEOLOGIE – Madonnensaal |

Pandit, Sushila

Climate change affect the most marginalized, fragmented and fragile ecosystems like mountain the most. The changing climate has a double sword effect to the mountain communities where the vulnerability of geography had been topped up with the climate vulnerability. Yet, the voices of the mountain people and their traditional practices and knowledge is unheard of , thus the main aim of designing this paper is to look at participation based policy formulation and how the link is been developed between the people with policies and whether or not it strengthen the voices of vulnerable at multiple levels. Apart from participation another major thing to understand from the paper is how policies address the autonomous adaptation practices, indigenous and traditional knowledge and practices in the legal systems and documents. For this analysis 3 countries in the eastern Himalaya is selected namely eastern Nepal, north east India and Bhutan. The method for analysis is will qualitative and snowball sampling method will be used. The primary data will be obtained from KII, FGD and field observation through semi structured exploratory interview and most part of the research will be based on secondary resources like national, regional plans and policies in climate adaptation of these three countries.

The preliminary understanding of the status of the 3 countries was assessed through a content analysis of NDCs submitted to UNFCCC where we assessed the two parameters, one is the inclusion of adaptation component in NDCs and the other is about the participation of different non state actors (diverse group of people and knowledge) in planning and implementation process of NDCs. It comes that public participation and consultation with public was well established in Nepal compared to other 2 countries along with the diverse group of people participated including local, indigenous, women. Ethnic minorities are missing in all 3 countries. In context of Adaptation although Nepal and Bhutan are Himalaya countries they haven’t explicitly mentioned about the mountain/Himalayan adaptation whereas India only have a small unit of Himalaya but had devoted a separate section on Himalayan ecosystem. India in other hand has also highlighted the importance and use of traditional/indigenous, local knowledge to deal with changing climate. The people’s participation and engagement will help develop a sustainable and transformative adaptation action in longer run through embedding these principles in national and international plans and policies.

Abstract ID 289 | Date: 2022-09-13 10:24 – 10:32 | Type: Oral Presentation | Place: THEOLOGIE – Madonnensaal |

Sarmiento, Fausto (1); Rodríguez, Jack (2); Yepez, Alden (3)

Forest transformation modified the Quijos’ ancient mountainscapes in three ways: scientific approximation, entrepreneurial investing, and community engagement. We concentrate the study in the Cumandá Protected Forest reserve as exemplar in the Quijos valley. Our objective is to understand forest transition trends and prospects of sustainability by answering qualitative research questions of impact on cloud forest vegetation from a socioecological standpoint. We used ethnographic work, personal interviews, surveys to the community, and queries to authorities; our qualitative methods included critical discourse analyses, onomastic interpretation, and matrix comparison for ecological legacies, focused on three sectors of the economy that we posit impacted these forests, all indicative of a more competitive, globalized framework: forest tourism, retreating forest frontier, and mining forested watersheds. We found that these sectors also helped alleviate poverty in local communities so that ecotourism, non-traditional forest product harvest, and subsistence mining of water could become stewards, despite the fact that such a nuanced approach has not yet been fully implemented by local governments. We conclude that Hostería Cumandá promotes new conservation narratives in positive ways, since it fuels grassroots organizations to incorporate nature conservation into restoration ecology efforts, provides studies on mountain forest species of concern in the area, generates local employment, and converts a transitory, ephemeral attraction into an international tourism destination.

Abstract ID 706 | Date: 2022-09-13 10:32 – 10:40 | Type: Oral Presentation | Place: THEOLOGIE – Madonnensaal |

Jiménez-Restrepo, Diana I. (1); Tobón, Conrado (2); Vargas, Orlando (3); Ungar, Paula (4); Hofstede, Robert (5); Y. Bader, Maaike (1)

One of the greatest values of tropical high mountains lies in their enormous biological and cultural diversity. In the Colombian high Andes, the most common land-use types include livestock grazing, agriculture (potatoes, onions, vegetables), plantations of exotic tree species (eucalyptus, pine, acacia), as well as mining in some regions. Unfortunately, many current land-use practices threaten the integrity of the high-elevation ecosystems and the services they provide. It is estimated that Andean forests in Colombia occupy less than 50% of their former area and that 38% of the natural grassland and shrubland above the forest line (páramo) have been replaced by pastures, crops and exotic plantations. Many of these areas face problems related to soil degradation, changes in their hydrological regimes, and pollution, with a considerably reduction in biodiversity. To counteract these problems, a range of actors, including local communities, public agencies, environmental NGOs and research institutions have initiated ecological restoration projects aiming at improving the ecological functions of degraded areas and recover the physical and ecological characteristics of these montane ecosystems. Many of these are small-scale initiatives with local aims, but larger-scale efforts also exist, e.g. aimed at safeguarding regional water supplies. Such projects, both small and large, are examples of Nature-Based Solutions, i.e. human interventions based on the dynamics of the natural system, such as ecological succession. Some of these restoration projects also aim at provide livelihood benefits for the local people and, purposely or as a side effect, influence social interactions, governance structures, and people´s perception of their environment. In this research project, we focus on organizational structures of ecological restoration initiatives in the Colombian high mountains and relate these to the restoration objectives, implemented strategies, monitoring schemes and their effects on ecosystem structure and social change in local communities. Working closely with a range of projects, and fostering direct knowledge exchange between their stakeholders, we aim to gain a better understanding of the driving forces and knowledge dynamics leading to variation in the effectiveness of restoration projects. Preliminary results show geographical distribution and the diversity in goals and methods of ecological restoration projects in the high mountains of Colombia.

Abstract ID 303 | Date: 2022-09-13 10:40 – 10:48 | Type: Oral Presentation | Place: THEOLOGIE – Madonnensaal |

Bhattacharya, Sayan

The Eastern Himalayas in India demonstrates diverse ecological characters in its varied range of flora and fauna. The local communities also form an integral part of the ecological landscape; deriving various services from the forest and mountain ecosystems. Many scattered hamlets are found in this zone and some of them are proximate to the forests enriched with endemic biodiversity. Wholesale (27^o1’59” N, 88^o51’45″E) is a small village situated in Kalimpong district, India and is proximate to Neora Valley National Park and Gorumara National Park. The village has 98 houses with a total population of 451 inhabitants. The village is one of the newest tourist destinations in the Eastern Himalayas. Wholesale village has extensive coverage of Cinchona plantation and is a part of Dalagaon division of Rongo cinchona plantation in West Bengal, established in 1938. A detail survey of the village was done in April, 2019 to explore the socio-environmental and socio-ecological dynamics of the landscape. Structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews supplemented by field notes were arranged to collect data from the village. There was particular focus on agriculture, livestock management, traditional water management, waste management, disaster management, biodiversity and ecosystem services. The development of ecotourism was analysed through the number of homestays, modes of communication and promotion, tourist inflow data and ecotourism activities (trekking, bird watching, camping, rafting, cultural visits etc.). Biodiversity of the region was documented by visiting the forest areas in Neora Valley National Park and Gorumara National Park; possible threats to biodiversity were documented. Management strategies were suggested for conservation of forest biodiversity and sustainable development of the village areas. Coexistence of ecotourism and conservation measures can have significant impact on the sustainable development in the transboundary Himalayan landscapes. Detailed study is needed in the Eastern Himalayan villages to explore the socio-ecological dynamics in the context of climate change.

Abstract ID 606 | Date: 2022-09-13 10:48 – 10:56 | Type: Oral Presentation | Place: THEOLOGIE – Madonnensaal |

Lillo-Saavedra, Mario (1); Velásquez C, Pablo (1); Rivera, Diego (2); Somos-Valenzuela, Marcelo (3,4); Gonzalo, Consuelo (5); García, Angel (5); Fernández, Alfonso (6); Huaico, Ana (6); Jaque, Edilia (6)

While conflicts on water management have become a social value issue they still lack solid conceptual and operational formulations, while possible solutions to the challenges it poses are difficult to judge and compare objectively.
New solution approaches to water management must go beyond the static comparison between water supply and water demand. We must develop a solid understanding of the social behavior and the complexities of the interactions between users and between users and water resources, to develop transdisciplinary approaches to address these challenges. Chile represents a poster child of these complexities, as multiple sources of water from mountains (snow, ice, groundwater, etc.) sustain practically all social and economic activities amid increasingly polarized views on water management. Integrated water resources management (IWRM) has been presented as a necessary strategy to overcome current problems in Chilean water systems. However, developing a successful IWRM requires new approaches, methodologies, and tools to generate and characterize future water scenarios involving all parts (agents). These forecasting tools facilitate preparedness before potential conflicts regarding the different dimensions involved in water resources management and use, that are in constant tension -future water conflicts-.
Several authors have made efforts to develop computational algorithms to provide operational support for these water management multidimensional approaches. In general, these approaches seek to be collaborative at the basin scale and focus on adaptive management. They are challenging to implement under low-certainty and long-term control conditions which characterize large river basins.
In this work, we present a new framework using Agent-Based Modeling (ABM) as a tool to support for modeling of socio-hydrological systems. ABMs allow performing Spatio-temporal simulations, iteratively assessing and executing the behavior rules and updates of the constituting parts to assess the future water conflicts.
Our long-term goal is to develop socio-technological strategies to cope with water futures using the synthesis of qualitative and quantitative information in a socio-hydrological framework. The main goal of this work is to assess future water conflicts at a basin-scale using Socio-Hydrological Agent-Based Modeling. This objective is based on a fundamental hypothesis: SHABM, which considers the interaction between multiple dimensions -social, economic, political, and environmental-, allows assessment and compare future water conflicts arising from different socio-hydrological scenarios.
The main scientific contribution is to develop a framework to address the future of water in a transdisciplinary, combining diverse forms of knowledge with a focus on the complexities of socio-hydrological systems.

Abstract ID 843 | Date: 2022-09-13 10:56 – 11:04 | Type: Oral Presentation | Place: THEOLOGIE – Madonnensaal |

Lama O’Gorman, Tshering T.

Climate change adaptation programs need to attend to the disproportional and differential impacts caused by climate change within a society due to the processes by which social inequalities are maintained. In the mountainous country of Nepal, social inequalities exist that are based on historical power, caste, ethnicity and gender, among other factors. Research indicates that changes in climate have higher impacts for the poor in Nepal who live on vulnerable sites and own fewer assets. My research will consider in Nepal’s context, whether climate change policies and adaptation interventions reproduce rather than address the social, cultural and political structures that have historically marginalized and deprioritized some groups. It will question whether these then exacerbate vulnerability to climate change, rather than reducing it.

Climate policies in developing countries such as Nepal, are heavily influenced by international actors and their world views through which aid and technical assistance are provided. My reserach uses an approach that is founded on environmental justice concerns, to explore through discourse analysis, the underlying world views, processes and associated power relations that have led to the emergence of climate governance in Nepal. It will scrutinize how climate change knowledge is received and interpreted in the Nepalese context and appraise whether climate governance in the country addresses environmental justice concerns. The research will seek to better understand and contest how some places have become the focus for climate change response in the country while others are deprioritized. It will explore opportunities to realise and articulate alternative and local forms of climate response. My research contends that it is necessary to include these perspectives into the climate change discourse to develop a politics and ethics that connects environmental justice concerns to climate governance that will serve all, particularly those who have contributed nothing but are hardest hit by global warming.

Abstract ID 598 | Date: 2022-09-13 11:04 – 11:12 | Type: Oral Presentation | Place: THEOLOGIE – Madonnensaal |

Klingler, Michael (1); Politor, Hannah (1); Kister, Jutta (2); Schleyer, Christian (2); Gaube, Veronika (1)

The call for new modes of knowledge production has significantly affected the research practice in the field of sustainability transitions in mountain regions. However, the increased emergence of interactive, participatory, and transdisciplinary research approaches has revealed not only effective interactions to solve complex sustainability challenges, but also contradictions and pitfalls. Particularly approaches promoting the co-production of knowledge multiply the diversity of interests and perspectives, which require constant reflection on the requirement for researcher-stakeholder engagement, but also on the ultimate purpose of co-production for science-based pathways.

We reflect on our science-practice-experiences gained in the Horizon 2020 Innovation Action funded InnoForESt project (2017-2020). The project’s goal was to establish new knowledge and to explore the feasibility of novel technologies, services and solutions to spark a transformation of the European forest sector. As a science-practice-mixed author group, we evaluate from a post-project perspective in particular the potential of knowledge exchange and co-production processes for governance innovations in forest-wood value chains in Upper Austria. The empirical and analytical work focuses on specific stakeholder constellations and types of knowledge co-production established to support a collaborative network for transformative adaptation of social-ecological systems. We analyse a variety of project strategies and tools, and evaluate their implementation in relation to four principles of knowledge co-production: (1) context-based, (2) pluralistic, (3) goal-oriented, and (4) interactive.