This paper assesses the vulnerability of Arctic fishing communities. We hypothesise that climate change related trends, such as increasing temperature and altered seasonality, and shocks, such as the breakdown of the Soviet Union or new fishing regulations, increase vulnerability of local Arctic peoples and compromise the sustainability of their livelihoods. Research shows that over recent decades local people have observed environmental changes and a significant decrease in the number of fish caught. Fishing regulations introduced after the collapse of the Soviet Union burdened fishers with quotas and temporal limitations that have hindered their fishing activities. While the adaptability of traditional fishing techniques to seasonally changing conditions might indicate the potential to adapt to future conditions under climate change, fishing regulations appear to limit this potential to adapt.

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Open access article: please credit the authors and the full source.With the increasing emergence of renewable energy sites in Switzerland, new impacts on the landscape can be observed. Above the Alpine village of Bellwald, a pilot project testing avalanche barriers as a possible site for photovoltaic installations was inaugurated in 2012. This study focused on social aspects of the project and asked questions about local residents' and tourists' perceptions of and attitudes toward the installations. Its findings reveal that the new elements are not perceived as a drastic intrusion into the landscape, because the view was already affected by the avalanche barriers, which are accepted because of their vital protective function. No significant difference was found between residents' and tourists' evaluation of the new photovoltaic installations. However, different factors influenced the perceptions of these 2 groups. In both groups, conceptions related to place played an important role in the evaluation of possible photovoltaic sites.

Alpine landscapes arouse emotions and yearnings: feelings of belonging, freedom, or holidays. Images and notions about Alpine landscapes not only influence landscape experiences, they also play an important role in decision-making processes and conflict mitigation. Different stakeholders-ie locals, tourists, tourist entrepreneurs, politicians, farmers, hunters, etc-regard Alpine landscapes with different eyes, yet there are also connecting elements: these are referred to in tourism marketing and in political dialogue. The present article develops a conceptual model landscape perception consisting of 4 poles-'nature' and 'culture' as well as 'individual' and 'society'-that contributes to a better understanding of the meanings that landscapes have for different people. The model helps to find existing commonalities among stakeholders and overcome obstacles. It is exemplified by 6 dimensions with distinct foci on landscapes through which researchers look at Alpine landscapes. The article concludes with recommendations for ethical landscape development practice and policy.

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Biochar has been proposed as a technology to mitigate climate change as well as improving soil fertility, energy production, and organic waste treatment. However, the implementation of such techniques in existing cropping systems requires knowledge about potential adaptation barriers. These adaptation barriers are only partly dependent on expected benefits but are deeply embedded in the place-specific settings and livelihood practices of agricultural communities. An integration of adaptation barriers in the development of biochar system designs has the potential not only to facilitate farmer's decision but also to enhance community resilience and reduce their vulnerability. We propose a holistic methodology that considers communities as socialecological systems. We applied this approach to agricultural communities in two villages with different cropping systems in South India. First, we modeled the social-ecological system of each village, based on qualitative interviews with local farmers, using cognitive mapping. Second, we tested the implementation scenarios of two types of biochar system designs (small-/largescale) and a worst-case failure scenario, which were developed by triangulating theoretical information from literature review with information from qualitative interviews and focus groups. Third, we analyzed the outcome on the resilience and vulnerability of the social-ecological systems to define the place-specific adaptation barriers. We were able to successfully capture for the first time the adaptation barriers of two communities concerning a biochar system implementation. We could show that sustainable biochar system designs not only differ depending on site but also demonstrate particularly the relevance of procedural processes independent of site, such as maintenance of autonomy, provision of participation in planning, or promotion of farmers' cooperatives with regional industries. We are certain that this approach could be used for the setting up of future biochar systems or novel technology in general not only in tropical regions but elsewhere.

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Indigenous hunting communities around the world possess capabilities to accumulate and maintain knowledge based on their traditional practices, cultural norms, and belief systems. Case studies around the world have demonstrated that merging indigenous hunting knowledge with community-based conservation approaches is often complementary to biodiversity conservation. A combination of such approaches improves wildlife conservation practices and livelihood strategies while enhancing communities' social-ecological resilience. However, if mismanaged, such approaches lead to negative results in the community, such as an increased exposure/vulnerability to corruption, power inequality among interest groups, as well as mismanagement of wildlife species. We explore the existence of hunting-specific traditional ecological knowledge and the contribution of such knowledge to wildlife management in the case of community-based conservation in Tajikistan. We reviewed hunting-related literature from 1850 to 1950, conducted interviews, and accompanied hunters in the field to document their ecological knowledge of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO), also known as the Pamir region of Tajikistan. Throughout our research, we found that there exists a rich body of hunter-specific ecological knowledge of hunting norms, ethics, taboos, and belief systems in the Pamir region of Tajikistan. Traditional hunters largely accepted a community-based conservation approach because it resonates with their subsistence hunting practices. Also, combining traditional hunter knowledge with a community-based conservation approach created an opportunity for knowledge sharing, improved the quality of scientific wildlife surveys, and led to better collaboration among conservancies and other conservation NGOs. More importantly, such approaches empowered and incentivized local traditional hunters to take responsibility for wildlife management.