Transdisciplinary research (TDR) aims at identifying implementable solutions to difficult sustainability problems and at fostering social learning. It requires a well-managed collaboration among multidisciplinary scientists and multisectoral stakeholders. Performing TDR is challenging, particularly for foreign researchers working in countries with different institutional and socio-cultural conditions. There is a need to synthesize and share experience among researchers as well as practitioners regarding how TDR can be conducted under specific contexts. In this paper, we aim to evaluate and synthesize our unique experience in conducting TDR projects in Asia. We applied guiding principles of TDR to conduct a formative evaluation of four consortium projects on sustainable land and water management in China, the Philippines, and Vietnam. In all projects, local political conditions restricted the set of stakeholders that could be involved in the research processes. The set of involved stakeholders was also affected by the fact that stakeholders in most cases only participate if they belong to the personal network of the project leaders. Language barriers hampered effective communication between foreign researchers and stakeholders in all projects and thus knowledge integration. The TDR approach and its specific methods were adapted to respond to the specific cultural, social, and political conditions in the research areas, also with the aim to promote trust and interest of the stakeholders throughout the project. Additionally, various measures were implemented to promote collaboration among disciplinary scientists. Based on lessons learned, we provide specific recommendations for the design and implementation of TDR projects in particular in Asia.
More than 90% of the global natural rubber production originates from monoculture plantations in tropical Asia, especially from countries forming the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). Rubber cultivation is expected to further increase strongly in the near future, particularly at the expense of natural forests, and is accompanied by various problems and threats to farmers and the environment. Implications on carbon balance and hydrological conditions as well as socio-economic consequences referring to the situation in the GMS are reviewed. Results indicate considerable changes in ecosystem functions and services at different spatial and temporal scales with impacts on carbon stocks and sequestration, water quality and quantity, runoff and soil erosion. The long-term dependency on rubber as a single crop affects the socio-economic conditions and livelihood of the farmers and exposes them to economic and ecological hazards. Solutions for these interrelated problems require the development of alternative land-use systems and safeguarding important ecosystem functions and services on the one hand as well as providing economic viability on the other. Common suggestions include crop diversification and improved plantation management on the farm scale, and alternative land-use strategies including conservation and restoration of forest on the landscape scale. Successful implementation of more sustainable concepts is only feasible within a socio-economic framework, involving farmers and political decision-makers in the conceptualization process and the identification of trade-offs between ecological requirements and economic feasibility.
India ranks first among the rainfed agricultural countries in the world. The impact of changing climate threatens rainfed food production as well as the food security of millions of people in the tropics and subtropics. The Government of India initiated Watershed Development Programmes (WDPs) for the overall development of these areas. We, therefore, established a comprehensive, location-specific, bottom-up tool to analyse and compare the climate vulnerability of watershed areas. For this, we deducted a new Climate Vulnerability Index for Rainfed Tropics (CVIRFT) to evaluate the potential effectiveness of programmes to adapt to climate change impacts. The CVIRFT comprises of three dimensions of vulnerability, i.e., adaptive capacity, exposure and sensitivity. These dimensions consist of ten major components and 59 indicators with emphasis on rainfed farming and WDP interventions. To test the tool, we collected primary data through household surveys (n = 215, split among three watershed communities) in Kerala. We show that there were strong variations in the exposure dimension, moderate in sensitivity and negligible in adaptive capacity across the watersheds. After analysing the major components under the dimensions, we suggest focusing on policy orientation towards redesigning of the WDPs with emphasis to economic diversification, livelihood strategies, social networking coupled with stakeholder participation, natural resource management and risk spread through credit and insurance flexibility. The CVIRFT is replicable to similar physio-geographic areas of rainfed farming, with the refinement of indicators suited to the locality.
Transdisciplinary research (TDR) that aims at the co-production of knowledge in the process of addressing sustainability problems requires effective communication among scientists and practitioners. In international TDR cooperation, it is recognized that particular attention must be paid to intercultural communication, to enhance knowledge integration and mutual learning. However, there is little knowledge about the role of communication in TDR and how TDR group members with diverse socio-cultural backgrounds can communicate effectively. In this paper, we present a theoretical analysis on transdisciplinary communication, with a particular focus on group dynamics and intercultural communication. On this basis, we develop a framework for TDR communication that encompasses topics and indicators for successful communication. This framework was applied in a Chinese-German project conducted in Xishuangbanna, Southwest China, to guide the transdisciplinary communication processes. We focused on the development of trusted relationships among scientists and practitioners in the TDR team, while simultaneously accomplishing various tasks, such as problem framing and scenario development. In this study, we provide insights into intercultural communication in TDR, particularly in the context of Europe-Asia transdisciplinary cooperation. Our findings show that power relations, translator roles and researchers' mindsets influence effective communication and successful knowledge integration. In the future, additional attention should be paid to improving the supporting system and institutional arrangement for transdisciplinary communication.
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