Transformations of the Chihuahuan Borderlands: grazing, fragmentation, and biodiversity conservation in desert grasslands

Curtin, Charles G.; Sayre, Nathan F.; Lane, Benjamin

doi:10.1016/s1462-9011(02)00020-5

Cited by 39 publications

(33 citation statements)

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“…For example, they can help to keep out subdivisions and fences from rangelands, thereby preserving cultural landscapes that are important to ranchers, and also potentially helping conserve biodiversity on these lands [161]. While ranching is by no means always ecologically benign, in some contexts it may be the best option for preserving large-scale ecological processes [162], such as mimicking natural prairie systems [163].…”

Section: Strategy 1 Coordinate Governance Of Agricultural Landscapesmentioning

confidence: 99%

5 Key Challenges and Solutions for Governing Complex Adaptive (Food) Systems

et al. 2017

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Abstract:There is increasing recognition in academic circles of the importance of adaptive governance for the sustainability of social-ecological systems, but little examination of specific implications for the 34% of land-use where human activities are pervasive but potentially commensurate with functioning ecosystems: agricultural production systems. In this paper, we argue for the need to view food systems and agro-ecosystems as multi-scalar complex adaptive systems and identify five key challenging characteristics of such systems: multi-causality; cumulative impacts; regime shifts; teleconnections and mismatch of scales. These characteristics are necessary features of multi-scalar adaptive systems, and apply equally to social and natural subsystems. We discuss the implications of these characteristics for agricultural production systems and consider how governance can rise to these challenges. We present five case studies that highlight these issues: pollinator declines; payments for ecosystem services; pest control and pesticide resistance; downstream aquatic systems in Tasman Bay, New Zealand; and riparian buffers in Puget Sound, USA. From these case studies we derive recommendations for managing agricultural systems, both specific and general. Ultimately, adaptive governance of agro-ecosystems will likely hinge upon three paradigm shifts: viewing farmers and ranchers not only as food producers but also as land and water managers; seeking not yield maximization but rather resilient management of food ecosystems; and critically, as it transcends the production-system literature, engaging broad audiences not only as consumers but also citizens.

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Section: Strategy 1 Coordinate Governance Of Agricultural Landscapesmentioning

confidence: 99%

5 Key Challenges and Solutions for Governing Complex Adaptive (Food) Systems

et al. 2017

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“…4, Yehudkin, 2007). From an environmental perspective, residential development that is not contiguous with existing development is undesirable as a result of its direct negative impact on the desert ecosystem and its associated biodiversity (Germaine et al, 1998;Odell and Knight, 2001;Curtin et al, 2002;Tal, 2008). In opposing the establishment of new communities, the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel lists the following environmental impacts of low-density communities: 1) increased habitat fragmentation and increased "edge" between human-dominated and natural areas, 2) inefficient transport, communication and energy infrastructure, and 3) deleterious effects on the hydrological cycle (Han et al, 2003).…”

Section: Case Study I: Israel's Negev Desertmentioning

confidence: 99%

An elephant in the planning room: Political demography and its influence on sustainable land-use planning in drylands

Orenstein

Jiang

Hamburg

2011

Journal of Arid Environments

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“…Exurbanization also leads to increased water demand, fragmentation of wildlife habitat, and loss of farm and rangeland (Curtin et al 2002). Exurbanization on former ranch and farmland is difficult to address, particularly as farmers and ranchers face narrow profit margins, while land values for development are high.…”

Section: Exurbanizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Collective action on the western range: coping with external and internal threats

York¹,

Schoon

2011

Int J Commons

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Abstract:Collaborative natural resource management institutions enable agents with diverse interests to come together to solve complex problems. These actors must overcome a series of collective action problems to create, maintain, and evolve these institutions. In addition to the challenge of heterogeneous actors, these commons social-ecological systems often face internal and external threats or disturbances. The institutional arrangements may be effective with problems that are internal to a social-ecological system -ones that they are designed to handle, but how do these arrangements cope with external disturbances, especially ones caused by large-scale political and economic decisions, events, and processes. Using ethnographic and archival data we conduct an institutional analysis outlining the existing and emerging collaboratives, the important actors, and ongoing efforts to cope with the five major challenges identified by rangeland actors. We trace the evolution of institutions on the western range with a focus on their ability to cope with challenges that are largely within the system -biodiversity, fire, and water management, and those that are driven externally by actors who are largely absent -border militarization and violence and exurbanization. Keywords: Collaborative governance, collective action, disturbance, institutions, rangelandCollective action on the western range 389 Acknowledgements: We would like to thank the ranchers, environmentalists, and government officials in Cochise County for their time and work on the rangeland. Thanks to Sainan Zhang for assistance with maps, Drs.

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Transformations of the Chihuahuan Borderlands: grazing, fragmentation, and biodiversity conservation in desert grasslands

Cited by 39 publications

References 50 publications

5 Key Challenges and Solutions for Governing Complex Adaptive (Food) Systems

5 Key Challenges and Solutions for Governing Complex Adaptive (Food) Systems

An elephant in the planning room: Political demography and its influence on sustainable land-use planning in drylands

Collective action on the western range: coping with external and internal threats

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