Environment (Faculty of)

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Linking ecosystem services and wellbeing to improve coastal conservation initiatives under conditions of rapid social-ecological change
(University of Waterloo, 2020-09-28) Dias, Ana Carolina Esteves; Armitage, Derek R. (Derek Russel), 1967-
Over the last 50 years, researchers have observed a decline in marine biodiversity by approximately 50%. The consequences are alarming for global food production, especially fisheries, and critical economic sectors, such as tourism. Loss of traditions and sociocultural heritage is also a relevant social-ecological change driven by unsustainable development processes worldwide. Marine protected areas (MPAs) and other conservation enclosures have emerged as a governance response to the social-ecological changes that lead to marine and coastal degradation. If effective, they can serve as a foundation for socioeconomic development, as well as habitat protection and sources of ecological ‘spill-over’. International agreements, such as the Aichi Targets and those emerging with the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, encourage an expansion of MPAs worldwide, as well as governance approaches that are more participatory and collaborative. However, many MPAs were established in ways that ignore or discount human communities that depend upon ecosystem services (i.e., nature’s benefit to people), such as fisheries. This situation has led to conflict between MPA managers and the communities who depend upon coastal ecosystem services, jeopardizing both livelihoods and opportunities for conservation success. Opportunities to reduce conflict in MPA governance are context-specific, subjected to rapid social-ecological changes, and are often poorly understood. The COVID-19 pandemic has drawn attention to the rapid social-ecological changes that can shape (and quickly re-shape) livelihoods, wellbeing and connections to nature. In times of rapid change, the values people have towards nature, including the subjective benefits of nature for mental wellbeing, are often more clearly recognized. However, despite evidence of these benefits, empirical research that highlights the linkages among coastal ecosystems and people’s wellbeing do not always inform governance strategies to improve conservation outcomes. Moreover, the literature on ecosystem services examines how people can benefit from nature, but key gaps remain in disaggregating data about ecosystem service contributions to wellbeing of coastal communities, and particularly with reference to the global South. To fill these gaps, my doctoral research examines ways to foster more effective MPA governance in coastal systems under conditions of uncertainty and rapid social-ecological change. I specifically aim to: 1) evaluate and assess participatory and visual methods that can help gather data on people's connection to nature to inform governance processes; 2) identify and examine the empirical and disaggregated links among ecosystem services and social wellbeing; 3) assess how a better understanding of the links among ecosystem services and social wellbeing (i.e., wellbeing-ecosystem services bundles or WEBS) can improve MPA governance fit. I draw on WEBS and governance fit frameworks to identify these links and ways in which they can improve the gaps between local context and MPA goals and policies. My fieldwork was conducted on the southeast coast of Brazil, where I used mixed methods for data collection. Key methods include Photovoice activities in three coastal communities, 59 surveys and three participatory workshops including graphic facilitation with 48 community members, and semi-structured interviews with MPA managers. Community participants were selected through snowball sampling based on four main criteria: (i) high dependence on small-scale fisheries and direct exploitation of natural resources to sustain local livelihoods and/or culture, (ii) interest of members in participating in the research phases, (iii) proximity to MPAs, and (iv) proximity between communities allowing for feasible logistics (less than 50km). In exploring participatory methods, I have collaborated with coastal communities, MPA managers, and local organizations, to elicit varied perspectives about the governance of MPAs and to foster local capacity building. In Chapter 2, I use Photovoice to combine photographs and rich stakeholder narratives to understand key WEBS to inform MPA governance. I found that Photovoice was useful in highlighting the relevance of social relations to coastal communities, revealing how the ‘canoe’ as a manifestation of particular ecosystem services also serves to benefit cultural identity and collective action. In Chapter 3, I examine how stakeholders perceive WEBS and what tensions and similarities arise from these perceptions to inform and improve MPA governance. Specifically, I found that individuals perceive or experience the interplay among components of WEBS in four different ways and developed a typology of these four ‘pathways of interaction’, including experiential, extractive, observational, and visual pathways. Chapter 4 provides insights on the social dimension of MPA governance fit based on implications of rules, levels of trust, conflict and legitimacy of conservation authorities. Here, I found that stakeholder perceptions vary according to intergenerational changes, sense of ownership over the territory and understanding of the rules; and that high trust levels among stakeholders are linked to predictability of behavior over time. This thesis conceptually develops and empirically illustrates the insights and contributions obtained from adopting a WEBS perspective on MPA governance fit. By combining ecosystem services with social wellbeing approaches, I can identify the social-ecological mechanisms that constrain effective MPA governance, and emphasize the importance of ecosystem services to enhance ways of living together and maintaining traditions and beliefs. As such, this research offers several methodological, empirical, and theoretical contributions. First, by using Photovoice, I showed the relevance that coastal environments have as an arena for cultural reproduction, knowledge exchange, and political engagement. In this manner, the imagery of the ‘canoe’ emerged as an iconic cultural object that draws attention to these relationships. One of the methodological contributions of this study is the identification of Photovoice's limitations. Specifically, I identify technological constraints of cameras, challenges in accurately reflecting natural cycles in a photograph, and timing restrictions as limitations of Photovoice. I further show how these limitations can be overcome in a participatory research process in which the benefits of engaging community members in a collaborative manner opens opportunities for better outcomes. Second, I empirically demonstrate pathways of interaction between ecosystem services and people’s wellbeing (i.e., experiential, extractive, observational, and visual), deconstructing the dichotomy between material and non-material ecosystem services. Finally, I contribute to the theory of governance fit, and show how intergenerational change and sense of ownership over the territory are core drivers of ‘misfit’ in conservation rules. I further show that high trust levels among stakeholders is linked to predictability of behaviour over time and the legitimacy of conservation authorities. While the findings presented here are based on research in Brazil, insights are relevant to a wide range of contexts given the global expansion of MPAs and increased attention to Indigenous and non-Indigenous coastal communities.
Linking Property Rights with Environmental Changes: The case of Nurerri and Jubho Lagoons, PakistanLinking Property Rights with Environmental Changes: The case of Nurerri and Jubho Lagoons, Pakistan
(University of Waterloo, 2015-09-22) Sultana, Sajida; Nayak, Prateep K.; Armitage, Derek R. (Derek Russel), 1967-
Coastal lagoons play a vital role in supporting human well-being and the conservation of unique biological resources. They are crucial for the protection of the coastline from extreme events like floods, and for providing diverse livelihood opportunities to people. However, coastal lagoons face a range of threats from multiple drivers at local, regional and global scales, and those drivers are both anthropogenic and climatic in nature. In this thesis, I use a commons approach to examine changes in property rights regime in the Nurerri and Jubho lagoons of Pakistan to better understand their linkages with processes of environmental change. Both Nurerri and Jubho Lagoons are designated Ramsar sites inthe Indus delta of Pakistan, which is the world’s fifth largest delta system. The entire region, which includes a number of other important wetlands, has undergone serious degradation over the past three decades. This research considers the history of changes in the property rights regime in relation to the processes of environmental change. My main focus is to understand the extent to which environmental changes (i.e. reduced fresh water flow, recurrent floods, industrial pollution, and sea inundation) and changes in property rights (i.e. state property, communal property, partially open access, individual / private control) influence each other in times of uncertainty and how these changes affect the local communities. I also focus on the key drivers that influence these changes. I use a qualitative approach that offers a direction to my research and participatory methods for data collection. Findings indicate that there is a two-way feedback between environmental changes in the two lagoons and the system of property rights that shifted from a commons arrangement (mid 1970s) to being privately owned and then to a contractor system (1980s onward) before coming back to a commons arrangement in 2008. However, loss in the key physical and environmental features of the lagoons raises fundamental questions about sustaining / re-establishing commons even though policies are in place. I conclude with suggestions on sustaining lagoon commons for the future through crafting innovative governance arrangements that combine dynamic processes of change both in the physical and social spheres.
Social-ecological system change and adaptation: A case of Chilika lagoon small-scale fishery, India
(University of Waterloo, 2015-09-23) Selvaraj, Ashok; Nayak, Prateep K.; Armitage, Derek R. (Derek Russel), 1967-
Coastal lagoons are highly productive ecosystems and many fisher communities depend on the ecosystem services for their livelihoods. Unfortunately, due to anthropogenic stressors these lagoons are undergoing severe environmental changes that are impacting local fisher communities. To cope and adapt to with the changes in lagoon social-ecological systems, fisher communities are using their local knowledge. Using Chilika lagoon on the east coast of India near the Bay of Bengal as a case, I examined a range of drivers that have caused changes in the social-ecological system of the lagoon and the various adaptation options fishers consider when faced with extreme environmental and social changes. In particular, I analyse the role of local fishers’ knowledge in crafting various adaptation strategies. Semi-structured and focus-group interviews were used to collect data in the field over a three month period. Analysis of qualitative data showed that the major drivers of changes in the lagoon are: a) opening of new sea mouth; b) change in fishing techniques; and c) increase in shrimp aquaculture. Results showed that there are no long term adaptation strategies in the fisher community, and the adaptation strategies themselves act as drivers of change in the social-ecological system. Communication gaps and conflict between the fisher communities is further limiting adaptation in the fisher community.

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