Sentinel LandscapesQuo Vadis? An evolution of the SL network
21 March 2014 ICRAFAnja Gassner: Coordinator
2009 CGIAR STRIPE
“The panel strongly recommends renewed emphasis on multidisciplinary social science research on productivity growth by and for the poor, perhaps especially on ex ante research prioritization, on long‐term, field‐based data collection in a range of sentinel sites in order to identify and measure changes in the behavior and well‐being of rural peoples, especially the poor.” http://www.sciencecouncil.cgiar.org/fileadmin/user_upload
sciencecouncil/Systemwide_and_Ecoregional_ Programs/SSSR_for_web.pdf
Main Purpose – Annex 4• Cross regional comparison• Integrating Biophysical & Social data• Long-term presence (~ 10 years)• Co-locating research activities (share
resources)– Between Components– With Partners– With other CRP’s
http://www.cifor.org/fileadmin/fileupload/crp6/CRP6_7feb_lowres.pdf
Sentinel Landscape Definition
The landscape has to comprise of parts of a contiguous forest transition curve. This means a) that the landscape should consist of a connected
forest/woodland ecosystem, that has been or is about to be subjected to various anthropogenic influences, resulting in a high spatial variation of tree cover or
b) that the landscape consist of different stages of the forest transition curve that form together a temporal continuum.
2 approaches
• Classical comparative study : set of 8 very different geographical bounded landscapes in Africa, Asia and Latin America
• Thematic research questions to guide the selection of a network of study sites across Asia, Latin America and Africa.
A meta-analysis to identify patterns between livelihood outcomes and trees
Comparative Research
Sources: Based on Sartori (1970) and Mair (1996)
The universe of landscape has been intentionally selected and is significantly smaller than a global
selection
Use the “Comparing few country” methodology
Comparison of few landscapes
‘case-oriented’ comparisonwith the focus of the analysis is much more on the specific unfolding of events and variation in political developments within each country than variation in macro-variables between countries. (Ragin 1987)
Ragin, C.C. (1994) ‘Introduction to Qualitative Com
parative Analysis,’ in T. Janoski and A. H
icks (eds) The Comparative Political
Economy of the W
elfare State, Cambridge: Cam
bridgeU
niversity Press, 299–320.
Comparison of few countries
the method sacrifices in some degree the broad generalizations made possible
through a truly global analysis, but
allows a deeper understanding of the landscapes
that feature in the analysis, as well as their similarities and differences.
Design workshop held in 2012
1. Selection of 3 nested hypothesis to be analyzed
by landscape comparison
2. Identification of relevant causal propositions to be
studied (construction of path diagrams)
3. Identification of variables/proxies/indicators that
can be measured
4. Brainstorming of appropriated methods to collect
variables/proxies/indicators
Design workshop – Key Hypothesis developed
1. Is their a relationship between the variation in Tree cover/Tree quality and the variation of any of the four system level outcomes
reduction in poverty
increased global food
security
improvement of nutrition.
better management of
natural resources.
2. What explains spatial and temporal variation of tree cover?
Integrating Biophysical & Social Data
3 conceptual Frameworks developed for integrating social science into the long-term ecological research (LTER) sites: Drivers-pressures-states-impacts-responses
(DPSIR) approach (EEA, 2005, EEA, 2007) Press/Pulse (Collins et al., 2011) socioeconomic metabolism approach (Haberl)
Underlying assumption for ALL 3 frameworks:
“Mitigation of pressures on biodiversity through modification of their underlying socioeconomicdrivers is thought to be the most effective and durable option to reduce the rate of biodiversity loss”
Integrating Biophysical & Social Data
1) Drivers-pressures-states-impacts-responses (DPSIR) approach
Used in CRP6 Component 3: Van Noordwijk, M., B. Lusiana, G. Villamor, H. Purnomo, and S. Dewi. 2011. Feedback loops added to four conceptual models linking land change with driving forces and
actors. Ecology and Society 16(1): r1. [online] URL: http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol16/iss1/resp1/
An integrated conceptual framework for long-term social–ecological research, Collins et al., 2011
2) Press and Pulse Model
Human appropriation of netprimary production” (HANPP) is a measure of socioecological material flows. (Haberl et al., 2001, Haberl et al., 2007a)
2) Adding Social Metabolism as pressure factor
Drivers-pressures-states-impacts-
responses (DPSIR) approach
Human appropriation of net production (HANPP)
Pressure & Pulse (Collins et al., 2011)
Integrative Science forSociety & Environment (ISSE)
Good conceptual models!
How do we make these operational
?
?
Develop a working definition of sentinel landscape
Select a set of priority landscapes Develop standardized protocols for data collection Form multidisciplinary teams in each landscapes Collect the data Process the data (clean, verify, aggregate) Conduct the meta analysis
January 2012: The Challenge
In 3 Years with 3.7 Million US
Only select landscapes with pre-existing work and information available.
Only select landscapes that FTA had a working partner network on the ground.
Do not develop our own “new” methodology, make use of existing efforts and link to existing data bases.
Decisions made
Building on existing efforts
Learning from others
CGIAR benchmark approach International Long-term Ecological Research (ILTER) International Forestry Resources and Institutions (IFRI) A Long-Term Biodiversity, Ecosystem and Awareness Research
Network (ALTERNet) European network for a long-term forest ecosystem and landscape
research programme (ENFORS) National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) Alternatives to Slash and Burn (ASB) Tropenbos International (TBI) Poverty Environment Network (PEN) Tropical Ecology Assessment & Monitoring (TEAM) Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) Rewarding the Upland Poor for Environmental Services (RUPES) Smithsonian forest networks (SIGEO/CTFS) World Bank Standard of living survey
The network
Central Asia
Landscape Indicators
Productivity Livelihood Policy Environment Social
Land useNet Primary ProductionCrop Yield
WelfareIncomeFood securityNutritionDependency on Natural Resources
Institutional strengthLocal autonomyGovernance of natural resourcesMarket accessMarket pressure
Land healthSoil carbonTree coverAbove Ground BiomassSurface Wetness indexBiodiversity
Intra-household wealth distributionSocial networksSocial mobility
How has the SL initiative evolved since June 2011?
Provide hard evidence on key indicators important to landscape management
Information platform for decision-making Backstopping for data management/data
mining/data analysis Tool to allow greater cohesion,
interdependence and alignment of stakeholders within as well across the landscapes
Close the gap between intention and implementation
Major Accomplishments 2011-2013
• Criteria developed
• Priority Landscapes selected
• Interdisciplinary regional teams established
• Research design & Core Methodology developed
• Methodology tested in 2 landscapes
• Meta analysis in 4 landscapes
✔
More than 60 partner organisations actively involved
SL network integrated into major existing data collection efforts
Presented to IUFRO, Warsaw Landscape Forum, Consortium,
IFRI, IUCN, CIRAD, CATIE as partners
Major Accomplishments 2011-2013 Part 2
Looking Beyond the Forest cover• Soil condition• Productivity• Land degradation risk• Forest cover• Climate vulnerability
(risk)
Farmers are making more diverseland management changes
Farmers are making less diverseland management changes
Determining the environmental constraint envelop
HOW DO BIOPHYSICAL CONDITIONS AND CONSTRAINTS INFLUENCE HUMAN DECISION MAKING AND ULTIMATELY DEVELOPMENT?CASE STUDY: CCAFS VILLAGES IN AFRICA
INDICATORS FOR SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS
Linking land health indicators with socio-economic studies
Training Partners
Training Partners
Training Partners
Institutional Mapping: linking sites with the landscape
Polic
y, le
gal a
nd in
stitu
tiona
l fra
mew
ork
Coherency and adaptability of the frameworkSupremacy of property rightsClarity of the definition of mission, mandates and responsibilities
Effec
tiven
ess
of fo
rmal
rule
s
Simplicity of implementation and administrative bureaucracy Inter- intra-organizational and inter-sectorial coordinationEffectiveness and influence of rules on users’ behaviors related to NRObtaining concrete resultsExistence of conflicts and their resolutionCapacity to implement formal rules
Dec
entr
aliz
ation
and
par
ticip
ation
in d
ecis
ion
mak
ing
Decentralization and participation in decision makingFacility of understanding policy and legal frameworkExistence of mechanisms of participation, effectiveness and intensity of participation, inclusion of marginalized or minority actors Tr
ansp
aren
cy a
nd a
ccou
ntab
ility
Existence of mechanisms or opportunities to denounce or objectTransparency of management and free circulation of informationCorruption and traffic of influence
Equi
ty a
nd fa
irnes
s
Distribution of benefits within the societyAccess to justice and fairness in the application of sanctionsFairness in decision making
Institutional mapping
Two different political and legal systems – More than 30 formal
laws and regulations relating to NRM
– About 15-20 public agencies with mandates and responsibilities in NRM
An heterogeneous NR governance within each country
Example of a map of influential stakeholders in policy making in Nicaragua
Workshop at CATIE
Linking Households with Landscapes Sampling Tree diversity/ use diversity across the
landscape Gender add-on module Research ethics- how to engage with communities Sharing data Co-locating FTA projects with sentinel landscapes Intervention options Cross CRP projects
Working groups
We need to quantify the different factors that influence farmers behavior to design tailor
made interventions
External/physical
factors Management Objectives
Behavior
Networks
Individual differences
Personal preferences
Picture: Dave Fleetham
Gassner, Coe, Sinclair (2013)
www.cifor.org/sentinel-landscapes
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