Digital Commons Network^™

Joint Global Responsibility Fund For Climate, Conservation, And Communities: A Proposed Innovative Tax-Based Funding Mechanism, Tamar Ron

New England Journal of Public Policy

Nature-based solutions address biodiversity loss, climate change, and societal challenges at the local, national, regional, and global levels. The costs of their conservation, however, are mostly local and national in nature. Confronting the rolling dual crisis of biodiversity loss and climate change requires us to recognize nature’s intrinsic value. Moreover, we must find practical ways for their monetary valuation to be channeled as payment for the services of conservation custodians. It is suggested here to translate the value of natural assets and the understanding of the local costs and global benefits of their conservation, into an innovative and ambitious funding …

Managing Criminalized Power Structures: The Predominant Spoilers Of Peace Processes, Michael Dziedzic

Space and Defense

Criminalized Power Structures (CPS) exploit illicit wealth acquisition to usurp political power and constitute a leading source of obstruction when the international community intervenes in states struggling to emerge from civil conflict. Structures operating outside domestic or international law may constitute a crucial barrier or spoiler for UN and coalition peace operations. This held true in the post-Cold War interregnum before 9/11 and is likely to continue for stabilization operations, regardless of outcomes from enormous international security investments in Afghanistan and Iraq. By understanding the different types of spoilers acting across cases, the United States and partners in the international …

Negotiating Environmental Crisis Within Forest Ecosystem Restoration Projects In Puncak And Lombok, Indonesia, Sundjaya -, Syarifudin -

Antropologi Indonesia

The Forest Ecosystem Restoration (FER) project is a technological-science attempt to restore the damaged landscape as part of the environmental crisis mitigation. To some extent, the adoption of FER has also altered forest land use practices adopted by rural farmers as part of their livelihood. In rural-urban perspective, FER projects might be considered as a process of transferring environmental burdens from urban-downstream to rural-upstream communities living in the watershed areas. Our qualitative research in two FER project Puncak and Lombok, however, demonstrates how multiple actors, including local communities, actively influence the crisis defining process throughout problematization, mediation, apprehension stages. Such …

The Narratives Of Local Women’S Resilience In Disaster And Climate Change: The Voices Of Indonesian Women In The Watershed Areas, Titiek Kartika Hendrastiti, Siti Kusujiarti, Rambat Nur Sasongko

The Indonesian Journal of Socio-Legal Studies

This study analyzes the narratives of women’s resilience in disaster from the post-colonial feminism approach. Ecological justice and gender issues have been addressed by other studies on Indonesia to amplify the voices of Indonesian women, but few of them focus on women’s narratives. As a culture relying on oral traditions, Indonesian women’s narratives and stories are instrumental in decolonizing the knowledge on ecological justice. Even though feminist perspectives play an instrumental role in addressing ecological justice in Indonesia, studies using post-colonial feminism remain very limited.

This study employs post-colonial feminist ethnography and focuses on three watershed areas in Bengkulu, Indonesia: …

Improved Fine-Scale Tropical Forest Cover Mapping For Southeast Asia Using Planet-Nicfi And Sentinel-1 Imagery, Feng Yang, Xin Jiang, Alan D. Ziegler, Lyndon Estes, Jin Wu, Anping Chen, Philippe Ciais

Geography

The accuracy of existing forest cover products typically suffers from “rounding” errors arising from classifications that estimate the fractional cover of forest in each pixel, which often exclude the presence of large, isolated trees and small or narrow forest clearings, and is primarily attributable to the moderate resolution of the imagery used to make maps. However, the degree to which such high-resolution imagery can mitigate this problem, and thereby improve large-area forest cover maps, is largely unexplored. Here, we developed an approach to map tropical forest cover at a fine scale using Planet and Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery …

Modern Slavery As A Product Of Transnational Corporate Supply Chains: An Ecofeminist Evaluation Of Systems To Address The Linkage Between Modern Slavery, Climate Change, And Gender Injustice, Miranda Kanter

University Honors Theses

Neoliberal ideologies and economics are based on the concept of endless economic growth. This growth is sustained through the use of market domination and the exploitation of the vulnerable and their resources. As pressures of economic growth place priority on industry over human and environmental health, our world faces dire consequences for its corrupt relational values. This research demonstrates the link between modern slavery, the environment-climate crisis, and gender injustice in three separate case studies of modern enslavement in transnational corporate supply chains. Through the use of ecofeminist theory, modern systems of domination and their internalizations are used as a …

Cartographic Analysis Of Earth-Sun Relationships In Ancient Amazonia, Jackson Bennett Critser

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The alignments of ancient man-made earthworks across the Amazon Basin, known as geoglyphs, have recently been discovered to predate early societal dates. Although much research indicated that the Amazon was uninhabitable until the last 1000 years (Meggers 1971), new evidence suggests this is not the case. The application of advanced cartographic and GIS technologies were implemented to link solar ‘marker’ days (e.g. solstices, equinoxes) with the alignment of geoglyphs, megaliths, stone architecture, and broader city forms to discover and analyze previously unknown Earth-Sun relationships across the Amazon Basin to conceivably sophisticated urban and architectural plans. The study of these geoglyphs …

The Multiple Paths Of Extraction, Dispossession, And Conflict In Mozambique: From Tete’S Coal Mines To Cabo Delgado’S Lng Projects, Ruy Llera Blanes, Ana Carolina Rodrigues, Euclides Gonçalves

The Journal of Social Encounters

When it comes to extractive processes, conflict, and peacebuilding, the case of Mozambique has recently taken center stage due to the emergence of an Islamic insurgency movement in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in its northern province of Cabo Delgado. This is but one part of a complex process of highly conflictual extractivist projects unfolding in the country. In this article, we argue that, beyond the specific case of LNG, there is a logic of continuity and accumulation regarding extraction-related grievances that, over the years, has generated community resentment in natural resource rich areas. Multiple accumulating forms of dispossession …

Unsettling Participation By Foregrounding More-Than-Human Relations In Digital Forests, Michelle Westerlaken, Jennifer Gabrys, Danilo Urzedo, Max Ritts

Geography

The question of who participates in making forest environments usually refers to human stakeholders. Yet forests are constituted through the participation of many other entities. At the same time, digital technologies are increasingly used in participatory projects to measure and monitor forest environments globally. However, such participatory initiatives are often limited to human involvement and overlook how more-than-human entities and relations shape digital and forest processes. To disrupt conventional anthropocentric understandings of participation, this text travels through three different processes of "unsettling"to show how more-than-human entities and relations disrupt, rework, and transform digital participation in and with forests. First, forest …

The Dynamics Of Military-Police Relations In Post-Authoritarian Indonesia (1998 To 2020), Bayu A. Yulianto

Masyarakat, Jurnal Sosiologi

Among myriad significant institutional changes in post-authoritarian Indonesia (1998-present) is the split of Indonesian police (POLRI) from the armed forces (ABRI, renamed into TNI after 1999). No longer locked in a dominant-subordinate configuration, the interaction between both institutions intensified in areas where they intersect. Drawing upon the theory of Strategic Action Field (SAF), this study attempts to capture the dynamics along the newly-established trajectory. It shall be argued that far from being one-dimensional, the relationship between both institutions has been marked by conflict, competition, and cooperation; depending on the SAF. Finally, this research proposes a new framework to assess the …

Sargassum Systems: A Comparative Analysis Of Policy Responses To The New Caribbean Seaweed Crisis, Leo Jobsis Rossignol

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

In light of the emerging policy responses to the Caribbean Sargassum crisis, it is crucial that in-depth comparative studies be taken to understand the effectiveness of those policies and their common characteristics. With that resource, policymakers will be able to learn from their neighbors more quickly and reduce the damage done by future Sargassum events, as well as adopt more unified data standards.

The United States has been slow to respond, despite the increasing damage to its Caribbean dependencies, like the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. This Note will show that because this problem is international in scope, the …

The Role Of Social Media As A Communication Facility For Hydrometeorological Disasters In Shallot Farming Activities, Nurul Khotimah, Dyah Respati Suryo Sumunar, Suhadi Purwantara, Nugraho Sistu Prabintoro, Mohd Hairy Ibrahim, Nasir Nayan

Informasi

Social media as a means of communication plays a role in building a new paradigm of disaster. One of the social media users for hydrometeorological disaster communication is a shallot farmer in Parangtritis Village, Kretek Subdistrict, Bantul District, Yogyakarta Special Region. This study aims to determine the role of social media as a means of communication for hydrometeorological disasters in shallot farming activities. The design of this research is descriptive quantitative research. The research was carried out from April to October 2021 by taking the location of shallot farmers in Parangtritis Village, Kretek Subdistrict, Bantul District, Yogyakarta Special Region. The …

Conflict And Nature: How War In Cambodia Shaped Its Natural Landscape, Emily Lifs

Theses and Dissertations

Through the efforts of the Cambodian people and historians, the world is familiar with the tragic human story that unfolded over decades of war and the brutal rule of the Khmer Rouge. This thesis is an attempt to tell the equally tragic but untold story of how decades of conflict shaped the Cambodian landscape and the lives and populations of elephants and other animals.

Evolving Deforestation Narratives In Practice: A Study Of The Un-Redd+ Readiness Programme In Nigeria, Stuart Clive Blackwell

Master's Theses

The UN-REDD+ Readiness Programme was conducted between 2009 and 2015. The REDD+ Programme in Nigeria began once the readiness program was completed. This study conducts a document analysis of the program utilizing a political ecology lens to determine the extent to which the program adheres to or strays away from critical narratives surrounding both drivers of deforestation and inclusion and autonomy of federal, state, and local communities. By examining the entirety of the available documentation of the REDD+ Readiness program in Nigeria using a political ecological lens, this study demonstrates both an evolution of the program itself, and an evolution …

Ginanaandawi'idizomin: Anishinaabe Intergenerational Healing Models Of Resistance, Zoe V. Allen

American Studies Honors Projects

Since the early 2000s, the opioid epidemic has had a devastating sweep across Indian Country. The White Earth nation declared the epidemic as a public health emergency back in 2011. Since then White Earth has developed community-based harm reduction and culturally grounded models of intervention for substance use disorder that continue to influence Native Nations across the U.S. This project centers on Anishinaabe approaches to the ongoing opioid public health crisis but also elaborates on Anishinaabe forms of healing and resistance. My primary method was conducting oral histories with White Earth community youth workers and advocates. My research project asks: …

A Policy Analysis Of The Endangered Species Act, Kendall Beggs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this thesis was to identify and analyze common characteristics that are shared by recovering species listed in the Endangered Species Act (ESA). NatureServe population data was used to determine which listed species were recovering, and a logistic regression analysis was performed to identify which aspects of the ESA most contribute to recovery. Of the 747 species tested, only 24% had a population that was stable or improving. Time listed and classification group were found to significantly influence recovery, and recovery plan presence and critical habitat designation also increase the odds of recovery. The analysis found no relationship …

Building Global Leaders Through Field Research And Extension Experiences In Belize, Tom Gill, Adam S. Willcox

Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education

One of the most complex agricultural and natural resources challenges of our time is reconciling sustainable global food security and biodiversity conservation. Providing undergraduate students effective, learning experiences to develop technical and cultural competency prepares them to address this challenge and become global leaders in their disciplines. A three-year experiential research and extension project brought together 14 students and 10 faculty mentors to investigate smallholder farmers practicing conservation-compatible adjacent to the Vaca Forest Reserve in Belize. We used an agroecological approach to foster systems-level thinking and develop transdisciplinary skills of undergraduate students. Students completed applied individual research projects that explored …

Comparing Geostatistical Methods On Flood Risk To Infrastructure In Southeast Asia Using Google Street View Imagery: A Master’S Thesis, Christopher S. Aime

Theses

Urban flooding poses a serious challenge to development and the lives of people, particularly the residents of the rapidly expanding towns and cities in developing countries. Floods affect people's livelihood in Southeast (SE) Asia, ranging from death and injury to damaged homes, infrastructures, and agricultural land. In addition, floods expose infrastructure to more risks of structural damage, wearing them out, and aging them quickly, thus increasing maintenance and replacement costs.

Presented study found associations between such infrastructure elements as sill height, floors, building structures (e.g., attached vs. detached), slope, drainage, land-use, and street conditions. The study used Mechanical Turk method …

Revisiting Participatory Rural Appraisal (Pra) Related Studies And Exploring Pra's Success Determinants: A Content Analysis, Raquel Garcia-Agustin

Journal of Public Affairs and Development

Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) has shown that participation in development programs in poor communities can be empowering not only for the community members but also for the development workers. However, not all PRAs have seen successes especially in fulfilling their mission to encourage real participation. Hence, it is imperative to understand whether PRA has led to adequate understanding of indigenous perspective to call for action and the interest PRA serves. This analysis aims to provide critical insights and reflections from the experiences of previously conducted PRAs. It further aims to reveal whether PRAs were used effectively and successfully according to …

The Global Impact Of Covid-19 And Tourism On Conservation Rangers' Guardianship Capabilities, Zachary Bockler

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis explores how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted wildlife rangers with an emphasis on the influences of tourism rates. Two sets of data are used: one is a survey of rangers around the world and the other looks at global governmental tourism data. While coming from a routine activities perspective, the problem of decreased capable guardianship becomes apparent in the form of massively decreased tourism arrivals and troubling ranger perceptions. This data allows for the establishment of tourism trends and changes during COVID. The findings of this thesis link the downturn in tourism with impacts on formal and informal …

Transformation Of Farmer Resistance In Conservation Areas: Land Occupation By Farmers In Mount Halimun-Salak National Park, West Java, Sulastri Sardjo, Arya Hadi Dharmawan, Dudung Darusman, Ekawati Sri Wahyuni

Masyarakat, Jurnal Sosiologi

A number of studies have shown various agrarian conflicts as a response by local farmers against the policy of national parks that prohibits them from accessing conservation forest areas. However, previous studies had not explained the dynamics of power relations between park authorities and farmers who stand in opposition to these policies. This study employs a qualitative research approach complemented by secondary data to explain the transformation of farmer resistance in the Mount Halimun-Salak National Park (TNGHS) area, namely from their repertoire of everyday resistance to practices of land occupation. Specifically, this study uses the “powercube” analytical framework to explain …

Rural Development In Papua New Guinea: Mining, Logging, Agriculture, And Alternatives, Tj Askew

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis examines multiple approaches to providing rural, indigenous Papuans with improved social services and economic opportunities. Rural Papuans, who make up 80 percent of the population, face below average rates of nutrition, education, disease, crime, and other quality of life indicators. Due to location, land use rights, lack of infrastructure, and minimal access to economic markets, the PNG government has struggled to provide rural communities with basic social services. Historically, the development of resource extraction projects such as mining, logging, and agriculture have been the main strategies used to improve the livelihood of rural Papuans, with limited success. This …

Forest Offsets In The California Carbon Market: Challenges Of A Market Based Climate Solution, Eric Warmoth

CMC Senior Theses

Within California’s cap-and-trade program, forest offsets allow landowners to earn carbon credits for protecting forests that sequester carbon and sell these credits to polluters that can then emit one additional ton of carbon. The state’s top regulator, the California Air Resources Board (CARB), is tasked with overseeing cap-and-trade and the forest offset system. CARB is currently updating the state’s Climate Change Scoping Plan to set California on track to achieve its 2030 climate goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 40% below 1990 levels. CARB is approving forest offsets that overestimate emissions reductions, while allowing companies to continue polluting in …

การฟอกเขียวด้วยการซื้อขายคาร์บอนเครดิตในประเทศไทย, วนัสนันท์ กันทะวงศ์

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

การศึกษาเรื่องนี้มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อศึกษากระบวนการฟอกเขียวด้วยการซื้อขายคาร์บอนเครดิต ศึกษาความสัมพันธ์ของการฟอกเขียวด้วยการซื้อขายคาร์บอนเครดิต และศึกษาทัศนคติของประชาชนเกี่ยวกับการฟอกเขียวด้วยการซื้อขายคาร์บอนเครดิต เป็นการวิจัยแบบผสมผสาน (Mixed method) การวิจัยเชิงปริมาณ เครื่องมือที่ใช้ในการวิจัยคือ แบบสอบถาม โดยวิธีการเก็บข้อมูลกับกลุ่มตัวอย่าง จำนวน 400 คน ในจังหวัดเชียงราย เชียงใหม่ กรุงเทพมหานคร สมุทรสาคร ตราด และสุราษฎร์ธานี และการวิจัยเชิงคุณภาพด้วยการวิจัยเชิงเอกสาร 10 ปีย้อนหลัง พ.ศ. 2556 - 2566 และใช้เทคนิคการสัมภาษณ์แบบเจาะลึก ผู้ให้ข้อมูลสำคัญ จำนวน 15 คน ในหน่วยงานที่เกี่ยวข้องกับคาร์บอนเครดิต นักวิชาการและผู้เชี่ยวชาญ องค์กรไม่แสวงหากำไร ผลการศึกษาพบว่า การซื้อขายคาร์บอนเครดิตสามารถบรรเทาปัญหาภาวะโลกร้อน ก่อให้เกิดโครงการเพื่อสิ่งแวดล้อม และนำไปสู่การลงทุนรูปแบบใหม่ที่เป็นมิตรต่อสิ่งแวดล้อม ทั้งนี้การซื้อขายคาร์บอนเครดิตไม่ได้เป็นอาชญากรรมในตัวเอง หากแต่มีการใช้เป็นเครื่องมือกระทำความผิดและนำไปสู่การฟอกเขียว การฟอกเขียวด้วยการซื้อขายคาร์บอนเครดิต ประกอบด้วย 6 องค์ประกอบ 1) ผู้กระทำ 2) กิจกรรมการฟอกเขียว 3) ฟอกเขียวด้วยกลไกคาร์บอน 4) เป้าหมาย 5) ผลกระทบ 6) กระทำด้วยเจตนา โดยผู้กระทำการฟอกเขียว ประกอบด้วย 1) บุคคลธรรมดา มีลักษณะอาชญากรคอปกขาว 2) นิติบุคคล มีลักษณะอาชญากรรมที่กระทำโดยบริษัทหรือธุรกิจองค์กร 3) รัฐ ที่เกี่ยวข้องกับอุบัติเหตุจากความประมาทจากการประกาศนโยบายของรัฐ หรือการดำเนินการผิดพลาดที่นำไปสู่การทุจริตคอร์รัปชัน การฟอกเขียวด้วยการซื้อขายคาร์บอนเครดิตสามารถเกิดใน 3 รูปแบบ ได้แก่ การใช้ช่องโหว่ของกระบวนการซื้อขายคาร์บอนเครดิต การพึ่งพาการชดเชยมากเกินไป และการใช้กลไกการทำธุรกรรมของกลไกคาร์บอน ความสัมพันธ์ของการฟอกเขียวด้วยการซื้อขายคาร์บอนเครดิต จำแนกเป็น 2 ลักษณะคือ การซื้อขายคาร์บอนเครดิตช่วยบรรเทาปัญหาภาวะโลกร้อน และการซื้อขายคาร์บอนเครดิตนำไปสู่ปัญหาสังคม 2 ลักษณะ ได้แก่ เป็นเครื่องมือการฟอกเขียว และ ก่อให้เกิดอาชญากรรมรูปแบบใหม่ในลักษณะห่วงโซ่อาชญากรรม ได้แก่ การฉ้อโกงประชาชน อาชญากรรมสิ่งแวดล้อม อาชญากรรมคอปกขาว อาชญากรรมทางเศรษฐกิจ อาชญากรรมไซเบอร์ การฉ้อโกงภาษี และการฟอกเงิน จากการศึกษาทัศนคติของประชาชนเกี่ยวกับการฟอกเขียวด้วยการซื้อขายคาร์บอนเครดิตปรากฎว่า มีความสัมพันธ์กับการบรรเทาปัญหาภาวะโลกร้อน โครงการเพื่อสิ่งแวดล้อม และการลงทุนที่เป็นมิตรต่อสิ่งแวดล้อมในระดับน้อย มีความสัมพันธ์กับไม่ช่วยลดการปล่อยก๊าซเรือนกระจก …

The Environmental Kuznets Curve For Deforestation In Indonesia, Dara Adila, Nunung Nuryartono, Mandar Oak

Economics and Finance in Indonesia

This study provides empirical findings on the relationship between deforestation and income in 32 provinces in Indonesia. To enrich the discussion on deforestation, this study investigates the impact of the factors of population, roundwood production, land area, and main crop production on deforestation. The selected main crops in Indonesia are oil palm, coffee, coconut, rubber, and cacao. The results confirm the existence of the EKC relationship between deforestation and income in Indonesia. The study also finds that oil palm production positively affects tree cover loss, but the production of natural rubber has the opposite impact on deforestation.

Tussle For The Amazon: New Frontiers In Brazil's Organized Crime Landscape, Ryan C. Berg

Research Publications

Brazil is witnessing a “tussle for the Amazon”—a new and deadly phase in the history of its organized crime groups and their operations. While the country is no stranger to violent criminal organizations, recent years have seen groups building increasingly sophisticated networks, both within and beyond Brazil’s borders. In the strategic state of Amazonas, these developments have sparked a power struggle between several of the country’s largest criminal organizations that has concerning implications for the stability of Brazil as a whole. This “tussle” is more than a mere clash between Brazil’s transnational organized crime groups. It is a threat to …

Money Growing On Trees: A Classroom Game About Payments For Ecosystem Services And Tropical Deforestation, Sahan Dissanayake, Sarah A. Jacobson

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Payments for ecosystem services (PES) programs use an incentive-based approach to pursue environmental goals. While they are common policy tools, key concepts determining their efficacy are nuanced and hard to grasp. This article presents a new interactive game that explores the functioning and implications of PES programs. Participants play the role of rural households in a developing country, deciding individually or as groups whether to enter into contracts to refrain from reducing local forests in exchange for payment from a forest-based PES initiative. The game explores topics that include PES programs, climate change, tropical deforestation, cost-effectiveness, additionality, illegal harvest and …

Maritime Asymmetric Warfare In Archipelagic States; The Indonesian Phenomena, Taufik Dwicahyono, Amarulla Octavian, Romie Oktavianus Bura, Gamantyo Hendrantoro, Pujo Widodo

Journal of Strategic and Global Studies

Defending sovereignty within an island nation is relatively more complex than doing so for a continental state. The number of scattered islands makes straits and seas more penetrable, vulnerable points and targets of asymmetric threats at sea. The aim of this research is to illustrate threats at sea and provide solutions in guarding and monitoring Indonesian coastal borders, which currently require more ships and radar technology as well as other sensing equipment due to longer beaches. The results reveal that firstly, potential asymmetrical threats at sea include former WWII mines, underwater fibre cables, and nuclear submarines belonging to foreign countries …

(Post-) Pandemic Tourism Resiliency: Southeast Asian Lives And Livelihoods In Limbo, Kathleen M. Adams, Jaeyeon Choe, Mary Mostafanezhad, Giang Thi Phi

Anthropology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

While tourism scholars have sought to problematize the unevenly distributed impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, we know much less about how resilience is cultivated among tourism practitioners and communities whose lives and livelihoods are have been placed in limbo. Drawing on literature at the intersection of critical tourism studies and resilience theory as well as interviews with local tourism practitioners and academics, four historically situated and place-based trends in Southeast Asia that are reshaping tourism in the region are outlined: livelihood diversification, ecosystem regeneration, cultural revitalization, and domestic tourism development. These trends highlight how the political economy of tourism in …

No More Shade: Deforestation And Rural-Urban Migration In Nigeria, Kambre Sims

Master's Theses

Some of the most well-documented motivating factors of migration in Nigeria include education, employment opportunities, and cultural conflicts. However, as the deforestation crisis has not improved and Nigeria has maintained its spot as the country with the most deforestation on Earth, access to critical forest resources may be in danger. In light of this crisis, this paper attempts to determine if deforestation has become a new motivating factor for migration as those in rural communities seek other avenues of obtaining those vital resources. Subsequently, Nigeria is also experiencing a housing crisis within its rapidly growing urban centers; obtaining and keeping …