This thesis examines the relationship between the forestry industry and indigenous Sámi peoplein northern Sweden, focusing on institutional mechanisms for resolving land-use conflictsregarding forest logging on reindeer herding lands. Sámi reindeer herding communities andforestry companies have overlapping usage rights, making Swedish forests a common poolresource. Clear-cut forestry is damaging the reindeers’ access to lichen and the long-termsurvival of traditional reindeer herding, creating a need for effective Sámi influence in localforest decision-making. This study analyzes the recently reformed institutional framework forparticipatory planning and consultations, as well as participants’ experiences of Sámi influence.Interviews were conducted with three Sámi RHCs, two Sveaskog employees and one ForestAgency official. The theoretical framework draws from literature on co-management, commonpool resources and free, prior and informed consent to analyze Sámi space for influence. Resultsshow that the changes in regulations and practices have enabled RHCs space to withdrawconsent to specific logging plans under specific conditions, but influence is still limited. TheForest Agency has not consulted RHCs despite the new law, indicating continued difficultiesfor Sámi people to influence logging decisions on a local level. The main contribution of thisstudy is showcasing remaining barriers and positive developments based on original empiricalinterview material.

Relentless overexploitation of natural resources has led to resource scarcity, environmentaldegradation and rising inequalities, straining social-ecological systems to breaking point.Ecosystems providing shared resources often respond non-linearly to resource pressuresbeyond critical thresholds, so-called regime shifts, jeopardizing the stable and just provisionof natural resources. Avoiding these critical thresholds is imperative, as not everyone canadapt to drastic changes in resource availability and distribution. In an unequal world wherecapacities to adapt to crossing critical thresholds vary substantially across individuals, groupsand countries, our understanding of behavioural responses remains limited. This thesisexplores whether and how inequality in adaptive capacities within groups sharing a naturalresource influence both the likelihood of groups crossing a critical threshold and groupdynamics. 160 students from the University of Exeter participated in an online Common-PoolResource (CPR) laboratory experiment comparing inequality and baseline treatments. Whileunequal adaptive capacities did not affect group’s likelihood of crossing the threshold, theynegatively impacted social dynamics and perceptions. Participants with low adaptive capacity(LAC) responded to the threat of the threshold by reducing their harvest significantly whencompared to participants with high adaptive capacity (HAC). Therefore, latent inequalities inthe choice context created real inequalities in resource allocation. Furthermore, HACparticipants lacked identification with the disadvantaged group as evidenced by lowerperceived group efficacy and no reduction in harvest. When the harvest was shared unequally,inequalities were more pronounced in the inequality treatment compared to the baseline.Investigating emotions revealed unexpected findings: Participants did not strongly experienceguilt despite its relevance in prior research, instead, positive emotions, particularlycompassion, were prominent across treatments despite non-cooperative outcomes. Whileresults caution against assuming solidarity of the privileged group solely based on awarenessof unequal impacts, future research might consider fairness, beyond inequalities, tounderstand collective behaviours in unequal contexts. / Inequality and the Biosphere: Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in an Unequal World

<p>The present study is one of the first attempts to analyze the societal importance of seagrasses (marine flowering plants) from a Natural Resource Management perspective, using a social-ecological systems (SES) approach. The interdisciplinary study takes place in East Africa (Western Indian Ocean, WIO) and includes in-depth studies in Chwaka Bay, Zanzibar, Tanzania. Natural and social sciences methods were used. The results are presented in six articles, showing that seagrass ecosystems are rich in seagrass species (13) and form an important part of the SES within the tropical seascape of the WIO. Seagrasses provide livelihoods opportunities and basic animal protein, in from of seagrass associated fish e.g. Siganidae and Scaridae. Research, management and education initiatives are, however, nearly non-existent. In Chwaka Bay, the goods and ecosystem services associated with the meadows and also appreciated by locals were fishing and collection grounds as well as substrate for seaweed cultivation. Seagrasses are used as medicines and fertilizers and associated with different beliefs and values. Dema (basket trap) fishery showed clear links to seagrass beds and provided the highest gross income per capita of all economic activities. All showing that the meadows provide social-ecological resilience. Drag-net fishery seems to damage the meadows. Two ecological studies show that artisanal seaweed farming of red algae, mainly done by women and pictured as sustainable in the WIO, has a thinning effect on seagrass beds, reduces associated macrofauna, affects sediments, changes fish catch composition and reduces diversity. Furthermore, it has a negative effect on i.a. women’s health. The two last papers are institutional analyses of the human-seagrass relationship. A broad approach was used to analyze regulative, normative and cultural-cognitive institutions. Cooperation and conflict take place between different institutions, interacting with their slow or fast moving characteristics, and are thus fundamental in directing the system into sustainable/unsustainable paths. Ecological knowledge was heterogeneous and situated. Due to the abundance of resources and high internal control, the SES seems to be entangled in a rigidity trap with the risk of falling into a poverty trap. Regulations were found insufficient to understand SES dynamics. “Well” designed organizational structures for management were found insufficient for “good” institutional performance. The dynamics between individuals embedded in different social and cultural structures showed to be crucial. Bwana Dikos, monitoring officials, placed in villages or landing sites in Zanzibar experienced four dilemmas – kinship, loyalty, poverty and control – which decrease efficiency and affect resilience. Mismatches between institutions themselves, and between institutions and cognitive capacities were identified. Some important practical implications are the need to include seagrass meadows in management and educational plans, addressing a seascape perspective, livelihood diversification, subsistence value, impacts, social-ecological resilience, and a broad institutional approach.</p>

À la suite de l'effondrement de l'Union soviétique, les états nouvellement formés de l'Asie centrale ont entrepris, à différents niveaux, des réformes de leurs secteurs agraires. Du point de vue de l'utilisation de l'eau d'irrigation, les réformes consistent notamment en des changements aux régimes fonciers et dans la décentralisation de la gestion du système de drainage et d'irrigation. La plupart des institutions qui, durant l'époque soviétique, géraient le système d'irrigation et de drainage ont été abolies. Cela a créé un vide institutionnel et permis le développement d’institutions au niveau local qui puissent être participatives et appartenir aux utilisateurs. Pourtant, le contexte historique et contemporain de la région pose des défis particuliers pouvant nuire à un tel développement. Les associations d'utilisateurs d'eau ou le gouvernement local gèrent l'irrigation et les systèmes de drainage au niveau local. Ces associations représentent souvent des initiatives conduites par les donateurs internationaux. Parallèlement, les institutions informelles et les modes traditionnels de coopération qui ont survécu à l'ère soviétique deviennent importants et quelques institutions créées durant cette ère demeurent toujours pertinentes. Cette recherche consiste à évaluer le rôle d’action collective dans un système de gestion d’irrigation et de drainage dans le bassin versant de la rivière Syr-Darya dans un contexte changeant concernant les droits d’usage de l'eau et de la terre. L'étude cherche à (1) saisir l'importance de l'eau d’irrigation dans les moyens de subsistance des utilisateurs dans la région de recherche; (2) explorer certaines caractéristiques des institutions formelles et informelles à travers lesquelles les fermiers dirigent des systèmes de drainage et d’irrigation; et (3) identifier les institutions qui appuient l'action collective et celles qui entravant son développement. La méthodologie de recherche repose une revue bibliographique et sur un travail de terrain dans la vallée de Ferghana, au Kirghizistan, entre le 30 avril et le 31 juillet 2008. Les résultats de la recherche sont présentés comme une étude de cas. / Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the newly independent countries of Central Asia undertook reforms of their agrarian sectors with varying degrees of speed and depth. In general, the reforms consisted of changes in the nature of land tenure and in the decentralization of irrigation and drainage management. Through these reforms, former state management institutions were abolished leaving an institutional vacuum that presented an opportunity for the development of local-level management institutions. However, the historical context of the region poses particular challenges that may impede users to capitalize on such opportunities.     Water User’s Associations or the local administration manage irrigation and drainage systems at the local level. Water User Associations represent international donor-driven initiatives to introduce equitable, democratic and participative institutions for irrigation and drainage management. There are indications that those informal institutions and traditional modes of cooperation that survived the Soviet era are gaining importance. This study maps out the various institutions, defined as "rules in use", that farmers employ to manage the irrigation and drainage system in the Ferghana Valley within the context of changing land and water rights. The key objectives of the study are (1) to understand the importance of irrigated water for local livelihoods in the research area; (2) to explore certain characteristics of the formal and informal institutions through which farmers manage irrigation and drainage systems; and (3) to depict ways in which “collective action” in irrigation water management can be strengthened. The methodology consists of a synthesis of existing literature and fieldwork in the Ferghana Valley in Kyrgyzstan, from April 30 until 31 July, 2008. The results of the research are presented as a case study.

O presente trabalho buscou reproduzir, a partir de simulação computacional utilizando modelagem baseada em agentes, a dinâmica do sistema sócio-ecológico que conecta comunidades quilombolas do Vale do Ribeira, São Paulo, ao palmito jussara (Euterpe edulis Martius), espécie considerada ameaçada de extinção e cuja exploração, atualmente, pode ser descrita como uma Tragédia dos Comuns. Com base na teoria acumulada de recursos comuns, em dados empíricos do sistema social quilombola e na dinâmica populacional do palmito, simulamos o impacto de duas políticas públicas distintas de gestão do recurso: a primeira é a proibição estatal de exploração do mesmo, que criminaliza os palmiteiros e não está surtindo os efeitos desejados de preservação; a segunda, projeta um cenário hipotético no qual o Estado flexibiliza as regras de exploração e permite que a comunidade gerencie o recurso. Ao comparar o estoque final de palmito jussara para diversos cenários, concluimos que existe um grande potencial para que a gestão comunitária do recurso traga benefícios econômicos às famílias quilombolas, ao mesmo tempo em que contribui para a preservação do mesmo na natureza. / This study intended to use agent-based modeling to reproduce the dynamics of the social-ecological system that connects the quilombola communities that live in the Ribeira Valley, São Paulo, to the palm tree Euterpe edulis Martius, an endangered species highly valued for its heart of palm, which has being heavily harvested and can be considered an example of a Tragedy of the Commons. Based on the theory on common-pool resources, empirical data regarding the quilombola social system and on the palm tree population dynamics, we simulate the impact of two different public policies towards the palm tree conservation: the first scenario is the current total-prohibition of extraction policy, which marginalize harvesters and is not working prom an environmental perspective; the second scenario simulates a hypothetical situation in which allows the community to explore and manage the resource. After comparing the final stock of Euterpe edulis for many conditions, we may conclude that there is a great possibility that community-level management is more able to bring economic benefits to the quilombola families, while also help to preserve the species.

O meio ambiente se apresenta como um dos desafios da governança global no que se refere às abordagens de Relações Internacionais e Ciência Política. Isso se deve ao fato de que os recursos naturais não se submetem à soberania direta do Estado e/ou das organizações internacionais formais como fonte de autoridade devido à transnacionalidade que o tema enseja. Neste sentido, os diferentes atores das relações internacionais, estatais e não estatais, precisam construir arenas de atuação, criar regulamentações onde os Estados (eventualmente) não estão presentes, e criar instrumentos de enforcement e compliance. No entanto, a centralidade das questões ambientais é colocada em xeque por teorias racionalistas de relações internacionais baseadas na autoridade do Estado e de sua capacidade de enforcement top-down. O meio ambiente é um assunto melhor considerado por arenas transnacionais em um contexto multinível e policêntrico. Neste sentido, a análise em nível local e a capacidade de organização de grupos sociais na constituição dos arranjos institucionais através da ação coletiva para solucionar a possível \"tragédia dos comuns\" tem atraído estudiosos que procuram demonstrar a sua efetividade e, consequentemente, a sua contribuição para a resolução das contendas ambientais globais. Desta forma, o objetivo deste trabalho é demonstrar como a relação entre a governança dos recursos de uso comum em âmbito local vincula-se aos instrumentos de governança global definidos por governos e organizações internacionais formais para o uso da biodiversidade. Inicialmente, realiza-se revisão bibliográfica da literatura de Relações Internacionais e Ciência Política para articular as questões ambientais entre o local e o global para, posteriormente, revelar como a governança ambiental multinível e policêntrica é estabelecida para o caso do uso da biodiversidade em comunidades locais na Amazônia brasileira, como apresentado no trabalho empírico. / The environment is presented as one of the challenges of global governance with regard to the approaches of International Relations and Political Science. This is due to the fact that natural resources are not subjected to the direct sovereignty of the State and/or formal international organizations as a source of authority because of the transnationality that the subject entails. In this sense, the different actors of International Relations, State and non-State, need to build action arenas, create regulations where States (eventually) are not present, and create instruments of enforcement and compliance. However, the centrality of environmental issues is kept in check by rationalist theories of International Relations based on States\' authority and ability to top-down enforcement. The environment is a subject better considered in transnational arenas in a multilevel and polycentric context. In this sense, the analysis at the local level and the organizational ability of social groups in the constitution of institutional arrangements through collective action to address the possible \"tragedy of the commons\" has attracted scholars seeking to demonstrate its effectiveness and, consequently, their contribution for the resolution of global environmental issues. Thus, the aim of this study is to demonstrate how the relationship between the governance of the common-pool resources at the local level is linked to the global governance instruments set by governments and formal international organizations for the use of biodiversity. Initially, a literature review of International Relations and Political Science literature is carried out to articulate environmental issues between the local and the global to reveal how the multilevel and polycentric environmental governance is established in the case of the use of biodiversity in local communities in the Brazilian Amazon, as shown in the empirical work.

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil (LAS) (Land and Agrarian Studies) / Government's decision to devolve irrigation management to farmers was partly influenced by international policy imperatives, which were propounded mainly by institutions associated with the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and the inability by the government to continue funding operation and maintenance costs. The central question of the study is to understand the effects of Irrigation Management Transfer (IMT) on productivity, operation and maintenance in the Mamina Irrigation Scheme. Interviews with various primary and secondary stakeholders that included the irrigators, local political leadership and locally-based agriculture extension officers were carried out. The interviews were aimed at getting an insight on land tenure, participation and representation of women, water and electricity supply system and pricing, effects of irrigation management arrangements on equity and productivity, understanding the irrigators' food security status, operation and maintenance arrangement after Irrigation Management Transfer (IMT). Findings of this study suggest that the existing governance arrangements have partly led to low crop productivity, increased water and electricity bill arrears, poor water distribution, change to uneconomic plot sizes, unsustainable increase in the number of irrigators, failure to organise for operation and maintenance. The key factors influencing the poor performance include poor collaboration, pumping system that utilised more electricity, inability of the irrigators to replace leaky pipes, failure of the irrigators to contribute towards electricity and water bills, failure of the irrigators to contribute towards operation and maintenance. The study identified nine challenges that affected the success of IMT. The challenges that lay at the heart of Mamina irrigation scheme were mainly caused by the poor irrigation technology design, pricing structure of electricity, water permit system, inequalities in water distribution, low gender participation and representation, non-availability of formal markets for certain crops, food insecurity, plot alloction and land disputes. Poverty analysis has shown that the irrigators' ability to escape from poverty or food insecurity is critically dependent upon their access to assets. Different assets are required to achieve different livelihood outcomes. The cycle of accumulation of utility bill arrears continued even after devolution because the same defective irrigation infrastructure was transferred to the irrigators. In the case of Mamina irrigation scheme, modernisation of the scheme was required to achieve different livelihood outcomes, but because this did not happen the recurrent utility bill arrears, low productivity and food insecurity continued to be a very serious challenge even after IMT.

O presente trabalho buscou reproduzir, a partir de simulação computacional utilizando modelagem baseada em agentes, a dinâmica do sistema sócio-ecológico que conecta comunidades quilombolas do Vale do Ribeira, São Paulo, ao palmito jussara (Euterpe edulis Martius), espécie considerada ameaçada de extinção e cuja exploração, atualmente, pode ser descrita como uma Tragédia dos Comuns. Com base na teoria acumulada de recursos comuns, em dados empíricos do sistema social quilombola e na dinâmica populacional do palmito, simulamos o impacto de duas políticas públicas distintas de gestão do recurso: a primeira é a proibição estatal de exploração do mesmo, que criminaliza os palmiteiros e não está surtindo os efeitos desejados de preservação; a segunda, projeta um cenário hipotético no qual o Estado flexibiliza as regras de exploração e permite que a comunidade gerencie o recurso. Ao comparar o estoque final de palmito jussara para diversos cenários, concluimos que existe um grande potencial para que a gestão comunitária do recurso traga benefícios econômicos às famílias quilombolas, ao mesmo tempo em que contribui para a preservação do mesmo na natureza. / This study intended to use agent-based modeling to reproduce the dynamics of the social-ecological system that connects the quilombola communities that live in the Ribeira Valley, São Paulo, to the palm tree Euterpe edulis Martius, an endangered species highly valued for its heart of palm, which has being heavily harvested and can be considered an example of a Tragedy of the Commons. Based on the theory on common-pool resources, empirical data regarding the quilombola social system and on the palm tree population dynamics, we simulate the impact of two different public policies towards the palm tree conservation: the first scenario is the current total-prohibition of extraction policy, which marginalize harvesters and is not working prom an environmental perspective; the second scenario simulates a hypothetical situation in which allows the community to explore and manage the resource. After comparing the final stock of Euterpe edulis for many conditions, we may conclude that there is a great possibility that community-level management is more able to bring economic benefits to the quilombola families, while also help to preserve the species.

Cette thèse examine comment répondent des consommateurs aux mécanismes visant à réduire leur consommation d'énergie. Ce besoin de réduction découle de la nécessité d'atteindre les objectifs de réduction d'émissions de gaz à effet de serre, d'augmenter la production d'énergie à partir d'énergie renouvelables et de réaliser des économies d'énergie. Ces objectifs exigent que la demande résidentielle soit plus flexible face à l'évolution de l'offre et que des économies d'énergie soient réalisées par les ménages. Le premier chapitre explore les barrières à l'acceptation et à l'adoption des compteurs intelligents et des incitations qu'ils peuvent fournir. D'importantes barrières existent et les réductions de consommation sont loin d'être réalisées. Le manque de motivation, l'incompréhension de l'information sur la consommation et la rigidité de la vie quotidienne sont les principales barrières qui limitent la réponse des ménages aux incitations fournies par les compteurs intelligents. Le deuxième chapitre analyse les résultats d'expériences de terrain et d'études pilotes portant sur les impacts des différentes incitations sur la consommation résidentielle. Les résultats montrent qu'il existe de grandes variations et qu'en moyenne, une incitation entraînera une réduction de 2% de la consommation d'énergie. Les incitations de feedback en temps réel ainsi que l'information monétaire ont le plus grand effet. Enfin, les études plus robustes font état d'effets de réduction plus faibles. Dans le troisième chapitre, un jeu expérimental de ressources communes est utilisé pour explorer les réponses individuelles aux incitations basées sur le prix et les nudges. Les individus sont encouragés à réduire leur consommation, soit par une augmentation de prix, soit par des smiley évocant leur surconsommation. Le prix est le plus efficace pour encourager le niveau cible de consommation, mais il faut plus de temps pour qu'il fasse effet. Le nudge est compris rapidement mais tend à renforcer les comportements de surconsommation. Le quatrième chapitre examine l'effet du framing sur la disposition à l'effort. Les individus doivent accomplir une tâche simple et répétitive pour laquelle ils reçoivent un paiement à la pièce sous forme d'un gain ou d'une perte. Le framing sous forme de gains et de pertes est combiné à trois structures de paiement différentes : gain fixe, gain faible ou élevé avec une probabilité égale révélée avant ou après la réalisation de l'effort. Les résultats montrent que le framing n'a aucun effet sur la réalisation de l'effort, excepté pour un contexte de gain élevé annoncé avant de fournir l'effort. / This thesis examines how consumers respond to incentives used to encourage a reduction in their energy consumption. This necessary reduction stems from the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase energy production from renewable energy sources and achieve energy savings. These objectives require that residential demand be more flexible in response to changes in supply and that energy savings be achieved by households. The first chapter explores the barriers to consumer acceptance and adoption of smart meters and the incentives that they provide. Significant barriers exist and consumption reductions are far from being achieved. Limited motivation, lack of understanding of information on consumption and the rigidity of daily life are the main barriers preventing households from acting upon the incentives delivered via smart meters. The second chapter analyses the results of field experiments and pilot studies on the impacts of different incentives on residential consumption. The results show that there are large variations and that, on average, an incentive will result in a 2% reduction in energy consumption. Real-time feedback and monetary information have the greatest effect. Finally, more robust studies report lower reduction effects. In the third chapter, a common pool resource game is used to explore individual responses to price and nudge-based incentives. Individuals are encouraged to reduce their consumption either by price increases or by smilies that reflect their overconsumption. The price is most effective at encouraging the target level of consumption but takes longer to have an effect. The nudge is quickly understood but tends to reinforce overconsumption behaviours. The fourth chapter examines the effect of framing on effort provision. Individuals are asked to complete a simple and repetitive task for which they receive a piece-rate payoff in the form of a gain or loss. Framing in the form of gains and losses is combined with three different payment structures: fixed gain, low gain or high gain with an equal probability revealed before or after the effort is made. The results show that framing has no effect on effort provision, except for a high gain context announced before making the effort.

This dissertation contributes to the debate on Common Pool Natural Resources (CPNRs) through the analysis of a specific case study: rangeland in southwest agro-pastoral Niger. The management of CPNRs is the subject of a lively debate pertaining to the property rights regime that may accompany CPNR management. This dissertation shows that this debate may very well be the consequence of disciplinary preconceptions that are linked with disciplinary paradigms. By approaching the case study with an interdisciplinary approach, this dissertation shows how interdisciplinary research may contribute to the avoidance of “universalism” (i.e., one property rights regime fits all CPNRs) with regard to CPNR management. <br />The case study is approached by using three different conceptual frameworks in order to explore five research questions. A first framework, econometric modelling, is used to explore the following two questions: “what are the determinants of rangeland use in southwest agro-pastoral Niger?” and “what are the determinants of livestock mobility?” A second framework, event chronology analysis, is used to explore the following two questions: “what is the impact of rainfall shocks on rangeland property rights?” and “is the marginalization of the pastoral space avoidable and reversible?” A third framework, network analysis, allows for the exploration of: “do traditional local institutions have the capacity to play a role in the management of rangeland?” The analysis and discussion of these research questions point to the fact that community-level rangeland management in southwest agro-pastoral Niger is a definite possibility. Nevertheless, it will be possible only if livestock raising practices are strong in the two traditional producer groups: agriculturalists and pastoralists. Community-level management will, therefore, have to be rooted in the community that is constituted by the users of the rangeland.<br />Finally this dissertation concludes by stressing the results in terms of rangeland-management policy for Niger, in terms of the interdisciplinary analysis of CPNR, and in terms of conducting interdisciplinary research in general.