Transboundary Ecological Conservation, Environmental Value, and Environmental Sustainability: Lessons from the Heart of Borneo

Balancing economic growth with international commitments to environmental sustainability is a global challenge. One of the main objectives of this study is to address this challenge by stimulating and sustaining motivation for environmental conservation by means of a comprehensive rethinking of the values inherent in nature and the limitations of monetary approaches to biodiversity valuation. This is achieved based on a case study of a transboundary ecological conservation project, the Heart of Borneo (HoB) in Borneo Island, covering Kalimantan in Indonesia, Borneo Malaysia comprising the states of Sarawak and Sabah, and Brunei Darussalam. This study synthesizes critical insights into the multiple ranges of life-supporting environmental values embedded in the HoB natural capital to enhance stronger motivations for environmental conservation. The study also reports on evidence gathered from extensive field studies conducted in Borneo Malaysia, confirming the correlations between environmental beliefs in value pluralism, ecological action, and environmental sustainability, and its implications for sustainable resource use and management. The synthesis is expected to serve as practical guidance for sustainable resource and environmental management decision-making, which is conceptually and universally applicable.

Towards forming a socio-ecological action model for urban open spaces’ design in New Cairo, Egypt

Under the supervision of UN-Habitat, the Egyptian General Organization of Physical Planning started its first phase of “Promoting Better Quality and More Manageable Public Spaces Project, 2021” that targets enhancement and development of open spaces quality in New Cairo, Egypt. This project is functioning under three main objectives: (1) recognize the most occupied urban open spaces in New Cairo, (2) identify the required community needs in these urban open spaces, and (3) evaluate quality and suitability of these open spaces for public usage. In this paper, we are attempting to achieve the 2nd objective addressed previously by laying hands on hidden correlations among socio-ecological community needs. This is achieved in two phases; the first phase is mainly concerned with adapting thematic analytical method to tackle multiple correlations while reviewing literature, while the second phase is focusing on conducting a pilot study survey in East Academy district to validate the previously concluded socio-ecological correlations. Also findings indicate that East-Academy’s open spaces have strong correlations with multiple socio-ecological attributes and that ten urban qualities showed the highest positive measures. These correlations, in the future, can be used to establish an intervention action model.

Batak Christian Protestant Church's View Concerning Ecology

This paper examines a discussion about ecology focus on Batak Christian Protestant Church's view and action. The study's reason is based on what the church said about ecological problems in their faith declaration. Furthermore, looking Batak Christian Protestant Church (HKBP) litigates connected to ecological action case in Indonesia. Methodology in this research is literary, looking at the book, internet, and faith confession of the HKBP. Gathering the data and then analyze is the approach used to discuss the issue. This study traced that the HKBP has mentioned ecology in their faith confession. In their view, HKBP argues that God created man in his residence and place of work in this world (Gen. 2:5-15). Therefore, they oppose any environmentally damaging activities, such as burning and cutting down trees in the forest or wilderness (Deuteronomy 5: 20; 19-20). This creed is based on the Word of God as recorded in the scriptures. They also have been activated to protect nature, for example: develop livestock waste into alternative energy (biogas); planting trees in Peak Dolok, Balige North Sumatera; statings local wisdom. Christianity realizes that ecology issues are also part of their problems. What has been done by the HKBP be a positive thing. This action is a good activity for Christianity in Indonesia. Even though we cannot deny the ecology problem is our common problem.

Capturing Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus as a network phenomenon in social ecological systems

<p>The Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus has gained growing interest in recent years as a promising approach to overcome governance failures in dealing with complex resource management challenges. Various qualitative and quantitative methods from different disciplines have been used to understand Nexus issues, but just few of these take into account (1) the role of institutions on interactions, and (2) the intertwinedness of social and ecological interactions, which cause social-ecological patterns in Nexus issues.</p><p>This paper introduces an approach to address that methodological gap. Specifically, the paper links two nascent approaches –the Networks of Action Situations (NAS) approach and the Social-Ecological Action Situations (SE-AS) framework. The value and the potential of the approach introduced is illustrated for two Nexus cases with a problem constellation, which is quite typical for many regions in the world. The two cases are reservoir-lake-river-cascades with water uses for drinking water, energy- and food-production in the canton of Zurich and in the canton of Bern, Switzerland. The results show governance gaps and coordination problems regarding the WEF Nexus. The governance processes prioritise energy production in both WEF Nexus cases and drinking water in one case. Both cases do not take into account food production in the coordination processes. The study presents the value of the approach by demonstrating the ways in which institutions limit or support synergies, how adjacent actions situations shape decisions with immediate relevance for collective outcomes in WEF Nexus, and how the intertwined interplay of social-ecological interactions jointly and dynamically generate social-ecological patterns in Nexus situations.</p>

Postscript

While a full treatment of what an ethics of hospitality to nonhuman strangers might entail exceeds the scope of the current project—which has primarily focused on hospitality to the human other—we want to briefly mention how environmental other-than-human issues might be understood through the framework we present here. It seems clear that hospitality can work as a paradigm for ecological action, countering the way so many of us are able to hostilely look the other way in regard to environmental concerns because we are more interested in maintaining self-interested habits—not understanding ourselves as part of a fragile ecological web with the nonhuman world. Leaving nature alone—that is, respecting nature—is itself an act of hospitality that refuses hostile acts of exploitation and manipulation. Welcoming nature into our lives and letting nature welcome us back is another step yet to be taken.

Transformation Toward Sustainability on a Costa Rican Coffee Farm

This case study examines how smallholder coffee producers can overcome the economic and environmental challenges from dominant production structures of agrochemical application and the sale of unprocessed beans at low, market-determined prices. This study is guided by the questions posed by local coffee farmers themselves: How can one successfully shift away from wasteful and harmful practices to those that support the health of the family, community, and environment? We track how El Toledo Coffee Farm in Costa Rica has harnessed natural systems and knowledge sharing, facilitated by international travel to transform challenges into opportunities. Here, we highlight how this family-run coffee farm has (1) implemented agroecological methods, (2) harnessed economic benefits of processing organic coffee and developing innovative products from coffee fruits, and (3) examine psychological factors that have made these transformations possible. By examining the development of integrated coffee production from three distinct academic perspectives, we found that mental flexibility and receptiveness to new ideas, combined with an appreciation of sustainable, traditional practices and values, have spawned various beneficial agroecological practices. These ideas and practices were often initiated by interactions with visitors to the farm, supporting the idea that globalization can foster sustainable food systems and promote collective ecological action through knowledge transfer and shared concern for local environments and communities. The mentality of embracing challenges as opportunities to invest in healthy soils and agroforestry and expand their business model by offering tours and varied products replicates ecological resilience attained through diversity.

Snap-Send-Share-Story: A Methodological Approach to Understanding Urban Residents’ Household Food Waste Group Stories in The Hague (Netherlands)

Rich understandings of the phenomenon, urban household food waste (HFW), are critical to realizing the vision of sustainable, inclusive human settlement. In 2018/19, an exploratory study of HFW perceptions and practices of a diversity of urban residents, was conducted in the Bezuidenhout neighborhood, The Hague (Netherlands). Nineteen participants, communicating in one of three languages, as per their preference, participated through-out this visually enhanced study. The sequential “Snap-Send-Share-Story” qualitative, participatory action research (PAR) inspired methodology, employed in the study, is introduced in this paper. Focus groups (“Story”) which resourced and followed photovoice individual interviews (“Snap-Send-Share”) are principally emphasized. Three focus groups were conducted viz. Dutch (n = 7), English (n = 7) and Arabic (n = 5), within a narrative, photo elicitation style. Explicit and tacit, sensitive, private and seemingly evident yet hard to succinctly verbalize interpretations of HFW—shared and contested—were expressed through group stories. Participants accessed a stream of creativity, from photographing HFW in the privacy of their homes to co-constructing stories in the social research space of focus groups. Stories went beyond the content of the photographs to imagine zero HFW. This approach encouraged critical interaction, awareness of HFW, reflexive synthesis of meaning and deliberations regard social and ecological action.

The Dynamics of Change

This chapter develops and refines the key suppositions of the development ecological action (DEA) model of individual stability and change in crime involvement. First, the chapter discusses some limitations of key developmental theories of crime, arguing that there is a neglect of, and therefore a need for, a stronger focus on the crime event and the criminogenic person–environment interactions that cause acts of, and drives pathways in, crime. The chapter then introduces the basic propositions of situational action theory (SAT) as well as the DEA model. It also explores the DEA model in more depth, explicating the role of psychosocial and socioecological processes in stability and change in people’s crime propensities and criminogenic exposure. Finally, this chapter sums up the key arguments and their implications for the study of criminal careers.