Matching Items (2)
Description
What happens to community-based institutions (CBIs) when persistent out-migration changes the socio-demographic structures in the community? This question needs exploration in the context of increasing urbanization in the developing countries, where a substantial population depends on forests for subsistence livelihoods. In pursuance of this question, Almora district in India provided the necessary conditions of high out-migration, and the presence of oldest surviving CBIs of forest management (locally called as Van Panchayats or VPs). Framing the research question as social resilience of VPs amidst high out-migration, a representative sample of six VPs in Almora was investigated. Factors considered crucial to social resilience were analyzed by using qualitative and quantitative techniques on primary data collected through household surveys (n=111) and secondary data from authentic sources. Results, organized by three levels of analysis, highlight: 1) community - low participation, particularly of women, in proceedings of VPs, and a transition away from forest-based livelihoods; 2) institutional (VPs) - low adaptability to changes in gendered composition and a shift away from the community-specific needs; and, 3) policy - reduced use and access of forest resources for the community, and curtailed autonomy of VPs. The findings suggest that out-migration is one among the multiple factors, and its impacts on VPs are mediated by the broader political economy around VPs, thus obviating a linear causal relationship. Therefore, the findings arguably inform policy and future research by highlighting linkages between diverse contextual factors at the regional and community level, and the points of concern for social resilience of VPs, with particular focus on out-migration.
ContributorsPrateek, Gautam (Author) / Knopf, Richard (Thesis advisor) / Aggarwal, Rimjhim (Committee member) / Kelman, Candice Carr (Committee member) / Mobarakeh, Behrang Forroughi (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
Adaptation and transformation have emerged as a key themes for human-environment research, especially in the context of rapid social-ecological changes. The 2008 global financial crisis constitutes a major driver of change with social-ecological ramifications that have yet to be fully explored. Using Greece, the poster child of the euro-crisis as a case-study, this dissertation examines how adaptive capacity is mobilized and even enhanced in times of crisis, paying particular attention to the role played by natural capital. To do so, I focus on the back-to-land trend whereby urbanites seek to engage in food production post-crisis (2008-onwards). In-depth qualitative analysis of back-to-landers’ motivations, experiences, and challenges is integrated with quantitative data about household demographics, incomes and assets, and land management characteristics. The dissertation is organized in three main result papers (chapters). The first seeks to understand why people turn to the land in times of crisis, and the role played by agency. The second analyzes the various assets that people mobilize in order to go back to the land, paying particular attention to the different mobilities necessary for their livelihood transformation. The third examines environmental safety nets in terms of material and non-material benefits that ecosystems provide to people. This research contributes to a wider social-ecological scholarship that seeks to understand how people adapt and transform when confronted with crises, focusing on how land and associated ecosystem services contribute to the resilience of these households, and the role played by agency in this process.
ContributorsBenessaiah, Karina (Author) / Turner II, Billie L. (Thesis advisor) / Eakin, Hallie (Committee member) / Chan, Kai M.A. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018