Case Studies of Social-Ecological Systems

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Type

Traditional irrigation practices of Ladakh (Alchi village), India

Case
The village of Alchi is located on the banks of the Indus river in the Ladakh division of the Jammu and Kashmir districts, India.  It encompasses an unknown geographical area of land located in a cold desert/high altitude region characterized by glaciers, snowfields, short cultivation periods, and scarce water resources. The case study involves an undetermined snapshot in time and catalogues an action situation involving an unknown number of households which are dependent on an earthen...
09 Aug 2016

Traditional irrigation practices of Ladakh (Sabu village), India

Case
The village of Sabu (aka Saboo) is located several km from the town of Leh in the Ladakh division of the Jammu and Kashmir districts, India.  It encompasses an unknown geographical area of land located in a cold desert/high altitude region characterized by glaciers, snowfields, short cultivation periods, and scarce water resources. The case study involves an undetermined snapshot in time and catalogues an action situation involving an unknown number of households which are dependent on an...
09 Aug 2016

Traditional irrigation practices of Ladakh (villages of Phuktse, Shara, and Sharnos), India

Case
The villages of Phuktse, Shara, and Sharnos are located in the Ladakh division of the Jammu and Kashmir districts, India.  The villages are successively downstream from each other, beginning with Phuktse which is upstream from Shara which is upstream from Sharnos.  Each village encompasses an unknown geographical area of land located in a cold desert/high altitude region characterized by glaciers, snowfields, short cultivation periods, and scarce water resources. The case study...
09 Aug 2016

Traditional irrigation practices of Ladakh (villages of Phyang and Phey), India

Case
The villages of Phyang and Phey are located northwest and southwest from the town of Leh in the Ladakh division of the Jammu and Kashmir districts, India, and are upstream (Phyang) and downstream (Phey) from each other.  Each village encompasses an unknown geographical area of land located in a cold desert/high altitude region characterized by glaciers, snowfields, short cultivation periods, and scarce water resources. The case study involves an undetermined snapshot in time and catalogues...
09 Aug 2016

Valenca Canoe Fishery

Case
The port of Valenca, which is popular for its canoe-fishing tradition, is located in the state of Bahia, in northeastern Brazil. The original case spans from 1970-1971; the resource units are demersal and pelagic fish species. The introduction of nylon nets by the Brazil government in 1960 gave entry to non-fishing entrepreneurs who hired inexperienced fishers to fish. This new group of fishers disregarded the existing rules, resulting in conflict. In addition, the appropriative power of the...
09 Aug 2016

Village 1 forest community, Almora district, India

Case
The community forests discussed in this case study are called panchayat forests. They are managed by local institutions called van panchayats. The forests and van panchayats all lie in the middle Himalayan ranges in Almora district, India. Almora is one of the eight mountainous districts that together comprise the Uttarkhand in Uttar Pradesh. The analysis focuses on the effects of institutional rules on fodder and fuelwood use in community forests. Village 1 is one of six villages located in...
09 Aug 2016

Village 2 forest community, Almora district, India

Case
The community forests disccused in this case study are called panchayat forests. They are managed by local institutions called van panchayats. The forests and van panchayats all lie in the middle Himalayan ranges in Almora district, India. Almora is one of the eight mountainous districts that together comprise the Uttarakhand in Uttar Pradesh. The analysis focuses on the effects of institutional rules on fodder and fuelwood use in community forests. Village 2 is one of six villages located in...
09 Aug 2016

Village 3 forest community, Almora district, India

Case
The community forests discussed in this case study are called panchayat forests. They are managed by local institutions called van panchayats. The forests and van panchayats all lie in the middle Himalayan ranges in Almora district, India. Almora is one of the eight mountainous districts that together comprise the Uttarakhand in Uttar Pradesh. The analysis focuses on the effects of institutional rules on fodder and fuelwood use in community forests. Village 3 is one of six villages located in...
09 Aug 2016

Village 4 community forest, Almora District, Uttarakhand, India

Case
The community forests discussed in this case study are called panchayat forests. They are managed by local institutions called van panchayats. The forests and van panchayats all lie in the middle Himalayan ranges in Almora district, India. Almora is one of the eight mountainous districts that together comprise the Uttarakhan in Uttar Pradesh. The analysis focuses on the effects of institutional rules on fodder and fuelwood use in community forests. Village 4 is one of six villages locaged in...
09 Aug 2016

Village 5 community forest, Almora district, Uttarakhand, India

Case
The community forests discussed in this case study are called panchayat forests. They are managed by local institutions called van panchayats. The forests and van panchayats all lie in the middle Himalayan ranges in Almora district. Almora is one of the eight mountainous districts that together comprise the Uttarakhand in Uttar Pradesh. The analysis focuses on the effects of institutional rules on fodder and fuelwood use in community forests. Village 5 is one of six villages located in the...
09 Aug 2016

Village 6 community forest, Almora district, Uttarakhand, India

Case
The community forests discussed in this case study are called panchayat forests. They are managed by local institutions called van panchayats. The forests and van panchayats all lie in the middle Himalayan ranges in Almora district, India. Almora is one of the eight mountainous districts that together comprise the Uttarakhand in Uttar Pradesh. The analysis focuses on the effects of institutional rules on fodder and fuelwood use in community forests. Village 6 is one of six villages located in...
09 Aug 2016

Village S irrigation system, Qiyi Irrigation District, Zhuolu county, Hebei province, China

Case
Village S irrigation system is located in the Qiyi Irrigation District, Zhuolu county, Hebei province, China. Its water supply is from Sanggan river delivered by local water agency through the main canals. This village committee managed system is a failure case, although this system exists more than 40 years. Its water fees collection rate keeps on only 40% and more than 50% delivered water is wasted due to the poor infrastructure. The main reason for its inefficiency management is because the...
09 Aug 2016

Wannian River Restoration, Taiwan

Case
Wannian River Restoration case is part of the comparative urban river restoration analysis developed between 2019 to 2020 by Herlin Chien at United Nations University, Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability in Japan. The common pool resource system is the Wannian River (5.5 km) located in a medium sized city of Pingtung with 200,000 inhabitants. This case is most known as one of the best practices of urban river restoration program in Taiwan, undertaking several major river form,...
21 Jul 2020

Water Equity and Tourism: A Case of Nainital District, Uttarakhand

Case
The current case is based on findings specific to ten villages in two blocks, Ramgarh and Dhari located in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand, India. This study is based on fieldwork that was carried over the course of a few years since 2014; originally with the intent to ascertain the impact of climate change on the livelihoods of mountain farmers. It was found that urbanization and the increase in tourism infrastructure in the district over the past decade has resulted in a conflict over...
03 Dec 2018

Water Scarcity, Flooding, and Public Infrastructure in Mexico City

Case
Mexico City, a megalopolis of 22 million, is located at the center of the Basin of Mexico. For over 600 years, catastrophic flooding and access to potable water have challenged the city’s residents, motivating extensive investments in hard infrastructure to supply the city with fresh water, or to protect the city from periodic flooding. The case study catalogues an action situation involving residents and their local, city, state, and federal governments that formally and informally govern land...
09 Aug 2016