Case Studies of Social-Ecological Systems

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Type

Coastal vulnerability to climate change in Eden District municipality, Western Cape province, South Africa

Case
The local municipalities of Bitou, Knysna, George, Mossel Bay, and Hessequa are situated in the Garden Route along the south coast of South Africa in the Eden District municipality, Western Cape province. The study area encompasses human developments along the coastline that stretch from the mouth of the Bloukrans River in the east to the Breede Estuary (Witsand) in the west, and inland to the foot of the Cape Fold Mountains.  The Eden District action arena is characterized by (1) a...
09 Aug 2016

Coastal vulnerability to climate change in the Languedoc coastal region, southern France

Case
The Languedoc coastal zone is located in the delta region of the river Rhone bordering the Mediterranean Sea between Montpellier and the Petite Camargue in southern France. The study site also encompasses 20 km (~12.43 miles) of the inland area, including numerous communities of various sizes, the Lez and Vistre rivers, coastal lagoons and basins, and a mix of freshwater and brackish wetlands.  The Languedoc study area is characterized by an action arena in which (1) rapid population...
09 Aug 2016

Collective Action in Irish Coastal Fishery

Case
This case was part of a study to determine whether the institutional design principles of Ostrom were, in fact, related to "governance success" by Cox et al.  In that analysis, this case was classified as a success/failure (to be supplemented).The original case study authors deemed the shellfish cooperative as a success to prevent encroachment by external actors (salmon farmers) but a failure to effectively regulate freeriding within the cooperative they formed. This case study used a...
09 Aug 2016

Common property regime of the Huaorani Indians (modern), Ecuador

Case
Contemporary Huaorani Indian society is scattered into approximately two dozen villages located in an area that encompasses the Napo, Orellana, and Pastaza provinces in the Ecuadorian Amazon region.  The case study involves a time period from approximately 1996 to the late 1990s and catalogues an action situation involving approximately 1,500 to 2,000 individuals and an unknown number of households who depend on domestic crops, gathered wild fruits, nuts and tubers, as well as hunted game and...
09 Aug 2016

Common property regime of the Huaorani Indians, Ecuador

Case
Historically the Huaorani Indian society encompassed an area of 20,000 km2 in the Ecuadorian Amazonian region bordered on the north by the Napo River and the south by the Curaray River.  The case study involves a historical time period predating first contact with outsiders in 1958 and catalogues an action situation involving an unknown number of individuals organized in small groupings of one to two extended families with a seminomadic movement pattern of cyclical relocation to certain areas...
09 Aug 2016

Common property regime within Lagunas de Montebello National Park, Chiapas, Mexico

Case
This research was conducted in Lagunas de Montebello National Park (PNLM) in Chiapas, the sourthernmost state in Mexico. PNLM is a small (6,022 ha) protected area situated in south-central Chiapas, along the border with Guatemala in the ecological transition zone between the central highlands and the lowland tropical rainforests of this state. These forests experienced extensive and severe fires in 1998, due to drought conditions following the El Nino event of 1997. This study documented forest...
09 Aug 2016

Communal grazing lands, Endaberg village, Tanzania

Case
This case was part of a study to determine whether the institutional design principles of Ostrom where, in fact, related to "governance success" by Cox et al.  In that analysis, this case was classified as a failure.
09 Aug 2016

Communal irrigation management, Lari, Colca Valley, Peru

Case
This study focuses on water use in irrigation.  The case is characterized by well-defined boundaries: Once water enters an irrigation cluster it comes under the control of the landowners. There is evidence of congruence between appropriation and provision rules and local conditions as water is distributed according to time sequence (p. 57), spatial sequence (p. 58), and crop irrigation sequence (p. 59, 105). The sequence can be adjusted within a irrigation cluster since microclimates,...
09 Aug 2016

Communal water resources management, Nkayi District, Zimbabwe

Case
This case was part of a study to determine whether the institutional design principles of Ostrom where, in fact, related to "governance success" by Cox et al.  In that analysis, this case was classified as a success.
09 Aug 2016

Community and Forest: Environmental Narratives in Ikaria island, Greece

Case
Τhis case concerns the Radi forest in Ikaria Island, Greece. It is revealed the role of local, community institutions, and the external institutional context in the organization process of people and forest. This work synthesizes and analyzes, by historical ethnography, the socio-ecological system, its origins and the conditions that contributed to the emergence and establishment of this system. The invention and the appliance of management plans by the self-organized community in Ikaria island...
16 Aug 2019

Community Aqueduct and their Water User Associations in the Fuquene Lake Basin

Case
This case synthesizes nine studies conducted around the Fuquene Lake Basin's community aqueducts and Water Users Associations (WUAs) between 2004 and 2016. Many WUAs face significant challenges due to water availability and local political and economic dynamics threatening their existence. Governmental and non-governmental entities focus on conserving biodiversity and protecting ecosystems in the basin but need more significant efforts to articulate the WUAs to this work. Also, formal rules...
21 Jul 2023

Community coral reef fishery, Ahus village, Ahus Island, Papua New Guinea

Case
The Ahus village coral reef is located off of the west coast of Manus Island north of Karkar Island and the mainland of Papua New Guinea. Approximately 600 residents live on a small (28 ha), densely populated, low-lying island with few terrestrial resources. A reported 77% of the population depends upon fishing as their primary occupation. The original case authors focus on the socioeconomic factors and context which influence the success of marine protected areas in Papua New Guinea.The case...
09 Aug 2016

Community coral reef fishery, Muluk village, Karkar Island, Papua New Guinea

Case
The Muluk community coral reef fishery is located on the eastern side of Karkar Island off the northern shores of the Madang Province in Papua New Guinea. Karkar Island is a volcanic island with substantial terrestrial resources. The Muluk community consists of 330 people in 50 households, with just 5% depending on fishing as their primary occupation. The original case authors focus on the socioeconomic factors and context which influence the success of marine protected areas in Papua New...
09 Aug 2016

Community forest, Dhulikhelko Thulo Ban, Kabhrepalanchok district, Nepal (I)

Case
This article examines the role played by local institutions in determining the conditions of two forests located in the Middle Hills of Nepal. Of the two forest systems (the forest, its users, and forest governance system combined) located within the Kabhrepalanchok district, one is Dhulikhelko Thulo Ban (hereafter, Dhulikhel). The findings show that the two forests are different in level of historical degradation as well as present conditions, and these differences are...
09 Aug 2016

Community forest, Jyalachitti, Kabhrepalanchok district, Nepal (II)

Case
This article examines the role played by local institutions in determining the conditions of two forests located in the Middle Hills of Nepal. Of the two forest systems (the forest, its users, and forest governance system combined) located within the Kabhrepalanchok district, one is Jyalachitti. The findings show that the two forests are different in level of historical degradation as well as present conditions, and these differences are generally explained by the structural...
09 Aug 2016