Sharing Ecological Knowledge: Opportunities and Barriers to Uptake

Conserving tropical ecosystems is one of the foremost challenges of the 21st century. Lately, conservation efforts have focused on advancing conservation through dialogue and interaction with and among diverse stakeholders. Knowledge sharing, and specifically the transfer of scientific knowledge, can raise ecological awareness among stakeholders and is necessary to facilitate dialogue, yet the communication of tropical scientific research to local stakeholders is rarely effectively implemented. Such a communication gap potentially undermines the conservation and management of natural resources. The papers in this special section highlight the difficulties and benefits of sharing ecological knowledge, as well as the underlying reasons for why a research–implementation gap has arisen.     

Beyond Paradise—Meeting the Challenges in Tropical Biology in the 21st Century

Tropical ecosystems support a diversity of species and ecological processes that are unparalleled anywhere else on Earth. Despite their tremendous social and scientific importance, tropical ecosystems are rapidly disappearing. To usher tropical ecosystems and the human communities dependent upon them through the environmental transformations of the 21st century, tropical biologists must provide critical knowledge in three areas: 1) the structure and function of tropical ecosystems; 2) the nature and magnitude of anthropogenic effects on tropical ecosystems; and 3) the socio‐economic drivers of these anthropogenic effects. To develop effective strategies for conservation, restoration, and sustainable management of tropical ecosystems, scientific perspectives must be integrated with social necessities. A new set of principles built on a framework for pursuing relevant tropical biological research will facilitate interdisciplinary approaches, integrate biological knowledge with the social sciences, and link science with policy. We propose four broad recommendations for immediate action in tropical biology and conservation that are fundamental to all biological and social disciplines in the tropics: 1) assemble and disseminate information on life's diversity in the tropics; 2) enhance tropical field stations and build a worldwide network to link them with tropical field biologists at their field sites; 3) bring the field of tropical biology to the tropics by strengthening institutions in tropical countries through novel partnerships between tropical and temperate zone institutions and scientists; and 4) create concrete mechanisms to increase interactions between tropical biologists, social scientists, and policy makers.     

Fishers' Knowledge of Marine Species Assemblages: Bridging between Scientific and Local Ecological Knowledge in Southeastern Puerto Rico

Increasingly, local ecological knowledge (LEK) held by groups of people engaging directly with their ecosystems for food production is recognized as a valuable tool for understanding environmental change, as well as for ecosystem management and conservation. However, the acceptance of LEK for resource management has been partly hindered by difficulties in translating local knowledge into a form that can be applied directly to Western scientific endeavors. Anthropology's focus on cultural meaning makes its practitioners uniquely qualified to find common ground between different systems of knowledge. Here, I report the use of ethnographic methods to represent Puerto Rican small-scale fishers' knowledge about tropical coastal habitat connectivity and the composition of species assemblages by underwater habitats. These two topics are of current interest for tropical fishery science and their study can benefit from fishers' extensive experience with the coastal environments on which they depend.     

综述地方知识的生态应用价值

地方知识在解决生态问题上的价值在国外已经受到相当的重视,但在中国尚刚刚起步。通过综述国内外地方知识的相关文献,发现有关地方知识的研究最近几年呈逐渐上升的趋势,国外研究明显多于国内且比国内深入。整体而言,地方知识在生态应用中的价值可以体现在4个方面:作为背景知识、提供基础数据、提供未来方案以及参与生态管理。国内有关地方知识的研究还流于描述层面,大多在描述背景知识。而国外的研究则更多得聚焦于怎样利用地方知识来提供数据、提供新的规划及技术方法,并强化地方知识在生态管理中的作用。结合文献归纳了地方知识在生态应用梯度各等级中的具体作用,提出了一个地方知识的生态应用框架,以期指导中国的相关科研和实践工作。以国外的研究为鉴,地方知识在中国的生态应用未来具有很大空间,地方知识作为普遍知识的有效补充,应该充分参与数据、决策以及管理的全过程,提出地方知识在中国未来应用发展的几个重点突破的难点,期望地方知识在科学规划、资源管理中发挥其应有的价值。     

Coppice Harvesting of Fuelwood Species on a South African Common: Utilizing Scientific and Indigenous Knowledge in Community Based Natural Resource Management

The limitations of Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) with respect to the difficulties of comparing local versus scientific knowledge categories within a bounded definition of ‘community’ were investigated by means of a study exploring local indigenous knowledge pertaining to harvesting technique, and the impact of soil and species type on the post-harvest coppice response of popular savanna fuelwood species, among rural inhabitants of the Bushbuckridge region of the Limpopo Province, South Africa. Soils and plants were evaluated chiefly in terms of their perceived ability to retain precipitation, making rainfall a driving force in local understanding of environmental productivity. Some indigenous knowledge showed an agreement with biological data, but overall the variability in responses, as well as the diverse scales at which indigenous and scientific knowledge is directed, were too great to allow for simplistic parallels between local ecological indices to be made. Indigenous environmental knowledge was underscored by the perceived symbolic link between environmental and social degradation. It is recommended that environmental managers incorporate indigenous knowledge as a component of a systems-level approach to natural resource management, where biological, cultural, economic, and symbolic aspects of natural resource use are nested within a broader ecosocial system. This approach to indigenous knowledge is offered as an alternative to the simple scientific evaluation that so often characterizes environmental management.     

The challenges of long-term invasive mammal management: lessons from the UK

We consider the motivations, strategies, and costs involved in invasive mammal management undertaken in the UK. Widespread established invasive mammals require long-term management to limit damage or spread, but ongoing management is costly and complex. Long-term management is most effective where it is applied at a landscape scale, but this requires overarching co-ordination between multiple stakeholders. Five challenges for successful long-term management of invasive mammal species are identified as follows: defining landscape-scale strategies, management co-ordination, stakeholder and community engagement, sustainable funding, and evidence requirements. We make recommendations on the supportive infrastructure needed for effective landscape-scale management of invasive mammals to fulfil long-term conservation aims, as follows. 1. There is a need for evidence-based Invasive Species Action Plans to provide strategy for the long-term ongoing management of prioritised species at appropriate scales. 2. Where possible, multispecies approaches to invasive species management should be adopted. 3. Trusted leadership should be identified to take ownership of Action Plans and provide an overarching co-ordination to bring individuals, organisations, and funders together. 4. Support for a centralised hub for training, data, and knowledge flows will greatly improve scientific outcomes through a searchable evidence base, and via best practice and knowledge sharing.     

Partnering for Greater Success: Local Stakeholders and Research in Tropical Biology and Conservation

Local communities are important stakeholders in resource management and conservation efforts, particularly in the developing world. Although evidence is mixed in suggesting that these resident stakeholders are optimal forest stewards, it is highly unlikely that large tracts of tropical forests will be conserved without engaging local people who depend on them daily for their livelihoods. Stakeholders, who reside in biodiverse ecosystems like tropical forests, are the largest direct users and ultimate decision-makers of forest fate, can be important investors in conservation, harbor local ecological knowledge that complements Western science and frequently have long-term legitimate claims on lands where they reside. Research partnerships with local stakeholders can increase research relevance, enhance knowledge exchange and result in greater conservation success. Different phases of the research cycle present distinct opportunities for partnership, with flexibility in timing, approaches and strategies depending on researcher and local stakeholder needs and interests. Despite being the last step in the research process, dissemination of results can be the best starting point for researchers interested in experimenting with local stakeholder engagement. Still, tropical biologists might not choose to partner with local people because of lack of institutional rewards, insufficient training in stakeholder engagement, insecure research infrastructure in community settings, and time and funding limitations. Although not appropriate in all cases and despite significant challenges, some biological scientists and research institutions have successfully engaged local stakeholders in the research process, proving mutually beneficial for investigators and local people alike and resulting in important innovations in tropical biology and conservation.     

Crop changes from the XVI century to the present in a hill/mountain area of eastern Liguria (Italy)

Background

Until recently, little attention has been paid to local innovation capacity as well as management practices and institutions developed by communities and other local actors based on their traditional knowledge. This paper doesn't focus on the results of scientific research into innovation systems, but rather on how local communities, in a network of supportive partnerships, draw knowledge for others, combine it with their own knowledge and then innovate in their local practices. Innovation, as discussed in this article, is the capacity of local stakeholders to play an active role in innovative knowledge creation in order to enhance local health practices and further environmental conservation. In this article, the innovative processes through which this capacity is created and reinforced will be defined as a process of "ethnomedicine capacity".

Methods

The field study undertaken by the first author took place in India, in the State of Tamil Nadu, over a period of four months in 2007. The data was collected through individual interviews and focus groups and was complemented by participant observations.

Results

The research highlights the innovation capacity related to ethnomedical knowledge. As seen, the integration of local and scientific knowledge is crucial to ensure the practices anchor themselves in daily practices. The networks created are clearly instrumental to enhancing the innovation capacity that allows the creation, dissemination and utilization of 'traditional' knowledge. However, these networks have evolved in very different forms and have become entities that can fit into global networks. The ways in which the social capital is enhanced at the village and network levels are thus important to understand how traditional knowledge can be used as an instrument for development and innovation.

Conclusion

The case study analyzed highlights examples of innovation systems in a developmental context. They demonstrate that networks comprised of several actors from different levels can synergistically forge linkages between local knowledge and formal sciences and generate positive and negative impacts. The positive impact is the revitalization of perceived traditions while the negative impacts pertain to the transformation of these traditions into health commodities controlled by new elites, due to unequal power relations.     

Digital repository of associations between environmental variables: A new resource to facilitate knowledge synthesis

Responsible care and management of Earth's resources requires scientific support, but the pool of underused research is growing rapidly. Environmental science research studies describe associations between variables (e.g. statistical relationships between stressors and responses). We propose open-access and online sharing of such associations. This concept differs from various efforts around the world to promote sharing of primary research data, but holds similar goals of improved use of existing knowledge. The initiative is made possible by recent developments in information technology and evolving online culture (e.g. crowdsourcing and citizen science). We have begun to connect existing projects that catalog and store associations, thereby moving toward a single virtual repository. Researchers and decision makers may share and re-use associations for myriad purposes, including: increasing efficiency and timeliness of systematic reviews, environmental assessments and meta-analyses, identifying knowledge gaps and research opportunities, providing evolved metrics of research impact, and demonstrating connections between research and environmental improvement.     

Planning adaptation to climate change in fast-warming marine regions with seafood-dependent coastal communities

Many coastal communities rely on living marine resources for livelihoods and food security. These resources are commonly under stress from overfishing, pollution, coastal development and habitat degradation. Climate change is an additional stressor beginning to impact coastal systems and communities, but may also lead to opportunities for some species and the people they sustain. We describe the research approach for a multi-country project, focused on the southern hemisphere, designed to contribute to improving fishing community adaptation efforts by characterizing, assessing and predicting the future of coastal-marine food resources, and co-developing adaptation options through the provision and sharing of knowledge across fast-warming marine regions (i.e. marine ‘hotspots’). These hotspots represent natural laboratories for observing change and concomitant human adaptive responses, and for developing adaptation options and management strategies. Focusing on adaptation options and strategies for enhancing coastal resilience at the local level will contribute to capacity building and local empowerment in order to minimise negative outcomes and take advantage of opportunities arising from climate change. However, developing comparative approaches across regions that differ in political institutions, socio-economic community demographics, resource dependency and research capacity is challenging. Here, we describe physical, biological, social and governance tools to allow hotspot comparisons, and several methods to evaluate and enhance interactions within a multi-nation research team. Strong partnerships within and between the focal regions are critical to scientific and political support for development of effective approaches to reduce future vulnerability. Comparing these hotspot regions will enhance local adaptation responses and generate outcomes applicable to other regions.     

Global crop improvement networks to bridge technology gaps

To ensure future food security, there is an urgent need for improved co-ordination of agricultural research. While advances in biotechnology hold considerable promise, significant technology gaps exist that may reduce their impact. Examples include an incomplete knowledge of target breeding environments, a limited understanding and/or application of optimal crop management practices, and underfunded extension services. A better co-ordinated and more globalized approach to agricultural research through the implementation of Global Crop Improvement Networks (GCIN) is proposed. Such networks could underpin agricultural research and development by providing the following types of services: (i) increased resolution and precision of environmental information, including meteorological data, soil characteristics, hydrological data, and the identification of environmental 'hotspots' for a range of biotic, abiotic, and socio-economic constraints; (ii) augmented research capacity, including network-based variety and crop management trials, faster and more comprehensive diagnosis of emerging constraints, timely sharing of new technologies, opportunities to focus research efforts better by linking groups with similar productivity constraints and complementary skills, and greater control of experimental variables in field-based phenotyping; and (iii) increased communication and impacts via more effective dissemination of new ideas and products, the integration of information globally to elicit well-timed local responses to productivity threats, an increased profile, and the publicity of threats to food security. Such outputs would help target the translation of research from the laboratory into the field while bringing the constraints of rural communities closer to the scientific community. The GCIN could provide a lens which academia, science councils, and development agencies could use to focus in on themes of common interest, and working platforms to integrate novel research approaches on crop adaptation and rural development.     

Current issues in tropical phenology: a synthesis

We retrace the development of tropical phenology research, compare temperate phenology study to that in the tropics and highlight the advances currently being made in this flourishing discipline. The synthesis draws attention to how fundamentally different tropical phenology data can be to temperate data. Tropical plants lack a phase of winter dormancy and may grow and reproduce continually. Seasonal patterns in environmental parameters, such as rainfall, irradiance or temperature, do not necessarily coincide temporally, as they do in temperate climes. We review recent research on the drivers of phenophase cycles in individual trees, species and communities and highlight how significant innovations in biometric tools and approaches are being driven by the need to deal with circular data, the complexity of defining tropical seasons and the myriad growth and reproductive strategies used by tropical plants. We discuss how important the use of leaf phenology (or remotely‐sensed proxies of leaf phenophases) has become in tracking biome responses to climate change at the continental level and how important the phenophase of forests can be in determining local weather conditions. We also highlight how powerful analyses of plant responses are hampered at many tropical sites by a lack of contextual data on local environmental conditions. We conclude by arguing that there is a clear global benefit in increasing long term tropical phenology data collection and improving empirical collection of local climate measures, contemporary to the phenology data. Directing more resources to research in this sector will be widely beneficial.     

The essential elements of science and management in coastal environmental managements

Coastal environmental management requires timely and appropriate policy, management and technological interventions to address a host of interrelated environmental problems arising from unplanned and unregulated coastal developments. These interventions can only be effective if they are based on sound scientific (including socioeconomic) information. Thus, science plays a significant role in the environmental management of coastal and marine areas. This paper highlights the essential components of environmental coastal management that require scientific interventions, particularly in providing the scientific basis for policy interventions, and preventive and/or mitigating measures. The integration and packaging of scientific information for management actions require an interdisciplinary effort to address identified management problems. Scientific research should respond to management needs and make contributions to the better understanding of ecosystems and their responses to human interventions. Scientific information urgently required for management includes an understanding of interactions in coastal resource systems, identification, evaluation and prioritization of management issues, management strategies and actions, and development of methodologies and tools for environmental management. Obstacles to management-oriented research have also been identified to include defective perception among scientists, defective communication between scientists and decision makers, intellectual and cultural arrogance, and inadequate technical and management capability at the local level. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Collaborative research partnerships inform monitoring and management of aquatic ecosystems by Indigenous rangers

Aquatic ecosystems are critical to the long-term viability and vibrancy of communities and economies across northern Australia. In a region that supports significant cultural and ecological water values, partnerships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous stakeholders can benefit aquatic ecosystem management. We present, as a case study from the Kimberley region of Western Australia, a collaborative research program that successfully documented Indigenous and Western Scientific knowledge of remote wetlands, using a variety of field-based activities, questionnaires, interviews and workshops. The sharing of knowledge between Indigenous and non-Indigenous research partners facilitated a comprehensive understanding of ecosystem values, threats, processes, management priorities and aspirations. These formed the basis of a management plan and monitoring tools, designed to build the capacity of an Indigenous ranger group to engage in research, monitoring and management of wetlands. The project provides a useful example of the benefits of collaborations in the context of remote-area management where local communities are responsible for environmental management and monitoring, such as is the case in northern Australia and presumably other areas of the world.     

Towards a collaborative, global infrastructure for biodiversity assessment

Biodiversity data are rapidly becoming available over the Internet in common formats that promote sharing and exchange. Currently, these data are somewhat problematic, primarily with regard to geographic and taxonomic accuracy, for use in ecological research, natural resources management and conservation decision-making. However, web-based georeferencing tools that utilize best practices and gazetteer databases can be employed to improve geographic data. Taxonomic data quality can be improved through web-enabled valid taxon names databases and services, as well as more efficient mechanisms to return systematic research results and taxonomic misidentification rates back to the biodiversity community. Both of these are under construction. A separate but related challenge will be developing web-based visualization and analysis tools for tracking biodiversity change. Our aim was to discuss how such tools, combined with data of enhanced quality, will help transform today's portals to raw biodiversity data into nexuses of collaborative creation and sharing of biodiversity knowledge.     

The integration of biodiversity conservation with oil and gas exploration in sensitive tropical environments

This paper describes the approach of TOTAL Exploration & Production concerning the protection of biodiversity during oil and gas exploration and production activities, particularly in sensitive environments such as tropical islands. This approach was developed according to three stages: knowing biodiversity, protecting biodiversity and, going further, by contributing to scientific research. This three step approach is embedded in an environment protection policy and an associated set of actions already implemented for many years. Knowledge of the biodiversity is an indispensable preliminary to evaluating the sensitivity of a site which is likely to be impacted by an industrial activity. TOTAL E&P Indonésie (TI) has been operating for over 30 years in the East part of Borneo Island in areas of increasing sensitivity with respect to mangrove ecosystems; for example the Mahakam delta which includes the Tambora, Handil and Tunu fields. This area was initially covered by dense mangrove vegetation. Regular biodiversity surveys in the delta, especially for fishes, birds and benthos, have allowed TI to witness the progressive changes occurring in the delta. Reducing significant impacts and conserving biodiversity is considered as an integral part of sustainable development. With regard to the Mahakam delta, in the last decades there has been a marked increase of local population activities and deforestation due to shrimp-culture development. TI has made significant efforts with environmental management actions to protect the mangrove ecosystem through several environmental programs such as minimizing land clearing and reinstating cleared areas. The programs have involved local communities and other stakeholders such as NGO’s and governmental bodies. Contributing to scientific knowledge of biodiversity is of mutual interest to both science and industry. The TOTAL Group, through its Foundation for Biodiversity and the Sea, has supported the establishment of a comprehensive inventory of the marine biodiversity of the island of Panglao, situated southwest of Bohol, Philippines. The Panglao Marine Biodiversity project was driven in collaboration between the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, and the University of San Carlos, Cebu City, Philippines. Recently, another major biodiversity inventory has been also supported by the TOTAL Foundation: the Santo 2006 biodiversity project. On this island, located in the Vanuatu archipelago, the research program has focused on four themes: marine, forest, karstic environments and alien species. Furthermore, TOTAL in partnership with IFREMER, a French oceanographic research centre, has also developed a comprehensive biodiversity research and development program dedicated to Deep Sea ecosystems. Even if initially focused off Western Africa, this emerging issue is also of concern in most of the tropical areas in the world where deep offshore environments are present.     

地方知识在水安全格局识别中的作用——以重庆御临河流域龙兴、石船镇为例

景观安全格局作为一种生态规划途径,其识别过程具有综合性和复杂性。立足于水安全格局,力求挖掘地方知识在解决特定场地水生态问题中的意义。研究区域为重庆御临河流域的石船、龙兴镇。"谷歌地图+辅助问卷"的方法收集了大量地方知识对场地水过程的认知(包括雨洪、灌溉过程,饮用水过程,捕鱼过程等)。研究对比了地方知识与科学知识的关系,通过结合两者的信息共同构建当地的水安全格局,并在过程中总结了地方知识在水安全格局识别中的作用。研究肯定了地方知识在水安全格局识别过程中的重要价值。地方知识与科学知识在一些水过程识别结果上具有很强的相似性。在科学数据充分的情况下,地方知识是对科学识别的有效补充及模型校正,例如能够为径流和径流交汇点等级划分提供地方依据。在科学数据匮乏的情况下,地方知识能够快速支撑某些水过程的分析以及格局识别,例如地方知识能够识别出地下水水位、地下河、鱼类栖息地与产卵场等关键空间要素,并且提供微观的调节措施以减少水库运行对鱼类的影响。整体而言,地方知识具有一定独立识别大尺度雨洪安全格局的能力,但也有自身的局限,包括认知范围狭小,地方性强等。研究为地方知识在景观安全格局应用中的科学体系提供了一个初步探索。     

The sharing of water between society and ecosystems: from conflict to catchment-based co-management

Human uses of freshwater resources are increasing rapidly as the world population rises. As this happens, less water is left to support aquatic and associated ecosystems. To minimize future human water shortages and undesirable environmental impacts, more equitable sharing of water resources between society and nature is required. This will require physical quantities and social values to be placed on both human and aquatic ecosystem requirements. Current water valuation systems are dominated by economic values and this paper illustrates new quantification and valuation methods that take more account of human well-being and environmental impacts. The key to the effective implementation of these more equitable water allocation methods is the use of catchment-based integrated water resources management. This holistic framework makes it possible for human and ecosystem water requirements and the interactions between them to be better understood. This knowledge provides the foundation for incorporating relevant social factors so that water policies and laws can be developed to make best use of limited water resources. Catchment-based co-management can therefore help to ensure more effective sharing of water between people and nature.     

Graduate Students and Knowledge Exchange with Local Stakeholders: Possibilities and Preparation

Tropical biologists are exploring ways to expand their role as researchers through knowledge exchange with local stakeholders. Graduate students are well positioned for this broader role, particularly when supported by graduate programs. We ask: (1) how can graduate students effectively engage in knowledge exchange during their research; and (2) how can university programs prepare young scientists to take on this partnership role? We present a conceptual framework with three levels at which graduate students can exchange knowledge with stakeholders (information sharing, skill building, and knowledge generation) and discuss limitations of each. Examples of these strategies included disseminating preliminary research results to southern African villages, building research skills of Brazilian undergraduate students through semester‐long internships, and jointly developing and implementing a forest ecology research and training program with one community in the Amazon estuary. Students chose strategies based on stakeholders' interests, research goals, and a realistic evaluation of student capacity and skill set. As strategies became more complex, time invested, skills mobilized, and strength of relationships between students and stakeholders increased. Graduate programs can prepare students for knowledge exchange with partners by developing specialized skills training, nurturing external networks, offering funding, maximizing strengths of universities in developed and developing regions through partnership, and evaluating knowledge exchange experiences. While balancing the needs of academia with those of stakeholders is challenging, the benefits of enhancing local scientific capacity and generating more locally relevant research for improved conservation may be worth the risks associated with implementing this type of graduate training model.     

Mine, yours, ours? Sharing data on human genetic variation

The achievement of a robust, effective and responsible form of data sharing is currently regarded as a priority for biological and bio-medical research. Empirical evaluations of data sharing may be regarded as an indispensable first step in the identification of critical aspects and the development of strategies aimed at increasing availability of research data for the scientific community as a whole. Research concerning human genetic variation represents a potential forerunner in the establishment of widespread sharing of primary datasets. However, no specific analysis has been conducted to date in order to ascertain whether the sharing of primary datasets is common-practice in this research field. To this aim, we analyzed a total of 543 mitochondrial and Y chromosomal datasets reported in 508 papers indexed in the Pubmed database from 2008 to 2011. A substantial portion of datasets (21.9%) was found to have been withheld, while neither strong editorial policies nor high impact factor proved to be effective in increasing the sharing rate beyond the current figure of 80.5%. Disaggregating datasets for research fields, we could observe a substantially lower sharing in medical than evolutionary and forensic genetics, more evident for whole mtDNA sequences (15.0% vs 99.6%). The low rate of positive responses to e-mail requests sent to corresponding authors of withheld datasets (28.6%) suggests that sharing should be regarded as a prerequisite for final paper acceptance, while making authors deposit their results in open online databases which provide data quality control seems to provide the best-practice standard. Finally, we estimated that 29.8% to 32.9% of total resources are used to generate withheld datasets, implying that an important portion of research funding does not produce shared knowledge. By making the scientific community and the public aware of this important aspect, we may help popularize a more effective culture of data sharing.