Abstract / Summary:
The overall aim of this project is provide a methodological and conceptual contribution to address the governance of natural resources as a complex process involving multiple levels and scales. We focus on land as a key natural resource. Land use and land cover change deeply impact biological diversity and respond to the complex interplay between economic opportunities and institutional and cultural factors.
The main objective of the project is to develop a comparative GIS methodology to address land governance at multiple levels by investigating interrelations between land tenure, land use, land cover and biodiversity in the cases of Bolivia and Laos. Both countries have highly diverse institutional, socio-economic and cultural contexts and have recently experienced partial transfers of governance from central state to sub-national and local levels, in parallel with an increased recognition of traditional or indigenous authorities.
The project will build on existing methodological and empirical research achievements in both countries. In Laos, a methodology has been developed to bridge socio-economic and ecological data by identifying landscape types and relate them to socio-economic and demographic characteristics at national and sub-national levels. In Bolivia, case studies have shown the interplay between land distribution and use on the one hand, and cultural group composition and socio-economic differences within these groups on the other hand.
The methodology of the project will consist in using cartography and GIS to superimpose maps of land use, land tenure, land cover and biodiversity at different scales, and relate local dynamics of land governance with identified geographical and cultural contexts. An initial seminar involving a panel of experts will allow transferring and adapting the methodology already developed for one country to the other. While emphasis will be given to the identification of land cover mosaics and landscape types in Bolivia, the focus in Laos will be on the local level by performing two case studies on the dynamics of land governing institutions.
Collected data will be processed together with already existing ones to identify so-called “geopolitical” hotspots where land governance is at stake, and link them with biodiversity hotspots. The identification of these complex geographical contexts and their local dynamic outcomes will allow highlighting processes and patterns that are globally relevant to policymakers in development and conservation. The generalization of the developed methodology in light of both countries’ cases will be carried out in a final seminar involving the expert panel, researchers and policymakers, to ensure exchange and transfer of knowledge and methodology within Global South.
Besides the several peer-reviewed publications, outcomes of the project will be conceptual and methodological training, as well as a strengthened interdisciplinary knowledge exchange between Swiss, Bolivian, Lao, Canadian and Chinese universities, international organizations (IUCN, UNEP, UNDP), governments, and NGOs (The Global Diversity Foundation, HEKS).
