The concept of “Place” has become prominent in natural resource management, as professionals increasingly recognize the importance of scale, place-specific meanings, local knowledge, and social-ecological dynamics. Place-Based Conservation: Perspectives from the Social Sciences offers a thorough examination of the topic, dividing its exploration into four broad areas. Place-Based Conservation provides a comprehensive resource for researchers and practitioners to help build the conceptual grounding necessary to understand and to effectively practice place-based conservation.

In view of the importance of other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) for biodiversity, and the need to improve individual countries’ capacity to report fisheries-related OECMs and understand how the fisheries sector contributes to current and future area-based biodiversity conservation objectives, FAO has been carrying out a series of activities to support countries to identify and implement OECMs. [Author] These activities include the organization of workshops and the development of practical guidance, as requested by FAO’s Committee on Fisheries (COFI). [Author] With the support of the Organización del Sector Pesquero y Acuícola del Istmo Centroamericano (Organization of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Sector of the Central American Isthmus [OSPECA]), FAO organized the workshop on other effective area-based conservation measures in fisheries-related areas in Latin America and the Caribbean. [Author] The workshop was held on 27–28 March 2023 in the city of San José, Costa Rica. [Author] This workshop supported Member Countries of the Commission for Small-scale and Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture of Latin America and the Caribbean (COPPESAALC), as well as regional and national fisheries-related organizations in the Latin American and Caribbean regions to: (i) apply CBD criteria for the identification of OECMs; (ii) understand the challenges, opportunities and needs that arise in the identification of fisheries‑related OECMs; and (iii) synthesize lessons learned and obtain recommendations. [Author] To achieve these objectives, topics discussed included: concepts and criteria for the identification, evaluation and reporting of OECMs; examples of OECMs in the world; conservation strategies in Latin America and the potential contribution of OECMs to these; the framework for fisheries governance and area-based management in Latin America; Argentina’s progress in recognizing OECMs; and the presentation of four case studies carried out in Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Mexico. [Author] The workshop enabled extensive exchanges on the difficulties of interpreting the concepts and criteria for the identification, evaluation, and reporting of OECMs, as well as the key points, challenges, and difficulties in analysing and considering potential OECMs. [Author]

The expert meeting on fisheries-related other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) in the Mediterranean was co-organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) and held online from 16 to 17 February 2022. It sought to establish a way forward for identifying fisheries-related OECMs in the Mediterranean region and provide technical input to prepare and test FAO’s practical guidance for the establishment and management of OECMs in marine fisheries. The main points covered during the expert meeting included: introducing participants to the OECM concept; the initial application of the criteria for OECMs, as determined by the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), to a set of case studies and fisheries-related measures in the region; the compilation and discussion of main challenges related to the application of the criteria, with initial recommendations on how to address them; an initial screening of eight Mediterranean case studies against the OECM criteria; agreement on next steps to undertake a more in-depth evaluation of the case studies presented for discussions during GFCM subregional committee meetings; and the assessment of the implications, opportunities and potential difficulties that arise from identifying fishery-related OECMs in the Mediterranean.

This edited volume explores 21st century stories of hunting, foraging, and fishing for food as unique forms of place-based learning. Through the authors’ narratives, it reveals complex social and ecological relationships while readers sample the flavors of foraging in Portland, Oregon; feel some of what it’s like to grow up hunting and gathering as a person of Oglala Lakota and Shoshone-Bannock descent; track the immersive process of learning to communicate with rocky mountain elk; encounter a road-killed deer as a spontaneous source of local meat, and more. Other topics in the collection connect place, food, and learning to issues of identity, activism, spirituality, food movements, conservation, traditional and elder knowledge, and the ethics related to eating the more-than-human world. This volume will bring lively discussion to courses on place-based learning, food studies, environmental education, outdoor recreation, experiential education, holistic learning, human dimensions of natural resource management, sustainability, food systems, environmental ethics, and others.

This open access book presents up-to-date analyses of community-based approaches to sustainable resource management of SEPLS (socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes) in areas where a harmonious relationship between the natural environment and the people who inhabit it is essential to ensure community and environmental well-being as well as to build resilience in the ecosystems that support this well-being. Understanding SEPLS and the forces of change that can weaken their resilience requires the integration of knowledge across a wide range of academic disciplines as well as from indigenous knowledge and experience. Moreover, given the wide variation in the socio-ecological makeup of SEPLS around the globe, as well as in their political and economic contexts, individual communities will be at the forefront of developing the measures appropriate for their unique circumstances. This in turn requires robust communication systems and broad participatory approaches. Sustainability science (SuS) research is highly integrated, participatory and solutions driven, and as such is well suited to the study of SEPLS. Through case studies, literature reviews and SuS analyses, the book explores various approaches to stakeholder participation, policy development and appropriate action for the future of SEPLS. It provides communities, researchers and decision-makers at various levels with new tools and strategies for exploring scenarios and creating future visions for sustainable societies.

This book provides a comprehensive review of Area-Based Management Tools (ABMTs) used in fisheries or affecting their performance in relation to biodiversity and related socio-economic issues. The prologue provides historical, mystic, philosophical, political, economic, and ecological points of view of ocean space since antiquity. The book describes the modern background of ABMTs, their role in living in harmony with nature; their human dimensions; their governance; the tensions they face; the role of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and that of the United Nations and other global policy frameworks. ABMTs are described thusly: definition; human dimensions; goals and objectives; old and new roles; possible typologies; tensions; synergies and complementarities; trade-offs; and effectiveness and related factors. Pathways to reduce tensions, mobilize synergies, and increase effectiveness are described. The perspectives offered are illustrated by a few case studies including an industry view.

This book provides readers with a wide overview of place-based planning and design experiments addressing such powerful transformations in the African built environment. This continent is currently undergoing fast paced urban, institutional and environmental changes, which have stimulated an increasing interest for alternative architectural solutions, urban designs and comprehensive planning experiments. The international and balanced array of the collected contributions explore emerging research concepts for understanding urban and peri-urban processes in Africa, discuss bottom-up planning and design practices, and present inspirational and innovative co-design methods and participatory tools for steering such change through public spaces, sustainable services and infrastructures. The book is intended for students, researchers, decision-makers and practitioners engaged in planning and design for the built environment in Africa and the Global South at large.

Professor Fikret Berkes provides a unique introduction to the social and interdisciplinary dimensions of biodiversity conservation. Examining a range of approaches, new ideas, controversies and debates, he demonstrates that biodiversity loss is not primarily a technical issue, but a social problem that operates in an economic, political and cultural context. Berkes concludes that conservation must be democratized in order to broaden its support base and build more inclusive constituencies for conservation.

The Sustainable Ocean Initiative Capacity-Building Workshop for the Wider Caribbean and Central America on Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs) in the Marine Fishery Sector was co-organized by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Secretariat and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The workshop was held online on 20–21 April and 27–28 April 2022. It sought to establish a way forward to identify fisheries-related OECMs in the Caribbean and provide technical input to prepare and test FAO’s practical guidance for identifying, evaluating, and reporting OECMs in marine fisheries. The main points covered during the expert meeting related to introducing participants to the OECM concept; providing an overview of the regional initiatives for biodiversity conservation, and exploring the current and potential place of fisheries management and OECMs in these regional initiatives; providing participants with an overview of the criteria and subcriteria for OECM identification; and providing participants with an overview of the OECM reporting process and the potential capacity-building needs to identify, evaluate and report OECMs in the Wider Caribbean Region. During the expert meeting, participants conducted practical exercises by applying the OECM criteria to eight real-life case studies from Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, and the United States of America. Participants also discussed the role of OECMs in recognizing conservation efforts; the need to recognize fishers’ local culture in the OECM process; the incentives provided by OECM recognition; OECM identification and evaluation; and the use of international guidance to support the identification and evaluation of OECMs.

This work represents a dramatic call to recognize, celebrate, and conserve the great diversity of foods that give North America the distinctive culinary identity that reflects its multi-cultural heritage. Included are recipes and folk traditions associated with 100 of the continent's rarest food plants and animals.