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"International organisations such as the World Bank began to intervene in the transboundary water governance of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna river basin in the mid-2000s, and the South Asia Water Initiative (SAWI) is its most ambitious project in this regard. Yet neither SAWI nor other international initiatives, such as those of the Australian and UK governments, have been able to significantly improve transboundary water interaction between India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. This book identifies factors that contribute to water conflicts and that detract from water cooperation in this region. It sheds light on how international organisations affect these transboundary water interactions. The book discusses how donor-led initiatives can better engage with transboundary hydropolitics to increase cooperation and decrease conflict over shared freshwater resources. It is shown that there are several challenges: addressing transboundary water issues is not a top priority for the riparian states; there is concern about India's hydro-hegemony and China's influence; and international actors in general do not have substantial support of the local elites. However, the book suggests some ways forward for improving transboundary water interaction. These include: addressing the political context and historical grievances; building trust and reducing power asymmetry between riparian states; creating political will for cooperation; de-securitising water; taking a problemshed view; strengthening water sharing institutions; and moving beyond narratives of water scarcity and supply-side solutions."--Provided by publisher.

Integrated landscape management (ILM) has received increased interest to reconcile multiple conflicting demands on a landscape scale. ILM aims at addressing major interconnected global challenges, such as poverty, food security, deforestation, and climate change. A principal element of ILM is the consideration of multiple scales, harmonizing local-level needs and ambitions with those that derive from outside the landscape. ILM initiatives are most often initiated by local actors focusing on local priorities, thereby insufficiently realizing that the landscape is embedded in a wider macroeconomic and societal context. We contextualize a landscape initiative located in the high forest zone of southern Ghana, focusing on global socioeconomic and political developments that are expected to have an influence on the region. We built two "sustainability" scenarios for the period between 2015 and 2030, reflecting the demands and ambitions of local stakeholders (bottom-up) and of global environmental policy (top-down) for the region. We find that global climate and cocoa production priorities could induce synergies between food production, biodiversity conservation, and climate change mitigation at the scale of the case study region but could come at the cost of mixed forest systems that play an important role in livelihoods on the landscape scale. Land change scenarios can play a critical role in assessing and visualizing such interactions and provide a platform for discussion and negotiation on how to integrate different objectives in the design of landscape initiatives.

This article is concerned with movement and terrain and with the ways in which qualitative inquiry might engage with and combine these in local studies of people and places. Movement is at a premium today — no shortage of social and cultural commentators insist on it — and bids fair to provide the social sciences with a new conceptual paradigm. Mobile actors abound and what were once spaces of place are now reckoned spaces of flows; space itself, emancipated from territory, becomes mobile and is deployed as a capacity. Qualitative research, having always allowed its actors to deploy a richer and more fluid world, is well placed to respond — but for one significant snag. The article sets the question: What happens to the qualitative commitment to the local, to grounded research and fieldwork, now that processes of mobility are said to transcend setting and location? Rather than look to ways in which to extend the reach of the qualitative researcher — across space, between places — the article considers how qualitative research, while remaining local, might nonetheless be brought together with movement. Two first-hand empirical examples of local qualitative inquiries directed to movement (as object and method) are used to develop this line of argument. A focus on pedestrian movement in particular aligns the article with widening inter-disciplinary and methodological interest in walking practices.

What relations exist between processes for transferring public action solutions between countries, between territories within the same national space and between different sectors and levels of government and the learning to which these transfers give rise in the context of reception? At the theoretical level, the discussion here draws upon a comparison between the literature devoted to policy transfer studies and work on policy learning and organizational learning. It is also supported by a field study concerning the manner in which, over the course of the1990's and the first decade of this century, local actors in Bulgaria did or did not appropriate exogenous solutions imported by means of various types of transfer in the domain of local economic development policies (DEL). As it happens, the classic forms of international cooperation (top-down, bureaucratic, programmatic) have had less impact in terms of learning than have horizontal modes for diffusing administrative innovations: lessons drawn from the experiences of common neighbors, the creation of regional and national forums dedicated to DEL policies, electoral alliances between traditional political elites and activist movements with links to international expert and professional networks and professionalization dynamics among municipal personnel working in this domain. Adapted from the source document.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes the importance of the active participation of local actors in the appropriation, implementation and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), so that the processes of planning, execution, monitoring and control of strategies aimed at the integral well-being of the population, they should not be assumed only by the local government, as the body responsible for creating basic conditions in the territory for population settlement and the development of activities, but each of the agents that make life in that space must assume their commitment, as guarantors of their duties and rights, in the production of social relations that constitute society. Under this premise, a methodological guide of the planning process is proposed, simple and practical, where seven stages are differentiated in the formulation of the plan, from the conformation of the technical-institutional base, to the formalization of the result of the process, indicating in each of them, its objective, activities involved and suggested participation tool. With the guidance of a technical team of the municipality and intervention of local social actors in the various phases of the process, governments will obtain a joint management instrument, creating and executing strategic actions in a concerted and committed manner. This proposal arises in response to the results obtained in a study carried out in the Alta Gracia and Jesús María municipalities of the Province of Córdoba - Argentina, where their recent planning processes and the participation of local actors in them were analyzed. The study was advised by the Institute of Research and Training in Public Administration (IIFAP) and funding from the Latin American Center for Interdisciplinary Training (CELFI), as a contribution to the effectiveness of planning processes in public management. Keywords: Methodology, planning, participation, 2030 Agenda, Sustainable Development Goals. ; La Agenda 2030 para el Desarrollo Sostenible, promueve la importancia de la participación activa de los actores locales en la apropiación, implementación y logro de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS). Los procesos de planificación, ejecución, seguimiento y control de las estrategias dirigidas al bienestar integral de la población, no deben ser asumidos solamente por el gobierno local. Si bien el municipio es el órgano responsable de crear las condiciones básicas en el territorio para el asentamiento poblacional y el desarrollo de actividades, cada uno de los agentes que hacen vida en ese espacio deben asumir su compromiso, como garantes propios de sus deberes y derechos, en la producción de las relaciones sociales que constituyen la sociedad. Bajo esta premisa, se plantean estas pautas metodológicas del proceso planificador, sencilla y práctica, donde se diferencian siete etapas en la formulación del plan, desde la conformación de la base técnico – institucional, hasta la formalización del resultado del proceso, indicándose en cada una de ellas, su objetivo, actividades que implica y herramienta de participación sugerida. Con orientación de un equipo técnico de la municipalidad e intervención de los actores sociales locales en las diversas fases del proceso, los gobiernos obtendrán un instrumento de gestión mancomunada, creando y ejecutando acciones estratégicas de manera concertada y comprometida. Esta propuesta surge en respuesta a los resultados obtenidos en un estudio realizado en los municipios Alta Gracia y Jesús María, de la Provincia de Córdoba – Argentina, donde se analizaron sus recientes procesos de planificación y la participación de los actores locales en los mismos. El estudio contó con asesoría del Instituto de Investigación y Formación en Administración Pública (IIFAP) y financiamiento del Centro Latinoamericano de Formación Interdisciplinaria (CELFI), como aporte para la efectividad de los procesos planificadores en la gestión pública. Palabras Claves: Metodología planificación, participación, Agenda 2030, Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible.

Current agricultural systems account for approximately 20% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions (IPCC, 2014). A growing population, depleting key resources (oil and phosphorous1), loss of farm lands and the risk of changing climatic conditions highlight the need for a dramatic change to our global food network. As a response to this globalized, industrial model of agriculture, localized food systems are less fossil fuel intensive due to reduced transport and processing needs, as well as small-scale farming methods (Neff et al., 2011). Local food systems are not only ecologically sustainable, but also socially just, increasing the availability of food, creating livelihoods, and strengthening the relationship between farmers and consumers in the community. Project Objectives: 1. Identify a successful policy environment for small-scale urban food systems to flourish and improve farmer livelihoods 2. Assess the role of non-governmental actors in influencing policy development 3. Learn how small-scale urban farms and related stakeholders develop resilience against climate change and fossil fuel related contingencies This project is completed in partnership with Village Vancouver Transition Society. The goal of this project is to inform further policy development to create a more resilient food system within the Village Vancouver Transition Society's overarching timeline of 2040. This research project identifies local, sustainable food initiatives in Vancouver and evaluates the public policies that enable the initiatives' successful implementation. Through examining policy documents and interviewing local food system actors, current laws, bylaws and strategies governing urban food systems were assessed. Barriers to growth were identified from survey and interview responses, and are broadly categorized into economic, resource, and marketplace barriers (summarized below). Addressing these barriers, increasing awareness and continuing sustainable farming practices will allow small scale farmers to scale up their production and operations to build a more resilient local urban food system. The findings of this research lead to a plethora of recommendations to local food system actors and governmental organizations to develop resilience to climate change and oil scarcity. ; Science, Faculty of ; Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Department of ; Unreviewed ; Undergraduate

This article reports on research into social partnerships aiming at labour market inclusion that developed during the 1990s in Denmark, the UK and Spain. Some of these partnerships are directly related to corporate social responsibility (CSR initiatives in individual firms), whereas others are only indirectly related (for instance, active labour market policy initiatives at local, regional and national level). Developments such as new target groups for such policies, the weakening of the social partners, ideological change, policy transfer and budget constraints of the state have led to more partnerships taking a multipartite form, meaning that not only the public authorities and the social partners, but also new actors such as business networks, commercial operators and NGOs, participate. The involvement of new actors poses a challenge for the traditional actors – among them the trade unions. Whether the relations between traditional and new actors are best described by conflict or by cooperation cannot be explained by regime theories. The decisive factor seems to be the extent to which the new actors challenge the privileged positions of the traditional actors.

Raahe is a medium-sized Finnish town on the western coast of Northern Finland. It has declared itself to become the wind power capital of Finland. The aim of this paper is to find out what being a wind power capital can mean in practice and how it can advance the local industrial business. First, the theoretical framework of this systematic review study was formed by searching theoretical information about the forms of industrial clusters, and it was then examined what kinds of actors take part in these types of clusters. Finally, the actors of the case area were studied. The core companies of wind power clusters are the wind turbine manufacturers, component manufacturers, developers of the wind farms, wind power operators, and service and maintenance organizations. Understanding of the wind power cluster structure may help decision makers to develop the best possible conditions for the emergence of clusters.

The complexification and diversification of public policies have led to start to analyze them as social constructions and complex conjunctions of institutional agreements. Those agreements exist among economic and social agents who hold divergent interests. The notion of public action has been mobilized to take into account the renovation of the management processes of policy making: the fragmentation of power spaces, the actors' interdependence and the presence of confrontation and conflict in the public action arena, the last being more and more canalized into negotiation spaces created to host negotiation mechanisms. The paper analyses one aspect of the interaction between social movements and territorialized public policies through the different configurations among social actors in the negotiation arena of Brazilian federal Programme for Sustainable Development of Rural Territories (PSDRT). The main question is how do civil society actors appropriate, adapt and tailor public policy instruments in the negotiation arena in order to use them to their own contexts? Our hypothesis is that it is possible to enrich the production of knowledge on those mechanisms revealing dialogue, power interplay, status asymmetries among heterogeneous actors through the analysis of the actors' social configurations (individual and institutional) implied in those negotiation processes. The paper examines two cases in the territory of Aguas Emendadas (DF region in the Cerrados area), the territory of Portal da Amazônia (State of Mato Grosso). First results have shown an institutionalisation process of territorial development framework with the emergence and empowerment of new rural leaders, but a precarious quality of the local projects elaborated and negotiated in these arenas, as well as a small territorial impact.

Using a case study of Saratoga Springs, NY, and the Saratoga Springs Open Space Project (OSP), this article explores how citizen-led land preservation organizations can form coalitions with diverse interests in pursuit "qualitative growth," urban development reforms. Data come from in-depth interviews of key informants and extensive archival research. Focusing on both land preservation and downtown rehabilitation, the OSP was able to form broad coalitions of historic preservationists, downtown business interests, and developers to shift local development policy that would simultaneously promote in-fill downtown development while discouraging development at the fringe of the community. Though diverse and broad, many of the coalitions shifted, and different issues necessitated new coalition building activities. Furthermore, the continuing need to cultivate relationships with elected officials in a community of high political turnover brought challenges to the organization and the broader land management coalition. Finally, the limits of the OSP's influence were witnessed by its lack of leverage over officials in neighboring communities and the contradictory development outcomes that ensued as a result of specific Not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) decisions.

"We witness a constant interaction of global and local forces in the global agrifood system. This paper develops an analytical framework for the identification of the relative impact of these global versus local forces on the sustainability of the agrifood system. In pursuit of its
objectives, the framework highlights material and ideational sources of power as important determinants of how the contest between global and local actors and norms in global agrifood governance plays out. With this framework, the paper provides an integrating function for the panel. In addition, the paper will employ the framework in an empirical investigation of determinants of policies and practices regarding genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in India. GMO policies and practices represent a contested ground where (different) 'local' and 'international' values clash, while at the same time, the discursive power of the biotech industry is highly visible. In consequence, the case of the commercial introduction of GMOs, and specifically the example of 'Golden Rice' in India, presents excellent evidence for the need to
look beyond material sources of power and consider the ideational ones and their interaction with the material dimension, if one wants to understand the complexities of agrifood governance." [author's abstract]

Why are civil society dynamics concerning green spaces across European cities so interesting for socio-ecological transition? All over Europe self-organized civil society movements are emerging to tackle local challenges, becoming active players in local governance processes. These social experiments have even been intensified as a result of tight public local budgets. Their activities contribute to the functioning and well-being of a European society aiming for sustainability. Preserving the availability of bio-diverse green spaces is crucial for the socio-ecological transition of cities since besides providing recreational opportunities for city dwellers, they yield essential ecological benefits from cleaning the air to reducing noise, but also provide habitat for many species and plants and reduce local vulnerabilities to extreme climate events. In cities in which local governments have severe difficulties in affording the provision of green space, new self-organized initiatives have emerged for maintaining and even developing them. Initiatives such as urban gardening have proven that people are able to cooperate, to organize themselves and to take over responsibility for green spaces as well as even introducing new practices that support the socio-ecological transition. This Milestone will contribute to the questions: -how can citizen groups contribute to maintain existing green spaces which are available and accessible for all and possibly being expanded whilst assuring biodiversity and allowing diverse use for local needs (re-creation, community-based food-production, neighbourhood culture, common intergenerational and intercultural learning etc.) at the same time; -which policy framework allows for a constructive colaboration between local authorities, administration, economic actors and citizens, enabling innovative solutions in the area of urban food production, green-space management and participative urban development.

This study deals with employment policy measures and the effects of unemployment at the end of the twentieth century in the Finnish region of Tampere and the German region of Giessen. In doing so it combines elements of the Arbeitslosigkeitsforschung (the investigation of reasons and general effects of unemployment as well as possible solutions for the problem) with elements of the Arbeitslosenforschung (the investigation of who the unemployed are and what the unemployment means for them). For comparison of the social and economic situations in Tampere and Giessen an actor-centred approach was chosen. The focus is on governmental and non-governmental actors in the field of the regional employment policy as well as long-term unemployed people. The outcome of the study indicates similar individual and social effects of unemployment in the research regions. Many parallels were also found concerning the individual strategies of the governmental and non-governmental actors. On the other hand, fundamental differences could be observed with regard to the level of regional networking and the orientation towards the European Union. In both cases, Tampere performed better than Giessen, which contributed to a drastic reduction of the unemployment. The differences and similarities between the research regions are explained by the following three conclusions: first of all, local strategies do not depend exclusively on European or national defaults but also to a large extent on region specific factors (in this case the historical role of the municipalities, the level of corporatism and consensus orientation, the perception of the unemployment and the general economic framework). Secondly, regions have the potential to overcome labour market crises and social exclusion to a certain extent, but only if the conditions are right and if there is the political will to do so. And thirdly, many of the similarities on the individual level are due to the influence of the Capitalist ethic on the meaning and functions of work in both German and Finnish society, while the correspondence of problems on the regional level must be seen in connection with the similar tasks and forms of organisations on behalf of the local governmental actors. ; This study deals with employment policy measures and the effects of unemployment at the end of the twentieth century in the Finnish region of Tampere and the German region of Giessen. In doing so it combines elements of the Arbeitslosigkeitsforschung (the investigation of reasons and general effects of unemployment as well as possible solutions for the problem) with elements of the Arbeitslosenforschung (the investigation of who the unemployed are and what the unemployment means for them). For comparison of the social and economic situations in Tampere and Giessen an actor-centred approach was chosen. The focus is on governmental and non-governmental actors in the field of the regional employment policy as well as long-term unemployed people. The outcome of the study indicates similar individual and social effects of unemployment in the research regions. Many parallels were also found concerning the individual strategies of the governmental and non-governmental actors. On the other hand, fundamental differences could be observed with regard to the level of regional networking and the orientation towards the European Union. In both cases, Tampere performed better than Giessen, which contributed to a drastic reduction of the unemployment. The differences and similarities between the research regions are explained by the following three conclusions: first of all, local strategies do not depend exclusively on European or national defaults but also to a large extent on region specific factors (in this case the historical role of the municipalities, the level of corporatism and consensus orientation, the perception of the unemployment and the general economic framework). Secondly, regions have the potential to overcome labour market crises and social exclusion to a certain extent, but only if the conditions are right and if there is the political will to do so. And thirdly, many of the similarities on the individual level are due to the influence of the Capitalist ethic on the meaning and functions of work in both German and Finnish society, while the correspondence of problems on the regional level must be seen in connection with the similar tasks and forms of organisations on behalf of the local governmental actors.

This article raises the question of the constitution of rural society in postsocialist countries, and explores the possibilities of participatory approaches in rural development and resource management in face of given social conditions in the local context. The unifying scientific "idea" is currently associated with the concept of social capital. The ability to form social capital can be seen as a central prerequisite both for economic development and the protection of resources (that is, for sustainable development). An important element of this concept is the networking of the actors within the region and with external actors. As a result of historical development the network relations in the rural areas of East Germany have a specific structure. What is especially remarkable is the continuing dominant role of the representatives of the big agricultural enterprises in the important local network structures despite the obvious decline in the economic importance of these enterprises. The structures uncovered in the case studies can certainly be taken to reflect the reality of many local contexts. It is argued that, as far as the creation of the beginnings of participation in rural development and resource management are concerned, that if the peculiarities are ignored there is a danger that the existing network structures wills simply be strengthened through participatory development. Therefore, the important contributions of participatory approaches to the solution of concrete problems must be supplemented by the prospect of its social embedding in the context of rural development. At the same time it also became clear in the project that the success of developed attempts at problem solution can only be ensured if the higher political levels are prepared to devolve downwards.