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The processes of colonization and landscape reconfiguration are often discussed as related, but separate, issues. In this paper we demonstrate that these issues are linked and are important in understanding the relationship between land use, culture, ideology and society. An important part of the colonization project is the perception of land as barren, infertile and/or unsafe (evidenced in the connotations of land descriptions such as desert, bog, wilderness) and the people on it as non‐existent and/or savage. Thus heroic, military incursion would be necessary for initial settlement. Case studies of the Midwestern United States, Patagonia in Argentina, and Palestine demonstrate how the colonization project has led to the transformation of the landscape and the oppression (and often removal) of the indigenous population. In all three places the land was defined by the encroaching regimes as empty, barren and dangerous. That definition justified military‐style incursions and massive land transformation projects, such as draining wetlands and large‐scale irrigation of deserts, in the name of modernization to make the land more habitable. In all three areas there was relatively equitable land distribution initially, waves of migration in and out of the area, and export‐based agricultural production. Findings from historical analysis and field research demonstrate how social capital is built around perceptions of the landscape for colonizers and colonized. For colonizers, by interpreting the land as harsh and the natives as savage they developed a unification of purpose in achieving a dominion over both. For the colonized, in this case Palestinians, American Plains Indians, and Mapuche Indians, the recognition of a greater integration with nature is serving as a unifying element in their struggle for indigenous rights.

"Communities in rural America are a complex mixture of peoples and cultures, ranging from miners who have been laid off in West Virginia, to Laotian immigrants relocating in Kansas to work at a beef processing plant, to entrepreneurs drawing up plans for a world-class ski resort in California's Sierra Nevada. Rural Communities: Legacy and Change uses its unique Community Capitals framework to examine how America's diverse rural communities use their various capitals-natural, cultural, human, social, political, financial, and built-to address the modern challenges that face them. Each chapter opens with a case study of a community facing a particular challenge, and is followed by a comprehensive discussion of sociological concepts to be applied to understanding the case. This narrative, topical approach makes the book accessible and engaging for undergraduate students, while its integrative approach provides them with a framework for understanding rural society based on the concepts and explanations of social science This fifth edition is updated throughout with 2013 census data and features new and expanded coverage of health and health care, food systems and alternatives, the effects of neoliberalism and globalization on rural communities, as well as an expanded resource and activity section at the end of each chapter. "--

The establishment of local consortia within territories shared by different groups is a new experience for environmental governance in Central America. This initiative has promoted concrete political, economic and environmental actions that seek to improve peoples´ livelihoods and the sustainable use of natural resources. In this article, using systematization methodology and the Community Capital Framework, the main lessons learned from the process of creation of six local consortia by an international environmental organization working in a Central America region are described. ; Los consorcios locales en zonas transfronterizas son una experiencia novedosa de gobernanza ambiental en Centroamérica. Estas iniciativas han promovido acciones concretas de carácter político, económico y social que buscan mejorar los medios de vida de la gente y el mejor uso de los recursos naturales. En este artículo, utilizando la sistematización y el marco de los capitales de la comunidad, se resaltan las principales lecciones aprendidas del proceso de conformación de seis consorcios impulsado por una organización ambiental internacional que trabaja en la región centroamericana.

For agriculture and land management to improve natural capital over whole landscapes, social cooperation has long been required. The political economy of the later 20th and early 21st centuries prioritised unfettered individual action over the collective, and many rural institutions were harmed or destroyed. Since then, a wide range of social movements, networks and federations have emerged to support transitions toward sustainability and equity. Here we focus on social capital manifested as intentionally-formed collaborative groups within specific geographic territories. These groups focus on 1) integrated pest management; 2) forests; 3) land; 4) water; 5) pastures; 6) support services; 7) innovation platforms; 8) small-scale systems. We show across 122 initiatives in 55 countries that the number of groups has grown from 0.5M (at 2000) to 8.54M (2020). The area of land transformed by the 170-255M group members is 300 Mha, mostly in less-developed countries (98% groups; 94% area). Farmers and land managers working with scientists and extensionists in these groups have improved both environmental outcomes and agricultural productivity. In some cases, changes to national or regional policy supported this growth in groups. Together with other movements, these social groups could now support further transitions towards policies and behaviours for global sustainability.

Non-technical summary Until the past half-century, all agriculture and land management was framed by local institutions strong in social capital. But neoliberal forms of development came to undermine existing structures, thus reducing sustainability and equity. The past 20 years, though, have seen the deliberate establishment of more than 8 million new social groups across the world. This restructuring and growth of rural social capital within specific territories is leading to increased productivity of agricultural and land management systems, with particular benefits for those previously excluded. Further growth would occur with more national and regional policy support. Technical summary For agriculture and land management to improve natural capital over whole landscapes, social cooperation has long been required. The political economy of the later twentieth and early twenty-first centuries prioritized unfettered individual action over the collective, and many rural institutions were harmed or destroyed. Since then, a wide range of social movements, networks and federations have emerged to support transitions towards sustainability and equity. Here, we focus on social capital manifested as intentionally formed collaborative groups within specific geographic territories. These groups focus on: (1) integrated pest management; (2) forests; (3) land; (4) water; (5) pastures; (6) support services; (7) innovation platforms; and (8) small-scale systems. We show across 122 initiatives in 55 countries that the number of groups has grown from 0.50 million (in 2000) to 8.54 million (in 2020). The area of land transformed by the 170–255 million group members is 300 Mha, mostly in less-developed countries (98% groups; 94% area). Farmers and land managers working with scientists and extensionists in these groups have improved both environmental outcomes and agricultural productivity. In some cases, changes to national or regional policy supported this growth in groups. Together with other movements, these social groups ...