Journal of Rural and Community Development
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Farm-Level Adaptation to Multiple Risks: Climate Change and Other Concerns
Get PDFThe impacts of, and responses to, climate change have been of recent interest to social scientists. The purpose of this paper is to present results from a case study examining farm-level adaptation, within the relevant social, political, and economic context, to risks and opportunities presented by climate change in one region of Manitoba, the Parkland region. This was pursued by soliciting opinions and impressions from farmers in the Parkland region of Manitoba regarding a variety of questions relating to previous and future farm-level adaptations to multiple risks and opportunities with a particular emphasis on climate change. The paper begins by drawing upon the research literature in developing a model of farm-level adaptation. This model is then applied to the Parkland region in Manitoba through a survey of farmers in the region
Source Water Protection for Nonmetropolitan Drinking Water Operators in British Columbia, Canada
Get PDFThis case study research has been conducted in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley. Situated in the southern interior of the province, the Okanagan Valley has experienced rapid expansion in agriculture and other resource activities as well as significant population growth since the mid-1900s. In response to new provincial drinking water regulations, local water operators in the Okanagan Valley have attempted to direct greater attention to drinking water source protection, the first barrier in the multi-barrier approach to clean drinking water. This paper examines constraints to source water protection from the perspective of nonmetropolitan drinking water operators. The results of this research indicate that many factors operate beyond the jurisdiction of local water operators in the Okanagan to constrain their ability to undertake effective source water protection. These results are not geographically unique to the Okanagan region but are representative of other nonmetropolitan areas throughout British Columbia
Community Entrepreneurial Climate: An Analysis of Small Business Owners Perspectives
Get PDFThis article examines the determinants of community entrepreneurial climate from the perspectives of small business owners. Data were collected from a survey of 158 small business owners in twelve rural Missouri communities in 2003 and 2004. The results indicate that small business owners’ perceptions of fair treatment within their community, the level of local patronage, and the availability of business networks and high-speed internet have significant positive effects on their perceptions of community entrepreneurial climate. Community quality of life, proximity to metro areas, local government support, and the availability of business services and financial resources showed no statistically significant effects. Furthermore, small business owners from smaller communities were more likely to perceive their communities as having a low entrepreneurial climate
Strategies to Enhance and Maintain Quality of Life: The Case of Non-Metropolitan Illinois
Get PDFThis paper posits that one experiences a sense of wellbeing (quality of life (QOL)) when the needs one feels are appreciably reduced. Local public officials and managers can promote policies and take actions to create an environment where these needs are addressed or the status is achieved. Based on an empirical analysis of quality of life perceptions among non-metropolitan residents in Illinois, this research offers guidelines for managing QOL perceptions at the community level. Specifically, satisfaction with K-12 education and basic medical services play a prominent role in influencing QOL perceptions. In summary, the paper not only highlights the meaning of QOL, but also shows how it could be managed
Climate Change and Rural Issues: Le plus ça change le plus c'est la même chose
Get PDFConcerns about the sustainability of rural Canada are not new, whether they arise from changes in climate and weather conditions, economic forces related to markets and trade, demography, or general environmental stress. Ensuring the viability of water and land resources in rural regions is important for the entire country, not only for supplying raw materials as the basis of production and widespread economic benefits, but also for a number of environmental services, including potable water, clean air, and recreation and leisure opportunities. The advent of climate change and all its associated environmental, economic and social impacts means rural Canada faces yet more challenges; it is a familiar refrain
The Metagovernance of Climate Change: Institutional Adaptation to the Mountain Pine Beetle Epidemic in British Columbia
Get PDFThe interior region of British Columbia is experiencing the most extensive
mountain pine beetle outbreak ever recorded in North America, with 9.2 million hectares of red-attach pine forest identified in 2006. The epidemic is attributed to changing climate conditions and forest management policies that have resulted in a large number of mature, even-aged pine trees. Owing to the dominance of the forest industry in this region, there is widespread recognition that the mountain pine beetle outbreak will have significant socioeconomic impacts on forest-based communities in British Columbia. This paper examines the adaptation strategies of several communities that are affected by the mountain pine beetle epidemic. First,
drawing from household survey research, latent levels of institutional apacity are discussed. Second, recent institutional adaptations are examined through the emergence of regional-scale beetle action coalitions. These institutional innovations can be characterized as a form of metagovernance, whereby collaboration and negotiated decision making are realized in the context of bureaucratic hierarchy and the extension of state power. The paper concludes with a call for stronger linkages between public and private sectors, as well as more robust forms of civic engagement as the basis for collective response to the mountain pine beetle outbreak
Women in a Transitioning Canadian Resource Town
Get PDFThis paper builds on previous studies of women’s role in and experiences of natural resource-dependent communities in Canada, which demonstrate that women have limited opportunities and negative experiences in these locales. It investigates women’s spaces of employment and experiences of everyday life in High Level, Alberta. Preliminary insights reveal that formal employment opportunities for women are increasing in both number and variety, and women’s experiences in this community are overwhelmingly positive. Further, women are fostering positive connections to place through their multiple roles in employment, personal, and civic realms. It is noted that such circumstances are enveloped within a traditional gender division of labour such that the work spaces opening up are largely contained within the tertiary sector and female-dominated jobs. As such, economic transition alone in Canadian resource towns is not enough to address issues of gender inequity
Rural Depopulation and the Migration Turnaround in Mediterranean Western Europe: A Case Study of Aragon
Get PDFWe have selected Aragon in the northeast of Spain as a long-run case study for the problem of rural depopulation in Mediterranean Western Europe. The strength and persistence of the depopulation in the region has left numerous rural districts in extreme situations of low demographic density. The basic cause of this phenomenon is the intensity of rural-to-urban migratory processes in the Aragonese countryside. Rural depopulation in Aragon has not yet stopped. However, important changes have taken place since the 1990s.
In the first place, migration has been replaced by negative natural growth as the key factor in rural depopulation. Furthermore, the current situation features a reversal of the migratory balance, resulting in a sharp deceleration in depopulation since 2001 and positive growth in the larger country towns. This switch in migratory flows is partly due to the arrival of foreign-born immigrants, who are attracted by opportunities arising as a result of the difficulty of replacing the active population. At the same time, Aragon is close to the top of the ranking of Spanish regions in terms of per capita income, while an incipient process of restructuring and change has begun in the rural hinterland and the emergence of new residential and tourist functions has helped attract Spanish urban migrants
Indicators for Community Action: Built Environment and Community Health
Get PDFRecently a collaborative project between a university, a provincial statistical agency, and a non-profit service organization worked to identify built environment indicators for local action and planning around community health. The research involved developing appropriate built environment indicators for active recreation and transportation, and testing them for community usefulness and data availability in several communities in Nova Scotia, Canada. The indicators will be added to an online community database managed by the provincial government. By making province-wide indicator data easily and publicly available, governments have the potential to facilitate local initiatives to improve community health and well-being. In this paper we describe the process of identifying indicators that would let communities identify whether their built environment promotes active recreation and active transportation
Improving Women Farmers' Welfare through a Goat Credit Project and Its Implications for Promoting Food Security and Rural Livelihoods
Get PDFIn rural areas of Ethiopia, women do most of the household and farm work such as keeping livestock, growing crops, and preparing or cooking food for family members. They are, however, economically less empowered and often do not have access to resources. To address this problem, the Research and Extension Office of Haramaya University, Ethiopia, distributed locally adapted goats to poor and vulnerable women farmers. The project sought to link economic rehabilitation through a credit-in-kind approach with a clear focus on gender and the empowerment of women farmers. The objective of the current study was to determine the effect of the goat credit project on women farmers’ welfare. It was observed that 88% of the women farmers who sold goats earned mean annual cash income of 2644 Ethiopian Birr. As a result, they acquired assets and diversified their livelihoods by purchasing and raising poultry, cows, oxen, and donkeys. The women farmers became more economically empowered, which enabled them to gain greater control over their resources, which in turn increased their capacity to participate in social activities and household decision making. The goat credit project brought about substantial changes by enhancing food security and diversifying the livelihoods of women farmers