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Formation of a Community of Practice in the Watershed Scale, with Integrated Local Environmental Knowledge

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  • Kenji Kitamura

    (Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto 603-8047, Japan
    Center for Regional Collaboration, Kanazawa University, Suzu, Ishikawa 927-1462, Japan)

  • Chigusa Nakagawa

    (Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto 603-8047, Japan
    Faculty of Agriculture, Ryukoku University, Otsu, Shiga 520-2194, Japan)

  • Tetsu Sato

    (Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto 603-8047, Japan
    Faculty of Collaborative Regional Innovation, Ehime University, Matsuyama, Ehime 790-8577, Japan)

Abstract

Rural communities around the world face formidable problems such as resource depletion, environmental degradation and economic decline. While the term ‘community’ is often used without clear definition or context, it can be viewed as a group of people emerging through social interaction. Through a series of collaborative action toward a shared goal, a community of practice can be formed. This paper proposes a hypothetical framework of integrated local environmental knowledge (ILEK), and applies it to analyze the processes of collaborative actions in the case of the Nishibetsu Watershed in Hokkaido, Japan. The case study identified several phases of actions, all initiated by a group of local residents on a grassroots and voluntary basis. These local resident-initiated collaborative actions had a particular confluence of elements to facilitate gradual strengthening of formal and informal institutions in the watershed scale beyond jurisdictional boundaries, making this a worthy case to study. The local residents used diverse types of knowledge, including livelihood-based technologies and skills of working as a group and with local governments, for establishing and strengthening various institutions for collaborative actions, with such knowledge being used in the manner of tools in a box of bricolage for community formation.

Suggested Citation

  • Kenji Kitamura & Chigusa Nakagawa & Tetsu Sato, 2018. "Formation of a Community of Practice in the Watershed Scale, with Integrated Local Environmental Knowledge," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-19, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:2:p:404-:d:130205
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Hua Qin & Martha Bass & Jessica D. Ulrich-Schad & David Matarrita-Cascante & Christine Sanders & Barituka Bekee, 2020. "Community, Natural Resources, and Sustainability: Overview of an Interdisciplinary and International Literature," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-14, February.
    2. Syafri Syafri & Batara Surya & Ridwan Ridwan & Syamsul Bahri & Emil Salim Rasyidi & Sudarman Sudarman, 2020. "Water Quality Pollution Control and Watershed Management Based on Community Participation in Maros City, South Sulawesi, Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-39, December.
    3. Yubing Fan & Zeng Tang & Seong C. Park, 2019. "Effects of Community Perceptions and Institutional Capacity on Smallholder Farmers’ Responses to Water Scarcity: Evidence from Arid Northwestern China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-21, January.
    4. Nadzirah Hosen & Hitoshi Nakamura & Amran Hamzah, 2020. "Adaptation to Climate Change: Does Traditional Ecological Knowledge Hold the Key?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-18, January.

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