Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
already stated, institutions are taken here in the widest sense to incorporate
both modes of socialized behaviour as well as more formal structures of
governance or law. It would appear to be persistent, sustainable and resilient
depending on a range of parameters, including legitimacy; agenda setting and
the selecting of environmental risks which resonate with the institutions'
agenda; and the maintenance of social capital. Thus the resilience of
institutions is based on their historical evolution and their inclusivity or
exclusivity, and hence how effective they are in oiling the wheels of society.
Indeed the social capital of communities is taken here to mean the existence of
integrating features of social organization such as trust norms and networks ..
In determining the parallels between social and ecological resilience,
potential indicators for the concept are discussed below, focusing on the links
between social stability and resource dependency. Resource dependency is
defined by the reliance on a narrow range of resources leading to social and
economic stresses within livelihood systems. So, for example, the dependence
of certain economies on mineral resources is defined by the extent to which
they are reliant on their mineral production; are open to vagaries of world
markets in these commodities; and are inclined to experience boom and bust
cycles because of the nature of the commodity markets they are locked into.
The resource endowment and dependency explain some of the constraints on
social capital development and the ultimate destiny of resource-dependent
societies such as those heavily dependent on oil revenues. The preoccupation
with capturing the benefits of resource endowments during boom times in such
countries impedes the creation of economic linkages, land reform and diverse
development. In other words, dependency brings with it its own set of
problems in the economic and social sphere. Stresses and variability associated
with resource dependency are manifest in instability and increased variance in
income and risk of failure of particular sources. Social instability is manifest
through various social indicators such as the impacts of population
displacement. An example of the resilience of institutions can be found in the
ability of institutions of common property management to cope with external
pressures and stress. Social capital, ecological resilience and social resilience
are all tested when upheaval and stress are placed on institutions. Commonly
managed coastal resources are being degraded throughout the world through
the breakdown of property rights or inappropriate privatization. Nowhere is
this clearer than in coastal resources, such as fisheries, coastal communities
and agriculture, or forest-dependent communities, as discussed in the
examples below.
