In recent years, more attention has been given to the areas of natural resource management, conservation, and ecology, particularly in regions important to agricultural sustainability. After a systematic review of the literature, we found that the volume of published studies employing coordination and cooperation games increased during the 2000–2020 period. Games are also popular for non-experimental purposes such as recreating learning experiences and facilitating dialogue with local communities. Games are particularly relevant for field research in agriculture, where alternative experimental designs can be costly and unfeasible. With a spotlight on two case studies, we will exemplify the new opportunities for supporting the ecological transition of land use by means of community-supported land ownership. With a spotlight on two case studies, we will exemplify the new opportunities for supporting the ecological transition of land use by means of community-supported land ownership.The empirical material is based on a German-wide scoping study conducted in 2020. The empirical material is based on a German-wide scoping study conducted in 2020.
They are found in a full geographical spread across Germany although publically beneficial associations prevail in old Federal States for historic reasons. Each individual legal form of governing such community-supported organization allows for different styles and formal arrangements of land stewardship, with the focus here on combating land degradation and reducing biodiversity loss. In this contribution we show for Germany that this type of community-supported land ownership appears in numerous and diverse legal forms with a range of 1-68 partner farms each. Those new types of organizations governing land ownership are to a large part not-for-profit organizations that answer to the ecological values of their supporters. In Europe and in Germany we experience a growth in community- and civil society-supported organizations of farmland ownership. The SDG 15, sustainable Life on Land, has a strong relation to farming. Such policies should promote communication and collective actions between researchers, local organizations, public administration, and farmers.
We conclude by arguing that place-based tailored policies are needed. The study found few examples of collective efforts and long-lasting networks of collaboration, especially between science and practice. Between these factors, and focusing on the overlap between literature and actors’ perspectives, are (1) the lack of integrated and supported strategies for development, and (2) lack of communication between the actors that need to congregate efforts towards sustainable use of water resources.
By using the SES framework, we provide an integrated characterization of water governance in the case study and identify the implicated factors. Data were collected using a literature review and 22 semi-structured interviews with territorial actors (i.e., public administration, non-governmental associations, private sector, decision-makers, and farmers). This study looks at water governance in the farming sector of three municipalities in the Alentejo and Algarve, in the south of Portugal. This framework was developed to grasp the complexity of issues related to the sustainable use of public goods such as water. To achieve this level of understanding, we propose the use of the social–ecological Systems (SES) framework. Therefore, a first step towards the improvement of water governance is a grounded understanding of what is at stake, who are the actors involved, and how they interact.
Any action to drive water governance towards sustainability needs to be grounded in a holistic understanding of such challenges. Water governance is a major challenge in the Mediterranean context.