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Rural commons globally are facing environmental, demographic, and economic changes that challenge their sustainability. In addition, political and regulatory burdens can complicate the running of communal enterprises that provide income and livelihoods for community members, young and old. When these challenges combine with the cultural changes driven by globalization, youth in rural areas– especially those without access to land–may look outside of their communities for opportunities. The labor shortages and detachment from place that follow can undermine local capacities to manage communal lands for natural resource-based livelihoods. Researchers and NGOs that have studied and supported community-based resource management, including community forest enterprises (CFEs), argue that building community capacities and improving access to markets are necessary for forest commons to be sustainable. Yet, the role of young people in all of this remains understudied, including how their perceptions and motivations vis a vis forest livelihoods and work compare to those of older members who enjoy tenure rights and associated benefits. To help address this knowledge gap, we conducted semi-structured interviews with youth/young adults and older rights-holders in communities in different regions of Mexico with their own forestry enterprise, along with a small number of non-community members working in or supporting the country's community forestry sector. We found that youth held a degree of attachment to traditional rural life, but perceived limited economic opportunities locally, low and unstable incomes, and few retirement benefits associated with forest work. This, along with the physical strain of land-based livelihoods, a lack of access to credit, processing delays for harvesting permits, and outdated logging equipment, contributed to diminished interest in the forestry sector and enhanced motivations to out-migrate. To cope with internal labor shortages, communities seek labor from afar, offering short-term contractual wages, and lease land and rights to outsiders. Such actions occur outside of federal commons law, suggesting that the regulatory context in Mexico is out of step with the emergent realities and needs of contemporary forest communities. • The out-migration of younger generations from communal properties may eventually lead to collective action challenges. • Younger generations experience complex motivations that result in commuting, out-migration, and circular migration. • Regulatory burdens, outdated and dangerous equipment, and no path to communal rights contribute to out-migration. • Modern technology, redesigning rights structures, and streamlined permitting may motivate younger generations to stay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural coastal communities have unique vulnerabilities to the impacts caused by sea level rise and saltwater intrusion compared to coastal urban areas that have growing populations, increasing property values, and extensive infrastructure. In contrast, rural coastal communities are typically dependent on traditional natural resource livelihoods like farming, commercial fishing, forestry, and outdoor recreation opportunities. Saltwater intrusion, exacerbated by sea level rise, impacts rural livelihoods by limiting suitable agricultural land and development options, which compounds local economic difficulties. Higher rates of poverty, aging demographics, and out-migration already challenge the resilience of rural coastal communities. Informed by sociological research that addresses the local economic factors unique to rural communities and resilience research on coastal communities and natural hazards, we propose the Rural Coastal Community Resilience (RCCR) framework. We test the RCCR framework through a series of focus groups within the Albemarle Pamlico Peninsula of North Carolina (U.S.), a low-lying, rural region with nearly one-half of its land less than 1 m above sea level. Applying the RCCR framework revealed that local priorities include maintaining rural livelihoods, creating job opportunities, and addressing highly vulnerable populations. By including stakeholder voices to stimulate capacity building dialogue, the RCCR framework boosts rural coastal community resilience by focusing on locally perceived resilience needs as targets for capacity building workshops, management interventions, and climate action planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary This study considers organic coffee certification and deforestation in the El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve of Chiapas, Mexico. Land reform, dating back to the revolution, has created a complex context for measuring land use change. The locally improved price of organic production, maintained yield, and plantation growth rate—twice that of conventional producers—raise questions about potential deforestation. While consumers believe organic does not deforest, no measurements are taken during inspection. As communal land privatizes without an established baseline for land use change, improved organic certification inspections are needed to verify good practices and advance forest conservation in the coffee sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Underserved rural coastal communities of color face a unique adaptation context. • Engagement with underserved communities reduces perceived adaptive capacity. • Perceived climate injustices pose barriers to coastal hazard adaptation, revealing instances of adaptation oppression. • Improved outreach strategies are needed to overcome color blindness within climate science communication. Climate change resilience is an area of praxis where efforts to enhance community adaptive capacity are informed by theory. However, there is growing evidence that ethnocentrism and privilege are shaping coastal management policies while many communities with climate justice issues struggle to build resilience. Particularly, rural coastal communities, contrasting urban areas, have limited access to centralized planning efforts, unique local contexts for outreach, compounding social vulnerabilities (job loss, out-migration, limited social services), and receive less attention from resilience researchers. Following calls to integrate climate justice into resilience praxis, we assess perceptions of adaptive capacity within predominately African American communities in a rural low-lying coastal region in eastern North Carolina. We add a climate justice lens to evaluate the previously-validated Rural Coastal Community Resilience (RCCR) framework. The RCCR is intended to improve planning efforts by providing climate change information, initiating conversations, and contributing to resilience theory. In contrast to its previous applications, engagement led to declines in perceived adaptive capacity. This result highlights that the information sharing goals of the engagement efforts were poorly aligned with community concerns and threat perceptions. Additionally, perceived climate injustices emerged revealing instances of adaptation oppression. This study recommends strategies to rethink traditional extension efforts to improve inclusiveness by deeply interrogating the inherent whiteness of standard modes of communicating climate science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]