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Techniques for quantifying equity, which are discussed in the companion articles by the authors, "Quantifying Equity with Messrs. Markov, Lorenz and Gini: Retaining and distributing benefits in natural resource-dependent communities", and "Social network analysis, Markov Chains and input-output models: Combining tools to map and measure the circulation of currency in small economies", in this issue of JRCD, are applied by the primary author in a case study of Dunster, British Columbia, a small rural community heavily dependent on forestry revenue. The community has forestry tenure rights over a small area in the Robson Valley area of British Columbia, but as of 2011 had not yet begun logging. The application of the techniques highlight the challenges faced by small communities with limited industrial capacity in attempts to capture benefits from the extraction of natural resources. By establishing a "pre-logging" standard, the community can measure progress towards distributing the benefits of natural resource extraction equitably within the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a modified version of the Gini coefficient and social network-based Markov chains are combined to quantify the distribution of benefits in natural resource-dependent communities. This distribution includes both the width and the depth of the circulation of economic benefits from resource extraction. The modified Gini coefficient is used to calculate the share of benefits each party receives (width) while the social network analysis-based Markov chains are used to map the local economy and calculate the average number of times a dollar circulates in that economy (depth). These two values are combined to create an "equity" factor that considers localization and other financial benefits to the community. This combination allows resource managers to optimize resource access based on quantified values other than highest bid/lowest cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fishers often rely on their social capital to cope with resource fluctuations by sharing information on the abundance and location of fish. Drawing on research in seven coastal fishing communities in Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico, we examine the effect of resource scarcity on the bonding, bridging, and linking social-capital patterns of fishers' information-sharing networks. We found that: (1) fishers' information sharing is activated in response to varying ecological conditions; (2) resource scarcity is an ambiguous indicator of the extent to which fishers share information on the abundance and location of fish within and between communities; (3) information sharing is based on trust and occurs through kinship, friendship, and acquaintance social relations; (4) friendship ties play a key and flexible role in fishers' social networks within and between communities; (5) overall, the composition of fishers' social networks follows a friendship>kinship>acquaintance order of importance; and (6) the function of social ties, internal conflict, and settlement histories moderate the effects of resource scarcity on fishers' social capital. We conclude by arguing that the livelihoods of fishers from Loreto have adaptive capacity for dealing with fish fluctuations but little or no proactive resilience to address resource-management issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]