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Købmandsbutikken er vigtig for lokalsamfundene og et nyt studie viser, at de helt små, afsides beliggende samfund ikke nødvendigvis skal lades ude af betragtning, selv om de er uden for en klassisk målestok til at have en købmand. De kaldes i flæng f.eks. borgerprojekter, borgerbutikker eller borgerdrevne købmænd, og ordet frivillighed står centralt.

Context This paper explores green volunteering in Denmark from the perspective of nature managers in municipalities and state nature agencies. The aim is to explore and establish, for the first time, an understanding of the nature and extent of volunteering in Danish nature management from a mosaic governance perspective. Objective The objective was to understand how patterns of volunteerism in Denmark align with the theoretical planning of mosaic governance. Method The study employed a questionnaire survey, conducted in 2018, covering all Danish municipalities and Nature Agency units designed to investigate topics such as: the extent of volunteering, the types of volunteers, the areas and tasks the volunteers engage in, and the benefits and challenges of the collaboration. Results Our results show that nature managers collaborate with a variety of volunteers, involved in maintenance, construction and operation activities in both urban and rural areas. Most projects are bottom-up initiatives started by volunteers. The main reason for engaging volunteers is to acknowledge volunteers’ enthusiasm and heighten their interest in nature, although the engagement of volunteers can be time-consuming. In most municipalities, engaging volunteers is not formalized through strategies. It is handled as an “add-on” to an already demanding work burden. Conclusions There is considerable variation in the way municipalities and the Nature Agency units engage volunteers. Some embrace volunteering, while others are skeptical about it. The engagement of volunteers supports nature that is both more accessible and better managed. Further, volunteerism increases the number of outdoor recreation facilities by supplementing the capacity of baseline nature management.

Global warming has reduced the extent of permafrost, increased permafrost temperatures, and deepened the active layer across the Arctic. Permafrost degradation has detrimental effects on infrastructure and negative impacts on ecosystem services for many Arctic communities. This study examines the adaptive capacity for managing permafrost degradation in Northwest Greenland. The methods are based on questionnaire and interview data from fieldwork, frozen ground temperature records and published data forecasting the deepening of the active layer. Results illustrate the impact of permafrost degradation on the physical environment, hunting and harvesting, housing, and the economy in Northwest Greenland. House owners are mending damage caused by ground movement, and local institutions are concerned with the maintenance of roads and other public infrastructure impacted by permafrost. The scientific knowledge needed to inform decision-making is useful for identifying overall changes, but existing data sources are scarce, and more detailed permafrost maps are needed for long-term town planning. The study concludes that many individuals and institutions engage in autonomous adaptation on an ad hoc basis, rather than pursuing an overall strategy to increase the adaptive capacity in advance of future permafrost degradation in Northwest Greenland.

This thesis is about urban farming and the design of a rooftop garden in Kinawataka, a slum area in Uganda’s capital Kampala. It is connected with Architects Without Borders project of making a so-called bio-centre in this densely populated slum. The bio-centre includes basic sanitary facilities and also functions as a community unifying element for the local residents. This thesis focuses on the design of the rooftop garden on the bio-centre, which functions both as a food resource, as well as a place of social activity. Due to limited space in the slum, the cultivation must take place on the roof. Design principles based on a field trip to Nairobi, Kenya and Kampala, Uganda as well as research on rooftop agriculture have shaped the design of the garden. The design follows mostly the principle of ‘Optimising cultivation,’ but due to the area’s social potential it also uses principles on rooftop gardens’ abilities to function as a community unifying recreational space. The design principles can be used to guide the design for implementing rooftop agriculture in other slum areas as well. In order to scale-up and spread rooftop gardens to more slum areas a simple strategic design consisting of three concepts for how to do it is suggested. The overall theme of the thesis is sustainable development of cities in developing countries and how the cultivation of greenery can fit into an urban context - in this case as urban farming on roofs.

Climate change may significantly impact the large number of households in developing countries depending on agricultural production, not least through changes in the frequency and/or magnitude of climatic hazards resulting in household income shocks. This paper analyses rural households’ responses to past experiences of and future expectations to substantial and unexpected negative and positive agricultural income shocks. Empirical data is derived from an environmentally-augmented structured household (n = 112) survey in the high mountains of central Nepal. Multinomial logit regression, using data on rural household demographics, assets (agricultural land, livestock), value of other assets such as furniture, bicycles, and agricultural implements, and income sources showed that household coping choices are determined by opportunities to generate cash. We argue that public policies should enhance the ability of rural household to generate cash income, including through environmental products., Climate change may significantly impact the large number of households in developing countries depending on agricultural production, not least through changes in the frequency and/or magnitude of climatic hazards resulting in household income shocks. This paper analyses rural households’ responses to past experiences of and future expectations to substantial and unexpected negative and positive agricultural income shocks. Empirical data is derived from an environmentally-augmented structured household (n = 112) survey in the high mountains of central Nepal. Multinomial logit regression, using data on rural household demographics, assets (agricultural land, livestock), value of other assets such as furniture, bicycles, and agricultural implements, and income sources showed that household coping choices are determined by opportunities to generate cash. We argue that public policies should enhance the ability of rural household to generate cash income, including through environmental products.

Increased flooding caused by climate change impacts is a challenge for many cities both in developing and developed countries. The existing storm water drainage systems in place have to be physically constructed and expanded to meet the water run-off challenge. This is an expensive run-off management undertaking for resource poor countries such as Tanzania. Landscape based storm water management (LSM) is put forward as a sustainable option to manage storm water run-off and it also addresses water scarcity problems in under-served urban settlement. However its implementation in cities that are faced with informal residential development is challenging because among other things, LSM requires land for implementation as well as the collaboration of different institutions, disciplines and actors. Drawing from data and information obtained from the Water Resilient Green Cities Africa (WGA) Project in two cities of Africa, this paper explores the planning and institutional challenges for LSM in Dar es Salaam, a rapidly urbanising city. The paper also presents opportunities inherent in the process some of which suggest that local institutions offer a critical platform to collaboratively plan and implement LSM in rapidly urbanising cities.

Kapitlet afrapporterer resultater fra et forskningsprojekt om forankring af flygtninge i mindre byer og lokalsamfundets rolle i forankringen. Formålet er at besvare spørgsmålet: Hvad har betydning for, om flygtninge bliver boende i deres lokalsamfund, og hvad kan lokale frivillige gøre for, at de bliver boende? Undersøgelsen er baseret på 42 interviews i 2016/2017 med flygtninge, lokale frivillige i syv mindre byer og øvrige, relevante aktører som kommunale medarbejdere og NGO’er. Resultaterne peger på, at billige familielejeboliger og gode transportmuligheder er centralt for, at flygtninges hverdagsliv på flygtningeydelse overhovedet kan fungere. Herudover er etablering af lokale relationer til byens borgere og andre flygtninge essentielle, fordi de kan dække daglige sociale behov, men også hjælpe med at navigere i det nye hverdagsliv.

In this paper we examine the conditions and opportunities for establishing a functional green infrastructure under the pressure of urbanization in Addis Ababa and Dar es Salaam. Inspired by transition theory, we look for regimes and niches which support retainment of green space and their adaptive capacity based on interviews and workshops with key urban stakeholders. A top-down master planning paradigm combined with a green institutional framework preoccupied with beautification seem to block possibilities of supporting and integrating GI experiments coming from outside the regime. The master plans are vague, outdated before finalised and inefficient for coping with the fast pace of urbanization. In Addis Ababa, despite an emergent recognition of the role of the green infrastructure in the city plan, informal encroachment and planned large scale land-conversions to housing takes place. In Dar es Salaam, that subscribes to, but lacks a functional master plan, the regime seems paralysed and is too fragmented and engrossed with the pressing urbanization problems to prioritize a green infrastructure. For establishing a functional green infrastructure coalition partners from housing, road and urban agriculture authorities but also large land owners, informal settlers, urban farmers and local organisations are needed. Solutions must be attractive also for the actual green space managers − the individual plot- and condominium owners and local groups. Local niche experiments linking up to on-going coping strategies could push forward coalitions as well as generating knowledge on how to retain green areas while addressing water shortages, livelihood and urban farming.