TRI Fellows Research Projects, 2006

Africa

 Heather Arrowood

Tarangire National Park Local Perceptions of Tourism and Park Management

Tarangire National Park is one of four profit-generating parks in Tanzania where tourism is an important industry second only to agriculture (16% of GDP- United Republic of Tanzania website). An increase in agricultural activities surrounding Tarangire National Park is leading to the disappearance of wildlife corridors to seasonal breeding grounds and thereby threatening the wildlife for which the park is famous. Community-based tourism, in the form of Wildlife Management Areas (WMA's), has been promoted by the Tanzanian government as a solution to this problem. However, local communities have shown little interest in getting involved in the government initiative. In recent months attempts to involve local communities in wildlife management have been abandoned. The Tanzanian government has sent letters to Maasai communities bordering the park ordering them to halt cultivation. Unfortunately inadequate attention has been focused on finding solutions that are supported by people living around the park.

Heather interviews Maasai women at their home in Loibor Siret, Tanzania.

Between May and August 2006 I conducted semi-structured interviews and participant observation in two Maasai villages bordering the park to look at local perceptions of the tourism industry and wildlife management. I talked with local residents, local officials, park employees, and members of the tourism industry. Ultimately I wanted to find out if these communities perceived tourism as advantageous and whether tourism has potential as a conservation approach. My final report will be designed for the local communities, NGOs, and government agencies working in the area on conservation projects. Areas of common ground need to be identified for future collaborations between the Tanzanian government and local communities so that the fences and fines approach is not perpetuated.

 Scott Berendt

Mali and Genetically Modified Cotton: Discourse, Politics and Power

Mali, an economically and resource poor sub-Saharan nation, is predominantly populated by subsistence farmers. Along with cultivating sorghum, millet, rice and corn for their daily supply of food, cotton is grown by approximately a third of these farmers. With cotton being Mali's primary export and significant source of income for millions of Malians, it is fair to say that cotton has a tremendous impact on the quality of life for most Malians.

Historically, Malians have had a tumultuous and dependent relationship with the markets and mechanisms, both domestic and international, which buy and sell cotton. Currently, there is an on going and intensifying debate surrounding the possible introduction of genetically modified (GM) cotton into the Malian cotton production industry. This debate involves many participants, from Malian government officials to the subsistence farmer to international companies, organizations and foreign governments.

During the summer of 2006, I traveled to Mali to research this issue. Specifically, I wanted to determine how the discourse between the various stakeholders (as well as non-Malian organizations who are beginning to participate in the debate) has influenced (and continues to influence) the process of incorporating GM cotton into the Malian cotton production industry. Living in a remote village in the southern region of Sikasso and by talking with individuals representing multiple arenas of Malian society, I investigated the political terrain and relations of power by focusing on knowledge generation, information dissemination and communication, and the decision-making process among the multiple parties involved and potentially affected by the cultivation of GM cotton in Mali.

 Kerry Dooley

Integrated Assessment of the Native Species Guiera senegalensis for Restoration in Ségou, Mali: an Analysis from Social and Biological Vantages

For eleven weeks I lived in Ségou, Mali (West Africa) researching the native shrub Guiera senegalensis. Because a previous study indicated this shrub was the most dominant woody species in the region, yet was highly appreciated by local populations, I was trying to determine why this shrub was so common and whether all local groups had an interest in it. My investigations were divided into three main parts: a controlled experiment in a tree nursery, interviews, and field plots.

The controlled experiment in the tree nursery involved applying leaves and aqueous leaf extracts from Guiera senegalensis to pots, which were then planted with sorghum to determine whether there were growth inhibiting elements in Guiera senegalensis. With help from my colleagues at the WorldAgroforestry Centre (ICRAF) I tracked the germination rates of the sorghum across gradients of application quantities and length of time since application.

With the help of my translator and field assistant, Sekou Gassima, I stayed in six villages near Ségou, conducting interviews with sixty villagers. The interview questions drew on traditional knowledge to identify any changes in the amount and distribution of Guiera senegalensis in the region. These interviews also inquired the villagers' opinions of the species being studied. The interviewees included several ethnic groups, occupation types, age classes, and both sexes.

The same six villages were used as sites for the field plots I laid out. There were two goals of the field plots. The first was to determine if Guiera senegalensis was more prevalent in certain areas or land uses. The second goal was to determine whether other species were found in greater or lesser abundance in proximity to Guiera senegalensis. The villages selected for laying out these field plots reflected a variety of land uses, proximities to water, distance from paved roads, and population levels.

Over the coming months I will continue to communicate with my partners at the WorldAgroforestry Centre in Ségou. We will be working to analyze the combined data to determine whether and why Guiera senegalensis is so common in this area. The WorldAgroforesty Centre also hopes to continue research on this species depending on the results of the analysis.

 James Leslie

Local Institutions Engagement in Decision-Making through Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation: A Comparison of Conservation Projects in Mozambique and Peru

Calls for accountability of international conservation organizations have recently become increasingly louder, as resources made available for biodiversity conservation have declined and must now be used more efficiently. One response is to promote participatory monitoring and evaluation which serves as a more cost-effective means to assess impacts of interventions and, at the same time, empowers local users to assume ownership of management of natural resources. Local institutions, such as committees and groups organized to address communal natural resource management, can spearhead community-based monitoring and channel information flow as well as provide a platform for local engagement in decision-making regarding natural resource use. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of participatory monitoring and evaluation as a tool to engage local communities in management is still unproven.

James sits with friends on Bazaruto Island, Mozambique. The community has just finished cleaning the day's fish harvest on the beach. (Photo credit: Julia Urrunaga).

Interested in how local institutions employ participatory monitoring and evaluation tools to engage in the decision-making process of natural resource use, I conducted a comparative study of two projects - one in Peru and the other in Mozambique - where participatory monitoring and evaluation was proposed explicitly to improve conservation project effectiveness and involve local stakeholders in decision-making. Emphasis was placed on identifying lessons learned and drawing parallels between the two projects.

In Mozambique, the study site was Bazaruto Archipelago National Park, a cluster of five islands, three of which are home to seven indigenous communities. The communities' livelihoods depend predominantly on farming and fishing for subsistence and to a lesser extent, for commercialization. In Peru, my research focused on the buffer zone of the Alto Purus National Park, where eight indigenous groups utilize timber and non-timber forest products.

In both sites, the sustainable management of natural resources faces pressures from outsiders who are interested in short-term economic gain. In the case of Bazaruto, fishermen based on the mainland and foreign vessels pose threats to the fishing resource. In the case of Purus, there is significant pressure to extract the valuable timber for foreign markets.

Young girl in the community of Pankarentsy, Purus, Peru. (Photo credit: Julia Urrunaga).

The two sites differ with respect to the composition of the direct stakeholders in the protected areas' management. For example, one of the principal stakeholders in Bazaruto is the tourism sector. A portion of my research focused on the relationship between the tourism operators, the local communities and the park administration. I gathered perceptions of positive and negative impacts of the tourism on the local social and ecological environment.

Both structured and semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample group from the communities and with representatives of organizations. I also facilitated focal group meetings with resource users. In both sites, I conducted participant observation in order to acquire a better understanding of the stakeholders' activities.

 Christopher McManus

The Role of Wild Food Sources in HIV Affected Households in Rural Nkandla, Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa

South Africa is one of the most HIV affected countries in the world. An estimated 5.5 million people (nearly 20% of the adult population) are living with HIV now (UNAIDS 2005). Recent surveillance statistics show that the prevalence of infections continues to rise. Within South Africa the prevalence of HIV varies between and within provinces. Kwazulu-Natal province has the highest prevalence of HIV (ranging from approximately 20% to 44%).

Evidence suggests that the HIV epidemic is escalating food security and nutritional issues for the population-especially in the rural areas. These rural households typically rely on family labor and they are less resilient to the impact of a loss in the family. AIDS tends to affect the most productive members of households; dramatically weakening the household's organizational capacity. HIV affected households are thought to resort to coping strategies that increase the demand of wild food source collection to buffer against food vulnerability. However, this study hypothesizes that wild food source collection will not increase due to weakened organizational capacity within households.

This study profiled the role of wild food sources in the diets of individuals from HIV affected rural households. The study tested the hypothesis that individuals from households greatly affected by HIV will consume less wild food sources than individuals that come from lesser affected households due to a loss in household capacity.

Two conterminous samples of households (n = 118) were surveyed in two rural villages, Madiyane (n = 60) and Onyengweni (n = 58) located approximately 2km and 6km east of the Nkandla municipality in the Kwazulu Natal province. The study surveyed 60 of the 118 households twice. The first round of surveys occurred right after a pension day disbursement and 118 surveys were administered over a course of a week. The second round occurred three weeks later, during what can be considered the "lean times," before pension day. Thirty households from each village were surveyed again. The second round of sampling occurred to test response reliability and to capture household practices at two points of the pension cycle. The 60 households were randomly selected to participate in a second round of surveys. Surveys consisted of adult and child 48 hour dietary recall, and questions about household member health status, household income, food security, and coping strategies. A supplementary bushmeat survey was administered in households that reported consumption of bushmeat. The bushmeat survey contained questions about species of animals consumed, hunting techniques and general location, and frequency of consumption. GPS coordinates were collected for each household surveyed. Additionally, GPS and economic data related to the Nkandla municipality were also collected (i.e. location of stores, schools, prices of food and transportation). Data will be analyzed using regression analysis and geographic information systems.

This study will quantify the use and distribution of wild food sources in the context of the HIV epidemic while also considering economic and access variables. This study, in collaboration with the Department of Environmental Studies in Rhodes University and the African Centre for Health and Population Studies (ACHPS), will help in the development of a national food security monitoring system.

 Melody Ocloo

Liquified Petroleum Gas Substitution for Wood Fuel in the Northern Region of Ghana: Impacts on Community Forest Resource

In Ghana where more than 90 percent of all households rely on traditional biomass, the use of cleaner fuels such as Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) instead of woodfuel for cooking will be beneficial in several ways. However, only about 6 percent of households in Ghana are using LPG for cooking with the rural areas accounting for less than 1 percent. The Northern part of Ghana where I carried out my studies is a very fragile savannah ecological zone. The pressure on their forest resource for firewood and charcoal is a threat of desertification and therefore a major cause of environmental degradation. In view of this UNDP and the government of Ghana actively promoted the use of LPG in the Northern parts of Ghana.

My study was designed to determine whether the promotion and use of LPG has reduced the pressure on the local forest and savannah woodlands. To achieve this I conducted a survey using questionnaires to assess the amount of firewood used monthly by respondents before and after the introduction of LPG. I collected data from boarding schools, small enterprises such as bakeries and local restaurants popularly known as "chop bars" in Tamale metropolis and beyond. These groups were targeted because they are mostly the highest consumers of firewood. I also designed a questionnaire to investigate the firewood market. I sought to determine how environmentally sustainable the firewood trade was and the patronage of their customers before and after the promotion of LPG.

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