1,720,971 research outputs found
Trees, trust and the state: A comparison of participatory forest management in Pakistan and Tanzania
No full textThis paper attempts to analyse the trust, power relations and emerging conflicts as state and non-state actors try to adjust to their new roles in the perspective of participatory forest management initiatives in Pakistan and Tanzania. Based on historical and empirical context, we argue that the institutional base responsible for enhancing trust between state and local actors is rather weak in both countries. The major obstacles are that the state actors are not willing to fully devolve power; and the responsibility - as delegated by the state - of newly created institutions demands forest protection rather than defining management rights
How fit turns into misfit and back: Institutional Transformations of Pastoral Commons in African Floodplains
No full textWe enlarge the notion of institutional fit using theoretical approaches from New Institutionalism, including rational choice and strategic action, political ecology and constructivist approaches. These approaches are combined with ecological approaches (system and evolutionary ecology) focusing on feedback loops and change. We offer results drawn from a comparison of fit and misfit cases of institutional change in pastoral commons in four African floodplain contexts (Zambia, Cameroon, Tanzania (two cases). Cases of precolonial fit and misfit in the postcolonial past, as well as a case of institutional fit in the postcolonial phase, highlight important features, specifically, flexible institutions, leadership, and mutual economic benefit under specific relations of bargaining power of actors. We argue that only by combining otherwise conflicting approaches can we come to understand why institutional fit develops into misfit and back again
Adaptation to Changes in the Coffee Value Chain and the Price of Coiffee among Coffee Producers in Two Villages in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
No full textMarket liberalization in Tanzania has eroded the monopoly of the cooperative unions by allowing private coffee buyers (PCBs) to compete with them on equal footing. Similarly, farmers groups and primary societies are now allowed to sell coffee at auction. Thus, farmers have various options for selling their coffee. Similarly, the coffee industry has experienced large fluctuations in prices and stagnation in production. How do farmers react to these changes? Can and do farmers profit from different market conditions and sell to different traders at the lower end of the value chain, or do they remain with cooperatives or farmers groups? This study was conducted in Mruwia and Mshiri villages in Moshi Rural district. Whereas Mshiri village remains attached to the Kilimanjaro Native Cooperative Union (KNCU), Mruwia has detached from this organization and sells coffee independently. The sample (103) was randomly selected from the coffee farmers in the two villages. Data were collected through surveys, focus group discussions (FGDs), and socio-anthropological methods (participant-observation, biographies, and thematic interviews). Results indicate that the selection of whom to sell coffee depends largely on farmers’ dependence on coffee and prices, other benefits accrued, and whether the initial costs are covered by buyers. Additionally, most respondents did not sell coffee to PCBs. Thus, prices, the institutional infrastructure, and the structure of local communities were important when making decisions about how and with whom to trade
Sustainable Livelihoods for Coffee Producers in East Africa: Is Producing Speciality Coffee a Way Out of Poverty?
No full textManaging water resources in dynamic settings: A multi-level, multi-stakeholder perspective
No full textThe aim of the present article is to contribute to the debate on the role of research in sustainable management of water and related resources, based on experiences in the Upper Ewaso Ng’iro and Pangani river basins in East Africa. Both basins are characterised by humid, resource-rich highlands and extensive semi-arid lowlands, by growing demand for water and related resources, and by numerous conflicting stakeholder interests. Issues of scale and level, on the one hand, and the normative dimension of sustainability, on the other hand, are identified as key challenges for research that seeks to produce relevant and applicable results for informed decision-making. A multi-level and multi-stakeholder perspective, defined on the basis of three minimal principles, is proposed here as an approach to research for informed decision-making. Key lessons learnt from applying these principles in the two river basins are presented and discussed in the light of current debate
Assessment of the Sustainability of Forest Certification in Village Land Forest Reserves in Southern Tanzania
No full textCertification aims to improve the environmental, economic, and governance by ensuring market access for certified forest products, improving control of logging operations, reducing illegal harvesting, and increasing the transfer of funds to forest management, which consequently ensures sustainability. This study conducted an assessment in selected Village Land Forest Reserves (VLFR) in Pwani, Lindi, and Ruvuma regions in southern Tanzania to examine the sustainability of the Forest Certification Scheme (FSC). Data were collected through a review of reports, management plans, and harvesting plans. Other methods included household surveys, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis, while quantitative data were analyzed descriptively and using NPV and sensitivity to estimate the economic profitability and viability of certified VLFR. Results indicate that the certification scheme has enhanced the management practices of VLFRs and some revenue generation. Even though harvesting in the forests in all the villages was far below allowable cut, the sustainability of the certification scheme was found to be questionable in terms of the costs of management, since, without the support of other stakeholders at present could not work out. We concluded that FSC certification under CBFM can only be sustainable if there is an increase in the harvesting levels by 100% and effective marketing strategies of the products from certified forests, which fetch a good competitive price to offset the forest management and the costs for implementing the FSC certification protocol
Potential Approaches and Techniques for Long-term Management of the Human-Elephant Conflict in Western Serengeti, Tanzania
No full textHuman-elephant conflict is a ubiquitous feature between Ikorongo-Grumeti Game Reserves (IGGRs) management and the adjacent communities of Bunda and Serengeti Districts, in the Mara Region. This study aimed at analyzing the conflict and then coming up with potential techniques for effective mitigation of the conflict in the area. Data collection involved direct observations, key informant interviews and household surveys using questionnaires. The analysis was done using SPSS computer software. Results revealed and recommended several non-conventional mitigation measures namely the construction of trench (95.3%), electric fencing (92.7%), establishment of buffer zone management units (BZMUs) (92.7%) and geo-fencing system (92.3%). Also were wireless sensing networks (WSN) (85.3%), translocation of problem elephants (11.7%), and evacuation of people adjoining wildlife area boundaries (22%) as HEC prevention and mitigation measures with long-term impacts. Generally, no single solution was considered effective as different approaches must be integrated to address the problem proactively. Hence, it is recommended that community involvement in decision-making and policy formulation be emphasized to effectively implement proposed mitigation measure
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
- …
