“How Could I Live Here and Not Be a Member?”: Economic Versus Social Drivers of Participation in Namibian Conservation Programs

Economic goals form a critical component of community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) programs, but many studies question whether these initiatives actually deliver economic benefits to local communities. This presents a puzzle regarding why rural residents remain in CBNRM programs, and raises the possibility that non-economic incentives also influence participation. We address this question in a study of two Namibian communal conservancies, analyzing survey and interview data collected between 2009 and 2011. We find that economic incentives explain participation in one conservancy, whereas social motivations take precedence in the other. Our findings indicate that strong attachment to place and preferences for social cohesion can motivate people to comply with CBNRM even when economic incentives fail to materialize.     

Gender Differentiated Preferences for a Community-Based Conservation Initiative

Community-based conservation (CBC) aims to benefit local people as well as to achieve conservation goals, but has been criticised for taking a simplistic view of “community” and failing to recognise differences in the preferences and motivations of community members. We explore this heterogeneity in the context of Kenya’s conservancies, focussing on the livelihood preferences of men and women living adjacent to the Maasai Mara National Reserve. Using a discrete choice experiment we quantify the preferences of local community members for key components of their livelihoods and conservancy design, differentiating between men and women and existing conservancy members and non-members. While Maasai preference for pastoralism remains strong, non-livestock-based livelihood activities are also highly valued and there was substantial differentiation in preferences between individuals. Involvement with conservancies was generally perceived to be positive, but only if households were able to retain some land for other purposes. Women placed greater value on conservancy membership, but substantially less value on wage income, while existing conservancy members valued both conservancy membership and livestock more highly than did non-members. Our findings suggest that conservancies can make a positive contribution to livelihoods, but care must be taken to ensure that they do not unintentionally disadvantage any groups. We argue that conservation should pay greater attention to individual-level differences in preferences when designing interventions in order to achieve fairer and more sustainable outcomes for members of local communities.     

The Event Book System: A Community-based Natural Resource Monitoring System from Namibia

Namibia's Community Based Natural Resource Management program is a joint venture between government, national non-governmental organisations and rural communities. A component of the program involves communities in monitoring various aspects of their conservancy, ranging from wildlife numbers, through economic returns, to patrolling records and infringements of the rules. A main feature of community monitoring is the Event Book System, which differs from conventional monitoring in that the community dictates what needs to be monitored, and scientists only facilitate the design process and conservancy members undertake all data analysis. The system has been adopted with good results by more than 30 communal conservancies in Namibia, covering almost seven million ha, and is now also being piloted in six national parks. Continued emphasis is needed on enhancing community interpretation and use of data for active adaptive management, particularly where conservancy leaders are transient due to the democratic nature of local organizations. Moreover, because the system is driven by local priorities, it does not cover all aspects of a comprehensive biodiversity monitoring programme. Where society deems other biodiversity values worth monitoring, conservancies must either be willingly persuaded to act on this, or external systems must be established to cater for these needs. If a community already has a monitoring system of its own, a win–win solution might be for the community to be sub-contracted to undertake these ȁ8external modules' on behalf of national agencies.     

Impacts of Trade in Non-timber Forest Products on Cooperation among Caboclo Households of the Brazilian Amazon

Trade in non-timber forest products (NTFPs) has been touted as promoting forest conservation and enhancing the well-being of local residents through increased cash income, which is considered a positive outcome. However, research on cooperation has demonstrated that increased market access and income may strengthen or weaken cooperation. Because cooperation is essential for community resilience in small-scale societies, negative effects on people’s well-being can be expected if increased NTFP trade reduces cooperation. To evaluate whether NTFP trade affected cooperation, we used household data (survey and systematic observations) to compare the frequency of cooperation in two communities of Brazilian Amazon Caboclos, one of which engaged in NTFP trade, while the other did not. Cooperation was less frequent in the community trading NTFPs, but neither household cash income nor household participation in NTFP exploitation was associated with cooperative behavior. Decreased frequency most likely derived from indirect effects of NTFP trade, such as less time to fish or socialize, or other outcomes observable only at the community level, such as income inequality, the influx of new residents and consequent population growth. Our results indicate that conservation and development projects based on NTFP trade may negatively impact social and economic well-being of local communities.     

The Effects of Processing Non-Timber Forest Products and Trade Partnerships on People's Well-Being and Forest Conservation in Amazonian Societies

This study evaluated whether processing non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and establishing trade partnerships between forest communities and companies enhance the outcomes of NTFP commercialization. In particular, we evaluated whether product processing, partnerships, or their combination was associated with a number of outcomes related to the well-being of forest inhabitants and forest conservation. We based our analyses on ethnographic and quantitative data (i.e., survey and systematic observations) gathered at seven communities from five societies of the Brazilian and Bolivian Amazon. Our results indicated that product processing and partnerships do not represent a silver bullet able to improve the results of NTFP commercialization in terms of well-being and conservation indicators. Compared with cases without interventions, households adopting partnerships but not product processing were most often associated with improved economic proxies of well-being (total income, NTFP income, food consumption and gender equality in income). In comparison, the combination of product processing and partnerships was associated with similar outcomes. Unexpectedly, product processing alone was associated with negative outcomes in the economic indicators of well-being. All of the investigated strategies were associated with less time spent in social and cultural activities. With respect to forest conservation, the strategies that included a partnership with or without processing produced similar results: while household deforestation tended to decrease, the hunting impact increased. Processing alone was also associated with higher levels of hunting, though it did not reduce deforestation. Our results indicate that establishing partnerships may enhance the outcomes of NTFP trade in terms of the financial outcomes of local communities, but practitioners need to use caution when adopting the processing strategy and they need to evaluate potential negative results for indicators of social and cultural activities. With respect to conservation, the three strategies are promising for reducing deforestation, but more pervasive impacts, such as hunting, might increase.     

The strategic pillars of communal natural resource management: benefit, empowerment and conservation

Originally prepared as a keynote address for the 2008 La Tapoa Workshop on Natural Resource Management (NRM) and Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM), this paper examines the Southern African experience in CBNRM over the past 20 years. From this experience the paper draws lessons on when and where CBNRM is appropriate, what can make it work, and what can make it work better. These lessons are discussed under the three categories of benefit, conservation and empowerment. Benefit is usually conceptualized in terms of financial revenue, and using a Zimbabwean case study the paper shows how in unusual circumstances this can be substantial. Normally, however, natural resource production can only supplement inputs from agriculture and other modes of production, and the paper warns against regarding CBNRM as a panacea for rural poverty. Benefit should also be understood in non-pecuniary terms, and when economic benefit is linked with authority and responsibility large increments in social capital can result. The conservation interests of donors are often perceived as being at odds with local perspectives, a perception which fails to take into consideration means-end-sequencing. A socially constructed stalemate often occurs when external agencies impose their agendas upon local populations, a stalemate which can be broken when communities are given the authority and responsibility necessary to create internally legitimate regimes. A new science which combines professional and civil inputs is required to achieve CBNRM’s goal—empowered and dynamic local regimes integrated into larger scale systems of conservation and development.     

Inadequate community engagement hamstrings sustainable wildlife resource management in Zambia

We propose improvements for addressing the inadequate sustainable use of wildlife resources in the community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) programme in game management areas (GMAs) using case study data from Mumbwa and Lupande GMAs in Zambia. Firstly, we assess the sustainability of wildlife resources in these GMAs using design principles for enduring common pool institutions. Secondly, we propose the steps required to address the lack of sustainability of wildlife resources in the CBNRM programme in the two GMAs by building on indicators suggested by Ostrom's principles. The resource use patterns in the two GMAs were assessed according to their socio-economic and institutional factors. Comparisons were made between the two GMAs in relation to Ostrom's design principles. Accordingly, the combination of socio-economic and institutional factors restrains the sustainable use of wildlife resources in the two GMAs. Unless the Zambian government provides local communities with meaningful decision-making powers and benefits for the utilisation and management of wildlife, this resource is likely to disappear outside national parks.     

Prenatal Adversities and Latino Children’s Autonomic Nervous System Reactivity Trajectories from 6 Months to 5 Years of Age

The purpose of the study was to determine whether mothers’ adversities experienced during early pregnancy are associated with offspring’s autonomic nervous system (ANS) reactivity trajectories from 6 months to 5 years of age. This cohort study of primarily Latino families included maternal interviews at 13–14 weeks gestation about their experience of a range of adversities: father’s absence, general social support, poverty level, and household density. ANS measures of heart rate, respiratory sinus arrhythmia (parasympathetic nervous system) and preejection period (sympathetic nervous system) were collected during resting and challenging conditions on children at 6 months and 1, 3.5 and 5 years of age. Reactivity measures were calculated as the mean of the responses to challenging conditions minus a resting condition. Fixed effects models were conducted for the 212 children with two or more timepoints of ANS measures. Interactions between maternal prenatal adversity levels and child age at time of ANS protocol were included in the models, allowing the calculation of separate trajectories or slopes for each level of adversity. Results showed no significant relations between mothers’ prenatal socioeconomic or social support adversity and offspring’s parasympathetic nervous system trajectories, but there was a statistically significant relationship between social support adversity and offspring’s heart rate trajectories (p<.05) and a borderline significant relationship between socioeconomic adversity and offspring’s sympathetic nervous system trajectories (p = .05). Children whose mothers experienced one, not two, social support adversity had the smallest increases in heart rate reactivity compared to children whose mothers experienced no adversity. The children whose mothers experienced no social support and no socioeconomic adversity had the largest increases in heart rate and preejection period respectively from 6 months to 5 years showing the most plasticity. Mothers’ prenatal adverse experiences may program their children’s physiologic trajectory to dampen their heart rate or sympathetic responsivity to challenging conditions.     

Child Allergic Symptoms and Well-Being at School: Findings from ALSPAC,a UK Cohort Study

Background

Eczema and asthma are common conditions in childhood that can influence children’s mental health. Despite this, little is known about how these conditions affect the well-being of children in school. This study examines whether symptoms of eczema or asthma are associated with poorer social and mental well-being in school as reported by children and their teachers at age 8 years.

Methods

Participants were from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Measures of child well-being in school were child-reported (n = 6626) and teacher reported (n = 4366): children reported on their enjoyment of school and relationships with peers via a self-complete questionnaire; teachers reported child mental well-being using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire [binary outcomes were high ‘internalizing’ (anxious/depressive) and ‘externalizing’ (oppositional/hyperactive) problems (high was >90th percentile)]. Child rash and wheeze status were maternally reported and symptoms categorised as: ‘none’; ‘early onset transient’ (infancy/preschool only); ‘persistent’ (infancy/preschool and at school age); and ‘late onset’ (school age only).

Results

Children with persistent (OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.63) and late onset (OR 1.48, 95% CI 1.02 to 2.14) rash were more likely to report being bullied, and children with persistent wheeze to feel left out (OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.10 to 1.84). Late onset rash was associated with high teacher-reported internalising behaviours (OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.02 to 2.54), and persistent rash with high externalising behaviours (OR 1.37, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.84). Child sleep and maternal mental health explained some of the associations with teacher-reported mental well-being.

Conclusion

Symptoms of eczema or asthma can adversely affect a child’s social and mental well-being at primary school. This suggests interventions, such as additional support or education of peers, should begin at early stages in schooling.     

社区为主体的保护: 对三江源国家公园生态管护公益岗位的思考

社区参与是实现生物多样性保护目标的重要途径, 也是我国国家公园建设的重要组成部分。青海省三江源国家公园在前期试点中设置了16621个生态管理公益岗位, 当地牧民因此成为三江源保护的主要力量。本文通过对三江源地区已进行的生态管理公益岗位的调研发现, 由于传统文化和环保宣传的影响, 三江源当地藏族牧民具有较高的保护环境意识和参与保护行动的强烈愿望, 生态公益岗位是对这种愿望的良好回应。但在实践中, 因为需要兼顾提升生态保护成效、提升牧民收入、扶贫等多重目标, 生态管护员的选拔、管理、考核等并未按照最大化保护成效的方式进行。国家公园试点村中, 生态管护员全部由贫困户担任的方式, 实质上是将完成扶贫目标摆在了完成自然保护目标之前。这样的选择方式有着深刻的制度根源。为了进一步提升国家公园内生态公益岗位的保护成效, 我们认为应当明确生态管理公益岗位的定位, 明确提升保护成效是第一位的任务; 应当改进现有体制, 使基层政府有更多资源和空间组织管护工作, 并增加社区的参与程度。在这一过程中, 有民间机构参与的广阔空间。     

‘Only Fathers Smoking’ Contributes the Most to Socioeconomic Inequalities: Changes in Socioeconomic Inequalities in Infants’ Exposure to Second Hand Smoke over Time in Japan

BackgroundExposure to second hand smoke (SHS) is one of the major causes of premature death and disease among children. While socioeconomic inequalities exist for adult smoking, such evidence is limited for SHS exposure in children. Thus, this study examined changes over time in socioeconomic inequalities in infants’ SHS exposure in Japan.MethodsThis is a repeated cross-sectional study of 41,833 infants born in 2001 and 32,120 infants born in 2010 in Japan from nationally representative surveys using questionnaires. The prevalence of infants’ SHS exposure was determined and related to household income and parental education level. The magnitudes of income and educational inequalities in infants’ SHS exposure were estimated in 2001 and 2010 using both absolute and relative inequality indices.ResultsThe prevalence of SHS exposure in infants declined from 2001 to 2010. The relative index of inequality increased from 0.85 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80 to 0.89) to 1.47 (95% CI, 1.37 to 1.56) based on income and from 1.22 (95% CI, 1.17 to 1.26) to 2.09 (95% CI, 2.00 to 2.17) based on education. In contrast, the slope index of inequality decreased from 30.9 (95% CI, 29.3 to 32.6) to 20.1 (95% CI, 18.7 to 21.5) based on income and from 44.6 (95% CI, 43.1 to 46.2) to 28.7 (95% CI, 27.3 to 30.0) based on education. Having only a father who smoked indoors was a major contributor to absolute income inequality in infants’ SHS exposure in 2010, which increased in importance from 45.1% in 2001 to 67.0% in 2010.ConclusionsThe socioeconomic inequalities in infants’ second hand smoke exposure increased in relative terms but decreased in absolute terms from 2001 to 2010. Further efforts are needed to encourage parents to quit smoking and protect infants from second hand smoke exposure, especially in low socioeconomic households that include non-smoking mothers.     

Community-based natural resource use and management of Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary,Uganda, for livelihood benefits

Conservation and sustainable management of wetlands requires participation of local stakeholders, including communities. The Bigodi Wetland is unusual because it is situated in a common property landscape but the local community has been running a successful community-based natural resource management programme (CBNRM) for the wetland for over a decade. Whilst external visitors to the wetland provide ecotourism revenues we sought to quantify community benefits through the use of wetland goods such as firewood, plant fibres, and the like, and costs associated with wild animals damaging farming activities. We interviewed 68 households living close to the wetland and valued their cash and non-cash incomes from farming and collection of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and water. The majority of households collected a wide variety of plant and fish resources and water from the wetland for household use and livestock. Overall, 53% of total household cash and non-cash income was from collected products, mostly the wetland, 28% from arable agriculture, 12% from livestock and 7% from employment and cash transfers. Female-headed households had lower incomes than male-headed ones, and with a greater reliance on NTFPs. Annual losses due to wildlife damage were estimated at 4.2% of total gross income. Most respondents felt that the wetland was important for their livelihoods, with more than 80% identifying health, education, craft materials and firewood as key benefits. Ninety-five percent felt that the wetland was in a good condition and that most residents observed the agreed CBNRM rules regarding use of the wetland. This study confirms the success of the locally run CBNRM processes underlying the significant role that the wetland plays in local livelihoods.     

Differences in nutritional status between rural and urban Yucatec Maya children: The importance of early life conditions

Early-life conditions shape childhood growth and are affected by urbanization and the nutritional transition. To investigate how early-life conditions (across the “first” and “second” 1000 days) are associated with rural and urban children's nutritional status, we analyzed anthropometric data from Maya children in Yucatan, Mexico. We collected weight, height and triceps skinfold measures, then computed body mass and fat mass indices (BMI/FMI), in a cross-sectional sample of 6-year-olds (urban n = 72, rural n = 66). Demographic, socioeconomic and early-life variables (birthweight/mode, rural/urban residence, household crowding) were collected by maternal interview. We statistically analyzed rural-urban differences in demographic, socioeconomic, early-life, and anthropometric variables, then created linear mixed models to evaluate associations between early-life variables and child anthropometric outcomes. Two-way interactions were tested between early-life variables and child sex, and between early-life variables and rural-urban residence. Results showed that rural children were shorter-statured, with lower overweight/obesity and cesarean delivery rates, compared to urban children. Household crowding was a negative predictor of anthropometric outcomes; the strongest effect was in boys and in urban children. Birthweight positively predicted anthropometric outcomes, especially weight/BMI. Birth mode was positively (not statistically) associated with any anthropometric outcome. Cesarean delivery was more common in boys than in girls, and predicted increased height in urban boys. In conclusion, urbanization and household crowding were the most powerful predictors of Maya 6-year-old anthropometry. The negative effects of crowding may disproportionately affect Maya boys versus girls and urban versus rural children. Early-life conditions shape Maya children's nutritional status both in the “first” and “second” 1000 days.     

Household and community socioeconomic influences on early childhood malnutrition in Africa

This paper uses multilevel modelling and Demographic and Health Survey data from five African countries to investigate the relative contributions of compositional and contextual effects of socioeconomic status and place of residence in perpetuating differences in the prevalence of malnutrition among children in Africa. It finds that community clustering of childhood malnutrition is accounted for by contextual effects over and above likely compositional effects, that urban-rural differentials are mainly explained by the socioeconomic status of communities and households, that childhood malnutrition occurs more frequently among children from poorer households and/or poorer communities and that living in deprived communities has an independent effect in some instances. This study also reveals that socioeconomic inequalities in childhood malnutrition are more pronounced in urban centres than in rural areas.     

Differences in nutritional outcomes between Brazilian white and black children

This paper analyzes whether differences in nutritional outcomes between white and black children are related to disparities in socioeconomic status and how improvements in nutritional indicators for each racial group over time are associated with changes in household income, parent's education and other socioeconomic attributes. According to the results, the gap in anthropometric measures would be substantially reduced if black and white children had similar characteristics. Evidence also shows that better economic and social attributes explain only a small part of the large improvement in nutritional measures verified between 2002-2003 and 2008-2009 for both racial groups.     

Communal farmers of Namibia appreciate vultures and the ecosystem services they provide

Ecosystem services are cited as one of the many reasons for conserving declining vulture populations in Africa. We aimed to explore how communal farmers in Namibia perceive vultures and the ecosystem services they provide, with special focus on cultural and regulating ecosystem services. We surveyed 361 households across Namibia’s communal farmlands and found that over two-thirds of households liked vultures and found them useful, stating that they were harmless and useful for locating dead livestock. The minority of households who disliked vultures believed that they were killing their livestock. Poisoning was the main cause of vulture mortalities reported by farmers. While poisoning appears to be a concern for vultures in the communal farmlands, it appears that cultural use of vulture body parts is a minimal threat. We found that few farmers knew of cultural beliefs about vultures or uses for body parts; most farmers believed these beliefs and practices to be outdated. It is further promising that communal farmers have an overall positive perception of vultures. This highlights the potential for communal conservancies to bring attention to vulture conservation in their constituencies.     

保护区与社区关系协调:方法和实践经验

保护区的持续存在和发展必须得到当地居民的支持和认可。从理论上讲,保护区和社区之间的关系在区域尺度上表现为保护成本和收益分配不均衡,在保护区内表现为保护和发展之间的冲突。在实践上,保护区的管理模式已经从以前传统的强制性保护转向比较公开、民主的保护模式,比较典型的方法包括生物圈保护区、综合保护和发展项目(ICDPs)以及基于社区的自然资源管理(CBNRM)。通过多年的实践,上述方法取得了许多经验和教训．目前已在三个方面达成共识：社区和社区行为在理论和实践中不一致、社区居民与其他利益群体之间的协调机制以及项目实施所必需的支持／保障机制。本文对国内外协调保护区与社区关系的方法和实践经验等进行分析和总结,以期为改善我国自然保护区的管理,实现可持续发展提供借鉴。     

Designing marine reserves to reflect local socioeconomic conditions: lessons from long-enduring customary management systems

Coral reef conservation strategies such as marine protected areas have met limited success in many developing countries. Some researchers attribute part of these shortcomings to inadequate attention to the social context of conserving marine resources. To gain insights into applying Western conservation theory more successfully in the socioeconomic context of developing countries, this study examines how long-enduring, customary reef closures appear to reflect local socioeconomic conditions in two Papua New Guinean communities. Attributes of the customary management (including size, shape, permanence, and gear restrictions) are examined in relation to prevailing socioeconomic conditions (including resource users’ ability to switch gears, fishing grounds, and occupations). Customary closures in the two communities appear to reflect local socioeconomic circumstances in three ways. First, in situations where people can readily switch between occupations, full closures are acceptable with periodic harvests to benefit from the closure. In comparison, communities with high dependence on the marine resources are more conducive to employing strategies that restrict certain gear types while still allowing others. Second, where there is multiple clan and family spatial ownership of resources, the communities have one closure per clan/family; one large no-take area would have disproportionate affect on those compared to the rest of the community. In contrast, communities that have joint ownership can establish one large closure as long as there are other areas available to harvest. Third, historical and trade relationships with neighboring communities can influence regulations by creating the need for occasional harvests to provide fish for feasts. This study further demonstrates the importance of understanding the socioeconomic context of factors such as community governance and levels of dependence for the conservation of marine resources.     

The association of adolescent socioeconomic position and adult height: Variation across racial/ethnic groups

Numerous studies have demonstrated the association of childhood socioeconomic position and adult height. Many have suggested the use of adult height as a marker of overall childhood well-being. However, few studies have examined the relationship between child/adolescent socioeconomic position and adult height in a racially/ethnically diverse cohort. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we examined the association of child/adolescent SEP (maternal education and maternal report of household income) and measured adult height in a diverse cohort of US adolescents/young adults. We found a positive gradient effect of maternal education on height in the overall population and in White and Mixed race males and females; no such gradient existed in Hispanic, Asian, or Black males or females. Only in Mixed race females was household income positively associated with height. These findings emphasize the need to recognize differential effects of socioeconomic status on height in different racial/ethnic and gender subpopulations.