Distribution of benefits based on household participation roles in decentralized conservation within Kanchenjunga Conservation Area Project,Nepal

Kanchenjunga Conservation Area is located in the remote and sparsely populated mountainous region of Eastern Nepal. It has been locally managed as a decentralized Integrated Conservation and Development Project since 2006, the first of its kind in Asia. Major international donor agencies sponsor programs to empower and strengthen the capacity of local communities to manage their natural resources, while concurrently improving livelihood opportunities. We surveyed 205 randomly selected households throughout the project area to assess the factors that influence household participation roles in management and management groups, and to evaluate how benefits from program involvement were distributed among the community. Overall, the distribution of benefits was unequal: households with higher level participation roles had increased access to financial credit and capacity development trainings. Social variables such as age, level of education among head of households, the highest level education among household adults, and household size predicted participation. The region is economically homogeneous; therefore, economic factors such as remittances, off-farm income and the quantity of landholdings or livestock did not predict household participation roles. Our results demonstrate the importance of targeting and empowering disadvantaged households in decentralized conservation programs, including educating members about the relationship between participation and equitable distribution of benefits.     

乡村旅游背景下农户生计策略转变意愿研究

近年来在乡村振兴战略实施背景下,乡村旅游在发展农村经济中的作用更加凸显。促进乡村旅游的健康发展和乡村农户生计的持续改善是当前学术界讨论的重要话题。现有研究表明,可持续生计框架中客观环境影响作用是可持续旅游生计研究的热点方向,但可持续生计框架外其他主观因素对生计策略转变影响的动态定量考量却较为空缺。本研究在乡村旅游背景下探讨政府信任度对农户生计策略转变意愿影响机制,引入居民参与度、居民支持度和生活满意度多重链式中介作用,通过结构方程模型对山东省乡村旅游地进行定量分析,并对特定路径间中介作用进行比较。实证研究结果显示:①政府信任度对居民参与度和居民支持度具有正向影响,居民支持度正向影响居民参与度。②居民参与度和居民支持度均正向影响生活满意度。③生活满意度对农户生计策略转变意愿产生正向影响。这表明在居民支持度、居民参与度和生活满意度多重链式中介作用下,政府信任度对生计策略转变意愿具有间接影响。因此,为了助推乡村振兴,实现乡村旅游和农户生计的可持续,应发挥政府作用,从政策实施、旅游市场监控、完善基础设施建设等方面提高政府信任度,培养农户的主人翁意识,引导农户融入乡村旅游发展过程中,提高生活满意度,增强农户生计策略转变意愿。     

农业文化遗产保护目标下农户生计状况分析

农户生计是农业文化遗产认定标准之一,也是影响农业文化遗产保护与传承的关键因素,在贫困地区,遗产保护与农户脱贫的两难困境更为突出。本研究基于可持续生计理论和分析框架,以全球重要农业文化遗产地——云南红河哈尼稻作梯田为案例区域,通过生计资本指标体系构建和量化,对比分析了不同生计途径农户的生计状况。评估结果发现,农户的生计资本均值为2.312,生计资本处于匮乏状态,金融资本值最低,而文化资本值最高。从事农业和打工是当前农户的主要生计途径,旅游接待成为生计拓展的重要形式。三类农户生计资本值和家庭年均收入排序相同,都表现为旅游接待户打工兼业户纯农业户,纯农业户的生计状况最差。从单项生计资本看,旅游接待户和打工兼业户的人力资本显著高于纯农业户,物质资本和金融资本比较中,旅游接待户显著高于其他两类农户,说明人力资本越丰富的农户越可能倾向于兼业,农户开展旅游接待需要较高的物质和金融资本作为基础。这意味着,农业文化遗产保护要大力提高农户的农业经营收益,延长农业的价值链和产业链,完善农村金融市场,开展旅游接待培训,从人力、金融等多方面改善农户生计资本状况,实现生计途径拓展。     

Motivations for organic farming in tourist regions: a case study in Nepal

An increasing number of individuals and businesses involved in the tourism industry have begun activities related to organic farming and organic agro-products not only in Europe and North America but also in developing countries in Asia. Both organic farming and rural tourism are considered important to socially and economically sustainable rural development. The influences on the establishment of or conversion to organic farming have been much discussed in Europe but not in developing countries. This study focuses on Nepal, where small-scale organic farming occurs in tourism areas, and qualitatively reveals the motivations for organic farming and other factors related to its adoption. It was found that the reasons for introducing organic farming practices varied with the timing of their adoption. Additionally, the kinds of organic-related activities adopted varied depending on how the individual adopter first encountered the term “organic farming.” However, all individuals involved in organic farming shared some common motivations, such as desires for personal health, quality produce and rural development.     

Livelihood vulnerability approach to assessing climate change impacts on mixed agro-livestock smallholders around the Gandaki River Basin in Nepal

Climate change vulnerability depends upon various factors and differs between places, sectors and communities. People in developing countries whose subsistence livelihood depends mainly upon agriculture and livestock production are identified as particularly vulnerable. Nepal, where the majority of people are in a mixed agro-livestock system, is identified as the world’s fourth most vulnerable country to climate change. However, there is limited knowledge on how vulnerable mixed agro-livestock smallholders are and how their vulnerability differs across different ecological regions in Nepal. This study aims to test two vulnerability assessment indices, livelihood vulnerability index and IPCC vulnerability index, around the Gandaki River Basin of central Nepal. A total of 543 households practicing mixed agro-livestock were surveyed from three districts, namely Dhading, Syangja and Kapilvastu representing three major ecological zones: mountain, mid-hill and Terai (lowland). Data on socio-demographics, livelihood determinants, social networks, health, food and water security, natural disasters and climate variability were collected and combined into the indices. Both indices differed for mixed agro-livestock smallholders across the three districts, with Dhading scoring as the most vulnerable and Syangja the least. Substantial variation across the districts was observed in components, sub-components and three dimensions (exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity) of vulnerability. The findings help in designing site-specific intervention strategies to reduce vulnerability of mixed agro-livestock smallholders to climate change.     

生计资本异质对农户农地流转行为的影响——以武汉城市郊区的516户农民为例

以武汉市城郊江夏区和蔡甸区的516户农民家庭为实证,运用logistic和分位数回归模型探索家庭生计资本对农户土地流转行为的影响及阈值。结果表明:(1)人力资本和金融资本与农户农地转出行为呈显著正向相关,家庭农地资源禀赋、机耕能力、社会资源禀赋及经营能力的信任程度等与农地转出行为负向相关。相反,自然资源禀赋及农业机械投入对农户土地转入行为的正向影响显著,而家庭融资能力则对农户转入行为呈显著的负向影响。(2)分位数回归结果显示,对农户土地流转行为存在影响阈值的仅有韧性指数。当农户家庭韧性指数≤2时,随韧性指数增强农户农地转出倾向愈强;家庭韧性指数≥3时,农户农地转出倾向随指数增强而弱化。该研究从农户微观个体视角探索生计资本异质对农地流转行为的影响,为针对农户家庭需求制定差别化的农地流转政策、有效推进农业适度规模经营提供建议参考。     

Non-timber forest product dependency in the Central Himalayan foot hills

Rural households throughout the Himalayas are regarded as dependent on non-timber forest products (NTFPs), but very few studies have quantified this dependency. This case study, undertaken in two villages in the Central Himalayan foot hills in Nepal, documents the absolute and relative importance of commercial NTFPs to rural household economies. Data were collected in a one-year period and included interviews with 250 households using a semi-structured questionnaire and monthly interviews with four sub-local NTFP traders, two local traders and two central wholesalers. The conservative estimate of NTFP-derived cash income showed this to be a cornerstone in poorer household livelihood strategies and thus in poverty prevention. An annual average of 578 kg of commercial NTFPs was collected in the wild per household, providing poorer households with a cash income share of 44–78%. Better off households are not NTFP dependent but rely on income from crop production and livestock. Based on a net marketing margin analysis, showing that harvesters capture a large share of the Indian wholesaler price, it is argued that there is scope for pursuing NTFP-based strategies for poverty reduction through leasehold forestry and agroforestry. Both these options are compatible with conserving forest cover and forest corridor functions and may thus present a win–win scenario for livelihood improvement and conservation.     

Residents’ Attitudes Towards Tourism in a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems Pilot Site: a Case Study in China

Abstract

Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) is a wide program to promote the conservation and adaptive management of such systems and their associated landscapes, biodiversity, knowledge systems and cultures. Rice-Fish Systems (RFS) in Longxian village of China, as a traditional agricultural system, was selected as one of the five pilot sites of GIAHS in 2005. Researchers have paid more attention to the dynamic conservation and adaptive management of RFS because it is under severe threats from global development challenges. Tourism is suggested to be brought into the RFS conservation program as an alternative industry. This paper presents a comparative study of residents in three types of farm household in Longxian, seeking attitudes to the RFS conservation and tourism development and ways in which such information may guide future strategies. Results show residents, belonging to the household type in which most family members are abroad, have the most positive attitudes to RFS conservation and tourism development; while residents, as other household type in which less than 50% of family members are abroad, are the least sensitive group in these three household types, due to the motivation of moving abroad weakening their enthusiasm to participate in the local activities. Implications are discussed in the context of how resident attitudes will affect the future management of GIAHS conservation and tourism development, and then measures are put forward to foster tourism cooperation and multistakeholders process establishment.     

Exploring paradoxes in the search for sustainable livelihoods: a case study from Tanzania

Many aspects of the relationship between conservation and livelihoods are well documented in the literature both the positive synergies and the negative implications of pursuing one priority over the other. This paper describes research that explored the specific influences in household decision-making in park adjacent communities in Tanzania to determine whether conservation and sustainable resource utilization was an influencing factor. While conservation did not appear to be a significant influence, productivity of the natural resource base to maintain livelihood activity and well-being was a prime driver of household decisions. However, in articulating the challenges faced by households a number of paradoxes became apparent. This paper highlights four paradoxes from the research relating to: the need for capital to support productivity improvement; the approaches for perceived needed intensification of resource utilization; the dependence on government for solutions; and the assessment process of the range of livelihood options. We present the research findings related to these four paradoxes and present potential actions for resolving these dilemmas.     

Conservation perceptions and attitudes of semi-nomadic pastoralist towards relocation and biodiversity management: a case study of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Van Gujjars</Emphasis> residing in and around Corbett Tiger Reserve,India

This article examines the perceptions and attitude of the semi-nomadic pastoral community “Van Gujjars” on the use and conservation of natural resources in Corbett Tiger Reserve, India. In this research article, in-depth interview and questionnaire data (n = 340) about demography and perceptions were examined from both qualitative and quantitative information. Respondents have expressed their perception about their own territories, problems, attachments, positive or negative change that occurred during their stay in and around protected area. Respondents overall positive attitudes towards conservation scenarios despite high losses from wildlife while living around protected area suggest that they may support conservation if their livelihood needs are met. Most of the respondents support the concept of conservation, and some respondents have negative attitude towards management authorities, mainly because of restricted access to the forest resources. The study illustrates and suggests a number of options for the viability of resettlement of pastoralist community. A majority of respondents indicated that there is a need for public participation in planning and implementation of resettlement process. Resettlement of Van Gujjar community may be better if exercised with the consensus of all the stakeholders. Resettlement will provide better livelihood opportunity to the pastoral community and enhance the economic status of these people as the educational level increases in time, while also improving habitat recovery leading to better biodiversity conservation. Thus, resettlements could benefit both the pastoral people and the natural resources.     

Climate-related hydrological change and human vulnerability in remote mountain regions: a case study from Khumbu, Nepal

Inhabitants of mountainous regions in least developed countries are recognized to be among the most vulnerable to climate change globally. Despite this, human dimensions work is in its infancy in mountain regions where we have limited understanding of who is vulnerable (or adaptable), to what stresses, and why. This study develops a baseline understanding of vulnerability to climate-related hydrological changes in the mountainous Khumbu region of eastern Nepal. Using a vulnerability approach, 80 interviews combining fixed and open-ended questions were conducted in four communities representing the geographic and livelihood variability of the region. The study identifies four region-wide vulnerabilities currently affecting residents: reduced water access for household uses, declining crop yields, reduced water access for meeting the high water demands of tourists, and reduced hydro-electricity generation. These vulnerabilities are widespread among the population but arrange spatially as a function of varying exposure-sensitivity to hydrological change, livelihood opportunities, and access to foreign financial assistance. Our findings indicate that precipitation change (not glacial change) is the greatest biophysical driver of vulnerability.     

甘肃省旅游城市体系研究

运用主成分与聚类分析相结合的方法，根据《甘肃省城镇体系规划和城镇基础设施报告（2003）》，《中国优秀旅游城市检查标准》。甘肃省旅游局2004年对国内游客的抽样调查数据（2004），以及对甘肃省主要城市基础设施、社会经济发展等方面28项指标进行的主成分——因子聚类分析综合评价结果，得出主要城市的体系与功能评价，初步探讨甘肃省旅游城市体系，根据结果初步得出，甘肃省旅游城市体系分为，国际旅游城市——敦煌，省内一级旅游中心城市——兰州，省内二级旅游中心城市以及省内三级旅游中心城市和地方旅游中心城镇，并为各个城市的城市旅游形象和城市旅游标识体系，旅游城市的发展方向等进行了概念性规划。     

Is rainfall gradient a factor of livelihood diversification? Empirical evidence from around climatic hotspots in Indo-Gangetic Plains

Farmers in the Indo-Gangetic Plains are constantly seeking ways to adapt to changing circumstances and opportunities that include new technologies, institutions, policies, socio-economic and cultural shifts, as well as a changing climate. The relationship between rainfall and local livelihoods is important to devise policies to improve adaptive capacity of farmers to different drivers of changes. The present study investigates whether the spatial variations in rainfall have prompted the location-specific livelihood diversification by using data from 2660 farm families in the climatic risk areas in India, Nepal and Bangladesh. The results show a higher on-farm livelihood diversification in the areas with high rainfall (1500–2100 mm) compared to medium (900–1500 mm) and very high rainfall regimes (>2100 mm). Based on this study, the optimal range of rainfall for better agricultural livelihood in the context of changing environmental circumstances is from 1500 to 2100 mm. In terms of farm practices changed (proxy of adaptability), farmers responded more frequently to the market-related drivers than climatic stressors. Farmers in climate vulnerable areas (Bihar and coastal Bangladesh for instance) responded more to climatic stressors than those living in relatively less vulnerable areas (Terai for instance). The results imply that livelihood strategies should be tailor-made along the climatic resources such as rainfall, considering other biophysical and socio-economic variations at the spatial scale. Identifying household and farm-level coping strategies along the rainfall gradient can also be useful in targeting interventions to build resilience to shocks.     

青藏地区草原旅游生态负效益评价及其补偿研究

基于对玛曲草原的实地调查，评价青藏地区草原旅游业的生态负效益，分析旅游收益对生态负效益的补偿能力以及旅游生态负效益的补偿现状。研究表明：文化参与旅游模式的生态负效益补偿能力最强，其次是游览观光模式，再次是休闲度假模式；在旅游业实际运营中，旅游生态负效益并未得到有效补偿。建议通过以下途径形成青藏地区草原旅游业生态负效益补偿的保障机制：选择生态负效益小的旅游运营模式以降低旅游生态负效益补偿难度；建立旅游生态负效益补偿督促制度；提高旅游经营者的生态补偿意愿；落实资源集体所有制并让集体成员参与资源股分红以扩大旅游收益对减畜还草的促进作用；政府加大二次分配力度以将部分旅游收益用于生态修复；为旅游业受益增设减畜还草等生态建设附加条件     

Market Integration and Ecosystem Degradation: Is Sustainable Tourism Development in Rural Communities a Contradiction in Terms?

Neoclassic economic theory suggests global market integration as a strategy to reduce poverty. In line with this paradigm, an increasing number of developing countries have focused on tourism to generate foreign exchange earnings and to meet rising workforce pressure. Coastlines in particular, have been at the forefront of tourist infrastructure development. The article describes tourism development in the village of Kiwengwa on the east coast of Unguja Island (Zanzibar), Tanzania. It is shown that changes caused by tourism are far more complex than economic theory suggests. Economically, tourism has substantially increased local income, but it has also led to a focus on individual benefit and dissolving kinship relationships, encouraged the abandonment of traditional resource-use strategies, contributed to the commoditization of local natural resources, and spread the idea that these resources can be replaced with imports. Overall, tourism has fundamentally disrupted the local socio-economic system and led to a self-reinforcing cycle of ecosystem degradation. Tourism development is nevertheless perceived as positive and sustainable, because (i) changes are complex and damage becomes perceptible only in the medium- or long-term future, (ii) the tourist industry tends to shift its impacts to remote areas, i.e. a supplying periphery, (iii) the village has become a center of resource allocation itself, with imports compensating for the losses in local ecosystem capacity. As a development option imposed by the transnational tourist industry, tourism leads to the creation of new centers (i.e. the former periphery) while simultaneously creating new peripheries. In a finite world with a limited hinterland for such a continuous expansion, this cannot be sustainable.     

农户生计多样性发展阶段研究——基于脆弱性与适应性维度

为了观察农户生计活动复杂化过程,分析弹性在可持续生计中发挥的作用,推动扶贫开发战略从识别贫困人口向防御贫困转变,本文采用曲线拟合、核密度函数非参数估计算法等实证研究方法,利用陕西省安康农户生计与环境调查数据,基于脆弱性、适应性维度对农户生计多样性发展阶段进行了识别、划分,系统分析了弹性在农户、社区不同尺度上、阶段上对于农户生计脆弱性与适应性的作用过程。研究发现:生计多样性发展阶段随尺度有所不同,随着适应性提高,在社区尺度上,生计活动多样性指数先增加后减小,在农户尺度上,则是先减小后增加;农户生计活动存在高脆弱性、低适应性的尝试阶段,在经历了这个阶段之后,伴随着农户适应性的提高,脆弱性会同时增加;在社区尺度上,弹性作用下伴随着收入提高,脆弱性会逐步降低,在农户尺度上,弹性作用下伴随着收入提高,生计活动脆弱性会提高,形成"高风险、高收益"的情况。研究发现说明农户、社区存在着"多样性尝试"发展阶段,在一定尺度上保持适度脆弱性有利于社区、地域的可持续发展,作为联系不同尺度生计活动脆弱性、适应性的关键,农户在这个阶段完成生计多样性水平专业化过程,社区在这个阶段形成地区特色的生计活动。扶贫开发工作应把握好这一时机,提高工作措施效果和绩效。在扶贫开发工作实践中,在目标制定上不仅需要考虑收入因素,还需要考虑生计活动复杂性因素,政策措施充分利用"多样性尝试"发展时机,同时主动开展替代生计研究、落实工作,提高贫困防御能力,推动农户、社区可持续发展。     

Constructions of Climate Change on the Radio and in Nepalese Lay Focus Groups

To date analyses of media climate change constructions have mostly focused on coverage in western newspapers. Consideration of coverage in developing countries, and analyses of media constructions alongside local understandings of climate change are comparatively rare. This article provides an analysis of the construction of climate change on Nepalese radio and lay constructions of environment and climate change within the country. Data from a radio program and six focus groups are analyzed. Analysis of the radio program indicated that climate change was portrayed as a certain reality with national impacts caused by the actions of the West. While climate change dominated the radio headlines, in focus groups local environmental problems received far more attention. The paper aims to both inform directions for future climate change communication in Nepal and the wider research agenda.     

Characterising the nature of household vulnerability to climate variability: empirical evidence from two regions of Ghana

This paper builds on national- and regional-level vulnerability assessments by developing and applying a livelihood vulnerability index at the community and household scales to explore the nature of climate vulnerability. It provides innovative methodological steps in relation to livelihood assessment to identify the vulnerability of households and communities to drought. This will help to improve drought vulnerability assessments in Ghana and more widely as it shows extra information can be obtained from local-level vulnerability assessment that may be lacking in national- and regional-level analysis. The research employs quantitative and qualitative data collected through participatory methods, key informant interviews and a questionnaire survey with 270 households across 6 communities in two regions in Ghana. Results show that within the same agroecological zone, households and communities experience different degrees of climate vulnerability. These differences can be largely explained by socioeconomic characteristics such as wealth and gender, as well as access to capital assets. Results identify vulnerable households within resilient communities as well as more resilient households within vulnerable communities. These outliers are studied in detail. It is found that outlier households in vulnerable communities have an array of alternative livelihood options and tend to be socially well connected, enabling them to take advantage of opportunities associated with environmental and economic changes. To sustain and enhance the livelihoods of vulnerable households and communities, policymakers need to identify and facilitate appropriate interventions that foster asset building, improve institutional capacity as well as build social capital.     

基于ILBM的太湖饮用水源地管理研究——以苏州市为例

饮用水源地管理是全球关注的热点,安全的饮用水源供给依赖于不断完善的管理机制,湖泊流域综合管理(ILBM)可以为水源地管理的完善提供很好的框架。湖泊流域综合管理框架由管理组织、政策、公众参与、信息、科学技术和资金六要素构成。基于该框架,文章对苏州太湖水源地管理现状进行了分析和诊断。研究发现,苏州市太湖水源地管理存在缺乏有效的管理组织协调机制、缺乏经济激励型和教育与公众参与政策、公众参与水平低、信息可信赖度差、科学技术与地方需求结合不紧密、资金投入不稳定等问题。基于ILBM管理框架,提出了水源地管理优化的政策建议。     

基于有序Logistic回归的水库移民住房感知实证研究

针对水利工程移民的住房感知问题和住房感知等级为定序变量的特点,基于有序logistic回归分析理论,构建移民住房感知的有序logistic回归模型,并针对浯溪口水利枢纽工程移民进行实证研究。主要结论如下:1施肥种类、最高教育水平和家庭年收入对移民住房感知存在显著正向作用,水源种类对移民住房感知存在显著负向作用。2施肥种类要素分析表明,当地移民生活对农业生产依赖性较高,且移民对区域交通状态改变预期是导致其住房感知差异化的主要因素。3最高教育水平要素分析表明,教育程度越高,移民住房感知越高。4水源要素分析表明,移民对水源的获取难度和成本的预期越差,其住房感知越差。5家庭年收入要素分析表明,家庭年收入越高,移民对未来的预期越好,其住房感知越高,经济发展是解决移民问题的基础。