Development In Highlands Research Articles

The Role of Commerce in the Growth of Towns In Central Highland Ecuador 1750-1920

Commerce was a key function of urban development in the Central Highlands of Ecuador. Three towns—Latacunga, Ambato, and Riobamba—are examined in some detail in order to understand why commercial functions developed more strongly in some towns than in others. A dynamic and prosperous agricultural hinterland was the key to growth. Ambato grew faster than the other towns because its hinterland, fairly densely populated by white smallholders, participated more readily in cash-crop production than did the Indian population surrounding the other towns.

Effects of land use, slope gradient, and soil and water conservation structures on runoff and soil loss in semi-arid Northern Ethiopia

Land degradation and recurrent drought are the major threats to rain-fed agriculture in the semi-arid Ethiopian highlands. Water harvesting has become a priority in the Tigray region since 1990. However, the success of water harvesting in reservoirs is limited due to reduced inflow. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of typical land-use types, slope gradients, and different soil and water conservation (SWC) structures on runoff and soil loss at the runoff-plot scale. Six runoff measuring sites, corresponding to three slope gradients, were established for cropland (cultivated land for annual crop production) and rangeland (heavily grazed land on hillslopes with high rock-fragment cover) at Mayleba catchment in Tigray, Ethiopia. SWC structures tested were stone bunds, trenches, and stone bunds with trenches, in addition to control plots. In total, 21 large runoff plots (with lengths of 60 to 100 m) were monitored daily for runoff production and soil loss during the main rainy season (July–September) in 2010. The results show that the seasonal runoff coefficient (RCs) representing the fraction of rainfall measured as runoff was much higher for rangeland (0.38 < RCs < 0.50) compared to that for cropland (0.11 < RCS < 0.15). Seasonal soil loss (SLs) values were five to six times larger on rangeland (28.6 < SLs < 50.0 ton ha−1) compared to that for cropland (4.6 < SLs < 11.4 ton ha−1). Stone bunds with trenches were the most effective SWC structures in reducing runoff and soil loss. With the same SWC structures installed, RCs and SLs for both rangeland and cropland tend to decrease with increasing slope gradient mainly due to a corresponding increase in rock-fragment cover. The effects of SWC structures on runoff production and soil loss are considerable; hence, it is crucial to consider these effects for optimal design of water-harvesting schemes such as micro-dams that collect and store surface runoff for irrigation development in the Ethiopian highlands.

‘The salvation of this district and far beyond’: Aluminium Production and the Politics of Highland Development

Giving evidence before the House of Commons sub-committee considering the Lochaber Water Power Bill of 1921 – the statutory instrument for the establishment of the British Aluminium Company Ltd’s third Highland aluminium smelter and hydro-electric power scheme – the former Provost of Fort William, Colin Young, declared: ‘I am a whole hearted supporter of this scheme for in it I see the salvation of this district and far beyond.’1 British Aluminium’s other developments in the west Highlands – their two other smelters at Foyers and Kinlochleven (opened respectively in 1896, and between 1907 and 1909), as well as the Company’s large estates, housing and hydro-electric schemes – had already amply demonstrated both the profound economic and social impact both locally and on the region as a whole. This article is principally concerned with exploring the economic and social significance of the aluminium industry to the Highlands and Islands, and its importance to the wider political economy of regional development. These developments and activities are considered in relation to corporate ‘social action’ and political activity, appraising the motivations and strategies affecting the wider activities of the British Aluminium Company (BACo) in the region. The negotiations are examined within the context of a ‘moral economy’, alongside the political economic, balancing moral judgements, and local customs and norms, against commercial deliberations

Fluvial response to major Holocene climate events: a comparisIon from river basins of Gujarat, western India

Various tectonic disturbances from the Cretaceous to the present day have modified the geomorphic features of western India. Compression and extensional stresses generated by the northerly moving Indian plate, and its collision with the Eurasian plate, have brought about frequent changes in the drainage system and other features. Different segments that lie between several regional faults have encountered many upheavals and subsidences. During the major part of the Tertiary the tributaries of the Narmada, Mahi and other westerly flowing rivers had much larger catchment areas that extended to the north. The compressional stresses exerted during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs have shortened the basin of these rivers. The release of stresses during the Early Pleistocene is mainly responsible for the development of the present highlands and lower surfaces. Based on structural studies, subsurface data, sedimentation in different basins and the area of provenance and movement of the Indian plate, the authors have suggested successive stages of the landform development in the lower reaches of the Narmada valley.

Institutions of Water Management and Conflict Resolution in Lesotho on a Local Level: An Empirical Study of Displacement Areas of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project

Under pressure from the European Union and other donors, many efforts are undertaken by the Dam Authorities in Lesotho (Lesotho Highlands Development Authority) and the Lesotho government to put increasing responsibility on the dam-affected communities in regards to water management and maintenance of water systems as well as to create better channels of communication for conflict resolution. Although these efforts seem to be well intended, they often fail in their actual implementation. Therefore, there are several discontents on the side of the resettles and the relocates, which are the subject of (so far) non-violent conflicts on a local level. The changed situation where resettles suddenly have to pay for water and other basic needs is a second area of non-violent conflict. According to the people interviewed, the conflicts are basically between the authorities and the displaces, in rare cases between host communities and the displaced people. The third potential area of conflict is the fragmentation of the water sector within the government, which is tried to be overcome by the creation of the Water Commission to coordinate all efforts in the water sector. This fragmentation has of course implications for the communities on the local level. The report strongly argues for an implementation of an approach to increasingly involve the local communities not only in the implementation phase but also in the decision-making process in order to achieve greater effectiveness and sustainability of the water management in Lesotho. It finally suggests the introduction of a so called “Dam Council for Basotho Participation” (DCBP).

Development of landslide susceptibility map utilizing remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to produce the landslide susceptibility map of Fraser's Hill and its surroundings in Pahang (Malaysia), utilizing remote sensing data and Geographic Information System (GIS) as a way to monitor sustainable highland development.Design/methodology/approachAncillary data are collected, processed, and constructed into a spatial database in a GIS platform to produce the satellite image. The factors chosen that influence landslide occurrence are land cover, vegetation index (NDVI), precipitation, and geology. Landslide‐hazardous areas are analyzed and mapped using the landslide‐occurrence factors through the heuristic approach Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP).FindingsIt is demonstrated that the integration of remote sensing data and GIS database is of assistance in managing land‐use planning of sustainable development. The verification with the existing landslides record shows a noteworthy accuracy.Research limitations/implicationsThe list of data/maps reflects a considerable understanding of the basic cartographic information that is needed to effectively deal with the landslide problem.Practical implicationsThis approach indicates a potential long‐term application of remote sensing and GIS in managing sustainable highland development by monitoring the hazard‐susceptibility area.Originality/valueThe value of the work is in its integration and utilization of remote sensing and GIS to provide sustainable development which can be developed to aid landslide warning systems.

Opium, Power, People: Anthropological Understandings of an Opium Interdiction Project in Thailand

Opium interdiction projects have dominated Thai state interactions with northern upland ethnic minority peoples since the 1970s. One of these projects, the Sam Muen Highland Development Project (SMHDP), had great success in ending opium production. This success emerged out of the participation of the most peripheral peoples in international drug markets, the producers. To understand why Lisu villagers cooperated with the Project, I examine how state power was realized through its practice in the village through the Project. Lisu had tactics and strategies available to them. They strategically adapted through household and kinship practices. They tactically cooperated through the use of Project discourse and the performance of cooperation. Participatory drug interdiction was not just a “new tyranny”; it opened up new political processes at the microlevel. However, Lisu villagers’ tactics for regaining local power were constrained by the global processes of drug control.

NORTHERN THAILAND'S SPECTER OF EVICTION

Discussions of resource management and development in northern Thailand often emphasize the threat of eviction faced by uplanders living in forest reserve zones. This “specter of eviction” is to be found in official government policy, in academic accounts of highland development, and in the activist writings of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The review of the literature in this article suggests, however, that very few evictions have in fact taken place since the early 1980s and the threat of eviction in accounts written over the past two decades is exaggerated. The authors examine some of the political, practical, and policy reasons why the rate of eviction has been very low. They conclude by arguing that reliance on the specter of eviction by activist academics and NGOs seeking to defend the rights of upland farmers results in a political strategy that is disempowering and disengaged from current livelihood realities.

Bayes estimates of distance‐to‐market: transactions costs, cooperatives and milk‐market development in the Ethiopian highlands

AbstractRationalizing non‐participation as a resource deficiency in the household, this paper identifies strategies for milk‐market development in the Ethiopian highlands. The additional amounts of covariates required for positive marketable surplus—‘distances‐to market’—are computed from a model in which production and sales are correlated; sales are left‐censored at some unobserved threshold; production efficiencies are heterogeneous; and the data are in the form of a panel. Incorporating these features into the modeling exercise is important because they are fundamental to the data‐generating environment. There are four reasons. First, because production and sales decisions are enacted within the same household, both decisions are affected by the same exogenous shocks, and production and sales are therefore likely to be correlated. Second, because selling involves time and time is arguably the most important resource available to a subsistence household, the minimum sales amount is not zero but, rather, some unobserved threshold that lies beyond zero. Third, the potential existence of heterogeneous abilities in management, ones that lie latent from the econometrician's perspective, suggest that production efficiencies should be permitted to vary across households. Fourth, we observe a single set of households during multiple visits in a single production year. The results convey clearly that institutional and production innovations alone are insufficient to encourage participation. Market‐precipitating innovation requires complementary inputs, especially improvements in human capital and reductions in risk. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Tourism in the mountain South: a double-edged sword

This is a thoughtful, well-researched, and very well written study of therole of tourism in the economic development in the southern highlands. . . . Martin also places tourism development within the context of New Southindustrialization, an often missed link between the southern highlands andother subregions of the South. Richard Starnes, Western CarolinaUniversity Tourism in the Mountain South: A Double-Edged Sword provides the first broad historical synthesis of how tourism has shaped the economy, cultural identity, and landscape of the Mountain South. Concentrating on the period from after the Civil War up to the present day, this interdisciplinary study provides a significant contribution to southern historiography while challenging prevailing assumptions in Appalachian studies. C. Brenden Martin examines tourism in the context of the transformation of transportation networks, urban and rural community development, and the changing role of government in regulating tourism. Martin illustrates how tourism represents a double-edged sword, cutting both ways in its impact on the region. It is a transformative force that has accelerated the modernization of the Mountain South in many ways, and yet tourism has also provided the main economic rationale for the region's cultural, historical, and environmental preservation movements. Until now, scholars have not fully appreciated the important role that tourism has played in creating the modern Mountain South. Now by far the largest industry in the southern highlands, tourism deserves its place alongside mining, timber, and farming as a mainstay of the region's economy. Furthermore, Tourism in the Mountain South concludes that tourism alone is a sort of economic monoculture and that, at best, should be part of a broader development strategy. C. Brenden Martin is professor of history at Middle Tennessee State University. His articles appear in the Encyclopedia of Appalachia, Museum News, and the Journal of Appalachian Studies.

The Role of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project in Poverty Alleviation in Lesotho

This article focuses on the impact of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) in alleviating poverty in Lesotho, with specifi c reference to the Rural Development Programme (RDP) in the Phase 1B of the project. It examines whether or not the RDP brings about development in the long run, how it benefi ts the highlands communities, and the problems that the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA) and other development players face in advancing rural development and alleviating poverty. It concludes that the LHWP has had both positive and negative implications for the affected communities and Lesotho at large, because in a personal sense, different households have been affected differently. Africa Insight Vol. 37 (4) 2008 pp. 117-136

From Involution to Revolution in Mexico: Liberal Development, Patriarchy, and Social Violence in the Central Highlands, 1870–1915

AbstractForces loyal to Emiliano Zapata rose to demand land and community autonomy in the revolution that brought destruction and transformation to Mexico after 1910. Men fought to right historic wrongs, land losses that began in the colonial era and political exclusions that mounted during the nineteenth century. Yet those historic grievances were already deeply felt and clearly expressed during the political and social conflicts of the 1860s and 1870s. Revolutionary mobilization did not surge until 1911, after three decades of political stability and commercial development under the authoritarian liberal regime of Porfirio Díaz. This article examines the social consequences of that dynamic liberal development in the highland basins south of Mexico City, the Zapatista heartland after 1910. It argues that population growth, land concentration, and mechanization fueled a commercial expansion that led to proliferating insecurities among the rural majority, insecurities lived by young men as threats to the patriarchal roles they presumed their birthright – their one advantage in communities defined by dependence and hard labor. The first result was a rising tide of violent crime within families and communities during decades of political stability. Then, after the political break of 1910, villagers refocused their rage outward in revolutionary assaults on those who presumed to rule and profit. Young men from communities south of Mexico City turned to revolution only after successful liberal development undermined their chances to live as patriarchs, even as dependent laboring patriarchs. They fought for land, community – and patriarchy.

The role of governance in countering corruption: an African case study

The Trialogue model of governance includes relationships between three main actor clusters—government, science and society—within which the quality of the relationships between the three actor-clusters “determines the extent to which government can generate the incentives needed to develop society by allowing science to inform the decision-making process”. Corruption, in the form of the bribery of a public official, diminishes the quality of the relationship between the society cluster, usually in the form of private-sector business interests, and government. The drop in quality in this relationship has a negative impact on the quality of the government—science interface, due to increased project costs, in turn dropping the quality of the science—society interface, due to a drop in quality or increase in the price of services. Far from being purely a morally detestable action, corruption has a direct impact on the level of development of both a society and a country, undermining efforts to promote growth, equity and access to services. The asymmetries in power between some of the large corporations and developing countries has led to a situation where corruption is taken as the norm and it is assumed that there is very little that can be done about it. The case study of how Lesotho confronted corruption on the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, leading to the prosecution of the Chief Executive of the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority as well as three multinational corporations, provides an example of what can be done by a developing country to promote good governance through tackling corruption. This paper investigates the impact of corruption, specifically on large-scale water infrastructure development projects, and what measures can be taken to combat it.

Holocene paleoclimates of southern Arabia from lacustrine deposits of the Dhamar highlands, Yemen

This paper presents new evidence from the Dhamar highlands, Yemen, of paleohydrologic response to fluctuations in Holocene climate. Stratigraphic, geochemical, and chronological analyses of highland peat and lacustrine deposits contribute to knowledge of the timing of early Holocene moisture changes on the Arabian Peninsula, providing a backdrop to understanding early cultural development in the Arabian highlands. The location of the Dhamar highlands, characterized by intermontane valleys surrounded by the highest mountains on the Arabian Peninsula and adjacent to the Indian Ocean is ideal for examining the influence of the Indian Ocean Monsoon (IOM) on the moisture history of this region. Fluctuations in the lacustrine and paleosol records of the Dhamar highlands reflect both local changes in paleohydrology and regional influences on the Holocene paleoclimatic conditions in southwest Arabia. In addition, a peat deposit with a radiocarbon age of 10,253 – 10,560 cal yr BP documents some of the earliest Holocene high moisture conditions on the Arabian Peninsula.

“Made in Kyrgyzstan”: Innovative Approaches to Sustainable Industrial Development

New economic conditions in Kyrgyzstan today demand new approaches to industrial development. Huge, old plants and factories built in the Soviet era have collapsed, increasing the country's poverty level and the number of jobless people, especially in mountain regions. Lack of finances, poor management, privatization, and the breakup of the centralized industrial system have led to a decline in industrial production in Kyrgyzstan. Industry in the Kyrgyz economy decreased from 62% in 1990 to 16.1% in 2004, as a share of gross domestic product. This economic decline caused disparities between lowland and highland development, and resulted in the migration of rural populations to towns, especially from mountain regions isolated from the outside world. Under such conditions there is a great need to establish a liaison between lowlands and highlands. This role can be played by a network of new small-scale industries based on the obviously high potential of mountain regions. Small investments based on local natural and human resources, innovative approaches to national traditions, and new equipment, management, and marketing adapted to the demands of the modern market—these are essential elements of such industries now appearing in the Kyrgyz market, and the steps forward to creating the “Made in Kyrgyzstan” brand. But to what extent is this direction in industrial development successful and sustainable?

The Settlements of the British Fisheries Society

The building of four new settlements by the British Fisheries Society on the coast of the Scottish Highlands at the end of the eighteenth century was designed to stimulate the fishing industry, an industry which had long been seen as one of the main potential vehicles for Highland development. Part of the aim was to create new settlements where the inhabitants would derive the great part of their livelihood from fishing in a region where most of the people were poor and depended much on their crofts (smallholdings). Problems in communication and organisation were met in developing new settlements in remote locations, and Lochbay (in Skye) never developed very far. Even so Tobermory, Ullapool and Pulteneytown (adjacent to Wick) all became relatively big settlements. Ironically neither Tobermory nor Ullapool had any sustained success in fishing; and although Pulteneytown became a boom town based on fishing in the first half of the nineteenth century, its success was little to do with the efforts of the British Fisheries Society. None the less Tobermory has for two centuries been the main centre of the island of Mull, and today Ullapool has a healthy economy dependent on the modern tourist trade; and while Lochbay had a measure of success as a crofting township, Pulteneytown has now become a problem settlement with the withering of the trade in cured herring.

Ecotourism in Appalachia: Marketing the Mountains (review)

Reviewed by: Ecotourism in Appalachia: Marketing the Mountains David Zurick Ecotourism in Appalachia: Marketing the Mountains Al Fritsch and Kristin Johannsen. University Press of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, 2004. 296 pp., photographs. $35.00 cloth (ISBN 0-8131-2288-0) The subtitle of this book, "Marketing the Mountains," highlights the crux of tourism in Appalachia and elsewhere: it is fundamentally a consumer-based industry that seeks always to increase its market size in order to generate economic growth and expansion. How this is managed, and to what effect, largely defines the financial outcomes of tourism in a place as well as its social or environmental impacts. The management approach in turn reflects tourism policy, which itself drives the wide-ranging forms of tourism evident today—from hyper-consumption mass tourism to smallscale, alternative travel modes offering at least the possibility of more equitable and environmentally benign commerce. This book tackles the inherent dilemmas of tourism by examining the role of a specialized form of the latter—ecotourism—in the economic and social development of the southern highlands of Appalachia. It is worth considering first the approach of the book. The authors are not academic types. One is a professional writer and the other is an environmental activist. They both care deeply about life in Appalachia, where they both reside. And their concerns transcend the special case of tourism to consider sustainable living in general. In consequence, the book is far ranging—both in terms of issues and geography—almost, but not quite, to the point of eclecticism, of practical merit, advocacy-based and prescriptive, and often stridently imbedded in the personalities of theauthors. It is also well written, lucid, critical, and informative. The book is engaging and enjoyable to read, and provocative in the sense that the authors seek to both inform readers and provoke critical reflection and action among travelers and agents of tourism development. Perhaps the best way to capture the outlook of the book is to engage first in the authors' struggle to define the term "ecotourism." They devote the book's introduction as well as much of chapter four ("Going Green") to an explication of the term, considering a slew of alternative definitions of ecotourism and probing into its practical and theoretical place within tourism studies and practice. They settle finally on the idea of ecotourism as beneficial travel to natural areas, wherein local communities, the environment and the traveler all gain tangible outcomes (e.g., income, preservation, education). In the authors' view, ecotourism requires certain management protocols and excludes many activities, such as off-road vehicles and house boating, otherwise deemed "touristic" by the tourism industry, its policy-makers and entrepreneurs. It is their self-appointed task to make sense of ecotourism in the context of Appalachia, and to come up with a framework for sustainable tourism policy in the mountains. This brings me back to the book's subtitle: "Marketing the Mountains." I imagined at first that it simply reflected the critical perspective of the authors and provided a nice alliterative counterpoint [End Page 287] to the main title. After reading the book, however, I came to realize that it also captures a subtle intention of the authors—to provide the framework for more positive, less intrusive ways of recreating in the mountains, and, hence, of developing them for tourism. In order to make sense of ecotourism in Appalachia, the authors venture far and wide, recounting a global history of travel and tourism, and then providing a sampling of ecotourism case studies from around the globe, emphasizing such places as Nepal, Belize, Hawaii, and Alaska. The authors believe that tourism policy in Appalachia will benefit from understanding the positive and negative experiences of tourism in other places around the world, and they devote several chapters to them. The purpose of these comparative studies is to elucidate how different places have variously construed the concept of ecotourism for local development purposes, and to recount the social and environmental impacts that result from the different applications. The insights gained from the worldwide case studies then are related to Appalachia, with varying degrees of success. According to its own spirit of intention (and the authors' definition), ecotourism must...

“Where There Is Thunder There Should Be Rain”

This paper examines the impact of two multisectoral highland development projects on ethnic minorities in northern Thailand. While social sector interventions were relatively successfully delivered and locally appreciated, strategies for agricultural development failed to take account of local cultural and production systems, and were fraught with a range of design and implementation difficulties. These uneven outcomes are traced to the assumptions underlying project design, contradictions in policy (especially relating to land tenure), and the institutional cultures of implementing agencies.

Monitoring of water transfer from Katse Dam into the Upper Vaal river system: water utility’s perspective

Water quality is of prime importance to Rand Water's core business of ensuring a reliable supply of good quality drinking water to more than 10 million people. Rand Water has, therefore, implemented a water quality monitoring programme of the source water as well as the drinking water produced. The establishment of the Lesotho Highlands Water Transfer scheme necessitated the expansion of the monitoring programme. In 1996, Rand Water and Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA) signed an agreement to jointly develop an extensive water quality monitoring programme for the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP). Prior to this agreement, monitoring was mainly undertaken by consultants on behalf of LHDA in the main feeder rivers within the Katse Dam catchment (donor system). On the recipient system (Ash/Liebenbergsvlei), extensive physical and chemical monitoring was undertaken by Rand Water and Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF). Biological monitoring was however only carried out superficially prior to the release of water. Information gained from carrying out biological and chemical assessments clearly indicates that the water from LHWP has negatively impacted on the biological communities in the recipient system. The importance of detailed before and after biological and physiochemical monitoring of both donor and recipient systems is emphasised.

Environmental quality indexing of large industrial development alternatives using AHP

Two industrial development alternatives have been proposed for the East Coast of Iceland in order to strengthen its socio-economic basis. The favoured option is to build a large aluminium smelter, which requires massive hydropower development in the nearby highlands. Another viable option is the construction of a 6-million-ton oil refinery, following the planned exploitation of the Timan Pechora oil reserves in the Russian Arctic. A third “fictitious” alternative could be general development of existing regional industry and new knowledge-based industries, development of ecotourism, establishment of national parks, accompanied by infrastructure improvement (roads, tunnels, communications, schools, etc.). The three alternatives will have different environmental consequences. The controversial hydropower plant for the smelter requires a large water reservoir as well as considerable land disturbance in this unique mountain territory, considered to be the largest uninhabited wilderness in Western Europe. The aluminium smelter and the oil refinery will give rise to substantial increase of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the country (about 20%). Then there is potential environmental risk associated with the refinery regarding oil spills at sea, which could have disastrous impact on the fisheries industry. However, the oil refinery does not require any hydropower development, which is a positive factor. Finally, the third alternative could be defined as a “green” solution whereby the detrimental environmental consequences of the two industrial solutions are mostly avoided. In order to compare the three alternatives in an orderly manner, the analytic hierarchy process methodology of Saaty was applied to calculate the environmental quality index of each alternative, which is defined as a weighted sum of selected environmental and socio-economic factors. These factors are evaluated on a comparison basis, applying the AHP methodology, and the weights in the quality index summation are estimated in the same manner. Six persons with different backgrounds were asked to fill in the comparison matrices in order to reduce bias in the evaluation. The final results show that the two industrial alternatives come out poorly, i.e. with low quality indices, whereas the third pseudo-alternative, i.e. general development, with a considerably higher quality index, is certainly worth a further study.