Local Management Committees Research Articles

Integração ensino-serviço-comunidade: perspectivas do Comitê Gestor Local do Contrato Organizativo de Ação Pública Ensino-Saúde

To comprehend the evolution of education-service-community integration (ESCI) in the municipality of Bragança Paulista, SP, through the Teaching-Health Public Action Organizational Contract (Coapes), a case study was conducted. An intentional sample of ten members from the Local Management Committee participated in semi-structured interviews, conducted virtually, recorded, and transcribed in full. The narratives underwent thematic content analysis. The results indicated that the implementation of IESC and Coapes was successful. The sustainability and achievements in contractualization are related to strategies such as approaching, institutional dialogue, equal value, and transparency, resulting from technical discussions, understanding of the process, format selection, sensitization, and actor engagement. The combination of these elements, along with new projects and attitudes, points towards the consolidation of IESC in the territory, which presents challenges to be overcome.

Constraints to effective comanagement of New Zealand's customary fisheries: experiences of the East Otago Taiāpure

Centralization of fisheries management within large-scale, colonial governing bodies can remove access and management rights of Indigenous communities and deplete marine resources through a mismatch in bioecological and managerial scales. Management of pāua (blackfoot abalone, <em>Haliotis iris</em>) in Aotearoa New Zealand exemplifies this transition from small-scale fisheries management by tangata whenua (local Indigenous people with historical claim to the land, Māori) to central government regulation and subsequent overexploitation. Comanagement strategies have the potential to address degradation of biological and cultural diversity by returning management to local scales and authority to local people. New Zealand's customary fisheries management legislation aims to facilitate such a devolution of management back to tangata whenua through the establishment of Taiāpure Local Fisheries and Mātaitai Reserves. However, local management systems can remain constrained by the wider governance structures that encompass them. These constraints are discussed in relation to a management proposal for pāua harvesting made by the East Otago Taiāpure Management Committee. The proposal aimed to return fishing practices to a customary method, providing greater protection for declining pāua populations while allowing a small harvest to continue. After a long and protracted application process, central government did not support the proposed regulation. This opposition demonstrated many of the constraints that local management committees face as they endeavor to operate within the confines of broader legal frameworks: conflicting worldviews, inequitable power sharing, perceived inferiority of Indigenous customs, requirements for conventional science, and navigation of bureaucratic processes. Insights are also drawn from another small-scale abalone fishery (ormer, <em>Haliotis tuberculata</em>) in the Channel Islands, for which the desired regulation has been in place for over three decades.

Present Status of Aquatic Resource and Its Catch of Mogra River in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is very rich in aquatic fauna with a biodiversity. The present study, conducted during 2015 to 2019, recorded a total number of 131 spe cies (104 fish, 09 prawn, 01 snail, 04 crabs, and 13 turtles) belonging to 26 families were identified from the Mogra River and its flood plain. About ten types of fishing gears, different crafts, hook and line were found oper ative in the river. Increasing rates of using current jal (16.0-26.40%) and Kapuri jal (11.0-16.70%) were identified as detrimental gears destroyingdifferent species. The fish productivity was decreased dramatically from 170.63±10.81mt to 134.75±8.02 mt with a decreasing percentage of 6.26 to 21.03% within five years. Three important aquatic species turtiles (Cyclemys oldhami, Melanocheelys trjuuga and Morenia petersi) became rare and 17 commercially important aquatic species were at the edge of extinction (critically endangered, CR). From the study, 67 species were recorded inthe endangered (EN) category, 20 species vulnerable status (VU), 11 species lower risk (LR), 07 species Least concern (LC) and 04 Data deficient (DF). To save the existing aquatic species in the studied riverine ecosystem and ensure better livelihood of the fishes, a team of local management committee, similar to the Hilsa fisheries management technology is needed.

Status of aquatic resources and their harvest from Someswari River in Northern Bangladesh

Bangladesh is very rich in aquatic biodiversity. The present study, conducted during 2015 to 2019, recorded a total of 139 species (109 fish, 09 prawn, 01 snail, 05 crabs, and 15 turtles) belonging to 22 families from the Someswari River of Bangladesh and its flood plain. Ten types of fishing gears, different crafts, hook and lines were found operative in the river. Increasing use of current jal (17.0-26.40%) and Kapuri jal (13.0-15.60%) were identified as detrimental gears destroying different species. The fish production has decreased drastically from 119.89±7.77 ton to 71.25±3.88 ton within four years. Four important aquatic species including major carp mahaseer (Tor tor) and reptiles (Cyclemys oldhami, Melanocheelys trjuuga and Morenia petersi) became rare and 17 commercially important species were at the edge of extinction (critically endangered, CR). From the study, 71 species were recorded in the endangered (EN) category, 21 species with vulnerable status (VU), 12 species with lower risk (LR), 08 species as least concern (LC) and 04 species as data deficient (DD). To save the existing aquatic species in the studied riverine ecosystem and ensure better livelihood of the fishers, a team of local management committee, similar to the hilsa fisheries management technology is needed. Key words Aquatic fauna, Biodiversity, Extinct, Endangered, Illegal fishing, Over exploitation.

Present Status of Aquatic Resource and Its Catch of Mogra River in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is very rich in aquatic fauna with a biodiversity. The present study, conducted during 2015 to 2019, recorded a total number of 131 species (104 fish, 09 prawn, 01 snail, 04 crabs, and 13 turtles) belonging to 26 families were identified from the Mogra River and its flood plain. About ten types of fishing gears, different crafts, hook and line were found operative in the river. Increasing rates of using current jal (16.0-26.40%) and Kapuri jal (11.0-16.70%) were identified as detrimental gears destroying different species. The fish productivity was decreased dramatically from 170.63±10.81mt to 134.75±8.02 mt with a decreasing percentage of 6.26 to 21.03% within five years. Three important aquatic species turtiles (Cyclemys oldhami, Melanocheelys trjuuga and Morenia petersi) became rare and 17 commercially important aquatic species were at the edge of extinction (critically endangered, CR). From the study, 67 species were recorded in the endangered (EN) category, 20 species vulnerable status (VU), 11 species lower risk (LR), 07 species Least concern (LC) and 04 Data deficient (DF). To save the existing aquatic species in the studied riverine ecosystem and ensure better livelihood of the fishes, a team of local management committee, similar to the Hilsa fisheries management technology is needed.

Community Perceptions of Mangrove Ecosystem Services and Their Determinants in the Rufiji Delta, Tanzania

Understanding how local communities perceive and depend on mangrove ecosystem services (MES) is important for translating and incorporating their benefits, priorities, and preferences into conservation and decision-making processes. We used focus group discussions, key informant interviews, household questionnaires, and direct observations to explore how local communities in the Rufiji Delta perceive a multitude of MES and factors influencing their perceptions. Sixteen MES were identified by the respondents. Provisioning services were the most highly identified services, accounting for 67% of the overall responses, followed by regulating (53%), cultural (45%), and supporting (45%) services. Poles for building, firewood for cooking, coastal protection, and habitats for fisheries were perceived as the most important MES to sustain local livelihoods, although the perceptions differed between sites. Distance from household homes to mangroves and residence time were significant predictors of the local communities’ awareness of all identified MES. Gender of household heads and performance of local management committees also determined the local communities’ awareness of provisioning, regulating, and cultural services. We conclude that perceptions of MES are context-specific and influenced by multiple factors. We believe a deeper understanding of local stakeholders’ preferences for MES can help strengthen the link between local communities and conservation actors and can provide a basis for sustainable management of mangrove forests.

Vulnerability, Trustworthiness, and Motivation as Emergent Themes in Cooperation With Community-Based Water Management in Southwestern Uganda

Discipline and context specific inquiries into the nature and dynamics of trust are beginning to give way to cross-boundary understandings which seek to outline its more consistent elements. Of particular note within these is an argument that trust is premised on vulnerability; that it has an important nexus with assessments of the ability, benevolence, and integrity of the trust target; and that it can also be motivated. The current work seeks to shed preliminary light on the applicability of this argument to a context in which it has not previously been examined: community-based water management in southwestern Uganda. Using a deductive, theory-driven analysis of focus group discussions with residents, we show that when our participants were simply asked to discuss their relationships with local management committees, vulnerability, ability, benevolence, and integrity consistently emerged as salient themes. Motivation, however, emerged as most salient for women. Further analysis suggests that this may have been because women are more directly involved in water provision, thereby increasing their perceived need for the resource. Our results, therefore, lend credence to the cross-boundary nature of this increasingly nuanced theoretical understanding of trust but also suggest some general guidance for improving community-based resource management efforts by providing preliminary evidence regarding the relative roles of trustworthiness and motivation.

Critical analysis of the governance of the Sainte Luce Locally Managed Marine Area (LMMA), southeast Madagascar

The Marine Protected Area Governance (MPAG) framework is applied to critically assess the governance of the Sainte Luce Locally Managed Marine Area (LMMA), southeast Madagascar. Madagascar experiences rapid population growth, widespread poverty, corruption and political instability, which hinders natural resource governance. Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) has been repeatedly employed to circumvent the lack of state capacity. This includes the LMMA model, which has rapidly proliferated, represented by MIHARI, Madagascar's LMMA network. The lobster fishing is the primary source of income for households in the impoverished community of Sainte Luce, one of the key landing sites in the regional export industry. However, fishers, industry actors and available data suggest a significant decline of local and regional stocks, likely due to over-exploitation driven by poverty and migration. In 2013, SEED Madagascar a UK NGO, worked to establish community-based fishery management in Sainte Luce, setting up a local management committee, which introduced a periodic no take zone (NTZ). Despite the community's efforts and some significant achievements, the efficacy of management is limited. To date, limited state support and the lack of engagement by actors throughout the value chain have hampered effective governance. The study reinforces the finding that resilient governance relies on a diversity of actors and the incentives they collectively employ. Here and elsewhere, there is a limit to what can be achieved by bottom-up approaches in isolation. Resilient management of marine resources in Madagascar relies on improving the capacity of community, state, NGO and industry actors to collectively govern resources.

Tensões na gestão do Programa Benefício de Prestação Continuada na Escola

O Programa Benefício de Prestação Continuada na Escola é intersetorial e objetiva identificar e atuar na superação de barreias que impedem a efetividade do processo de escolarização de crianças e de adolescentes com deficiência em situação de extrema pobreza. A coordenação desse programa ocorre por meio de grupos gestores, legalmente constituídos nos Estados e nos municípios. Considerando a pertinência desse programa no conjunto de ações indutoras de políticas públicas, neste texto objetivamos problematizar questões relativas à composição e à dinâmica de trabalho da Comissão Gestora Local do Programa “BPC na Escola” com atuação no município de Vitória-ES. A coleta e a produção dos dados esteve orientados pela perspectiva teórico-metodológica da Sociologia Figuracional, elaborada por Norbert Elias. Estudamos documentos, realizamos de entrevistas semiestruturadas envolvendo os integrantes da Comissão Gestora e acessamos as “memórias” de seis reuniões ordinárias realizadas por essa comissão no ano de 2015. Dos resultados, observamos que as políticas neoliberais em curso trazem implicações imediatas nas atividades da Comissão Gestora Local. Associado a isso, observa-se que a significativa rotatividade dos seus membros ocasiona dificuldades e impasses nos encaminhamentos políticos e administrativos. Destaca-se a pertinência de a administração municipal comprometer-se com uma agenda de trabalho que garanta planejamento, execução e avaliação das políticas sociais implementadas.

Through the eyes of Asa; the role of integrated conservation development programs in Ghandruk, Nepal

AbstractThe Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) is growing in popularity as Nepal’s largest protected area. The National Trust for Nature Conservation uses the sustained revenue generation from the tourism industry to implement Integrated Conservation Development Programs (ICDP). These programs focus on promoting participatory interaction with the local villages of the Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA) in an attempt to develop them into sovereign and self-sustaining communities. When ACAP was first established in Ghandruk to control the rapid rate of deforestation caused by increases in population and tourism, the development efforts and empowerment activities were targeted toward hotel owners. This served to marginalize the farmers and communities unrelated to the tourism industry. This study’s purpose is to examine the impact that the tourism industry has in promoting ‘people oriented’ conservation and the attitudes of Ghandruk’s marginalized populations towards ACAP’s ICDP developments, with a focus on conservation awareness. Information was gathered through semi-structured and unstructured interviews with ACAP officials, local management committee staff and marginalized populations of women and Dalits. This information was used to focus on understanding how ACAP has incorporated participation of marginal groups in Ghandruk into conservation programs. Ultimately the felling of trees for guesthouse construction resulting in the loss of natural habitat for apex predators, the absence of scientific research, and the disregard for the environmentally oriented marginal groups of Northwestern Ghandruk has placed an emphasis on tourism based development that overshadows the conservation of biodiversity and natural resources in the Annapurna Conservation Area.&#x0D; Keywords: Development studies, natural resources and conservation, natural resources management policy.

English

Integrated conservation and development projects (ICDPs) have recently been criticized for their ignorance of community heterogeneity, mismatch between project output and expectations, and lack of connection between conservation and development initiatives. Using Nepal’s Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) as an example this paper examined how perceived benefits from one ICDP varied between stakeholder groups and how local resources were allocated. Data collection for this research was conducted through 96 interviews with three groups, that is, ICDP staff, local management committee members, and marginalized peoples. Results showed that the programs introduced by ACAP and their resource allocations were not perceived as having a fair and equitable impact across all households, community, and regions within the protected area. Moreover, there was a perceived discrepancy between ACAP allocation of resources in certain sectors, local residents’ expectations from ACAP and outcomes of the funding, that is, conservation vs. tourism. Future research is suggested for collecting more data from additional residents, communities and with other ICDPs. Key words: Annapurna conservation area, conservation, development, integrated conservation and development project, marginal groups.

Challenges to Sustainable Forest Management and Community Livelihoods Sustenance in Cameroon: Evidence from the Southern Bakundu Forest Reserve in Southwest Cameroon

Sustainable forest management in Cameroon is being plagued with many challenges directly related to key issues in the areas of forest law enforcement and governance. This study used questionnaires to examine the major community livelihood activities undertaken in the SBFR causing deforestation and forest degradation and to explore the localized trigger forces, and their implications for sustainable forest management in Cameroon. The authors found that the rated localized forces triggering indiscriminate human activities in the Southern Bakundu Forest Reserve (SBFR) are scarcity of farmland outside the forest reserve land, population growth, poverty and the more fertile nature of the forest reserve land than the limited, overused, and degraded community farming land. In addition, the authors found that forest monitoring activities in the field by forestry officials were plagued with complicity by some corrupt forestry officials, forces of law and order, administration, local management committee leaders, and disgruntled local population in the apprehension of illegal forest exploiters, besides inadequate resources. The strategies to address the above issues have not been prioritized. Based on the results, this paper argues that the governance failure to prioritize more and better investment in modern agriculture, non-wood domestic cooking energy and reliable rural transport systems, amongst others, including building institutional capacity and physical infrastructure compromises sustainable forest management in Cameroon at both the national and local community levels. In this light, a set of holistic and comprehensive strategic programmes are recommended as the way forward to guaranteeing sustainable development in forest management in Cameroon.

Aquaculture practices in two seasonal floodplains of Bangladesh

A comparative technical and economic analysis of two communitybased seasonal floodplains (Khirai and Angrail) of Daudkandi Upazila, Comilla during 2008 to 2010, are represented in this paper. The two floodplains differed mainly in management and fish production which were related to capital investment, variable cost, share of profits and proportional reimbursement to the fishers. Local management committees have been developed in each floodplain with significant differences. Average 142 kg/ha of fish fingerlings (carps such as Catla catla, Labeo rohita, Cirrhinus cirrhosus, Labeo calbasu, Labeo bata and exotic species such as Hypopthalmicthys molitrix, Aristichthys nobilis, Cyprinus carpio, Ctenopharyngodon idella, Pungasius hypophthalmus, Barbonymus gonionotus, Oreochromis niloticus) were stocked at the varying proportions. Fish production obtained were 2.8 to 4.4 mt/ha and 1.1 to 1.3 mt/ha in Khirai and Angrail floodplain, respectively. The average cost of fish production, total income and the net income have been estimated as Tk. 209650 ± 54167.12/ha, Tk. 281306 ± 88263.42/ha and Tk. 71656 ± 35152.51/ha in Khirai floodplain and Tk. 62349 ± 5768.90/ha, Tk. 111930 ± 12711.02/ha and Tk. 49580 ± 6948.26/ha in Angrail floodplain, respectively. The benefit cost ratio (BCR) has been recorded as 1.33 and 1.79 in Khirai and Angrail floodplain, respectively. The results reveal that the fish production and economic benefit was higher in Khirai floodplain.Bangladesh J. Zool. 41(2): 217-228, 2013

Randomised, placebo-controlled trial to evaluate co-trimoxazole to reduce mortality and morbidity in HIV-infected post-natal women in Zambia (TOPAZ)

To evaluate the role of prophylactic trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (co-trimoxazole) antibacterial prophylaxis in reducing morbidity and mortality in HIV-infected post-natal women in southern Africa. Double-blind placebo-controlled trial. HIV-infected women with WHO stage 2 or 3 HIV disease who had recently delivered in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia were randomised to receive daily co-trimoxazole (cotox) or matched placebo daily for the duration of the trial. Participants were followed up for a minimum of 1 year. Primary outcome measures were mortality from any cause or hospital admission and serious adverse events. Of 600 women randomised, follow-up information was available from 355 (180 cotox, 175 placebo) participants. Thirty-six (17 cotox, 19 placebo) women died during the trial, and another 11 (5 cotox, 6 placebo) were admitted to hospital. There was no significant difference in the combined event rates between the two treatment arms: HR = 0.82, 95% CI (0.46, 1.45), P = 0.49; morbidity was reduced over a range of symptoms. Secondary analyses of the outcome in babies indicated some evidence of reduced mortality in those whose mothers were allocated cotox. Follow-up rates were poor; there was no evidence that co-trimoxazole prophylaxis reduced mortality or hospital admission rates, although fewer symptoms were reported in the cotox arm. Cotox was safe and well tolerated.

Co-management of National Protected Areas: Lessons Learned From Bolivia

This article evaluates local management committees and co‐administration—two mechanisms to promote local participation in the management of Bolivia's protected areas. The experience with the broadly participatory management committees varied tremendously. While their potential utility was large, they often struggled to overcome conflicts between local stakeholders, inconsistent representation, and a lack of basic funding for their operations. Co-administered protected areas were significantly better managed than those that were not, particularly for basic protection activities. Differences in long-term management, financing, and participation were not significant. Key challenges to co-administered protected areas included unclear rights and responsibilities of the parties, poor communication, distrust, and other institutional weaknesses. We conclude that co-administration works best when both parties have clearly defined rights and responsibilities, engage as full partners, are committed to protected area objectives, develop adequate institutional capacity, and build mutual trust and local support through effective communication and complimentary mechanisms to foster broad participation.

Drinking water: a need met for the people of the commune of Bantè, Benin

RACINES (Recherches, Actions Communautaires, Initiatives pour un Nouvel ESpoir) is a Beni¬nese non-governmental organization established in 1999 following the initiatives of young Beninese execu¬tives. A case study undertaken in 2003 in the villages of Galata and Agbon in the commune of Bante identified the need for drinking water as the most urgent need. In response to this need, and with the financial support of Oxfam Quebec, RACINES initiated a project for the installation of manual water pumps in the two villages. The development of this project involved three major phases: the mobilization of communities around this project, the installation of water pumps and the organization of socio-sanitary educational activities. Twenty months into the execution of the project, a local management committee was established and strengthened, a hand-operated water pump was installed and water-themed public awareness activities, such as water use, water sanitation and the dangers of drinking dirty or contaminated water, were organized every month or so in each of the two communities. Overall, this project has introduced a new type of leadership in the commune of Bante, involving a high level of participation by young people working alongside the elders in the local management committees and ensuring the perpetuation of the systems installed.

Empowerment or Impairment? Involving Traditional Communities in School Management

Community involvement in education has been viewed as a – by no means uncontroversial – means for enabling local members to deepen their participation in the decision-making relevant to their schools by playing a constructive role in the process. On the basis of a study carried out in Ghana, the present contribution to this discussion examines various matters involved in delegating the management of an Alternative Primary Education program to two traditional communities in the north of that country. It also explores how community members, school authorities, the sponsoring non-governmental organization and members of the local management committee themselves perceive such an approach to school management. Issues raised include whether inexperienced and even illiterate local citizens should be allowed to manage their schools, the conflicts which such management often entails and, finally, in what ways it might be beneficially promoted.

The Governing Body Role: Problems and Perceptions in Implementation

This paper focuses on problems of implementing the role of govern ing bodies in the voluntary sector. It draws primarily on a case study of local management committees in a national service-providing welfare agency in England. An examination was made of the percep tions and assumptions held by staff and governors about the imple mentation of key functions of governing bodies, including policy making, planning, securing resources, monitoring service quality, and controlling staff. The paper discusses themes that emerge from the case study and suggests that the governing body role in the vol untary sector is most usefully conceptualized as interlinked and in terdependent with staff roles. Agency culture and organizational structure are seen to have an important impact on the nature of the relationship between staff and their boards. Some proposals are made for tackling problems that arise around the implementation of the governing body role in the voluntary sector.