Local People In Management Research Articles

English

Ecosystem modification is increasing in scale and presents the need to provide suitable conservation strategies to address dearth in policy guidelines. This work elucidated the dynamics of land use change, prevalent forest use and policy, and conservation strategy. Geometrically rectified satellite imagery data were processed for 40 years; covering three epochs. Questionnaires were distributed across four locations: 50 questionnaires per location. Results of land use change showed that vegetation cover changed from 11666.6 ha to 6067.2 ha; bare surface: 2833.8 to 1831.4 ha; built up: 1084.4 to 6378.1 ha; farmland: 81.1 to 1407.5 ha and water body: 25.5 to 5.9 ha. Built up area had much land use change gains while vegetation cover recorded much loss. Results showed that individual ownership of forest areas dominated the area. As much as 83% are not aware of rules guiding forest use, details are neither known to a vast majority (88%), nor were the people’s interests considered when making such rules (up to 84%). Principal component analysis showed strategies for promoting conservation: Making and enforcing laws ensuring forest loss reduction, regulation of forest resource use and awareness on the implications of overharvesting, establishing small reserves, planting new forests and inclusion of local people in management.   Key words: Biodiversity, forest management, land use change, tropical ecosystem.

‘Wildlife officials only care about animals’: Farmers' perceptions of a Ministry-based extension delivery system in mitigating human-wildlife conflicts in the Okavango Delta, Botswana

It is widely recognised that government intervention in development issues can shape people's perceptions and experiences. This study examined the influence of a Ministry-based extension system on community-based, problem animal control and perceptions among local arable farmers at the eastern Okavango Panhandle in northern Botswana. Using a survey of 388 arable farmers and key informant interviews, our results showed that participation of local people in the implementation of the participatory project was vital for improving people's perceptions and gaining adoption of the innovations, and significantly contributing to project outcomes. Lack of people participation in decision making, the extent to which farmers perceived extension agents as trustworthy, the number of extension agents and extension delivery methods were found to be important factors explaining farmers' perceptions and adoption decisions. Analyses also indicated that knowledge development alone (which is a form of community empowerment) was not enough to encourage participation and innovation adoption. Village project committee (VPC) members' and farmers' remarks about their socioeconomic hardships suggested that they preferred economic incentives over any other incentives. This suggests that community's immediate needs for livelihood and food security are among the locally pressing needs that should be addressed to drive people's commitment to the project. From a policy perspective, our results underscore the need to implement comprehensive interventions that address wildlife management and community development, and actively involve local people in management and decision making to achieve sustainability in human elephant conflict management. There is need, therefore, for government (particularly the wildlife departments) to provide an institutional structure for supporting community-based governance for the purpose of ensuring effective and sustainable wildlife management and conservation.

Community Response towards Common Property Resources Management: A Case of Thamaraikulam Village of Dindigul District, Tamil Nadu

Common Property Resources (CPRs) have become a topic of scholarly research and attention, only after publication of an article entitled “The Tragedy of the Commons” by Garrett Hardin (1968). It is well established fact that CPRs and its allied products play vital role in promoting sustainable rural development and thus there is a need to understand the perception of local people in management of CPRs (Olo Mola, 1993). In this context, the Theory of Collective Action, also known as Theory of Public Goods, can provide the basis for understanding the conditions under which the users of CPRs will act and react on the utilization CPRs and the major problems confronted in using the CPRs. Traditional economic theories recognize and focus only two types of property viz public and individual. But there is third dimension of property as CPRs, which have been traditionally recognized by the rural society. They CPRs are playing a crucial role in people’s survival and particularly in community development of “Rural India” - real India according to our future of Nation Mahatma Gandhiji. In rural environment of India, both ecological and socio economic sustainability is largely determined by the status of CPRs and rights. In this context (Jodha 1995) and (Singh 1994) are rightly pointed out that CPRs are owned in common by identifiable group of people, regulated by social convention and legally enforceable rules. Further, CPRs are resources accessible to the whole community of a village to which no individual has exclusive property rights. In short CPRs is subject to individual use, but not to individual position. Cross root evidences show that CPRs have made significant contribution to rural mass and they are: providing physical products, generating income, promoting social culture gains, bringing environmental/ecological benefits. With this background, the researchers have made an attempt to study “People’s perception on CPRs management in Thamaraikulam Village of Dindigul District”, by carving out the following objectives such as (i) to study the socio economic conditions of the sample users of CPRs in the study area; (ii) to examine the extend in which the CPRs are used and managed by the sample households; (iii) to identify the major problems in using and many the CPRs; and (iv) to suggest ways and means for effective utilization of CPRs for betterment of village community. The researchable issues and questing raised are: What are the CPRs available to the village community? How these resources are being utilized and managed for the well being of the community as a whole and individual in particular? What are the constraints found by the community for sustainability of CPRs usage? This micro level research provides feasible, viable possible and sustainable solution to these issues and questions.