Local Community Support Research Articles

English

Drought-tolerant multipurpose fruit trees Vangueria infausta (Burch) subsp. rotundata (Robyns) and Berchemia discolor (Klotzsch) Hemsl are native to Kenya. These fruit tree species are suitable for dryland agroforestry and support local communities with food, medicine, fodder and other necessities. Reports by the local communities indicate that the two species suffer from diebacks and cankers. The aim of this study was to identify the fungi associated with V. rotundata and B. discolor and determine the cause of diebacks and cankers symptoms observed. Samples were collected from two sites (Tiva and Ikanga) in Kitui County and one site (Mkange) in Makueni County. Fungal isolations were carried out by incubating the samples on malt extract agar media supplemented with Streptomycin Sulphate. Morphological identification grouped the fungal isolates into 7 clusters. Botryosphaeriaceae and Nectriaceae had the highest frequency of occurrence (32.7 and 30.5%) respectively. DNA was extracted from pure fungal cultures, amplified and sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences clustered the fungal isolates into seven families; Botryosphaeriaceae, Sporocadaceae, Nectriaceae, Trichosphaeriaceae, Pleosporaceae, Diaporthaceae and Glomerellaceae. Using Koch’s postulates, this study showed that isolates of Botryosphaeriaceae within the genera Lasiodiplodia, Alanphillipsia and Dothiorella are pathogenic to B. discolor and other indigenous agroforestry species due to their ability to cause similar symptoms to those observed in the field. This is the first study to investigate the fungal flora linked to V. rotundata and B. discolor dieback and canker diseases.   Key words: Vangueria rotundata, Berchemia discolor, Botryosphaeriaceae, Nectriaceae canker, dieback, DNA and ITS primers.

The Perception of Local Community towards the Impact and Support of Volunteer Tourism in Tioman Island

This study aims to investigate the perception and impact of volunteer tourism in Tioman Island. The local community perceptions of tourism activities may influence their support and future participation. Specifically, the paper includes a review of research in the scope of volunteer tourism, tourism impact and local community support. The existing literature profoundly supports the necessity of volunteer tourism in the local community. Kampung Juara (Juara Village), Tioman Island was chosen as the research setting, and 162 local communities were surveyed. This study discovered that the local community's perceptions of the impacts of volunteer tourism positively influenced their support in future volunteer tourism projects and development. Implications were discussed concerning the need for volunteer tourism organisations to include a variety of community stakeholders in the volunteer tourism development process.

Promoting the financial performance of registered multinationals through social financial management in Nigeria

The paper examined the effect of social financial management on the financial performance of firms in Nigeria with much emphasis on the nine quoted oil and gas multinationals as of 31st December 2022. The study unlike prior studies decomposed social financial management into six broad categories which are Non-discriminatory policy, Employee Engagement, Support for Local Communities, Anti-Corruption & Public Policy, and Product Responsibility while firm performance was measured by return on investment (ROI). The study spanned from 2011 to 2022 (12 years) over 9 nine quoted oil and gas multinationals as of 31st December 2022 culminating in 108 observations. The most effective panel regression estimate was found using the Hausman test. According to the survey, there is no gender prejudice in the target businesses. Furthermore, nondiscriminatory policies and employee engagement have a negligible but favourable impact on the success of the company. This shows that, because they receive less attention, non-discriminatory policies and employee participation (collective bargaining & freedom of association) have little impact on the success of the company. Support for Local Communities, Public Policy & Anti-Corruption, and Product Responsibility, however, had a direct and significant impact on the targeted oil and gas multinationals' return on investment. Therefore, the study concludes that although social finance plays a significant role in the performance (or return on investment) of publicly traded oil and gas multinationals, more work must be done because most Nigerian businesses still lack a strong social conscience. Therefore, it is recommended that the management of listed international oil and gas companies give more information about employee engagement, non-discriminatory policies, anti-corruption & public policy, and product responsibility.

Empowering young Aboriginal women to care for Country: Case study of the Ngukurr Yangbala rangers, remote northern Australia

SummaryGlobally, the role of women in conservation is gaining attention with increasing initiatives to support gender equity in environmental management and decision‐making. In Australia, the role of Aboriginal women in natural and cultural resource management employed as rangers is also gaining recognition; however, female employment in this field remains underrepresented. This paper reflects on a cross‐cultural partnership aimed at empowering young Aboriginal women in natural and cultural resource management, locally known as caring for Country, in Arnhem Land, a remote Aboriginal owned region of northern Australia. The project was led by local Ngukurr community Ngandi Elder and lead author, Mrs Daniels, and Macquarie University researchers who co‐designed and co‐delivered activities according to five project aims: (i) Community involvement; (ii) Biocultural research / learning on Country; (iii) Leadership and confidence building; (iv) Knowledge maintenance; and (v) Capacity building. Over three years of the project, over 60 youth participated in a range of on‐Country and cultural learning, leadership and capacity building activities including cross‐cultural biodiversity surveys, wetland monitoring, traditional language and knowledge recording and culture camps. Participant feedback and a biocultural learning assessment task noted growth in confidence, biocultural knowledge and desire for continuation of youth empowerment programs in conservation. To facilitate gender equity in Aboriginal natural and cultural resource management, structural and sustained support of women’s empowerment and leadership, driven by local women with support of local communities, is required.

Financial Support of Communities During the Covid-19 Pandemic

The article provides a study of the financial provision of local communities to respond the COVID-19. The main purpose of the research is to analyze the role of alternative sources of funding for local communities in strengthening their financial capacity and supporting the health care system during the pandemic. The analysis was carried out on the basis of a study of world trends, a comparative analysis of the financial support of Eastern and Western European countries at the expense of international organizations and government institutions; as well as the study of contributions of charitable funds, public organizations and corporate entities in supporting the health care system (the case of Ukraine). The research empirically confirms and theoretically proves that the pandemic had long-lasting effects on the global economy and created a demand for financial support from citizens and businesses, local and central governments. In order to cover the expenses related to the provision of health care in the conditions of the pandemic, as well as aimed at minimizing the consequences of COVID-19 for the economy and society, various sources of funding were involved, which included funds from the state and local budgets, as well as external funding, such as financial activities, programs and grants of international organizations and other donors, charitable contributions from foundations and corporations. The study proved the existence of inter-country and inter-regional differences in the structure of sources of financing, as well as in the focus areas of funding. The analysis of funding activities of major international organizations, unions and government structures, such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the European Investment Bank, the European Union, the United States Agency for International Development and others, for the period 2020-2021 confirmed that most of the funding initiatives have an economic orientation, but only some of them are directly aimed at financial support of local communities. On the other hand, alternative sources of funding, such as funds from charitable foundations and donations from the corporate sector, were directly aimed at supporting medical institutions and patients in local communities. That makes them important both for the economy and for saving lives, despite of the lower values of funding compared to international or state programs. The results of the research can be useful for scientists, state and local self-government bodies in managing the financial capacity of local communities and their resilience to health threats.

Conflict transformation and collaboration in developing social forestry in Flores, Indonesia

Social movements to realize forest tenure reforms have been ongoing since the 1970s, particularly through policies under the broad umbrella of social forestry. In Indonesia, social forestry programs are initiated by the government, communities, NGOs, academics, companies, and donors, and are based on specific socio-economic and ecological interests. Weak synergies, however between programmatic implementation and stakeholder interests, triggers various forest tenure conflicts. The research examines the complexity of these conflicts, namely focusing around the approaches to conflict transformation that can lead to collaboration in realizing forest sustainability that also support interests of people living in and around forests. I employed a qualitative approach by collecting data through in-depth interviews and participatory observations in Flores in 2017 and 2020. The results show that forest tenure conflicts have occurred since the 1970s due to state forest territorialization. Conflicts culminated in the determination of state forest area boundaries through the 1984 state program entitled the “consensus-based forest land use planning” initiative. Until 2008, efforts to resolve conflicts by offering the community access rights through community forestry programs initiated by the government were rejected by NGOs and the local community. NGOs facilitated communities to demand the return of state forest land as customary forest. This conflict presented the opportunity to facilitate multi-stakeholder forestry programs through a conflict transformation approach by building long-term stakeholder collaboration. Since 2010, the collaboration between stakeholders took place through the community forest program. This study shows the need for more direct attention to studying conflict resolution under an integrated and long-term approach to conflict transformation and collaboration. Pragmatically, this study shows the importance of integrated social forestry policies that synergize various schemes initiated by stakeholders to realize forest sustainability and support local community interests.

Political Empowerment Support to Ecotourism Development: A Study the Indigenous Tribal Populations in India

This research was framed as an attempt to empirically retest the assumed relationship between political empowerment and resident support for ecotourism, with perceived benefits and perceived costs as mediating variables. The study is analytical-descriptive in nature and followed a cross-sectional survey design. The survey participants included the local inhabitants of the ecotourism zones of three protected areas in India. On the basis of a review of the literature pertaining to community-based tourism, an initial research instrument was developed. This questionnaire included items to measure political empowerment, perceived benefits of ecotourism, perceived costs of ecotourism, and support for sustainable tourism development, that were adopted from previous studies. The results derived from the Structural Equation Modeling of the data gathered by us, quite contrary to indications in the literature, suggest that political empowerment critically diminishes destination local community support for ecotourism development. Even though the extant literature generally indicates that empowerment is central to community-based tourism, it appears that, under certain conditions, empowered community members might skip tourism and pursue alternate economic opportunities.

Good governance of local forest is neither easy nor cheap: Policy learning from Bimbia-Bonadikombo

This paper interrogates good governance of the Bimbia-Bonadikombo community forest (BBCF) Cameroon by the Bimbia-Bonadikombo Natural Resources Management Committee. While governance processes are essential for sustainability of forest resources, they also reveal the transaction costs associated with managing the resource. The paper is based on a longitudinal ethnographic case study of the BBCF carried first between 2005 and 2006, and later between 2019 and 2020. The paper finds that the BBCF is neither governed by provisions of the Cameroon community forestry manual nor by its own Constitution, but by the personalized governance style of its board president, who was accountable to no one in the institution; secondly, an inability to generate enough revenue to meet its operational cost, led to corruption among its forest patrol team. The paper thus shows that the transaction cost of governing the BBCF was greater than its resource capacity. The paper recommends the setting up of vertical, horizontal, and diagonal accountability mechanisms to incentivize good forest governance at the local level. The paper also recommends for a permanent financial subsidy from the global donor community to local forest groups managing community forests in Cameroon. This could be considered as a transfer payment from developed countries to local people in developing countries to maintain their forests as a global ecological good without losing their local access to essential forest products. The paper concludes with a call to forest governance policy makers to not equate local with ahistorical, simple, cheap, and easy because the local is embedded in history and political culture. As donors and governments invests heavily in initiatives like forest landscape restoration, which depends on long-term support of local communities to achieve its goals, this lesson on how to incentivize good forest governance at the local level is of vital importance.

Impact of Ecotourism on Local Community’s Participation in Coastal Resource Management: Case of Palaui Island Protected Landscape and Seascape (PIPLS) in Northern Luzon, Philippines

The establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs) managed by the community has been a popular tool for coastal and resource management in the Philippines. As the MPAs limit the use of the resources, the eco-biological components of the marine environment have been preserved and maintained, which opened opportunities for ecotourism activities. Thus, ecotourism has been developed as one way of gaining economic benefits from the coastal and marine resources while conserving biodiversity and restoring critical habitats by shifting resource exploitation from an extractive to a non-extractive usage. This study was conducted using household surveys and key informant interviews to investigate whether ecotourism's development affects the local community's participation and support on MPA management using the case of Palaui Island Protected Landscape and Seascape (PIPLS) in northern Luzon, Philippines. The respondents recognized the impacts of ecotourism on their family welfare, fishing activities, and involvement in MPA management. In particular, ecotourism development strengthens local communities' support for coastal resource management, especially if it provides enough sources of income. The results of this study could provide information to resource managers and policymakers on crafting sustainable ecotourism and alternative livelihood policies in MPAs, taking into account its possible impacts on the coastal fishing communities.

Can innovative tourism benefit the local community: The analysis about establishing a geopark in Abu Roash area, Cairo, Egypt

Egypt, one of the “cradles of civilization”, boasts a history spanning thousands of years, and a richness of archaeological and geosites, unmatched by many other countries in the world. Abu Roash is located within Greater Cairo, 9 km north of the Great Pyramids of Giza. In the present work worked out to establish a Geopark in the studied area, the main question of the study is can the area be a Geopark with local community support? A detailed field work was done in the study and enables the authors to put a detailed map for the future Geopark could be established in the area, The study also attempted, by means of a questionnaire, to assess the knowledge and attitudes of different stakeholders with regards to the geoheritage and the establishment of a geopark. The data compiled were intended to help formulate a strategy towards the design and promotion of what would be the first geopark in metropolitan Cairo. We believe that this geopark would offer geoeducational opportunities to the scientific community and to the general public at large, and would help expand geotourism in Egypt. Geotourism in Abu Roash can easily be coupled with tours of ancient Egyptian sites in the same area. This would provide significant economic benefits to residents of Abu Roash City.

The role of ecotourism in community development: The case of the Zasavica Special Nature Reserve, Serbia

This study explores local community attitudes toward ecotourism as a form of sustainable tourism in the Zasavica Special Nature Reserve in Serbia using the Sustainable Tourism Attitude Scale (SUS-TAS). Residents of the Zasavica Special Nature Reserve acknowledge the sociocultural and economic benefits of ecotourism development while recognizing the negative impacts of development on the natural environment. Low awareness of non-charismatic species among residents contrasts with strong awareness of them among large communities of scientists and naturalists in Serbia. This study shows the importance of local community support for ecotourism and conservation development. Moreover, the study revealed that the SUS-TAS scale can be successfully applied in ecotourism research.

The role of NGOs in recognition and sustainable maintenance of customary forests within indigenous communities: The case of Kerinci, Indonesia

In 2013, the Constitutional Court of Indonesia ruled that customary forest areas (hutan adat) should not be included in state forest areas. This decision permitted customary communities to claim land rights in Indonesian state forests for the first time. This change required formal legal institutions to recognize forests managed by adat rules (customary, informal institutions) by granting property rights. This study considered two villages in Kerinci District to clarify how customary forests were recognized by district and central governments with support from non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The researchers surveyed documents referencing customary forests and interviewed local residents, NGOs, and other government sectors. The World Wildlife Fund and a local NGO helped to protect both the environment and villagers’ rights by developing a formal recognition system of customary forests as district-level institutions, as well as by reinforcing village-level institutions. NGOs’ critical support of local communities’ field activities strengthened the maintenance of customary forests recognized by the district government. The recognition of customary forests in Kerinci (to which NGOs contributed significantly) has become an antecedent to the national-level customary forest scheme.

All hubs and no spokes? Exploring the potential of hubs to sustain rural and regional development

In the arena of rural development, a number of initiatives have adopted the idea of a hub to deliver improved services, promote business development and support local communities. This editorial sets out the rationale for a Special Issue that seeks to understand the additional value that hubs can provide. In particular, we assess their overlapping social and economic goals and the implications for networks and strategies to create, develop and sustain successful hubs. Additionally, we explore opportunities for innovation and new collaborations among different types of hubs with different organisational models and conceptualise how best to develop the ‘spokes’ that are essential for connecting hubs to both their local communities and to wider stakeholders.

Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination: Where are We Now?

The maternal and neonatal tetanus elimination (MNTE) program was envisaged by the World Health Organization to overcome the mortality and morbidity caused by maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT). Although preventable by simple cost-effective practices like universal immunization, clean delivery practices, and healthy umbilical cord care, as of date MNT is still prevalent in 12 developing countries of Asia and Africa. Definitive approaches need to be microplanned by these countries to successfully accomplish the three stages of MNTE, ie, achieving, validating, and sustaining. Once a country achieves MNTE, this status is required to be validated and sustained according to the high-risk and low-risk categorization of the districts. The three-pronged strategies for achieving and sustaining MNTE include (a) rigorous immunization of women of reproductive age with tetanus toxoid-containing vaccines, (b) strengthening of clean delivery services for pregnant women, and (c) effective surveillance for MNT. Although the deadlines for achieving MNTE globally have been missed many times, yet there has been a significant progress to date as evident by 80% reduction in countries requiring validation for MNTE (59 countries in 1999 to 12 countries in 2020). Huge strides have been made in the overall coverage of two doses of tetanus toxoid (13.79% to 65.27%), neonates being protected at birth (12% to 88%), global coverage of third-dose DPT (more than doubled), and reduction of 88% estimated deaths due to NT in the last four decades. Identification of the most vulnerable populations, systematic planning at all levels of health care, involvement of local community support, tackling the implementation gap, strong political will, good financial support, and continued robust surveillance will go a long way in achieving MNTE.

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH EXPRESSION OF SYMPTOMS IN CHILDREN WITH AUTISM

The incidence rate of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) has increased steadily over the last decades, and environmental factors are suspected to influence the onset of ASD on the basis of genetic factors. Therefore, we first reviewed the literature on the effects of environmental pollution on the development of ASD, and second, we examined the impact of social environmental factors on two patients with ASD who were followed-up for 13 years by one of the authors. There was serious concern that both air pollution and mercury exposure would affect ASD. During the clinical course of the two patients in this study, ASD symptoms and\or adaptation levels fluctuated several times, and involvement of social environmental factors were noted. Required support should include offering an optimal environment for a long period of time and comprehensive medical, educational, and local community support.

Understanding the relationship among factors influencing rural tourism: a hierarchical approach

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to analyze the interrelationship between factors conducive to rural tourism development. This touristic segment has enormous potential but still lacks consistent means and measures to ensure rural tourism's holistic development in India.Design/methodology/approachThe study identified 14 factors, of which nine are from the literature review and five are from interaction with the experts, which influence rural tourism development. The research design comprises three segments, i.e. identifying factors from the literature and expert opinion, conducting interviews with the academic experts and managers, and analyzing the responses recorded. Interpretive structural modeling (ISM) technique is used to determine the interlinkage between the factors and develop a hierarchical relationship.FindingsThe results indicate that infrastructure development, growing environmental conscience, support of local government and community, availability of funds with the government and participation of the private sector are the primary factors channelizing rural tourism development. Also, attitudes of locals to adapt, tourist travel motives, marketing of the destination, destination characteristics and recommendation by others are the major dependent factors identified. The findings broaden the knowledge on suitable channels for rural tourism development and provide vital information for the formulation of flexible strategies for developing rural tourism in India.Originality/valueThis paper's originality lies in providing information to clarify the relationships between factors conducive to rural tourism development, an area where limited research has been done.

Homeowners’ Willingness to Adopt Environmentally Beneficial Landscape Practices in an Urbanizing Watershed

Streams in urbanizing watersheds often experience low flows in summer due to increased water use for residential landscaping and decreased base flow as impervious land cover limits aquifer recharge. Environmentally beneficial landscape practices that save water and infiltrate runoff have the potential to provide multiple ecological benefits including reducing stress on urban streams, but can face opposition by local homeowners. Thus, this study explored attitudes toward landscape water conservation including the barriers and motivations that exist to adoption of water conserving landscape practices by residents in the Ipswich River watershed north of Boston, Massachusetts (USA) that experiences seasonal water shortages. The study used a mail-out and on-line survey with images of different water conserving landscape practices (including rain gardens and native plantings) and questions about homeowners’ watering practices, likelihood of adopting these landscape practices, and attitudes towards environmental issues in the region, including existing water policies to restrict use. The results showed that residents (n=265) were aware of existing water shortages and supportive of water conservation policies. Their willingness to adopt water conserving landscape practices was influenced by aesthetic preference with more support for practices that appeared neat rather than those that appeared unkempt. Barriers to residential adoption of these landscape practices included concern about disease-carrying pests and the perceived cost of landscape change. Knowledge about the environment, as operationalized by membership in a local watershed association, as well as educational attainment and income were statistically significant variables in predicting aesthetic preferences and willingness to adopt landscape practices. Promoting widespread adoption of water conserving landscape practices could benefit from local community support and educational initiatives about the multiple-benefits of these practices, including potential long-term cost savings for homeowners. Residential landscape design and management, however, are only part of overarching policy changes that could address water conservation in urbanizing watersheds.

Climate vulnerability of irrigation systems in the Upper Indus Basin: insights from three Karakoram villages in northern Pakistan

ABSTRACT The traditional irrigation systems in the Upper Indus Basin (UIB) are frequently disrupted by climate-induced hazards, affecting irrigated agriculture – one of the major livelihood sources in the region. The recent scholarship lacks systematic data on various aspects that make the mountain irrigation systems susceptible to climate variabilities. Therefore, we investigated the climate vulnerability of irrigations systems at selected sites of the UIB, using a tailored ‘multidimensional indices’ approach. The sites represented a cross-section of socio-hydrological and physiographic attributes. The data on multiple dimensions of vulnerability and corresponding indicators were acquired through household surveys, using a semi-structured questionnaire. The findings revealed a ‘medium-high’ level of vulnerability of irrigation systems, which is a great concern, given the fragility of the mountainous ecosystems. Overall, the level of vulnerably didn’t vary across the sites, presumably due to physiographic and socio-cultural similarities, however, the various dimensions of vulnerability differed across the sites. The study concludes that appropriate adaptation measures are necessary to reduce the vulnerability of irrigation systems, especially by enhancing institutional resilience. This can be achieved by building capacities of local institutions and enhancing government’s financial, technical, and policy support for local communities in maintaining the traditional irrigation systems under the changing climatic conditions.

Developing Petra: UNESCO, the World Bank, and America in the desert

ABSTRACT This article charts the nascent development agendas for archaeological heritage and tourism at Petra in Jordan. We begin with the early internationalism of UNESCO and its participation programme for Petra followed by the restructuring of American foreign policy interests to embed heritage tourism within USAID projects. A technocratic tourism-as-assistance model galvanised USAID and the World Bank’s interest in Petra, as it did the CIA, the American Schools of Oriental Research, the US National Park Service, and Jordan’s Department of Antiquities. Thus, we reveal how saving Petra was underwritten by an increasing American vigilance in the Middle East. Unlike the educational and humanitarian components of the United Nations programme, the USAID and World Bank initiatives at Petra were almost exclusively directed toward tourism development, generating hard-currency revenue, monetising the Nabataean ruins, and sowing the seeds of predatory capitalism. Our longitudinal study reveals that what has been sustained at Petra is not the preservation of heritage, nor support for local communities, but rather an overburden of international bureaucracy and consultancy culture.

Scientists' Warning to Humanity on Threats to Indigenous and Local Knowledge Systems

The knowledge systems and practices of Indigenous Peoples and local communities play critical roles in safeguarding the biological and cultural diversity of our planet. Globalization, government policies, capitalism, colonialism, and other rapid social-ecological changes threaten the relationships between Indigenous Peoples and local communities and their environments, thereby challenging the continuity and dynamism of Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK). In this article, we contribute to the “World Scientists' Warning to Humanity,” issued by the Alliance of World Scientists, by exploring opportunities for sustaining ILK systems on behalf of the future stewardship of our planet. Our warning raises the alarm about the pervasive and ubiquitous erosion of knowledge and practice and the social and ecological consequences of this erosion. While ILK systems can be adaptable and resilient, the foundations of these knowledge systems are compromised by ongoing suppression, misrepresentation, appropriation, assimilation, disconnection, and destruction of biocultural heritage. Three case studies illustrate these processes and how protecting ILK is central to biocultural conservation. We conclude with 15 recommendations that call for the recognition and support of Indigenous Peoples and local communities and their knowledge systems. Enacting these recommendations will entail a transformative and sustained shift in how ILK systems, their knowledge holders, and their multiple expressions in lands and waters are recognized, affirmed, and valued. We appeal for urgent action to support the efforts of Indigenous Peoples and local communities around the world to maintain their knowledge systems, languages, stewardship rights, ties to lands and waters, and the biocultural integrity of their territories—on which we all depend.