Use Of Local Resources Research Articles

Management of Local Community-Based Tourism in West Sekotong Village – West Lombok Regency

The concept of CBT (community base tourism) in the management of a tourism object is a rational choice and answer to various weaknesses with the G + B (government and business world) approach. In CBT's view, management is also carried out by the local community/local community, so the pattern becomes G+B+C. This study aims to describe forms of tourism management by local communities, and their relationship with G+B. Besides that, the research seeks to explore the operationalization of one aspect of Sapta Pesona into programs/activities that have been carried out by the local community. The research location is in West Sekotong Village, West Lombok Regency, with key informants as respondents. The survey was also conducted on domestic tourists to get their opinion in the form of an assessment of the implementation of the Cleanliness Program, and as feedback (feed back) on the CBT management model. Full data analysis using qualitative data. The participation of the private sector. Important indicators in the CBT model are decision-making costs (DMC) and financing of the use of local human resources (utilization of human resource cost, UHRC) in building community participation. Based on a survey of domestic tourists on the Cleaning Program (from Sapta Pesona) in Sekotong Barat Village, it was shown that in general they thought the program was 2839relatively good, with a score of 4.104 from the range 1 (=very bad) – 5 (=very good).

Effect of Bat Guano and Biochar on Okra Yield and Some Soil Properties

The difficulty in obtaining commercial fertilizers by smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa makes it very important to optimize the use of local organic resources. In VilanKulo, Mozambique, a study was carried out on okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) over two growing seasons. The soil was a haplic, loamy-sand textured Lixisol. As organic amendments, bat guano and biochar were used. Bat guano is a phosphorus (P)-rich and low-carbon (C)/nitrogen (N)-ratio material from natural deposits on a cave floor. Biochar is a C-rich material prepared via an artisanal process using forest residues as a feedstock. Bat guano was applied at two rates (5 and 10 t ha−1) just before sowing. It was also applied at the same rates one month before sowing. Biochar was used at two rates (5 and 10 t ha−1) applied at sowing. Biochar and guano were mixed at the rates of 1 and 4 t ha−1 and 2 and 8 t ha−1, respectively, and applied at sowing. The experiment also used a non-fertilized control. Field trials were arranged in a completely randomized design with three replicates. The treatments that received high rates of guano tended to show significantly higher fruit yields (>10 t ha−1 as the two-year average) in comparison with the control, which showed the lowest average okra fruit yield (6.21 t ha−1). In the guano treatments, the apparent recovery by okra of some important nutrients, such as N, was greater than the amount of the nutrient contained in the guano itself. This result, together with many others related to the tissue nutrient concentration, soil properties and residual fertilizing value in guano plots, indicated a strong mineralization of guano during the growing season. This was probably due to its low C/N ratio and favourable environmental conditions for the mineralization process. The result also suggests some kind of manuring effect, i.e., a fertilizing effect of guano beyond what can be explained by the nutrient supply. The use of biochar increased the total organic C in the soil and cation exchange capacity (CEC) compared with the control but did not affect the variables related to plant performance. Overall, the results showed that farmers can benefit from the use of guano in the short term because it releases nutrients, while with the use of biochar, the benefits can arise in the long term by improving the soil properties.

Pengaruh Tingkat Inflasi dan Laju Pertumbuhan Investasi terhadap Pendapatan Asli Daerah pada Kabupaten di Sumatera Selatan Tahun 2018-2020

Purpose: This study examines how regional original income in the cities of South Sumatra Province is partially and simultaneously affected by investment growth and inflation between 2018 and 2020.Purpose: This study examines how regional original income in the cities of South Sumatra Province is partially and simultaneously affected by investment growth and inflation between 2018 and 2020. Methodology/Approach: The analysis in this study was performed using panel data, which are a combination of cross-sectional and time-series data. Results/findings: According to the national development mission, which calls for the realization of an independent, prosperous, and united society based on Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution, economic growth is a strategy for improving the nation's standard of living. Involving local governments' use of natural resources and initiatives to increase products per capita. LGR is regional income that indicates a region's degree of independence. The presence of the LGR enhances the capacity of the region to explore and exploit its resources. Own-source revenue is negatively affected by the inflation rate, as demonstrated in this study. Meanwhile, the rate of investment growth has a positive impact on local revenue. Local revenue is positively impacted by both inflation and the investment growth rate simultaneously.

Походы армии Тамерлана в Центральное Предкавказье в 1395–1396 гг. (локализация, проблемы изучения)

Introduction. The article attempts to localize Tamerlane’s campaigns of 1395–1396 in Central Ciscaucasia aimed to weaken the Golden Horde, eliminate chief forces of Tokhtamysh and his allies native to the region invaded. Goals. The study seeks to analyze and compare data from artefacts, written and phonic sources relating to Tamerlane’s campaigns in Central Ciscaucasia, clarify the roles once played therein by archaeological sites investigated across Stavropol Krai. Materials and methods. The paper focuses on artefacts, written and phonic sources. The former include ones contained in the occupation layer of Majar hillfort and bearing traces of the city’s demolition in the late 14th century CE, as well as those from two other sites of the Golden Horde era — Novopavlovka and Kochubeevskoe-1 settlements. The examined written sources are works by Arab, Persian and Western European authors, including modern ones. As for medieval Arab and Persian sources, the most detailed accounts for further analysis are contained in Books of Victory by Nizam al-Din Shami and Sharaf al-Din ‘Ali Yazdi, as well as in chronicles by Abd-al-Razzāq Samarqandī. Most precious data has been discovered in J. Schiltberger’s writing, oral accounts summarized by E. Çelebi and A. Firkovich. The work employs the historical-systemic, historical-comparative, and cartographic methods. The analysis is supplemented with results of scientific surveys recently conducted across glaciers of the Central and West Caucasus. Results. In spring of 1395, Tamerlane invaded the East and Central Caucasus to defeat Tokhtamysh in the decisive battle that took place in the Malka-Kura interfluve. Later in autumn and winter of 1395–1396, the invaders would return to the North Caucasus for raids throughout the lands of Kuban and Beshtau. Conclusions. In 1395–1396, Tamerlane was following a certain plan of his compiled with due regard for natural/climatic conditions of the region and seasonal economic cycles of Central Ciscaucasia’s nomads. The invading troops kept the field with the use of local resources — foodstuffs of Dzhulat county, summer pastures of Bishdag, and winter pastures of the Kuma-Manych Depression. Tamerlane was devastating the right wing of the Ulus of Jochi to take into possession the resources previously deployed by rulers of the Golden Horde.

Ok I need help! Can CTCA rescue Teaching and Learning Machine Language in an African secondary school?

This study was conducted to determine if the use of the Culturo-Techno-Contextual Approach (CTCA), a learning strategy that incorporates the use of cultural knowledge (indigenous knowledge), contextual drawing from the immediate environment to illustrate teaching, and the component of technology, can improve learning. What is the purpose of machine language? It is a difficult-to-learn concept in the computer studies curriculum of Nigeria, despite being the basis of computer programming. It is hypothesised that (i) there is no statistically significant difference in (a) academic achievement and (b) attitudes between males and females when taught in machine language. (ii) There are no statistically significant interaction effects of sex and training method on (a) academic achievement and (b) attitudes of students in machine language. A total of 207 computer studies students in senior secondary year two (SS2), comprising 106 females and 101 males, participated in the study. The instruments used to gather data were the machine language attitudes questionnaire (MLAQ) and machine language achievement test (MLAT), which had reliability coefficients of 0.71 and 0.70, respectively. The one-way MANCOVA multivariate F (Pillai’s Trace) was not significant [F = 0.49; P > 0.05]. Univariate tests on achievement [F (1, 203) = 0.72; P > 0.05] and attitude [F (1, 203) = 0.36; P > 0.05] failed to attain statistical significance. Hypothesis one was not rejected because there was no statistically significant effect of student gender on (a) academic achievement and (b) attitudes when taught using CTCA and the lecture method. The two-way MANCOVA multivariate F (Pillai’s Trace) was not significant [F = 2.26; p > 0.05]. The interaction effect between sex and training method on achievement [F (2, 199) =.90; P =.41] was not significant, but on attitude [F (2, 199) = 3.67; P =.03] attained statistical significance. The study concluded that educators are encouraged to use the CTCA and could demonstrate how it could be used as a pedagogical design for improving the achievement and attitude of students in computer studies and other subjects offered in senior secondary schools by capitalising on its assets. The strategies will assist both teachers and students in gaining respect for local activities and culture, its wisdom and ethics, indigenous science and technology, and the use of local resources, thereby enhancing sustainability, and they will encourage collaboration among students, resulting in improved academic achievement and attitude. Both males and females performed on neutral ground. Giving both male and female students the opportunity to excel on a neutral ground without having any influence over the other.

Regional Labelling as a Tool for Supporting Rural Development: A Slovak Case Study

Regional product labelling has become a trend in recent years, with the goal of being able to stimulate and support local economies; increase the sales of quality local products and services; preserve and maintain traditions, local cultural values, and the character of rural landscapes; and promote the use of local resources, potential, and raw materials. The existing Slovak studies deal primarily with the perception of consumers and tourism. In this article, we analysed forms of rural development in connection with regional product labelling and the Slovak regions of Kopanice and Záhorie. This theme is a relatively new phenomenon in Slovakia, and that is the author’s main contribution. The research was conducted using an online questionnaire administered between May and July 2022 in each district of the region, with a total of 283 respondents participating. The results obtained from the questionnaire survey were statistically processed using Pearson’s correlation coefficient. We used STATISTIC 109 software (Tibco software, Palo Alto, California). The questionnaire method is the most suitable method for determining the perceptions of the respondents. The goal was to analyse rural development in connection with regional product labelling and to identify areas of the application of regional product labels. The term regional product was associated with production in a specific region (50.5%) and with the customs and traditions of the region (43.8%). Supporting employment and entrepreneurship in the region were considered by 43.1% of the respondents as the most important in the region. From the perspective of the application of regional labelling in connection with rural development, we confirmed gender and education dependence. Women with first- and second-level higher education saw regional labels as the main element in the development of the region and the local economy.

소규모학교의 고교학점제에 대한 교원 및 전문가 인식 분석

Objectives This study attempted to explore the effective operation plan of the high school credit system in small schools through in-depth interviews with teachers and experts on the difficulty of operating the high school credit system in small schools by G Office of Education following the introduction of the high school credit system.
 Methods To this end, 1st to 9th in-depth interviews (May 2022 to September 2022) were conducted with teachers in charge of the high school credit system in small schools and professional education staff in charge (regional offices and provincial offices of education). In the first interview, the content of the interview between the person in charge of the high school credit system in a small school and the participants in the inter-school joint curriculum was intensively discussed. In the ninth interview, cases of joint education courses between local unit schools were discussed, and the interview materials were recorded and transcribed.
 Results G Through interview analysis on small school high school credit system operation cases, (1) course application and opening, (2) teacher supply and demand, (3) work increase, (4) academic schedule adjustment and travel distance between schools, (5) Opinions were identified in six aspects, including the use of school facilities and local resources, the formation of consensus, and the shift in perception. In addition, implications were derived by analyzing the current status of high school credit system operation in small schools, cases of joint curriculum operation between schools, demand for vitalization of joint curriculum between small schools, and demand operation model for vitalization of joint curriculum between small schools.
 Conclusions First, regional consultative bodies should be activated so that communication between teachers centered on the Office of Education becomes routine beyond exchanges at the level of current subject research associations in the region. Second, it is urgent to establish a human resource pool using external instructors and improve the stable supply of teachers. Third, the school work organization for the operation of the high school credit system must be reformed. Fourth, the principle of adequacy of the teacher's workload should be applied.

The The Effect of Inflation and Investment Growth Rate on Local Income in South Sumatra 2018-2020

According to the national development mission, which calls for the realization of an independent, prosperous, and united society based on Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution. One of the strategies for improving the nation's standard of living is economic growth, involving local governments' use of natural resources and initiatives to increase products per capita. This study examines how regional original income in the Regencies/Cities of South Sumatra Province is affected by investment growth and inflation between 2018 and 2020, partially and simultaneously. The analysis in this study is done with panel data, which is a combination of cross-sectional and time-series data. Locally generate revenue is negatively impacted by the inflation rate, as this study demonstrates. Meanwhile, the rate of investment growth has a positive impact on local revenue. Local revenue is positively impacted by both inflation and the investment growth rate simultaneously.

Development of isolated energy systems based on renewable energy sources and hydrogen storage

For the development of the energy infrastructure of remote isolated consumers, an expedient solution is the creation of a modular hybrid energy system based on renewable energy sources, which will save tens of billions of rubles a year by saving expensive diesel fuel. Taking into account the high wind energy resource in these territories, the use of wind power plants as part of that system is justified. The article discusses the methodology for substantiating the parameters and modes of operation of an autonomous wind-diesel power complex based on the territorial-power classification of power supply systems and a 4-level methodology for optimizing parameters, an example of upgrading an existing diesel power plant in the Arkhangelsk region is given. The existing diesel units with a capacity of 1300 kW were replaced by a modular wind-diesel power system with a high renewable penetration level (58%) with four wind turbines with a capacity of 200 kW and a storage system with a capacity of 65 kWh. This made it possible to achieve a diesel fuel replacement share of 232 000 L per year, which in monetary terms in 2021 prices is 25 million rubles per year. As a promising direction, a variant of the territorial development of the energy sector of the Leshukonsky district of the Arkhangelsk region based on wind energy with the possibility of producing up to 100 tons of “green” hydrogen annually is considered. Various options for reducing harmful emissions in the region were considered, the maximum use of local resources allows saving up to 22 000 tons of CO2e per year.

Beyond Neighborhood Disadvantage: Local Resources, Green Space, Pollution, and Crime as Residential Community Correlates of Cardiovascular Risk and Brain Morphology in Midlife Adults.

Residing in communities characterized by socioeconomic disadvantage confers risk of cardiometabolic diseases. Residing in disadvantaged communities may also confer the risk of neurodegenerative brain changes via cardiometabolic pathways. This study tested whether features of communities-apart from conventional socioeconomic characteristics-relate not only to cardiometabolic risk but also to relative tissue reductions in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus. Participants were 699 adults aged 30 to 54 years (340 women; 22.5% non-White) whose addresses were geocoded to compute community indicators of socioeconomic disadvantage, as well as air and toxic chemical pollutant exposures, homicide rates, concentration of employment opportunities, land use (green space), and availability of supermarkets and local resources. Participants also underwent assessments of cortical and hippocampal volumes and cardiometabolic risk factors (adiposity, blood pressure, fasting glucose, and lipids). Multilevel structural equation modeling demonstrated that cardiometabolic risk was associated with community disadvantage ( β = 0.10, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.01 to 0.18), as well as chemical pollution ( β = 0.11, 95% CI = 0.02 to 0.19), homicide rates ( β = 0.10, 95% CI = 0.01 to 0.18), employment opportunities ( β = -0.16, 95% CI = -0.27 to -0.04), and green space ( β = -0.12, 95% CI = -0.20 to -0.04). Moreover, cardiometabolic risk indirectly mediated the associations of several of these community features and brain tissue volumes. Some associations were nonlinear, and none were explained by participants' individual-level socioeconomic characteristics. Features of communities other than conventional indicators of socioeconomic disadvantage may represent nonredundant correlates of cardiometabolic risk and brain tissue morphology in midlife.

Upaya Pencegahan Stunting melalui Kegiatan Posyandu Desa Sungai Manau, Kecamatan Kuantan Mudik, Provinsi Riau

Children aged five and under are included in the high-risk category for experiencing impaired growth and physical development if nutritional problems occur. Malnutrition and health problems that commonly occur in children include malnutrition, obesity, and below normal body posture or stunting. One of the efforts that can be made in early detection and prevention of stunting is through Posyandu activities. The University of Riau real work team took part in community service through routine toddler posyandu activities and conducted research to determine the level of knowledge of mothers of toddlers regarding stunting in Sungai Manau village. This service activity is in line with research which aims to find out and increase mother's knowledge about stunting. This activity uses the health education method for mothers with toddlers on August 9, 2022 at the Posyandu in Sungai Manau village. Through this activity it was found that the majority of mothers' knowledge regarding stunting was in the medium category (57%). During the evaluation, it was found that the majority of mothers could answer questions about stunting correctly. We hope that this service activity could be continued with different interventions such as the use of local food resources to overcome stunting in children.

Collective forest land rights facilitate cooperative behavior

AbstractThe introduction of formal collective property rights to forest lands appears to have improved both environmental and economic outcomes, but there is limited evidence on how these reforms affect cooperative behavior among local resource users. We propose that when national governments issue collective land rights, they strengthen the collective psychological ownership among coowners and produce increased levels of cooperative behavior. Analyzing data from 213 forest user groups in 10 countries, and a framed field experiment in a subset of sites, we find that collective land titling is associated with significantly higher levels of cooperative behavior including increased levels of trust, more frequent interpersonal interactions related to both forestry and nonforestry activities, more self‐governing institutions, and greater equality in resource extraction patterns.

農林業問題研究への多様な接近

The sustainable use of agricultural resources in the rural–urban fringe was discussed from macro-, micro-, and mezzo- perspectives. From a macro-perspective, Dr. Akita argued that mixed land use between food production and housing, which enables direct-to-consumer sales of foods, would be an ideal for modern cities. The necessity to incorporate farmland conservation into urban planning as a green policy was then discussed. From a micro-perspective, Dr. Yagi argued that it was necessary to maintain good relationships between agricultural management entities and their local stakeholders. Issues related to farmland consolidation and farmland inheritance in urbanized areas were then discussed. From a mezzo-perspective, Dr. Noda argued that in order to achieve sustainable use of local resources, it is important that they are managed by the community and that the community has a certain kind of social right to the resources, just like to the local commons. The issue whether such social rights should be granted based on legal proceedings or administrative proceedings was then discussed. Ultimately, it was shown that by asserting the rights as personal rights instead of property rights, it would be possible to grant such rights not only through administrative proceedings but also legal ones.

What, how and who: Cost-effectiveness analyses of COVID-19 vaccination to inform key policies in Nigeria.

While safe and efficacious COVID-19 vaccines have achieved high coverage in high-income settings, roll-out remains slow in sub-Saharan Africa. By April 2022, Nigeria, a country of over 200 million people, had only distributed 34 million doses. To ensure the optimal use of health resources, cost-effectiveness analyses can inform key policy questions in the health technology assessment process. We carried out several cost-effectiveness analyses exploring different COVID-19 vaccination scenarios in Nigeria. In consultation with Nigerian stakeholders, we addressed three key questions: what vaccines to buy, how to deliver them and what age groups to target. We combined an epidemiological model of virus transmission parameterised with Nigeria specific data with a costing model that incorporated local resource use assumptions and prices, both for vaccine delivery as well as costs associated with care and treatment of COVID-19. Scenarios of vaccination were compared with no vaccination. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were estimated in terms of costs per disability-adjusted life years averted and compared to commonly used cost-effectiveness ratios. Viral vector vaccines are cost-effective (or cost saving), particularly when targeting older adults. Despite higher efficacy, vaccines employing mRNA technologies are less cost-effective due to high current dose prices. The method of delivery of vaccines makes little difference to the cost-effectiveness of the vaccine. COVID-19 vaccines can be highly effective and cost-effective (as well as cost-saving), although an important determinant of the latter is the price per dose and the age groups prioritised for vaccination. From a health system perspective, viral vector vaccines may represent most cost-effective choices for Nigeria, although this may change with price negotiation.

TEMPORARY ACCOMMODATION AS BASIC PROTECTION OF REFUGEES OF WARFARE AND HUMANITARIAN DISASTERS

In this article, the authors have attempted to present issues related to the planning and constructionof temporary accommodation for people affected by warfare (Ukraine) and humanitarian disasters(earthquake in Turkey). The damage to the housing infrastructure is often quite extensive andits reconstruction takes several years, during which time it is necessary to provide basic livingconditions to refugees and disaster victims until they have the opportunity to move into temporaryor permanent housing facilities. The article also describes the planning process that should becarried out before disasters, as well as types of temporary accommodation and the use of localresources in post-disaster reconstruction. In recent years, we have observed a significant increasein the occurrence of natural disasters and local armed conflicts. In most cases, infrastructure indisaster areas is severely damaged or completely destroyed. Houses and residential buildings arehighly vulnerable to damage and are the most visible aftermath of disasters. At the same time, forthe people affected by these disasters, these are very traumatic experiences. The article describes thekey role of temporary housing during reconstruction after war or humanitarian disasters, identifiescommon problems and suggests some recommendations on how to handle and overcome them.

The network analysis of organizations in watershed management toward sustainability in Northern Iran

Introduction: The integrated water resource management is considered for development planning and water and soil resources management with an emphasis on the socio-economic features of the region for sustainability. The main purpose of study was to identify the organizations involved in the watershed management of Chehelchay of Golestan province in Iran, as well as analyzing the types of communications and interactions between organizations in terms of intensity and type.Methods: Three networks of information exchange, coordination and participation were studied due to network analysis. Thus, the related organizations involved in participatory and comprehensive management of Chehelchay watershed (30 organizations) were introduced during the trips of the research team to the site and using special questionnaire. Then, the other specialized questionnaires were collected from the informed panels of each organization to provide the required data in the network analysis. A total of 84 specialists were interviewed. About half of the respondents (42 individuals) had graduate education and their average work experience was about 15 years. One third of the respondents (28 individuals) were women. The data analysis process was performed with UCINET6.631 and NetDraw.Results and Discussion: The results indicated that the density index in information exchange (31.5%), coordination (27.5%) and participation (10%) networks were less than average. In the participation network, the values of the density index are very low and coherence is the same among the networks (information exchange, coordination, and participation). The results of reciprocity index among the organizational actors in the networks of information exchange (31.10%), coordination (33.52%) and participation (10.13%) were also less than average. Therefore, identifying the key actors with high social power in the network of local natural resources is a requirement of watershed participatory management plan. The runtime and cost of implementing natural resource projects can be significantly decreased by understanding and deploying these organizations and individuals. Social power and comprehensive participatory management is generally the key tools for building trust between local natural resource users. A systematic shift is also required from governmental management toward governance in order to achieve sustainable natural resource and watershed management.

Social work for vulnerable and marginalized people during COVID‐19 in Japan

AbstractDuring the Coronavirus disease pandemic (COVID‐19), working conditions became increasingly difficult for social workers, as they had to deal with new challenges and added workloads. This study describes the difficulties faced by social workers of the Self‐Reliance Support System in Japan and clarifies the solution for each difficulty while conducting their duties to support vulnerable people during COVID‐19. To this end, we conducted an open‐ended questionnaire survey and an interview survey. The data were analyzed using qualitative coding. The results showed that the difficulties faced in consultation support work included supporting hitherto socially invisible groups such as sole traders and foreigners. Social workers also faced an ethical dilemma, as they could not provide support to clients who “did not try to solve their problems” or for whom “interventional attempts did not lead to counseling support” and who only sought benefits at the risk of becoming isolated and impoverished. Following this, consultants collaborated to resolve such difficulties while maximizing the use of various local resources. The study's findings clarify that it would be effective to understand the difficulties faced by social workers to obtain hints toward their resolution.

Controller Design for Parallel Mechanism Solar Tracker

Solar energy is considered a sustainable solution that has proven its technological competence for electricity generation among renewable energy sources. While green resources provide high energy security, they also reduce environmental pollution and support the use of local resources. In this article, a dual axis solar tracker that can operate with high accuracy in harsh operating conditions is proposed using the Stewart platform. The Stewart platform is designed using linear actuators using direct current (DC) motors. An embedded controller is designed to control the motors and to realize the sun tracking algorithm of the system. An STM32 board is adopted as a real-time controller to implement the decoupled control algorithm. Therefore, the proposed solar tracker panel control system monitors the daily trajectory of the sun by the photovoltaic panel, ensuring that the system’s energy production remains at its maximum throughout the day. First, the Simulink model of the system was created and the proportional derivative integral (PID) control algorithms were simulated. Experimental studies were carried out by producing the system; the experimental results exhibited a better performance, with an increase in the collected energy of about 32% compared with the fixed one.

Our forest, our livelihood: Natural resources’ use controversies and community livelihood sustainability in the Mole National Park, Ghana

‘Protecting’ natural resources as a policy intervention for biodiversity conservation is a double-edged sword. Often touted as sources of revenue and a tool for poverty reduction in fringe communities, they are also largely a source of natural resource-use conflict. Over the years the Mole National Park in Northern Ghana has provided both cost and benefits to fringe communities and the local government. While studies have investigated the benefits of the Mole National Park to local resource users, conflicts that have characterized the park in recent years in terms of resource use, ownership and livelihood sustainability have been the least investigated. Using a qualitative approach, the study examines community perception of natural resource use and livelihood sustainability in fringe communities of the Mole National Park, Ghana. Thematic analysis from 13 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and 14 in-depth interviews revealed that respondents’ major sources of sustenance hinge on Natural Resources (NRs) through farming and hunting with minimal alternative sources of livelihoods. As a consequence, denial of respondents’ access to the natural resources in the park has been a major source of contention between the local resource dependents and management of the park as residents believed that the resources from the forest are a gift from God, their ancestors and forefathers and no man can prevent access and utilization. This implies that a community-led management team involving other stakeholders is important in the management of the Mole National Park. Moreover, equal distribution of benefits that accrue from the forest with the forest fringe communities at heart will assist in minimizing the yearly conflicts that have been a characteristic of the park and ensure sustainable forest resource management.

Carbon footprint of transhumant sheep farms: accounting for natural baseline emissions in Mediterranean systems

Abstract Purpose Transhumance has rarely been analyzed through LCA approaches, and there is little evidence about its emissions level when conducted under different practices (by truck or on foot) or compared to sedentary livestock systems. Moreover, mobile pastoralism is strongly linked to natural resources by its seasonal grazing patterns, thereby occupying the niche of wild herbivores. Considering natural emission baselines in these ecosystems could have relevant effects when estimating their carbon footprint. Materials and methods Inventory data of 20 sheep farms was collected to estimate the carbon footprint (CF) of lamb meat produced. Farms were divided into three sub-groups representing typical management practices in the region: (1) sedentary (SED), (2) transhumance by truck (THT), and (3) transhumance on foot (THF). Livestock GHG emissions were modeled according to herd structure and IPCC guidelines. Off-farm emissions from external feeds and fuels were accounted based on existent LCA databases. A natural baseline of wild herbivores was established from the population of red deer reported in a hunting preserve, previously considered to be a reference for the natural carrying capacity in Mediterranean ecosystems. GHG emissions of wild herbivores were estimated through two methods based on (1) IPCC guidelines and (2) allometric regression equations. Results and discussion Carbon footprint ranged from 16.5 up to 26.9 kgCO2-eq/kg of lamb liveweight (LW). Significant differences were identified among sedentary and transhumant farms, the latter consistently showing lower CF values (SED: 25.1 kg CO2-eq/kg LW, THT: 18.3 kg CO2-eq/kg LW, THF: 18.2 kg CO2-eq/kg LW). Sedentary farms resulted in higher GHG emissions (+ 27%) and higher CO2 and N2O, contributions derived from the consumption of additional feeds. Both methods applied to compute emissions for wild herbivores led to similar results (25.3–26.8 Mg CO2-eq/km2), comparatively lower than estimation for transhumant sheep (47.7 Mg CO2-eq/km2). When considering natural baseline emissions, the CF of transhumant lamb meat is reduced by almost 30%, reaching values quite below those reported for intensive lamb production systems in Spain. Conclusions From our results, mobility of grazing livestock can be considered as a strategy promoting climate change mitigation. This is achieved mainly by reducing the need of external feeds, while maximizing the use of local forage resources that otherwise would be difficult to valorize. Further reductions in the CF result when considering natural baseline emissions. The application of this new GHG accounting perspective could have relevant implications when aiming at climate neutrality of grazing-based ruminant systems.