... Charlie Shackleton Fiona Paumgarten Thami Mthembu Lisa Ernst Margaret Pasquini Germain Pichop... more ... Charlie Shackleton Fiona Paumgarten Thami Mthembu Lisa Ernst Margaret Pasquini Germain Pichop ... Modal income from sale was approximately R30 per month per farmer, most of whom were middle-aged to elderly females, with limited education, who had been cultivating ...
ABSTRACT The dry forest biome covers extensive areas of the global tropics. However, the understa... more ABSTRACT The dry forest biome covers extensive areas of the global tropics. However, the understanding of these forest formations from both human and biophysical perspectives varies widely both geographically and in terms of disciplinarity. While considerable resources have been made available for the sustainable management of the humid tropical forests, there has been a lack of comparable sustained attention on their dry forest equivalents. This special issue is an attempt to provide further insights into the state of the knowledge of global dry forests, and identify research gaps that could contribute to their long-term sustainability, both for human well-being and ecological integrity.
ABSTRACT Collective action has been identified, by governments and nongovernmental organizations,... more ABSTRACT Collective action has been identified, by governments and nongovernmental organizations, as a mechanism to improve smallholder farmers' bargaining power and access to input and output markets. In many developing countries, supporting collective action has and continues to be an important policy instrument. However, in the collection and marketing of forest products, recognition of and support for producer organizations, is limited. Data, from focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and an analysis of formal producer organizations' functioning and organizational aspects, were used to examine the motives, benefits, challenges, and enabling conditions of collective action in promoting the sustainable production and marketing of shea, frankincense, and honey from dry forests in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, and Zambia, respectively. Lessons and key recommendations, including those related to policy, are presented on how collective action through formal producer organizations could be assisted to promote responsible forest products collection and marketing practices that benefit small-scale producers in Africa's dry forests.
This paper analyzes the implications of copper mining in Zambia on customary rights to land and f... more This paper analyzes the implications of copper mining in Zambia on customary rights to land and forests, and the societal stakes associated with foreign investment in the mining industry. Copper mining affects forests, and in turn the people with customary rights to those forests, in a number of direct and indirect ways, from deforestation during green site development and selective harvesting of timber to the significant but indirect pressures over forests through infrastructure development and the population pull effect of mining towns. In addition to these localized impacts on forests and forest-dependent livelihoods, there are a number of potential externalities associated with mining investments as well as impacts of concern to society at large. While many such effects are positive, and may thereby be seen to justify the losses incurred to negatively affected stakeholders (including those losing customary rights), negative externalities of mining investments may also be signifi...
Rural households in the developing world are subjected to a range of risks, shocks and trends tha... more Rural households in the developing world are subjected to a range of risks, shocks and trends that impact on the bio-physical, social and economic environments in which they exist and that together constitute their vulnerability context. For many households living in South Africa’s rural areas, extreme livelihood insecurity and vulnerability persist in response to which households may employ a range of coping strategies. This study forms a part of a broader one, which considered the range of risks to which rural households in two South Africa villages are vulnerable. The study considered the manner in which households respond to such risks. The results presented here focus specifically on land-based crises, namely seasonal crop shortfalls and loss of or damage to crops. Household wealth and gender of the de jure household head were selected as characteristics for comparison. Although a range of coping strategies is considered, the emphasis is on the safety-net function of non-timber...
ABSTRACT Collective action has been identified, by governments and nongovernmental organizations,... more ABSTRACT Collective action has been identified, by governments and nongovernmental organizations, as a mechanism to improve smallholder farmers' bargaining power and access to input and output markets. In many developing countries, supporting collective action has and continues to be an important policy instrument. However, in the collection and marketing of forest products, recognition of and support for producer organizations, is limited. Data, from focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and an analysis of formal producer organizations' functioning and organizational aspects, were used to examine the motives, benefits, challenges, and enabling conditions of collective action in promoting the sustainable production and marketing of shea, frankincense, and honey from dry forests in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, and Zambia, respectively. Lessons and key recommendations, including those related to policy, are presented on how collective action through formal producer organizations could be assisted to promote responsible forest products collection and marketing practices that benefit small-scale producers in Africa's dry forests.
ABSTRACT Customary land and forests are more embedded in the global economy than ever. With globa... more ABSTRACT Customary land and forests are more embedded in the global economy than ever. With globally significant supplies of land and raw materials and favorable terms for foreign investors, developing countries – particularly in Africa – have become increasingly attractive trade partners and destinations for investors. Increasing competition over land is placing new pressures on vast tracts of forest and woodland, areas often considered ‘under-utilized’ by national governments despite their critical role in supporting local livelihoods. While increased demand for primary agricultural, forest and mining commodities in the context of forest tenure reforms and decentralized decision-making could create unprecedented economic opportunities for forest-dependent communities, increased ‘stakes’ over forest resources and land will undoubtedly heighten governance challenges. This is in no small part due to the political dynamics of property, and to the role of the ‘recursive constitution of property rights and authority’ in the evolution of the modern nation-state. By identifying the social ‘stakes’ associated with different pathways through which sectoral and extra-sectoral commodities shape forests, this paper provides a conceptual framework for analyzing how shifting contours of rights, property and authority in the context of forest-related trade and investment shape human well-being for affected communities and the wider citizenry of host countries. It then illustrates the use of the framework through its application to two brief case studies from southern Africa: tobacco production in Malawi and copper mining in Zambia. It is hoped that this framework will provide a meaningful contribution to growing scholarship on the political dynamics of property, and implications for rights-based approaches to agricultural investment and large-scale land acquisitions.
International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 2005
ABSTRACT Trees provide a wide range of goods and services to rural households which, when incorpo... more ABSTRACT Trees provide a wide range of goods and services to rural households which, when incorporated into their livelihood strategies, help reduce their vulnerability to adversity. Governments and policy makers often ignore the contribution made by trees and consequently resources are focussed on cash crops and livestock. Villagers in the Eastern Cape and Limpopo Province, South Africa utilise a range of trees from home-gardens for various purposes, although predominantly for fruit and shade. Trees are either planted or actively retained in households' home-gardens. There were noticeable differences between the villages in the Eastern Cape and those in Limpopo Province, particularly with respect to the overall density of trees per hectare and the number of species per household, both being significantly greater in Limpopo Province. The five most preferred species were listed for each village, revealing a preference for exotic fruit trees in Limpopo Province and a mix of exotic fruit trees and shade trees in the Eastern Cape. Households also retained useful indigenous species, predominantly fruit-bearing species. A range of factors constrain tree growing in home-gardens and households engage in practices to grow and maintain their trees. Not all of these constraints and practices were significantly different between the various localities.
... Charlie Shackleton Fiona Paumgarten Thami Mthembu Lisa Ernst Margaret Pasquini Germain Pichop... more ... Charlie Shackleton Fiona Paumgarten Thami Mthembu Lisa Ernst Margaret Pasquini Germain Pichop ... Modal income from sale was approximately R30 per month per farmer, most of whom were middle-aged to elderly females, with limited education, who had been cultivating ...
ABSTRACT The dry forest biome covers extensive areas of the global tropics. However, the understa... more ABSTRACT The dry forest biome covers extensive areas of the global tropics. However, the understanding of these forest formations from both human and biophysical perspectives varies widely both geographically and in terms of disciplinarity. While considerable resources have been made available for the sustainable management of the humid tropical forests, there has been a lack of comparable sustained attention on their dry forest equivalents. This special issue is an attempt to provide further insights into the state of the knowledge of global dry forests, and identify research gaps that could contribute to their long-term sustainability, both for human well-being and ecological integrity.
ABSTRACT Collective action has been identified, by governments and nongovernmental organizations,... more ABSTRACT Collective action has been identified, by governments and nongovernmental organizations, as a mechanism to improve smallholder farmers' bargaining power and access to input and output markets. In many developing countries, supporting collective action has and continues to be an important policy instrument. However, in the collection and marketing of forest products, recognition of and support for producer organizations, is limited. Data, from focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and an analysis of formal producer organizations' functioning and organizational aspects, were used to examine the motives, benefits, challenges, and enabling conditions of collective action in promoting the sustainable production and marketing of shea, frankincense, and honey from dry forests in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, and Zambia, respectively. Lessons and key recommendations, including those related to policy, are presented on how collective action through formal producer organizations could be assisted to promote responsible forest products collection and marketing practices that benefit small-scale producers in Africa's dry forests.
This paper analyzes the implications of copper mining in Zambia on customary rights to land and f... more This paper analyzes the implications of copper mining in Zambia on customary rights to land and forests, and the societal stakes associated with foreign investment in the mining industry. Copper mining affects forests, and in turn the people with customary rights to those forests, in a number of direct and indirect ways, from deforestation during green site development and selective harvesting of timber to the significant but indirect pressures over forests through infrastructure development and the population pull effect of mining towns. In addition to these localized impacts on forests and forest-dependent livelihoods, there are a number of potential externalities associated with mining investments as well as impacts of concern to society at large. While many such effects are positive, and may thereby be seen to justify the losses incurred to negatively affected stakeholders (including those losing customary rights), negative externalities of mining investments may also be signifi...
Rural households in the developing world are subjected to a range of risks, shocks and trends tha... more Rural households in the developing world are subjected to a range of risks, shocks and trends that impact on the bio-physical, social and economic environments in which they exist and that together constitute their vulnerability context. For many households living in South Africa’s rural areas, extreme livelihood insecurity and vulnerability persist in response to which households may employ a range of coping strategies. This study forms a part of a broader one, which considered the range of risks to which rural households in two South Africa villages are vulnerable. The study considered the manner in which households respond to such risks. The results presented here focus specifically on land-based crises, namely seasonal crop shortfalls and loss of or damage to crops. Household wealth and gender of the de jure household head were selected as characteristics for comparison. Although a range of coping strategies is considered, the emphasis is on the safety-net function of non-timber...
ABSTRACT Collective action has been identified, by governments and nongovernmental organizations,... more ABSTRACT Collective action has been identified, by governments and nongovernmental organizations, as a mechanism to improve smallholder farmers' bargaining power and access to input and output markets. In many developing countries, supporting collective action has and continues to be an important policy instrument. However, in the collection and marketing of forest products, recognition of and support for producer organizations, is limited. Data, from focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and an analysis of formal producer organizations' functioning and organizational aspects, were used to examine the motives, benefits, challenges, and enabling conditions of collective action in promoting the sustainable production and marketing of shea, frankincense, and honey from dry forests in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, and Zambia, respectively. Lessons and key recommendations, including those related to policy, are presented on how collective action through formal producer organizations could be assisted to promote responsible forest products collection and marketing practices that benefit small-scale producers in Africa's dry forests.
ABSTRACT Customary land and forests are more embedded in the global economy than ever. With globa... more ABSTRACT Customary land and forests are more embedded in the global economy than ever. With globally significant supplies of land and raw materials and favorable terms for foreign investors, developing countries – particularly in Africa – have become increasingly attractive trade partners and destinations for investors. Increasing competition over land is placing new pressures on vast tracts of forest and woodland, areas often considered ‘under-utilized’ by national governments despite their critical role in supporting local livelihoods. While increased demand for primary agricultural, forest and mining commodities in the context of forest tenure reforms and decentralized decision-making could create unprecedented economic opportunities for forest-dependent communities, increased ‘stakes’ over forest resources and land will undoubtedly heighten governance challenges. This is in no small part due to the political dynamics of property, and to the role of the ‘recursive constitution of property rights and authority’ in the evolution of the modern nation-state. By identifying the social ‘stakes’ associated with different pathways through which sectoral and extra-sectoral commodities shape forests, this paper provides a conceptual framework for analyzing how shifting contours of rights, property and authority in the context of forest-related trade and investment shape human well-being for affected communities and the wider citizenry of host countries. It then illustrates the use of the framework through its application to two brief case studies from southern Africa: tobacco production in Malawi and copper mining in Zambia. It is hoped that this framework will provide a meaningful contribution to growing scholarship on the political dynamics of property, and implications for rights-based approaches to agricultural investment and large-scale land acquisitions.
International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 2005
ABSTRACT Trees provide a wide range of goods and services to rural households which, when incorpo... more ABSTRACT Trees provide a wide range of goods and services to rural households which, when incorporated into their livelihood strategies, help reduce their vulnerability to adversity. Governments and policy makers often ignore the contribution made by trees and consequently resources are focussed on cash crops and livestock. Villagers in the Eastern Cape and Limpopo Province, South Africa utilise a range of trees from home-gardens for various purposes, although predominantly for fruit and shade. Trees are either planted or actively retained in households' home-gardens. There were noticeable differences between the villages in the Eastern Cape and those in Limpopo Province, particularly with respect to the overall density of trees per hectare and the number of species per household, both being significantly greater in Limpopo Province. The five most preferred species were listed for each village, revealing a preference for exotic fruit trees in Limpopo Province and a mix of exotic fruit trees and shade trees in the Eastern Cape. Households also retained useful indigenous species, predominantly fruit-bearing species. A range of factors constrain tree growing in home-gardens and households engage in practices to grow and maintain their trees. Not all of these constraints and practices were significantly different between the various localities.
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Papers by Fi Paumgarten