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The quadrupled face of biodiversity conservation in Africaorganized by Delali Dovie (University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa) and Norbert Cordeiro (University of Illinois at Chicago)ENGENDERING THE NEPAD ENVIRONMENT INITIATIVE: LINKING POLICIES TO AFRICAN WOMENS’ LOCAL REALITIES SOLANGE BADIANKY, Clark University, Worcester, MA, USA, sbandiaky@clarku.edu In 2002 at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) called for the development and adoption of an Environment Initiative to address the region’s environmental challenges. However, although social equity and better governance are part of Africa’s environmental sustainability agenda, the NEPAD Environment Initiative Action Plan is gender-blind and gender-neutral. This paper is based on a gender redefinition and reconceptualization of the Environment Initiative challenges through case studies and theories from the feminist literature on gender and the environment in Africa. The NEPAD Environment Initiative has failed to take into consideration gender issues because of the hegemony of neoliberalist discourse and the focus on the technical and biophysical aspects of the environment challenges; also it is conditioned by mens’ experiences and largely implemented by men in the planning, decision-making, and implementation. Women face constraints and challenges in access to land and freshwater, and they are negatively impacted by forest loss, climate change, droughts, and desertification. Gender is a variable that should be used to inform policies for effective management of resources and the environment. Institutions such as NEPAD that make and execute policy should be knowledgeable and committed to redressing gender inequalities in conserving the environment. THE HUMAN-POLITICAL ECONOMY, CROSSOVER METHODOLOGICAL AUGMENTATION, AND CONSERVATION DELALI DOVIE, Pan African Network for Environment and Development, Johannesburg, South Africa, delali@biology.wits.ac.za The territoriality of many biodiversity conservation related disciplines provides a potential source of key management gaps when dealing with natural resources. In many cases, this has resulted in divergent goals that end up plunging biodiversity-rich areas into mere sources of primary products and the loss of species. In the Action Plan of the Environment Initiative of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), there emerges a recognition that “. . . the range of issues necessary to nurture the region’s environmental base and sustainable use of natural resources is vast and complex, and that a systematic combination of initiatives is necessary in order to develop a coherent environmental programme . . . .” This presentation uses the knowledge of ecological science to shape goals for managing indigenous knowledge and traditional nomenclature towards the long term use and management of plant resources in South Africa. Results indicate that patterns and processes of resource use by indigenous communities are systematic, influenced greatly by institutions with potential benefits for conservation biology by showing less scientifically known pathways of richness and diversity, distribution and sustainability. It also emerged that traditional nomenclature can be used to expand the redlist categories of the IUCN in the “data deficient” category. MAPPING FOREST COVER CONVERSION AND FRAGMENTATION IN MALAWI, 1973–2000 MCARD JOSEPH MLOTHA, Department of Environmental Studies, Antioch New England University, Keene, NH, USA, McArd_mlotha@antiochne.edu The government of Malawi removed subsidies on farm inputs as part of structural adjustment policy and this initiated increase in food production costs due to increased cost of farm inputs. The fast growing population exerts pressure on forests to meet food demands. This paper discusses forest cover conversion and fragmentation in Malawi over three time periods, 1973, 1991, and 2000, and examines landscape configuration and composition. Remote sensing and GIS techniques using Landsat MSS and TM were used for spatial analysis and mapping forest cover for the three time periods. FRAGSTATS was used to analyze landscape pattern. Five landscape metrics indices were used to assess landscape fragmentation: total number of patches, total area of patches, largest patch size, mean patch size, and patch density. The results of forest cover and forest cover change for the three time periods indicate that Malawi’s forests declined from 46% in 1973 to 28% in 1991 and then increased from 28% in 1991 to 38% in 2000. The highest number of forest patches was recorded in 2000 representing highest forest fragmentation within the three time periods. The causative factors of these changes include poverty, population increase, agricultural expansion, and political development. The results of this study will provide accurate information for planning poverty reduction strategies and integrated conservation management of forests. INTEGRATING INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE IN DOMESTICATION TRIALS OF A NATIVE TANZANIAN TREE CHARLES MESHACK, Tanzania Forest Conservation Group, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, cmeshack@tfcg.or.tz To establish the link between local people, knowledge and modern science, indigenous knowledge of the endemic Allanblackia stuhlmannii (Clusiaceae) tree was documented from 110 respondents in five East Usambara Mountain villages (Tanzania). Results from a questionnaire survey showed that most respondents were familiar with the tree. Seeds are used to produce cooking oil and leaves are used in traditional medicine. The majority of the respondents leave one to ten trees standing as sources of fruits and leaves when clearing their farms. Only one respondent claimed to be cultivating seedlings of the tree whereas 83% were willing to plant this tree for agroforestry although local land tenure traditions preclude women from owning land and tree crops (thereby affecting their ability to participate in such agroforestry initiatives). The tree is dioecious and a few respondents noted that there are differences between the form of the buttresses and the bark of male and female trees. Locals noted that Allanblackia bears fruits each season and the quantity of the fruits per tree is influenced by factors including age, canopy cover, predation and diseases. This study revealed important information that would be combined with science to domesticate this tree for poverty alleviation in the area. The tree has attracted international interest in investigating commercial uses for oil. POLICIES, POLITICS AND NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION IN UGANDA EDWARD MWAVU, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, edwardm@gecko.biol.wits.ac.za Uganda has a largely agrarian economy, with over 90% of the human population relying heavily on natural resources for livelihood needs, and its policies relating to natural resources provide for legal mechanisms to allow for their conservation and sustainable management. Even though the policies explicitly state the need for a balance between exploiting natural resources for human development and conserving the environment, degradation and loss of natural resources continue to occur. This paper explores how policy and politics have deliberately or inadvertently spurred this situation. It emerges that policy and regulation, institutional arrangements and operations, and related institutional linkages are some of the constraints to sustainable natural resources conservation. The recent government’s priority policy to enhance strategies and priorities for poverty eradication has led to a situation where the need to access natural resources to alleviate poverty outweighs the desire to conserve the resources, while political interests outweigh the need to follow the approved laws and regulations. Successful natural resource conservation in Uganda will only be achieved if the process of implementation of policies related to natural resources involves trust, transparency and commitment to institutional frameworks, policy and legislation on the part of the politicians at levels, resource managers, and local communities. IMPLEMENTING OPTIMAL CONSERVATION ACTIONS FOR MULTIPLE STAKEHOLDERS: A CASE EXAMPLE FROM THE TAITA HILLS, KENYA MWANGI GITHIRU, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium, mwangi.githiru@ua.ac.be Although a sound environmental base is necessary for sustainable development, how to achieve integrated conservation and development remains elusive. Translating scientific findings into conservation action remains difficult due to communication gaps, both amongst scientific disciplines and between scientists and other stakeholders. We report on ongoing conservation actions in the Taita Hills forest fragments, southeastern Kenya. An integrated conservation planning stakeholders’ workshop resolved to (1) increase indigenous forest area and reduce degradation of remnant indigenous patches (i.e., safeguard biodiversity habitats and population processes) and (2) increase forested area in the surrounding matrix (provide for human needs). First, besides intensifying protection of indigenous Forest Reserves and awareness-raising initiatives, indigenous tree nurseries (e.g., Prunus africana) were established and saplings planted around the Reserves. This involves the Forest Department, NGOs, schools, and the local community (through local environmental committees). Second, least-cost modelling was done to determine the most appropriate areas for reforestation. This includes converting exotic forest plantations into indigenous forests, providing short-term benefits to the local community (e.g., fuelwood) and long-term biodiversity gains (more habitat, improved dispersal). This type and level of integration endeavours to improve human livelihoods through sustained environmental management, exactly as advocated by many leading bodies such as NEPAD. | |||||||||||||||||
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