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Community Based Natural Resource Management in Namibia

By ucfuwu2, on 11 June 2014

Edel Monteiro and Natalie Mady

 

Keywords: Social Justice, Environmental Sustainability, green and brown agendas, community participation, conservation

 

Introduction

Namibia is one of few countries in the world to specifically address habitat conservation and the protection of natural resources in their constitution (WWF, 2013). The creation of Community Forests and Communal Conservancies are two core strategies of the Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) program supported by the Namibian Government. As a part of this case study we will evaluate both the Communal Conservancies and the Community Forest initiatives in terms of their ability to deliver both ecological and social benefits. We will be using Dobson’s (2003) framework that questions the compatibility between environmental sustainability and social justice and requires that we make clear ‘what is to be preserved’ and what ‘principle of distribution’ of justice is being used.

Applying Dobson’s framework to this particular case-study seems appropriate given that NACSO’s (Namibian Association of Community-Based Natural Resource Management Support Organisations) stated aim is to give equal weightage to social and ecological considerations. More precisely, they have included natural resource conservation, rural development and local capacity building in their management strategy (NACSO, 2013). It is also crucial to note that a delegation of officials including the Minister of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism of Botswana had visited the country to learn how to replicate Namibia’s model in their own country, stating that what impressed them was the ability of this model to alleviate poverty through acting for sustainability (The Villager, 2011). Given its significance, we will seek to reveal whether the CBNRM program achieved its goals on both environmental and social fronts. We will firstly describe the background of both the Community Forests and Communal Conservancies programs before closely analysing their impacts.

Communal Conservancies

Conservancies are legally-recognized, geographically-defined areas that have been formed by communities who have united to manage and benefit from wildlife and other natural resources. These cash and in-kind benefits have fostered a greater appreciation of the value of wildlife and stimulated communities to incorporate wildlife conservation practices into daily livelihood strategies (Weaver and Peterson, 2008).  By mid-2007, a total of 50 communal conservancies had formed, covering approximately 11.8 million hectares and engaging close to 230,000 community members, representing over 14.42% of the country’s landmass and 12.21% of its population. (Weaver and Peterson, 2008)

Community Forests

A Community Forest is an area in the communal lands of Namibia for which local communities have obtained the rights to manage forests, woodlands and other types of natural vegetation according to the provisions of the Forest Act No. 12 of 2001(Mbpaha, n.d.). It is implemented by the Directorate of Forestry (DoF) under the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry (MAWF) in co-operation with the German Development Service (DED) and the German Development Bank (KfW). Since 1996, 32 Community Forests have been declared and gazetted over a total area of 301 952 hectares (Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, n.d.).

The Critique

Using Dobson’s Framework, the table below has been complied in an attempt to verify if Environmental Sustainability and Social Justice were compatible in this specific case.  For this exercise when referring to social justice we will be relying on David Millers definition which articulates that “social justice deals with the distribution of good (advantages) and bad(disadvantages) in society with a focus on distributive process of justice based on the principle of need” (Miller, 2001). This principle of justice will be contrasted against three concepts that help address the question ‘what is to be sustained?’ i.e. critical natural capital, biodiversity and the value of nature:

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Governance Challenges within local institutions (conservancies/forest committees):

In addition to conflicts that take place between the goals of environmental sustainability and social justice, there are other issues that were observed, specifically in term of governance of the program. Major decisions were often taken by committees without involving members. There were also reports of corruption with large sums of money being unaccounted for while large proportion of funds generated were being spent of operational costs with little being left for community benefit (Namibian Sun, 2013). In a study assessing change in the distribution of power through the implementation of CBNRM in Nambia, Schiffer (2004) found that though power had moved from central authorities to local authorities, this created a gap between the local authorities and the larger community, with attempts at monopolisation of power locally.

 

CITE THIS ARTICLE 

Monteiro, E. and Mady, N. (2014). Community Based Natural Resource Management in Namibia | UCL Encyclopaedia of Political Ecology. [online] Available at: https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/esd/community-based-natural-resource-management-in-namibia-2/

 

Bibliography

Brown, J. and Bird, N. 2010. Sustainable natural resource management in Namibia: Successful community-based wildlife conservation. [report] Overseas Development Institute.

Dobson, A. 2003. Social Justice and Environmental Sustainability: Ne’er the Twain Shall Meet?. In: Agyeman, J., Bullard, R. and Evans, B. eds. 2003. Just Sustainabilities: Development in an Unequal World. MIT Press.

Jones, B. 2012. Recognition and Support of ICCAs in Namibia. Kothari, A. with Corrigan, C., Jonas, H., Neumann, A., and Shrumm, H.(eds). Recognising and Supporting.

Jones, B. and Barnes, J. 2006. Human Wildlife Conflict Study Namibian Case Study. [report] FAO.

Kemp, L., Mendelson, J. and Jones, B. 2009. Torra conservancy. [e-book] Namibia Nature Foundation. p. 5. http://www.nacso.org.na/SOC_profiles/torra_booklet.pdf [Accessed: 4 Feb 2014].

Mbapaha, M. n.d. Community forestry in Namibia. [e-book] FAO. http://www.fao.org/forestry/37205-0bae55069115138023f681a41e025cf08.pdf [Accessed: 4 Feb 2014].

Miller, D 2001, Principles of Social Justice, Cambridge, Harvard University Press

Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, n.d. Community forestry in Namibia. [e-book] http://www.eduventures-africa.org/pdf/LeafletCFNsmall.pdf [Accessed: 5 Feb 2014].

NACSO. 2011. Living with wildlife – the story of Namibia’s Communal Conservancies. [e-book] http://www.nacso.org.na/SOC_profiles/Namibia’s%20Communal%20Conservancies.pdf [Accessed: 4 Feb 2014].

NACSO. 2012. Living with wildlife ‒ Nyae Nyae Conservancy. [e-book] http://www.nacso.org.na/SOC_profiles/Brochure%20Nyae%20Nyae%20FPis.pdf [Accessed: 4 Feb 2014]

Nacso.org.na. 2013. NACSO: CBNRM in Namibia. [online] Available at: http://www.nacso.org.na/what_is_cbnrm.php [Accessed: 5 Feb 2014].

Namibian Sun. 2013. Conservancy corruption exposed. [online] June 17. Available at: http://www.namibiansun.com/environment/conservancy-corruption-exposed.54068 [Accessed: 4 Feb 2014].

Schiffer, E. 2004. How does community-based natural resource management in Namibia change the distribution of power and influence? Preliminary findings. [e-book] Windhoek: Ministry of Environment and Tourism. p. 33. http://www.drfn.info:85/pdf/RDP67.pdf [Accessed: 4 Feb 2014].

SEEN Namibia. n.d. CBNRM in Namibia. [e-book] p. 4. http://www.nied.edu.na/divisions/projects/SEEN/SEEN%20Publications/Environmental%20 Information%20Sheets/Society%20and%20Governance/2.%20CBNRM%20in%20Namibia.pdf [Accessed: 4 Feb 2014].

Shackleton, S., Campbell, B., Wollenberg, E. and Edmunds, D. 2002. DEVOLUTION AND COMMUNITY-BASED NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: CREATING SPACE FOR LOCAL PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE AND BENEFIT?. Natural Resource Perspective, 76 Available at: http://www.odi.org.uk/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/2811.pdf [Accessed: 4 Feb 2014].

The Villager. 2011. Botswana hails Namibia’s CBNRM programme. [online] August 21. Available at: http://www.thevillager.com.na/articles/56/Botswana-hails-Namibia-s-CBNRM-programme/ [Accessed: 4 Feb 2014].

Van Der Bosch, S. 2009. ENVIRONMENT-NAMIBIA: Ten Dollars for a 200-Year-Old Tree. [online] March 18. Available at: http://www.ipsnews.net/2009/03/environment-namibia-ten-dollars-for-a-200-year-old-tree/ [Accessed: 4 Feb 2014].

Weaver, L. C. and Petersen, T. 2008. Namibia communal area conservancies. Best practices in sustainable hunting–A guide to best practices from around the world, pp. 48–52.

Weaver, L. C. and Petersen, T. 2008. Namibia communal area conservancies. Best practices in sustainable hunting–A guide to best practices from around the world, pp. 48–52.

WRI, 2011. A Compilation of Green Economy Policies, Programs, and Initiatives from Around the World.  [e-book] World Resources Institute. http://www.uncsd2012.org/content/documents/compendium_green_economy.pdf [Accessed: 4 Feb 2014].

Worldwildlife.org. 2013. Namibia | Places | WWF. [online] Available at: http://worldwildlife.org/places/namibia [Accessed: 4 Feb 2014].

Urban development project and environmental injustice: A case study of Barranquilla (Ciénaga Highway, Colombia)

By ucfuwu2, on 10 June 2014

Maria Alejandra Escovar and Alba Ruiz

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Key Words: urban development, environmental injustice, infrastructure, ecosystem restoration

 

Introduction

This case study will use the framework of political ecology to analyse how and why the urban development project of constructing a highway between two coastal cities in Colombia led to the production of certain environmental injustices.

 

The Political Ecology Framework

Swyngedouw, Kaïka and Castro’s (2002) understanding of socio-physical spaces and interactions as being politically charged will be useful in assessing the case-study. We will also use Dobson’s (2003) work to relate the concept of environmental (in)justice to the ensuing distribution of socio-environmental resources and burdens as a result of infrastructure construction projects, such as the one we will analyse here. Finally, Beckerman’s (2006) work reminds us to consider long term impacts of an intervention of this magnitude and how it might affect future generations to whom we have a moral obligation: ensuring socio-environmental conditions necessary to guarantee their capacity to carry out their own projects. With this in mind, we will identify some of the “winners” and “losers” of the analysed project, assessing across different scales what kind of benefits and burdens were produced and how they were distributed.

 

The urban development project: The Swamp and the Highway

The Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta (CGSM) is a fragile coastal ecosystem around a swamp, constituted mostly of mangrove forests, located in the north of Colombia. This estuarine system is the largest of its kind in the Caribbean area. Coastal lagoons, creeks and mangrove swamps cover approximately 1280 km² in the area (Aguilera, 2011). Four fishing towns on the northern coast of the system and three stilt house villages in the two larger water bodies comprise an approximate total population of 20 000 people of which 3200 are fishermen.

Since 1956, anthropogenic alterations began to alter the hydrological regime of this estuarine ecosystem, primarily because of the construction of a highway along Isla de Salamanca but also because of the development of roads, dikes and berms along the eastern bank of the Magdalena River. The construction of the highway along Isla de Salamanca was a government initiative that was on-going between 1956 and 1960. It intended to consolidate the national market by linking Colombia’s regions with highways connecting the main cities. (Aguilera, 2011; MinAmbiente, 2007). The civil works interrupted all but one of the natural connections between the sea and the local ecosystem as well as most of the ground water flow due to soil sedimentation.

These anthropogenic activities resulted in numerous environmental burdens such as the reduction of mangrove swamps by 65% between 1956 and 1995 due to an increase in the soil’s salinity; degraded water quality and the reduction in fishing production from 27,000 ton/year (1967) to 1,785 ton/year (1987) as well as a reduction in diversity (Aguilera, 2011). Furthermore, the depletion of the estuarine ecosystem led to the decline of the quality of life for human populations in the area. The socio-economic conditions of local communities have been characterized by extreme poverty and governmental insufficiency in the fulfilment of basic needs and services such as drinking water, sanitation, health and education.

 

The Socio-environmental Injustices

We analysed this case from the point of view of its economic, physical and social dimensions in order to define to what extend the construction of the highway was a success and what kind of socio-environmental injustices had emerged. The analysis is done on different scales, from a “national market” outlook to focusing on local swamp communities.

Economic dimension

In 1958, the Colombian central government chose Barranquilla (one of the closest cities to the Ciénaga) as the first industrial free-trade zone, since the recently-built road connected the city to several coastal urban centres. Furthermore, Barranquilla’s port was connected to the central area of the country, where many of the traded products were being produced. The economic growth associated with the increased activities of the Caribbean ports and international trade attracted regional migration and the city’s population rose to more than 3 million inhabitants by 2010. However, the fishing sector productivity was being negatively affected because of the fast depletion of fish and seafood population even though a majority of the inhabitants of the area had depended economically on the activity to make a living. The crisis for fishermen caused a social crisis, which reproduced existing poverty conditions.

Physical dimension

The barrier preventing water exchanges between the swamp and the sea caused a rise in the salinity of the water and a decrease in the biodiversity of the ecosystem (mangroves, crustaceans, fishes, reptiles, birds). Therefore, the development project caused losses of fauna and flora in the swamp and caused system imbalances and increased fragility of this already complex and sensitive ecosystem.

Social dimension

The physical aspects of the project had social impacts, as many local inhabitants depended on fishing as part of their livelihood. The reduction in the buying and selling of fishing products by swamp communities near the Ciénaga reduced their expected level of income. This situation reproduced conditions of poverty and caused the displacement of families to urban centres to work in the tourism sector.  Moreover, there were some changes in these communities’ social organisation. The change in expectations of access to resources and the weak restructuration of social groups based on uncertainty caused the rupture of social networks.

 

Conclusion

Returning now to Beckerman’s (2006) concept of intergenerational justice, we realise the full impact of the road 60 years after it was built- many issues related to its construction are still far from being solved. This shows how engineering approaches that do not take into account socio-environmental factors have long-term impacts.  The importance of assessing these impacts in development projects prior to its implementation cannot be underestimated. Even though the Ciénaga was declared as a protected area and despite the creation of the National Institute of Renewable Natural Resources and Environment in 1968, the restoration of the ecosystem has had several technical and political obstacles and local communities have been excluded from decision-making processes. The analysis of socio-environmental injustices and the application of Dobson’s (2003) framework in our case-study clearly demonstrate that the development of robust infrastructure may result in the uneven distribution of environmental burdens and may put local communities in a situation of increased vulnerability. Moreover, this situation reinforces Swyngedouw, Kaïka and Castro’s (2002) argument that large infrastructure development processes should recognise actors on multiple scales and that interactions between humans and nature are necessarily politically charged.

CITE THIS ARTICLE

Escovar, M. and Ruiz, A. (2014). Urban development project and environmental injustice: A case study of Barranquilla (Ciénaga Highway, Colombia) | UCL Encyclopaedia of Political Ecology. [online] Available at: https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/esd/urban-development-project-and-environmental-injustice-a-case-study-of-barranquilla-cienaga-highway-colombia/

 
Bibliography:

Aguilera, M., (ed.), (2011), La economía de las ciénagas del Caribe colombiano, (Bogota: Banco de la República).

Beckerman, W., (2006), ‘The impossibility of a theory of intergenerational justice’ in Tremme, J., C., (ed.), Handbook of Intergenerational Justice, pp. 53–71.

Dobson, A., (2003), ‘Social justice and environmental sustainability : ne’er the twain shall meet?’ In  Agyeman, J., Bullard, R., D., and Evans, B., (eds.), Just Sustainabilities: development in an unequal world, (London: Earthscan), pp. 83–95.

MinAmbiente, (2007), Plan de Manejo: Santuario de flora y fauna de la Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta. Bogota, Ministerio de Ambiente, Vivienda y Desarrollo Territorial.

Swyngedouw, E., Kaïka, M., and Castro, E., (2002), ‘Urban Water: A Political-Ecology Perspective’, Built Environment, 28 (2), pp.124–137.

 

Jadav Payeng : ‘The forest man’

By ucfuwu2, on 10 June 2014

Auji Nabilah Abdul Razak  and Shantanu Baruva

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Key Words: social justice, environmental sustainability, biodiversity

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Background

Jadav Payeng is a 49-year old man who was born in Jorhat District of Assam in India. At the age of 16, Jadav found that frequent floods close to the area where he resided caused many reptiles to die as they were washed up by the water on the banks of the river Brahmaputra and lacked shady protection from the sun. This encouraged him to start planting trees himself in the area to prevent this from happening. Years later, the trees grew and spread into what is now known as “Molai Kathoni”, meaning Molai’s woods, a forest of 1,360 acres on the river island of Majuli, Assam, in India. Today, the Molai wood is home to primates such as the Indian rhinoceros, tigers, deer, elephants and many different bird species.

In the 1990s, Jadav was recruited by the Assam Forest Department to plant trees on land near the village of Aruna Chapori and eventually reached a plantation size of 1,400 acres. However, in 2008, Jadav’s endeavour to forest the area of Assam caught the government’s attention as local residents of Aruna Chapori complained about the increase of “animal disturbance” in the area (Messenger, 2012).

 

Applying a political ecology framework

Using political ecology as a framework, we will critically assess the initiative of re-planting the forest. For this particular case-study, Dobson’s (2003) theoretical work is useful to unpack the relation between social justice and environmental sustainability, which he argues are not always compatible. In doing this, we must keep in mind the two main questions Dobson highlights as essential for applying a political ecology framework to real case studies. Firstly, what is to be sustained? Secondly, what is the principle of distribution?

In order to answer the first question, Dobson argues that three types of environmental goods can be sustained: critical natural capital, biodiversity, and the value of natural object (Dobson, 2003: 88). Jadav Payeng initiative valued the need to sustain and recover biodiversity in the sandy area of Assam after the floods washed away many reptiles. The benefits to biodiversity of his project were, in fact, recognised by the Forest Department. Even after the project was completed, Jadav Payeng continued his activity until he had planted a forest reserve that attracted many animal species and increased biodiversity in the area.

In response to the second question that is concerned with the principle of distribution, we must complicate the way “the environment” is perceived, whilst being conscious of the issue that different understandings of the term change according to scale.  Even though the project was taken under the wing of the government, Jadav planted primarily because he entertained a passion for turning the area into a forest reserve and build homes for a wide variety of plant and animal species. As argued by Berkes (2004), re-establishing harmony in a natural system requires ecological knowledge and a complete understanding of the ecosystem. From there, individual projects can be “scaled up”, a point made by Brown and Purcell (2005). In Jadav Payeng’s case, though he started re-planting alone, his initiative drew attention from national and international media and was supported more globally. However, Jadav’s success has received criticism from the people living in the local villages, who faced a difficult and at times dangerous situation with the animal migration to the forest. The villages have been attacked by rhinos and elephants, plantations were destroyed by monkeys and elephants and domesticated cattle were attacked by tigers. These incidents are regular occurrences and have affected the economic activities of the local residents (Sharma, 2012). The lack of direct communication between the villagers and institutions promoting the project is an obstacle to satisfying both social justice and environmental sustainability. Jadav Payeng has worked for the forest without necessarily understanding the immediate needs of the local residents, which has led to conflict between local residents and Jadav Payeng himself. Hence, while Jadav implemented positive changes in terms of restoring ecologies and biodiversity in the area, his plantations had negative repercussions on the “environment” as understood by the local population.

 

Conclusion

Although the project was a success in achieving environmental sustainability, it has failed to be just to the local villagers. One man’s effort meant a big change to the community, but not necessarily in a positive way for the local inhabitants. Hence, social justice and environmental sustainability are not always compatible, confirming Dobson’s argument.

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CITE THIS ARTICLE

Nabilah, A. and Baruva, S. (2014). Jorhat – Man Animal Conflicts | UCL Encyclopaedia of Political Ecology. [online] Available at:https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/esd/category/jorhat-man-animal-conflicts/

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Bibliography:

Berkes, F., (2004), ‘Rethinking Community Based Conservation’, Conservation Biology, 18 (3), pp.621-630.

Brown, J. C., and Purcell, M., (2005), ‘There’s nothing inherent about scale : political ecology, the local trap, and the politics of development in the Brazilian Amazon’, Geoforum, (36), pp.607–624.

Dobson, A., (2003), ‘Social justice and environmental sustainability: ne’er the twain shall meet’, in Agyeman, J., Bullard, R., D., and Evans, B., (eds.), Just sustainabilities: Development in an unequal world, (London: Earthscan Publications Ltd), pp.83-95.

Messenger, S., (2012), ‘Indian man single-handedly plants a 1,360-acre forest’. Mother Nature Network, [Online], Available at: http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/stories/indian-man-single-handedly-plants-a-1360-acre-forest. [Accessed: 30th November 2013].

Sharma, M., S., (2012), ‘The man who made a forest’, Indiatimes, [Online], Available at: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-04-01/special-report/31269649_1_forest-wild-elephants-red-ants. [Accessed: 30th November 2013].

Yashwant, S., (2012), ‘The Strange Obsession Of Jadav Payeng’, Sanctuary Asia, [Online]. Available at: http://www.sanctuaryasia.com/magazines/features/191-features/9122-the-strange-obsession-of-jadav-payeng.html. [Accessed: 30th November 2013].