Does the Community Conservancy Model Work for Pastoralists? Insights from Naibunga Conservancy in Northern Kenya

Community conservancies are increasingly being established across African pastoral rangelands to help bolster wildlife conservation and livelihoods. Enhancing the effectiveness and sustainability of such conservancies requires better understanding of local community participation and perceptions of their socioeconomic outcomes. Working in Naibunga Community Conservancy in northern Kenya, we evaluated: (1) local community members’ perceptions of conservancy-related socioeconomic outcomes; (2) their involvement in conservancy management and conservation activities; and (3) association between these factors (perceptions and involvement) and various demographic factors. We conducted surveys in 358 households, selected using multi-stage sampling, and additionally interviewed key informants. Large proportions (65–90%) respondents perceived conservancy-related improvements in their overall socioeconomic status, security, household income, livestock numbers, and accessibility to grazing resources, schools, and health facilities. Over 75% of respondents indicated that they were involved in conservancy management and conservation activities. Involvement in these activities was positively associated with perception of socioeconomic improvements. In addition, various demographic factors shaped both perceptions of socioeconomic changes and involvement in conservancy activities. Our findings suggest that community conservancies can improve local pastoralists’ socioeconomic wellbeing. Such conservancies can achieve far greater outcomes with greater focus on maximizing socioeconomic benefits for local pastoralists and enhancing their participation in conservancy activities.

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Community livelihood activities as key determinants for community based conservation of wetlands in Uganda

Environmental & Socio-economic Studies ◽

10.1515/environ-2017-0002 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 11-24 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Alex Barakagira ◽

Anton H. de Wit

Keyword(s):

Local Community ◽

Community Members ◽

Fuel Wood ◽

Community Based ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Direct Observations ◽

Community Based Conservation ◽

National Environment ◽

Wetland Resources ◽

Management And Conservation

AbstractCommunity-based Conservation (CBC) has been regarded as one of the most appropriate approaches to the sustainable utilization and conservation of natural resources. Wetlands are believed to provide attributes, functions, and services that positively affect the daily livelihoods of members of the local community. Bearing in mind the incentives wetlands provide, if community members are not involved in the activities aimed at the management and conservation of wetlands then they result in being degraded. This study was initiated to explore how community livelihood activities influence CBC of wetlands in Uganda. A cross-sectional research design was used to collect qualitative and quantitative data. A questionnaire survey was conducted among four hundred households to collect information concerning community livelihood activities taking place in wetlands. Additionally, more information was obtained from National Environment Management Authority, and Wetlands Management Department staff using another non-structured questionnaire. Key informant interviews and direct observations were also used to collect data. Overall, the gathering of materials for building and crafts, fuel wood collection, clay and sand mining and practicing agriculture in wetlands are some of the reasons that have caused wetland degradation. Low levels of awareness, unclear ownership of wetlands and inadequate funding has not enabled Agencies responsible for implementing the Policies and Laws aimed for protecting and conserving wetlands from being degraded. Therefore, these above mentioned problems must be addressed in order for wetland resources to be sustainably utilized and conserved by members of the local community.

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DIFFUSION AND ADOPTION OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES IN SOUTH AFRICAN TELECENTRES: SELECTED TELECENTRES IN KWAZULU-NATAL

Mousaion ◽

10.25159/0027-2639/845 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 33 (1) ◽

pp. 103-120 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Blessing Mbatha

Keyword(s):

Information And Communication Technologies ◽

Diffusion Of Innovations ◽

Local Community ◽

Information And Communications Technologies ◽

Community Members ◽

Kwazulu Natal ◽

Information And Communication ◽

Ict Tools ◽

The Government ◽

Types Of Information

This study investigated the usage and types of information and communications technologies (ICTs) accessible to community members in four selected Thusong Service Centres (TSCs or telecentres) in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). The telecentres that participated in the study were: Nhlazuka, Mbazwane, Dududu and Malangeni. The study was informed by Rogersâ€™ (1995) Diffusion of Innovations (DoI) theory. Through a survey, four TSCs were purposively selected. A questionnaire was used to collect data from community members in the four telecentres involved. The data collected was tabulated under the various headings and presented using tables, frequencies, percentiles and generalisations with the help of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The results indicated that a variety of ICT tools have been adopted in the TSCs to provide the local community with the much-needed access to information and improved communication. The government should ensure that adequate varieties and levels of ICT competence are offered to all the citizens. In conclusion, there is a need for sufficient and coherent government policies regulating the training of the local community to use these ICTs effectively.

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Intrinsic Value and Perceived Essentialism of Culture Heritage Sites as Tools for Planning Interventions

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13095078 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (9) ◽

pp. 5078

Author(s):

Magdalena Roszczynska-Kurasinska ◽

Anna Domaradzka ◽

Anna Wnuk ◽

Tomasz Oleksy

Keyword(s):

Cultural Heritage ◽

Local Community ◽

Social Acceptance ◽

Intrinsic Value ◽

Community Members ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Heritage Sites ◽

Design Changes ◽

Culture Heritage ◽

Response To Change

In order to remain alive and relevant, cultural heritage sites have to react and adapt to changing context in a coherent manner, i.e., in a way that is in line with the memory and identity of the place. The incoherent changes, i.e., the transformations that according to the local community do not agree with a character of a place, can be destructive for the long-term vitality of urban cultural heritage. In this study, we test which factors influence social acceptance of different alternations within the context of urban historical gardens that might, in turn, ensure the resilience of the place. Our study focuses on the intangible qualities of the place measured by intrinsic value, perceived essentialism and anti-essentialism as important predictors shaping the response to change. The correlational study was conducted using an online questionnaire designed to empirically grasp intangible qualities of cultural heritage sites. Five hundred twenty-nine responses were included in the analysis. The study shows that perceived historic value, inherent value (uniqueness and importance of the place) and (anti-)essentialist character of a place capture the differences between parks well and enables the finding of interventions that are coherent with a site’s genius loci. Measuring intangible qualities of urban gardens can help to design changes that find higher approval among local community members and users of the site. We discuss how the analysis of an intrinsic value and essentialism allows for planning better spatial interventions that align with the human-centered approach to urban development.

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Perceptions of firearms in a cohort of women exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) in Central Pennsylvania

BMC Women s Health ◽

10.1186/s12905-020-01134-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Laura Leuenberger ◽

Erik Lehman ◽

Jennifer McCall-Hosenfeld

Keyword(s):

Intimate Partner Violence ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Local Community ◽

Demographic Factors ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

Childhood Experiences ◽

Perceived Safety ◽

Central Pennsylvania ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Psychological Harm

Abstract Background Almost one-half of U.S. women will experience intimate partner violence (IPV), defined as physical, sexual, or psychological harm by a current or former partner. IPV is associated with an increased risk of homicide, with firearms as the most commonly used weapon. We designed this study to better understand the correlation of interpersonal trauma exposures and demographic factors on firearm perceptions among a cohort of IPV-exposed women. Methods Two hundred sixty-seven women in central Pennsylvania with exposure to IPV were surveyed about perceptions of gun access, safety, and gun presence in the home. Trauma variables included IPV type, IPV recency, unwanted sexual exposure, and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Multivariable analyses examined three questions examining firearm perceptions controlling for trauma exposures and demographics. Results Ease of firearm acquisition: Women who were older (mean 44.92 years +/− SD 12.05), compared to women who were younger (40.91 +/− SD 11.81 years) were more likely to describe it as easy or very easy to acquire a gun (aOR 1.05, 95%CI 1.004, 1.10). Perceived safety in the proximity of a gun: Women with the highest ACE score were less likely to feel safe with a gun nearby (aOR 0.31, 95%CI 0.14, 0.67). Odds of guns in the home: Women who were divorced or separated (aOR 0.22, 95%CI 0.09, 0.54), women were widowed or single (aOR0.23, 95%CI 0.08, 0.67), and women who were partnered (aOR 0.45 95%CI 0.20, 0.97) had lower odds of having a gun in the home, compared to married women. There was no significant effect of the trauma variables on the odds of having a gun at home. Conclusions Women with more severe childhood trauma felt less safe around firearms, but trauma exposures did not predict the perception of gun prevalence in the local community or gun ownership. Instead, demographic factors of marriage predicted presence of a gun in the home.

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3543 Translating the complex medical jargon of opioid use disorder and medication assisted treatment into locally relevant messages in rural Colorado using Boot Camp Translation

Journal of Clinical and Translational Science ◽

10.1017/cts.2019.222 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (s1) ◽

pp. 97-98

Author(s):

Mary Fisher ◽

Donald E. Nease ◽

Linda Zittleman ◽

Jack Westfall ◽

Jennifer Ancona

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Local Community ◽

Boot Camp ◽

Opioid Use Disorder ◽

Research Network ◽

High Plains ◽

Opioid Use ◽

Community Members ◽

Medication Assisted Treatment ◽

South Central

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a national epidemic and identified as a top priority by the practices and communities in rural Colorado. Until recently, few resources existed to address OUD in rural communities. In addition to training primary care and behavioral health practice teams in medication assisted treatment (MAT), Implementing Technology and Medication Assisted Treatment and Team Training and in Rural Colorado (IT MATTTRs Colorado) engaged local community members to alter the community conversation around OUD and treatment. For IT MATTTRs, the High Plains Research Network and the Colorado Research Network engaged community members in a 8-10 month process known as Boot Camp Translations (BCT) to translate medical information and jargon around OUD and MAT into concepts, messages, and materials that are meaningful and actionable to community members. The resulting community interventions are reported here. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: IT MATTTRs conducted separate BCTs in Eastern Colorado and the south central San Luis Valley. Community partners included non-health professionals with diverse backgrounds, public health and primary care professionals, law enforcement, and others. The BCT process includes a comprehensive education on OUD and MAT and facilitated meetings and calls to develop messages and dissemination strategies. Each BCT lasted around 8-10 months. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: The BCT process elicited unique contextual ideas and constructs for messages, materials, and dissemination strategies. Themes common to both BCTs include the prevalence of OUD and that help is available in the local primary care office. Community-tailored messages are distributed through posters and flyer inserts, drink coasters, newspaper articles, letters to local judges, restaurant placemats, and websites. Examples of the materials and messages will be presented. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Local community members are eager to help address the OUD crisis. Built on community-based participatory research principles, BCT can be used to translate complex information and guidelines around OUD and MAT into messages and materials that reflect local culture and community needs.

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Community dynamics in Fijian coral reef fish communities vary with conservation and shark-based tourism

Pacific Conservation Biology ◽

10.1071/pc18045 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 25 (4) ◽

pp. 363

Author(s):

Mallory G. McKeon ◽

Joshua A. Drew

Keyword(s):

Community Dynamics ◽

Local Community ◽

Census Data ◽

Fish Abundance ◽

Full Potential ◽

Community Members ◽

Composition And Structure ◽

Feeding Methods ◽

Abundance And Diversity ◽

Unprotected Area

Marine protected areas (MPAs) effectively improve the biomass and diversity in heavily exploited marine systems, but often fail to reach their full potential because they require more space, time, and consistency of regulation. Recently, shark-based tourism, which utilises some of the remaining shark strongholds as tourism hotspots, has brought about increased awareness to exploited reef systems. In Fiji, specifically, shark diving companies include local community members in their operations to promote better understanding of their reefs. We seek to investigate whether seemingly denser shark populations during feeding times influence community composition and structure. Visual census data were collected from 50-m belt transects at four different reefs in Fiji: two MPAs with shark-based ecotourism with food provisioning, one MPA without shark-based ecotourism, and one unprotected area without shark-based tourism. Paradoxically, indices of evenness and diversity were highest in the non-protected site. However, there was significantly higher fish abundance and species diversity within reserves than outside of reserves. Within reserves, sites with shark feeding had lower fish abundance and higher richness, diversity, and evenness. Mean trophic level was highest at sites with shark feeding. Use of chum increased average fish abundance and diversity within shark-dive sites. These results indicate that there are evident differences between MPAs that do and do not offer trophic supplementation for shark-based ecotourism. Thus, tourism may be facilitating a shift of ecosystem composition in such areas. Furthermore, the results suggest that feeding methods may augment the impacts of shark-based tourism on the reef at large.

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Community expectations and motivations in entomological research activities for the development of innovative malaria vector control tools: Target Malaria as a case study in Bana, Western Burkina Faso

10.21203/rs.2.19777/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Nourou Barry ◽

Patrice Toé ◽

Lea Pare/Toe ◽

Javier Lezaun ◽

Mouhamed Drabo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Burkina Faso ◽

Local Community ◽

Local Communities ◽

Motivational Factors ◽

Community Members ◽

Research Activities ◽

Mosquito Collection ◽

Entomological Research ◽

The Village ◽

Western Burkina Faso

Abstract BackgroundMany field entomology research projects involve local communities in mosquito-collection activities. Since 2012, Target Malaria, a not-for-profit research consortium, has been working with community members in various studies of mosquito collection, release and recapture in the village of Bana, in Western Burkina Faso. Target Malaria’s long-term goal is to develop innovative solutions to combat malaria in Africa with the help of mosquito modification technologies. Since the start of the project, members of local communities have shown interest in playing an active role in the implementation of the project’s research activities, but their actual motivations for such an interest remain under-investigated. This study therefore aimed to examine the factors that motivate the local community to contribute to the implementation of Target Malaria’s activities in the village of Bana. MethodsA qualitative approach was used to examine the factors motivating the local community to assist in the implementation of Target Malaria’s entomological research activities in Bana. 85 individual in-depth and semi-structured interviews were conducted, followed by interviews with three focus groups, one with youths who had participated in mosquito collections and two with men and women from the village. All data collected were fully transcribed, processed, and submitted for thematic content analysis. ResultsData showed that the willingness of local community members to participate in the entomological research activities of Target Malaria was informed by a wide range of motivational factors. Although the actors interviewed expressed their motivations under different semantic registers, the data showed a degree of consistency between different motivations advanced. These similarities enabled us to classify all of the motivational factors under 5 distinct categories: (a) assist in field research, (b) contribute to a better future, (c) acquire knowledge, (d) earn financial compensation, and (e) gain social prestige.ConclusionThese varying motivations reflected fundamentally different personal and collective perceptions about the participation process. In addition, this study shows that the interest of research on participation is a useful part of understanding public perceptions.

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“When It’s a Girl, They Have a Chance to Have Sex With Them. When It’s a Boy…They Have Been Known to Rape Them”: Perceptions of United Nations Peacekeeper-Perpetrated Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Against Women/Girls Versus Men/Boys in Haiti

Frontiers in Sociology ◽

10.3389/fsoc.2021.664294 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

Author(s):

Susan A. Bartels ◽

Carla King ◽

Sabine Lee

Keyword(s):

United Nations ◽

Thematic Analysis ◽

Local Community ◽

Female Sexuality ◽

Gender Norms ◽

Sexual Exploitation ◽

Community Members ◽

Male And Female ◽

Female Survivors ◽

Peacekeeping Missions

Peacekeeping missions have been marred by reports of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) against local community members. However, there is limited research on how SEA against women/girls versus men/boys is perceived in peacekeeping host societies. In 2017 we collected micro-narratives in Haiti and then conducted a thematic analysis to understand how peacekeeper-perpetrated SEA was perceived by local community members comparing SEA against women/girls versus SEA against men/boys. Both male and female participants used language which suggested the normalization, in Haitian society, of both transactional sex with and rape of women/girls by UN personnel. In contrast, peacekeeper-perpetrated SEA against men/boys was viewed as unacceptable and was associated with homosexuality and related stigmatization. Overall, our results suggest that in Haiti, inequitable gender norms, the commodification of female sexuality, and homophobia result in SEA against males being recognized as a wrong that elicits outrage, while SEA against women/girls has been normalized. It is important to address the normalization of SEA against women/girls to prevent future violence and to recognize that SEA is also perpetrated against men/boys. Survivor-centered programs, sensitive to the needs of both male and female survivors, are required.

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Factors Influencing People's Response Toward Tiger Translocation in Satkosia Tiger Reserve, Eastern India

Frontiers in Conservation Science ◽

10.3389/fcosc.2021.664897 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

Author(s):

Vaishali Vasudeva ◽

Pitchai Ramasamy ◽

Rabi Sankar Pal ◽

Gatikrishna Behera ◽

Pradeep Raj Karat ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Wildlife Conservation ◽

Resource Dependence ◽

Local Community ◽

Well Being ◽

Negative Influence ◽

Local Communities ◽

Forest Department ◽

Household Level ◽

Tiger Reserve ◽

Tiger Conservation

Local communities are an important stakeholder in any carnivore translocation programme and therefore, their acceptance of the translocation and support are essential to ensure its viability. Recent tiger augmentation efforts in Satkosia Tiger Reserve, India received mixed responses from the local communities, causing a stalemate in its progress. As a part of the adaptive management strategy, it was required to assess the concerns and issues to provide a practical solution. Hence, we analyzed the attitude of the people toward conservation in general and tiger specifically. We used structured questionnaire surveys and interviewed 1,932 households from 43 villages located in and around the reserve. We tested the influence of several variables representing four categories- (1) socio-economic, (2) ecosystem values and dependence, (3) relationship with the forest department and (4) losses and fear, on the attitude toward tiger conservation. The villages were clustered based on the responses received under these categories. While conserving forest was important to 91% of respondents, 71% of respondents supported wildlife conservation and only 35% felt important to conserve tiger. The logistic binary regression predicted that at the household level attitude toward tiger conservation is influenced positively by economic well-being, sense of forest ecosystem services, resource dependence and negatively influenced by restrictions from the forest department, and previous experience of loss due to wildlife. At the village level, literacy, resource dependence, access to clean cooking fuel and cooperation from the forest department predicted a positive attitude toward tiger conservation. Restriction from the forest department, fear for livestock, and experience of losses due to wildlife had a negative influence on attitude. We recommend that the villages in the landscape are prioritized based on their needs and accordingly, specific interventions are made to address their concerns. Future augmentation programme must give importance to intangible factors such as fear and perceived restrictions and opt for the involvement of the local community in the decision-making process.

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Research as an Outsider: Positionality, Ethics, and Risk

10.37805/rve2021.7 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

William Maley

Keyword(s):

Local Community ◽

Personal Relationships ◽

Ethical Challenges ◽

Community Members ◽

Violent Extremism

Outsiders—or “foreigners”—who study violent extremism in affected countries can have multiple iden- tities as students of violent extremism, as students of the countries in question, and as “foreigners” to the contexts they study. They often have long-standing personal relationships with local community members and in some cases they have spent more time living in the countries they study than in their countries of nationality. Yet they inhabit an ambiguous space, being “insiders” in the eyes of some, and “outsiders” in the eyes of others. This ambiguity gives rise to both practical and ethical challenges in undertaking fieldwork. The following reflections draw on the author’s own experiences to illustrate some of the complexities associated with positionality, ethics, and risk as well as important considerations that all researchers should take into account when undertaking fieldwork in a country other than their own.

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