Browsing by Subject "sustainable livelihoods"
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(2023)Non-timber forest products (NTFPs), once called “minor forestry products” are in fact of major importance around the world, particularly in the Global South and in the context of rural development. They provide a wide range of benefits – nutritional, medicinal, cultural, and economic. In Northern Laos, they are a source of livelihoods and subsistence. On our field course with the University of Helsinki, we surveyed 56 households in three villages of Luang Prabang province of which 47 (84%) relied on income from NTFPs or so-called environmental products. During shocks and crises like floods, livestock disease and crop failures, 30 households (54%) used them as a coping strategy. This reliance on NTFPs during difficult times was found to correlate with the average age and size of the household, indicating their importance for young families. The many hands might make light work of collection but more than likely the nutritional needs are greater. Kaipen, or “river weed” and broom grass, two of the most significant products in the area, offer possibilities for value-adding business activities that some of the collectors were able to participate in themselves. In the case of broom grass however, middlemen control the trade, and the raw materials are exported internationally, to the detriment of the locals of this region. Value-chain analysis for these two products provides insight as to how the situation can be improved. The Sustainable Livelihoods Framework is a tool through which the conditions can be analysed and developed towards the goal of more income, well-being, food security and the sustainable management of natural resources. Sustainability and what it means in the context of NTFPs, such as availability, cleanliness, and accessibility are also considered based on literature review and the findings from the household survey. Preserving the ability for locals to maintain their nature-based livelihoods in the face of infrastructure projects like hydroelectric dam and motorway construction is a considerable challenge. Despite this, there are also opportunities through access to new markets and tourism that could benefit the region under the right conditions. Suomeksi: Luonnon- ja metsätuotteet ovat tärkeitä ympäri maailmaa, mutta varsinkin globaali etelän maissa maaseudun kehittämisessä. Niillä on merkittävä rooli elintarvikkeiden, lääkkeiden, elinkeinotoiminnan ja jopa kulttuurin tuottamisessa. Pohjois-Laosissa luonnontuotteita kerätään sekä ruuaksi että tulonlähteeksi. Helsingin yliopiston kenttäkurssilla tutkittiin 56 kotitaloutta kolmessa kylässä Luang Prabangin maakunnassa. Näistä kotitalouksista 47 (86 %) oli riippuvaisia luonnontuotteiden tuottamista tuloista ja 30 (54 %) käyttivät niitä selviytyäkseen kriiseistä, kuten tulvista, kotieläinten taudeista ja sadon tuhoista. Tämä riippuvuus luonnontuotteista vaikeina aikoina korreloi perheiden koon ja keski-iän kanssa. Nuoret ja isot perheet käyttivät niitä eniten. Mahdollisesti suurten perheiden lisäkädet helpottavat keräilyä, mutta todennäköisesti myös niiden ravinnontarve on suurempi. Kaksi merkittävintä luonnontuotetta alueella ovat jokilevä ja luudanruoho, jotka tarjoavat mahdollisuuksia lisäarvoa tuottavaan liiketoimintaan, johon keräilijät voivat myös osallistua. Luudanruohon tapauksessa, ostajat kuitenkin hallitsevat markkinoita ja materiaalit viedään maasta jalostamattomana. Näin paikallisten ihmisten hyöty jää pieneksi. Arvoketjuanalyysi näille kahdelle tuotteelle lisää ymmärrystä siitä, miten tilannetta voidaan parantaa. Sustainable Livelihoods Framework tarjoaa keinoja, joilla näitä olosuhteita voidaan analysoida ja kehittää. Tavoitteena on luontovarojen kestäväkäyttö, johon perustuu tulot, hyvinvointi ja ruokaturva. Kestävyyttä ja sen merkitystä luonnontuotteiden kontekstissa, kuten runsaus, puhtaus ja saatavuus, pohditaan kirjallisuuden ja kotitalouksille tehdyn kyselyn perusteella. Luonnontuotteisiin perustuvien elinkeinojen säilyttäminen infrastruktuurin, esim. vesivoimala- ja moottoritieprojektien kehittämisen edetessä, on iso haaste. Pääsy uusille markkinoille ja turismi tuovat kuitenkin etuja, joita voidaan hyödyntää alueella.
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(2015)The low population density and consequent high land availability in Niassa, Mozambique have attracted foreign private forest investments. Since 2005 forest companies have acquired the right to establish forest plantations in the area, which naturally affects the livelihoods in communities located close by. This study aimed to analyse the impact of forest plantations on the livelihood and wealth of local communities. The main objectives were the evaluation of impacts on natural resources, livelihood strategies and differences in the experienced impacts between different wealth groups. With these objectives, household interviews, focus group meetings and key informant interviews were held in five different villages in the province of Niassa. With principal component analysis (PCA) weights for valuable assets possessed by households were created and summed up to a factor score. On the basis of these scores the households were divided into three wealth groups, which were used to analyse differences in the perception of different groups of households. The main analysis of the perception of impacts on the natural resources, livelihood strategies and overall livelihood was carried out with binomial and multinomial logistic regression models. The results showed that while the natural capitals were impacted negatively by the establishment of forest plantations, households benefited from more diversified livelihood strategies. Furthermore, it was discovered that the wealth of a household does not have a major impact on the perception of impacts of a household. Instead relocation of farm plots and formal employment have been identified as determining factors. The study showed that the perception of the impacts differs greatly between the villages due to different initial resource endowment and different forest companies. Throughout the study it became evident that the weak implementation of land use rights is an underlying cause for many conflicts between companies and local communities.
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(2018)The tourism industry has a big impact on world economies since it is a leading sector in employment. The big growth of the tourism industry since 1950s brought many problems to destinations. Mass tourism caused overuse of local resources which has led to environmental degradation in destinations. In order to stop the overexploitation of destinations, sustainable development and further sustainable tourism development concepts have been created. Implementation of sustainable tourism development should ensure environmental, economic, social and cultural sustainability of destinations. However, this concept is defined vaguely, and it lacks specificity, and therefore, it allows many different interpretations of its application. This case study is located in Sade village on Lombok island in Indonesia. It is focused on exploring the impact of tourism development on sustainability of local livelihoods. Livelihood sustainability is analyzed through the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework for Tourism to which was added cultural capital as a livelihood asset since cultural capital has a big impact on sustaining traditional livelihoods. The TALC model is also used to analyze stages of tourism development in said location. Finally, the discourse of tourism sustainability is examined in the location. The results show that currently tourism is an additional livelihood activity to farming, which is a main livelihood activity of the local community. Thus, tourism serves as a diversification tool of local livelihoods; therefore, local livelihoods are sustainable over a long term. However, further findings indicate that this situation might not last long, since big governmental tourism development interventions are ongoing. Foreign direct investment, which is part of this intervention can have negative impact on local livelihoods and can break established ties between local people and tourists. Massive tourism development that includes construction of the Mandalika all-inclusive resort will exclude the majority of the local population from involvement. Furthermore, tourists staying in this resort will have no need to go outside the resort, thus; local community will not profit from this type of tourism in the future. Furthermore, this study reveals the impact of tourism development on the economic situation of the local population, which is improving due to tourism activities. On the other hand, negative impacts are visible on culture, such as acculturation and cultural commodification phenomena, and in the environment, where landscape transformation and land grabbing are taking place. This tourism development cannot be labelled as sustainable, since local people are not involved in any stage of the tourism process, environment is being slowly degraded and cultural and social impacts are extensive. Local population is considered in governmental tourism development only on paper but not in reality. This qualitative research was conducted in Sade village among Sasak population on Lombok island. The data were collected during one month visit at the beginning of the year 2017 through 20 semi-structured interviews, supported by informal conversations and participant observations. The data was transcribed and analyzed together with field diary through qualitative content analysis.
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