Search Results (29)

This study explores the interplay of climate vulnerability and social capital in two rural communities: Brajaballavpur, a high-climate-prone village in the Indian Sundarbans characterized by high ecological fragility, recurrent cyclones, and saline water intrusion affecting water access, livelihoods, and infrastructure; and Jemua, a low-climate-prone village in the land-locked district of Paschim Bardhaman, West Bengal, India, with no extreme climate events. A total of 85 participants (44 in Brajaballavpur, 41 in Jemua) were selected through purposive sampling. Using a comparative qualitative research design grounded in ethnographic fieldwork, data were collected through household interviews, Participatory Rural Appraisals (PRAs), Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), and analyzed manually using inductive thematic analysis. Findings reveal that bonding and bridging social capital were more prominent in Brajaballavpur, where dense horizontal ties supported collective action during extreme weather events. Conversely, linking social capital was more visible in Jemua, where participants more frequently accessed formal institutions such as the Gram Panchayat, local NGOs, and government functionaries that facilitated grievance redressal and information access, but these networks were concentrated among more politically connected individuals. The study concludes that climate vulnerability shapes the type, strength, and strategic use of social capital in village communities. While bonding and bridging ties are crucial in high-risk contexts, linking capital plays a critical role in enabling long-term social structures in lower-risk settings. The study contributes to both academic literature and policy design by offering a relational and place-based understanding of climate vulnerability and social capital. Full article

Oil palm is one of the primary vegetable oil sources worldwide, including in Tanzania. Tanzania’s mean palm oil yield is 1.6 tons per hectare, far below the 6 to 8 tons per hectare reported elsewhere. This low oil yield is attributable to underdeveloped, unsustainable oil palm production systems and improvements, several biotic and abiotic stresses, and socio-economic and policy challenges that have yet to be systematically documented to guide large-scale production, breeding, and research support. The objectives of this study were to appraise oil palm production and improvement in Tanzania, focusing on constraints, opportunities, and farmers’ major preferences. A participatory rural appraisal study was conducted in Kigoma Region, in three selected districts. Data were collected from 392 oil palm farmers using semi-structured questionnaires and 54 focus group discussants. Data were subjected to statistical analyses to discern the variables and their significant associations using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS Inc., 2020). About 98.5% of the participant farmers engage in oil palm production. Most respondent farmers predominantly cultivate the Dura oil palm type (97.4%), followed by Tenera (50%). The farmers’ major reported oil palm production constraints were an inadequate supply of improved planting materials (reported by 82.7% of respondents), poor access to credit (72.4%), a high cost of production inputs (59.4%), poor market access (56.4%), insect pests and diseases (53.6), and poor production technologies (45.4%). A chi-square analysis of farmers’ production constraints revealed that the unavailability of labor (X² = 41.181; p = 0.000); limited extension services (X² = 29.074; p = 0.000); and diseases and pests (X² = 19.582; p = 0.000) differed significantly across the study area. Additionally, the lack of fertilizers (X² = 14.218; p = 0.001); inappropriate technology and knowledge gaps (X² = 10.529; p = 0.005); and poor market access (X² = 6.621; p = 0.036) differed significantly across districts. A high oil yield (reported by 58.7% of the respondents), a high number of bunches per plant (40.5%), early maturity (37.2%), and tolerance to droughts (23%) and diseases and insect pests (18.9%) were the most preferred traits by farmers in oil palm varieties. Therefore, integrative and sustainable breeding oil palm for enhanced yields and farmers’ preferred traits will increase the adoption of newly improved varieties for local palm oil production, import substitution, and economic development in Tanzania. Full article

Groundwater depletion in arid regions poses a significant threat to agricultural sustainability and rural livelihoods. This study employs geospatial analysis and economic modeling to address groundwater depletion in the arid Barind region of Northwest Bangladesh, where 84% of the rural population depends on agriculture. Using remote sensing and GIS, we developed an elevation map revealing areas up to 60 m above sea level, exacerbating evaporation and aquifer dryness. Field data collected through Participatory Rural Appraisal tools showed farmers exhibiting “ignorant myopic” behavior, prioritizing short-term profits over resource conservation. To address this, an Increasing Block Tariff (IBT) water pricing model was developed, dividing water usage into three blocks based on irrigation hours: 1–275 h, 276–550 h, and 551+ h. The proposed IBT model significantly increases water prices across the three blocks: 117 BDT/hour for the first block (from current 100–110 BDT/hour), 120 BDT/hour for the second block, and 138 BDT/hour for the third block. A demand function (y = −0.1178x + 241.8) was formulated to evaluate the model’s impact. The results show potential reductions in groundwater consumption: 59 h in the first block, 26 h in the second block, and 158 h in the third block. These reductions align with the principles of integrated water resource management (IWRM): social equity, economic efficiency, and environmental integration. The model incorporates economic externalities (e.g., well lifting costs) and environmental externalities (e.g., crop pattern shifts), with total costs reaching 92,709,049 BDT for environmental factors. This research provides a framework for sustainable groundwater management in arid regions, potentially reducing overextraction while maintaining agricultural productivity. The proposed IBT model offers a locally driven solution to balance resource conservation with the livelihood needs of farming communities in the Barind tract. By combining remote sensing, GIS, and economic modeling, this research provides a framework for sustainable groundwater management in arid regions, demonstrating the power of geospatial technologies in addressing complex water resource challenges. Full article

Since the reform and opening-up, village communities in China have undergone significant transformations alongside rapid modernization. The reconstruction of these communities is a key issue in China’s rural revitalization efforts and necessitates an analysis of the evolutionary characteristics and drivers of village community order. This study defines the concept of village community order and develops corresponding evaluation indicators and quantitative methods. Taking Puqian Village in Ji’an County, Jiangxi Province, as a case study, the research explores the evolution of village community order across distinct development stages—1978, 1985, 2003, and 2022. Data for the study were collected through participatory rural appraisal, remote sensing image processing, and GIS spatial analysis. The results reveal that since the reform and opening-up, Puqian Village has experienced increasing spatial complexity, disordered spatial structures, unbalanced population dynamics, and a weakening social network. These changes were especially pronounced during the periods of market-oriented development and urban–rural integration. The evolution of village community order is influenced by factors such as livelihood transformations, the decline of local culture, the dissolution of public authority, and weakened governance structures. By analyzing village community order from the dual perspectives of social and spatial order, this study provides a systematic framework for understanding village community changes. Full article

A critical appraisal of the field of feminist approaches offers a valuable critical lens to help reshape our conceptualizations of development and the roles communication may play in constructive intervention. Development communication has shifted over time from ignoring and obscuring women to recognizing gendered differences in experiences. Development approaches have also brought participatory processes into focus. However, our strategic initiatives still fall short, both in effectiveness and in ethics. At this juncture, we need to take next steps more seriously in order to promote a more humanitarian approach that would guide institutional practices in programs and research. In this article, I aim to critique the discourse that celebrates digital technologies as tools to promote participatory governance, entrepreneurship, and collective activism through a feminist gaze that privileges the political and economic contexts that condition access to voice, the capacity to listen, and potential for dialog. This analysis builds on an understanding of mediated communication as a prism rather than as a projected mirror, structuring our potential as well as our challenges in creating constructive social change. We need to be accountable toward social justice, relying on our critical appraisals and informed dialogs to create paths to stronger and more impactful communication for social change. Full article

With China’s rapid economic development in recent years, enhancing the sense of well-being among citizens has become a critical objective. However, the interests of various stakeholder groups are often overlooked in decision-making surrounding land use. In this study, Yongsheng County, Yunnan Province serves as a case study for land use scenario simulations. The equivalent factor method is combined with Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) to investigate the relationship between ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) and the equity index of multiple stakeholder groups in various land use scenarios. We also explore whether an optimal combination of land use types exists. The results indicate that (1) The current ecosystem service value in Yongsheng County is primarily driven by climate regulation and biodiversity conservation, with a relatively high functional value index but a comparatively low equity index; (2) Different stakeholder groups mainly prioritize food production and ecosystem services impacting food production, such as water resource provision and climate regulation; (3) A land use allocation pattern of 20% farmland, 4% water bodies, 21% mixed forest, 20% coniferous forest, and 35% grassland appears to provide the optimal EMF index while simultaneously achieving the optimal equity index across stakeholder groups. This research may offer valuable insights for optimizing land use planning while taking into account the well-being of diverse stakeholder groups. It also may have practical implications for the formulation of innovative land use management strategies. Full article

Amenity trees contribute to the overall quality of urban environments and are valued for their beauty and the benefits they bring to communities. However, the assessment of this capital commonly concludes with considerations of its vitality and decorativeness. Thus, this research provided a monetary assessment of losses caused by the supercell storm-induced uprooting of trees growing in three public green spaces utilized by the most vulnerable population (children aged 3–18 years). For these purposes, the Council of Tree and Landscape Appraisers (CTLA) formula was applied taking into account growth parameters, species dependence, and the specimens’ condition and location. Prices from national and European nurseries were utilized to obtain appropriate base values. The results indicate that the total appraised monetary loss amounted to EUR 495,864 (national) and EUR 1,528,481 (European prices). The species P. nigra, B. alba, T. tomentosa, F. excelsior, A. saccharinum, P. occidentalis, and P. cerasifera showed lower uprooting resistance with no clear species-specific responses, but there was an interaction of biotic, abiotic, and artificial influences. Understanding the complex factors influencing tree stability is crucial for urban planners and arborists to mitigate storm- and wind-related risks. Collaborative planning and participatory management are essential for safeguarding both economic and environmental interests and ensuring the safety of vulnerable populations in outdoor spaces. Full article

Rural tourism is a new driving force for achieving rural revitalization and development, promoting rural economic prosperity, and serving as a new industrial approach to achieving the transformation and upgrading of farmers’ livelihoods. This paper focuses on Manas County as the research subject and employs farmer questionnaire interviews and participatory rural appraisal methods to categorize villages into four types: “scenic area-dependent” villages, “industry-dependent” villages, “folklore-dependent” villages, and “suburban-dependent” villages. Based on the sustainable livelihood analysis framework proposed by the Department for International Development, we developed a sustainable livelihood framework for farm households in Manas County and analyzed the effects of rural tourism on farm households’ livelihood capital and livelihood strategies as the watershed of the rural tourism takes shape, taking livelihood capital and livelihood strategies as the entry point. The factors influencing the livelihood capital and livelihood options of farm households in the context of rural tourism are analyzed. The results show that: (1) The overall livelihood capital of farmers engaging in rural tourism is significantly greater than that of farmers not participating in rural tourism. Additionally, variations exist in the livelihood capital of different types of rural tourism within villages. (2) Participation in rural tourism significantly influences farmers’ choices of livelihood strategies. Compared with individuals who do not engage in rural tourism, those involved in rural tourism are more likely to opt for self-management livelihood strategies. The proportion of self-managed farmers in villages based around scenic areas is the highest. (3) The effect of rural tourism on farm households in Manas County is generally positive, and various types of villages yield different impact effects. (4) Participation in rural tourism significantly increases the possibility of farmers choosing self-management livelihood strategies, while it reduces the possibility of farmers choosing agriculture-oriented livelihood strategies. In all villages, except those dependent on industry, the decision to engage in rural tourism significantly impacts farmers’ selection of self-management livelihood strategies. Full article

China’s distinct rural revitalization process has attracted global attention due to its impressive speed, massive scale, and policy interventions. A relatively limited amount of research has been conducted on how rural transition characteristics and policy mechanisms are interrelated at the micro level. To fill this research gap, following the main research thread of dividing rural development stages, revealing transition characteristics and exploring policy mechanisms, this paper utilizes a participatory rural appraisal, a landscape metrics analysis, and in-depth interviews to analyze the spatial transition laws of Dayu Village. First, the results show that the village experienced three stages from 1990 to 2020: strict homestead control, village relocation, and land consolidation. Second, the village exhibits multidimensional transition characteristics. With a reduced rural settlement area, regular patch formation, and a dense interior subdivision of rural houses, the land use layout changed from homogeneous to multiple nests. As the industrial structure became more diversified, the villagers’ livelihoods became more differentiated. Inflows of tourists and migrants changed the population structure, causing social relations to become defamiliarized. Moreover, mechanism research finds that policy can promote rural settlement transition by allocating land resources and regulating village behavior. The policy’s scope expanded from a single settlement to the whole village, optimizing external forces, with village behavior effects acting as an internal force. The degree of matching between policy formulation and villagers’ needs is the key to promoting the transition of rural settlements. This research deepens the understanding of the transition laws of suburban villages in megacities in developing countries at the micro scale and provides a reference for land policies in similar villages. Full article

This protocol describes the methodology and methods for a collaborative project with eight Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary health care (PHC) organisations, across three Australian states and one territory, to increase clinical service performance and access to preventive health and health promotion services for preventing, identifying, treating, and managing dementia risk in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Aboriginal participatory action research (APAR) methodology will be the framework for this project, incorporating continuous quality improvement (CQI), informed by research yarning with stakeholder groups, comprising community members and PHC staff and service providers and data collected from the auditing of client health records and the mapping of existing clinical processes and health services at each partnering PHC organisation. The qualitative and quantitative data will be summarised and discussed with stakeholder groups. Priorities will be identified and broken down into tangible PHC organisation deliverable strategies and programs, which will be co-developed with stakeholder groups and implemented cyclically over 24 months using the Plan, Do, Study, Act model of change. Key project outcome measures include increased clinical service performance and availability of preventive health and health promotion services for safeguarding against dementia. Project implementation will be evaluated for quality and transparency from an Indigenous perspective using an appropriate appraisal tool. The project processes, impact, and sustainability will be evaluated using the RE-AIM framework. A dementia safeguarding framework and accompanying tool kit will be developed from this work to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander PHC organisations to identify, implement, and evaluate dementia safeguarding practice and service improvements on a broader scale. Full article

Access to food is a right that every individual must have to ensure a standard of living that is sufficient for maintaining good health and wellbeing. This review, developed and implemented by a team of First Nations and non-First Nations peoples, aimed to scope the literature on programs addressing food security for First Nations peoples in Australia, Aotearoa/New Zealand, Canada, and the United States of America. Collectively, First Nations groups share continued traumas, disadvantages, and devastation brought upon them as a result of British colonisation. Despite the impacts of colonial conquest, the resilience of First Nations peoples continues through the fight for self-determination, sovereignty, equity, and equality. Three databases and grey literature were searched from 2010. Two reviewers completed screening, data extraction, and critical appraisal. Nine food security programs were included in this review. Five were from the United States of America and four from Canada, with no program from Australia or Aotearoa/New Zealand meeting the inclusion criteria. The programs that appear to be most suitable for addressing food security for First Nations peoples were participatory in design, had community governance, integrated cultural knowledge and food systems to increase the accessibility and availability of cultural foods, incorporated educational components, and utilized collaborations among various agencies. Findings showed that while it is important to address short-term emergency food relief, the aim should be sustainable food security through a longer-term system and policy change underpinned by co-designed research and evaluation. Full article

The knowledge regarding male out-migration due to climate change and large-scale, rapid-onset disasters and their impacts on the left-behind families is well known. However, research on the adaptation strategies for the families left behind due to disaster-induced male-out seasonal migration is rarely carried out. Thus, this study attempts to explore the coping and adaptation strategies adopted by the left-behind families in the salinity-induced male out-migration context. Analyzing the factors affecting the adaptation behaviors is also a major objective of this study. The study was carried out in Shyamnagar sub-district of coastal Bangladesh, where male-out seasonal migration for both rapid and slow-onset disasters is evidenced. The data regarding the adaptation measures were explored through different participatory rural appraisal techniques. Primary data were collected from 213 women from the left-behind families through a semi-structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics as well as multiple linear regression for analyzing the factors affecting adaptation behaviors were applied. The results revealed that the left-behind families, especially the women and children, adopted a total of 35 coping and adaptation strategies in five different aspects, such as economic adaptation, social adaptation measures, environmental measures, educational measures, and health-related measures. Migrant husbands’ age and their education, the household’s alternative income sources’ availability, receiving loans, disaster history, and migration history variables contributed most significantly to the adaptation behavior. This study provides a new perspective on seasonal male out-migration and the adaptation strategies of the left-behind families, which could be helpful for disaster-induced human migration management and enhancing the resilience of vulnerable communities. Full article

In 1996, the government of South Africa introduced the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) policy process to transform municipal administration, integrated planning and service delivery. One of the IDP policy’s key aspects is community participation in the planning process. South Africa is still struggling to achieve their duty of delivering basic services due to ineffective community participation. The article primarily appraises the mechanisms for improved community participation in the IDP process. It is underpinned by the New Public Management (NPM) theory, which promotes management reforms, participatory planning, and decentralising power among municipalities and communities. This study adopted a mixed-methods research approach. It is conducted in the Tzaneen municipal area in Limpopo Province. It is also found that some of the mechanisms to facilitate community participation are no longer relevant and effective in the COVID-19 pandemic era. Public meetings are no longer seen as an effective and safe means of public discussion due to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Disaster Management Act: Amendment of Regulation (Act 57 of 2002) that restricts the physical contact of large groups of people, which has implications for public meeting attendance. The study concludes by recommending that the Tzaneen municipal area should design mechanisms that make it easier for marginalised and previously disadvantaged people to participate in municipal planning and decision-making processes freely and without prejudice. Lastly, the study recommends that the municipality adopt the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and E-participation to facilitate effective community participation in the IDP process. Full article

The development of certified organic agriculture in Africa has been partly impeded by limited sound science-based information to tackle multifarious challenges facing the subsector along the value chains. Robust and well-articulated research strategies are key to driving this desired development. Therefore, a case study was carried out to appraise the science track of the last four African Organic Conferences (AOCs) with a view to identifying the direction of research activities in the continent across the regions and suggest areas presently being overlooked. Out of the 251 research papers evaluated, the majority were dealing with agronomy (41.4%) and socioeconomic (16.3%) aspects during the four editions of AOC. Research areas largely overlooked include organic aquaculture, policy issues, standards and certification, cross-disciplinary and participatory research methods, health and safety of organic products and research methodology. Papers presented at the AOCs were spread across the regions and outside Africa as follows: West (48.6%), East (28.2%), Southern (7.1%), North (<1%), Central (<1%) and outside the continent (14.3%). The paper also discusses strategies that can be adopted in moving organic agriculture research forward in the continent. Full article

Managing climate change is synonymous to managing cities and their growth. To shoulder the challenge of climate change adaptation, informal settlement upgrading in the global south has amounted to the importance of being attuned with the growth of its city and region at large. Changing the paradigm of on-site upgrading to being community-driven and city-led with domestic funding unlocks potentials for community resilience building, especially in countries that strive for inclusive growth. This research looks into informal settlement development dynamics and its resilience stance in conjunction of the metropolitan growth in three Southeast Asian countries. Greater Manila Area, Bangkok Metropolitan Region and Hanoi Capital Region serve as the backdrop for this investigation. The research mainly addresses informal settlement upgrading roles, mechanism and approaches for resilience building in these three metropolises, meanwhile also unveiling their city-regional development needs. The methodological approach of this study is highly participatory, demonstrating a hybrid of multi-spectrum stakeholder workshops, online surveys (due to COVID), expert interviews, project interim reports and correspondence with the local expert team in the three countries, etc. The paper attempts at providing a cross-country appraisal of the central strategies of informal settlement upgrading, related institutional constellations and upgrading applications along with the three metropolises’ urban development. This attempt accentuates the pressing needs of mitigating multi-facet vulnerability of informal communities, who are the most adversely affected by climate change and rampant urbanization. Further, this research will also reveal the mindset change of how decision-makers and the public contemplate upgrading objectives, e.g., recasting secure tenure instruments. Full article