UVM Theses and Dissertations
Format:
Print
Author:
Masozera, Michel K.
Dept./Program:
Natural Resources
Year:
2010
Degree:
PhD
Abstract:
Africa's natural ecosystems (tropical forests, drylands and marine ecosystems) harbor major biodiversity hotspots and support fundamental ecological functions, which provide a range of ecosystem goods and services on which local populations depend for survival. Many African nations have established an extensive network of protected areas which playa central role in conserving wildlife and their habitats. However, the capacity of selected reserves to maintain viable populations of wildlife species and provide vital ecosystem services is threatened by a combination of many factors including climate change, population growth, economic expansion, lack of sustainable financing and poverty. As a result wild habitats and populations continue to be lost, and the ecosystem services vital to their survival and that of poor communities are increasingly disturbed.
Given this reality, management of protected areas in Africa requires finding an appropriate balance between land use to satisfy immediate human needs and protected areas to conserve biodiversity and other ecosystem services. It also requires an understanding of the biophysical magnitudes of the changes in ecosystem services that result from human actions, and the impact of these changes on human welfare. But there are some glaring gaps in understanding the consequence of changes of ecosystem services for poverty reduction.
This dissertation research attempts to fill these gaps using three case studies of Madagascar, Rwanda and Tanzania. This research is divided up'into discrete papers all of which address the issues of local stakeholder values for ecosystem services, public health and livelihoods under water scarcity, sustainable management of landscape with multiple competing demands, and the role of payment for ecosystem services in poverty reduction in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Paper 1 applies conjoint ranking survey to assess and analyze local stakeholder values with respect to establishment and regulation of two large protected areas; Masoala National Park and Makira Conservation Site. Paper 2 examines empirically the determinants of human and livestock health in the Ruaha Landscape. Logistic regression model results show that factors such as reported wealth, cattle sickness, consumption of raw cow blood, and limited accessibility to surface water sources play a significant role in explaining the probability of reporting chronic diseases in the household. Household wealth and walking distance to surface water were also found to affect cattle health. Paper 3 assesses the preferences of representatives from three stakeholder groups-local communities, district government officials, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs)-towards potential solutions of conservation and development tradeoffs facing local communities in the Ruaha Landscape of Tanzania. Results demonstrate that there is little consensus among stakeholders about the best development strategies for the Ruaha region. Based on existing literature on payment for ecosystem services (PES), paper 4 shows conditions under which markets for ecosystem services could benefit smallholder farmers in Rwanda.
Sustainable management of Africa's protected landscapes will require avoiding the misperceptions of the past and balancing different interests of stakeholders at different geographical and institutional scales.
Given this reality, management of protected areas in Africa requires finding an appropriate balance between land use to satisfy immediate human needs and protected areas to conserve biodiversity and other ecosystem services. It also requires an understanding of the biophysical magnitudes of the changes in ecosystem services that result from human actions, and the impact of these changes on human welfare. But there are some glaring gaps in understanding the consequence of changes of ecosystem services for poverty reduction.
This dissertation research attempts to fill these gaps using three case studies of Madagascar, Rwanda and Tanzania. This research is divided up'into discrete papers all of which address the issues of local stakeholder values for ecosystem services, public health and livelihoods under water scarcity, sustainable management of landscape with multiple competing demands, and the role of payment for ecosystem services in poverty reduction in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Paper 1 applies conjoint ranking survey to assess and analyze local stakeholder values with respect to establishment and regulation of two large protected areas; Masoala National Park and Makira Conservation Site. Paper 2 examines empirically the determinants of human and livestock health in the Ruaha Landscape. Logistic regression model results show that factors such as reported wealth, cattle sickness, consumption of raw cow blood, and limited accessibility to surface water sources play a significant role in explaining the probability of reporting chronic diseases in the household. Household wealth and walking distance to surface water were also found to affect cattle health. Paper 3 assesses the preferences of representatives from three stakeholder groups-local communities, district government officials, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs)-towards potential solutions of conservation and development tradeoffs facing local communities in the Ruaha Landscape of Tanzania. Results demonstrate that there is little consensus among stakeholders about the best development strategies for the Ruaha region. Based on existing literature on payment for ecosystem services (PES), paper 4 shows conditions under which markets for ecosystem services could benefit smallholder farmers in Rwanda.
Sustainable management of Africa's protected landscapes will require avoiding the misperceptions of the past and balancing different interests of stakeholders at different geographical and institutional scales.