Sub-theme 10. Local institution building and radical futures for the commons
Panel 10.1.
An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Institutions Governing and Managing the Social-Ecological Systems in Murehwa District, Zimbabwe
Forests are an integral part of social-ecological systems, which provide economic, cultural and ecosystem services. For instance, forests are a main source of energy for most rural areas in developing countries and they are the largest stock of carbon. The diversity of forest functions make them vulnerable with complexities and dynamic challenges around forest use, management and conservation. Several measures have been put in place to manage forest ecosystems. Nonetheless, the governance and management of forests as a component of social-ecological systems is facing substantial interruption from multiple and complex drivers of deforestation and forest degradation. The study sought to establish how effective institutions are in the governance and management of forests as a part of social-ecological systems. The study was carried out with smallholder farmers in three Wards of Murehwa District in Mashonaland East Province of Zimbabwe. Using ‘Q’ sorting and confirmatory factor analysis the study evaluated the effectiveness of institutions using responsiveness, efficiency in monitoring and controlling exploitation, sustainability and equitability as indicators of effectiveness. The results show that the existing institutions are doing better in responding to evolving drivers of deforestation, promoting stakeholder inclusion and ensuring sustainability. However, the results show that the existing institutions are inefficient in monitoring, controlling and surveillance of forest exploitation. Therefore, there may be need to strengthen institutions especially on efficiency in monitoring, controlling and surveillance. Ultimately, these results will be used in a different research to model a socio-institutional framework for effective management of social-ecological systems.
1. An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Institutions Governing and Managing the Social-Ecological Systems in Murehwa District, Zimbabwe
1University of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe, 2CIRAD, France
Forests are an integral part of social-ecological systems, which provide economic, cultural and ecosystem services. For instance, forests are a main source of energy for most rural areas in developing countries and they are the largest stock of carbon. The diversity of forest functions make them vulnerable with complexities and dynamic challenges around forest use, management and conservation. Several measures have been put in place to manage forest ecosystems. Nonetheless, the governance and management of forests as a component of social-ecological systems is facing substantial interruption from multiple and complex drivers of deforestation and forest degradation. The study sought to establish how effective institutions are in the governance and management of forests as a part of social-ecological systems. The study was carried out with smallholder farmers in three Wards of Murehwa District in Mashonaland East Province of Zimbabwe. Using ‘Q’ sorting and confirmatory factor analysis the study evaluated the effectiveness of institutions using responsiveness, efficiency in monitoring and controlling exploitation, sustainability and equitability as indicators of effectiveness. The results show that the existing institutions are doing better in responding to evolving drivers of deforestation, promoting stakeholder inclusion and ensuring sustainability. However, the results show that the existing institutions are inefficient in monitoring, controlling and surveillance of forest exploitation. Therefore, there may be need to strengthen institutions especially on efficiency in monitoring, controlling and surveillance.
2. Exploring resilience and persistence of small farm practices and institutions in South Asia
1Center for Land Governance, India, 2SAFBIN, India
Many farmers in South Asia, known as the land of small farmers, have been able to persist practice of small farming, following institutional mechanisms and agricultural paradigms, strikingly different than the mainstream.
Tenancy as an embedded informal institution has persisted making farmlands available to landless and marginal farmers, despite state banning or protecting tenancy, under land reform law. Tenants do face distinct disadvantage in accessing formal public entitlements and supports. Yet they continue to proliferate given their functionality in agrarian systems and the credibility in in the eyes of both, the landlord and the tenants.
Small farming have demonstrated operational efficiency in terms of input use, cropping intensity and production, demonstrating productivity and economic advantage over large farms, that research and policy have often tried to promote. Small farms on private lands continue to co-exist with forest and pasture lands under commons, maintaining heterogeneity of working landscapes and natural habitat, critical for resilience. Small farming, also exhibit, higher crop and livestock diversity complimenting dietary diversity and nutrition of small farm households.
Drawing upon findings of a South Asian project around small farming, this paper analyses the reasons behind persistence of informal land-people relation (viz. tenancy) and people- knowledge system (agroecological) around the practice of small farming. We conclude this socio-ecological adaptation as a shared understanding among farmers based upon real life experience that is tacit and not documented or codified. Given its localisation, we delineates the potential risks of this knowledge erosion and implications on small farm resilience.
3. The impacts of payments for ecosystem services policies on local income distribution and inequality: evidence from China
College of Economics and Management, Anhui Agricultural University, China
Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) are an increasingly used policy instrument to reduce ecological degradation. However, few comparative studies exist on how different PES programs can improve equality on longer-term. In China, the Conversion of Croplands to Forest Program (CCFP), the Ecological Welfare Forest Program (EWFP) and the Payment for Watershed Ecosystem Service Program (PWES) are the typical programs to enhance the ecosystem services and balance the eco-sensitive areas’ justice in local residents’ income. By a field survey in in Anhui Province and Zhejiang Province of China, we analyze the impacts of the above PES programs on local farmers’ income inequality, including the influencing path.
Results show that PES-participating households have lower income and higher income inequality than non-participants. The regression decomposition of inequality shows that the number of labor force and education have a high contribution to income inequality in agriculture. The contribution of migrant workers’ time to non-farm income inequality was 46%. The UQR model shows that participation in the CCFP has aggravated income inequality, while participation in EWFP and PWES has alleviated income inequality.
The mechanism analysis shows that the CCFP and EWFP do not promote labor mobility, while the PWES eased the constraint. We also find that the participation in both CCFP and EWFP has no impact on the income, while participation in both CCFP and PWES or both EWFP and PWES has a positive impact on income. From these results, we believe that synergies between different PES programs need to be considered when developing policies.
