Research Area: the Socio-Economic Context of the Forest

Whatever the changes that are needed to ensure the sustainability of the ecosystem,
they must meet the needs of the community that lives in it

To understand how these changes can be brought about, we need to have a systematic sociological profile of the community: to understand what the issues are at community level, how the community itself can change things and how Iracambi can assist the process. This work is vital - if we can't engage with the people of the area with credibility and a real understanding of the context of situations then we can't carry out our work fully. The majority of land in this area is privately owned, and so real changes are only going to be made if these landowners believe and respect what we are saying, and the information and opportunities we are passing on

• To understand the social, political, cultural, and economic factors which influence decision-making within the community; to understand what changes need to take place and to devise appropriate methods to bring such change about. The research will focus on:
• Analysis of the socio-political environment policies on the national and local level (forest conservation laws, tenure issues, policies affecting land management);
• Analysis of potential assets within the community. (i.e. human capital, natural capital, financial, physical, social networks (groups, trusts, NGOs, etc);
• Analysis of anthropological factors (gender, family, culture) and their effect on attitudes to land conservation;
• Constraints facing farmers, especially economic constraints arising from the decline in coffee prices.
• The effect of inheritance laws on land fragmentation;
• Attitudes towards forest and forest conservation;
• Analysis of how these factors that determine present land management decisions;
• Identifying potentials for conflict resolution;
• Identifying opportunities for change.

Activities:

• Studies on understanding the social, political, cultural, and economic factors which influence decision-making within the community; to understand what changes need to take place and to devise appropriate methods to bring such changes about through community engagement and environmental education
• Formal and informal implementation of environmental education: visits by schoolchildren and groups of young people from neighboring cities, community meetings, family days, discussions with local teachers on how to address environmental concerns when teaching, farmers field days and encounters.

Outcome:

• A snapshot of the socio-economic situation of the small scale farmers in the project area;
• Identification of principal socio-economic opportunities, constraints;
• Policy recommendations.

Papers

Environmental Education

Socio-economic studies

Sustainability