A carregar...
Projeto de investigação
Sem título
Financiador
Autores
Publicações
A Livelihood and Farming System approach for effective conservation policies in Protected Areas of Developing Countries: The case study of the Niassa National Reserve in Mozambique
Publication . Mbanze, Aires Afonso; Silva, Carina Vieira; Ribeiro, Natasha Sofia; Silva, João F.; Santos, José Lima
Effective conservation requires that conservation policies and management decisions first target local actors who
are dependent on natural resource use in Protected Areas (PA) of Developing Countries (DC). In rural areas of
DCs, these actors are mainly farmers who also rely on off-farm activities such as harvest of Non-Timber Forest
Products (NTFPs) to complement their livelihoods. Here, we propose a novel approach to support the development
of policy interventions aimed at achieving conservation goals through the sustainable development of
local people in PAs of DCs. The approach consists in identifying the main Livelihood and Farming Systems (LFS)
and select those that are more conservation-friendly, and that may contribute to solve conservation and
development problems such as Human-wildlife conflict. Identifying the existing LFS can also help in searching for
conservation-relevant improvements that can contribute to local people wellbeing, considering the existing FS as
the starting point for a sustainable development strategy in PAs of DC. Data from the Niassa National Reserve
(NNR), the largest PA in Mozambique, were used to develop this LFS approach. Measures of effort applied in
harvesting NTFPs and in managing agricultural inputs and outputs were collected from 329 households through a
structured survey. Cluster analysis was performed to identify and characterise the main LFS in the NNR. Based on
the cluster results, we have identified four livelihood systems (LS): gatherers, hunters, farmers and employees;
four farming systems (FS): specialized in maize, rice and sorghum, and a mixed FS. A Multinomial Logistic Model
was also applied to understand the drivers of LFS choice. Livelihood systems were mainly driven by householdlevel
socio-economic factors, while FS were driven by village-level biophysical conditions. Households who were
employed and had diversified farming and off-farm activities were better off and more resilient to climate change
and crop-raiding animals. Intensification appears to occur gradually but has found to be limited by rainfall
availability. Based on our findings, we propose that conservation experts and policy-makers should use a LFS
approach to re-frame the conservation narrative in PAs of DCs and promote the existing practices that can better
protect biodiversity while improving livelihood and welfare of local people
Unidades organizacionais
Descrição
Palavras-chave
Contribuidores
Financiadores
Entidade financiadora
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Programa de financiamento
OE
Número da atribuição
50367