Thorkil Casse

Causes of deforestation in southwestern Madagascar: what do we know?

Abstract Causes of deforestation are discussed in the case of southwestern Madagascar. The article has two objectives. First, the idea is to discuss the usual linear regression approach to determine causes of deforestation. Secondly, the intention is to determine the causes of deforestation in our case study. Distinction is made between direct causes (agriculture, wood collection, and pasture land) and indirect causes (migration, export prices, property rights, and government policies). In outlining the strategies of the peasants, the article ends up with an estimation of the value of agricultural land vs. an estimation of benefits derived from utilisation of non-timber forest products from primary forest or scrub (value of medical plants and roots used as staple food).

Change We can Believe in? Reviewing Studies on the Conservation Impact of Popular Participation in Forest Management

This article presents a review of methods in 60 empirical studies on forest conservation impact of popular participation in forest management. The review illustrates a high degree of variance in methods among the studies, and shows that a majority of the studies could benefit from a stronger focus on one or more of the following three areas: (i) the empirical verification and characterisation of popular participation as it exists on the ground, (ii) the indicators of impact and the method used to assess them, and (iii) the disentanglement of the effect of popular participation from other developments in the study area that may impact on forest condition. The variation in methods inhibits comparisons and meta-analyses, as well as questions the basis on which policy recommendations on popular participation in forest management are made. Based on the review, we provide recommendations for future evaluations of the conservation impact of popular participation in forest management.

Farmer strategies and forest conservation: a case study from south‐western Madagascar

Purpose – This paper seeks to evaluate different approaches to forest conservation in the areas outside the national parks of south-western Madagascar. Design/methodology/approach – Data from a household survey in the area are employed to analyse farmer strategies towards conservation of local forest resources, and present conservation strategies are evaluated in this light. Findings – It is argued that the prospects for future forest conservation in the area are dim at best, and that any policy proposal intended to remedy this situation must as a first priority establish alternative livelihood opportunities for the local population in order to ensure a minimum of incentives for conservation on their behalf. Originality/value – The paper is of value to all those interested or involved with sustainability issues.

Do we understand the linkages between economic growth, poverty targets and poverty reduction?

This article contributes to the debate on poverty trends in Africa, looking at the argument for a correspondence between economic growth and poverty reduction. It questions whether a link between economic growth and poverty reduction can be established. First there is a look at the general picture in Africa and no convincing evidence of this link is found, before the article turns to two countries, Burkina Faso and Madagascar, which on the surface seem to exemplify the link. However, in Burkina Faso the link exists only in a limited way and for only a short period (1998–2003), while in Madagascar, where the link appears more obvious, social and political unrest in 2009 casts doubt on the reliability of the data. Indeed, it is probable that an increase in poverty contributed to the crisis in Madagascar. Furthermore, there are signs that in both countries poverty strategies are increasingly giving way to Poverty Reduction Growth Facility programmes, closely related to former structural adjustment loans. It is concluded, first, that analysing poverty strategies through Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers does not help in resolving the uncertainty, since these strategies assume a priori the existence of a link between economic growth and poverty reduction; second, that collection and interpretation of poverty data could be biased, with the World Bank, for example, having an interest in showing improvements in poverty reduction in Africa; and, finally, that the paucity of data needs, at the very least, to be recognised as a major problem.

The Push for Plantations: Drivers, Rationales and Social Vulnerability in Quang Nam Province, Vietnam

This chapter compares the impact of land use changes in two municipalities. We look at the long-term changes regarding the expansion of acacia production and the effects of tropical storms. Due to households experiencing significant economic gains after only a few years, both primary forest and agricultural land are being replaced with acacia tree plantations. The downside to this is an increasing social inequality, which follows in the wake of both government decree support given to monoculture promotion, and the influences of market forces. We observe signs of social differentiation, where poor households end up serving as casual labour for the richer families on their acacia plantations. In addition, the poor can be rendered even more vulnerable after becoming labourers for the richer families, because they may no longer have an alternative source of income, yet they still face the risk of an increasing frequency of typhoon exposure.

While waiting for the answer: A critical review of meta-studies of tropical forest management

This paper assesses the existing meta-studies of forestry conservation. Most of meta-studies have focused on either the performance of protected areas or the community managed forests. Only one article has directly compared the performance of the two management forms. Porter-Bolland etxa0al. (2012) claim that community managed forests presented a lower mean deforestation rate than protected areas. We found several statistical problems and problems with definitions in all meta-studies, and we argue that the data available, not the least for community managed forest, does not allow for genuine global comparison. Using similar measuring techniques and same definitions when comparing the two management forms are necessities when trying to reach a general conclusion about which management form is best.

Climate Change, Adaptation and the Environment in Central Vietnam

This introduction locates Central Vietnam in the international debate on climate change in developing countries, particularly in terms of socio-economic impacts. Central Vietnam is considered the most vulnerable region of the country in terms of exposure to the effects of climate change. The prospects of a rise in sea level, threats to agricultural production in coastal zones, and risks of increasing weather variability imply higher frequencies of storms, heavy rains and droughts. In order to determine how people, communities and public authorities adapt to new circumstances however, these overall challenges must be placed in a real-life context. There is a gap in the international climate change debate between, on the one hand, a reliance on technical approaches and overall mechanical modeling to countries and regions, and on the other, the perspectives that derive from local environmental data collection and socio-economic analysis. Complexities increase dramatically when working at the lower and intermediate levels: the observed processes of change are not only ascribable to climate change, but to globalization, policy changes, marketization, general economic development, and large-scale human interventions in the environment. There is an urgent need for integrated approaches, such as the building of environmental management into climate change responses, addressing the total impact of livelihood stresses in social vulnerability perspectives, and ensuring that overall adaptation policies adequately address social justice.

On the Frontiers of Climate and Environmental Change

Introduction: Adaptation to climate and environmental change in Central Vietnam.- Paradoxes in adaptation: Economic growth and socio-economic differentiation.- Is climate change a reality for agriculture in Quang Nam province?.- The Push for plantations: Drivers, rationales and social vulnerabilities in Quang Nam province.- Climate change impacts on natural hazards in mid-central Vietnam: Flood, drought and landslide.- Impediments to climate-induced disaster management: Evidence from Quang Nam, Central Vietnam.- Livelihood stresses under the constraints of climate change vulnerability in Quang Nam.- Rural households: Socio-economic characteristics, community organizing and adaptation abilities.- Natural resource management, vulnerability and climate change: A micro-scale study.- Climate change in the public media: Representations, debates and awareness.- Public health challenges from climatic and environmental change: Observations from Quang Nam.- The Co Minority of Central Vietnam: Interacting cultural and environmental change.- Vietnams food security: A castle of cards in the winds of climate change?.

Vulnerability in north-central Vietnam: do natural hazards matter for everybody?

This article examines changes in livelihood strategies in response to flooding. It does soon the basis of a household survey which was undertaken in three provinces in north-central Vietnam. All households in the survey were regularly affected by flooding, but only poor households experienced long-term negative effects. The research showed that a high impact of natural disasters is correlated with decreases in income over time. As the disaster relief offered by the authorities is marginal compared to economic losses, some households react by increasing off-farm incomes (including remittances from overseas-migrated household members). We observed that the poor households do not switch to off-farm income strategies in response to income losses; this is perhaps because they have inadequate skills. However, on average households in our survey are becoming richer over time, despite the impact of flooding in the provinces. The article ends by looking at the vulnerability–resilience debate concluding that the poorer households could enter a vulnerability loop, unless new strategies to cope with natural hazards are suggested.

Livelihood Strategies Under the Constraints of Climate Change Vulnerability in Quang Nam

This chapter examines how vulnerability can be measured in quantitative terms. By using the Ketsana typhoon’s devastating effects on livelihoods as an example, the chapter shows that households whose livelihoods are based on economic activities like acacia production and shrimp farming suffered the most. A survey of 166 households showed that 88 % had experienced substantial losses. In this case study, the degree of severity of the losses is not an useful indicator of vulnerability in Quang Nam. The people who were most aware about climate changes were also the ones most satisfied with their district’s disaster plans, and these were better covered by disaster relief schemes. At the other end of the scale, we found a district where only half of the households were satisfied with their district’s disaster plans, and half of the total claimed they did not know anything and had not received any disaster relief. In our study area, knowledge of climate change, satisfaction with local disaster planning and receipt of disaster relief seem to go hand in hand.