The Impacts of Wildlife Conservation Policies on Rural Household Welfare in Zambia

KEY POLICY POINTS • Tourism is increasingly important in Zambia as a vehicle for economic growth, and has been identified as a key sector for poverty reduction due to its potential to generate off-farm income and employment in rural areas. Growth in arrivals and receipts in Zambia has outpaced average growth rates for developing countries. • Tourism in Zambia relies mostly on the stock of natural resources, including the protected area system which includes national parks and game management areas (GMAs). Co-management agreements between Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) and rural communities present opportunities and threats for households living in GMAs. • Households living in GMAs have lower average income than households in other rural areas. Yet we find that, for prime GMAs (those well stocked with wildlife), the GMA designation leads to higher incomes than households would otherwise be expected to achieve, based on their own characteristics and those of the areas in which they reside. • We further find that the benefits of living in a prime GMA accrue mostly to the wealthier segments of the population. • Though overall effects on households are positive, losses from crop damage by wildlife are a threat to this success: we find that such losses are statistically significant, large enough to be meaningful to households, and greatest in prime GMAswildlife conservation, rural households, zambia, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Environmental Economics and Policy, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, q57,

USING MIXED-INTEGER PROGRAMMING TO DETERMINE THE POTENTIAL FOR FLOUR-MILLING INDUSTRY EXPANSION

As in most predominantly agricultural states, agricultural producers in Oklahoma have expressed an interest in value-added processing opportunities. While Oklahoma produces mostly hard red winter wheat, most Oklahoma bakers require predominantly soft wheat flour for their products, almost all of which is purchased from out-of-state suppliers. An economic engineering-based, mixed-integer programming model was used to determine the optimal number, size, and location of additional flour mills in Oklahoma to capture this excess flour demand. The results suggest that additional mills are potentially justified and that the potential for additional milling will increase if Oklahoma soft wheat production increases.Agribusiness,

Contribution of Non-Timber Forest Products to Rural Household Income in Zambia

Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) play an important role in supporting rural livelihoods and food security in Zambia. NTFP-dependent households are poorer, have younger household heads with lower levels of education, and are located closer to district towns than other rural households are. NTFPs are a particularly important source of income in Luapula, Northwestern and Western provinces. • Income from woodfuel represented the greatest share of income for households that participated in NTFPs, and it was the most commonly reported business activity, with 68% of NTFP households reporting income from charcoal and firewood. NTFPs contribute an average of 32% to total household income among participants, with the poorest being more dependent on these sources. • Given the widespread demand for woodfuel and other forest products, it is likely that rural households will continue to engage in the extraction and trade of NTFPs as a business activity. However, charcoal production, if left unchecked, could compromise the integrity of forests and adversely affect the availability of other NTFPs. In order to reduce households’ reliance on charcoal/firewood as an income source, outreach efforts could promote other NTFPs such as wild honey, ants, and mushrooms as business activities. Mushrooms, ants, and caterpillars may particularly be important activities for female-headed households, as more female-headed households derived income from these sources.NON-TIMBER FOREST, ZAMBIA, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics,

Strategic investment decisions in Zambia’s mining sector under a constrained energy system

This thesis studies the challenge of balancing between economic growth and social development that many developing countries are facing. The study sought to understand the impacts that these goals have on each other and how these impacts could be minimised. It looked at how clean energy access is modelled in developing countries and also how growth in Zambia’s mining sector would be impacted by meeting the government’s clean energy access targets in the residential sector. On one hand, increasing access to clean energy would lead to increase in energy demand, which would, in turn, imply increased capital investment in the energy supply system. This augmented investment means increase in energy prices which in turn would limit the growth of the mining sector (the backbone of the economy). Limited growth implicitly means reduced funding for clean energy projects. Thus, in order to adequately capture these complex interactions, three bottom-up models were developed: energy demand, energy supply and mining models. The energy models sought to understand how energy demand would evolve by 2050 and how much capital investment would be required to meet this demand. The mining model focused on understanding how developments in the energy sector would impact strategic investment decisions in the mining sector. It was found that approaches used to study how households transition from one energy fuel to another in developing countries had significant conceptual errors. However, these errors could be minimised by using a bottom-up approach. Furthermore, it was found that while profit margins would reduce as a result of increase in energy prices, the impact of these prices on the firm’s production output was negligible - except if a firm is a marginal mine operation. The output was not impacted because mining firms make decisions based on thresholds and not marginal decrease in profits. Thus, even though reliable energy supply is critical in mining operations, the influence of energy price in investment decision making in Zambia’s mining sector is limited. The key decision variables in the sector were found to be copper price, grade and type of ore

Bridging the divide? Integrating stakeholder values into energy system models

Delivering just energy transitions in sub-Saharan Africa requires careful planning and consideration of diverse objectives. Recently in Energy Research and Social Science, Baker et al. provide a useful method for eliciting stakeholder preferences in Ghana; however, they do not take the next step and show how this evidence may be integrated into quantitative energy models

Affordances of lesson observation in a lesson study cycle: A case of mathematics teachers in Chingola District, Zambia

Lesson Study approach has been adopted as the learning module in Zambia, however, not all teachers have implemented stable and effective School Based Continuous Professional Development in a Lesson Study. This study investigated the component of lesson observation in a Lesson Study Cycle and its role in enhancing the quality of teaching and learning among teachers of mathematics in Chingola District, Zambia. Two research question guided the study as; how do teachers of mathematics conduct lesson observations in a lesson study cycle? How does lesson observation enhance the quality of teaching and learning? Concurrent triangulation mixed method design was employed throughout the study. The target population was the teachers of Mathematics teaching senior classes and the senior secondary grade learners. The six Government schools in the study were selected using purposive sampling on the basis of the implementation of the lesson study cycle. While the teachers were selected using total population sampling in order to capture each member of the department. On the other hand, the learners selected was based on performance and fluency in English using purposive sampling. A sample of thirty (30) teachers and 12 learners were used for the study. Data were collected via a questionnaire, focus group discussions and interviews. Nvivo and Descriptive statistics were the statistical tools used for data analysis. The findings from the study revealed that lesson observation in the lesson study cycle had significant potential to enhance teaching and learning in mathematics. However, inconsistent implementation, inadequate adherence to guidelines, and limited teacher collaboration undermined its overall effectiveness. Based on this, it was recommended that, Heads of Department (HoDs), teachers and its stake holders should strengthen adherence to lesson study guidelines at all stages of implementation. Besides, Headteachers and Heads of Department should enhance teacher collaboration through regular, structured professional development sessions

Evaluation of the health-related quality of life of children in Schistosoma haematobium-endemic communities in Kenya: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Schistosomiasis remains a global public health challenge, with 93% of the ~237 million infections occurring in sub-Saharan Africa. Though rarely fatal, its recurring nature makes it a lifetime disorder with significant chronic health burdens. Much of its negative health impact is due to non-specific conditions such as anemia, undernutrition, pain, exercise intolerance, poor school performance, and decreased work capacity. This makes it difficult to estimate the disease burden specific to schistosomiasis using the standard DALY metric. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In our study, we used Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL), a modular instrument available for ages 2-18 years, to assess health-related quality of life (HrQoL) among children living in a Schistosoma haematobium-endemic area in coastal Kenya. The PedsQL questionnaires were administered by interview to children aged 5-18 years (and their parents) in five villages spread across three districts. HrQoL (total score) was significantly lower in villages with high prevalence of S. haematobium (-4.0%, p<0.001) and among the lower socioeconomic quartiles (-2.0%, p<0.05). A greater effect was seen in the psychosocial scales as compared to the physical function scale. In moderate prevalence villages, detection of any parasite eggs in the urine was associated with a significant 2.1% (p<0.05) reduction in total score. The PedsQL reliabilities were generally high (Cronbach alphas ≥0.70), floor effects were acceptable, and identification of children from low socioeconomic standing was valid. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We conclude that exposure to urogenital schistosomiasis is associated with a 2-4% reduction in HrQoL. Further research is warranted to determine the reproducibility and responsiveness properties of QoL testing in relation to schistosomiasis. We anticipate that a case definition based on more sensitive parasitological diagnosis among younger children will better define the immediate and long-term HrQoL impact of Schistosoma infection

Measuring governance at health facility level: developing and validation of simple governance tool in Zambia.

BACKGROUND: Governance has been cited as a key determinant of economic growth, social advancement and overall development. Achievement of millennium development goals is partly dependant on governance practices. In 2007, Health Systems 20/20 conducted an Internet-based survey on the practice of good governance. The survey posed a set of good practices related to health governance and asked respondents to indicate whether their experience confirmed or disconfirmed those practices. We applied the 17 governance statements in rural health facilities of Zambia. The aim was to establish whether the statements were reliable and valid for assessing governance practices at primary care level. METHODS: Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. We first applied the governance statements developed by the health system 20/20 and then conducted focus group discussion and In-depth interviews to explore some elements of governance including accountability and community participation. The target respondents were the health facility management team and community members. The sample size include 42 health facilities. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 17 and Nvivo version 9. RESULTS: The 95% one-sided confidence interval for Cronbach's alpha was between 0.69 and 0.74 for the 16 items.The mean score for most of the items was above 3. Factor analysis yielded five principle components: Transparency, community participation, Intelligence & vision, Accountability and Regulation & oversight. Most of the items (6) clustered around the transparency latent factor. Chongwe district performed poorly in overall mean governance score and across the five domains of governance. The overall scores in Chongwe ranged between 51 and 94% with the mean of 80%. Kafue and Luangwa districts had similar overall mean governance scores (88%). Community participation was generally low. Generally, it was noted that community members lacked capacity to hold health workers accountable for drugs and medical supplies. CONCLUSIONS: The study successfully validated and applied the new tool for evaluating health system governance at health facility level. The results have shown that it is feasible to measure governance practices at health facility level and that the adapted tool is fairly reliable with the 95% one-sided confidence interval for Cronbach's alpha laying between 0.69 and 0.74 for the 16 items. Caution should be taken when interpreting overall scores as they tended to mask domain specific variations

Policy options for the sustainable development of Zambia’s electricity sector

This paper aims at understanding how Zambia’s electricity system would be affected by droughts (due to a dry year) and how the system’s adaptive capacity could be improved. Hydropower currently supplies 99% of the total electricity in Zambia, and concerns have been raised because many climate change studies project increased occurrences of dry years in the Southern Africa region. Different economic and climatic scenarios were explored to understand their impact on the development of Zambia’s power generation system, and what policies and strategies could be adopted to mitigate these impacts on security of supply and average generation costs, which directly affect the electricity price. The results show that a dry year has significant impact on the average generating cost since hydropower continues to dominate the system. Diversifying the system does not improve the adaptive capacity of the system but only increases the average cost of generating electricity in an average year. The most cost effective way of increasing the system’s adaptive capacity is by importing electricity and gradually increasing share of renewable and coal technologies in the system. Further research on how electricity trade in Southern Africa could be enhanced, should be done

Testing methods for new pit latrine designs in rural and peri-urban areas of Malawi where conventional testing is difficult to employ

There is a trend towards participation of users in the design of appropriate sanitation facilities for low-income countries. However, testing the safety and durability of these technologies for rural and peri-urban communities is a challenge in low-income countries due to the lack of resources and access to conventional tests. This paper highlights testing methods used for pit latrine designs developed through participatory design approaches in Malawi. Two designs were tested with devised and/or conventional methods: (i) a corbelled pit latrine targeted for rural areas and (ii) an improved transitional pit latrine targeted for peri-urban areas. Devised testing methods proved to be useful and easy to implement by masons in the rural and peri-urban areas of Malawi. Novel pit latrine designs in Malawi require robust and innovative approaches to address the limited access to conventional tests. Both the conventional and devised testing methods demonstrated that the two designs have a satisfactory life-span and can support the users' load. The findings of this paper can be a model for the scale-up of integration of community ideas for participatory pit latrine design testing based in low-income countries where conventional testing is difficult to employ