Verneområder og lokalbefolkning i Uganda : nytte, kostnader, livsvilkår og narrativer rundt Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

This thesis contributes to a current debate on how to balance conservation and development goals. Globally, land set aside for the protection of biodiversity has increased exponentially over the last 30 years. Despite contemporary efforts to share protected area (PA) benefits with the local people in proximity to the PAs, in particular tourism revenues, the social impacts of establishing and maintaining these areas remain a contentious issue. It is in this context that this study was conducted at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda. The specific research questions of the study were: i. To what extent does tourism revenue-sharing promote conservation and poverty reduction? ii. What is the nature of benefits derived and costs incurred by communities adjacent to the PA? iii. How are the benefits and costs distributed, and how does this affect people‟s attitudes towards the PA? iv. How do local people describe their situation as neighbours of a PA? These questions have been addressed in four separate, but interrelated studies. Data were collected using a mixed methods approach. Secondary data in the form of written sources on Bwindi was used in addition to primary data gathered through a combination of participant observations, interviews with key informants, structured interviews, semistructured interviews, and unstructured interviews. The findings reveal serious inadequacies in the tourism revenue-sharing arrangement that severely constrain the potential for poverty reduction. This also reduces its potential local support effect for the conservation. Whereas an average household reports an annual total income of US$1038, the average benefit from revenue sharing is only US$12 (or 1.2%). Any positive effect from this contribution is further reduced by problems in the allocation-making processes and associated nepotism; this is because the revenues are planned for and distributed by inept local institutions under complex institutional arrangements that lack real local participation and involvement. In addition to the direct sharing of tourism revenues there are a number of other activities that could fall under a general framework of “Development Through Conservation” (e.g. support to private tree planting). Another activity is park-related employment. Each of these two sources contributes about 2% to an average household‟s annual income. Costs include the traditional costs of physical evictions. However, the scope of this thesis is limited to the recurrent costs associated with restrictions on access to resources and damage caused by wildlife. A household bordering on the park foregoes on average about 6% of its annual income because of these restrictions on access to forest resources and on average loses another 10% of its annual income as a result of damage caused by wildlife. For some households, losses from wildlife damage can approach as much as 26% of the household income. What emerges is a situation where local people largely subsidise conservation through the high local costs. The estimated reported average local income is US$ 0.5/ per adult equivalent unit/day. Moreover, because of the problems in decision-making and the associated nepotism, tourism revenues often do not accrue to cost victims. In practice, PA benefits are often subject to local elite capture. This increases local inequality and compromises the ability of the PA to contribute to poverty reduction and improve state local people relations. In spite of this, there seems to be improved attitudes among local people towards the park, with 78 percent of our respondents believing that Bwindi‟s conversion to a national park was a good thing, and despite the lack of individual benefits. People seem to be concerned about nature and the forest regardless of possible monetary transfers. Local perceptions furthermore seem to be characterised by an ambivalence that significantly deviates from the win-win narrative frequently presented by external actors. Local actors or households do regard the present situation as unsatisfactory (a perception which is well-grounded and generally supported by the socio-economic studies in this thesis). However there is some prospect of an improved situation in the future, particularly with regard to tourism because there are promises of improvements in the amount of revenues set aside for local people. Social, political and economic issues relating to PAs are presented and discussed in this thesis. Wider implications and representivity of the findings for other protected area policies in Uganda and elsewhere are several. It is observed that the eventual successes of PAs for the future will depend not only on the overall benefits and costs that eventually reach local communities but also on the distribution of costs and benefits, the implications for damage compensation, and impact on local inequality and the compatibility of present management with local social values, and norms and perceptions of rights and duties Local narratives form important insights in this context and need to be taken much more seriously in endeavours for rights-based development, local involvement and real participation. The local narratives should thus inform policy and practice, and act as a possible counter to the narratives produced by powerful external actors.Denne avhandlingen bidrar til en pågående debatt om naturvern og utvikling. Verdens verneområder for biologisk mangfold har økt eksponensielt de siste 30 årene. Det har vært mange forsøk på å dele inntekter fra turisme i verneområder med lokalbefolkningen. Likevel er fortsatt de sosiale kostnadene ved verneområder et omstridt spørsmål. Dette er bakgrunnen for studien av Bwindi Impenetrable National Park i Uganda. Studiens problemstillinger har vært: i. I hvilken grad bidrar lokalbefolkningens tilgang til inntekter fra turisme til naturvern og reduksjon av fattigdom? ii. Hvilke goder og kostnader av verneområdet får de nærmeste lokalsamfunnene? iii. Hvordan er goder og kostnader fordelt, og hvordan påvirker dette folks holdninger til verneområdet? iv. Hvordan beskriver folk som er naboer til verneområdet sin egen situasjon og sitt forhold til parken? Disse spørsmålene har blitt besvart i fire ulike delstudier. Data ble innsamlet ved hjelp av ulike metoder. Sekundærdata som skriftlige kilder om Bwindi ble brukt i tillegg til primærdata innsamlet ved en kombinasjon av deltakende observasjon, intervjuer med nøkkelinformanter og strukturerte og ustrukturerte intervjuer. Funnene avslører alvorlig begrensninger i fordelingen av inntekter fra turisme, noe som i betydelig grad begrenser potensialet for reduksjon av fattigdom. Dette begrenser også mulighetene for å få lokal støtte for naturvernet. Mens et gjennomsnittlig hushold oppgir en årsinntekt på 1038 USD er gjennomsnittlig inntekt fra den naturbaserte turismen på bare 12 USD i året (eller 1.2% av samlede inntekter). Positive effekter av dette bidraget reduseres ytterligere av problemer med selve fordelingsprosessen knyttet blant annet til nepotisme. Dette skyldes til dels at inntektsfordelingen er planlagt for og distribuert gjennom svake lokale institusjoner med komplekse institusjonelle arrangementer og der lokal deltakelse i stor grad er fraværende. I tillegg til direkte fordeling av inntekter fra turisme, er det også en rekke andre aktiviteter som kunne falle inn under ”naturvernbasert utvikling” (for eksempel støtte til privat treplanting). En annen aktivitet er arbeidsplasser generert av nasjonalparken. Hver av disse to kildene bidrar gjennomsnittlig med 2% av husholdets årlige inntekt i følge våre undersøkelser. Avhandlingen konsentrerer seg om kostnader forbundet med begrensninger på tilgang til ressurser og skader forårsaket av vilt. Et hushold i nærheten av nasjonalparken gir i gjennomsnitt fra seg 6 % av dets årlige inntekt på grunn av førstnevnte begrensninger og 10% mistes i form av skader på avling og husdyr forårsaket av parkens ville dyr. For noen hushold vil slike viltskader kunne beløpe seg til 26% av husholdets inntekter. Resultatet er at lokalbefolkningen ender opp med å subsidiere naturvernet gjennom å bli påført høye lokale kostnader. Den estimerte gjennomsnittlige lokale inntekten er 0.5 USD pr voksen pr dag. På grunn av de nevnte problemene med forvaltningen tilfaller sjelden turistinntekter de som bærer de direkte kostnadene. Det er i praksis lokale eliter som tilriver seg mesteparten av inntektene fra nasjonalparken. Dette øker lokal ulikhet og begrenser mulighetene for naturvernet til å bidra til å redusere fattigdom og å forbedre forholdet mellom staten og lokalbefolkningen. På tross av dette, virker det som holdningene blant lokalbefolkningen til parken i seg selv har bedret seg. Blant våre respondenter var 78 % positive til at Bwindi er en nasjonalpark, til tross for mangelen på individuelle nyttevirkninger fra parken. Folk virker opptatt av vern av naturen og skogen uavhengig av pengeoverføringer. Lokale betraktninger er videre karakterisert av en ambivalens som avviker fra et vinnvinn- narrativ som ofte presenteres av eksterne aktører. Lokalbefolkningen ser ikke på den aktuelle situasjonen som tilfredsstillende. Det kan imidlertid være håp om forbedringer, fordi det er løfter om at en større andel av inntektene fra turisme skal tilfalle lokalbefolkningen. Sosiale, politiske og økonomiske sider ved vern av nasjonalparker blir presentert og diskutert i denne avhandlingen. Det er flere implikasjoner av disse funnene for andre verneområder i Uganda og andre steder. Mulighetene for at verneområder skal lykkes i fremtiden er ikke bare avhengig av generelle inntekter og kostnader, men også av fordelingen av disse inntektene og kostnadene, kompensasjon for skader forårsaket av vilt, konsekvenser for lokal ulikhet og hvordan forvaltningen forholder seg til lokale sosiale verdier, normer, rettigheter og plikter. Lokale narrativer representerer viktige innsikter i denne sammenheng og de må tas mye mer alvorlig i nye forsøk på en rettighetsbasert utvikling som innebærer reell lokal deltakelse. Politikkutforming og praksis bør derfor basere seg på slike lokale mot-narrativer som ofte står i motsetning til narrativer produsert av mektige eksterne aktører.Nordiska Afrikainstitutet (NAI) ; Norsk institutt for naturforskning (NINA

Influence of previous participation in physical activity on its perceptions among tertiary institution students

Physical inactivity is one of the leading causes of the major non-communicable diseases, which contribute substantially to the global burden of diseases, death and disability. The burden of mortality, morbidity and disability attributable to non-communicable diseases is currently greatest and is continually growing in the developing countries. Most declines in physical activity (PA) occur during the transition period when a person goes from high school to College or University. The objectives of this study were to identify perceived benefits of and barriers to PA and determine whether previous participation in PA does have an influence on these perceptions. A cross- sectional and descriptive study with quantitative design was conducted. Five hundred (500) tertiary institution students were randomly sampled from purposively selected departments and classes at each of the five government educational tertiary institutions in Rwanda. A pre-coded self-administered questionnaire with a small number of open-ended questions was administered to the students. A response rate of 425 (85%) was obtained. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data, by means of SAS version 8 software. Frequencies and percentages for mean score values with standard deviations for each perception variable were descriptively obtained. False Discovery Rate (FDR) at 5% for multiple test adjustment and Spearman’s correlation (r) tests were used to identify the significant influence of previous participation on perceptions. More than 70% students were not participating in PA at tertiary level. Psychological benefits of PA were some of the most important perceived benefits cited by the students. Most of the important barriers cited concerned equipment and time constraints to exercising. Associations were found between previous participation and the current perceptions of PA. The findings of this study demonstrate that previous participation can influence perceptions of PA among the students. Physical activity promotion programmes should consider the role of these factors which should be emphasised from childhood

Decentralisation of Forest Management — Is it a Panacea to Challenges in Forest Governance in Uganda?

Decentralisation of forest management is currently implemented in many countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America as a governance strategy aimed at enhancing forest resource conservation, poverty alleviation and equity in forest resource utilisation. In Uganda, the overarching aim of decentralisation of the forest sector was to shift responsibility of forest management to lower elected local government councils so as to increase participation and accountability in the forest sector. In this chapter, we investigate whether decentralisation has led to transfer of “real” power to local authorities and the extent to which the original objectives of decentralised forest service delivery have been achieved and challenges encountered in the implementation. We used questionnaires, unstructured observations and interviews to collect data from three districts of Uganda. We found that District Forest Departments of local government are mostly involved in revenue generating activities and protection of local forest reserves with only a very limited focus on activities that endear people towards participation in the management of local forest reserves. Power sharing of District Local Governments with lower local institutions and local communities is extremely limited. Contradictory policies about forest resource governance, inequitable sharing of revenues generated from forest resources between the District and Sub-county governments, rent seeking and political corruption amongst actors who are charged with forest law enforcement are the major challenges in dispensing decentralised forest governance. There is need to increase space for citizen participation in the management of forest resources, holding accountable of the duty bearers and equity

Prevalence of pheripheral neuropathy and effects of physiotherapeutic exercises on peripheral neuropathy in people living with Hiv on antiretroviral therapy in Rwanda.

HIV-associated peripheral neuropathy (PN), and related functional limitations that affect the quality of life (QoL), may now be one of the most formidable challenges in the health care of people living with HIV (PLHIV). The most common PN is distal sensory polyneuropathy (DSP). It is likely that there is a high prevalence of PN among PLHIV in Rwanda. The available data on the prevalence of PN are poor and there are none on how PN is associated with functional abilities and the QoL of PLHIV, which can guide management. In addition, current management of PN is mostly related to symptomatic management and is mainly pharmacological which may not rehabilitate the neuromuscular function that has been affected by PN. This thesis planned to re-validate and adapt the lower extremity functional scale (LEFS) and the brief peripheral neuropathy screen (BPNS), establish the prevalence of PN, and determine the effects of physiotherapeutic exercises on PN, lower extremity functional limitations and QoL, among Rwandan PLHIV receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART). Methods Study 1 translated LEFS from English to Kinyarwanda, modified it accordingly, and tested its reliability among 50 adult PLHIV on ART. The study also pilote

Reducing Hygiene-Related Disease and Malnutrition in Rwanda

Water sanitation and hygiene-related disease and malnutrition are a high priority in developing countries, including Rwanda. Interventions that can trigger and sustain household-level behavioral change and practice are needed. A case-control study was conducted to assess the potential of the Community Health Club (CHC) intervention, which consisted of village-based health education on water sanitation, hygiene, nutrition, and monitoring of households’ practices to reduce water sanitation and hygiene-related disease and malnutrition. The study targeted one village which had been exposed to the CHC. As a control, one village was picked from among villages that had not been exposed to CHC intervention. The two villages were in the catchment area of the Nyabitimbo Health Center and shared the same water sources for domestic use in the Rusizi district in Rwanda. The study examined the prevalence of intestinal worms, diarrhea, and malnutrition among children under 5 years old as recorded in the registries of Nyabitimbo Health Center for the period of the study, 2013–2015. The study results revealed that the CHC intervention was associated with a reduction of intestinal worms, diarrhea, and malnutrition, but the results were only statistically significant for intestinal worms and malnutrition. The present study, being exploratory, can serve for planning and practice purposes at the specific study area

Use of mobile phones to promote hygiene and sanitation in northern Uganda

The paper presents the use of mobile telephones to creating awareness to change the behaviors of people in the selected towns of northern Uganda in water, hygiene, sanitation promotion. It also includes HIV/AIDS as one of the cross cutting issues being mainstreamed by the ministry of Water and Environment. Water and Sanitation Development Facility-North in partnership with German Development Cooperation (GIZ) is piloting Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) campaign through cell phones in what we term short messaging service (SMS). The objective of this campaign is to relates to the implementation of an SMS-based Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) campaign on Water, Sanitation and HIV/AIDS-related aspects in select urban centers in Northern Uganda to gage communities Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) campaign on Water, Sanitation and HIV/AIDS-related aspects in select urban centres in Northern Uganda. The approach radio talk shows and spots, call center and short messages

Insights from the Implementation and Adoption of Community-Based Health Interventions

Abstract Effective implementation of health interventions is critical for maximum adoption and optimal health outcomes. This qualitative study assessed the differences in Community Health Club (CHC) implementation in villages using qualitative research methods. Villages in Rusizi district in Rwanda were purposively selected with high, medium, and low adoption rates. The results revealed that the traits and skills of intervention facilitators (providers or implementers) at the village level, the involvement of the head of the village in the CHC intervention activities, and the support supervision by the Community Environmental Health Officer from the health center may have contributed to high rates of adoption of the intervention. Poor community organization, mistrust, lack of equal consideration among intervention beneficiaries, and lack of skills and capacity for intervention facilitators may have contributed to the low rates of intervention adoption. The results of this study suggest the need for capacity building of implementers, local leaders, and supervisors for improved (1) skills to adapt to local contexts and maximize the intervention adoption, (2) involvement and participation of local leadership, and (3) support supervision, guidance, and close monitoring, respectively. for effective implementation and maximum adoption of CHC intervention

Improving starting time in operating rooms of a tertiary hospital in Rwanda: a quality improvement project

Background: Delay in the first surgery start time at operating room (OR) could inevitably decrease utilization, lose very expensive OR resources, reduce satisfaction of patients and staff and potentially affect quality of patient care.Objectives: This study utilized the Strategic Problem Solving (SPS) quality improvement approach to increase the percentage of first surgeries started on time at a tertiary hospital in Rwanda.Methods: A pre- and post-intervention study was conducted between March 2016 and March 2017. The intervention included developing a policy on staff arrival time, training sessions on the policy and regular supervision of OR managers to ensure staff were arriving on time.Results: Chi square tests were performed to analyze the pre- and post-intervention results. The percentage of first surgeries started on time significantly increased from 3% pre-intervention to 25% postintervention (P<0.001), average duration of delay decreased by 55 minutes (P<0.001) and the percentages of nurses, anesthetists and surgeon arrived on time also significantly increased (P<0.001).Conclusion: The SPS approach can be useful in addressing the starting time of first surgery at OR. Support from the senior management team and buy-in from staff are essential. This project cannot eliminate confounding factors and the results cannot be generalizable to other settings. Longer term evaluation on sustainability is needed.Keywords: Delay first surgery, operating room efficiency, quality improvement, strategic problem solvin

Contribution of wetland resources to household food security in Uganda

The study mapped experiences of local people regarding food security; assessed the contribution of wetlands to food security; and determined factors that influence dependence on wetlands for food in Uganda, where local farmers are vulnerable to starvation because of dependence on rain-fed agriculture. The traditional means of increasing food production has been to expand areas under cultivation, especially wetlands. Consequently, Uganda has lost about 11,268 km2 of wetland (30% of the country’s wetlands between 1994-2009). Research findings show about 83% of surveyed households experienced food insecurity, and significantly less among households with older and better educated household heads

Socioeconomics and major disabilities: characteristics of working-age adults in Rwanda

BACKGROUND:Disability affects approximately 15% of the world's population, and has adverse socio-economic effects, especially for the poor. In Rwanda, there are a number of government compensation programs that support the poor, but not specifically persons with disability (PWDs). This study investigates the relationship between poverty and government compensation on disability among working-age adults in Rwanda.METHODS:This was a secondary analysis of 35,114 adults aged 16 to 65 interviewed in the 2010/2011 Rwanda Household Wealth and Living Conditions survey, a national cross-sectional two-stage cluster survey, stratified by district. This study estimated self-reported major disability, and used chi-square tests to estimate associations (p<0.1) with income, government compensation, occupation type, participation in public works programs, and household poverty status. Non-collinear economic variables were included in a multivariate logistic regression, along with socio-demographic confounders that modified the relationship between any economic predictor and the outcome by 10% or more. All analyses adjusted for sampling weights, stratification, and clustering of households.RESULTS:Over 4% of working-age adults reported having a major disability and the most prevalent types of disability in order were physical, mental, and then sensory disability. In bivariate analysis, annual income, occupation type, and poverty status were associated with major disability (p<0.001 for all). Occupation type was dropped because it was collinear with income. Age, education, and urban/rural residence were confounders. In the multivariate analysis, adults in all income groups had about half the odds of disability compared to adults with no income (Rwf1-120,000 OR = 0.57; Rwf120,000-250,000 OR = 0.61; Rwf250,000-1,000,000 OR = 0.59; Rwf1,000,000+ OR = 0.66; p<0.05 for all), and non-poor adults had 0.77 the odds of disability compared to poor adults (p = 0.001).CONCLUSION:Given that personal income rather than government programming is associated with disability in Rwanda, we recommend deliberately targeted services to those with disability via cash transfers, placements in disability-appropriate employment, and micro-savings programs