Case Study Report: The Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience in Nepal

DfI

Transport infrastructure: making more sustainable decisions for noise reduction

There is a global and growing sustainability agenda for surface transport yet there are no specific means of assessing the relative sustainability of infrastructure equipment. Transport noise reduction devices are a significant part of the surface transport infrastructure: they specifically address environmental and social needs, have a high economic impact, and involve a wide range of raw materials raising multiple technical issues. The paper presents an account of the bespoke tool developed for assessing the sustainability of transport noise reduction devices. Regulatory standards for noise reduction devices and the relevant sustainability assessment tools and procedures adopted worldwide were reviewed in order to produce a set of pertinent sustainability criteria and indicators for NRDs projects, which were reviewed and edited during a stakeholder engagement process. A decision making process for assessing the relative sustainability of noise reduction devices was formulated following the review of the literature. Two key stages were identified: (1) collection of data for criteria fulfillment evaluation and (2) multi-criteria analysis for assessing the sustainability of noise reduction devices. Appropriate tools and methods for achieving both objectives are recommended

Implementing sustainable tourism: a multi-stakeholder involvement management framework

Within the extensive body of literature on sustainable tourism (ST), its successful implementation is an emerging and important theme. The lack of or ineffective stakeholder participation is a major obstacle to ST realisation and there is little clarity as to how best to resolve this problem. This paper presents the findings of a purposive UK-based case study that evaluated stakeholder involvement in the implementation of ST. Using over fifty stakeholders’ accounts drawn from eight primary stakeholder groups, a ‘multi-stakeholder involvement management’ (MSIM) framework was developed. The MSIM framework consists of three strategic levels: attraction, integration and management of stakeholder involvement. Six stages are embedded within the three levels: scene-setting, recognition of stakeholder involvement capacity, stakeholder relationship management, pursuit of achievable objectives, influencing implementation capacity and monitoring stakeholder involvement. These are supported by the overarching notion of ‘hand-holding’ and key actions [e.g. managing stakeholder adaptability] that enhance stakeholder involvement in ST. Key words: Implementation, Sustainable Tourism, Stakeholder Involvement, Stakeholder framewor

Integrating livelihoods and conservation in protected areas: Understanding the role and stakeholder views on prospects for non-timber forest products, a Bangladesh case study

Protected areas (PAs) represent a key global strategy in biodiversity conservation. In tropical developing countries, the management of PAs is a great challenge as many contain resources on which local communities rely. Collection and trading of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) is a well-established forest-based livelihood strategy, which has been promoted as a potential means for enhanced conservation and improved rural livelihoods in recent years, even though the sustainability or ecological implications have rarely been tested. We conducted an exploratory survey to understand the role and stakeholder views on conservation prospects and perceived ecological feasibility of NTFPs and harvesting schemes in a northeastern PA of Bangladesh, namely the Satchari National Park. Households (n = 101) were interviewed from three different forest dependency categories, adopting a stratified random sampling approach and using a semi-structured questionnaire. The study identified 13 locally important NTFPs, with five being critically important to supporting local livelihoods. Our study suggests that collection, processing and trading in NTFPs constitutes the primary occupation for about 18% of local inhabitants and account for an estimated 19% of their cash annual income. The household consensus on issues relating to NTFPs and their prospective role in conservation was surprisingly high, with 48% of respondents believing that promotion of NTFPs in the PA could have positive conservation value. The majority (71%) of households also had some understanding of the ecological implications of NTFP harvesting, sustainability (53%) and possible management and monitoring regimes (100%). With little known about their real application in the field, our study suggests further investigations are required to understand the ecological compatibility of traditional NTFP harvesting patterns and management. © 2010 Taylor & Francis

IIED in brief

Multiple case studies from a variety of countries illuminate how the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) plays a lead role in designing and piloting projects at a local level. Through partnerships and targeted funding, poor people are given a more effective voice, allowing them to play a stronger part in negotiations at all levels. The annual report takes stock of 2012-13, highlighting the Fair Ideas Conference (2012) and international networks that encourage valuable local insights towards problem solving or making a change. A financial summary is included

Fauna used in popular medicine in Northeast Brazil

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Animal-based remedies constitute an integral part of Brazilian Traditional Medicine. Due to its long history, zootherapy has in fact become an integral part of folk medicine both in rural and urban areas of the country. In this paper we summarize current knowledge on zootherapeutic practices in Northeast of Brazil, based on information compiled from ethnobiological scientific literature.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In order to examine the diversity of animals used in traditional medicine in Northeast of Brazil, all available references or reports of folk remedies based on animals sources were examined. 34 sources were analyzed. Only taxa that could be identified to species level were included in assessment of medicinal animal species. Scientific names provided in publications were updated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The review revealed that at least 250 animal species (178 vertebrates and 72 invertebrates) are used for medicinal purposes in Northeast of Brazil. The inventoried species comprise 10 taxonomic categories and belong to 141 Families. The groups with the greatest number of species were fishes (n = 58), mammals (n = 47) and reptiles (n = 37). The zootherapeutical products are used for the treatment of different illnesses. The most widely treated condition were asthma, rheumatism and sore throat, conditions, which had a wide variety of animals to treat them with. Many animals were used for the treatment of multiple ailments. Beyond the use for treating human diseases, zootherapeutical resources are also used in ethnoveterinary medicine</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The number of medicinal species catalogued was quite expressive and demonstrate the importance of zootherapy as alternative therapeutic in Northeast of Brazil. Although widely diffused throughout Brazil, zootherapeutic practices remain virtually unstudied. There is an urgent need to examine the ecological, cultural, social, and public health implications associated with fauna usage, including a full inventory of the animal species used for medicinal purposes and the socio-cultural context associated with their consumption.</p

Climate change and land tenure: The implications of climate change for land tenure and land policy (Land Tenure Working Paper 2)

This document analyzes the implications for land tenure and land policy of climate change. It assesses the implications of ongoing anthropogenic climate change resulting from greenhouse gas emissions for land tenure and the role that land policy can play in climate change adaptation planning in the developing world; it also sets out a simple framework for tracing the linkages between climate change, impacts on land use systems, and the land tenure implications, including those which result from adaptation and mitigation responses to global warming. Although the linkages between climate change and land tenure are complex and indirect, the effects of climate change and variability are felt through changes in natural ecosystems, land capability and land use systems. Increasingly, these changes will place diminishing supplies of land under greater pressure, for both productive use and human settlement. As a result land issues and policies should be key considerations for adaptation planning, so as to strengthen land tenure and management arrangements in at risk environments, and secure supplies and access arrangements for land for resettlement and changing livelihood demands. The central chapter of this paper explores the implications of climate change scenarios in more depth to identify the requirements and practical scope for land policy related interventions in developing appropriate adaptive responses. The cases examined include low lying coastal areas and river deltas affected by sea level rise and increasingly frequent and severe storm events, especially in South Asia, major coastal cities (again in South Asia), semi arid areas of sub-Saharan Africa facing increased aridity and climate variability threatening the sustainability of agriculture (specifically, exploring adaptations to existing climate variability in the Sahel), and irrigation systems supplied by glacial melt-waters. Moreover it explores the land tenure implications of carbon emissions reduction through avoided deforestation and reforestation schemes, together with the implications of climate change for indigenous people's and women's land rights. The paper finds that climate change reinforces the urgency of scaling up the delivery of secure land tenure over land and natural resources, using low cost, decentralised systems of documentation and building where possible on functional informal systems. Adaptation also requires increasing emphasis on land use regulation, the governance of land resources, and the delivery of land in safe and secure sites for informal urban settlements, and both temporary and in some cases permanent resettlement for populations that have to move. There are three critical problems which cross cut the range of at risk areas in developing countries, and which land policies need to address: i) Land use and settlement in areas facing significant direct risks from climate change - notably low lying coastal areas, including cities and river deltas, and particularly in those areas at serious risk in South Asia. ii) Accelerated provision of secure land tenure arrangements to enhance households and communities capacities to adapt to climate change impacts on livelihoods and food security. iii) Measures to protect the poor and vulnerable from loss of livelihood resources and develop the opportunities available for them to gain direct benefits as a result of climate change mitigation measures In conclusion, the paper makes recommendations on integrating land policy measures with wider adaptive planning, also identifying gaps in understanding of region and country specific climate change impacts and the scope for land tenure and land use adaptations. In relation to land policy, the paper recommends strengthening existing efforts to: • Provide tenure security for all through a diversity of forms of tenure, to improve land access for the poor, and to strengthen their negotiating position • Improved land and natural resource information: including improved inventories of land occupation in urban and rural areas including the informal sector; improved analysis and mapping of natural hazard risks for informal settlements; better inventories of land available for resettlement or temporary relocation • Strengthen land administration: including increasing capacity for low cost land survey and registration and for comprehensive, socially inclusive land information systems; devolving land administration responsibilities to more local levels; safeguarding against corruption in land administration In addition, national and regional climate adaptation initiatives should incorporate important land and resource tenure dimensions including: • Resettlement planning for populations at risk of displacement and loss of livelihoods • Integrated land and water resource management • Special programmes for land and natural resource tenure in semi arid areas subject to climate change: pastoralist custodianship of rangeland areas, territorial plans for water resource management are high priorities • Effective regulatory frameworks, standards and monitoring arrangements for carbon mitigation schemes which threaten to undermine land access and use rights of poor and vulnerable groups, such as market based avoided deforestation / reforestation programmes and biofuels development Practically oriented research can make potentially important contributions in strengthening adaptive planning. Research should combine case-by-case regional climate modelling with assessment of the quality of available information about land occupation, use and tenure conditions, and the capacity of land institutions on the ground. Research priorities identified include: • Regional impact modeling: to understand the likely land use impacts at regional and sub-regional scales in the developing worl