2 research outputs found
Varför Àr grÀset grönare pÄ andra sidan? : en fallstudie av betesutnyttjande i nordöstra Albanien
Summer pastures are underused while winter pastures are overused in Albania. Summer pastures are usually located a few kilometres from the village, while winter pastures are found very close to it. The grass growth in the villages is very low during the hot, dry summers, why farmers have traditionally moved their animals during this season. They have moved them to winter pastures in the mountains, where the temperature is lower. This habit is believed to have declined since democratization in the early 1990s.
This paper presents a case study in North-Eastern Albania, where pasture use was studied. The aim of the study was to find out, in an economic framework, why pasture use is so uneven, if more intense use of summer pastures can help the overused winter pastures, which are degrading and how this would affect farmers' economy. The focus of this work is pastures, but some attention is also given to forest management and the agricultural system in general.
Pobreg is a village of slightly more than 1000 inhabitants. A "Natural Recourse Development Program" (NRDP) is currently implemented, with the objective of improving the natural resources and decreasing poverty. Sida and the World Bank are co-financing the project.
Field work was carried through in June and July 2008. A multi-perspective approach was undertaken. Information was gathered through interviews, focus group meetings, archival records, documentation and own observation.
Information was gathered about pasture and forest management as well as the agricultural system.
The main finding was that summer pasture use has declined since democratization in 1991, and that the main reason is that it is not feasible to use the rangelands far away from the village with the few heads of animals that farmers hold after the reform.
Five cows (or a corresponding herd of other animals) are needed for the investments needed to use summer pastures to be profitable. Many farmers hold fewer animals than that, so cooperation among farmers is suggested as a way to making summer pasture use possible. This would likely improve the status of both winter and summer pastures, the latter because biodiversity decreases when pastures are not properly grazed of maintained. Also important, animals' growth and yields are believed to increase as they are brought to the mountains during summer.
The main conclusion of the study is that summer pastures should be regarded an important resource and that they should be included in the on-going projects that aim to improve natural resources and decrease poverty. The interviews revealed that the NRDP was seen as very creditable, and they should hence be a trust-worthy third part in a potential cooperation.Sommarbeten, belÀgna nÄgon eller nÄgra kilometer frÄn byarna, Àr underutnyttjade i
Albanien medan vinterbeten överutnyttjas med ogrÀsdominans och erosion som följd.
Vinterbeten ligger i allmÀnhet i direkt anslutning eller mycket nÀra byarna. Under den
varma sommaren vÀxer grÀset pÄ vinterbetena vÀldigt lite, vilket gör att man
traditionellt flyttat djuren till sommarbeten i bergen dÀr klimatet Àr annorlunda. Det
verkar dock som om detta har förÀndrats sedan demokratiseringen i början av 1990-
talet. Fenomenet har studerats i en fallstudie i byn Pobreg i nordöstra Albanien.
Pobreg Àr en by med drygt 1000 invÄnare. MÄnga Àr mycket fattiga. Sedan nÄgra Är
tillbaka genomförs âNatural Resource Development Projectâ (NRDP) i byn. Projektet
syftar till att minska fattigdomen och förbÀttra naturresurserna. Bland andra Sida och
VĂ€rldsbanken finansierar projektet.
Studiens syfte var att utröna varför anvÀndandet Àr sÄ ojÀmnt, och huruvida ett ökat
anvÀndande av sommarbeten under sommaren kan minska degraderingen av
vinterbeten och vilka ekonomiska konsekvenser som skulle följa pÄ det.
FÀltarbete genomfördes i byn Pobreg under juni och juli 2008. En multiperspektiviell
ansats anvÀndes. Information samlades in genom intervjuer, fokusgrupper, arkivdata,
dokumentation och egna observationer. Information om skogens, betenas och
jordbruksproduktionen organisation samlades in.
Det huvudsakliga resultatet var att nyttjandegraden till viss del beror pÄ den
jordbruksreform som genomfördes 1991. Jordbruksmarken delades upp i mycket smÄ
enheter (0,2 hektar per person pÄ landsbygden). Pobregs bönder menade att det var
omöjligt för dem att utnyttja sommarbetena, som krÀver övernattningsmöjligheter för
herdarna, med sÄ fÄ djur. Litteraturen pekar pÄ att det Àven finns en ovilja att leva
traditionellt liv. Detta fick dock inget stöd av den empiriska studien.
Studien visade ocksÄ att en produktion med fem kor (eller motsvarande vÀrde av andra
djur som krÀver högkvalitativt bete) Àr nödvÀndig för att investeringar för att utnyttja
sommarbeten ska vara lönsamma. I dagslÀget har bönderna fÀrre djur Àn sÄ, och dÀrför
skulle ett samarbete mellan jordbrukare kunna initieras bÄde för att minska
överutnyttjandet av vinterbetena och öka utnyttjandet av sommarbeten. Sommarbetena
i byn har nÀmligen stor biologisk mÄngfald. En annan fördel med sommarbetena Àr att
djurens tillvÀxt och avkastning med stor sannolikhet gynnas.
Studiens slutsats Àr dÀrför att sommarbetena bör ses som en resurs och att man bör
ÀvervÀga att inkludera dem i de policies som pÄgÄr och som syftar till att förbÀttra
naturresurserna och minska fattigdomen. Intervjuerna visade att NRDP hade stort
förtroende hos bönderna, och dÀrför skulle projektet kunna fungera som en tredje part i
ett potentiellt samarbete mellan bönder
Costs of nutrient reductions to the Baltic Sea
This paper presents calculations of costs for measures reducing nitrogen and/or phosphorous loads to the Baltic Sea and minimum cost solutions for different nutrient reduction target formulations. In total, 14 measures are included for nitrogen (N) reductions and 12 for phosphorous (P) reduction, out of which six measures affect both nutrients. Calculations show that land use measures provide low cost measures for N reductions and P free detergents and improved sewage cleaning for P reductions. Two types of targets are chosen for calculation of minimum cost solutions: overall reductions of nutrient to the Baltic Sea and reductions to specific basins. Three different assumptions on adjustments among basins to exogenous load changes are made for basin specific targets; no adjustment, partial first-order adjustment, and total steady state adjustment. For a given nutrient reduction in percent, both estimated total cost and cost effective allocation of reduction in loads to different basins vary considerably depending on target setting. However, costs of different measures, and thereby estimated minimum cost solutions are sensitive to parameter values on leaching, retention, and abatement cost and capacity. Sensitivity analyses show that minimum costs of nitrogen reductions are mainly affected by changes in assumed abatement capacity of land use measures, and costs of phosphorus reductions are sensitive to cleaning cost at sewage treatment plants