Conservation by local people in the Niassa National Reserve: money or in-kind payments to adopt conservation-friendly practices

The expansion of Protected Areas (PAs) has been considered as the main strategy to contain deforestation and forest degradation in Developing Countries (DCs), and secure most of the vulnerable and endangered species, including the large carnivores and herbivores of African Savannas. Mozambique is one of DC which has also embarked in this expansion of PAs, with a current network of PAs covering 25% of the natural forest. In most of Mozambican PAs, there is also an unprecedented growth of human population, whose livelihoods depends on harvesting natural resources. Illegal or unregulated harvesting of natural resources imposes a huge threat to biodiversity conservation, which needs to be urgently addressed through policies aimed at changing people’s behaviors to conserve biodiversity the country’s PAs. The Niassa National Reserve (NNR) is the largest PA in the country encompasses 5.3% of all-natural forest and 45% of the overall land under PA in the country. Using the NNR as a case study, we aim to explore policy ways to improve the conservation status of PAs in Mozambique and DCs in general, through identifying and analyzing the role of the drivers for local people engagement in activities that threat biodiversity conservation. We explore possible incentive measures that PA residents may be willing to accept to collaborate with park authorities and other relevant stakeholders operating in the reserve. This main objective was addressed by surveying conservation experts spread through the country and local households in the NNR. As regards the expert survey, Cluster Analysis was applied to identify the different experts’ views about to the main practices that threaten biodiversity conservation in the NNR, the underlining drivers for local people involvement with such practices, the main responsible for each practice and the effectiveness of the new proposed compensation measures. A cluster procedure was also used to identify the different Livelihood and Farming Systems (LFS) prevailing in the reserve, based on data from the household survey. A Multinomial Logistic Model (MLM) was also estimated to understand the drivers of household choice of LFS. The results showed that outsider conduct most of the illegal activities that strongly threat biodiversity conservation in the reserve (poaching, illegal logging and mining). At the same time, local people tend to engage in illegal activities that they need to carry out to cope with their daily needs. Most of the new in-kind incentives explored in the surveys, showed a greater acceptance from local people compared to those currently applied in the reserve. Moreover, livelihood systems were mainly driven by socio-economic factors, while FS were mostly driven by biophysical conditions. Finally, households who were employed and had diversified farming and off-farming activities, were better off, more resilient to climate change and crop raiding animals and held more conservation friendly attitudes

Análise das ocorrências de incêndios em povoamentos florestais da empresa Chikweti Forest of Niassa no norte de Moçambique

Orientador : Prof. Dr. Antonio Carlos BatistaCoorientadores : Prof. Dr. Alexandre França Tetto, Prof. Dr. Henrique Soares KoehlerDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciências Agrárias, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Florestal. Defesa: Curitiba, 22/11/2013Inclui referênciasÁrea de concentração : Conservação da naturezaResumo: A ocorrência de incêndios em povoamentos florestais tem causado enormes prejuízos as empresas que operam na Província do Niassa, no norte de Moçambique. Como os povoamentos florestais começaram a ser plantados ha poucos anos no Niassa, pouco se sabe sobre as causas dos incêndios florestais e as possíveis medidas de prevenção e supressão. Neste trabalho foram averiguadas as causas que contribuíram para a ocorrência dos incêndios florestais, a partir do registro de ocorrências fornecido pelo departamento de incêndios da empresa Chikweti, tendo se constatado que aproximadamente 100% das ocorrências (196) registradas nos três anos estudados foram devido a causas antropicas, com predominância dos incendiários (57,14%) e limpeza para pratica da agricultura itinerante (28,57%). A sobreposição das variáveis meteorológicas, fornecidas pelo Instituto de Investigação Agrária de Moçambique em Lichinga (IIAM-Lichinga), com as causas de ocorrências dos incêndios, permitiu estabelecer uma correlação entre o numero de ocorrências e as épocas do ano, sendo setembro e outubro os meses em que se registrou maior ocorrência dos incêndios, com 37,76% e 29,08%, respectivamente. Para os dois índices de perigo analisados, pela Formula de Monte Alegre (FMA) e o Nesterov (G), o grau de perigo muito alto foi o mais predominate durante todos os anos. O índice G, com valores de Skill Score (SS) e Porcentagem de Sucesso (PS) de 0,11 e 44,82%, respectivamente, mostrou-se mais adequado para as condições climáticas de Lichinga, ao contrario do FMA, que mostrou um desempenho mais fraco, com 37,13% de PS e 0,07 do valor de SS.Abstract: Fire occurrence in forest platation has been the cause of important losses in companies operating in Niassa province, northern Mozambique. However, since forestation for commercial purposes has started only few years ago in Niassa, little is known about the causes that contribute for fire occurrences and the possible prevention, mitigation and suppression measures. In this dissertation, the causes that contributed to the occurrence of forest fires in Chikweti plantations were assessed by using fire database report, provided by the fire department of Chikweti. It was observed that approximately 100% of all occurrences (196) recorded in the studied period, (2010 - 2012), were attributed to human-induced causes, with a predominance of arsonists (57.14%) and cleaning for shifting cultivation (28.57%). Climate variables, provided by the Agricultural Research Institute of Mozambique in Lichinga (IIAM-Lichinga), were correlated to the causes of fires occurrences. It was observed a relationshep between the number of occurrences and the seasons of the years, September and October were the months with the higher occurred percentages, 37.76% and 29.08% respectively. For both fire danger indices, Monte Alegre Formula (FMA) and Nesterov index (G), the very high degree of danger was predominate in the studied period all the years. The G index, with values of Skill Score (SS) and Percent of Success (PS) of 0.11 and 44.82% respectively, presented a better performance for the climatic conditions of Lichinga; the FMA, with 37.13% for PS and 0.07 of SS, was less efficient to detect fire danger in the region

Understanding the dynamic of rice farming systems in southern Mozambique to improve production and benefits to smallholders

Rice farming systems (RFSs) in southern Mozambique are very heterogeneous and diversified, which has implications for smallholders’ adoption of each RFS, as well as on rice production and productivity in the region. In this regard, it is important to understand: (i) which RFS typologies can be leveraged to improve rice production and productivity; (ii) the drivers for smallholder farmers’ decisions to adopt an RFS; and (iii) which policies/incentives could enhance existing RFSs. The present study was based on surveys of 341 smallholder rice farmers in the Chókwè Irrigation Scheme (CIS), southern Mozambique. Data on the productivity of rice, size of the herd, and total other crop types were used to frame the RFS typologies. A multinomial logit model (MLM) and multiple linear regression (MLR) were applied to determine the driver for each RFS, and predict the constraints for production and yield. Based on cluster analysis, four typologies of RFSs were identified: the subsistence farming system (FS), specialised rice FS, mixed crops FS, and rice–livestock FS. Farms with longer experience reported applying more fertiliser and seedlings per unit hectare. The availability of labour increased the likelihood of adopting the mixed crops FS and rice–livestock FS. Older households were more likely to adopt the subsistence FS, and live closer to the farming fields. Yield of rice was positively associated with inputs such as fertilisers, pesticides, and seedlings, as well as years of experience of the household. Our results suggest that smallholder farmers need more assistance and technical support to identify and adopt more productive and less costly RFSs in this regioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Crescimento e adaptabilidade de procedências e progênies de Pinus tecunumanii no Norte de Moçambique

The goal of company’s forest is to maximize revenues, while minimizing risk and uncertainty. One key strategy to achieve this objective is planting fast-growing and high-yield forest stands. Thus, the Company Florestas do Niassa, operating in Niassa Province, established an experiment trial of five provenances and 28 family-within-provenances of P. Tecunumanii Eguiluz & Perry in northern Mozambique. The experiment was established in Randomized Complete Blocks Design with four lines of replications. Total height, the Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) and survival were assessed at two, four, and eight years. Survival was not significantly different at 8 years and it was above 90% for all provenances, including the control. There were significant growth differences between provenance for the rest of parameters evaluated. The proveniences that best performed at eight years, were Villa Santa, San Rafael del Norte and Yucul. Cluster method used to breakdown the provenances between progenies was useful to identified three distinct groups of progenies: The first, consisted to 12 (41.38%) of the best performing progenies, mostly from Villa Santa and Yucul; the second which was intermediate was composed with seven (24.14%) progenies mostly Yucul and Km 33; The latter consisted of 10 (34.4%) of the worse performing progenies, mostly San Jeronimo and Km 33. Most of the top 10 progenies ranked on the basis of predicted additive genetic effect and genetic gain, belonged to the providence Villa Santa, which was in accordance to the previous clusters results. Most of the progenies (45%) at the level of the 20 best classified individuals also belonged to Villa Santa and can be used for future tree breeding programmes in the environment of Niassa. The selection of the best progenies can be done through DBH, since it had a correlation coefficient above 90% with the volume.Empresas florestais necessitam maximizar lucros e minimizar o nível de risco e incerteza, sendo uma das principais estratégias plantar povoamentos de crescimento rápido e de alta produtividade. Foi com esse intuito que a Empresa Florestas do Niassa, estabeleceu um experimento com cinco procedências e 28 progênies de P. Tecunumanii Eguiluz & Perry, no norte de Moçambique. O experimento foi estabelecido em blocos ao acaso com quatro linhas de repetição. Aos dois, quatro e oito anos de idade foram medidas altura total, diâmetro altura do peito (DAP) e sobrevivência. Os resultados de sobrevivência aos oito anos de idade não apresentaram diferenças significativas, tendo ficado acima dos 90% para todas as procedências incluindo a testemunha. Houve diferenças significativas de crescimento entre procedência para os restantes parâmetros avaliados. O melhor desempenho aos oito anos foi para as procedências Villa Santa, San Rafael del Norte e Yucul. O desdobramento das procedências entre progênies com o uso do recurso de agrupamento de clusters identificou três grupos distintos: O primeiro, composto pelas 12 (41,38%) progênies de melhor desempenho, majoritariamente da Villa Santa e Yucul; o segundo intermediário e composto por sete (24,14%) das progênies, na sua maioria de Yucul e Km 33; o último foi composto por 10 (34,4%) das progênies de pior desempenho, na sua maioria de San Jeronimo e Km 33. A maior parte das 10 melhores progênies classificadas com base no efeito genético aditivo predito e ganho genético, pertencem a Villa Santa, confirmando os resultados dos clusters. Já a maioria das progênies (45%) ao nível dos 20 melhores indivíduos classificados, pertenceram a procedência Villa Santa e podem ser usadas para futuros projetos de melhoramento no ambiente do Niassa. A seleção das melhores progênies pode ser feita a partir do DAP, dado que este apresentou um coeficiente de correlação acima dos 90% com o volume

Dataset from 55 experts engaged in nature conservation in Mozambique

Data ArticleThe data of this article is related to the original article entitled “An expert-based approach to assess the potential for local people engagement in nature conservation: The case study of the Niassa National Reserve in Mozambique” [1], published in Journal for Nature Conservation. The dataset is from an online and selfadministrated survey with 55 experts aware of conservation policies and incentives under implementation in the Niassa National Reserve (NNR), the largest protected area in the country and thirdlargest in Africa. The survey included four sections of both compulsory and non-compulsory questions, mostly in closedended Likert-scale. In the first section, experts were asked about the main practices that threaten biodiversity conservation in the NNR, the actors who are directly and indirectly responsible for each practice, and the reasons for local people's involvement with those practices. The second section was about the effectiveness and limitations of the current compensation measures to engage local residents with conservation-friendly practices. In the third section, respondents were asked to select new measures to enhance the current conservation status and engage local people more effectively in conservation. The last section was about the socio-economic profile of respondents. The survey was conducted from June to September 2017. The paper includes the survey itself, raw data in an Excel spreadsheet, descriptive analysis, crosstabulation and Post Hoc cellwise tests (goodness of fit). Data are provided for public use and can serve as a benchmark for collaboration in order to conduct more comprehensive research, comparative analysis as well as panel data can be derived. This data can also have applications in other fields such as mathematics, statistics, and computationinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A Livelihood and Farming System approach for effective conservation policies in Protected Areas of Developing Countries: The case study of the Niassa National Reserve in Mozambique

Effective conservation requires that conservation policies and management decisions first target local actors who are dependent on natural resource use in Protected Areas (PA) of Developing Countries (DC). In rural areas of DCs, these actors are mainly farmers who also rely on off-farm activities such as harvest of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) to complement their livelihoods. Here, we propose a novel approach to support the development of policy interventions aimed at achieving conservation goals through the sustainable development of local people in PAs of DCs. The approach consists in identifying the main Livelihood and Farming Systems (LFS) and select those that are more conservation-friendly, and that may contribute to solve conservation and development problems such as Human-wildlife conflict. Identifying the existing LFS can also help in searching for conservation-relevant improvements that can contribute to local people wellbeing, considering the existing FS as the starting point for a sustainable development strategy in PAs of DC. Data from the Niassa National Reserve (NNR), the largest PA in Mozambique, were used to develop this LFS approach. Measures of effort applied in harvesting NTFPs and in managing agricultural inputs and outputs were collected from 329 households through a structured survey. Cluster analysis was performed to identify and characterise the main LFS in the NNR. Based on the cluster results, we have identified four livelihood systems (LS): gatherers, hunters, farmers and employees; four farming systems (FS): specialized in maize, rice and sorghum, and a mixed FS. A Multinomial Logistic Model was also applied to understand the drivers of LFS choice. Livelihood systems were mainly driven by householdlevel socio-economic factors, while FS were driven by village-level biophysical conditions. Households who were employed and had diversified farming and off-farm activities were better off and more resilient to climate change and crop-raiding animals. Intensification appears to occur gradually but has found to be limited by rainfall availability. Based on our findings, we propose that conservation experts and policy-makers should use a LFS approach to re-frame the conservation narrative in PAs of DCs and promote the existing practices that can better protect biodiversity while improving livelihood and welfare of local peopleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

INFLUENCE OF THE METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS ON FOREST FIRES OCCURRENCES IN LICHINGA DISTRICT, NORTHERN MOZAMBIQUE

AbstractThe aim of this study was to assess the influence of meteorological conditions on the fire occurrences in forest stands of Lichinga district, in the period from 2010 to 2012. Data about fire occurrences records of the district of Lichinga and two others close districts (Lago and Sanga) were provided by the Center for Monitoring and Control of Forest Fires (CCMIF) of the company Chikweti. Daily weather data: temperature, rainfall and relative humidity of the same period, recorded at 13:00 PM, by the meteorological station of the Institute of Agronomic Research of Mozambique (IIAM) in Lichinga district were also provided to this work. Meteorological data were submitted to regression analysis and Tukey test. The results showed a significant variation in temperature and humidity on both tests. The overlapping of fire occurrences and meteorological variables, suggested a great influence of the meteorological conditions in the occurrence of fires, mainly due to the very long dry periods. In 2010 there was a delay in the occurrence of fires; this was related to the rainy season which was slightly longer. September and October was the months that recorded the highest number of fire occurrences throughout the studied period.ResumoInfluência das condições meteorológicas na ocorrência dos incêndios florestais no distrito de Lichinga, norte de Moçambique. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a influência das variáveis meteorológicas na ocorrência de incêndios em povoamentos florestais no distrito de Lichinga, no período de 2010 a 2012. Para tal, foram analisados os registros de ocorrências de incêndios do distrito de Lichinga e de outros dois distritos vizinhos (Lago e Sanga), disponibilizados pelo Centro de Controle e Monitoramento de Incêndios Florestais (CCMIF) da empresa Chikweti Forest of Niassa, e dados meteorológicos diários de temperatura (máxima e mínima), precipitação e umidade relativa, do mesmo período, registrados às 13 horas, pela estação meteorológica do Instituto de Investigação Agronômica de Moçambique em Lichinga (IIAM-Lichinga). Os dados meteorológicos foram submetidos ao teste de análise de regressão e ao teste de Tukey, tendo sido observado uma variação significativa da temperatura e umidade em ambos os testes. A sobreposição das ocorrências dos incêndios com as variáveis meteorológicas demostrou uma grande influênca dessas variáveis na ocorrência dos incêndios, principalmente devido aos períodos secos prolongados. No ano 2010 observou-se um atraso na ocorrência dos incêndios, devido ao período chuvoso que foi ligeiramente mais longo. Os meses que registraram maior número de ocorrências em todo o período foram setembro e outubro.Palavras-chave: Povoamentos florestais; variáveis meteorológicas; prevenção de incêndios florestais

Using satellite image fusion to evaluate the impact of land use changes on ecosystem services and their economic values

Shuangao, W., Padmanaban, R., Mbanze, A. A., Silva, J. M. N., Shamsudeen, M., Cabral, P., & Campos, F. S. (2021). Using satellite image fusion to evaluate the impact of land use changes on ecosystem services and their economic values. Remote Sensing, 13(5), 1-21. [851]. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13050851Accelerated land use change is a current challenge for environmental management world-wide. Given the urgent need to incorporate economic and ecological goals in landscape planning, cost-effective conservation strategies are required. In this study, we validated the benefit of fusing imagery from multiple sensors to assess the impact of landscape changes on ecosystem services (ES) and their economic values in the Long County, Shaanxi Province, China. We applied several landscape metrics to assess the local spatial configuration over 15 years (2004–2019) from fused image-ries. Using Landsat-7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+), Landsat-8 Operational Land Im-ager (OLI) and Indian Remote Sensing Satellite System Linear Imaging Self Scanning Sensor 3 (IRS LISS 3) imageries fused for 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019, we reclassified land use/land cover (LULC) changes, through the rotation forest (RF) machine-learning algorithm. We proposed an equivalent monetary metric for estimating the ES values, which also could be used in the whole China. Results showed that agriculture farmland and unused land decreased their spatial distribution over time, with an observed increase on woodland, grassland, water bodies and built-up area. Our findings suggested that the patterns of landscape uniformity and connectivity improved, while the distribution of landscape types stabilized, while the landscape diversity had a slight improvement. The overall ES values increased (4.34%) under a benefit transfer approach, mainly concerning woodland and grassland. A sensitivity analysis showed the selected economic value (EV) was relevant and suitable for the study area associated with our ES for LULC changes. We suggested that changes in landscape patterns affected the ESV trends, while the increases on some LULC classes slightly improved the landscape diversity. Using an interdisciplinary approach, we recommend that local au-thorities and environmental practitioners should balance the economic benefits and ecological gains in different landscapes to achieve a sustainable development from local to regional scales.publishersversionpublishe

Applications of Essential Oils as Antibacterial Agents in Minimally Processed Fruits and Vegetables - A Review

Microbial foodborne diseases are a major health concern. In this regard, one of the major risk factors is related to consumer preferences for “ready-to-eat” or minimally processed (MP) fruits and vegetables. Essential oil (EO) is a viable alternative used to reduce pathogenic bacteria and increase the shelf-life of MP foods, due to the health risks associated with food chlorine. Indeed, there has been increased interest in using EO in fresh produce. However, more information about EO applications in MP foods is necessary. For instance, although in vitro tests have defined EO as a valuable antimicrobial agent, its practical use in MP foods can be hampered by unrealistic concentrations, as most studies focus on growth reductions instead of bactericidal activity, which, in the case of MP foods, is of utmost importance. The present review focuses on the effects of EO in MP food pathogens, including the more realistic applications. Overall, due to this type of information, EO could be better regarded as an added value to the food industryinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

DESEMPENHO DOS ÍNDICES DE NESTEROV E FÓRMULA DE MONTE ALEGRE NO DISTRITO DE LICHINGA, NORTE DE MOÇAMBIQUE

This study was conducted in order to evaluate the performance of Nesterov indexes and of Monte Alegre formula (FMA) in Lichinga environment (northern Mozambique) in order to suggest the best index to be used in this region. To do so, we used daily meteorological data (temperature, precipitation and relative humidity) and registration data of forest fire occurrences in a period of three years (2010 - 2012). Meteorological data were provided by the Agricultural Research Institute of Mozambique in Lichinga (IIAM-Lichinga), whereas the data base of fire occurrence record was provided by the Center for Monitoring and Control of Forest Fires (CCMIF) of the company Chikweti Forest of Niassa. Then, fire danger indexes and the degree of daily danger were calculated for both indexes, where it was observed the predominance of very high degree of danger in almost every year, with a percentage of 52.65% for the FMA and 37.96% for Nesterov index. Along with values of Skill Score (SS) of 0.11 Percent Success (PS) of 44.82%, Nesterov index showed best performance for this region unlike FMA, that presented a weak performance with values of 0, 07 of SS and 35.62%of PS.Este trabalho foi desenvolvido com objetivo de avaliar o desempenho dos índices de Nesterov e Fórmula de Monte Alegre (FMA) no ambiente Lichinga (norte de Moçambique), de modo a sugerir o melhor índice a ser usado nesta região. Para a materialização desta pesquisa, foram usados dados meteorológicos diários (temperatura, precipitação e umidade relativa) e dados de registro de ocorrências dos incêndios florestais de um período de três anos (2010 a 2012). Os dados meteorológicos foram fornecidos pelo Instituto de Investigação Agronômica de Moçambique em Lichinga (IIAM-Lichinga) e o banco de dados de registro de ocorrências de incêndios foi providenciado pelo Centro de Controle e Monitoramento de Incêndios Florestais (CCMIF), da empresa Chikweti Forest of Niassa. Na sequência, foram calculados os índices de perigo de incêndios e o grau de perigo diário para os dois índices, tendo-se observado a predominância do grau de perigo muito alto em quase todos os anos, com um porcentual de 52,65% para o FMA e 37,96% para o índice Nesterov. Com valores de Skill Score (SS) de 0,11 e Porcentagem de Sucesso (PS) de 44,82%, o índice Nesterov mostrou melhor desempenho para o ambiente de Lichinga, ao contrário do FMA que apresentou um fraco desempenho com os valores de 0,07 de SS e 35,62% de PS