Sub-Saharan Africa

Charaterization and Impact Assessment of Water Harvesting Techniques: A Case Study of Abreha Atsbeha Watershed, Tigray, Ethiopia

Background

This report gives a comprehensive overview of water harvesting techniques in a community called Abreha we Atsbeha in Tigray, Ethiopia.  This community was awarded the UN Equator Prize for their restoration work in 2012.  In addition to providing a detailed historical, demographic, ecological, and hydrological description of the site, the authors also detail the major water harvesting techniques employed, including: bench terracing, stone bunds, stine bunds with trenches, soil bunds with trenches, semi-circular stone bunds, percolation ponds check dams, shallow wells, diversion heads, and hand dug wells. 

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Gender Inequality in Malidino Biodiversity Community-based Reserve, Senegal: Political Parties and the 'Village Approach'

Background

This research examines some of the less visible, and ongoing social dynamics in a World Bank-funded conservation site in central Senegal. The goal of the World Bank project was to create a decentralized and community-based participatory forest management program that would re-structure the political economy of the charcoal industry, give more rights and autonomy to the local community, emphasize improved gender equity, and provide technical assistance to NGOs and community-based organizations.

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Local ecological knowledge of trees on farms, constraints and opportunities for further integratino in Tigray Region, northern Ethiopia: A Case Study of smallholder farmers in Abreha Wa Atsbeha and Adi Gudom

Background

The paper compared two Ethiopian sites with differing levels of on-farm tree adoption: Abreha we Atsbeha (high adoption) and Adi Gudom (low adoption). The author used a knowledge-based systems approach involving participatory rural appraisal, focus group discussions, and semi-structured interviews.  In both sites, farmers planted trees on their holdings for income generation, user rights, and direct benefits, and they planted trees on communal lands to comply with government policies, improve soil fertility and water harvesting, improve land for redistribution, and improve aesthetics. 

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300,000 Hectares Restored in Shinyanga, Tanzania — but what did it really take to achieve this restoration?

Background

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Community-based mangrove forest management: Implications for local livelihoods and coastal resource conservation along the Volta estuary catchment area of Ghana

Background

The author of this paper recognize that there has been limited research into the primary motivators for motivating long-term community-based mangrove restoration and management on local scales. In order to fill this gap, this paper aims to assess management practices of community-based mangrove restoration projects in the Volta River estuary in Ghana, paying close attention to the ecological and economic incentives for community-based mangrove forest management (CBMFM). The site was evaluated between 1974 and 2011 and the authors used participatory mapping and orthophotos. 

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The role of ecological theory and practice in poverty alleviation and environmental conservation

Background

This review emphasized the roles and tools of ecologists that would be helpful in poverty alleviation internationally.  Specifically, knowledge of sustainable sources of energy, provision of clean water, functional traits of vegetation, and design of agro-forestry systems were cited as examples of knowledge that would be helpful for cross-disciplinary strategies.

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Opportunities and capacity for community-based forest carbon sequestration and monitoring in Ghana

Background

This paper documents the key areas which would need to be addressed in developing a monitoring plan for carbon sequestration in forest plantation in Ghana. These key areas were identified through local community engagement to understand how forest restoration plays a role in their lives and if they were equipped with the technical skills necessary to carry out monitoring work.

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The effects of The International Smallgroup and Tree Planting Program on household income in Nyeri district, Kenya

Background

The aim of the study was to determine the effects of TIST program on household income, environmental services and to determine factors that influence participation. 

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The Communal Management of Forests in the Semi‐arid and Sub‐humid Regions of Africa: Past Practice and Prospects for the Future

Background

This article is based on an extensive literature search to analyze indigenous forestry practices in the dryland regions of anglophone and francophone regions of Africa. The authors drew on biology, forestry, and ethnographic material and was written with the aim of encouraging practitioners to involve peoples living near forests into the land management strategies.

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Strategies for empowering the local people to participate in forest restoration

Background

This study examined how local people’s involvement in determining and establishing appropriate reforestation techniques and practices can yield positive results. The study also examined the conditions for local people’s willingness to participate in implementing such techniques in their practices. The study was conducted in 10 villages surrounding Mabira Forest Reserve located in Central Uganda.

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